Turns out the new John Varvatos store makes for a pretty good rock venue

The designer might have given CBGB (home to his new shop) a spiffy new floor, clean bathrooms, and a chandelier, but some of the original's punk-rock spirit came through last night. The store hosted its first gig, a benefit for VH-1's Save the Music foundation. The concert also inspired a handful of protesters, who aren't happy about the legendary space becoming a luxury menswear store. (Read Style Guy Glenn O'Brien's insightful thoughts on the matter here.)

But the show went on, and the impressive lineup included Joan Jett, the Hold Steady, Slash, and Tom Morello, who actually made playing your guitar with your teeth seem cool again. Sen Dog of Cypress Hill got the crowd—a mix of model types and dudes in leather jackets and JV suits—to, ahem, jump around, and inspired at least one guy to spark a joint. But the night belonged to Ronnie Spector, whose voice still sounds great at age 64. She kicked off her set with what could've been the evening's theme song: "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory."

Click here for a slideshow from the event >

PAUL L. UNDERWOOD

Photo: Jimi Celeste/patrickmcmullan.com

National Record Store Day

This Saturday, celebrate the assholes who made you feel like a tool for buying that ELO album. Musicians from Metallica to Deerhunter are joining together to support the independent record stores, where rock snobbery and obsessive fandom were born—long before the advent of MP3 blogs, Napster, or the iTunes store. Check out recordstoreday.com for a list of events, and to read some of the aforementioned artists' musings on the mythical place of the record store in our hearts and minds. And should you require an appeal to the less mythical part of your heart or mind, know that Dresden Doll Amanda Palmer will be at Boston's Newberry Comics in her underwear to show her support. Every little bit helps.

MATTHEW SCHNEIER

Photo: brooklynvegan.com

Balls Berlin ads

This poster is part of a great campaign for Balls, a sleek new men's underwear and pajamas store in Berlin. (We can't really vouch for the name—we'll just assume something got lost in translation.) From the looks of it, Robin Hood was something of an American Apparel enthusiast. To see how they've reworked famous portraits of Napoleon and George Washington, click here.

STAFF

Photo: balls-berlin.de

British GQ's new travel series

The lads across the pond have just launched a new set of online videos on travel. Best of all, it doesn't star a lad at all: The host is the fetching Camilla McPhie, who guides you through Santiago, Chile. (And, yes, she includes the obligatory "tasting weird foreign food" scene.) Unfortunately, you can't embed the file, but you can watch it by clicking here.

STAFF

Meet Alina Kabaeva

Who's that? Allegedly, the next trophy wife to hit the world stage. Vladimir Putin is rumored to be engaged to Kabaeva, 24, an Olympic gold medal-winning rhythmic gymnast. (He has denied the charges, saying journalists should keep their "snotty noses" out of his personal life. Another mitigating factor: He's still married to his wife, Lyudmila, though the two are rarely seen together.) As the Telegraph helpfully points out, Kavaeva is "known for her flexibility and agility." (Way to go, Vlad!) In fact, with her and Carla Bruni around to spice up the next G-8 summit, it's a shame we didn't find a way to get Mrs. Kucinich into the White House.

PAUL L. UNDERWOOD

Photo: Getty Images/AFP

The Bjorn supremacy

Bjorn Borg seems to be everywhere these days: He's the inspiration for Fila's new vintage offerings, his underwear line is about to launch stateside (it's huge in Sweden, seriously), and now Diadora is rereleasing the Borg Elite. First introduced in 1981, the tennis shoe has the unusual distinction of being the first ever made from kangaroo leather. Interesting, but we're happy to report they've updated the new edition with a napa-leather upper, which you can get in either white or a white-green combo.
Diadora Bjorn Borg Elite Trainer, about $110, oki-ni.com

JOSH PESKOWITZ

Photo: oki-ni.com

The BMW Hydrogen 7

Score one for BMW in the eco-one-upmanship game: The company just started parading around a new version of its Hydrogen 7, a 7-series sedan with a V-12 that burns only liquid hydrogen. (The previous one was a bi-fuel model that slurped gasoline as well.) But here's the really trick part: The car's engine actually cleans the environment—the exhaust has lower amounts of non-methane organic gases (NMOGs) and carbon monoxide than regular air. Good news for the earth, but bad news for depressed Detroit auto execs: Should a car like this ever make it into production, their tried-and-true method of ending it all—closing the garage door with the motor running—will simply result in a breath of fresh air.

TIM MOSS

Photo: Courtesy of BMW

AEG-Electrolux noise monitors

The company's new ad campaign has installed decibel monitors on billboards in London, Madrid, Brussels, Berlin, and Milan—all to promote AEG-Electrolux's new "silent" washing machines. No word on how those work, but the ads seem to be doing their job: There are reports of kids yelping to try to drive up the numbers. See how the cities rank against one another at noiseawareness.co.uk, but at present, no U.S. cities are included.

[NotCot]

MATTHEW SCHNEIER

Photo: notcot.com

Ralph Bakshi at Anthology Film Archives

Toward the end of Ralph Bakshi's 1973 movie Heavy Traffic, one of the characters literally shoots God in the face. The Almighty might have settled the score later, however, when the director's animated adaptation of the Lord of the Rings trilogy ran into production problems, ultimately remaining unfinished. You have to love a director willing to tempt fate, and tomorrow you can ask him about it yourself: He'll be making an appearance at Anthology Film Archives for a screening of both Heavy Traffic and his 1975 picture Coonskin. Can't make it? Check out the new collection of his illustrations, including stills from the X-rated Fritz the Cat, in Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi.
Heavy Traffic and Coonskin at Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Ave., NYC, (212) 505-5181, anthologyfilmarchives.org

RICK J. PECORARO

Photo: ralphbakshi.com

The St. James collection from Swaine Adeney Brigg

The English luggage company has been supplying the Royal Family with leather goods since the early 1800s—and in the best British tradition, not all that much has changed since then. Until six months ago, that is, when the fusty firm brought in Dominic Laurelli—former accessories designer for Alexander McQueen—to breathe new life into the brand. His first collection, called the St. James, debuts later this month, and is modeled on vintage accessories from the twenties. Made of durable, water-resistant tweedlike fabric with leather trim, each piece is handmade by a single craftsman—no two are exactly alike. No word on a price, but expect to pay accordingly later this month when the handsome line—pictured here for the first time—goes on sale at the brand's London digs.

JARED PAUL STERN

Phone: Courtesy of Swaine Adeney Brigg

Leatherman Skeletool CX

Living out your MacGyver fantasy has always been one Leatherman tool away, but the new, superlight Skeletool CX makes it even easier to defuse a bomb, save some hostages, or open a Bud—you know, whatever your situation calls for. And despite having two kinds of pliers, two kinds of wire cutters, a universal bit driver, and a combination straight/serrated blade, the carbon-fiber beast weighs just five ounces.

MATTHEW SCHNEIER

Photo: Courtesy of Leatherman

Paul Smith Bespoke

Sir Paul's bespoke services have been available in London for a decade, but this May, London-leaning New Yorkers will get their chance to indulge—provided they can still afford it. Two fittings with Savile Row-trained tailors and your choice of exclusive fabrics don't come cheap, as the suits start at five grand apiece. But you've got some time to save your pennies: The experts descend on the Soho boutique May 5 through 8. And once outfitted, you'll be in good company—Daniel Day-Lewis wore PSB to accept his Academy Award in March. Piping optional.
Paul Smith Bespoke, Paul Paul Smith, 142 Greene St., 2nd Floor, NYC, for appointments, contact Mark Halderman, (646) 613-3050

MATTHEW SCHNEIER

3:33 footwear

Pro skater Andrew Reynolds already does a line for Etnies called Altamont, but this May, he's branching out on his own with a new collection called 3:33. Each shoe is handcrafted in Portugal, and the line includes everything from house slippers and moccasins to Vans-style slip-ons. (Hey, he is a skater, after all.) But the highlight is the Floppy, described by the designer himself as "sick boots with a dress sole." We couldn't have said it better ourselves.
3:33 shoes, from $100 to $200, available in May at American Rag and Fred Segal, 333footwear.com

PAUL L. UNDERWOOD

Photo: Courtesy of 3:33 Footwear

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ50

The fruits of Panasonic's collaboration with T-Mobile (announced at CES 2008) are almost here: The TZ50, the brand's first Wi-Fi-compatible digital camera, is now coming stateside. The big draw is that you can send photos wirelessly directly to Google's Picasa photo service. (Sorry, Flickr users.) The camera includes the standard specs you'd expect from a compact shooter—a 9.1-megapixel sensor, 10x optical zoom, hi-def video—as well as a year of free access to T-Mobile's network of HotSpots. You know, for all those pics you snap at Starbucks.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ50, $449.95, available in May

[ZDNet]

MATTHEW SCHNEIER

Photo: Courtesy of Panasonic

Found in Belgium: an art-world skull that's not by Damien Hirst

Sure, your regular travels might not take you to Brussels this weekend, but you should still get familiar with Artbrussels, one of Europe's largest and most international contemporary art fairs. The exhibition, now in its 26th year, draws artists and galleries from across Europe and the U.S., and regularly hosts crowds of up to 30,000. With so much work included, there's something for everyone here: bejeweled skulls gnawing on rats (pictured), Obi-Wan battles, and even—for the conservatives—plain old paintings. Take a look at some of our favorites, below; prices aren't available, but they've gotta be cheaper than what you'll find at the city's Millionare Fair, also happening now in nearby Kortrijk. At last year's Moscow iteration, a $1 million diamond-encrusted car rim was on view. By comparison, contemporary art seems like a steal.
artbrussels, Brussels Expo, Place de Belgique, 1, Brussels, artexis.com/artbrussels/exhibitors/index.html; Millionaire Fair, Kortrijk Xpo, Doornsiksesteenweg 216, Kortrijk, millionairefaire.be

MATTHEW SCHNEIER

Photo: Jan Fabre / artbrussels

The Tag Heuer Meridiist

After years of rumors and hype, the watchmaker has just unveiled its first-ever cell phone: the Meridiist, which contains a whopping 430 components, all hand-assembled in France. Alongside the more standard specs (a two-megapixel camera, etc.) are innovative features like a phone-top display with caller ID and a clock—ideal for discreetly checking your calls during meetings. And about that extra "i" in the name—it ain't for "inexpensive": The phone will retail for about $5,420. But good news: It's only $5,220 with a contract. (Kidding.)

[ Engadget]

PAUL L. UNDERWOOD

Photo: Courtesy of Tag Heuer

Giorgio Armani x Samsung LCD TV

This year's Milan furniture fair has given us some surprising design collaborations and some, well, less so. Samsung and Giorgio Armani unveiled their latest on the exhibition's opening day and the results are pretty much exactly what you'd expect: a sleek, minimalist black flat-screen. Huh—where else are we ever going to find one of those?

[Engadget]

MATTHEW SCHNEIER

Photo: Courtesy of Samsung

Burton x Playboy snowboards

Available this August in silicone and non-silicone versions.
$429.95, burton.com

PAUL L. UNDERWOOD

Photo: Courtesy of Burton Snowboards

The Emperor Hotel in Beijing

Of the dozen new properties set to open in the city before this summer's Olympic Games, the first might also be the best. It's certainly the hippest: Opening today next to the Imperial Palace, the Emperor Hotel has an angular, Day-Glo aesthetic, courtesy of LA- and Berlin-based Graft Lab—the same design firm behind both Berlin's stylish Hotel Q and those pink tents for Brad Pitt's New Orleans Pink Project. They've outfitted the new joint with a glass-walled rice wine cellar at restaurant Shi, and a sleek rooftop bar, Yin. (Also on the roof: a Jacuzzi. They must be hoping the city's notorious smog will die down a bit.) And if you're going before the games, be sure to check out the photos from German artist Sascha Kramer, whose work will be on display throughout the building until the end of June.
The Emperor Hotel, rooms from about $175, 33 Qihelou St., Dongcheng District, Beijing, 011 +86 10 6526 5566, designhotels.com

DAVID KAUFMAN

Photo: Courtesy of Design Hotels

Revolution: The Evolution of the Rolex Sport Watch

To celebrate Rolex's centennial, today Antiquorum is staging one of the largest-ever auctions of the brand's signature sports models. The marquee draw? A rare 1957 Submariner, which was issued to the elite Special Boat Section of the Royal Marines. This particular piece—pre-auction estimate: $175,000-$225,000—was buried on a beach for 40 years until one of those annoying dudes with a metal detector dug it up in pristine condition (seriously). Still, our favorite is the 1958 Antimagnetic Oyster Chronograph dubbed the "Jean-Claude Killy" (pictured, and named after the French Olympic skier), for its alluring, super-scarce stainless steel and pale blue numerals. Best of all, at a measly 80 to 120 grand, it's practically a bargain.
Revolution: The Evolution of the Rolex Sport Watch, today at New York TimeZone, 595 Madison Ave., 5th Floor, NYC, (805) 496-3036 antiquorum.com

JARED PAUL STERN

Photo: Courtesy of Antiquorum

Wuchess.com

Actor, producer, noted chess enthusiast (and oh yeah, Wu-Tang Clan co-founder) RZA has just launched his first Web site: wuchess.com, where players can meet up and get a game online. (Naturally, there's a blog, too.) The first 500 to sign up get special designation as a "Founder"; perhaps more importantly, proceeds benefit the Hip-Hop Chess Foundation. And hey, you might just end up going a few rounds with the Rzarector himself.

[ Pitchfork]

PAUL L. UNDERWOOD

Photo: wuchess.com

Gar-de leather jackets

New York design collective Gar-de has built its debut collection around leather, with every piece made entirely from the material. The result: part badass biker, part tailored gent. The focus is on craftsmanship and updating traditional shapes: jackets are finely detailed, like the seventies-style Bottle Sling (pictured, left) and the varsity-inspired Highway Man (right)—in short, this ain't your dad's bulky bomber. The Gar-de line debuts this fall, and will also include leather pants—but you'll be pleased to know, those are for women only.
Gar-de Bottle Sling ($1,825) and Highway Man ($1,680) available this fall, for more info, visit garde-de.com

MATTHEW SCHNEIER

Photo: Nicola Kast

Hillman Curtis' Sagmeister08

Remember Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far, Stefan Sagmeister's show at Deitch Projects earlier this year? (It was the one with the weird sayings and 10,000 bananas.) Well, much of the exhibit was designed to evolve, from the ripening of the aforementioned bananas to a section where visitors could write their own saying on a steamy window. Filmmaker Hillman Curtis captured that evolution, and his short doc from the exhibit just went online. Check it out below:

STAFF

11: The Beautiful Game foosball table

Coming never to a rec room near you: This high-design foosball table from Dutch firm GRO Design. (They've also designed cell phones for Nokia.) Too bad: With its solid-brass, chrome-finish players, this board far outclasses that broken-down beater you used to play in your friend's basement. Inspired in part by Pelé's autobiography (hence the name), it makes its debut today at the Milan furniture fair, where passersby can test it over the next few days. Enjoy it while it lasts: There are no plans to put the concept into production.

PAUL L. UNDERWOOD

Photo: eleventhegame.com

Our Man In: New York

My favorite pavilion at last year's Venice Biennale was the Korean one—mostly because the work inside had a wit and playfulness that came as a relief after all the nod- and hmm-inducing stuff around it. A black cube inside featured a small number of bright white-spotlighted skeletons that resembled a dinosaur exhibit for kids—the difference being that these were the bones of Wile E. Coyote, Tom & Jerry, and other American animation icons. It was jarring, amusing, and totally bizarre.

Nine months later, Hyungkoo Lee (the artist responsible) has shipped those cartoonish skeletons to America, added some new work, and cloned the black walls-and-spotlight setup of the pavilion, all for New York's gargantuan Arario Gallery. And this June, he'll continue with his subversively witty work at Art Basel—which is just like Art Basel Miami Beach without Paris Hilton or any of the fun parties. He's also planning another gimmick: One of the cartoon skeletons is already on loan to the boffins at Basel's Natural History Museum, and they're using their dinosaur-reconstructing techniques to "re-create" an animal from those conceptual innards. Expect a post-Chernobyl-like creature—but produced with typical Swiss precision.
Hyungkoo Lee solo show, through Saturday, Arario Gallery New York, 521 West 25th St., (212) 206-2760, ararionewyork.com

MARK ELLWOOD

Photo: Hyungkoo Lee/Courtesy of Ararion New York

Testosterone is bad for the stock market

Searching for the cause of the incipient recession? Try testosterone. At least, according to a new study out of Cambridge. The Guardian Reports that among London traders, those with higher levels of the hormone in the morning tended to (ahem) perform better—but it can also lead to overconfidence and irrational behavior, which then triggers stress hormones and clouds judgment, resulting in (you guessed it) potential market crashes. Tough news for manly men, we're afraid—especially given that another new study suggests Gordon Gekko was right: Money might be the root of all happiness, after all.

MATTHEW SCHNEIER

Photo: guardian.co.uk

The New York Academy of Art's Take Home a Nude auction

Sadly, you're not bidding on the chance to decamp with a live specimen. But tonight's auction does include donated work from Will Cotton, Eric Fischl, Kenny Scharf, and photographs by Andy Warhol. (And besides, how many charity functions allow, and indeed encourage, ogling?) You can still get tickets online or bid online at liveauctioneers.com. Better yet, you can, er, preview the works here.

MATTHEW SCHNEIER

Photo: Meringue Study by Will Cotton, courtesy of the New York Academy of Art

Peter Greenaway's The Last Supper

Colored lights, male nudity, Jesus Christ? Yep, it's time again for Salone del Mobile. The annual Milan furniture fair, kicking off today, is mostly home to cool design shit (which we'll feature next week), but there are a number of wacky art shows, too. And this is probably the wackiest: Peter Greenaway's The Last Supper, a performance piece in which the British director projects images (including Christ's genitalia, from another da Vinci work) onto a recreation of the Renaissance canvas. (Greenaway planned to use the original, but the Italian government put a stop to that just a few days ago.) You can check out the show in three places: the Sala delle Cariatidi at Palazzo Reale (today through April 22), the Refectory at the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie (today through May 30), and, of course, in preview form on YouTube, below:

STAFF

Gourmet Heinz ketchup

Few condiments are as proletarian or American as Heinz ketchup—or so we thought. In two weeks, the brand is releasing a gourmet version, made from "12 plump tomatoes, spices, sea salt, Demerara sugar, cayenne pepper, and lemon juice." Even worse, it's U.K.-only—evidently, the brand doesn't think impoverished Yanks can handle the price tag, which is triple that of the regular version. Hey, we'll just think of it as another upside to the recession: One fewer stupid decision to wrestle with at the grocery store.

[Daily Mirror via Epi-Log]

PAUL L. UNDERWOOD

Photo: Heinz

BrewDog beer from Scotland

Sure, they'll always be known for scotch, but the Scots are doing interesting things to ale these days, too. Now, one of their best concoctions is coming stateside: BrewDog, a microbrew launched in the Aberdeenshire region last year. The core range consists of handcrafted ambers and IPAs, but their best is the Paradox imperial stout—aged in, yes, single-malt whisky casks. This gives the brew just a hint of smokiness; true connoisseurs can even choose between Islay or Speyside varieties. (The Islay casks previously housed vintage Ardbeg and Bowmore.) A few weeks ago, the first container load (1,300 cases) sold out before it hit the dock, but three more are now making their way across the Atlantic and onto select shelves next month. Barring thirsty pirates, of course.

JARED PAUL STERN

Photo: Courtesy of Brewdog

You only live twice

For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond, opening today at London's Imperial War Museum (and timed for the centenary of Ian Fleming's birth), includes all the cool shit you'd expect from a Bond-themed exhibit, from prototypes for Lotte Lenya's flick-knife shoes in From Russia with Love to Halle Berry's bikini from Die Another Day (the movie's indisputable highlight). But it also examines 007's development via Fleming's original manuscripts, research notes, and even his service record, all of which make for an interesting contrast. "Bond was a man of inspiration who preferred the finest foods and wine," says James Taylor, the museum's head of research. "Fleming had rather simpler tastes. His favorite dish was scrambled eggs." His pedestrian sensibilities weren't for a lack of education, though. Like Bond, he attended the elite boarding school Eton. Unlike Bond, Fleming wasn't kicked out for "improper conduct" with a maid.

Click here for a slideshow from For Your Eyes Only >

For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond, today through March 1, 2009, at the Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, London, SE1 6HZ, +44 (0)207 416 5320/5321

JONATHAN DURBIN

Photo: Photo by Horst Tappe/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Sample sales without the sharp elbows

Tomorrow, invite-only online retailer the Gilt Groupe launches its first sale for men. The site (which launched for the fairer sex last November) will offer 25 styles from the ubiquitous John Varvatos, to be followed Friday with goods from Hickey. (Trovata, Rag & Bone, Lambertson Truex, and Earnest Sewn are also on the docket.) Just act fast—sales only last 36 hours.
The Gilt Groupe, gilt.com/menstyle

MICHAEL SLENSKE

Photo: Courtesy of Gilt Groupe

Well, it is a bitch, after all

In the automotive world, the hybrid war might get all the press, but the real battle is on the all-electric front. Tesla Motors—a Silicon Valley start-up now shipping its Lotus Elise-based all-battery Roadster to clients like George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Will.i.am—is suing legendary auto designer Henrik Fisker, of BMW and Aston Martin fame. It turns out Tesla hired him to help design its upcoming electric sedan, only to have Fisker later announce his own entry to the field (the Karma, pictured), which the Tesla people thought looked a hell of a lot hotter than the one he designed for them. Perhaps—but only if you like the look of a Buick with a harelip.

TIM MOSS

Courtesy of Fisker Automotive

What's Icelandic for "stool pigeons?"

Another benefit to being internationally acclaimed members of the creative overclass: indulging in iffy-sounding projects like photographing all the regulars at your neighborhood bar. Of course, it helps if you're Icelandic trio the Snorri Brothers (who've directed videos for bands like R.E.M. and the Streets), and the watering hole in question is Kaffibarinn, owned in part by Damon Albarn. The resulting mug shots, compiled in Barflies: Reykjavik, include shots of hipsters with knotty Nordic names too difficult to transcribe (much less pronounce). Case in point: Guomundsdottir, though we admit you might know her better as Björk.

Click here for a slideshow from Barflies: Reykjavik >

JARED PAUL STERN

Photo: Courtesy of Amazon.com

English, impatient

Last year, London-based investment banker Andrea Libardo went to Savile Row to have some shirts made from 170-count cotton—the softest available—only to find the material was sold out everywhere and would take weeks to order. But instead of getting discouraged, Libardo got busy: He returned to his native Italy (near Brindisi) to develop a line of shirting with a small manufacturing lab in Francavilla Fontana, once known as Italy's cradle of tailoring.

The result: Sartoria Privata, a new collection of beautifully crafted, slim-cut dress shirts. They come with strong detachable collars, Tahitian mother-of-pearl buttons, stainless-steel collar stays, and hidden cuff buttons. And, yes, they're made from Italian 170-count cotton. Libardo is in talks with Rinascente in Milan about carrying the brand, but for now his shirts are available online only. Until the limited run of 100 sells out, anyway.
Sartoria Privata shirts, £190, a limited-edition first run of 100 shirts is available exclusively online at sartoriaprivata.com

IMRAN AMED

Photo: Elissa Wiehn

Soup to (tech) nuts

Even non-techies can find something to love in MOJO HD's new The Circuit, a sort of Talk Soup for the gadget world. Deepak Ananthapadmanabha is bolstered by a Jon Stewart-like charm—"You can just call me Mr. Ananthapadmanabha," the amiable host insists—as he runs through the latest news from the gear and 'net worlds, all in high-def. Check out a preview below:

MATTHEW SCHNEIER

Sweat shop

Want a bit of luxury with your workout? Neither did we, until we found out about *****L (as in cinq étoiles luxe, or "five-star luxury"), a French brand (of course) that makes sportswear out of materials like silk, astrakhan, and mink. (Note to plebes: They also sell stuff in cotton.) They just opened their first Paris boutique (pictured), where you'll find a mix of the conservative (polos, smart-fitting gym shorts) and the decidedly less so (athletic jackets emblazoned with giant lilies). Just consider yourself warned: A visit to the 3rd arrondisement store may dim the luster of the nearby Ritz—and those guys won't even sell you a tracksuit.
*****L, 17 rue de Picardie, Paris, +01 42 78 69 64, cinqetoilesluxe.com

MATTHEW SCHNEIER

Photo: cinqetoilesluxe.com

The fire this time

Ask any of the Strokes and they'll tell you: They, er, "borrowed" much of their look from Stewart Lupton, the Byronically stylish former front man of nineties indie rockers Jonathan Fire*Eater. Today, the singer is back with Cheekbone Hollows (Pop. 1/2 Life), the debut EP from his new band, The Childballads. It's a bluesy teaser for their live show, which you can experience this month and next when they open for The Kills. If that duo's Jamie Hince is smart, he'll keep an eye on fiancée Kate Moss: On stage, Lupton is as charming, witty, and good looking as they come—kinda like some guy named Pete.

MAYA SINGER

Photo: Piper Ferguson

Nokia: Screw everything, we're doing 4G

In a move that reminds us of a classic Onion story, Nokia has announced plans to develop a 4G wireless system—dubbed LTE for Long Term Evolution—which should make mobile computing faster and farther-reaching than today's Wi-Fi. Given that many phones (most notably the iPhone) have yet to adapt to even 3G, they might be jumping the gun a bit. The move might also spark the beginning of yet another format war: LTE already faces competition from Intel's 4G system, WiMAX, which should be rolling out soon.

[BBC]

PAUL L. UNDERWOOD

Photo: BBC News

Windsor knots encouraged

Earlier this month, we mentioned Prince Charles' new line of cuff links. Well, now we have an exclusive picture of his ties. The silk neckwear—on sale later this month for £75 apiece (about $150) at Traditional Arts—comes in three different patterns, all inspired by Islamic art. Which, along with Laphroaig and a certain saucy divorcee, has long been a passion of His Royal Highness.

JARED PAUL STERN

Photo: Courtesy of Traditional Arts

Earnest Sewn's blond moment

Venerable New York retailer Moscot has been selling glasses since the days of monocles: Patriarch Hyman Moscot opened his Lower East Side outpost in 1915, and his family has been making timeless frames ever since. But today, thanks to a collaboration with Earnest Sewn, their iconic Lemtosh will get an update: They'll come in both buffalo horn and blond (pictured) with copper highlights—a nod to ES' signature buttons. At $650, they ain't cheap, but each pair comes with a special wood-box case (pictured below), complete with a photo of the original 94 Rivington Street location. (Only 15 frames are being made in each color.) Expensive, yes, but if Moscot's longevity is any indication, these glasses will keep you in style for a long time.
Earnest Sewn and Moscot "Lemtosh" frames, $650, available until May 24 at Moscot locations and the Moscot pop-up shop at Earnest Sewn, 821 Washington St., NYC, earnestsewn.com

A "Graveyard" smash

Out tomorrow: Saturdays = Youth, the fifth record from France's M83 (the nom de rock of Anthony Gonzalez). The album is a synthy, reverb-drenched paean to teenage swooning, epitomized by the single "Graveyard Girl." In Gonzalez's misty-eyed take, high school almost sounds fun—check out the video below:

Meanwhile, we're still too dizzy trying to register where Juno falls on the backlash/backlash-to-the-backlash/backlash-to-the-backlash's-backlash scale to recommend the new DVD without Dramamine. Instead, check out Ryan Gosling's sweetly bathetic (and underrated) turn in Lars and the Real Girl, a performance aided in part by the cast and crew, who treated the titular doll as (ahem) a real girl during shooting.

MATTHEW SCHNEIER

Pop tArt

Sure, the MP3 era has done some serious damage to that once-great visual medium, the record cover. But it's not dead yet: Witness the new site Album tArt. It's billed as a quick place to import album art to iTunes, but the real reason to visit is the user-submitted images, which often best the official artwork that inspires them. Case in point: this stripped-down cover for In Rainbows, submitted by "The Collector," and (in our humble opinion) far superior to Radiohead's own far busier version. Check out some other examples here.

PAUL L. UNDERWOOD

Photo: Album tArt

"It's quite exciting when you're flying headfirst into a barrier"

Those are the words of Formula 1 racer (and British GQ March '08 cover star) Lewis Hamilton, whose first appearance on Top Gear airs tonight on BBC America. He also takes a spin in a Suzuki Liana, which you can preview below:

Also on: the return of the Discovery Channel's oddly compelling Dirty Jobs and the premiere of MTV's The Paper, a reality show about high-school journalism, starring all the geeks who turned you off of publishing in the first place.

PAUL L. UNDERWOOD

Foldie but a goodie

While they're undeniably convenient, folding bikes rarely handle well outside the city, and, even then, they often look a bit wonky. Montague's new 27-speed XO SwissBike, however, is a welcome exception: Its red aluminum frame looks good (if not aggressively stylish), and it's rugged enough to handle a mountain trail. That comes courtesy the hydraulic front-disc brakes, a RockShox suspension fork, and the one-step CLIX branded wheel-release system that won an (actually quite prestigious) Eurobike Design Award. Better yet, you can unfold it in less time than it took to read this post: about 30 seconds, without tools.
SwissBike XO, $1,995, swissbike.com

ADAM BAER

Photo: SwissBike

Good news for short sellers who travel

Boston's Colonnade Hotel is now offering guests a 20 percent discount on days when the market is down. Dubbed the Bull and Bears package, it's the latest example of a nascent trend: travel deals for struggling Americans. (Hey, no complaints here.) Still, the markdown is no reason to cheer for the economy's downfall—you get a 10 percent discount when stocks are up.

[Luxist]

PAUL L. UNDERWOOD

Courtesy of the Colonnade Hotel

Always a bridesmaid, etc.

Kate Moss has never been married—though she is reportedly engaged to some bastard from the The Kills—but she'll play a bride in an upcoming ad campaign for Agent Provocateur's line of bridal lingerie. (How that differs from normal lingerie, we have no idea. We're guessing white's involved.) The ads premiere next month, but here's an image from a previous AP campaign to tide you over until then.

[Vogue UK]

PAUL L. UNDERWOOD

Photo: Agent Provocateur

Not cheap chic, just plain old cheap

Bad (if not surprising) news from today's DNR: Menswear retailers did poorly during March. Even worse—for the economy, if not your wardrobe—are the three shops who made out all right: Aeropostale, the Buckle, and Wal-Mart.

[Not online, but you can download the issue here]

PAUL L. UNDERWOOD

Photo: Getty Images

"The most-published author in the history of the planet"

Apparently, it's Philip M. Parker, a professor at international business school INSEAD, who has—stick with us—developed a series of algorithms to turn Google's vast stores of knowledge into more than 200,000 (!) built-if-bought books. Each one costs about 12 cents to make, but retail for up to $795, thanks to their hyper-specific (and often arcane) subject matter. Below, a selection of our favorite titles:

-The Patient's Official Sourcebook on Acne Rosacea ($24.95)

-Webster's English-Lozi Dictionary ($28.95)

-The 2007 Import and Export Market for Ferrous Metal Waste and Scrap Excluding Waste and Scrap of Cast Iron and Alloy Steel in the United States ($110)

-The World Market for Industrial Fatty Alcohols: A 2007 Global Trade Perspective ($300)

-The 2007-2012 World Outlook for Manufacturing Women's and Girls' Cut and Sew Bras, Girdles, Lingerie, Loungewear, and Nightwear from Purchased Fabric ($730)

[NY Times]

MATTHEW SCHNEIER

Photo: Courtesy of Amazon.com

"The Ultimate Unboxing"

Ah, tech blogs: Home to the unboxing video, where some nerd shows off what it's like to open a new gadget. (It's as geeky as it sounds, as you can see here and here.) Well, Scott Simpson, an Apple iTunes editor (that's a job?) has made a parody, in which "the most frequently mentioned product on the Internet gets its due." Check it out below: