The Year in Songs

13 of the best acts and songs of 2013 and some of the oldies but goodies revisited this year.

2013 has been an interesting year for music...From mainstream pop revelations to newcomers on their way to stardom to dependable artists and their dependably good music, here is a rundown of 13 songs I've enjoyed, made memories to and most definitely will keep on replay even when 2013 is over. Enjoy!

J. Cole feat. Miguel Power Trip

 For Pete's sake, homie, pull it together

                  Just fuck her one time and be through it forever

But...

You can't sing, rap, write a song about love playing you like a game and make it sound, honestly sexy and effortlessly cool. J. Cole does just that. When Miguel starts singing in the chorus, followed immediately by J. Cole's persistent "we are, we are, we are...", you know you got yourself a song you'll be playing on those kinds of  nights, when all your broken heart could do is walk the streets and those orange lights alone and some drink in you. One of the-to borrow the term, sickest hip-hop, RnB hits this year. 

Sam Smith Nirvana

Oh you take me to Nirvana
I don't think this will last
But you're here in my arms

Listening to Sam Smith soar through  high notes and give justice to all the fantastic musical build-up of Nirvana's verses makes you want to cry. It's grand in terms of vocals, but humble because of its intimate, it's just-you-and-me lyrics. Definitely makes the perfect pair: handsome, dramatic vocals courtesy of Sam Smith and great, unbridled writing. It's one of 2013's little known gems of a sad love song. 

Lady Gaga feat. R. Kelly Do What U Want

Sometimes I'm scared I suppose
If you ever let me go
I would fall apart
If you break my heart
So just take my body
And don't stop the party

Regardless what people say about Gaga, she still had an awesome year. ART POP is a serious (dancey) contender in the musical arena and people ought to give her more credit for versatility AND keeping all things Gaga still intact. Teaming up with the smooth R. Kelly on this one-the way he sang his verse was just perfect, makes it an addicting song, you'll have to stop yourself from listening to it after a while. Who knew someone as hardcore Pop as Lady Gaga would make great music with a straight-up RnB singer like R. Kelly.? That's why I still anticipate Lady Gaga...

Phoenix Trying To Be Cool

Cool
I'm just trying to be cool
It's all because of you
Some fanatic attitude
We're both on

Phoenix has always been an intelligent band. They set the standard for what people should be listening to next. Up and coming bands that fall under good, are paying homage to the Phoenix sound, and you couldn't blame them. Trying To Be Cool is poetic, mellow but undeniably done up in true Phoenix fashion, never missing  out on the energetic beat. Plus you can't ignore the well orchestrated music video. Watch and repeat.

One Direction Little Black Dress

Little Black Dress 
just walked into the room
Makin' heads turn
Can't stop looking at you

To us Directioners (yes, late bloomer here), we're all quite aware how much the boys have grown up. One Direction is slowly peeling off the bubble gum trading it in for new spirits, borrowing from 80s rock n' roll. Little Black Dress is an example of their new sound. Simply written but catchy and still fun like most 1D songs, credits go to Louis and Liam who co-wrote the track and with credits to all their more mature, rugged voices combined, it's definitely one of the better songs off their new album. 

Miguel feat. Kendrick Lamar

How many drinks would it take you to leave with me?
Yeah, you look good and I got money 
but I don't wanna waste my time

Miguel had a great 2013. He's finally warming up under the spotlight he's long deserved and talent like his should never go unnoticed. How Many Drinks is just one of his many, growing hits, that reminds people how sexy should sound like in music. And what's so amusing about this song too is despite its honesty (the lyrics will help you understand), it doesn't sound trashy at all. So, how many drinks will it really take you to leave with me? Good job, good job.

Ariana Grande feat. Big Sean Right There

And if you never change,

I'm gonna stay right there

By now you'd think every whistling, high-hitting female singer has dried up the Mariah Carey comparison, right? Until Ariana Grande made it to the big leagues. The Nickelodeon star does have the chops (and courage) to cover a Mariah Carey hit like Emotions and make it sound like we're back to the early 90s, when Mariah had cute, curly hair. I'm a fan of Ariana because I'm a Mariah Carey fan and also because her timing is perfect. At a time crowded with Mileys, Gagas, Katys, Taylors and everyone else in between, Ariana's sound- the sweet fusion of RnB, Hip Hop and Pop, will take you back to the late 90s to early 2000s when this was the sound of choice. While it's not new, it's refreshing. She proves how timing is indeed everything. We're counting down Ariana. The skies real soon.

The Face

Photos from Pinterest. Cover art done by yours truly, c/o Phoster.

May for The Pool Collective is pretty exciting! While all my Diamond writers haven't sent in their works yet (boys and girls, I'm waiting hahaha.) I present to you the theme for May. Ladies & gentlemen, The Face: Dean, Hepburn, Brando and Kelly.

Well actually, I think it'd be better to call May 2013's theme, "Faces of Hollywood" but there's definitely more drama with less words on it. These are four of Hollywood's most iconic faces and even when there are still more beautiful people out there, these four, for me, have the most memorable and beautiful faces that have ever graced the screen. And I could never stress it enough, that for me, beauty especially the human face's, is definitely one of God's most precious gifts to mankind. Correct? 

And there is just something about the face that  summarizes almost everything of a person's, not to say that without a face we're less human, but this is pretty much the cover of a magazine, the cover that captures all of what's inside and gives the outside  an easily understandable material to look at, absorb and appreciate.

So for the writers out there, May 2013 is all about these faces, the faces of Old Hollywood and most definitely the faces the world, even generations from now will love, admire and always look back to as the standards of what stars on Earth ought to look like.

While it's still not May, please make sure to drop by The Pool Collective and read up on the stories published so far. I'm very very happy that I've got myself great writers, I hope this will attract many more talented writers out there! Send me an e-mail at thepoolcollectiveph@gmail.com.

- Gerard

Ulysses

Have I told you I have the biggest crush on Daniel Craig?
Not yet. the Bond for me.
@ FilmSchoolRejects

We are not now that strength  which in old days

Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are,

One equal-temper of heroic hearts,

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

--- Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Skyfall

Daniel Craig for Skyfall 

A frustrated Bond movie-goer here: hope this suffices as a good disclaimer. I know little about the James Bond series, aside from the obvious facts. I didn't know exactly what it is that just didn't click with me with the Bond series. Growing up I've seen the music videos of Garbage and Madonna for the theme songs of the films, but I just didn't want to watch the films. Now some years older and having embraced the love for all things dramatic, super cool and sophisticated (spy movies, the Oscars, F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Raid: Redemption, etc.) I understand all the fuss over Bond. Still, I just didn't see a good enough reason for me to actually watch. Maybe it was Pierce Brosnan that didn't sit with me well. My mom loves him and I couldn't blame her, he's handsome, very suave and British (all the qualifications of an ideal mister, he's probably got).

Old Times

The best period editorial I've seen in a while.
VOGUE Turkey, shows you how it should look like at a shoot.

Always liked the old times. After picking up my favorite novel, The Great Gatsby, I've been caught and trapped under its spell. It might have been Fitzgerald's delicious writing---that I keep as my touchstone for everything I write, or the knowledge that afforded me after all I've read that just made me love the 20s and the 30s. And then I went on to the 50s and all the legends and icons of those days... And it was then that I realized how much of a romantic I am.

These were the times when my 80 something year old grandmother was having a whiff of first love and times when long-gone relatives have lived stories that we only get to read now...Through literature, movies, art, music and fashion, I've seen only what has been and have never had the slightest idea of how it really was back in the "good old days". But there was something about the lack of all happy, poppy color, or the subtlety of color that I find pretty interesting, something I've deduced from looking at old photos and watching old movies. To me it all seemed as if things were all too fine, too poised for the ladies and for the gents, too smooth yet masculine. Suddenly it's as if you could smell airplane gasoline, something cold, old perfume, cigarettes and liquor in the air...Somehow, it felt simpler, but still overwhelmingly dramatic and inspiring. 

I still have a so-so idea why the past lures people in. Usually, the expectations from people who love to read and write is that they know why people drop anchor to the past. I, only have an idea: If you could cut the entire population to romantics and futurists (if there is such a thing), you've got half for each.. Most of us look back at what has been and call it inspiring, the rest look forward, dreaming up things and call that inspiring. Personally, I think the past is all so hypnotic because it has a sense of rawness to it, something untouched and important. Now I feel like things are so conveniently gelled together, less pure and that the world is looking smaller that there's only so little room for more. But of course, that's a sickness I suffer from. I am, anyway a romantic and am guilty of being foolish to want to live at a time I'm not meant to be in. So here is a tribute to the old times, when, in the eyes of present past-lovers such as myself, is all how time should be: all inspiring, a pinch magical and incredibly beautiful.

The Unsettler

Sometimes you just don't give a middle finger to the sky
Maurizio Cattelan

"Look into my eyes...Don't tell me...." That song! You know...
Maurizio Cattelan

The dream is to sit down, one day, someday with Maurizio Cattelan. Talk to him. Ask him "What are you doing?" Ask him more questions 'till I hated the sound of my own voice and hated myself for asking too much. I'm not yet a fan though since it takes more to make a fan out of ones self, but I'd like to believe I am a step closer to reaching an idea of what he does and why he does it.

The question is, is it art? This is one of the best reasons why I miss school. While you're already too busy asking a lot in your life, you actually pay for more prodding and questioning and studying to do. And then you ask yourself "Why the hell do we subject ourselves to such crap when life could be sitting down and drinking something cold?" I am, deep down, not one to settle, especially when I know that life is no "sit down and a cold drink in hand". I may be more passive than aggressive, but I do yearn for things beyond, wherever, whatever, whoever I am now, so yes, I'd love to subject myself to the"crap" that we call learning. And this post I am writing will definitely make for an intense and inspiring 3-hour class for my Visual Arts or Arts Theory subjects back in college with people who love these things.

(I've side tracked too far) So are Maurizio Cattelan's works art? They are showing now at the Guggenheim I think, so to an extent it is art, correct? Well, you could debate about it. I for one have limited knowledge of art and if you asked me, I'd honestly still give Cattelan's works days or weeks to thoroughly study them. The complicated thing is, you have so many categories to consider if something is a work of art. And as I am no expert, I could only give you lots of personal thoughts on his works, that will hopefully shed us all some light on Cattelan's genius.

Male Supers & Madonna

Maybe it's about f-ing time guys get the spotlight and have the titles "Supers", right?

And what better way to prove that point than to have Madonna put these four super males for her latest video.

Sean, Simon, Jon and Rob... Although I'm not too keen on Rob, but hey, I'm no hater plus when Madonna and models.com has say on it, then it's the word.

- Gerard

Good Love

I grew up listening to mostly RnB songs thanks to my mom and Whitney Houston's definitely been part of the many singers I've listened to as a kid. Just like most people today who mourn the loss of a true super star, I couldn't help but feel as devastated to learn that Whitney Houston has passed away at 48. I know most people go about saying how all of a sudden everyone's the biggest fan when someone famous and legendary dies...I say why not? It's just not fair anymore to think of who the world's biggest fan is when the real story here is the death of a legend.

It is quite chilling to realize that I've been hearing a lot of Whitney on the radio lately (if you're a Morning Rusher on RX 93.1 you know what I mean), been flipping through channels and seeing The Bodyguard frequently on HBO these past weeks and me and my best of friends always sing Whitney songs (among the billions of songs we sing when we're together) just because we all love how no one could ever reach Whitney notes and then I see news of her passing away. Is it possible then that somehow humans really could tell when final curtains will be drawn? It's just a thought.

But as I've said, the real story here is of Whitney and her pure, unparalleled talent and passion for her art. She's definitely touched many lives, made memories worth remembering thanks to her songs, influenced countless artists both famous and unknown and without her music, music itself wouldn't be as exciting and soaring as her incredible voice.

Somehow listening to her sing of heartbreak or new romances makes love, a million folds better. It's as if love in whatever state or form resembles a real drama, where love starts small and sweet, soars up incredibly high and then eventually dies down a memory so beautiful, it'll make you cry.

She will always be loved, remembered and revered. You Give Good Love, 20 plus years ago, saw a young Whitney, innocent, hungry and ready for the burning spotlight. My favorite song of hers. For the thousands of hopefuls out there, here is a legend that will take lifetimes to come close to.

Definitely gave good love.

R.I.P. Whitney Houston

- Gerard

Number One

A Day in the life of the world's number one male model
Sean O'pry

How's everybody doing?

Been a while now, huh. Well, I'm sure as happy as hell that this morning, after visiting (possibly) my favorite website in the world, models.com, found out that Sean O'pry is now number one. Everybody knows this guy brings in so much money, does the runways like clockwork and has a face so painfully beautiful and recognizable, it's a shame he's only number one now.

But anyway, I'm still happy. 

I might be rattling it again, but after seeing this, I couldn't help but feel better and better about my job. I know I could this (W could do this) and I'm pretty excited. We might not have Sean O'pry-esque guys (and my bosses know that we need more male models in our roster) but we have great people. And the superlative justifies most of our talents. So I just couldn't wait to run a website like models.com, following around our talents, taking pictures of them and showing you how a day in the life of a model/talent/host/actor/actress is. Couldn't wait. For now, enjoy these photos of Sean for your great-looking weekend. 

Love Is A Losing Game

Amy Winehouse came to my life at an opportune time. You know how books, movies, songs, artists and other things suddenly enter your life at the moment that you felt you needed them most? For me, Amy Winehouse was the voice for a phase in my life that I couldn't really give one to. It wasn't just because she had catchy songs or songs that sounded fresh and new, but for me it was a connection, a relation to her words, to how she sings...And I've loved her since. Love Is A Losing Game felt like my song during a time and until now whenever I listen to it, a loop of memories would go rolling in my head. Her other songs are also favorites like Just Friends, Wake Up Alone and a lot more.

I claim no pure knowledge of her and her life or who she sounds like and who her references are. All that mattered to me was that she was here, singing songs I wish I could've written or sung or heard and songs that have compressed feelings I've felt within 3-4 minutes. 

So obviously, the news of her death just left me incredibly sad. Despite her problems, Amy Winehouse was a genius...Though troubled, she was one of the more human singers of recent history and for me it's amazing that way. Sure I wish she could've gotten herself together. But life's that way sometimes...

What's most admirable about her is how honest she is...Her lyrics are as telling as how she is in public and I believe that the reason why people love and hate her is cause of this. You can only expect honesty, purity and transparency from so little of the people we see today and Amy Winehouse was one of them. 

What I've learned from her is that in life's weakest moments, there is always strength you could muster, strength to face them through music and strength to share your life to the world, for who we are and what we're made to be is destined just for that...

Now, you deserve all the peace the afterlife could afford you...

Rest In Peace Amy

- Gerard

Fitting the Bill

Before Scott Schuman was The Sartorialist, before Tommy Ton fetched Jak & Jil and before my team of talented, amazing photographers and spotters for The Institution of Style  went snapping photos of UA&P's stylish, there was Bill Cunningham.

It's definitely possible to say that Bill Cunningham started the whole thing. We owe much to the man and I feel ashamed that the only time I learned of him, was after getting Scott Schuman's book. It's a pity for me, really. Anyway, this is definitely worth your time. This whole craze over real people and real style, photography, fashion, culture and making celebrities out of stylish people is deeply rooted here. Imagine Anna Wintour saying that whenever Bill Cunningham ignores you, it's something like dying?

Here's a legend alright and I'm watching this documentary this week, even when I'm already working (God I love saying it).

- Gerard

About Making Love

Jack Kerouac's On The Road...
NOW part of my all-time favorite reads

I had no money; I sent my mother an airmail letter asking her for fifty dollars and said it would be the last money I'd ask; after that she would be getting money back from me, as soon as I got that ship. Then I went to meet Ruth Gullion and took her back to the apartment. I got her in my bedroom after a long talk in the dark of the front room. She was a nice little girl, simple and true, and tremendously frightened of sex; she said it was because she saw such awful things in the hospital. I told her it was beautiful. I wanted to prove this to her. She let me prove it but I was too impatient and proved nothing. She sighed in the dark . "What do you want out of life?" I asked and I used to ask that all the time of girls. "I don't know" she said. "Just work and try to get along." She yawned. I put my hand over her mouth and told her not to yawn. I tried to tell her how excited I was about life and the things we could do together; saying that, and planning to leave Denver in two days. She turned away wearily. We lay on our backs looking at the ceiling and wondering what God had wrought when he made life so sad and disinclined. We made vague plans to meet in Frisco. My moments in Denver were coming to an end. I could feel it when I walked her home in the holy Denver night and on the way back stretched out on the grass of an old church with a road. Every now and then one would get up and hit a passerby for a dime. They talked of harvests moving North. It was warm and soft. I wanted to go and get Ruth again and tell her a lot more things, and really make love to her this time, and calm her fears about men. Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together; sophistication demands that they submit to sex immediately without proper preliminary talk. Not courting talk---real straight talk about souls, for life is holy and every moment is precious. I heard the Denver & Rio Grande locomotive howling off to the mountains. I wanted to pursue my star further.---- Jack Kerouac, On The Road "Original Scroll"

The Heat List

David Foster Wallace & his late greatness @ GQ

Summer starts today, for me. Why? Wala lang. Grades are out (and final), and yes, I've done well. All of my hard work has finally paid off.
I'm waiting for my last one subject---that one subject I have been nervous about for probably a month now, and this is exactly how summer has felt for me for ages. 

A lazy, waiting that could stretch for forever. And while I'm (hopefully) finally done with school, I decided it's time for a summer lifestyle change. 

Here is a compilation of great things I've been interested in for a while. From David Foster Wallace's intriguing GQ story (not to mention his much-talked about novel The Pale King) to Laureen Uy's super style to our photoshoot, to Goodies magazine to Perry Como and more.

Let's quit the yapping and get it on with the Heat List.

WHO THE HELL IS DAVID FOSTER WALLACE?

David Foster Wallace's story on GQ is very interesting so far. For me, the great thing about it is how fellow writer and author of this article, John Jeremiah Sullivan writes about the controversial and contemporary literature icon. Read more about it and answer the question, why the hell should we care about David Foster Wallace, here. 

GOODIES COMING

THE EDGE column @ Goodies mag

When a certain Kelvin Zlochevsky e-mailed me sometime ago, I had no idea what Goodies Mag was. The invitation to become a columnist for the New York-based online magazine was more than humbling. One of my dreams has always been to write as a columnist for a newspaper. That was when the internet wasn't the internet. Goodies magazine, in a nutshell is a guy's magazine. From all those babes you'd want to be with to the music you ought to listen to to the latest eateries 'round the world and to more masculine concerns you should be concerned with, Goodies has got it figured well. Make sure you check out soon what I'm writing for Goodies. I've been thinking about Star Trek lately and its odd connection to Prada...Why? How? Well, better read it when it's done. 

THE DELHOMME TOUCH

Jean-Philippe Delhomme for Kitsune's Spring 2011 campaign @ HighSnobiety

A GQ reader would know JP Delhomme, for his languid, super chic and cool illustrations are regulars at the Style Guy section. This Spring 2011, Delhomme lends his awesome touch to Maison Kitsune's for handsome illustrations that tell a fantastic story. If only clothes really looked that cool, I'd spend a leg over them. Great work Delhomme...Now if only I could have these framed.

SUMMER DRESSING

My favorite summer lady look @ BreakMyStyle

Undeniably one of the most fashionable personalities I've seen, Laureen Uy shows ladies how a dressed-up summer looks like. She's always turned out, no doubts about that, but this super chic ensemble is my favorite. What I love about it is how it's all so summery, what with that almost sheer top lined with pink, buttoned-up to perfection and paired down with a beautifully-printed skirt. At first I thought it was a dress, but her credits prove that with the right pieces combined, you could create a look that's all your own. I'd be Tommy Ton to whoever could dress this elegantly. People just don't dress this clean and polished these days. We're too casual a generation, I'm guilty, and this is an example that dressing up sometimes does you great things. Follow Laureen's blog and keep track of her stylish adventures....

PERRY & PAUL

Papa Loves Mambo by Perry Como

Cool Hand Luke starring Paul Newman

Knowing this blog (and me), old school tribute and reference is a must! I'm giving my usuals the break (Dean, Clift, Brando, E & F Fitzgerald, Shearing, Holiday, etc.) for two P's: Perry Como and Paul Newman. Since I've been hooked on old school songs sometime now, I listen to my grandmother's station of choice after lunch...Dr. Love on Radio DZMM plays you all these old-timey tunes and when you're young, you'll think it's cheap, old, korny and what have you, but for those of us who have a classic bone, this is a pretty fun station to tune into. Perry Como is a playback king in Dr. Love's station and it doesn't hurt that he's pretty stylish and one of the great-looking men I've seen. 

Paul Newman is another stylish inspiration. After seeing Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with the late Elizabeth Taylor, I started to like Paul Newman a lot. He and McQueen, I believe are more of the same calibre, than the Holy Trinity. Anyway, Paul Newman is a stunner for sure stylewise and as an actor. I'm downloading more of his movies and I'm excited to watch them all.

SMILE FOR THE CAMERA

Hey doll. Jessica Stam and loads more of today's most beautiul people @ICanTeachYouHowToDoIt

Great-looking people, you could say, is my drug of choice. There is no other experience out there for me that could take you on a high than seeing and oggling at handsome ladies and beautiful men. I Can Teach You How To Do It by fellow Gerard, Gerard Estadella is an amazing blog (and why I found it just now, I have no idea). This is definitely one of the blogs I'll be frequenting this summer, just so I have inspiration when it comes to taking pictures and being taken. Just always remember to put your best face on and you'll surely get photos as great as Estadella's.

BACK TO SCHOOL

The most beautiful rucksack I've seen @ Selectism

The first ever rucksack I had was from my mom's, a black bag printed with Mickey Mouse's profile all over in different colors. Then I have my Forever 21 one which is really the biggest bag I have and I've used it way too often. This Bill Amberg Hunter Rucksack though is definitely an art. The delicious leather, the color, the tiny gold accents, not to mention the deep sea green inner lining of this bag that makes it extra charming for me, has got me begging for money in the streets. Maybe going back to school is a great idea, I mean, I could pursue my master's degree AND carry this around, now that's an amazing deal right there.


FALLING IN LOVE WITH SASHA 





I still can't believe she has kids and she's not in her teens. Sasha Pivovarova, otherwise known a just plain Sasha, is a mad presence on the runway. And by mad I mean that in the best, most casual way. Top model---and not just a title you throw around, Sasha's awfully beautiful here for Free People and she's looking radiant, young and oh so fragile, it kills me. I'm having this video on my iPod soon. And I can't hold myself from tearing up when she's doing that two-tooth model smile, it's beautiful.

I'll be coming up with more of these while summer's here. Enjoy you guys!

- Gerard

When Legends say Goodbye

"I've been through it all baby, I'm mother courage" --- Elizabeth Taylor

"I don't think you can contrive any sound..." ---- George Shearing

When legends say goodbye, they mean it for the mean time.
And that is why you have to credit the French for differentiating good bye from good bye forever. Elizabeth Taylor, one of the world's most beautiful faces passed away today. And apparently, Jazz genius George Shearing passed away a month ago as well. I understand the beauty and enigma of Elizabeth Taylor, for who would close his eyes at a face like hers? She is a beautiful soul as well and God has charmed her life in so many ways. As for George Shearing, his music will always be part of a distant past I've never been able to enjoy. He is the talent and for this generation, I am afraid music as pure and as haunting as his would be a rare thing to find.

These two may have bid us good bye for now, but, like all great faces and names and people, memory will save for them an eternal place on Earth. Rest in Peace for them both. As Shearing plays, these two will surely be around still...


RIP

- Gerard

Monty wants you to say No

Celebrating (well, more like celebrated) his birthday right after mine, legendary Mr. Montgomery Clift---who is part of the holy trinity of Dean and Brando, wants you to say NO!

This is one of the most addicting videos I've seen. Kid is awfully cute, Monty looks dashing...I really must be hooked on great-looking people. The last time I've been this hooked on a face, aside from all the others I've had was of Audrey Hepburn's...

People nowadays have a different kind of handsome and beauty, which is not bad, but the people from before were just too striking, I'd doubt if there would be as much great faces we'd make icons of from our generation...That is to say, who'd reach the same stature as these guys.

- Gerard

The Hitchcock Syndrome

Run Cary, Run!!!! Cary Grant in Hitchcock's North by Northwest

By now you've probably seen Lady Gaga's latest video, Born This Way and how the start is taken from Vertigo Hitchcock's really eerie movie. And so you want to believe that the classic, psychological thriller legend, Hitchcock is but a mere reference Gaga used for her latest project...

But then you realize that Hitchcock is not just impressing Gaga, but also the people who were responsible for Bottega Veneta's Spring 2011 campaign (one of my favorites this season). Check this out.

Santiago Montero and Karolina Kurkova play 2011 Hitchcock muses for Bottega Veneta's well-shot and very, very elegant campaigns. It might not be the intention behind it, but this shot is just a dead-ringer for Cary Grant's North by Northwest shot above. The others make me think of Birds just because there are birds in the background and at the same time, those dashboard shots remind me of scenes from the movie, when all they could do is stare in fear from inside their semi-safe cars.

Amazing shot...The black, glossy jacket, the pristine white trousers, the super chic bag
and then it's the eternal blue of the sky and the grays and whites of birds balancing the entire thing

Santiago Montero for Bottega Veneta

Karolina Kurkova for Bottega Veneta...
Another great shot

Turns out Alex Prager, as I go deep into research, is the photographer for the campaign and what he's known for are these kinds of photos. 

An Alex Prager signature

I don't know (yet) if ever this has Hitchcock in it, but the resemblances are pretty much leading me to conclude that they are inspired by Hitchcock: the beautiful girls, the 60s clothes, (duh) the birds and just all these other sort of sinister slants on the photos. Amazing what little knowledge of art and film and culture and fashion could do to you... Bottega Veneta wins my vote for Best Campaign this season...

-Gerard

The Rogue

Steve McQueen from The Selvedge Yard

"I don't believe in that phony hero stuff." 

So he claims, but I consider him heroic when it comes to style and having left something very inspiring for posterity. Their generation of stars, I will always find most appealing...and I guess that's because I find them relatable and there's something romantic about the way they looked at things. They sound cold and bitter and too brooding to some, but to me it explains having seen much of the world's pains but having the good humor, the mystery and the tiny bit of humility to handle them with. Most definitely my definition of a rogue. This month is his birthday and this is sort of my tribute to one of my idols. 

Oh, and if only I could jump and be as cool-looking as him playing frisbee...When I play, I don't have the time or the natural ability to look good and be photographed. 

- Gerard

On The Road

My copy...One day, I'll sit myself somewhere and read it...
Never done it before, I'll have to do it with this one

"I woke up as the sun was reddening; and that was the one distinct time in my life, the strangest moment of all, that I didn't know who I was..." ----Jack Kerouac

My beautiful, beautiful copy of Jack Kerouac's On The Road is published by Penguin classics with 83 pages worth of great introductory material and then starts, as a second part of the book, with the original scroll of the story. So if you think it's "Dean Moriarty", here it's not...Here it's "Neal Cassady" and "Allen Ginsberg" and for some reason, it's all so much better.

What I love about this book, meaning literally this thick, pastel-colored book, is how the introduction really situates you on the road...hahaha...That's how I've come to learn of George Shearing (above). Howard Cunnell believes On The Road's the first book with a built-in soundtrack, mostly played by Shearing's quintet. And also Slim Gaillard. 

Now, what I really want to do is to just drop everything, for now, and really pull of a Kerouac. In all its pretentious, American youngster feel, I honestly think it's going to do me some good. Not to complain, but I've been really bothered by so many things lately and what's funny is that they're all pretty serious things. I've known myself to get mixed up with tiny you-know-what problems that are all so pathetic...This time, it's big time serious.  And having just at least a day of freedom, of not worrying will do me (and all of us) good. What I do now though is to fight the anxiety with good humor...

And though On The Road is not a comedy, it sure does take you away on a literary ride...At least here, it's a momentary escape...

....then it's back to reality.


-Gerard

The Story Teller

This photo has always haunted me...
Paul Newman and this beautiful lady
And the results?

You know when days are just so beautiful and the things you see are just incredible that you feel like you're about to burst of inspiration? That was today...When it seemed like everything went for me....(that test, my History of Ideas test, wasn't one of them though)....

Even Laur Lim seemed to have molded well for my inspiration. Check the Institution of Style for our "couple" picture.

And finally....Here it is....

The best one we got, thank you to Lesley "Le Sizzle" Choa, who's always the patient, cool girl I love

That's a whistle...Guess what song?

Donald Duck the bag by Tj "Chort" Estrada

The "working man's" bracelet and the silver braided one from Tj "Chort" Estrada
Watch my great, Lolo Pete's
The rosary bracelet from LSM

It's not just Paul Newman's photo that figured well for me today...

It was that dream of my Lolo that visited me and influenced my sartorial choices for the day. The dream was happy, he was wearing something red and he was pointing at something that he told me he was waiting for. It seemed that when he'd visit me in my dreams he's always happy and wearing such memorable clothes, probably the reason why I've taken to loving the ones I've inherited from him more (this one I'm wearing is of course, part of that collection). And finally taking to school Tj Estrada's (as you know one of my bestest friends) birthday gift for me two years ago, the Donald Duck bag proved an amazing hit and an unexpected bit for my outfit. People loved it and I loved it even more because it had a story, one that was special for me since Tj knew exactly what I had wanted and knew that there was nothing like it out there. The bracelets too are from him...

And after seeing how our photos (meaning Laur and Mine's and of course, Lesley's masterpieces) told so much---at least for me, I realized that great relationships make great style too...

Of course, it's not my whole claim to fame, that I have great style, but I guess what I'm trying at is a conclusion that when clothes are storied well with great people as makers, givers and simply other people who have the same value for style, clothes aren't just for keeping you warm or cool or decent or even about fashion per se...They become like amazing Penguin Classics, bound by fantastic paper, worded with elegant writing and stories worth leafing through over and over again...

Too sappy? Well, that's life... So far, my favorite post for this blog...

Dedicated to my late great Grandfather, Lesley the master lensman, Laur the "quirky" half of our "quirky" couple and of course, Tj, one among my bestest, most promising tastemaker friends ever...

NOW, I can sleep well. (hahaha).

-Gerard

Fever 50

photo by Lesley "Le Sizzle" Choa

Jack Kerouac

Neil Cassady (white t-shirt) and Allen Ginsberg (middle)

So during the holidays and while it's still an on-going fascination, the 50s has not only proved that it's back (in style of course) but it's also giving me the biggest fever I've had in ages. Suddenly, all I think about now is the 50s, the 50s, the 50s, what they'd wear in the 50s, what they'd smoke in the 50s, what language they used in the 50s, and why the hell did I ever leave my 20s behind?

I tell myself it's a phase, cause I'm quite the pathetic type, you know? The kind that when it's all I ever think about I let it consume me until I'm tired of it and I tell myself, well, you've felt how it is to go Gatsby, now it's time for some Kerouac. It reads like a pretentious kid trying to write instead of just writing...But hey, I'm honest like that. I guess it's all the movies I've been watching lately, thanks to Film Class, the magazines, the books, fashion...And you have to ask yourself, even when you're not as open or easily swayed as I am, why is it that at certain times we resurrect certain pasts and fall in love with them? I'm staying as close to the things I believe I understand such as fashion and film....Like suddenly Howl (which by the way is the core of this fascination with the 50s...well, at least one of the biggest factors) and other era-inspired shows like the super sleek Mad Men... Fashion I see is turning 50s too... Or maybe not, but the idea is that our times have been incredibly open to looking back at the past, loving it maybe because we see in it the present...Don't you think? I've never lived in the jazzy, dizzying 20s or the smoking, paired-down 50s (and the Beat generation I've always heard in Western Literature class) to say that sure today, it's just like those times...but there has to be something about them that we find so addictive, so important that they're worth the reliving...

And while we leave those daunting questions slightly unanswered, I finally pinned down the all-important Ms. Lesley Choa for a photo of myself. hahaha...That sounded crappy...So, the inspiration behind this look, aside from my mood, was the colors I've constantly seen in Howl...It's mostly olive green, navy blue, brown like the ones from those handsome tortoise shell glasses, mustard yellow and they're all so very masculine, poetic even and for some reason, romantic. The shirt is from my grandfather's, the man whose style I will always admire and place as a touchstone...And yeah, it's a 50s inspired look and I'm pretty much in love with it now....Who knows what I'll be wearing tomorrow...

But you do have to admit, Allen Ginsberg, makes perfect, perfect sense here:

"The weight of the world is love. Under the burden of solitude, under the burden of dissatisfaction." ----Allen Ginsberg 

And that's one of the reasons why I'm mad about my course (meaning madly in love) and mad about the olden times...

-Gerard