From Steven Meisel breaking his seven-year silence to Run The Jewels on Rookie – this is what had the Dazed team clicking ‘like’ around the WWW this week
“Al Jazeera always manages to hunt down unique angles on stories that you've maybe heard a million times. Take this beautifully-shot feature by Ian Johnson, for instance. Everybody knows Beijing is overcrowded and over polluted, but did you know about the Rat Tribe – the one million locals, mostly young out-of-towners, who have been forced to live in underground warrens beneath the city?” – Zing Tsjeng, News Editor (@MissZing)
GIRLHOOD: FINALLY A FILM ABOUT BLACK GIRLS STRENGTHENING EACH OTHER
“Sometimes the most ubiquitous songs can feel the most personal, and in Céline Sciamma's Girlhood it's Rihanna's "Diamonds" that becomes a self affirming anthem for four girls on the fringes. After seeing the movie, where a gang of black girls helping each other navigate life in the banlieues, Anupa Mistry gives a movingly personal account of its resonance with her own experiences. ‘Given the ways the world conspires to break girls down, I think we're pack animals out of necessity’.” – Owen Myers, Deputy Editor (@Owen_Myers)
“If Warhol had lived to see the days of Instagram – scouting out the coolest kids to join his virtual factory – he’d be following Lucky Blue Smith. The blue eyed, bleach blond 16-year-old model has the looks of Leo circa Romeo and Juliet – if only Romeo had decided all this family rivalry shit wasn’t worth the trouble and started a punk band instead. As regaled in this BoF article, Blue has spent the last three weeks breaking hearts across London, Paris and Milan, being met at airports by screaming fans and staging Instagram meet ups where entire streets were swarmed with adoring tweens. And just in case you were wondering, yes, that’s his real name – he’s also in a band with sisters Pyper America, Daisy Clementine and Queen Starlie.” – Emma Hope Allwood, Fashion Features Assistant (@EmmaHopeAll)
ASK A GROWN MAN: RUN THE JEWELS
“Run The Jewels made the most anti-authority, and arguably important, album of last year: an urgent and angry maelstrom of artful rap rebellion and non-conformist sonic sedition. Hip hop’s nonconformist anti-heroes, Killer Mike and El-P, also happen to give amazing no-bullshit advice on sex and love to young girls too. This latest addition to Rookie mag’s “Ask A Grown” series, is full of straight-up, unpatronising gems of wisdom for the heart. And the camaraderie between the pair is touching. Wish someone had told me this stuff when I was a kid. Proud sincerity. ‘Love honestly. Love hard. And don't lose yourself’.” – Ronojoy Dam, Group Creative Director
STEVEN MEISEL DID AN INTERVIEW!?
“When your last interview was seven years ago, there’s a lot to catch up on. Such is the case with the most protected and clandestine of fashion photographers, Steven Meisel. The guy with the long hair responsible for lensing Linda, Naomi and Amber, turning them into culture-penetrating icons. He talks with Tim Blanks about how sensitive he is. He cries looking at his own pictures. ‘I either look at what I could have done better, or I start crying,’ he tells Blanks. Although he doesn’t burst into tears mid-interview, we understand why we’ll probably have to wait another seven years for his next public exchange.” – Trey Taylor, Staff Writer (@TreyTylor)
RICHARD LINKLATER NARRATES A SCENE FROM BOYHOOD
“I have read loads of articles about the making of Boyhood, but I found Richard Linklater narrating over this driving scene talking about how he is ‘fascinated with memory’ particularly fascinating. The scene is kind of a pivotal moment in the film where Ethan Hawke describes how he sold his G20 for a family car and his son is pissed off because he remembers his dad promising to hand the car down to him. Hawke can't remember the promise at all. And I think that's such a relatable situation growing up.” – Fiona Cook, Social Media Editor (@FionaWCook)
ADAM CURTIS RETURNS TO BBC WITH BITTER LAKE
“Adam Curtis returned to the BBC on Sunday. But this iPlayer-only opus on the tawdry secret history of the west's great games in Afghanistan is, even by Curtis standards, a far from regular doc. With access to the Beeb's vast archive of unused newsreel, he's made a symphonic, often terrifying, frequently hilarious mood piece that cements his status as documentary's last great poet-polemicist.” – Charlie Robin Jones, Digital Editor (@CharliexJones)
WHEN ARE WE GOING TO STOP LAUGHING AT SHIT BRITAIN’?
“Tim Burrows and Hayley Hatton are an unstoppable force at the best of times, but their sobering look at British stereotypes, immigration and the trivialisation of working class port towns really struck a chord with me. ‘In thinking it is laughing at itself,’ Burrows writes. ‘Britain finds itself laughing at the put-upon other.’ With the General Election fast approaching, pieces like this are essential reading for those with the power to vote.” – Tim Noakes, Editor-in-Chief (@TimNoakes)
“I feel for this kid. When I was her age, I was painting Green Day lyrics onto white crop tops and parading my DIY efforts at the youth club. My parents LOLed. But the ridicule stopped there. I couldn’t reveal to the world how uncool I really was because social media didn’t exist. Sadly, Nirvana-girl has self-righteous social media vultures clawing at her ignorance and innocence. Yeah, that t-shirt is pretty insensitive, but give the girl a break. Educate, don’t hate. (Then troll those sick bastards who printed the damn t-shirt.) Thanks Polyester mag.” – Natasha Slee, Social Media Assistant (@TashaLouiseS)
“Carles, our generation's antihero scribe, the not-so-visible face of cult culture site Hipster Runoff, returned last Friday after an absence dating back to 2013. Carles jumped back into to our consciousness with a long, funny, sad summary of the online world we live in, the abyss we stare into each day and how we do or don’t make sense of it. As is often the case in 2015, I felt moved to tears on the Tube. Hipster Runoff is for sale, with Carles listing “boredom/other interests” as the reasons. R.I.P HRO and long live Carles.” – Thomas Gorton, Digital News Writer (@AngstromHoot)
“What’s the big deal with taking your new ride out for a spin? This video pretty much sums up my excitement when it comes to new cameras. Well done Jon Cole for giving a twist to the boring camera tests, and reminding me to calm the F down whenever I hear the word 4K. No one cares..really.” – Camilla Mathis, Junior Production Manager (@Camilla47)