Wow. This is inspirational right here. If anyone in the past few years deserved to blow-up and really step into fame, it’s the man John Legend. With heavy sales, heavy tours, heavy collaborations, heavy everything…and for sure heavy style. This dude is sharp! And now it looks like John Legend will be sharing ad space with the other greats (sjp!) for GAP starting in July. That’s too fresh, I’m actually personally happy for the dude. THE BRILLIANCE! loves John Legend. Yo, anybody remember when LL did the GAP ads? That corny kiss/peace-sign move he did?! Too funny…
I think I’m late on this, but I’m not sure. While browsing Getty I came across a press conference/launch party for the whole Audemars Piguet x Jay-Z thing that happened a while back. The party was on the 7th of June and they also had three special edition iPod’s that I believe came with the watch. They are inscribed on the back with one of his lyrics and his signature. The iPods come in three colors to match the finishes of the watches; stainless, gold, and rose gold. But seriously, am I late and are these official from Apple? I would think so…anyway. I gotta go check eBay, I kind of want one.
HA. Ok, so, if you aren’t familiar with Buddyhead.com, you need to be. Seriously. I just randomly checked the site today and they updated the gossip section for the first time in 3 months, and it is just as classic as always. You CANNOT go wrong with the writing on Buddyhead, for example…“The Used & My Chemical Romance ‘joining forces’ on that Queen cover reminds me of that time I had a migraine and explosive diarrhea at the same time,” and “Weezer is going on tour with The Pixies. Thousands of fat nerdy emo gorilla girls are already sweating just at the thought of this.” HA. Man. Head over to Buddyhead, read up on what’s REALLY good in the world of indie and rock n’ roll, and make sure you check out the best & worst of the year archives. They are a must read. Shouts to Buddyhead for doing their thing for years now, and providing everyone with crude entertainment and cell phone numbers for Fred Durst.
The 3 best DVD’s I own are the Spike Jonze, Chris Cunningham, and Michel Gondry Director’s Label DVD’s. I can watch them over and over again for inspiration and I do quite often. So, PALM decided to put out four more DVD’s! Coming September is the work of Mark Romanek, Jonathan Glazer, Anton Corbijn, and Stephane Sednaoui. Romanek is probably my favorite, having directed Jay-Z, NIN, Fiona Apple, and more…But that does not mean the others aren’t equally as brilliant. Jonathan Glazer directed the UNKLE video “Rabbit In Your Headlights,” so that alone is worth the money to buy the DVD. September 15. Sah-weeeeeeet.
Seems like this device isn’t getting a lot of attention…hmm. While I don’t know if I’m going to purchase one as of yet, I really like this idea. Super good idea. Here is the run down… Life Drive runs a version of Palm’s OS and has Bluetooth, wifi, has a 4gb hard drive, mp3 player, email program, big screen, etc, basically its just a PDA with some add-ons. What grabs my attention is that it is one of the first with both wifi and Bluetooth while having huge storage space. All it’s missing is the phone feature. But with wifi, you could easily use Skype. I’m trying to tell people. In NYC, LA, Chicago, Philly, all these places with wifi all over… Why have a cell phone if you have Skype and AIM everywhere you go? While this device doesn’t have everything needed, it’s getting close. These are just my thoughts. Wild nerdy.
Some good ‘Sunday reading’… This is a back issue from Frame magazine with an interview/feature on the genius behind Tokyo-based WonderWall… I have written about his work before on THE BRILLIANCE! and most people are already familiar with his work in one way or another…but if you’re not, he is the man behind every Bathing Ape store and or related space, he has done stuff for LV, Marc Jacobs, Beams, and various other stores. This is a good solid read up on who Katayama is both as a designer and a bit of insight into his process along with his personality type stuff too. Thanks to Sally for the link. And seriously, this man will design a condo/house for me within the next 15 years…or something.
Whoa on the cover… You have to love the V magazine covers. In fact, they have great content and all, but their covers, paper quality and sheer size are what made me start buying them…and that gold foil LV monogram cover was just too much. Anyway though, the new one is out. Go cop it. Some revealing stories on Kate Moss, ‘the most famous face in fashion’, and various other write-ups on Ciara, hot girls from Brazil, and other stuff, etc… This is hands down my favorite coffee table style magazine. And do this: browse through it at B&N or wherever, then put the copy you read back on the shelf, cause you creased up and bent the corners, and buy a fresh one. THE BRILLIANCE! loves this magazine.
This is just really, really hot. Got the news about this from Mr. Cody Hudson (Struggle Inc.!) who is also part of this project. Along with others like Evan Hecox, Michael Leon, Rostarr, and more, Arkitip selected ten artists who have appeared in the magazine in the past to work on classic 1950 Fiberglass Modernica rocking chairs. This will be on display at Modernica in LA from June 16-July 16. More info at the link below. Also, I am told that a book will accompany the event, so you know you don’t want to miss that, for real!
Marc Jacobs x words x paper x cover x binding…I guess this is his answer to that big-ass (but awesome) Tom Ford book. I’ll be honest, I haven’t read this, and I don’t own it. Odds of me owning it are slim, but odds of me reading-it-and-putting-it-back-on-the-shelf are quite high. Actually, this book should be quite interesting…It’s the first time someone has taken an all-encompassing look at Marc’s 20 years in fashion and everything he has accomplished. Everything from the super-grunge style of his first collections all the way up to being the man at Louis Vuitton. 80 pages, written by Bridget Foley. Check it out. I may have changed my mind… It’s only $18.95, maybe I should buy it.
I’ve had Richard’s site in my favorites for a while now but only recently rediscovered it, and wow…let me just say, being that I am a professionally working artist myself and have seen just about everything under the sun in terms of artists’ portfolios, styles, and work, Richard Gray may just take the cake for the most beautiful and original illustration work that I’ve seen in a very, very long time, maybe ever. Not really sure what else to say, because you have to just see for yourself. Richard, get at me, I want to work and learn with you. For real. I need a print or an original!! While you’re at it, check out the Art Department site Richard’s work is hosted and repped by.
