Late last night, Cara Delevingne posted the cover of the latest issue of Love magazine to Instagram. Like the issue's teaser, the cover features besties Kendall Jenner and Cara Delevingne in a confusing embrace. Jenner either looks like a) she left her smize game at the door or b) Cara Delevingne stole her soul, as she is known to do. The latter would explain Delevingne's intense, "I just stole this bitch's soul" gaze toward the camera. Decide for yourself, above, and pray for Kylie.
Cara Delevingne Won't Stop Until She Possesses Every Member of the Kardashian-Jenner Family
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Inside the Deeply Weird Commercial That Won the Super Bowl
Amid the dead children and absentee fathers that made this year's Super Bowl ads such an endless bummer, a rare moment of delight came in toward the end of the game, in a bizarre 30-second spot for a little-known super glue company called Loctite. The ad was simple: Everyday people in fanny packs danced in slow motion to a reggae dub-step banger. Twitter was in awe. It makes sense if the commercial gave you serious Tim & Eric vibes -- the three-ring-nightmare comedy duo directed the spot in collaboration with ad agency Fallon. Below, we chat with Fallon chief creative officer Jeff Kling about how a 50-year-old unknown glue company made the Super Bowl's most oddly appealing commercial.
Did you think people would respond as strongly to the ad online as they did?
We had some sense that people would enjoy it, but I don't feel like internet attention is ticking a box for us because it's never assured or guaranteed. It's just been overwhelming and wonderful.
What was the vibe you were going for? This commercial is, more or less, insane.
We wanted to shift the emotion of glue, because everybody feels terrible about it. Your stuff breaks, and that makes you feel bad. And when you contemplate fixing it, you feel doubly bad because you don't really know how to. So any time your brain is wandering into the glue zone, it's not a great place to be. You don't feel confident. And you certainly don't feel like dancing. We needed to fix that.
The casting of this commercial is clearly what makes it so wonderful.
When you take almost anyone from an American cul-de-sac and they start dancing together to a really great jam, it looks amazing. You can't go wrong. But, as far as casting, the magic just comes out of some people. Eric Wareheim is so good at being able to feel that magic. The music plays, they start dancing, and you just fall in love.
Is it true that Loctite spent their entire $4 million ad budget for the year on the commercial?
They spent quite a bit of it. I don't know that it was their entire budget, but it was a huge chunk.
And now everyone is aware of a lesser-known super glue brand.
Everyone thinks of super glue as the sweet special-needs kid whose head you pat. That's because advertising in this country for super glue is totally schlocky. And Loctite didn't usually talk to consumers -- it's super-engineering-nerd-science-y stuff. The iPhone I'm talking to you on is full of Loctite. My Nikes are full of Loctite. Loctite keeps the wings on planes. It's totally pro. The first thing Loctite invented -- it was this engineer toiling in his basement in Connecticut -- he figured out how to make this product called Threadlocker that would complete the bond between a nut and a bolt so that they wouldn't rattle apart. Until he did that, wheels would fall off of trains and wings would fall off of planes. He basically helped enable the modern world, and yet...People tend to think of glue as a novelty. Like, oh, super glue! How ridiculous and hilarious!
Krazy Glue and its image of the guy in a hard hat stuck to a metal beam probably created that perception.
Which is totally enduring and, on its face, is completely fucking fake. You can almost see the harness that's rigged up behind that guy's back, holding him up. It's a joke.
What did you think of all of the darkness in the Super Bowl ads this year?
In the world of advertising, the emotional bandwidth of the United States is perceived as having two speeds: Moisture -- which is treacle, sentimentality and emotional manipulation -- or humor. That's it. It's a flattening of the human experience, because obviously the human emotional spectrum is gigantic. We're capable of feeling many emotions, and feeling them simultaneously. So for everything to be reduced to that kind of appeal, done well or not, creates a weird emotional echo chamber where these brands are trying to reflect us back at ourselves. Everyone leaned so much into the moisture zone this year, and I love that they did! It was like everyone forgot that this was a party.
Watch the extended version of "Positive Feelings" below and watch more of the Loctite spots here.
Did you think people would respond as strongly to the ad online as they did?
We had some sense that people would enjoy it, but I don't feel like internet attention is ticking a box for us because it's never assured or guaranteed. It's just been overwhelming and wonderful.
What was the vibe you were going for? This commercial is, more or less, insane.
We wanted to shift the emotion of glue, because everybody feels terrible about it. Your stuff breaks, and that makes you feel bad. And when you contemplate fixing it, you feel doubly bad because you don't really know how to. So any time your brain is wandering into the glue zone, it's not a great place to be. You don't feel confident. And you certainly don't feel like dancing. We needed to fix that.
The casting of this commercial is clearly what makes it so wonderful.
When you take almost anyone from an American cul-de-sac and they start dancing together to a really great jam, it looks amazing. You can't go wrong. But, as far as casting, the magic just comes out of some people. Eric Wareheim is so good at being able to feel that magic. The music plays, they start dancing, and you just fall in love.
Is it true that Loctite spent their entire $4 million ad budget for the year on the commercial?
They spent quite a bit of it. I don't know that it was their entire budget, but it was a huge chunk.
And now everyone is aware of a lesser-known super glue brand.
Everyone thinks of super glue as the sweet special-needs kid whose head you pat. That's because advertising in this country for super glue is totally schlocky. And Loctite didn't usually talk to consumers -- it's super-engineering-nerd-science-y stuff. The iPhone I'm talking to you on is full of Loctite. My Nikes are full of Loctite. Loctite keeps the wings on planes. It's totally pro. The first thing Loctite invented -- it was this engineer toiling in his basement in Connecticut -- he figured out how to make this product called Threadlocker that would complete the bond between a nut and a bolt so that they wouldn't rattle apart. Until he did that, wheels would fall off of trains and wings would fall off of planes. He basically helped enable the modern world, and yet...People tend to think of glue as a novelty. Like, oh, super glue! How ridiculous and hilarious!
Krazy Glue and its image of the guy in a hard hat stuck to a metal beam probably created that perception.
Which is totally enduring and, on its face, is completely fucking fake. You can almost see the harness that's rigged up behind that guy's back, holding him up. It's a joke.
What did you think of all of the darkness in the Super Bowl ads this year?
In the world of advertising, the emotional bandwidth of the United States is perceived as having two speeds: Moisture -- which is treacle, sentimentality and emotional manipulation -- or humor. That's it. It's a flattening of the human experience, because obviously the human emotional spectrum is gigantic. We're capable of feeling many emotions, and feeling them simultaneously. So for everything to be reduced to that kind of appeal, done well or not, creates a weird emotional echo chamber where these brands are trying to reflect us back at ourselves. Everyone leaned so much into the moisture zone this year, and I love that they did! It was like everyone forgot that this was a party.
Watch the extended version of "Positive Feelings" below and watch more of the Loctite spots here.
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Hear Two Leaked Madonna Tracks with Chance the Rapper and Nas off Rebel Heart
Madonna had two more songs leak today off her upcoming Rebel Heart album, which, not that we're complaining, but hasn't like every Rebel Heart song leaked at this point? You can listen to both "Iconic," Madonna's collaboration with Chance the Rapper and Mike Tyson (you read that correctly) and "Veni Vidi Vici" with Nas at MissInfo.↧
Kanye Doesn't Want You to Have to Wait In Line to Buy His Adidas Sneakers
Looking to cop the next Yeezys but don't want to wait in line? Adidas has you covered. The brand announced the launch of a new app called adidas Confirmed that's designed to let you reserve sneakers online. The app will send notifications when new sneakers -- like Kanye's much-anticipated adidas YEEZi 3's -- become available and allow you to reserve a pair in your size at store locations. Though the genesis for the app came from the rapper's collab, Adidas VP of Brand Activation, Simon Atkins, told Forbes that "while the app is associated with Kanye West, it has longevity along a large amount of our limited release products." Word is, the sneakers will debut during the NBA All-Star weekend between February 13-15 and Complex is reporting that there may even be an official presentation during NYFW on the 12th after menswear buyer Rahmon Ehlen posted a photo to Instagram of what appeared to be an invite. For now, the app is limited to users located in New York City and you can download it through Google Play and iTunes.
![Screen Shot 2015-02-04 at 11.15.37 AM.png]()
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AHHHHHHHHHH: The Magic Mike XXL Trailer Is Here
Seeing the midnight premiere of Magic Mike three years ago in a packed East Village theater was one of the funnest movie experiences I've ever had. When Matthew McConaughey delivered his "looks like we've got a lot of lawwwww breakers in here tonight" line, people seriously screamed. Like, "help me, I'm in trouble because my genitals are on fire"-screaming. And even though the sequel for Magic Mike, and its first trailer for the movie above, is sadly McConaughey-less, there's still so much law-breaking going on. For instance, Channing's grinding, pop-and-lock, yes-daddy-I-do-give-me-brain-like-NYU dance moves defy the laws of gravity, physics and sex. Also, is it even legal to dance to Ginuwine's "Pony" while welding? Probably not. (And, oh my god, that Flashdance allusion could not be more appreciated, Tatey.) Lock Tatum and his abs up and throw away the key. His sentence? Dancing up on it all night long. Magic Mike XXL and July 1st cannot come soon enough.
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DJ Mustard Turned Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney's "FourFiveSeconds" into a Banger
If the original version of "FourFiveSeconds" is too "unplugged" for your liking, don't worry. DJ Mustard is on the beat. The ubiquitous producer reworked the Rihanna, Kanye West, and Paul McCartney collaboration into an uptempo banger that, frankly, seems a little Diplo/Major Lazer inspired. Previously, DJ Mustard gave Beyoncé's "7/11" an insanely enjoyable rework. Listen to the "FourFiveSeconds" remix, above.
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New York is Dead: Beyoncé and Jay Z Are Moving to LA
Photo via Well, it's official. We've all had a good run, but New York is officially dead because Beyoncé and Jay Z are packing up Blue Ivy and getting the hell out of here.
Reportedly, Bey and Jay are leaving this cold, frozen city in favor of LA. According to TMZ, they've already enrolled Blue Ivy in an expensive new preschool, so it looks like they'll be calling the West Coast home. Currently, the two live in an 8,000 square-foot, $6.85M TriBeCa loft -- but not for long. Let's all leave this Beyoncé-less dump. RIP, NYC.
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The 10 Best NYC "It Girls" In History
The New York nightlife scene is nothing without an "It girl" -- a frisky, fabulous female who anchors the scene with her glamour, personality, and smarts. Here are the best ones we've ever had -- the ones with the most "it," as it were:
![Corbis-U473104ACME.jpg]()
BRENDA FRAZIER
Nothing cheered up the Depression like gossip reports about "poor little rich girls" like Barbara Hutton, Gloria Vanderbilt, Doris Duke, and Brenda, who had such a splashy debutante ball in 1938 that she ended up on the cover of Life. A true deb, Brenda danced the night away at her ball, despite being stricken with the flu and swollen feet. She garnered tons of press through her tenure as "It girl," though some of it was of a tone familiar today: In other words, "She has no talent! Why should we care about her?" But there's always room for 15-minute stars who are famous for being famous. Alas, Brenda didn't really enjoy much of it, despite the frozen smile. She attempted suicide 31 times before dying of cancer in 1982. But she's immortalized in Sondheim's great song "I'm Still Here."
![Screen Shot 2015-02-04 at 1.34.12 PM.png]()
JANE HOLZER
A blonde model known as "Baby Jane Holzer" became a Warhol It girl when she gamely appeared in his cinematic experiments like Andy Warhol's Soap Opera (1964), Couch (1964), and Camp (1965). But that was hardly the end of her creative output. Like all the best It girls, Jane was a Renaissance woman who did everything -- acting, modeling, art collecting, producing, singing, and socializing. In 1985, she went on to coproduce the movie Kiss of the Spider Woman and she's also worked in real estate, being a smart ex-It Girl who knew how to make a future for herself. (She also married someone very rich and happened to come from money herself. Jane's appeal was always that she was "high society with an edge.") She's immortalized in "Girl of the Year," a chapter in Tom Wolfe's 1965 book The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby.
![tumblr_ma8lt6KFIF1qbiu5fo1_r3_400.png]()
EDIE SEDGWICK
Described as an "heiress, socialite, actress, and fashion model," Edie was one of the people Warhol became most enamored of, and as such, she was dubbed The Girl of the Year in 1965, as well as someone everyone wanted to say they partied with. Edie was beautiful, classy, poignant, and troubled, and sadly she suffered drug and mental problems before dying in 1971 of what was deemed an "undetermined/accident/suicide." Interestingly, her "It girl" glow has brightened ever since.
![Screen Shot 2015-02-04 at 1.40.50 PM.png]()
DISCO SALLY
Sally Lippman not only enjoyed the '70s, she enjoyed her 70s. A wacky septuagenarian (and widowed lawyer), she'd sport fabulous disco attire and engage in wild dance moves at the legendary club Studio 54. In doing so, Sally caught the attention of many a paparazzo -- as well as that of an attractive 26-year-old guy whom she married! In a nightclub!
![968141da9b7e7aba00a1e42204d3bc2b.jpg]()
DIANNE BRILL
A busty, amiable gal from Tampa, Florida, Brill lit up the room with her high wattage personality, and on the arm of club major domo Rudolph Pieper, she became extra essential, as they comprised the reigning couple of '80s clubbing. Brill went on to act, write a book, design, and market marvy makeup, all while sparkling.
![Screen Shot 2015-02-04 at 1.45.38 PM.png]()
LISA EDELSTEIN
In the mid-80s, Edelstein emerged as a beautiful and fun club kid calling herself Lisa E., alongside BFF James St. James. Her eye was on a prize beyond nightlife, and it seemed inevitable when she went on to star in major shows like House and the current Bravo show Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce.
![Screen Shot 2015-02-04 at 1.52.28 PM.png]()
JULIE JEWELS
Later in the '80s, the bratty but inventive club kid ring leader (and future killer) Michael Alig and his boyfriend Keoki declared someone named Julie Jewels as the queen of the night, claiming she was some kind of Russian royalty. She wasn't even really Russian--the accent was as fake as the furs -- but she was a fun figure for a while, and even edited Project X, the club kid magazine.
![nightlife2007_02.jpg]()
AMANDA LEPORE
A transsexual icon and artistic muse, Amanda is Marilyn Monroe, but with much smoother genitals. She has long reigned as a scene queen with a difference and a delightful alternative to an inflatable doll.
![Screen Shot 2015-02-04 at 1.57.44 PM.png]()
PARIS HILTON
Her rich pedigree, lacquered looks, and high-profile romances made Paris the "It Girl" of 2001. Her fame grew even bigger when her 2003 sex tape leaked out, leading to national notoriety via The Simple Life reality show. In retrospect, it all seems kind of quaint and lovely now, which is hilarious.
![Screen Shot 2015-02-04 at 2.01.32 PM.png]()
KIM KARDASHIAN
She's major, she's everywhere, and she's got "it." At this point, any naysayers are just blind and/or in denial.
BRENDA FRAZIER
Nothing cheered up the Depression like gossip reports about "poor little rich girls" like Barbara Hutton, Gloria Vanderbilt, Doris Duke, and Brenda, who had such a splashy debutante ball in 1938 that she ended up on the cover of Life. A true deb, Brenda danced the night away at her ball, despite being stricken with the flu and swollen feet. She garnered tons of press through her tenure as "It girl," though some of it was of a tone familiar today: In other words, "She has no talent! Why should we care about her?" But there's always room for 15-minute stars who are famous for being famous. Alas, Brenda didn't really enjoy much of it, despite the frozen smile. She attempted suicide 31 times before dying of cancer in 1982. But she's immortalized in Sondheim's great song "I'm Still Here."
JANE HOLZERA blonde model known as "Baby Jane Holzer" became a Warhol It girl when she gamely appeared in his cinematic experiments like Andy Warhol's Soap Opera (1964), Couch (1964), and Camp (1965). But that was hardly the end of her creative output. Like all the best It girls, Jane was a Renaissance woman who did everything -- acting, modeling, art collecting, producing, singing, and socializing. In 1985, she went on to coproduce the movie Kiss of the Spider Woman and she's also worked in real estate, being a smart ex-It Girl who knew how to make a future for herself. (She also married someone very rich and happened to come from money herself. Jane's appeal was always that she was "high society with an edge.") She's immortalized in "Girl of the Year," a chapter in Tom Wolfe's 1965 book The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby.
EDIE SEDGWICK
Described as an "heiress, socialite, actress, and fashion model," Edie was one of the people Warhol became most enamored of, and as such, she was dubbed The Girl of the Year in 1965, as well as someone everyone wanted to say they partied with. Edie was beautiful, classy, poignant, and troubled, and sadly she suffered drug and mental problems before dying in 1971 of what was deemed an "undetermined/accident/suicide." Interestingly, her "It girl" glow has brightened ever since.
DISCO SALLYSally Lippman not only enjoyed the '70s, she enjoyed her 70s. A wacky septuagenarian (and widowed lawyer), she'd sport fabulous disco attire and engage in wild dance moves at the legendary club Studio 54. In doing so, Sally caught the attention of many a paparazzo -- as well as that of an attractive 26-year-old guy whom she married! In a nightclub!
DIANNE BRILLA busty, amiable gal from Tampa, Florida, Brill lit up the room with her high wattage personality, and on the arm of club major domo Rudolph Pieper, she became extra essential, as they comprised the reigning couple of '80s clubbing. Brill went on to act, write a book, design, and market marvy makeup, all while sparkling.
LISA EDELSTEIN
In the mid-80s, Edelstein emerged as a beautiful and fun club kid calling herself Lisa E., alongside BFF James St. James. Her eye was on a prize beyond nightlife, and it seemed inevitable when she went on to star in major shows like House and the current Bravo show Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce.
JULIE JEWELSLater in the '80s, the bratty but inventive club kid ring leader (and future killer) Michael Alig and his boyfriend Keoki declared someone named Julie Jewels as the queen of the night, claiming she was some kind of Russian royalty. She wasn't even really Russian--the accent was as fake as the furs -- but she was a fun figure for a while, and even edited Project X, the club kid magazine.
AMANDA LEPORE
A transsexual icon and artistic muse, Amanda is Marilyn Monroe, but with much smoother genitals. She has long reigned as a scene queen with a difference and a delightful alternative to an inflatable doll.
PARIS HILTONHer rich pedigree, lacquered looks, and high-profile romances made Paris the "It Girl" of 2001. Her fame grew even bigger when her 2003 sex tape leaked out, leading to national notoriety via The Simple Life reality show. In retrospect, it all seems kind of quaint and lovely now, which is hilarious.
KIM KARDASHIANShe's major, she's everywhere, and she's got "it." At this point, any naysayers are just blind and/or in denial.
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The Thirst Is Real: Celebrity Desperation In the Age of Social Media
On the one hand, it's pretty boring when a celebrity so obviously pays an assistant to manage their social media accounts but on the other, there's a big reason why they don't have control over the passwords: they're thirsty. Look, we get it. A big part of social media -- especially if you're a celebrity -- is about self promotion but oh man how things can quickly go awry. Below, we've rounded up the thirstiest ten in the bunch. It's worth mentioning that though we might roll our eyes when we come across their feeds, we're also in awe that they clearly don't give a fuck about social media etiquette. (Except Donald Trump because fuck Donald Trump.)
Snoop DoggSnoop Dogg is by far the worst, most tedious celebrity Instagrammer hands down. On February 1st, he posted 63 times. SIXTY THREE. Granted, it was the Super Bowl, and Snoop lives and dies for football, but that is borderline pathological. Some of his posts are to promote various events and projects, which adds a few thirst points, but his thirstiest offense comes from his constant bad selfies that he hopes will turn into memes. Snoop's tragically deep misunderstanding of memes has become a meme itself. Weep for him.
Iggy AzaleaPreviously full of politically incorrect -- if not deeply racist -- tweets, her feed, when it's not being used to squabble with Azealia Banks, is now mostly made up of multi-tweet long missives about everything from God and race to the decline of media and authenticity; it's like she's thirsting for one big soapbox to try to convince you that's she's actually a good person and a good rapper.
Rick RossNot long ago, Rick Ross' Twitter was near and dear to our hearts. We're big fans of his use of that little flame emoji, but now we're pretty sure that his Twitter feed has highest product placement to overall tweet ratio of all time. If he's not trying to get us to go grab lunch at one of his Wingstop franchises, he's promoting some brand of rosé, constantly. And in some cases, he's so lazy about it that he just screenshots an instagrammed post from iPhone and posts that to Twitter. Like, the least you -- or your appointed, underpaid social media intern -- can do is work as hard as your thirst.
Naya RiveraYou're familiar with GOOP, what about NayaRivera.com? Like Gwyneth Paltrow's much maligned site, NayaRivera.com offers beauty tips, tricks, and serves as a general State of the Union for Naya Rivera's life. All that would be fine (avoiding self-promoting celebrity websites is easy enough), but damn, Naya Rivera is THIRSTY. Almost every other tweet that she writes is to promote this blog filled with mediocre beauty and fashion advice. At least GOOP is creative -- if anything, vaginal steaming is honestly a practice we had never heard of before. We have, however, heard that NARS bronzer is great for "contouring on-the-go." Thanks for the tips Naya, but no thanks. You are not the guru we're looking for.
James FrancoFranco has more than mastered his meta-thirst-as-larger-commentary-on-celebrity-obsession -- the man did a 2015 selfie calendar for us, after-all -- and it's time for a refresh, guy. We suggest duplicating all of Martha Stewart's confounding twitpics. Including this one.
Courtney LoveCourtney is one of the biggest offenders of the name-dropping photo as well as re-tweeting seemingly any complimentary press and praise from fans, which is thirst defined. Still, we love her for posting tweets like these. Tame in the grand-scheme of CourtneyTwitter, but amusing nonetheless:
Omg @marilynmanson all this time thought u're gay. Of course I'll fuck u. Im free Fri from 1:15 to 1:18 gives us plenty time 4 a smoke too x
-- Courtney Love Cobain (@Courtney) January 21, 2015
Roseanne BarrIf there's one thing we know about Roseanne it's that she loves Twitter and she loves sharing things on Twitter. Scrolling though her Twitter feed, you get the sense that she also retweets everything that she favorites. It's overwhelming. Generally, Roseanne's Twitter is a harmlessly delightful place where you can go to peek around the inside of Roseanne's life and brain. During the Super Bowl she tweeted, "Skittles bitches" because I guess she was maybe eating Skittles or saw a Skittles commercial. Who knows, it seemed fun. She also tweeted pictures of her empty apartment with the hashtag, "#SuperBowlParty" and a picture of a pile of bananas. Roseanne is funny, we will grant her that. BUT THOSE RTs, THO. She clearly, peripherally cares about a lot of issues -- including poaching, feminism, racism, Bill Cosby, pizza condoms, @mysteriousfacts, etc. -- but it's just too much. If something in the world is happening, she won't hesitate to tweet or retweet it. We hate to break it to you, Roseanne, but you seem parched.
Miley CyrusEndless selfies, trippy Photoshop jobs, and lots of TnA make sure all eyes are on her -- and her various social media feeds -- 24/7. We get it. You like weed. You like #FreeingTheNipple. You have mildly good Photoshopping skills (want a web internship?). But leave some water for the rest of us.
DiddyWhen he's not offering self-help, he's offering self promotion. And by "self" we mean Ciroc. He should stop posting about his vodka brand and instead just use it to quench his thirst.
Donald Trump
Donald Trump is so obviously thirsty it's not even funny. But we'd like to use this opportunity to raise awareness for Donald Trump's revolutionary vlog, which he affectionately refers to as #TrumpVlog. What is #TrumpVlog, you ask? Well, it's just Trump, sitting at his desk and yelling into the Instagram void about everything from Obama to Katy Perry to the reboot of Ghostbusters with an all-female cast. Put simply, #TrumpVlogs are the concise ramblings of a man unhinged. What's great about #TrumpVlog is that each video is only around 11-seconds, but you can tell it took at least 5-7 tries for him to "nail it." The thirst is so wonderfully real.
Honorable Mention Shoutouts:The Real Dennis G and Gwyneth Paltrow
Donald Trump is so obviously thirsty it's not even funny. But we'd like to use this opportunity to raise awareness for Donald Trump's revolutionary vlog, which he affectionately refers to as #TrumpVlog. What is #TrumpVlog, you ask? Well, it's just Trump, sitting at his desk and yelling into the Instagram void about everything from Obama to Katy Perry to the reboot of Ghostbusters with an all-female cast. Put simply, #TrumpVlogs are the concise ramblings of a man unhinged. What's great about #TrumpVlog is that each video is only around 11-seconds, but you can tell it took at least 5-7 tries for him to "nail it." The thirst is so wonderfully real.
Honorable Mention Shoutouts:The Real Dennis G and Gwyneth Paltrow
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Noisey's "Atlanta" Goes Inside the City's Rap Scene with 2 Chainz, iLoveMakonnen and More
iLoveMakonnen and Thomas Morton. Image courtesy of Jessica Lehrman/Noisey. Last night, on a Tuesday no less, Noisey hosted a screening for Atlanta at Webster Hall, followed by a performance by rap's new, Grammy-nominated weirdo, iLoveMakonnen and Father.
Watching the first few episodes of Atlanta, Noisey's new webseries that explores the complicated menage of music, drugs, and crime that is Atlanta, Georgia's rap scene, you start to understand what "cultural appropriation" means in a practical sense. Atlanta's first episode shows Curtis Snow -- a rapper, documentarian, former dope dealer -- literally cooking crack on a stove top. Later, we meet a whole cast characters who drive home that the music that comes out of Atlanta, trap music, is intimately tied up with the drug game and a way life. "Trap music is like, crack baby beats," Snow explains. "When a rapper's rapping, you should be able to smell the dope cooking." But now the vibrant scene in Atlanta is changing, as witnessed by iLoveMakonnen's DIY sound and Mike Will Made It's rise to a mega producer who now makes beats for the likes of Miley Cyrus. With Thomas Morton as your guide, featuring Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Migos, the ATL Twins, and more, Atlanta gives you a sense of who is actually about that life (hint: it's not the ATL Twins), what that life really looks like, and how it's changing.
Watch the first episode, below, and head to Noisey to check out the rest.
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Walt Jr. From Breaking Bad Is a DJ Now and Coming For NYC
Breaking Bad has been over and done with for more than a year now, but we just can't let go. There's the Bob Odenkirk spinoff Better Call Saul (premiering on AMC this weekend), there's Esurance's Bryan Cranston-starring Walter White Super Bowl commercial, there's the garage door-scene loop that will make you slowly go crazy, until you are found one day rocking back and forth on a bench in Albuquerque wearing a Los Pollos Hermanos t-shirt and softly crying. But can any of these Breaking Bad extensions drop sick monster beats that will make you turn up like you smoked a pound of Blue Sky? RJ Mitte, who played the breakfast-loving Walt Jr. and whose sole line of dialogue for years was mostly "good eggs, mom," is bringing his celebrity DJ game to NYC's B.B. Kings Blues Club on April 10th for a "themed DJ event" called Breaking Beats. Evidence of Mitte's actual DJing abilities is scarce and how the show's theme will play out at the event is unclear (please let the evening include Cheerios and bacon confetti raining from the rafters when the beat drops), but who cares? We're there. Tickets are here.
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Another Version of Kanye West's "All Day" Has Leaked
Photo by Carly Otness/BFAnyc.comBefore Kanye West introduced "Only One" and "FourFiveSeconds," a rough cut of a potential new track with a completely different vibe leaked last year. "All Day" may never officially end up on a Kanye album now that the rapper has started making auto-tuned, acoustic tracks with Paul McCartney, but a cleaner version of the song has surfaced.
When West appeared on Ellen to preview the "Only One" music video, he told the daytime talk show host that he was still unsure about the album's direction. "I don't know yet. We're still trying to find it. Trying to find the vibe," West said. "This transition from what I felt when I did Yeezus to what I feel now, and we're just creating, so we haven't found it yet."
Listen to "All Day," above, and hope that we get more of this on the new album.
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Watch John Mayer Interview Katy Perry's Super Bowl Sharks on the Late Late Show
Since Craig Ferguson departed from the Late Late Show on CBS, a series of delightfully arbitrary guest hosts have taken over. Previously, The Mindy Project's Adam Pally hosted what was probably the weirdest segment of late night TV on a major network and now John Mayer is the latest guest host to fill void until James Cordon starts. If you're still obsessed with the charismatic sharks from Katy Perry's Super Bowl halftime show, just watch John Mayer interview them around the 8:45 mark ("Don't they need water to survive?"), above, instead of getting a very permanent tattoo like this guy did.
Read More: Inside the Insane Glue Commercial That Won the Super Bowl
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IDGAF Queen Rihanna Swims with Sharks for Harper's Bazaar
Following Katy Perry's Super Bowl halftime show, sharks are finally having their fashion moment. Rihanna has undoubtedly perfected her bad gal brand, but she took it to a whole new level for Harpers Bazaar. In their March 2015 issue, Rihanna effortlessly swims and poses with sharks. She even goes so far as to shade them: "I try my best to avoid the sharks of life, but I have had my share of experiences with them," Rihanna explains in the issue's cover story. "In those cases I just have to handle them accordingly. But I do not swim with sharks... sharks swim with sharks."
Watch Rihanna conquer land and sea in the behind the scenes video from the Harper's Bazaar shoot, below.
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Rapper Jay Boogie Is Like the Love Child of Liberace and Lauryn Hill
"Around the 5th grade, I had a choice" recalls the feline, Brooklyn-based rapper Jay Boogie. "This is the moment where I take this, flip it and dip it and make everyone aware before they're able to label me, or I'm going to be forever scorned." Boogie is alluding to his decision to take ownership of his unique sexuality, flamboyance, femininity and generally larger-than-life persona at a young age. This was not a "coming out" so much as a crucial moment of self-awareness, acceptance and realization that his fluid sexuality didn't have to be viewed as a problem in need of fixing. Now, fresh off the release of his first full-length album, Allure (Doom Dab), Boogie is faced once more with the challenge of deflecting unwanted categorization by not simply his peers, but a stubbornly myopic music industry content to keep the young artist in a convenient little box labeled "queer rap." During our conversation in the back of a Lower East Side post-production studio, it becomes clear that Boogie, who was born Joel (Joey) Rayos ("It means lightning in Spanish"), is less concerned with standing out from the very in-vogue NYC LGBT rap scene than living up to the expectations of his own imaginary and highly exclusive club. "Jay Boogie is just a melting pot of a few of the 'Boogies' that I look up to," he says. "You've got Liberace with his legendary boogie-woogie craze and then you have L Boogie -- that's Lauryn Hill. I just want to be inducted into the Boogie family." It's not completely off-base to look at Jay Boogie as some sort of love child of these two genre-blurring, singular entertainers. Boogie echoes Liberace's gentle but commanding showmanship and winking vaudevillian cheekiness while sharing Lauryn Hill's radical spirit and her unique ability to both rap and sing.
Boogie was born in East New York, Brooklyn where, he says, "all the beasts and black sheeps from the east reside." Boogie might be pulling punches slightly when he refers to East New York as a "heteronormative" community and though the rapper is quick to acknowledge that things were difficult for most young men from his neighborhood and even the most basic hoodlums were trying to find themselves, it's fair to imagine that he had an especially rough go. "Even before I was able to determine it in my head, people were telling me I was gay," he remembers. "People did it for me. It was almost my duty to explore it to see what they were talking about."
Boogie went on to spend the particularly formative years between 4th and 9th grades with family in the Dominican Republic, where at fourteen years old he had what he called a "sexual escapade" with an older male cousin. While his cousin and others hid their sexuality or denied moments of exploration, Boogie was quickly becoming comfortable in his own skin. "I would hang with boys in the DR. They would climb trees for mangos and I would wait for them at the bottom," Boogie explains. "They would call me pájaro, which means bird in Spanish. That's fine. I never took it as an insult." Boogie eventually returned to Brooklyn for his sophomore year of high school. Things were rougher than ever. "I was legendary for my use of pepper spray," he recalls with a laugh. At sixteen years old, his brother "officially outed" him to their incredulous mother. "Like a lot of people, she didn't get it. What people call gay to me, is not so much about sexual orientation -- it's a lifestyle, a social construct, and how I express myself. I love who loves me. I'm me-sexual."You can track the full arch of Boogie's complex relationship with his mother on his 2014 debut EP, Pretty Spitta. It begins with a hilarious exchange in an old school DoggyStyle-like skit, which sees a young Jay Boogie defiantly fawning over Barbies much to the outrage of his conservative Dominican mother and comes to a glorious resolution in the hauntingly trippy, glitch-gospel anthem, "Ave Maria." It wasn't until pre-production for Allure that Boogie began receiving messages from people (mostly young gay Latinos) who had attached themselves to certain lyrics from the EP, using the lyrics as spiritual armor and emotional self defense. "I realized I was speaking for so many more [people] than I ever bargained for," Boogie says.
Allure has dispensed entirely with the skits, instead focusing on ten complex, bass-heavy, "banjee cunt" tracks that signify a shift in Jay Boogie's perspective, one that's turned decidedly outward in contrast to Pretty Spitta's Freudian introspection. There are several times when the album trades concise and clever lyrical acrobatics (of which there are plenty) for onomatopoeia, old school Scat and alliterative beat box attacks. For instance, the album's opener, "Body," (whose video we're excited to be premiering below), begins with a series of "purrs," an extension of producer/emcee Kevin JZ's legendary Ballroom call to arms, or what Boogie describes as the "ignition for all the sex sirens to wake up and start performing." The Ballroom references aren't incidental: back in 2009 he walked in the "BQ Vogue Femme" and "Fem Queen Face" categories at Ballroom competitions though he says he's more of a "spectator" these days.
Official video for "Body"
With "Body," Boogie is not simply asking his audience to appreciate his corporal self, but also a growing "body" of creative content that he is proud to stand behind. With this single, the artist is essentially welcoming you to his oeuvre. "Witch Samurai," Allure's soon to be second single, is built on a foggy, cinematic audioscape that Boogie slices through with a merciless verbal katana. "Guac" is Boogie's token ode to making coin and it's backed by his strong desire to share the success with his East New York homies. "Cuerpo," the album's penultimate club track, is more than just the Spanish bookend to Allure's impressive opener, it's also a ruthless tease for what Boogie's future Reggaeton album might sound like and a prime example of his impressive versatility.
That versatility extends beyond his music. Boogie plays a leading role in an increasingly prominent subset of New York's young creative scene, a subset that meets at the intersection of Brooklyn and downtown Manhattan's fashion, music, nightlife and LGBT communities. It's a cultural swirl that includes folks like Hood By Air's Shayne Oliver, designer Luar Zepol (a longtime friend and frequent collaborator of Boogie's), rapper/nightlife maven Contessa Stuto ("she's my gay mother, my Courtney Love"), stylist and party promoter Oscar "1992" Sanchez, Chromat designer Becca McCharen and musicians like Cakes Da Killa, Tigga Calore, Le1f, Mykki Blanco, Princess Nokia and Zebra Katz. Cross-pollination and collaboration is rampant, from the custom architectural Chromat and Luar Zepol-designed pieces Boogie wears in his "Body" video to appearances in friends' music videos like Contessa Stuto's "Reign In Ratchet."
You'll be able to see this community -- and a taste of their creative collaboration -- in action tonight when Boogie and his crew take over Wallplay Gallery (118 Orchard St.) on the LES for an intimate "unplugged" performance and multimedia event titled Behind the Body. Designers like Torr Love, Mario Horne, and Lauren Gesswein will be exhibiting pieces alongside select outfits worn in the "Body" music video, which will screen. "It's going to be a situation," say Boogie of the evening, as his talons scratch gently under his black do-rag. "I hope that those who don't know me so well, or have questions, will just come up and ask me. Just ask me. I'm open. I'm right here."
Jay wears a coat by Tableaux Vivant
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A Tinder-like App for Potheads is Finally Here
Lonely stoners rejoice! While I personally prefer to smoke weed alone in a darkened corner of my room, a new app called High There! aims to connect cannabis lovers with a simple swipe. High There! basically operates like Tinder except that every potential match is "420 friendly." Todd Mitchem, the company's CEO, explained to co.EXIST why stoners just can't interact with normals on other dating sites or apps. "I hated dating on other sites and apps because as soon as the idea of my cannabis consumption came up--date over. I actually walked out of a date (after paying of course) and said to myself, that's it. Weeding out the Ms. Wrong from Ms. Right was complex. Selfishly I hope this helps others like me."
If you have an Android phone and live in a state where weed is fully legal or legal for medicinal use, now there's nothing stopping you from finding the perfect person to eat large quantities of Doritos with. The app is not currently available for the iPhone. Get the app, here.
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Five Reasons Why New York Men's Fashion Week Is a Great Idea
Public School Spring 2015 photo via Today the CFDA announced that New York City is joining the ranks of the other global fashion capitals Paris, Milan and Paris by hosting its very own Men's Fashion Week. The first installment of New York Fashion Week: Men's will take place July 13-16 at Skylight Clarkson Square in SoHo. Here are five reasons why we're tickled pink.
1. Men's Fashion Week means male models and frankly the thought of the cutest model boys skateboarding around our city in summer wearing no shirts and carrying cute printed backpacks makes it feel like Christmas in July. We are going to be cruising the streets non-stop.
2. Men's week is so much less attended and less hysterical than women's week so Mr. Mickey has a much better chance of getting the front row seats he so richly deserves. Being less hectic means there's also less schlepping and PRs are much more laid back and easy to deal with.
3. Even the most butt-ugly rotten collection looks good on sexy boys. Watching women's collections Mr. M is focused purely on the looks and although it's fun to fall in love with new girls on the catwalk or enjoy the sashay-chantay shenanigans of old favorites MM always clocks any shortcomings in the clothes themselves. If RJ King or Sean O'Pry saunter past wearing poorly-made potato sacks Mr. M will still emerge from the proceeding declaring the collection a triumph as he wipes a drop of drool from his chin.
4. We New Yorkers can finally hold our heads up high in London again. Let's face it we all ADORE London but like Beyoncé and Rihanna, we compete for the title of Coolest Bitch of the fashion universe. Yes Paris and Milan rule but NYC and London have a special rivalry and are always trying to top each other. London launched their men's fashion week two years ago and with enthusiastic support from the British Fashion Council and British big shots like Burberry, Alexander McQueen and (London-based American) Tom Ford it's been a humdinger of a success. The CFDA's dynamic duo Diane von Furstenberg and Steven Kolb have stepped up for Team New York so we'll be able to show London that NYC also knows how to make some men's fashion magic happen.
5. We now have a global gathering in the slow weeks of mid-July to fill our Twitter and Instagram with and make the kids we went to high school with jealous about how fabulous our lives are.
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Listen to the 50 Shades of Grey Remixes of Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love" and "Haunted"
via InstagramBeyoncé is trying to trick us into caring about 50 Shades of Grey and it's totally working. Over the Summer, Beyoncé hinted at her contributions to the 50 Shades soundtrack and now the downtempo remixes of "Crazy in Love" and "Haunted," off her 2013 self-titled album, have surfaced. And yeah, they're pretty f*cking hot. You can listen to the Boots remix of "Crazy in Love" and Michael Diamond's "Haunted" remix, below. Both songs will appear on the 50 Shades of Grey soundtrack.
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Madonna Just Premiered Her "Living For Love" Video On Snapchat
This afternoon we watched a troop of break-dancing minotaurs weave around a sequined bullfighter-esque Madonna and fortunately so can you -- for only 24 hours. The 56-year-old pop star premiered the music video for her new song "Living For Love" on Snapchat's weird, long form video section, "Discover," and is the first artist to do so. The track is the first single off Madonna's new album, Rebel Heart, which has already been leaked twice but will come out for real on March 10. As snarky tech site Enadget put it, "by premiering her new video for 'Living for Love' on Snapchat, she 's telling that audience to consume her much the way they do when they get a 10-second glimpse of a wang." Eh, sounds about right.↧
Say Goodbye to Your Day: The 120 Minutes Archive Is a Wonderland
Any alternateen worth their ringer tees was obsessed with MTV's late-night weekly alt video show 120 minutes -- if you were born between 1975 and 1985, chances are you currently have
some VHS tapes stashed in your parents' garage marked "120 Minutes, DO
NOT TAPE OVER." My mom famously recorded some of a PBS Mystery! series over my sister's VHS of the Beastie Boys' 120 Minutes episode -- the one where they did "Sabotage" live and MCA spent the whole time dressed as Sir Stewart Wallace -- and it was like there had been a death. Airing Sunday nights from 11 pm to 1 AM, the show was a mix of classics and artists whose work would never be shown during the light of day
on MTV -- including the Sex Pistols, Nick Cave, Jesus Lizard and Sonic Youth -- as well as bands that had major cross-over success like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, etc. Though the show went off the air in 2003 with a brief revival from 2011-2013, an internet archivist named Tylerc has created The 120 Minutes Archive, which lists every musical guest host and video shown on every episode during the series' 21-year history. So cancel your plans, say goodbye to the day, and relive the 1992 magic that was the "Detachable Penis" video. There's also a deep well of rap-rock videos, starting in 1994, if you're curious as to whether 311's videos hold up. (They don't.)
Below, a few gems from the site.
Sonic Youth / Dirty Boots
King Missle/Detachable Penis
Cut Your Hair/Pavement
Andres/ L7
MC 900ft Jesus - If I Only Had A Brain
Below, a few gems from the site.
Sonic Youth / Dirty Boots
King Missle/Detachable Penis
Cut Your Hair/Pavement
Andres/ L7
MC 900ft Jesus - If I Only Had A Brain
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More Pages to Explore .....
