Madonna and her kids were spotted in Paris. I'm guessing she might be there to take in some of the fashion shows going on right now or maybe work, so she made it a family trip in order for the kids to be able to take in some of the sights!
And then there's Lady Gaga. I could literally write a post every day on her crazy outfits. But, I just don't know what there is to say...here's Lady Gaga, out and about, wearing something INSANE again. Are you sick of seeing her, or still interested in what she'll go out in next?
Photos by INF.
Hey--did you notice when it happened?
Last Sunday--the 5th of July--the moment that music fans old and young have been discussing since the days of Elvis Presley's heyday finally came!
That's right! As if to finally shut up all those opinionated geezers whose theories about music have been making most of us ill for years, it happened!
At about 2 p.m. Pacific time--I live in Los Angeles, I should point out--music was...the best it ever was! And from that point forward, everything started going downhill!
As you may suspect, the actual slope of its decline may be the single biggest issue facing the music industry, but, like you, I find that kind of stuff boring!
For me, it happened when I was reaching for the new album by Billy Boy On Poison! I didn't actually get to hear it at that point, but the CD was on its way to my player, about to be inserted, literally filled with promise, and then--BING!--it happened!
And when I heard it? It was good, but not great!
Guess we'd better get used to that!
The Class of '09 will be graduating at a time that is both one of the most difficult and the most hopeful of any class in generations. With America still fighting two wars overseas and the economy in the midst of an ongoing collapse, these kids have a lot to deal with. Then again, they've also lived through one of the most exciting elections in U.S. history. That's not to mention the many pop-culture phenomena that have blossomed in the past year.
So, forget the "Pomp and Circumstance," it's time to look back at the milestones, from Barack Obama to "Twilight," that have defined the times for the Class of '09.
The Election: Every generation has its indelible moments, from the Vietnam War and the civil-rights movement to the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. And this class can boast of its own monumental event: the election of the country's first black president. After a bruising primary battle with now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, followed by an equally intense fight against Republican Senator John McCain, Obama handily won November's election thanks in large part to an energized block of youth voters.
"Twilight": Guilty as charged. We did as much as anyone to spark the fire under the raging bonfire that is author Stephanie Meyer's vampire saga of Bella Swan and her be-fanged beloved, Edward Cullen. The mega-best-selling book series — which some have tagged as the new "Harry Potter" — begat the smash movie, which made millions of fans of all ages obsessed with the strange goings on in Forks, Washington. The first movie sequel, "New Moon," is already in the works, and if the "Twilight" sweep at the MTV Movie Awards is any indication, the shrieking will likely continue for several years go come.
Twitter: How did we know what Ashton Kutcher was up to before Twitter? The free, three-year-old, micro-blogging app that swallowed the Internet in 2009 — 140 characters at a time — seemingly vaulted overnight from obscurity to 55 million monthly visits. Kutcher, of course, became the first celeb to reach the 1 million follower mark, but he wasn't the only one obsessively chronicling his every move. Politicians Tweeted during President Obama's State of the Union; Blink-182 spilled the beans on their summer reunion tour; Erykah Badu Tweeted while in labor. Even if some A-listers (Britney? 50 Cent?) are paying folks to Tweet for them, Twitter will likely be the Class of '09's equivalent to the hula hoop or Napster — only, you know, shorter.
The Recession: The good news is that some experts believe we're already on our way back up after hitting rock bottom. The bad news is that the Class of '09 is graduating into one of the worst economic meltdowns in U.S. history. That means money for college will be tight, if it's there at all and if their parents aren't among the nearly 15 million unemployed. It also means that the money they had socked away for college may be going to keep the house out of foreclosure. They might even be competing with one of their parents' friends for that entry-level job. On the upside, historic meltdowns have always created tons of new opportunities and businesses, so young entrepreneurs out there with a world-beating idea have a wide lane all to themselves. Just think, by the time you get out of college, this whole mess could be turning around!
Lady Gaga: Every generation gets the pop diva it deserves: Madonna, Janet, Britney, Fergie, Gwen Stefani. For the class of '09, it's Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, a.k.a. Lady Gaga. The 23-year-old New York sensation has blown up over the past year, crossing over from dance clubs to the mainstream on the back of three titanic disco hits — "Just Dance," "Poker Face" and "LoveGame" — as her debut album, The Fame, slowly racked up more than 2 million in worldwide sales. In addition to serving as the soundtrack to every school dance the Class of '09 attended this year (not to mention every reality show they watched), Gaga has also provided inspiration for budding fashionistas out there with an interplanetary sense of style, created by her own Andy Warhol-esque design collaborative, Haus of Gaga.
Gay Marriage: Besides the election and the economy, one of the biggest political stories for the Class of '09 was same-sex marriage. The struggle for equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples was dealt a major blow in November 2008 when California passed Proposition 8, which redefined marriage in the state as a union between a man and a woman. At the same time, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire legalized gay marriage.
So, there you have it, Class of '09, a little time capsule to remember this year by. Go ahead and stick your "Star Trek" movie stub in there, alongside a Susan Boyle YouTube clip, that Sarah Palin Halloween mask and your "Gossip Girl" poster.
At a press conference for the "Isle of MTV Malta Special" in Floriana, Malta, Lady Gaga displayed her latest fashion accessory.
Known for her unusual and eccentric accoutrements, on Wednesday, Gaga showed up to her press conference in a halter dress, one leather opera-length glove, one fingerless glove and, most notably, a mask — but it wasn't a statement, it was art.
"It's not just a mask, it's a contemporary art piece," Gaga told reporters in Malta, adding that it was made by a designer friend of hers.
It seems, though, that the inspiration for the mask came from her current fashion obsession. "I love all designers. I appreciate a life devoted to fashion," she said. "Right now, I'm having a very strong obsession mostly with clothing found in sex shops. I would venture to say that all that clothing was designed by gay men."
Gaga also reflected on her other inspirations, from moonlight to slasher films. "I am inspired by so many things. My favorite book, 'Letters to a Young Poet.' I was inspired by Helmut Newton for the 'Paparazzi' video. I'm inspired by fashion. I'm inspired by the moonlight. I'm inspired by sex and pornography and slasher films."
"It's been a very remarkable year," she added about her meteoric rise to fame since the release of "Just Dance" last year. "And I feel very blessed. I lived an isolated lifestyle before the media. I lived a life of solitude and loyalty and commitment to my work. I just don't prioritize my life in the same way that other people do. The only thing that matters is my music and my performance."
It all started with "Ring the Alarm," then picked up steam with subsequent singles (and videos) like "Get Me Bodied," "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" and "Diva." The theory that, somewhere beneath her media-trained demeanor and her well-buffed veneer, Beyoncé was harboring the soul of a wild woman, one who yearns to break free and run screaming through the streets and burn up dance floors and take hostages and drink the blood of her detractors.
Needless to say, B would probably be a pretty interesting gal to have a few drinks with. There is no pop star of her level or pedigree that releases the kinds of singles she does — glitchy, careening, hip-shuttering dance tracks — and pairs them with videos that look like Fellini films on fire. She is either the most adventurous megastar on the planet or the most insane. Possibly both.
But aside from the battiness, most of Beyoncé's recent singles — the high-energy ones, at least — have something else in common: They are all great. "Ring the Alarm" and "Bodied" were departures, sure, but they were undeniably catchy tunes, and "Single Ladies" placed second on my Best Songs of 2008 list (and I wasn't the only one to fall in love with its mechanized whomp and mind-melting video — Rolling Stone put it at #1 on their list.) And now you can add another one to her hit list: the just-released "Sweet Dreams."
The song itself isn't particularly new — it actually leaked before the release of Beyoncé's 2008 album I Am ... Sasha Fierce, only back then, it was called "Beautiful Nightmare" — but it's been tapped as the latest single, and in keeping with grand B tradition, it's accompanied by an eye-popping, herky-jerky, high-fashion video, this time directed by Adira Petty (whose résumé includes clips for Duffy and Regina Spektor).
So, once again, we get Beyoncé popping her pelvis in ways never imagined. We get Beyoncé strutting with her two doppelgängers (Ebony Williams and Ashley Everett). And we get Beyoncé wearing about a million flashy, asymmetrical costumes. She expands on her burgeoning robot fetish (which I think is supposed to symbolize her Sasha Fierce alter-ego), flashes the crazy eyes and contorts her body in downright unsettling ways. All of which is to say that "Sweet Dreams" is just like every amazingly crazy Beyoncé video from the past three years, which — to extend the point — also means that it's pretty great.
Oh, and the song — it's great too. The gnarly low end (which kind of sounds like Michael Jackson's "Beat It" for about half a second), the spare snare kicks, the expansive-yet-molecular chorus — sonically, it's as adventurous as anything she's ever released. And her vocals — icy and cool, slippery like mercury — are nothing to scoff at either. All in all, it's another undeniable smash ... sort of unsettling, kind of crazy, totally unlike anything anyone else is doing right now (sorry Gaga). There's truly no one else in the game like Beyoncé, especially when she gives us a peek at her inner freak.
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