I once heard an interview, years ago, with Nelly Furtado. She was talking about who inspired her, musically. She mentioned Green Day as being influential on her, along with some other present day artists around her same age, and some even younger. She added that it bothered her when musicians were asked that question and they only cited older, or dead, musicians as inspiration, and not contemporaries. (Again, this is all my cursory memory of the interview, I couldn’t find it online. My apologies to Ms. Furtado if this summary wasn’t as accurate as it could be.)
I loved this sentiment. So many comedians and writers talk about their inspirations, and they’re people older than them, or from another generation. Yes, Mark Twain is great. Yup, Bill Murray is amazing. So is Jim Downey. No arguments there.
It’s harder to admit sometimes, that your contemporaries are killing it. It’s an ego thing. It’s so much safer for my giant fragile writer-ego to talk about how funny Dorothy Parker was than, say Simon Rich or Lena Dunham. (True confession: I don’t exactly get why Dorothy Parker is so funny. She’s kind of wry, I guess. But like, funny? I don’t know. I’m willing to say that it’s just something about me that I’m not getting, because legions of college freshmen girls who have Dorothy Parker posters up in their dorm rooms would disagree with me. I also don’t think Caddyshack is funny, though, as I’ve said, I love Bill Murray. See? My tastes are all over the map.).
Why am I talking about all this? Well, it’s because one of the most inspirational people to me is Tavi Gevinson.
Tavi is a wunderkind in the fashion world, who started out as a fashion blogger.
How Sassy Is Tavi Gevinson? from the New York Times
A great thing to watch is her lecture on The Unpredictability of Gen Y.
That’s right. A lecture. She’s giving a lecture.
Tavi is fashionable, cosmopolitan, articulate, funny, but still, a kid. Yes, an entrepreneurial kid who started her own already-influential site thestylerookie.com, but just an awesome plucky girl who hasn’t seemed to lost the feeling of “I’m so psyched Mom and Dad are letting me do this!”
I’m totally inspired by Tavi. I want to be more like her. When I see the actress Michelle Williams (with whom Tavi bears more than passing resemblance), I want Michelle Williams to have Tavi’s personality and am disappointed when she’s not her, because being pals with Michelle Williams would be more age-appropriate for me.
I feel lucky that Tavi read my book. She posted a video of herself singing Joni Mitchell’s A Case of You and dedicated to me on Hellogiggles, in an adorable recurring segment they do called “Videochat Karaoke”. It made me cry (as I said anything off the album Blue will do). Here it is. Try not to cry when you watch it.
I have a girl crush on Tavi. It’s weird, looking up to someone younger than me, kind of what you were saying, Mindy. She’s amazing, though. Rookie is one of those blogs that I immediately click to on my google reader.
Anyways, this song made me cry.
Katie | November 30, 2011 |
Hey Mindy,
Your link the thestylerookie.com is broken (it takes you to http://www.stylerookie.com instead).
Also, I read your book last weekend (loved it) and wrote a letter to you about it on my blog the other day: http://www.rollthemaps.com/archives/425
Also, Tavi is adorable.
Holly | November 30, 2011 |
How about “try not to cry while reading this blog post” because yeah.
Kim | November 30, 2011 |
Maybe I cried within hearing the first 3 notes of the song. Maybe. (Definitely.)
Dani | December 1, 2011 |
Is there anything Tavi cannot do? I think not!
Natalie (Fashion Intel) | December 1, 2011 |
But I can be her best friend! She seems in my age group. This is so incredible and goosebumpy. Can’t believe an avid blog surfer like me has never comes across the likes of Tavi! Thank you, Mindy. I now have another inspiration to add to my list. (You’re on there, too.
)
Zareen | December 1, 2011 |
Probably one of my all time favorite persons is Christopher Hitchens. This doesn’t really follow the point of the blog, because he is so iconic. I felt like it would be wrong to write about people who inspire me and not include him.
Honestly, I am in love with JennaMarbles. She speaks her mind and holds her ground. She does her own thing and it always amazing and hilarious, even if I don’t always agree with what she’s saying. I love how she takes a stand and says what everyone else is thinking.
Elizabeth | December 1, 2011 |
I’m inspired by both of you, and by HelloGiggles, for this transfusion of positivity and non-snark you’ve given to the blogging community. This is how it should be! Friends building up and celebrating each other - it’s so rare online, and it’s so awesome to see and to feel connected to. Thank you!
Corley | December 1, 2011 |
I think if you two combined forces you’d cause some kind of amazing supernova of talent, wit, and awesomeness. I admire you both and have been inspired by both of you for years! It took this post for me to quit lurking and say something about it.
Sharon @ Currently Coveting | December 1, 2011 |
She is adorable. I want to put her in my pocket.
Jill Browning | December 1, 2011 |
<3
That is all.
Wait!
It isn't.
Do you know what TIME you'll be on Matty in the Morning? That show is like four hours long, and while we do love you… =(
Kat | December 1, 2011 |
Wow. That girl is smart and amazing, and it was really surreal to just watch that video. I had that, ‘woahmygod’ look on my face the whole time. Thanks for sharing!
Craftwhack | December 1, 2011 |
you should hear her interview on ‘Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.’ Hilarious. It was on a few months ago….I think. I’ve lost track of time.
margaret | December 1, 2011 |
This is great. I share your sentiment about current inspirations. For me it’s…well, it’s a long list, but the majority of my favorites are actively writing and performing. The list is long….I’ll just say a few: Murakami, Foer,Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Bill Hader, Rainn Wilson….
xo
Melina
Melina | December 2, 2011 |
tavi is fabulous and so are you.
kristin | December 2, 2011 |
OMG and she was born in 1996??
Whitney Soup | December 2, 2011 |
i do love both tavi and joni. and yes, i most definitely cried reading this post and listening to her sing. so then, i went on grooveshark and played the one song that ALWAYS makes me cry: landslide.
xo
Vicki | December 3, 2011 |
I love Tavi. I always wanted a Tavi in my life since I started following her way back when. Is it okay (umm..I mean legal) to be so inspired by someone who is way younger than you and who you wish you can meet?
superjuicychicken | December 3, 2011 |
Well for me, you are really an inspiration Mindy. A very smart, funny and wonderful actress. I wanna be like “you”.
Michelle | December 4, 2011 |
I will fully and happily admit that you are one of the people I look up to, and last I checked, you’re still alive and well! I’m such a fan that I dedicated an entire blog post to you here
http://hrcktheherald.wordpress.com/2011/12/07/the-crush/
HRCK | December 8, 2011 |
Great information and post! Nice to see people get noticed by blogging and letting their personalities show. Definitely hoping my blog helps me get noticed (and a job!)
Adam | December 9, 2011 |
Ah-mazing. Why wasn’t I that talented at that age. My style since has only developed within the last year or two. I didn’t know what to do with myself in high school, and was far to scared to wear the crazy things I liked, because that would mean being made fun of.
Just finished your book Mindy. I now am checking goop.com constantly.
Sarah | December 9, 2011 |
This issue comes up a lot during my pretend conversations in front of the bathroom mirror, with pretend fans who are pretend asking me “Naomi, you’re amazing. Who inspires you?” I’ve always just gone with the classics because it’s a little too uncomfortable admitting there’s someone my age (or younger) who I look up to. But I do need to be more humble and honest in my imaginary talk show appearances and red carpet interviews….
Naomi A. | December 9, 2011 |
gosh, tavi is looking smoking hot these days. and, you’re right, SO much like michelle williams. wow.
she’s so confident and amazing for her age… it’s sort of humbling to admire someone (a lot) younger isn’t it??
emily | December 11, 2011 |
I remember reading her blog when she was preparing for her Bat Mitzvah. Crazy! She, unlike me at 13, must have KILLED it in the synagogue. (I mean, not literally, of course.)
Jen @ The Well Read Fish | December 23, 2011 |
I have to disagree with Tavi’s thesis that key trends for the decade won’t be able to be pinpointed.
I think that it can be difficult to see the forest for the trees, especially in such an overstimulating arena as fashion but I can name off several trends that I think are definitively of the Naughts.
1. Skinny, low-waisted jeans. Worn across many subcultures, as well as mainstream.
2. Horrible shoes. Uggs, Crocs, and the pointy-blingy bullshit that so dominated ’03-’07.
3. Puffa jackets. I’ve been seeing some variation on the theme of big, bulky, quilted or down jackets since 1999, and they don’t seem to want to die, no matter how fugly, bulky, and annoying they might be. They bunch up in your seatbelt, eat up waaay too much closet real estate, yet they prevail over more sensible and adorable options. Why? I don’t know, but they defiitely seem to be a thing of the 2000s.
4. Strappy tops. Tank-tops, those backless things with the cross-lacing, those weird little drapy sequinned-silk things. Bare skin, no bra, and no boobs have been the order of the day for quite a while now.
5. Big-ass sunglasses. Probably a bit of a bleed-over from the obsession with celebrity culture. Girls like the Olson twins, Nicole Ritchie, and Lindsay Lohan started wearing huge shades probably as a bit of a disguise, and they caught on like wildfire amongst fans of the above celebs and others like them.
When I was a kid in the 1980s, I liked the Betty & Veronica comic books, and one of them, Betty & Veronica and friends were putting on a fashion show of fashion through the decades. While they were easily able to whip out the iconic fashions of the decades from 1900-1970, they fell out over what defined the 1980s. Was it silver jewelry? Was it the miniskirt and leggings? Was it big shoulder-pads? Was it neon? They couldn’t come to a consensus because they were still too close to the source - like the old cliche about trying to take a sip from the firehose. 20+ years later, it’s easy to come up with a ’80s getup for a costume party - I dressed like Mindy from Mork & Mindy at a party I recently went to…preppy, bias plaid skirt, corduroy wide-lapel jacket, a bulky, bunchy turtleneck, and high, laced boots. One of my friends wore a padded-shouldered, neon ski-suit, and there were so many interpretations of the lacy, frilly, skimpy Madonna look that I lost count. Collars were popped, jeans were torn and tight rolled, and all of the sneakers were white and puffy.
Meetzorp | January 3, 2012 |
tavi is great and her rendition is absolutely heartbreaking.
laura | January 6, 2012 |
Mindy, your stylerookie link is broken! Is this the right website? http://www.thestylerookie.com
Maria | January 12, 2012 |
Laughing over “and hopefully not seem like a creep.” I can’t count how many times I’ve prefaced something I’ve done with this phrase.
Joni Mitchell’s version of A Case of You on Both Sides Now makes me weep, as does Both Sides Now. I think it’s because of all the swelling instrumental parts.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000040OVH/ref=asc_df_B000040OVH1856795?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B000040OVH
Kelsie | January 12, 2012 |