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June 30, 2004
Taking the Baby Phat Out of Hip-Hop Mogulette Kimora Lee Simmons and Those Magazine Ads
Why is it nobody seems willing to say what they've been secretly thinking for years now: Kimora Lee Simmons is a freak. Perhaps it's the modelling pedigree and the years spent wearing Karl Lagerfeld's legendary couture. That and the jolting image of her mind-bogglingly slim figure, which, if you've only seen recent tabloid photos of her from the neck up, comes as a surprise because her puffed out face and big hair suggest a body of, let's say, wider girth.
Her pro-basketall-player height (6'4") further suggests that Kimora is a classic "Amazon women" all the way. (Ed. note: We think Amazons are super-cool.) But then there are those exceptionally slender legs and that lithe figure, stunningly displayed in a new series of ads for her fashion brand, Baby Phat. One look at the ads and you'll see what Lagerfeld saw and more importantly what hip-hop-culture mogul Russell Simmons saw and later married.
Russell may have married more than he bargained for. Kimora has developed something of a reputation among gossipy media types as a materialistic super beee-otch! But, hey, Russell was an admitted "serial model dater" since way back in the day (for more on model daters, see season one, episode one, of Sex and the City) so he may have been blinded by Kimora's elite status as an international catwalk star. Or, being the savvy entreprenuerial Blackberry-toting dynamo that he is, maybe he was thinking of all the synergistic opportunities as he gradually morphs into the hip-hop Donald Trump.
According to quotes in a recent New York magazine article, Lagerfeld and model Tyra Banks have experienced Kimora Lee at her worst ...
"'It's a wonderful thing I've created with you,' Lagerfeld told her that fall, 'but now you're a $5,000-tote-bag-wearing monster, and for that, I am sorry. Now sit down and be quiet!' Kimora requested Tyra Banks as her roommate in one model apartment, and they tried to visit every Häagen-Dazs store in Paris. 'She always had the new Prada bag and would laugh at me because mine was from Wal-Mart,' says Banks."
Anyhooooo, New York, continuing its march towards greater journalistic content under former Times-man Adam Moss, did a fascinating treatment on the Kimora Lee phenom as the model-turned-hip-hop-wife-turned-entrepenuer ascends the world of high-fashion and luxuriates in the spoils of financial betterment at her New Jersey mansion.
On the business side, what's most fascinating is that recent Baby Phat ad campaign (see photos above). The brand and women's fashion line is a carefully architected spin-off (or line extension, as they they) from hubby Russell Simmons's Phat Farm clothing and retail empirelet. The ads use photos taken in the Simmons's sprawling home with Kimora and her children posing as models while uniformed Latina maidservants look on surrounded by parvenu opulence.
Some non-profit activist group somewhere is just itching to be offended by these ads. We just can't stop gawking at the spreads and trying to deconstruct them and distill the underlying message (see, kids, that Media Theory class in college wasn't a complete waste). But it may be much simpler than all that. Behind the ads is the basic fashion photographer's adage for compelling subject matter: show attractive people, doing attractive things in attractive places.
--Instamatic
RELATED LINKS
The New Queen of Conspicuous Consumption [NY Mag]
Baby Phat Web Site
Baby Phat Summer 2004 Adverstising Campaign
Baby Phat Fall 2002 Photos
Big Phat Bid [Vogue Magazine, U.K.]
Phoenix House Honors Russell Simmons [Wire Image]
Brilliant Careers: Russell Simmons [Salon]
Rush Hour [Fast Company Magazine]
Minority Entrepreneurs: Legends--Russell Simmons [Fortune]
Russell Simmons, Unplugged [CBS 60 Mins.]
America's 25 Most Fascinating Entrepeneurs [Inc. Mag]
Posted by typhoon at 08:09 PM
COMMENTS (3)
June 25, 2004
Brit Comedian Graham Norton Lands at Comedy Central with The Graham Norton Effect
"So, like, what's with this hyperactive spikey-hair gay dude with the British accent reviewing Internet porn?" our guest asked. Our visitor, a culturally-deprived Southern Californian with a fake-bake then added, "Like, dude, this guy needs a Ritalin prescription and a one-way plane ticket back to London like right now!" Okay, so not everyone is instantly smitten with Graham Norton. But then again, this is America, not the U.K., where Norton is the hottest and funniest man on British television. And then again, Norton probably doesn't care what a twenty-something California girl with a fake tan thinks of him.
In Britain, Norton reigns supreme with the television sensation So Graham Norton, a talk show-like hour of assorted comedy bits, bawdy humor, celebrity chat and interactive stunts involving his audience. The show often includes segments that are--in the U.K.--shockingly funny and in questionable taste.
In one example, Norton, his guests and a studio audience review Internet porn Web sites, with Norton scrolling through a site on a computer.
It is a barely modified verison of this format that Comedy Central is producing for the American public. The U.S. production of the show is called the Graham Norton Effect and is taped in New York in front of a live studio audience. The show premiered Thursday night on the popular cable TV comedy channel. Twelve more episodes are scheduled. (The program will air Thursdays at 10 P.M. ET/9 CT.)
The Graham Norton Effect is more like a collection of post-modern side shows than the straight-up talk show with comedian as host. There's no opening monologue. And while there are celebrity guests, there is virtually no interview-style chat. Instead, guests participate in whatever bizarre antics Norton has dreamed up.
In the debut American episode, Norton and one of his guests, stand-up comedienne Sandra Bernhard visited a Web site run by a man who has a thing for toothy grins and has a close-up picture of Bernhard's gap-toothed smile on his Internet site. They then called the man and Bernhard chatted with him.
During the hour-long program, Norton zips in and out throwing zings and one-liners like sharp darts, that is, when he's not otherwise already dominating the dialogue and shepherding the show from one off-beat segment to the next with ADD-esque momentum. The Irish-born comedian is contstantly in motion and and sucks up most of the oxygen in the room. His guests can barely manage to get in a word edgewise; A meaningful comment is virtually impossible.
The Graham Norton Effect seems incoherent and shapeless, but this just might be because Americans have a set idea of what a show that looks like a comedic talk show is supposed to look like. Letterman, Conan, Leno, Stewart, Killborn--we've got their routine down: Open with a monlogue, share repartee with a sidekick, perhaps the house band leader, do some very short topical comedy sketches, follow with two--sometimes one, sometimes three--guests plugging their new movie/TV show/book/CD/agenda, and then end with a live performance by a musical guest, if any. Roll credits. Go home.
But comparing Norton to America's late-night television royalty is unfair. There is nothing on U.S. television like The Graham Norton Effect. We couldn't take our eyes off the show (despite our visitor from Cali imploring us to change the channel.) Though some of Norton's laughs and one-liners seem spontaneous, the show is carefully planned. At times, a joke goes right over the audience's head or there's barely a titter to an off-cuff remark, but you'd be hard pressed to note it because Norton doesn't let that stop him. He just keeps rolling on.
Norton, who is openly gay, has the overly extroverted and dishy savoir faire of Carson Kressly from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, but taken down a notch. But he could learn a few things about fashion from Mr. Kressly. Norton has a penchant for wearing loud suits and has been awarded the dubious distinction of worse-dressed man by British GQ magazine.
Whether or not Comedy Central will opt for a second season of the Graham Norton Effect will depend on whether America (and tanned girls in L.A.) warms to the show's off-beat formula and energetic host. Norton's British show, which he hasn't abandoned, has six seasons under its belt and will resume production back in London after the initial Comedy Central stint in New York ends.
--Instamatic
Graham Norton Effect Homepage at Comedy Central
RELATED LINKS
Graham Norton Web Page at Channel 4 in the UK
Unofficial Graham Norton Web Site
Wikipedia Entry on Graham Norton
He's Gay, Naughty and Tops in Britain [CNN]
So Television Company Web Site
Posted by Supercore at 08:19 PM
June 19, 2004
Spiderman Takes Gotham: Marketing of Movie Sequel Brings Giant Spidey to NYC High-Rise
Guess who's coming to New York? Yes, that's right, your favorite arachnid-human mutant turned crime-fighting superhero: Spiderman! Though real-life Gotham (not Gotham City--that's for Batman, kids) is Spidey's stomping ground on celluloid, on June 30th he swings in to megaplexes worldwide in Spiderman 2, one of the most-hyped movies of summer 2004.
But before the tsunami of television ads and billboards gathers full force and steals a bit of your precious mindshare, the marketing geniuses for Sony Pictures have come up with a clever form of advertising. If you passed through Union Square, in New York, recently, you may have caught an an eyeful of a super-sized Spiderman clinging to a high-rise. (See above photo.)
The larger than life Spidey is a balloon like the ones in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but way cooler. Instead of floating down Central Park West pulled by a platoon of handlers, this balloon is crawling along the side of a Manhattan apartment building.
The above photo was snapped by Air Massive's generalissimo, Ivan Corsa, and was originally posted on the Global Graphica Web site.
We don't have the 411 on whether this giant Spiderman is appearing on skyscrapers in cities other than New York, either across the country or around the world. So if you've spotted the webbed wonder elsewhere, please drop us a line at the Massive or post a note below.
As for the Spiderman 2 movie itself, we've heard through the grapevine that it's awesome and has some surprising special effects. Tobey Maguire, of course, is back as Peter Parker and Spiderman. Kirsten Dunst is back as his leading lady. This being a sequel, we expect things to heat up a bit more between them on screen this time. Will Spiderman make the booty call? Find out June 30, kids!
******
BTW ... Listen up, Spiderman fans! Marvel Comics is publishing a special version of the comic for India. But this isn't just some translation job; the company is setting the story in the cities of the biggest country in South Asia (and the world's second most populous nation!). Some characters will wear turbans, and Spiderman will wear his webby red-and-blue leotard on the outside of his regular clothes (yeah, weird, huh?). He'll also have a Hindu-style name based on Spidey's civilian name, Peter Parker. India also has the planet's second largest film industry, so could an original Bollywood version of Spiderman be too far off?
--Rob "Superfriend" Samra
Photo: Marketing Spidey [Global Graphica]
RELATED LINKS
Official Spiderman Movie Web Site
Director Sam Raimi Talks "Spiderman 2" [Killer Movies]
Marvel Comics Web Site
Posted by Supercore at 08:28 PM
June 15, 2004
Shazam and Abracadabra! The Beastie Boys Return with Tribute to NYC: "To the 5 Boroughs"!
It's here. Finally. "To the 5 Boroughs" (Capitol Records), the Beastie Boys' highly-anticipated first full-length album in six years, has hit records shops and online music stores.
Six years! Damn, dawg! That's a long, long time!
"To the 5 Boroughs" is the Beastie Boys re-entry (don't call it a "comeback," as LL Cool J would say) to a world and a hip-hop culture much changed since the release of its last album, "Hello Nasty," in 1998. That was the era of the dotcom revolution, soaring stock markets, full-employment, a booming economy and what seemed like--at the time--a blindingly bright future.
"Hello Nasty" was pre-Napster and pre-9/11. A product of the Old Normal. In hip-hop terms, it was pre-Mos Def and pre-"Roots Come Alive." Outkast was a prophecy still waiting to be fulfilled and waiting to fill arenas. Jay Z was contemplating his next success, not retirement. Lil' Jon, Lil' Flip and Lil' Romeo were, well, way lil'er. And Eminem--who had even heard of Eminem? MTV was just one channel.
In other words, a lot has happened in six years. Not the least of which is that the Beasties have entered early middle age. So the question is do the Beastie Boys still have it? After six years, do they still have their mojo?
The anwser is yes ... and no. They've got the mojo--there's no doubt about that. But they're not quite the same Beastie Boys. And that, as Martha Stewart would say, is a good thing.
"To the 5 Boroughs" is the Beastie's sparest, most hip-hop record to date. Its tracks are more focused, tighter, groovier than the group's previous collections. The beats are thicker, heavier and hark to old-school hip hop, though not by emulating the old-school style but rather by sampling old school beats and rhythms and building them into an entirely new and original sound: Call it Beastie Boys 2004.
It is as nearly perfect an album as the Beasties have ever made. But "5 Boroughs" is not without its flaws. And no matter how many times we listen to it we can't help but think there's something missing.
"To the 5 Boroughs" has none of the forays into jazz, folksy ditties, dub or skate-punk that artfully punctuated and successfully relieved the main course of breakbeats, samples and mostly comic rap lyrics of preceding Beastie's albums.
This is not a weakness of the album, but a disappointment. Who can forget Lee Scratch Perry's sweet and poignant reggae-dub number on "Hello Nasty" or Money Mark Nishita's laidback, West Coast jazz-style keyboards on "Ill Communication." These surprises were gems that proved the Beastie Boys were so much more than meets the eye.
And rarely are the 15 tracks on "5 Boroughs" overweight with samples and noise as on earlier discs, especially "Hello Nasty," which--as wonderful a record as it is--at times felt over produced.
Only two tracks sound like they may have survived from the "Hello Nasty"-era repetoire: "Right Right Now Now" and "The Brouhaha," which are built on samples of harpsichord riffs.
The two stand out tracks are "Ch-Check It Out," which debuted a couple of months ago as a single, and "Triple Trouble," an instantly likeable tune sung partially by King Adrock (Adam Horovitz) in an exagerrated faux British accent.
"Triple Trouble" not only comes across as the disc's most polished and catchiest tune, it showcases the Beastie Boys' flow at its best while offering a tempered dose of the group's trademark goofiness. The track is a surprisngly spare number built around a lifted sample from the classic and really old-school hip hop track "Rapper's Delight," complete with funky piano riff and Latin cowbell percussion.
The Beastie Boys have never pulled punches with their lyrics, but more often these were humorous stabs, playful, comically barbed jabs, sometimes crude and borderline offensive. But on "5 Boroughs" the lyrical content is far more explicit in political expression than anything the rap trio has previously recorded. Four tracks into the album on "Time to Build," the Beastie Boys go to school on U.S. foreign policy and President Bush ...
We've got a president we didn't elect
the Kyoto treaty he decided to neglect
And still the U.S. just wants to flex
Keep doin' that wop we gonna break our necks
In the last third of the disc, the serious tone returns in "An Open Letter to NYC," a track that will have a lot of people talking. As with the album's title, the tune is a tribute to the Beastie Boys' home town and filled with references to 9/11 and post-terrorist-attack New York.
Since 9/11 we're still livin' and lovin' life we've been given.
Ain't nothin' gonna take that away from us.
We're lookin' pretty and gritty 'cause in the city we trust.
Dear New York I know a lot has changed.
2 towers down but you're still in the game.
We can't stop playing "Open Letter." It's infectious. Plus we're New Yorkers ourselves, so we're naturally curious given the tune's title. But a couple of things about the track seem off. In some way, the lyrics and rap style misfire. The Beasties' flow on "Open Letter" at moments feels too forced and unnatural and overly-enunciated, though it is precisely this latter quality that has endeared the trio's rap style on more comical turns at the mic. What's more, it's been close to three years since 9/11, so the song's sentiments seem already dated, unintentionally underscoring the fact that for most New Yorkers the collective grieving over 9/11 is long over. We needed this song two years ago. (But, hey, better late than never, right?).
But "Open Letter" isn't really a song about 9/11 anyway; it's a paean to the City That Never Sleeps and on that level it works best. The tune is also a surpisngly innovative recording, reworking sped-up snippets of edgy, undulating guitar riffs, which are offset by a muted, high-pitched hum of electronic feedback that provides the tune's underlying rhythmic tension.
"To the 5 Boroughs" is an enhanced CD, meaning it comes with a bonus digital video, "Rhyme the Rhyme Well," that will play on most computers. The video, directed by Adam Yauch (MCA) under the name of his alter-ego Nathaniel Hornblower, was shot on a Tribeca roof in the middle of a blizzard.
What "To the 5 Boroughs" ultimately proves is that MCA, Mike D. and Adrock can still rock a party and come correct on their mics in 2004. It also proves that rarest of birds in popular music: the ability to achieve longevity and remain relevant within a pop culture landscape that is changing faster than ever.
--Instamatic + Micropundit
Beastie Boys Web Site
RELATED LINKS
Beastie Boys Music Videos Online [BeastieBoys.com]
Posted by Supercore at 08:35 PM
June 08, 2004
Are Ya' or Ain't Ya' Ghetto Fabulous? Web Site Puts Your Hood-wise Fabulosity to the Test
Okay, so you're thinking about the weekend. You're thinking maybe--just maybe--you'll gussy yourself up and get together with your friends for a dusk-till-dawn marathon of clubbing, hip-hop music-video style, ya' know, sipping Cristal, bling-bling and all that shit. But, oh, what to wear? Dolce & Gabbana? Vuitton? Gucci? Does that Day-Glo blue Kangol hat go with that patterned black-and-lime-colored Versace shirt?
Damn it, kiddies! Pay attention--Getting the couture right is no laughing matter! If you're looking for a look, then maybe you should get your
booty-liscious self over to Ghettofabulous.com, a Web site devoted to weeding out the ghetto fabulous wannabes from the ghetto-fab real deal.
The Web site's tagline sums up the idea perfectly: "Who's Ghetto? Who Ain't? You Vote!" Ghetto Fabulous is a twist on the much-copied "Hot or
Not" idea made famous a few years ago by the Web site AmIHot.com.
There are four categries from which to choose when voting: "Fabulous," "Ghetto," "Ghettofabulous" and "None." On the left hand side of the Web
site is a "Ghett-O-Meter" showing the percentage of votes in each category for each photo and the total number of votes.
But how do you define ghetto fabulous? The site doesn't so much help to define the expression as much as demonstrate how widely opinion varies.
Some times we'd vote someone "Ghettofabulous" when the majority had voted that person merely "Ghetto." Other times our vote was in agreement
with the majority.
A brief sampling of about two-dozen photos suggests several styles. There are the truly ghetto fab, who are authentic and sublime. Then there
are the aspiring ghettofabulists, usually white men in their 20's who come across as a bad parody of a parody--think a clone of Jamie Kennedy's
B-Rad in Malibu's Most Wanted.
Then you've got the the crunky porn-star types, often clad in a thong, covered in still-dripping body mist and legs spread wide apart in a
louche pose. Finally there are the photos of folks who look like they're just doing this for a lark--tall, skinny WASPs dressed in tuxedoes and
standing in a verdant suburban backyard. As Missy Elliot would say, Whateva--Whateva!
After reviewing and voting on over a couple of hundred or so photos, our favorite and most ghetto fab goes to the girl pictured above. Now that,
little ones, is STYLE!
But look, kids, let thee be warned: GhettoFabulous.com is some addictive shit. It really is shocking how easy it is to get sucked into the Web
site and keep voting for hours and hours. It's kind of like Doritos: once you've had one, you just can't stop.
--Ivan "Micropundit" Corsa
Style Column: Beyond Ghetto Fabulous [LA Weekly]
RELATED LINKS
9 Definitions of Ghetto Fabulous [Urban Dictionary]
Culture: The Meaning Behind Ghetto Fabulous [Mr. Blunt]
Posted by typhoon at 10:55 PM
June 03, 2004
You've Seen the iPod, But Have You Seen the "iRaq"? Ads Get Extreme Makeover by NYC Artist
Forget 10,000 songs in your pocket. Forget the Apple iPod. The latest gadget fetish--if you believe what you see advertised-- is the "iRaq," which offers, as its poster's tagline reads, "10,000 volts in your pocket, guilty or innocent."
While the iRaq poster is a brilliant street-level spoof on the nearly ubiqituous ads for Apple Computer's immensely popular portable MP3 player, it also refers to the all-too-real Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal in an all-too-real country. As guerrilla street art goes, this is as political-activist as it gets.
This isn't the first time that the iPod poster has been treated to a third-party guerilla marketing campaign. Last year, an iPod owner, frustrated at Apple's poor handling of a then little-known battery flaw in the device, created a campaign in which he stencilled an anti-Apple message over New York City iPod posters.
So are we just seeing some clever street art? Or is this just an artful form of protest? Or both? Is it vandalism or fun for fun's sake? Whatever your take, it's a powerful example of culture-jamming made more potent by the Internet's exponential reach.
--Instamatic
RELATED LINKS
Cult of Mac Blog [Wired News]
Jamming Apple's iPod Posters [Wooster Collective]
Anti-convention Expression: Art or Trash? [Slash/Point]
iPod lounge
Apple iPod Web Site
Posted by typhoon at 11:02 PM
June 01, 2004
Hey, Everybody! It's the Brazilian Girls! Sexed-Up Latin-Electronica Rocks the Boat!
The Massive kicked off the Memorial Day weekend in New York with a visit to the Turntables on the Hudson summer opener at Pier 63 and the Frying Pan. This wasn't just any ol' night on the Chelsea waterfront, it was also the first Turntables in two years in which the main event (and dancing) was allowed outside on the pier itself. Plus, it helped that the weather was perfect!
Hundreds of people were buggin' on the football-field-long wharf as Mario and Nickodemus manned the one's and two's and rocked Pier 63 with searing Latin-house beats and retro-80's mash-ups, while Nappy G. was in da hizzouse with live percussion.
But anyone who made it up the gangway and into the Frying Pan--the small ship moored to Pier 63--between midnight and 2:00 A.M. knows that the real show Friday night was the live performance by the coolest band with the coolest name and the coolest song we've seen, heard and danced to in a long, long time.
The band? The Brazilian Girls, a quartet of three male musicians on drums, bass, synth and Apple Mac laptop, fronted by a slender and leggy female siren named Sabina Sciubba, who has the intriguing habit of wearing a mask over her eyes when performing.
The Brazilian Girls play mysterious, loungey electronic-dance-pop wrapped up with elements of reggae, house and downtempo beats and Latin sounds. The repetoire of original material includes lyrics--at times louche--sung in English, French and Portuguese.
One of the last tunes in the Brazilian Girls second 40-minute set had the two-hundred or so people crammed into the hull of the ship bouncing and singing along to a horn-tinged reggae number with the seductively sung chorus, "Pussy! Pussy! Pussy! Ma-ri-jua-na!"
Now that sounds like a lost weekend.
The Brazilian Girls play every Sunday night at NuBlu, a club in the East Village, in New York. The group is currently opening for the Venezuelan electronic-indie outfit Los Amigos Invisibles on some of its U.S. tour dates, including a show this Friday, June 4, at Irving Plaza, New York.
The Brazilian Girls' name is a clever piece of marketing. When the band's name appears next to the word "dancing" on a club flyer, the juxtaposition suggests much more than meets the eye. But so what if some of the punters come out expecting to catch an eyeful of dancing hotness from Sao Paulo? After a forty-minute set by the Brazilian Girls, you'll need a cold shower anyway.
--Micropundit + Aaron Zeichner
RELATED LINKS
Brazilian Girls Web Site
Video: Brazilian Girls Live at Joe's Pub, NYC
Los Amigos Invisibles
Video: Brazilian Girls Live at Knitting Factory, NYC [Punkcast]
Turntables on the Hudson Web Site
Irving Plaza Web Site
Posted by Supercore at 11:07 PM
