Sandra Bullock. Justin Bieber. The cast of Jersey Shore. Sarah Palin. Kate Middleton. LeBron James. Betty White. And Jennifer freaking Lopez. These are the first eight of Barbara Walters’ ten “Most Fascinating People” of 2010 to be revealed. The other two will be kept under wraps until the yearly special airs December 9th. But as far as we’re concerned, the current lineup doesn’t bode well. In fact, it got us thinking about who captivated our attention most this year — and who we’d most like to sit down for a chat with. Our top ten, and the questions we’d ask them, are after the jump.
Crispian Mills from Kula Shaker nearly ruined it for everyone. But East-meets-West fusion doesn’t have to be a floppy-haired twat with a sitar or The Beatles waddling around Rishikesh in a cloud of smoke. To celebrate Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, we’ve put together another of our monthly mixtape primers. This time around, we’re looking at the phenomenon of cultural crossover, and what happens when Western musicians interpret Eastern sounds, and vice versa. There’s a full Grooveshark playlist at the end – or stick it on a C60 and play it in the car!
Well, here’s an unlikely, nascent trend: rappers wearing hijabs. Yesterday, we called M.I.A. out for donning a burqa she designed (and tackily decorated with her own song lyrics). And today, Animal points us to a truly bizarre XXL magazine cover that features 50 Cent — that master of cultural sensitivity — in a veil, with his arm thrown around protégé Soulja Boy, who just happens to be fondling himself.
Now, while we would never question an actual Muslim, female rapper‘s choice to appear in a hijab, we are certainly wondering what Fitty and Maya’s getups are supposed to mean. Clearly, they’re both provocateurs, and each outfit is meant to incite controversy. And they will. But beyond that — and perhaps some lip service from M.I.A. about Muslim women’s rights — the gestures seem pretty empty to us.
While the Sleater-Kinney-shaped hole in our hearts remains gaping, some serious consolation can be found in Corin Tucker’s debut solo album, 1,000 Years. The riot grrrl-turned-righteous mama blends her fierce wail and earth-shattering guitar licks with softer touches of strings and acoustic guitar on her “middle-aged mom record,” an album that she admits is “not a record that a young person would write.” In fact, Tucker’s nine-year-old son and two-year-old daughter come first, traveling with their mom on short tours in support of the record.
As 1,000 Years proves — in tracks like the hard, fast “Doubt” — being a mom doesn’t stop the rock. In fact, lots of ladies have mastered the art of rocking and rearing. After the jump, we celebrate Tucker’s return to music with our list of the toughest rock ‘n roll moms, who balance the two roles without missing a beat.
Oh, M.I.A. Purveyor of beats and vague political rants. Eater of truffle fries that you apparently didn’t order. Wearer of neon-printed leggings. And an artist whose sartorial choices — already fairly unorthodox — have been flying off the hinge lately in a big way. Take the burqa she wore Saturday to Spike TV’s Scream Awards — not only was it the sort of clouded statement piece we’re used to (and tired of) seeing from her, it came complete with the lyrics of “XXXO” printed on it. Tacky much? We can get down with the animal prints and the gold jewelry and even the weirdo captain hats, but sometimes M.I.A.’s wardrobe looks like she assembled it at random from the wreckage of a particularly garish costume shop. We deconstruct some of her greatest fashion offenses of all time after the jump.
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.
Eliot Rausch and Lukas Korver of Phos Pictures were the big winners Saturday night at the first ever Vimeo Awards. Their documentary, Last Minutes with ODEN walked away with the Best Documentary Award, as well as the Best Video Award. Remember our beloved Bottle? Well, it lost out to Eran Hilleli’s Between Bears in the Animation category. The winners were selected by a distinguished jury that included David Lynch, Morgan Spurlock, and M.I.A.
1. Kanye West visited Facebook headquarters yesterday to preview new material from his upcoming album, Good Ass Job, which comes out on September 14. (video) [via Vulture]
2. After underwhelming both fans and critics with her performance at HARD NYC, MIA is promising to make good: “Fuck it! im gonna do a free show in nyc when i get back, tho i dont have powers over rain! If u still have the hard ticket u free! xxxo.” [via NME]
3. You’ll never guess how much Chelsea Clinton‘s highly-anticipated wedding is going to cost Bill and Hill. [via NYDN]
4. Adam DiVello, co-creator of The Hills, is upset that the scripted reality show didn’t conclude with his completely fake ending idea: a big reveal that Lauren Conrad was Brody Jenner‘s girlfriend. [via NYP]
5. Ivy Bean, the world’s oldest Twitter user, has died at the age of 104. She had 56,300 followers! (Note: When she was born in 1905, the fastest way to deliver news was a telegram.) [via Daily Mail]
M.I.A. had a lot riding on Saturday’s HARD NYC festival on Governors Island. Following disappointing reviews of her latest album and the cancellation of the LA incarnation of the event, this was a chance for her to soar back, phoenix-like, and reclaim her crown. Unfortunately, a poor sound mix and a thunderstorm that cut her set short saw to it that that didn’t happen. Fortunately, however, for the thousands of fans in attendance, the day offered plenty of other highlights to make the excursion more than worthwhile.
