Remember Ann Kirsten Kennis, the former model who sued Vampire Weekend for $2 million for using her photo on the cover of last year’s Contra? Well, over a year later, Photo District News reports that the preppy-on-preppy litigation was settled after the band and XL Records agreed to pay Kennis an undisclosed sum, and the case was dismissed by court order last week. VW and XL maintain that the true fault lies photographer Tod Brody, who apparently did not take the picture but licensed the Polaroid of Kennis to Vampire Weekend for $5,000 and allegedly provided a forged model release. The band and their label are still pursuing a countersuit against Brody, who has been representing himself since June, when his lawyer quit over “lack of cooperation and failure to pay his bills.” Sounds like a character! [via Coudal Partners]
In an ongoing project, artist Joe Simpson (no, not that Joe Simpson) creates beautifully detailed, near-photorealistic portraits of his favorite musicians. He meets with the musicians, takes their photographs, and then works from the photos to create these amazing oil paintings. At present he has completed about 14 paintings — he aims to create around 30 before the project goes up as a solo exhibition later this year. Click through to see our favorite pieces so far, and for more of Simpson’s beautiful musician portraits and to see a few of his other projects, check out his website.
[Editor's note: For the next two Fridays, Flavorwire will be counting down our 20 most popular features of 2010. This post, which originally ran on January 19, 2010, comes in at position number 16.] Inspired by Lauren Leto’s “Stereotyping People By Their Favorite Author,” we realized the incredible potential for a mercilessly judgmental list of indie band stereotypes. It is a common fact that Cormac McCarthy readers are men who don’t eat cream cheese, but what about those who listen to The XX on repeat and The Flaming Lips on hallucinogens? They need labels, too. After the jump, in collaboration with contributor Jeff Luppino-Esposito, we lay down the reckless assumptions.
A childhood spent in his native Zimbabwe informs the uplifting, intensely personal music of London-based singer/songwriter Tinashé and his debut album, Saved.
Playing modern pop with nods to Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, Vampire Weekend, and his original hero, Michael Jackson, the ebullient young artist tempers his guitar-driven tracks with traditional African influences and instrumentation. From the album’s transcendent title track to the longing “Good Times,” it’s a record full of hope, promise, and fantastic tunes.
As Justin Bieber unleashes his first acoustic album onto shoppers today, there’s a slightly more mature and pleasant milestone to celebrate in the world of stripped-down performances: Unplugged, MTV’s experiment in minimal concert performance programming, turns 21 today.
Originally turned down by MTV executives in 1989 who suggested that the concept be taken to PBS, the show has created some of the most epic and beloved music moments of the past two decades. In an age when the “M” in MTV has officially (officially!) lost all meaning, the Unplugged format is shockingly still alive, and actually gives that “M” its last remaining bit of dignity. Read More »
Halloween: It’s always more complicated than you want it to be. Even if you’ve got your plans set, it’s a struggle to find the perfect costume — without resorting to the same crappy, overpriced, pre-packaged getups everyone else will be wearing. So, this October, Flavorpill is helping you out with easy, weekly DIY costume guides tackling four different pop-culture realms. Don’t worry — there’s no sewing involved.
For week two, we turn to music. Our roundup of costumes ripped from the headlines (and music videos) that you can assemble yourself features everyone from M.I.A. to Lil Wayne to Vampire Weekend.
1. That’s awkward: Because of her recent drug conviction, Paris Hilton was refused entry into Japan, where she was traveling on business. So she turned around and went back home. [via CNN]
2. OK Go had another one of their videos go viral — even though no one we know really likes their music. [via Hipster Runoff]
3. Did you know that Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig was once in a hip-hop group called L’homme Run? Listen to a rather silly track entitled “Pizza Party.” [via Buzzfeed]
4. A new Facebook campaign has been started to get Stan Lee to host Saturday Night Live. Do you think we have another Betty White on our hands? [via Pop Candy]
5. In case you’ve been wondering, this is what a bed bug looks like in extreme closeup. [via Time]
Babies were wearing rompers and eating organic way before such things were considered cool. But many of today’s parents are taking it a step further, dressing their offspring in American Apparel clothing and buying them faux-Mac products. While we’ll admit that we wouldn’t mind the adult version of a few of the products after the jump, we’ve got to ask: Whatever happened to putting your kids in embarrassing matching sailor suits, giving them a rubber ball to play with, and calling it a day?
