Young Poor & Angry Press

Name: Helen Castillo

Position: Outerwear designer, Manhattan and fashion columnist for YPA Press

Album of the Week: Municipal Waste- The Art of partying

Weekly Song Obsession: Body in a Box- city and colour

Movie You HAVE to see or saw this week: saw New Moon twice within the past week, kinda feel like i need to see Precious and/or Brothers

Most random text message: ’slappin da bass’

Most embarrassing moment this week: Something about girl stuff from my mom, and replying to the wrong person

Geek Indulgence: Twilight series/everything I’m into is pretty geek chic

Funniest follower tweet: Ohh man those dirty br1ntney_f*cked ones.. at least i think its funny as shit

Favorite Staff Moment: Justin YPA’s incredible tweets about EVERYTHING he ever thinks via twitter.

Did you go Black Friday shopping?: No, I slept in and finished sewing my sister’s wedding dress.

When and how did you find out Santa wasn’t real?: Probably when i was 7yrs old, lurkin’ my parents closet noneother to find unwrapped gifts shortly before the holiday.

What Christmas gift ever made you go “what the fuck?”: My Sony Alpha DSLR, last Christmas i got it from my father after asking for a Sony baby digital camera I could carry around in my purse when I go out. Thanks for overdoing it, electronic-obsessed father.

Holidays yay or nay?: fuck yes.

Thanksgiving vs. Christmas: christmas, cause gimme da gifts.

Darts and Laurels:

Dart to ‘Jersey Shore’ reality show on MTV for being incredible inaccurate.
Laurel to YOUNGPOORANDANGRY.COM for having me do their fashion column! AND being awesome as hell.

A brilliant singer-songwriter with a pension for child-like veracity fused with soviet piano chord undertones, Regina Spektor’s music is unlike anything else out there. She uses her voice as instrument, and makes percussion sounds with her tongue as she stretches the notes to give her music a branded style that is solely Spektor.

This Russian-American songstress performed Wed., Oct. 14 at the historic Radio City Music hall in New York to a sold out crowd, and wowed the audience with impeccable vocal candor. Only Spektor could sing about subject matter ranging from sunbathing, Jesus and God, to exaggerated drug use, sexual promiscuity and the Holocaust all with the same toe-tapping cheer that makes her music a quizzical combination of enlightening and innocent.

The show had a minimal light display that basically just changed color with the mood of the songs or refracted off a disco ball to give the hall a starry night feel, but it fit perfectly as Spektor’s presence alone was enough to light up the stage.

The opening band, Jupiter One, was actually pretty enjoyable. They were like a Vampire Weekend/David Bowie/Brian Wilson amalgamation that I didn’t hate. And I was not able to confirm this as I could find no documentation of who was in Spektor’s band, but I’m maybe 80 percent confident that the lead singer of Jupiter One is also a violinist in Spektor’s band.

Overall it was a memorable night, and as always Spektor was more than sincerely gracious to her crowd, stating her amazement at having the opportunity to perform at Radio City Music Hall. Check out the set list below, and please, please check out Regina Spektor, because anyone who can make the phrase “someone next door is fucking to one of my songs” sound innocent, deserves some recognition.

Set List

The Calculation

Eet

Folding Chair

Ode To Divorce

Machine

Laughing With

One More Time With Feeling

Two Birds

Blue Lips

-November Rain Solo-

On The Radio

The Call

Dance Anthem Of The 80s

Silly Eye-Colour Generalizations

Bobbing For Apples

That Time

Apres Moi

Poor Little Rich Boy

Ink Stains

Human Of The Year

Man Of A Thousand Faces

-Encore-

Samson

Us

Fidelity

Hotel Song

Love, You’re A Whore

Regina Spektor’s newest album, “Far,” is in stores now waiting for you to buy it. Here is the video of “Laughing With,” from the album.

I also have this less-than-great video footage, but if you are a fan, you may appreciate it. My seats were far away so I found someone’s footage of the show on Youtube and the sound isn’t bad.

Meghan McCain responds to Laura Ingraham’s attack on her weight: Why is this topic still a socially accepted prejudice—and why in the world would a woman raise it? Read the rest of this entry »

***UPDATE 8:44PM*** The AP has confirmed that Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin have broken up:
* * * * *

WASILLA, Alaska — Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin, the teenage daughter of Gov. Sarah Palin, have broken off their engagement, he said Wednesday, about 2 1/2 months after the couple had a baby. Johnston, 19, told The Associated Press that he and 18-year-old Bristol Palin mutually decided “a while ago” to end their relationship. He declined to elaborate as he stood outside his family’s home in Wasilla, about 40 miles north of Anchorage. Read the rest of this entry »