What does Iggy Pop smell like? If you believe his latest advertising campaign, the answer is Paco Rabanne aftershave — because, as of today, Iggy is the face of the veteran Spanish designer’s new fragrance. He’ll apparently be featuring in a range of TV commercials for the perfume next year, but for now, all we’ve got as evidence is this photo, which has been doing the rounds of fashion blogs this morning. If it was anyone else doing this, we’d probably be lambasting them for shamelessly selling out — but just look at the expression on Iggy’s face. He doesn’t look especially pleased to be there, does he? And also, why does the fragrance come in a bottle that’s apparently the size of a man’s head? The world of fashion is endlessly confusing. [via Dangerous Minds]
There’s always that girl — the one in the songs, the one in the photographs, the one in the memoirs. The one who walks into a room and sets it aglow. She’ll tear up a rock ‘n’ roller’s heart, put it back together, and inspire the hell out of him, leaving her lasting mark on both his discography and biography. Yes, we’re talking muses, but not just any ol’ muses; we’re noting those who graduated from their tumultuous lives as expert inspirers to become successful in their own right. Check out some professors, artists, and cake shop proprietors after the jump.
When the discussion of the finest lyricists in rock ‘n’ roll comes up, you tend to hear the same names mentioned again and again. Bob Dylan. Leonard Cohen. Tom Waits. Morrissey. Nick Cave. Warren Zevon. They’re all worthy choices, for sure, but we find it a bit sad that there are plenty of other fantastic lyricists who never seem to make their way into such conversations. After the jump, we’ve put together a collection of lyricists who we reckon don’t get the credit they deserve, either because their music is generally undervalued or because their skills in other areas tend to overshadow their linguistic talents. Let us know in the comments who else you reckon doesn’t get the lyrical love they should do.
A few days ago we shared adorable pictures from the early years of some of our favorite writers with you, including an amazing photo of Ernest Hemingway in a dress. Today, we thought it might be fun to revisit the concept, but this time turning our focus on the music world. We don’t know about you, but we never really picture rock ‘n’ roll stars as having childhoods; wearing clothes that your parents have picked out for you and going through an awkward stage is the opposite of bad-ass. So, if you’re curious as to what Courtney Love looked like decades before she ever met Kurt — or you’d like to see how freaking cute he was as a little kid — click through to check out our roundup now.
Mick Jagger hasn’t been in a movie since 2001′s The Man from Elysian Fields. Yesterday, Deadline reported that the Rolling Stones frontman may be in line to play a Rupert Murdoch-like character in Tabloid, which is being written by A History of Violence scribe Josh Olson. This got us thinking about other musicians who made the crossover into film. Jagger’s played everyone from Turner in Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg’s excellent Performance, to a “bonejacker” (oof) in Freejack — which currently holds a shameful 15% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Here are other songbirds that also made the leap from stage to screen, in order from best to worst. Leave us your list in the comments.
For forty years, celebrated photographer Bob Gruen has captured rock ‘n’ roll and its shiniest, sweatiest, rowdiest stars and most mythologized icons. He captured John Lennon, posed on a rooftop in a “New York City” tourist tee that the photographer picked up for $5 off the street, Debbie Harry roaming through Coney Island in an indelible, natural capture, a young and fierce Joan Jett, lounging in a hotel room. Gruen was there to document it all.
His hard cover book Rock Seen goes on sale next month, with an introduction by Debbie Harry, a curated selection of his favorite shots, and insider anecdotes. To celebrate its release, here are some of the shots from the book, courtesy of Bob Gruen — a munching Sid Vicious with a face streaked in mustard, “brainy” buds Alice Cooper and Salvador Dalí and John grinding up on Yoko. Enjoy your nostalgia tour!
One of the wonderful things about the internet is that there’s almost inevitably someone out there who’ll go to the trouble of doing something like… well, for example, scanning every single issue of iconic ’70s music magazine Rock Scene. The magazine published 54 issues from 1973 until 1982 — founded by Richard and Lisa Robinson, it also gave the world photographers Bob Gruen and Leee Black Childers, along with a heap of fascinating reportage from 1970s NYC. Austin, Texas resident Ryan Richardson has digitized every page of every issue and made them available as free, Flash-based flipbooks on his website. We’ve spent a very enjoyable morning flicking through his site, and collated a selection of our favorite moments — head over to rockscenester.com for lots, lots more.
Since the days of Andy Warhol, the art world has openly engaged with the cult of celebrity. It’s not uncommon for an artist to use celebrities’ likenesses in their pieces — Daniel Edwards has made a career out of sculpting public figures like Britney Spears in provocative positions — yet rarely does one see works as lifelike and simple as Carmen Ortiz’s illustrations. A self-taught artist, Ortiz creates pencil portraits that are remarkably detailed and beautifully shaded. With the increasing popularity of digital artwork, her hand-drawn portraits are a refreshing change. Click through to see some of our favorite portraits of actors and musicians, including Thom Yorke and Anne Hathaway. If you’re interested in seeing more of her work or purchasing a print, head over to Ortiz’s website.
The punk and post-punk movements of the late ’70s and early ’80s were times of great experimentation — and the revolution reverberated beyond music to the visual arts and design, too. Just as the hippie sounds of the ’60s spawned psychedelic gig posters, bands like the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, Blondie, and Joy Division ushered in a new era for graphic design. From a cold, gridded, red-and-black Joy Division poster to a Buzzcocks ad featuring a woman with an iron for a head and mouths for nipples, Rude and Reckless: Punk/Post-Punk Graphics, 1976-82 showcases the wild, witty, and sometimes even beautiful art of underground music. The exhibition is on view at Steven Kasher Gallery in New York through August 19th. Click through for a gallery of our favorite pieces, then visit the gallery’s website to see more.
Dangerous Minds has posted a wonderful set of photos that place Iggy Pop — in his big-time drug days — in a high-school gymnasium with a couple hundred teenagers who clearly have no idea WTF they’re looking at. The images come from Iggy and the Stooges’ performance at Michigan’s Farmington High School on December 5, 1970 and made their way to The Rockets frontman Jim Edwards’ Facebook page via a co-worker who saw the show as a student. Each shot is a classic, but our favorite is the inexplicable picture above, of Iggy standing in front of a crowd of clearly unsettled young guys — with his fly wide open.
