Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" Album Art...

...is the best. Album. Art. Ever.

Finally, an artist gets creative with their cover art. Coldplay is not a rebellious band. They are not new-wave, punk, or any brand this album art says they are. They're freaking pop. This art is...not.

The painting, which I actually saw in person last summer, is by a French artist (Eugene something, I believe) and depicts Republican rebels overtaking France in the 1820s. The female centered supposedly represents the French spirit. Besides my love for all things French, the spattered letters bring this album art to unprecedented "cool" levels. It's even cooler when compared to Madonna's recent cover, which is hideous, or even Coldplay's XY (unique but ultimately very boring).

Recalling the mood of early 80's disco records, where men wore chiffon and makeup like homosexual pirates, Viva La Vida's cover art is taking Coldplay's image in an entirely new direction. That is, if their music can follow their kick-ass cover art.

Pre-Hard Candy review

Okay, so I've been reading a lot of reviews of Madonna's new album Hard Candy today, and I have to "interrupt" and write down how I feel about the album.

I love (most) of it, because--like Moby's Last Night--it is completely cutting edge, with the exception of "4 Minutes," which is by far one of the weakest tracks on the new album.

I'll write more later, but the ridiculously wide range of opinion on the new album left me compelled to get my feelings in writing. Entertainment Weekly and The New York Times loved the album, calling it a return to glory. All Music Guide gave the album the lowest review (2/5 stars) of any Madonna album to date--even lower than B-sides and live albums. Then again, All Music Guide misspelled Cialis "Cialisis." SO WHAT DO THEY KNOW?!?

Herringbone Toms

I ordered some herringbone Toms a few days ago and just got them in today. (If at this point you're trying to figure out why I always order everything: Tom's is a shoe company/charity hybrid, and the charity component only works if you buy shoes direct--online.) They're pretty extreme, yes, but they fit really well with blacks, dark colors, etc. Prints are so trendy, they are always floating in and out of style. With a bold shoe you can add an edge to whatever you're wearing without a noisy print jamming up your style.


Because they're Toms, they fit like a slipper (some would argue they look like one, too), but sturdy construction keeps them fresh for as long as you can stand the eventual "Tom reek" that appears after about six months of use. Gross, yes, but it's just a fact of Tom wear-age.

My old Toms ripped on the first day, but I superglued them and they are still in great shape. They were light brown burlap Toms. Here's a link to the Toms website if you want to read up on their charity or buy some of these awesomely priced shoes.


[Confession: Holy crap. Pharell's work with Madonna paid off in diamonds! Cash money diamonds, that is! I'll post a review tomorrow, when the album is released.]

Mad Style: Jenna Bush!?

This whole issue has been way overblown, but for anyone who doesn't know, Jenna Bush (the prettier of Bush's two daughters) declined to say she would support John McCain this Fall on Larry King Live. Not a big deal.

However, watching the clip, I think she deserves props for saying "I don't know" in front of the whole nation; by process of elimination, she may support either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Which, in my mind, makes her way hardcore (or way trendy, if her support of Obama goes as deep as Kim Kardashian's).

President and Laura Bush seem like very nice people, but for Jenna to grow up in an extremely forced Republican household (surrounded by the GOP elite) and question her support of the republican presidential front-runner is astounding.

On the topics of politics, I retract my "I'm officially 100% Hillary/Obama neutral" statement and have gone back to being a Clinton supporter. She takes the crap of the campaign so well, and an interesting Wall Street Journal op-ed I read this morning applauded her ability to absorb and deflect her opponents' attacks. Speaking of her prime opponent, Obama doesn't play as fair as his campaign likes us to think. He pretends to be all "honorable" in debates but calls Hillary "old politics" off camera. He's not the real thing. He thinks that by speaking well and posing as JFK he can reform American politics. Politics just needs some men and women who aren't egocentric. I don't think Hillary is. Barack, I don't know.

I'm still a fan of both of them, though, and if anything my support is now something like 60% Hillary and 40% Obama, down from about 55% Obama last week. Who's the next campaigner to make a political blunder? Let's hope it's John McCain.

More Marc + A little Adam

I'm starting to think Bluefly is a mistake altogether.

I've ordered around ten different items from bluefly.com, and only a handful of those have I kept. However, concerning my two most recent orders, I'm sort of on the fence.

1. White "running shorts" from Adam.


In total, they only cost around $35, and I think they fit great, but it all depends on how willing I am to spend $35 on cotton running shorts...the shorts have great details, as well, but the waist is maybe 1/2" too small.

Chances of keeping the Adam whities: 85%



2. Marc by Marc Jacobs "Hollow Black" blazer

Now, I really like the fit of this from the front. It's got the signature Marc Jacobs shoulder (raised and square-cut), but the sewing is kind of shabby in my opinion. I'm not sure about the color, either. What can I wear with this? My dark sevens are such a severe blue the jacket looks green on top of them. I could wear them with black denim, maybe, but I don't own black denim and this jacket isn't great enough to warrant a purchase like that.

On top of this "what goes" conundrum, I spent nearly $200 on something I feel is not worth that much. And that was after a 70% drop in price. I have 90 days to return the jacket, which is plenty of time to gather opinions and see if a good ironing job takes out all the kinks.

Chance of keeping the Marc blazer: 30% (chances I'll feel ripped off either way: 95%)

Fergie: A Legitimate Proposal

Fergie (a.k.a. Stacey Ferguson) is a total badass. She's not the prettiest flower in the field (stem not included), but she's persistent, completely open about her oft-shallow lyrics, and has an extremely definitive style for sell-out pop radio. She wasn't always sell-out pop radio either, spending half a decade in the adult-alternative rock band Wild Orchid. But this is not about Fergie as a person. This is about Fergie as a rapper.

Female rappers are never on the radio anymore. "Lights Go Off," Foxy Brown's November 2007 attempt at a comeback, did not even chart. Honestly, if these women weren't in jail so often perhaps their music would play on the radio. Fergie, on the other hand, is relatively wholesome in the criminal category and has mad rhythm. She's demonstrated her rapping abilities on a number of ridiculous songs, like the genre-defining "My Humps," the horrid 2008 Nelly duet "Party People," and apparently the new Sex & The City movie "theme song." Like "My Humps," she starts rapping near the end, mostly listing labels and designers (a Fergie constant), and seriously--magic happens.

Therefore, in light of this evidence, I propose Fergie's next album be heavily weighted in reggae-tinged rap. Nelly raps in tune (which is strange, but works for him), and Fergie should do the same. Or perhaps the way they "rap" is really just singing quickly? I don't know, and I don't care. I'm ready for the next Fergie album to be under the "Genre: Rap" label on iTunes.

Frank Miller, always amazing

Above is a poster for the upcoming film The Spirit. Suffice it to say I was not excited about the film until this poster surfaced earlier this week on I Watch Stuff. Sure, it's Eva Mendes, who has an earthy hotness that really can't be explained--or maybe it can (pursed lips, perfectly curved eyebrows, beauty mark, that luscious behind)--but either way, her face expression brings this shot to another level. In fact, the film takes what could be seen as a good imitation of The Invisible Woman (played by the less-enticing Latina, Jessica Alba) in the Fantastic Four posters and drastically improves the circumstances so this film is immediately interpreted as more "artsy" than the latter or any other superhero film coming out this year (gasp!). This is especially true of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, two films playing their 13-year-old market as hard as they can.

Most importantly, however, the poster perfectly captures the vibe Frank Miller has cultivated over the years, which reinforces his already impressive brand. Below is another of his works, Sin City, a decent film but great art piece.


He even uses the same font! I love it!