Its been 6 years since “Kids” was drafted up by the band mates of MGMT.  After much airplay, accolades and remixes, we now have the official music video to view.  Having worked with director, Ray Tintori on past projects, a 4th collaboration was only appropriate.  After having seen the music video, I’m curious as to why Ed Roth’s Rat Fink was featured (around the 4:16 mark).

via MGMT

Arriving this Thursday in-store and online at Supreme New York is a new collaboration with Malcolm McLaren.  The collection will consists of t-shirts, hoodies, New Era Fitteds and Vans V-79 sneakers adorned with Malcolm’s artwork.  Some may know Malcolm McLaren for being the former manager to the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls.  But this collection will reveal the man was definitely behind the scenes of all things street culture related.  You’ll see in this capsule collection, McLaren has teamed up with of artists like Keith Haring, Dondi White, Just Allah and See Divine of The World Famous Supreme Team to name a few names.  Although executed in different time periods, both Supreme and Malcolm are known to be influential names in street culture.  So this pairing will be well received amongst street culture aficianados.  And all this time, I just knew the man being tied to the hit single, “Deep in Vogue.”

Image Source: Supreme

Apple never ceases to amaze with its stable of highly intuitive products.  Recently launched is the third generation Shuffle, which by far is the best bang for the buck.  Size wise, its a bit smaller than the last generation Shuffle, but packs 4x amount of space with 4 gigs.  With the controls relocated near the right earbud, the base unit is given a minimal and sleek anodized aluminum body.  The only button is located on top of the unit allowing the user to select shuffle, continual play or off.  Aesthetics wise, I am completely sold on the stainless silver clip.  The biggest sell point however is not only design.  Rather with gen 3, Apple features VoiceOver.  By pressing and holding the middle depressed button in the control center, you hear track info.  Mac users get to listen to a Stephen Hawking like voice, while PC users can hear their track selection and/or play list from Mrs. Hawking.  Thats right, gen 3 also receives syncing your individualized iTunes playlists.  At $79, this is a no brainer cop.  I’ve been wanting to get another iPod on top of my first gen touch for convenience sake.

Source: Apple

A virtual one that is.  In this short film, “World Builder” by Bruce Branit, a man creates a virtual village via holographic tools.  At his disposal are design tools with shape creation, color palettes and texture applications.  At one point, I thought the main character was playing with energon cubes.  But watch as he builds an entire scenery for a woman he cares deeply for.  According to info found on Vimeo, the filming was completed in a single day.  However, it took 2 years to complete the post-production computer graphics.

Source: Neatorama via Vimeo

Plaid is a textile that can be worn in pretty much any season.  Specifically for Spring 2009, Vans is dropping a pair of Chukka and Era in a black, grey and white plaid pattern.  I must say the Chukka and Era are the perfect silhouette for plaid treatment.  However, I wouldn’t mind seeing the Half Cab receive some plaid action either.  If you can’t wait for your local Vans account to start stocking these, they are readily available at Essence.

Image Source: mashKULTURE via ESSENCE

Lately, I’ve been spending a vast amount of my time on the internet in search of great music.  I’ve discovered remixes on blogs and social networking sites featuring artists from different categories of music.  I love music in each form that is produced by muscians, artists and djs.

Below are a few of my favorites tracks:

Common collaborated with Chester French for the track “What A World” on his current album, Universal Mind Control.

Circus Diplo remixes Britney’s “Circus” from her most recent album, Womanizer. Obviously, the video quality lacks substance but the sound is incredible.

Lastly, Mark Ronson produced the latest track from Daniel Merriweather’s Love & War album, called “Change” featuring hip hop artist Wale.

Image Source: Open Labs

Are you planning on attending the Inauguration in Washington, DC? Look no further, I have provided a list of parties, concerts, official balls and unofficial balls.

There will be many (as in hundreds) of events including DC’s night life throughout the week but the hottest tickets in town, besides the official Inaugural Ball, will have special celebrity guest performances. The festivities kick off with Jay-z’s Inaugural Party at Love on Friday.  The biggest show will be on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial, We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. The party will take place on Friday.  

Ready to go, fire it up!

Here’s a message from President-elect Barack Obama: Inauguration Night: Your Neighborhood Ball

Obama Inauguration Celebrities: Who, What And Where by Jake Coyle

NEW YORK — If you thought the Golden Globes was a party, just wait until you see Barack Obama’s inauguration. Next week, Washington will look a lot like a colder version of Hollywood.

Here’s a roundup of who will be where, keeping in mind that in the mad rush to D.C., schedule changes may occur.

THE BIG SHOW

_ On Sunday, tradition will be upheld with a free star-studded concert on the National Mall, starting at 2:30 p.m. Among the many performers: Bruce Springsteen, U2, Beyonce, Usher, Garth Brooks, Stevie Wonder, John Mellencamp, Shakira, Mary J. Blige, Herbie Hancock, Josh Groban, John Legend and James Taylor. Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III and Queen Latifah will read. Obama will stop by and HBO will broadcast “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial.”

WHERE’S OPRAH

_ Winfrey will host a live episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” from the Kennedy Center Opera House on Monday. She’ll also host a second episode on Wednesday. Winfrey has not announced her plans on Inauguration Day.

WHERE’S SPIKE

_ Spike Lee will appear at a daylong symposium at Howard University on Monday to discuss topics including the impact of Obama on Black America. Also there will be Rev. Al Sharpton, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., Dr. Cornel West and Dr. Henry Louis Gates. Lee will also host an after-party Tuesday evening.

OTHER CONCERTS

_ BET will hold an awards ceremony, the BET Honors, Saturday at the Warner Theater to honor Mary J. Blige, filmmaker Tyler Perry, Ervin “Magic” Johnson and others. Gabrielle Union will host and performers include Queen Latifa, Ne-Yo, Anita Baker and Joss Stone.

_ The Hip-hop Caucus will host a concert Saturday at Ibiza with Common, Mary J. Blige and Nelly.

_ Jessica Alba will host a kickoff event by youth voter initiative Declare Yourself on Sunday dubbed “A New Birth of Citizenship.” Maroon 5 and DJ Samantha Ronson will perform.

_ “Kids’ Inaugural: We Are the Future” will be held Monday night at the Verizon Center and air on the Disney Channel. Performing will be Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers and Bow Wow. Michelle Obama and Jill Biden will host with their families.

_ The “America Feels Kinda Cool Again Inaugural Gala” will feature the Beastie Boys, Sheryl Crow and Citizen Cope on Monday at the 9:30 club.

_ Jay-Z will perform a concert “In Concert on the Eve on Change” at the Warner Theater on Monday.

_ Aretha Franklin will play a free concert at the Kennedy Center with Nuttin’ But Stringz and the Let Freedom Ring Choir on Monday.

_ Manifest Hope will finish a three-day-long, Inauguration-themed art exhibit with a party featuring performances by Santogold, Moby and De La Soul.

THE OFFICIAL BALLS

_ The Neighborhood Ball: ABC will broadcast this ball for Washington residents at the Washington Convention Center. Performing will be Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Faith Hill and Mary J. Blige.

_ The Youth Ball: This ball is for people aged 18 to 35 to celebrate “the role young Americans can play to serve their communities.” After announcing and then junking a similarly themed ball, MTV will broadcast it. Fall Out Boy is among the acts attending.

_ The other eight official balls are: the Home States Ball, the Commander in Chief Ball, the Biden Home State Ball, the Mid-Atlantic Ball, the Western and Southern Regional Ball, the Midwest Regional Ball, the New England Ball and the Southern Regional Ball.

THE UNOFFICIAL BALLS

_ The “Dreams of My Father” American Scholars Inaugural Ball will take place Sunday at the Four Seasons and feature Alicia Keys, Macy Gray and LL Cool J.

_ The Voto Latino Inaugural Party will on Sunday include Marc Antony, Rosario Dawson, Tony Plana and Wilmer Valderrama.

_ The Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball will take place Monday at the Harman Center and be hosted by Russell Simmons, LL Cool J, T.I. and Young Jeezy

_ The Huffington Post Preinaugural Ball will be held Monday night at the Newseum and feature performances by Sting and will.i.am. Attendees will include Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Denzel Washington, Shakira, Jon Bon Jovi, Halle Berry and Ashton Kutcher.

_ The Green Inaugural Ball will be held Monday at the Portrait Gallery and be hosted by Al Gore.

_ Muhammad Ali will attend the Kentucky Inaugural Ball on Monday at the Marriott Wardman Hotel.

_ The nonprofit arts and entertainment advocacy group Creative Coalition will hold a gala to be headlined by Elvis Costello and Sting at the Harman Center for the Arts on Tuesday. Also attending will be Anne Hathaway, Spike Lee, Tim Robbins, Maggie Gyllenhaal and others.

_ The Purple Ball, Tuesday at the Fairmont Hotel, will be hosted by Lou Gossett Jr. and Il Divo will perform. Expected to attend are: Ashley Judd, Patricia Arquette, John Cusack, Tim Robbins, Ed Harris, Ashley Judd, Josh Lucas, Amy Brenneman, Brendan Fraser, Susan Sarandon and Lisa Marie Presley.

_ There will be two American Music Balls: The Legends Ball, hosted by Dionne Warwick and featuring Chaka Khan and George Clinton; and the Urban Ball _ hosted by Ludacris and featuring Cedric the Entertainer and Monica. Both will be held Tuesday at the Marriot Wardman Park Hotel.

_ BET will host an inaugural ball at the Mandarin Oriental hotel Tuesday. The network will broadcast an hour special to coincide with the ball, which will include a performance by Wyclef Jean.

_ The Equality Ball, hosted by the Human Rights Campaign, will be held Tuesday at the Mayflower Hotel with appearances by Cyndi Lauper, Melissa Etheridge and Rufus Wainwright.

_ The Inaugural Peace Ball, Tuesday at the Smithsonian Postal Museum, will be hosted by Harry Belafonte and include Joan Baez, Graham Nash and Jackson Brown.

_ Rihanna will perform at the Recording Industry Association of America Inaugural Ball to benefit Feeding America on Tuesday.

_ Nas, Josh Groban, Slash and Robert Randolph are among those performing at the Heroes Red, White & Blue Inaugural Ball (benefiting military families and veterans) on Tuesday at the Warner Theater

Source: Inauguration Night: Your Neighborhood Ball