We’re not sure exactly what’s behind the recent nail art explosion, but as long as it continues to produce amazing pop-culture tributes on a tiny, personal scale, it has our attention. Last week, we brought you the blood-flecked fingertips of a Dexter groupie and some Arrested Development Mr. Banana Grabber press-ons in our roundup of amazing TV-inspired nails. Before that, we went highbrow with literary nail art paying tribute to everyone from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Harry Potter. Now, nail art superfans, are you ready to rock ‘n’ roll? Today’s haul of musician-inspired nail art includes a dazzling riff on David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane, a set of crazy Nicki Minaj claws, and even a perfectly executed Daniel Johnston manicure.
If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters. What would be on the personal playlists of Holden Caulfield or Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn or Harry Potter, Tintin or Humbert Humbert? Something revealing, we bet. Or at least something danceable. Read on for a cozy reading soundtrack, character study, or yet another way to emulate your favorite literary hero. This week: the confused narrator of Jeffrey Eugenides’ family epic, Cal Stephanides.
Los Angeles photographer Brad Elterman was “a teenage paparazzo.” A legend of sorts, he started out with a borrowed camera at 16 and quickly became a regular at lavish hotel parties, private rock star gatherings and… wherever David Bowie could be found trying to walk down the street without having his picture taken. It helps that he’d befriended the Runaways, Blondie and Joey Ramone and the captures themselves are instantly iconic. This Gene Simmons and Brook Shields moment? Priceless.
There’s an almost naivete in these glimpses of rock superstars of yesteryear, helped in part by Elterman’s own commentary. He eagerly recalls how a stranger at the Beverly Hills Hotel party suddenly breaks into a topless boogie. He remembers fondly how teen heartthrob Leif Garret asked him to come over to photograph that new “knockout” girlfriend he’s got. “Joan’s just being Joan,” he says, of a photograph of Joan Jett giving him the finger and snarling. Flipping through these captures makes us almost nostalgic for places we’ve never been, but it’s all in good fun. Check out more shots at Brad Elterman’s gallery, the photoblog American Suburb X and Elterman’s book Like It Was Yesterday.
Well, sports fans, the day has come. Someone has finally made us care about Tim Tebow. Not because of whatever football thing is happening. (If you’re still as confused about that as we are, sources tell us Gawker has a pretty helpful intro.) No, we’re paying attention to Tebow today because, last night, Jimmy Fallon mashed him up with David Bowie and took the stage in full Ziggy Stardust-meets-Denver Broncos regalia to perform as “Tebowie.” But Fallon didn’t just look the part — he did a pretty mean Bowie, and rewriting “Space Oddity” as a conversation between the devout Tebow and a Jesus Christ who’s tired of the quarterback bugging him on his day of rest was a stroke of genius.
The Sailor Jerry Presents concert series sails on, and the most recent addition to its roster has been most excellent Detroit garage stalwarts the Dirtbombs. We nominated the band’s latest album, Party Store, as one of the most underrated of 2011 during a mid-year wrap-up, and our opinion hasn’t changed — if you haven’t heard it, it’s a collection of covers of old Detroit techno tracks reinvented as garage-rock tunes. It’s also a fantastic and original piece of work, and still gets a regular workout on the Flavorpill stereo. Plus, it catalyzed various discussions about other great covers records from over the years, inspiring us to round up ten of our all-time favorites, starting with Party Store itself.
Over the weekend, we celebrated David Bowie’s 65th birthday with a roundup of photos of the glam superstar doing boring, everyday activities like riding the subway and checking his email. You know what else he likes to do? Send letters. As we’ve noted before, Bowie is a crackerjack correspondent — especially when it comes to keeping in touch with his adoring fan-base. Our friends over at Letters of Note just posted a letter that a post-Ziggy Bowie sent to Susie Maguire back in April of 1974. A sample of the text: “At the moment I am finishing me new album and I hope you are enjoying ‘Rebel Rebel,’ which will be included in the album. I am mad on it. Hope you are.” Who knew that a form letter could be so endearing? Click through to check out the full thing — as well as the extremely stylish letterhead.
Happy Birthday, David Bowie! The ultra-flamboyant king of glam rock turns 65 today, if you can believe it. Though he’s known for his avant-garde attitude, ever-changing persona and incredible style no matter what his incarnation of choice (can you think of anyone else who looks as good in a sharp suit as he does in glitter face paint? We can’t either), he’s also just a normal guy. Sure, we have to try really hard to think about Bowie without conjuring images of the boy from Mars crawling around on the stage, but believe it or not, he is actually a person who has to do his laundry and stuff. So to celebrate Bowie’s 65th birthday and show that we love him no matter what he’s doing, click through to check out our gallery of Bowie doing ordinary things — riding the subway, making coffee, checking his email. You’ll see that even the great David Bowie is mortal, just like us. Except, wait, way better. Sigh.
Musician and rock archivist Jim Laspesa has been sharing some drool-worthy pics on his Facebook page. The most recent batch comes from a swap meet in Pasadena, California and shows several rock and roll legends mixing it up (with one even wearing a bathrobe). The source of the images is unknown, but whoever shot the likes of Jagger, Bowie, and Jimmy Page must have attended the best damn parties ever. Hit the jump for more vintage photos you wish you owned. Read More »
[Editor's note: While your Flavorwire editors take a much-needed holiday break, we're revisiting some of our most popular features of the year. This post was originally published July 30, 2011.] It’s the last weekend of July and summer is in full swing (it won’t last forever, though, so if you haven’t busted out your bathing suit by now, you’d better do it soon). We already know that many of the literary greats we admire liked to flit around the beach in their bathing suits, but what about their sonic storytelling counterparts? Turns out they fancied a swim now and again too. Not surprising, since their days were most likely filled with sticky tour bus rides and sweat-inducing live performances. Also not surprising: they tend to look just a little better in their next-to-nothing duds than our dear group of authors, since for many of them, part of their job was inspiring teenage lovesickness. Click through to see our gallery of rock stars from the 60s, 70s and 80s as they frolic, pose and pout in their swimsuits.
