NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB "The Bomb" (PV).

This is actually a few years old but I never even knew they had a video until today. Amazing song by a terrific indie electro-pop band. Hit that play button and dance like it was 1984.

Koda Kumi Kingdom Promo Spot.

こちらが倖田來未の新しいなCDはキングドムのテレビスパットです. Heehee! Just trying to practice. This is the television spot for Koda Kumi’s new CD, Kingdom. It will be released this Wednesday in Japan. It’s going to be a hell of a week for me as far as exams go, but at some point I’ll do a review, even though half of it has been released as singles already over the last 5 months or so.

Amy Winehouse: Where Did It All Go Wrong?

I’ve been having a difficult time putting my head around Amy Winehouse’s troubles. I used to think that it was all an act. You know, that she was crafting some kind of image, the way most of today’s rap stars do. Guys from upper-middle class suburban families - Dad’s an investment banker, mom is an English literature professor - talking about guns, drug deals and their hoes to score a few million record sales. They walk around singing “Good Times” but in reality they’re a Huxtable. You’ve seen them before. You know you have.

I first heard Amy Winehouse four years ago after she released her debut CD, Frank. Frank was kinda jazzy and bluesy in spots. Not overly raunchy with the exception of the single F**k Me Pumps. Still, that track was a ways removed from Me & Mr. Jones (Fuckery), Wake Up Alone and the collection of songs on her compelling sophomore effort, Back To Black. However, we have seen many artists change their style up musically. So that’s nothing new. The big change from Frank to Back To Black was with the artist herself.

I’d like to mention that all the images above and below are linked. This allows someone the opportunity to see the videos as well as larger images for the sake of comparison. So as I was saying, in all the videos, publicity shots, television appearances and record Jackets that I saw of Amy Winehouse circa that Frank CD, she was beautiful, voluptuous, sexy, well groomed and without a tattoo anywhere.

Compare the woman in the video for F**k Me Pumps or the video for Stronger Than Me and the woman on The Frank CD cover to the woman in the video below. Three years later not only do we have a completely different person, but the Amy Winehouse we have today is literally dying right before our eyes. She says all her songs are autobiographical. If that’s truly the case, then maybe the life is sadly imitating the art or, perhaps, this is who she really is and her musical talent is allowing her to liberate the true Amy Winehouse.

Maybe she was always sick and like a snake shedding it’s skin she peeled away the old Amy Winehouse to reveal who she truly is. Perhaps in the past she just had a better hold on her demons than she does today. Maybe she no longer wants to subdue a darker side. After all, there are a few drug references in F**k Me Pumps and she’s always expressed an affinity towards “bad girls” and the seedy, tough side of life. Take note of the lyrics as you what the video for Stronger Than Me. Lyrically, I guess nothing has changed that much, perhaps I’m the only one having difficulty reconciling this.

However, I trust my own eyes, comparing images of the woman before with what we see today, it’s is hard to connect the two women. It’s a drastic transformation. Which is what makes me wonder, what the hell happened? A little voice in me wonders are am I just being naive, like the college professor mom you see screaming on TV when her little baby gets caught with a smoking gun? You know what I mean.

Amy Winehouse isn’t the first artist to lose them self in a character, in the artistic expression of their own creative genius but, hopefully, she will be the last. As of this moment, she is back in a London rehab facility, hopefully she will get the help there that she so obviously needs.

Burberry Black: Exclusive For Japan.

Speaking of Burberry. Whenever my baby Ikue comes here to see me, I always send her some money and a big, fat shopping list. Usually I get some Bape, or BBC label stuff. However, this time before she makes her trip over here in February, I am going to request some Burberry Black Label. Burberry Black is another Burberry spinoff label exclusive for Japan. Only Burberry Black is for us fellas only. Ha, ha, ha! They’ve got several shops all over Japan and three in Tokyo, Shibuya, Ginza and Marunouchi.

The Ginza boutique is close by Armani Tower, too. The one in Shibuya is off Meiji Dori, around the corner from the Burberry Blue Label women’s boutique. So both of you can score some new joints at the same time. The only thing that western guys have to be concerned with when it comes to buying clothing from Japanese lines is your size. Japanese men are nowhere near as, how do I say this… there’s not nearly as much of them to love. Know what I mean? So if any westerners are looking to get into some Black Label, it’s no more combo meals. At least for me, anyway.

Burberry Black Label.

N.E.R.D. "Everybody Nose".

I just got this off of The BBC/Ice Cream blog. A brand new track rumored to be the first single off the upcoming N.E.R.D. CD out (finally) in April. HOWEVER, The site said this is not the final mix of the track. That’s okay. Just a having a little somethin-somethin to wet our appetites is cool by me.

BBC/Ice Cream Blog.

NAMIE AMURO "Rock Steady" (PV).

What a hot video. I think it’s apparent that Namie (or her record label) are trying to cement her as the premier Japanese musical artist once again. Notice all the foreigners in the video? Someone is trying to push her internationally. Not at all a bad thing. She has, after all, thoroughly conquered her homeland, so what else is there? Don’t be surprised if you see her in a U.S. movie release. Pat Field, who I almost worked for once, did the wardrobe and providing a look the west will find recognizably chic, combined with Namie's cool Japanese aesthetic, good looks & talent, I am sure Hollywood is not too far down the road.

Sixteen Year Old Boy Gets His Freak On In A Saitama Hostess bar.

Man, I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time. I was just going through today’s latest news in my NetNewsWire reader when I came across this funny tale of a Japanese lad running up an outrageous bar tab at, what sounds like, one of those cheezy Japanese hostess bars where all the salaryman type go after work to get buck wild before going home to their wives & families.

This youngster, all of sixteen years old - what? a high school sophomore - went to said hostess-type bar in Niiza, Saitama, just outside Tokyo, and ran up a P. Diddy-sized tab of ¥370,000 ($3,460.21/€2,369.94) on bottles of top shelf champagne, 60 cocktails and “four or five hostesses”. He walked in the joint at 10:30 PM and at 4:30 in the morning, when presented with his bill, told them he didn’t have any money to pay. I’m amazed he didn’t get his ass kicked.

They called the police and after they arrived, it was revealed that the suspect (name withheld because of age) was a mere child, that now only applies in the chronological sense. The young man certainly has gone were no Japanese teen has gone before, but it certainly cost him. I find it particularly interesting that this kid knew how to order drinks & hold a conversation with several grown women.

Talk about swag. Two things I am willing to bet, one - he is now the king of his daigaku and two - he probably did get that ass-whuppin’ when he got home because somebody had to pay for that. However, I am pretty sure dad’s pride held him in check a bit.

Source: Japan Today.

Rachelle Leah in Complex.

I’ve got to get at the folks at USPS because since I’ve moved, I gotten everything I usually get in the mail - bills, bills, junk mail, bills, bank statement, more bills - but what I have not gotten is my still currently subscribed to issues of Complex.

Because if I had got my copy of Complex, I would have been seen this layout and said something about it. Well, as the saying goes, better late than never. You all can hit the link to see more of the Spike T.V./UFC knockout.

Complex.

SLY & THE FAMILY STONE "If You Want me To Stay".

MacBook Air TV Ad.

Leah Dizon & Hikaru Utada On Japanese T.V.

Yet another great dailymotion find of J-Pop idols Leah Dizon and Hikaru Utada on T.V., I thought this was pretty funny in that nutty, goofy way these Japanese shows often are. Even if you don’t understand Japanese this stuff is just retarded.

Jarah Mariano.

Even the missus thinks Jarah is hot. So, as long as Ikue is not complaining… and being as how I’ll never even breath the same air as this super-fine Hawai’ian model, I will continue to give in to my obsession. Tee-hee.

Yves Sant Laurent.

Sick.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Something tells me this will be the hot TV series this spring, but with a cast member like Summer Glau, how could it not be? I’d pick her to guard my life over Arnold any day. I plan on catching the two night premiere tomorrow night and Monday night. Studying be damned. The rest of the cast includes Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker and Richard T. Jones.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Blood On The Dancefloor: NYC's Stereo Nightclub Closed Down.

I was just reading in the Gothamist that NYC nightclub, Stereo has been shut down by the NYPD. I had been hoping to check it out one day since it has had a variety of old friend’s names attached to it. From DJ/producer Angel Moraes who designed the sound system to Mark Ronson’s kid sister, fashion designer Samantha Ronson who had a hand in designing the interior, to Matteo and Jus Ske who frequently manned the decks. According to news reports there was a shooting death there two days ago and that was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

There were the obvious drug violations (duh, New York City, nightclub…), you’ve heard it all before - busted coke dealers, owed taxes, violated ordinances, quality of life, blah, blah, blah. Same old song and dance. I want to cue up Mark’s Smith’s cover, “Stop Me (if You Think that you’ve Heard This One Before)”. It’s like a Peter Gatien/Twilo/Sound Factory/Studio 54 merry-go-round. That is the one constant in New York Nightlife; old clubs close, new ones open. However, it’s quite the buzz kill when they close prematurely like this. There are only two things people ever notice in nightclubs, when the record skips a beat or when someone dies. Same cycle in all aspects of life. The only difference is this one has a soundtrack.

It’s a shame, though. It always is when someone loses their life, and when it happens in a world that tries to cut itself off from all of life’s harsh realities, it can be particularly stunning. Clubland is where people go to lose themselves and disconnect from pain and sorrow and the harsh reality that this could be their last night on earth. When that facade is pulled away and the illusion shattered, just as it was when club promotor Michael Alig murdered Angel, a nice kid who got involved with drug dealing, back in 1996. Unfortunately, when the shock fades away and the disturbance becomes a faded memory, everyone just slips back into their trance. Lessons go unlearned and history repeats itself. Another one of life’s little cycles.

Stereo.

Source: The Gothamist.

Chloë Sevigny For Opening Ceremony.

Every time I see Chloë Sevigny on TV, the big screen or at an awards show I’m like “wow, this girl used to be my personal assistant”. Back in the 90s, when I was still throwing parties, if you spoke to a girl on the phone about the guestlist for one of my events, you were probably talking to the future Oscar® nominee. Last time our paths crossed, about 5 years ago, I was really happy to see the really sweet, super-cool girl I knew was still there under that glamorous exterior.

Word dropped that she was putting out a clothing line designed with Opening Ceremony last summer and she had a show last fall during New York Fashion Week. I was surprise by the negative reaction to her line. I thought it was practical and interesting and fit casual urbanites like Chloë. Check out Chloë discussing the line with Style.com last fall by hitting the first link and see pics of the spring collection by hitting the second. All you cool, interesting girls out there would do well to add some of these pieces to your spring wardrobe. When we head up to New York in March, I will definitely be picking something up for the missus.

It’s great to see positive people succeeding in life.

Chloë Sevigny Interview with Style.com.

Papermag.

Maroon 5 Tokyo Dates.

Get ready, Tokyo… the always dapper, ever soulful pop pinup Adam Levine and his Maroon 5 band mates are headed your way. They’ll have two shows in Tokyo that will be will coincide with spring break which means any M5 fans stateside can have a truly amazing spring break this year with flights at a reasonable $1,000 round trip from the east coast and even less from the west coast. Hey, if it works for any of you I know some really affordable places to stay there. It is definitely something I will be considering myself. The shows are March 10th & 11th at 7pm and will be at the historic Nippon Budokan in Kudanshita, central Tokyo. Tickets are a mere ¥8,000 and ¥7,000. For more info dial 03-3402-5999.

Maroon 5.

More Jarah Mariano.

Who needs a reason to post pictures of über-hottie, Jarah Mariano? Not I. I think the sequins are a nice touch. Sort of like sprinkles on a sundae.

Pierre et Gilles "Mercure".

Should I ever find myself in Paris, the one thing I will do just after I see the Eiffel Tower and right before hitting one of those legendary Parisian nightclubs is stop by the Galerie Jerome de Noirmont at 36-38 Avenue Matignon to seePierre et Gilles work on display, up close and personal. The artistic couple met at a Kenzo boutique opening and began collaborating artistically early in their relationship. Pierre shoots the work and Gilles paints over it. The results are striking and surreal. They have done some impressive work with Madonna, 80s punk Goddess, Nina Hagen and ad campaigns for designer Jean Paul Gaultier, to name but a few of their great accomplishments.

Pierre et. Gilles.
Galerie Jerome de Noirmont.

Excuse Me, What's A Vagina Doing In The Tom Ford for Men Ad?

Okay, let me just go on record as saying I’m as much a fan of vagina as the next heterosexual male. I think hey serve an incredibly valuable function in all societies. No, I won’t list them because I don’t think I have sell people on the value of the vagina (vaginae don’t exactly need any P.R.). I would definitely describe myself as pro-vagina, however, I don’t really understand what one is doing in the ads for Tom Ford’s men’s cologne.

Is that what the cologne smells like? An oily, or worse, sweaty vagina? I’m not really sure who’d wear it if that was the case. Did they pull the bottle out of that woman? I’m not underestimating the power of the punani or trying to keep it down in any way. I just never thought I’d see one pitching men’s cologne. It would would make one hell of a sample strip. You know those little paper strips they spray the cologne on for you to take a whiff, you know what I mean. Hmm… you know, they may actually sell more product that way. Never mind, I’m straying.

Anyway, this is not a diss on Tom Ford, whom I love. What fashion victim doesn’t? I think he’s truly one of the greatest designers the world has ever seen. There were quite a few times when I lived of off instant noodles for weeks at a time just so I could buy his designs for Gucci and YSL. I’m just wondering what he was thinking when he signed off on this ad. I don’t know. maybe I’m just getting old. Although, I do hope

no matter how old I get I don’t lose my love and admiration for that particular part of the female anatomy. In any case, the ad certainly did get my attention, which I suppose all ads strive to do. To see other female body parts doing their bit to hawk Tom Ford’s cologne, hit the link below.

Tom Ford.

Zi Lin Zhang: Eye Candy of The Day.

Zi Lin Zhang, Miss World 2007, is a 23 year old, 5 foot 9 inch, world-rocking stunner from Hei Bei province in China। Hei bei bei is right. Check out some shots of this classic beauty on Kineda.

Kineda.