Fuck Buttons, Use Zippers

On the last day of 2008, I was granted a wish.  I finally found out the name of the song that I kept on hearing on KXLU.  Dj Sean was playing it for a while and low and behold, he played it again today.  This was the first time I thought of calling in and finding out what it was.  Why didn't I think of that earlier?  I'm pleased to present to you "Sweat Love for Planet Earth" by Fuck Buttons from the United Kingdom.

Japanese wunderkind Junya Watanabe wins for best use of zippers from his Spring 05 collection.  I love how he turns the zippers into gold jewelry and makes it all look strangely Egyptian somehow. 

 

Christmas Angel

This is the finale of the Fall 06 Alexander McQueen collection entitled "Windows of Culloden" dedicated to the late and great Isabella Blow.  Model: Kate Moss

Beam me up Kewpie

I remember sneaking off to a Bikini Kill concert when I was in high school.  I told my mom I was just hanging out with a friend because she was afraid of concerts (she's an immigrant and thought they always ended in a stampede).  Emily's Sassy Lime and F.Y.P opened the show.  I saw F.Y.P several times after that show because they have a great stage presence (lots of antics involving spit and swallowing microphones).  Here's the "You'll Hear My Voice" video from Todd C. of F.Y.P., Toys That Kill, and Bible Children.  It's set to a Tarako (cod roe) Pasta sauce by Kewpie commercial.  Charmed?  See more Tarako here.  Curious?  Learn more about Kewpie and Tarako here.  Fascinated?  Dress up Tarako here.

oh oh eye oh oh

I heard this song called UMA by OOIOO on KXLU a while back and became obsessed with it.  It seemed to always be on the radio whenever I was in my car for a week.  I guess all the deejays at the station were obsessed with it too.  Hearing new good songs that I would never find on my own is the best thing about KXLU.  Lets face it,  I'm not a spring chicken and I don't have the stamina anymore to be obsessed with a music scene.  I'm glad someone I trust can do it for me.  KXLU the best station ever.  I was fortunate this time to find out what song it was.  I haven't been so successful with the last few songs that I wanted to find out more about.  So life goes.

This is UMO also by OOIOO.  It has cute creatures in it.

Christmas Musical

This is a super cute, super Japanese potty training video for kids.  I wonder if this video inspired Trey and Matt of South Park to create Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo.

Paris-Tokyo Part Deux

Now that we have covered Japan's influence on European design, let's take a look at from the other side of the mirror.  Jun Takahashi, designer, founder, and president of Tokyo based, Undercover has one of the most refreshing views on fashion.  He is very daring in a unassuming way at times, which I find quite daring.  Lately, his collections have been focused on ladylike dressing, but with a new sensibility.  It's great to see a designer that is not bound by their past or tied to a certain image that has been attributed to them by the media.     

These pictures and video are from the Spring 09 show shown in Paris. 

  

Double Dutch

Victor and Rolf have been around for over a decade now.  They received a lot of attention when their career first started in Haute Couture and rightly so.  Now that they have a bonafide fashion house with men's and women's collections along with top selling perfumes, it's easy to forget about their creative magnitude.  

In 2006, the duo designed an exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam entitled Women from Tokyo and Paris.   This East meets West dance performance accompanied the exhibition.  

Music: Eddy de Clercq, Choreography: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa,
Concept & design: Siebe Tettero, Viktor Horsting, Rolf Soeren

This House Is On Fire

Janet Weiss must be tired.  She had to do double duty for Burn to Shine project.  Here she is again with her now defunct band Sleater-Kinney playing "Modern Girl" off their last album The Woods.

I know everyone is asking about the burning house.  Did they really burn it down?  Here is the house burning down after the musical show.

Quasi Modo

More music kids.  Quasi is a Portland based band made up of Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss.  I don't know which one is the heart and which one is the soul, but I know they have plenty to share with the world.  This clip is from the Burn to Shine- Portland edition, a project that involves burning down a condemned house after a group of curated local bands play in it.  It's a medley of "Peace and Love" "Beyond the Sky" from the album When the Going Gets Dark.

Hugs, Bears, and Kisses

In honor of Day Without a Gay- Call in Gay Day, I'd like to share with you a video by the English band Huggy Bear.  "Pansy Twist" is from their monumental 1993 album Taking the Rough with the Smooch.

America the Beautiful

This is a great sketch from French and Saunders about America and it's dream.  Sad, but true.

MMMMMMM Mugler

There's not much to say about Thierry Mugler, except that he is indeed a very special talent.  I feel the fashion world has been easily amused by some new and young "designers" that may be lacking in the talent department and then I feel bad and think I'm being too critical.  Then I go back and look at some old fashion footage of Mugler's Haute Couture collections and take it all back. I'm not being too critical at all, if anything my expectations have sunken lower over the years.  This is what fashion should be about- new ideas, unbridled creativity, and impeccable workmanship melded into one.     

These clips are from Thierry Mugler's spring/summer 1997 Haute Couture collection.  Look out for larger than life supermodel Jerry Hall.

13 going on 30

30 years later from the performance of the last post comes these two.  One is from Beyonce at the American Music Awards singing and dancing to the song "Single Ladies."  This act is basically the music video created live because I guess everyone loves the special dance moves created for the song.  The next video is from Britney Spears doing "Womanizer" on Good morning America.  I don't think either of these women are particularly talented or captivating.  But, because they are peers and are at the top of the pop music pyramid (dung heap), I think they will be good subjects to illustrate my point.  What's left when you don't have natural talent or a compelling persona?  That's right- hard work.  This great American value accounts for most of the success in this country.  Who cares if someone's work is of quality and brings good to people's lives as long as it make money for a handful of people.  Hard work is really a great virtue that evens the playing field- nonracial affirmative action at its best.  

As much as I think hard work is worthless without the foundation of talent and somewhat overrated, look at the difference between these two performances.  Beyonce is hitting it pretty hard and obviously worked worked her butt off to nail this routine.  I'd have to say the black and white Armani Prive coat and dance panties informing the black and white backup dancer's costumes informing the black and white dancers was pretty smart.  I also liked that the set was only composed of bright lights and a little dance ramp- pretty minimal.  On the other side of the spectrum, you have Britney.  Britney, you definitely have my crazy.  All of the pyrotechnics and circus freaks could not distract you from her lack of energy and apathy while performing her song.  I wonder why she didn't perform a ballad, or come up with a creative show that required little physical activity?  I guess hard work does go pretty far by pop standards.

Oh Mandy

Amanda Lear is the famous model/singer/actress/TV personality introducing Grace Jones a couple of posts ago on the Italian TV show Stryx.  This performance of "Follow Me" on Stryx is the video I wanted to be the main video, but it was disabled.  Please click on the link.  I love how creative the set designers and choreographers got.  I think if this was done today, they would of relied heavily on dopy computer animation.  Bravo Team Stryx.  

Amanda's real past and identity is unknown.  She was Salvador Dali's muse and some say she might be his greatest work of art.  Whatever the truth is, I'm sure it will make a great movie, at the very least a great made for TV movie.

This clip is also from Stryx.  Enjoy.

This is Amanda's Alphabet

Sexxxy Nun on the Run

Wow!  I guess Italy has a love affair with Grace Jones.   Here is a duet from Luciano Pavarotti's fundraising concert Pavarotti and Friends.  She looks amazing.  Now thats what I call great taste.

Chaises and tigers and fog! Oh, my!

This is a clip of Grace Jones singing, dancing, and seducing on an Italian television show called Stryx.  This show aired the same year I was born and it is a lot more daring and interesting than anything from a performer in the last two decades (Janet Jackson's nipple was not that intriguing and the performance with Beyonce and Sugarland at the VMAs might run a close second).  I love the set with the chaise lounges, fake fog, animal fur, and live tiger.  It's a really great combo.  Grace is awesome because she really knows how to go for it.