If Bangs Could Kill

I like Ciara a lot. I think she's cute and fun. In her new single, "Go Girl", you can call her CiCi or "the Energizer Playboy bunny." T-Pain produces, so expect a lot of vocoder/auto-tune. It's not jaw-droppingly exciting, but I can see a lot of people having fun with it at the clubs.

The video comes off like a pastiche of recent pop videos. It must be those pesky art directors. Ciara does a catwalk strut in a shadowy hallway a la Lady Gaga, and then freaks out in a elevator like Britney on Madonna's current tour.

And then there's the wig. Those bangs, artfully cut just above the eyebrows! It's a little bit 20's flapper, a little bit Sunset Boulevard. Just in time for Halloween. My earliest recollection of this look was Britney's pink wig during her ill days.

The look has certainly caught on!

Third World Bling Bling

Kali Arulpragasam is M.I.A.'s very talented sister who designs jewelry under her brand Super Fertile.

Her summer collection depicts the cultural bright spots of countries currently affected by war and terrorism.

The New York Times did a brief about her jewelry this past weekend. You can see more of her excellent work at the Super Fertile website, including better close ups and more countries.

I was hoping for a necklace of Iran, but didn't see one. I totally dig the Iraqi muscle men earrings.

These pieces are so lovely. They remind me of vintage children's encyclopedias. They're priced from $800.

Who Is This Amazing, Unusual Woman?

A catwalk tragedy from Victor & Rolf's Fall 2007 collection?

The spiritual child of Dusty Springfield and Alison Moyet?

The ex-singer of a fairly unknown Irish electronic duo?

The new queen of European dance?

It's Roisin Murphy. I just got her outstanding Overpowered album. It's a total surprise. I love her soulful voice. My favorite songs are "You Know Me Better" (which will be her next single) and "Primitive." Check out her video for "Overpowered."

I'm not sure when this album will get a U.S. release, but it should soon! The $15.99 import price was well worth it.

Man Overboard

Did you know July is Blondie and Deborah Harry Month? I actually thought it was June, which explains the idea for this post and why it took me a good 5-8 minutes to find anything about it on Google.

The month was registered by a fan in 2003, and apparently, it's not that hard to do, although now you can think big: it's no longer the National Special Events Registry, it's the International Special Events Registry, organized by John Kremer, author of "Celebrate Today" (yeah, I didn't read it either).

Now, I'm not sure what someone does during a month dedicated to a band. The obvious would be to play and worship them, reflecting on the contributions they made to popular music, fashion, art and the like.

The dedication says:

Blondie took the music world by storm in the late '70s and early '80s, and the influence of this band and its lead singer Deborah Harry is still being felt today and increasingly recognized with the passage of time.

I only have one Blondie album, The Platinum Collection, a 2-disc set with early favorites like "Rip Her To Shreds," "I'm On E," and "X Offender", hits like "Call Me," "Rapture," "Atomic" and more. I consider it pretty essential.

I love the song "Man Overboard", a fun disco number with a terrific synth solo and Deborah singing the drama that "he gave it all for love." I also love the dreamy "Union City Blues" and the later cuts on disc 2.

When I was in New York City this past April, Blondie was everywhere: DJ'd at the clubs that I visited, postered at the stores I shopped at, and on people's clothing. Truth be told, New Yorkers love music that comes from New York, so Madonna, The Ramones, The Strokes, The Notorious B.I.G. were equally ubiquitous.

I came back with my own Blondie memorabilia, a Marc Jacobs t-shirt with an iconic portrait of Deborah Harry, all to benefit the Provincetown Art Association. Out of all the 10 available colors, I went with the white.

I learned last week that this was not an exclusive NYC t-shirt -- the store on Fillmore Street has mounds of these t-shirts. So the Blondie from the 70's and early 80's might be everywhere this year, even in my city.

It's cute, and maybe I'll wear the t-shirt as my nerdy little dedication to a band I like (but not love). Maybe I'd have more enthusiasm for the Official Talking Heads Month or the Official David Bowie Month, neither of which, to my knowledge, exist. Well, at least I now know one method to step-up my fan dedication.