We were climbing down the hill when this happened?????

Why? Why not!!!!!! Jasper (Rogue Status) had to go to the hospital to get patched up!!!!

I am in Barcelona right now. It’s fun and if you’ve veer been here you know what I mean! Anyway…It’s been an eventful past few days but tonight was the craziest yet!

Went with my boy Kish to the illest dinner spot. There was hanging Serrano ham and an insane paella! They also had this rotisserie chicken thing happening outside which we passed on.

This isn’t our party but I just wanted to illustrate how large and wild the place was!

This was the hottest kitchen in Barcelona.

I told these guys I was going to write a 1000 words about this picture, but I lied. We all went to the Vice party which was on top of this mountain. While it wasn’t a big deal getting up there, we just all knew it would be a bitch to get back down after a night of partying!

So here we are, its the end of the party and there is no way to get home! No cabs, no more booze and no more fun… or so we thought…

The going back down the mountain crew! I am not even gonna attempt to point them all out, we just need to get home!

Christie Brinkley. 1980 was a good year.

Sports Illustrated has an image archive of all their Swimsuit Issue covers, which I recommend checking out as a cure for mid-day boredom. I actually haven’t picked up a Swimsuit issue in years, but the re-up’ing of the annual swimsuit calendar is a tacky custom I’ve come to appreciate and cherish.

While we’re on the subject of girls in swimsuits over the past few decades, here’s a lil’ sumthin’ you might enjoy.

Yesterday my White Spider post spawned an email from my homie Darryl Polio Legs. He sent me a response to White Spider with a video by an indivdual who calls himself Madness Reign. I honestly think this man is a hidden jewel in this vast northern land(Quebec)! Watch and see for yourself, this dude shreds the GNARRR! I don’t even know if you will able to believe it.

SYMPTÔME DE POSSESSION

SOCIAL FUCKER

LIVE CKRL 89.1FM (JUST TO SHOW YOU HE IS NOT JOKING!)

Attention Montreal heads and all peeps interested in seeing awesome photography. Here is something for you folks to look out for. Montreal based photographer Ben Pobjoy will be having his latest solo exhibition entitled Land of America. This latest series of photos are the outcome of Pobjoy’s 7000 mile trek across America and Mexico which he did on nonstop bus rides from Montreal to Los Angeles and back in June 2007. Featuring over 150 photographs and supplemented by a memoir of the same name, Land of America is a candid examination of both bus travel and America itself.

The opening will take place on Friday, July 4th 2008 from 7PM to 11PM at the Emporium Gallery ( 3035 St. Antoine Ouest, studio #74). It can also be viewed during regular gallery hours from 12PM to 6PM on Saturday, July 5th 2008 and Sunday, July 6th 2008. Land of America can be viewed thereafter until Friday, July 11th 2008 by appointment only.

Zibahkana (Hell’s Ground) is supposedly Pakistan’s first gore/zombie flick. It’s your typical zombie scenario done in the cinematic style of Bollywood, quite an interesting take. This movie premiered here in Toronto for Rue Morgue’s monthly Cinemacabre movie nights. I totally missed it and am kicking myself for it.

The Virgins finally have their first video! I love the homage to Robin Byrd and public access TV. Watch for Erik ripping off his shirt midway through the video. When I asked him about it, he admitted he was drunk.

Respect to my homie Polio Legs for sending me this Youtubular skate clip. Even if you don’t skate you can appreciate this. So sit back, get faded (or not) and enjoy!

Being away from home and for as long as I have been the past week, I have to rely solely on new music for my audio entertainment and sanity because I didn’t bother to load up my new MacBook with any music. This means I can’t really do a new Digging For Fire installment. But thankfully this has been one of those weeks that has been chockfull of good releases.

First up is The Death Set’s Worldwide. I had been looking forward to this album since first seeing their video for Negative Thinking some time ago. It’s one of those albums that totally signal the start of the summer, going out and being carefree. It’s totally lo-fi, full of energy and one giant rah-rah-go team, go sing chant set to some crunchy guitars and blissfully simple keyboards. It like BS 2000 punching The Go Team in the face because they tried to flirt with Bis.

Then there is The Virgin’s self-titled debut. It’s gong to be very hard for me to be un-biased because of our personal connection to the band, but I’ll try. While this is way more commercial than I normally listen to… I can’t knock it for that simple fact. It took a few listens to dull up it’s initial polish, but soon after it got super infectious. Even though I was familiar and enjoyed lo-fi versions of some of these songs for quite some time, none of those previous incarnations were able to burrow into the back of my head and not want to leave the way these new slick and deliberate produced versions have.

And finally my favorite album of the past week, Ladytron’s Velocifero. I love Ladytron and am so glad they transcended their initial tag of being just another of a handful of Electroclash bands. Their last album The Witching Hour was so cold and stark that hearing Velocifero against it is like comparing a birthday party to a wake. And while Velocifero is still treading in the same cold & dark territory the band focused on during The Witching Hour, they do however this time infuse it with the same familiar synth-pop sensibilities that made their debut album 604 so beloved. I feel compelled to call this a return to form, but then I quickly realize the band has never put out a bad album.

Brace yourselves, there is finally a documentary about the one and only! The immortal god of metal! The overlord of gnar! The motherfucker that everyone wishes they could be!

If all of the amazing DJs and thousands of free hot dogs isn’t enough to get you out to this party, we collaborated with Mad Decent to do a limited edition t-shirt, that is FREE ONLY at the block party. Woo hoo!

This past week I had the pleasure to meet one of my favorite artists, Carlos Enriquez. Carlos is a Venezuelan artist whose hand-painted fiberglass figures are the perfect mix of fine art sculpture and sick twisted Kaiju.

I was introduced to Carlos by my friend (and Mishka collaborator) Lamour Supreme. We met him and his wife Daniella at Toy Tokyo and then went over to Kenka for some drinks and dinner. I tried to get our friend Henrik to eat the Bull Penis from the menu but unfortunately it didn’t come in a child’s portion.

After dinner and getting to know one another, we went back to the apartment where Carlos & his wife were staying at so we could see a few of his newer pieces that he had brought with him. I had seen a couple of his pieces online, and when I saw them in person the Kaiju Invades NYC show last month, I was blown away and I couldn’t wait to see more!

Needless to say I was floored again! Getting to see The Mushroom Carousel in person was truly amazing! The details, the colors, the weirdness, it was great! The colors of the paint totally reflect differently depending on the kind of light hitting it. If I had $3500 I would have bought it from him in a nanosecond. Another of my favorites was The Vagina Brain. Check out the video below of Lamour Supreme asking Carlos about the meaning and inspiration behind The Vagina Brain.

Carlos later showed us a DVD with some of his up and coming work. One of the photos was of a 14 foot Kaiju that he carved out of wood, and then used the carving to make a mold of a just finished a 1/1 fourteen foot fiberglass Kaiju. You can check out some photos of him making the mold in his myspace gallery. He told us it was going to take him 1 month to paint it. I guess that was going to be his next project as soon as he got back to Venezuela. I am sure he will send us some pictures as soon as he is finished with it.

Enjoy some more photos of Carlos’ work!

Peep this funny little diddy of Redman being interviewed by VICE MAGAZINE’S Chris Nieratko. It involves Nieratko in a chicken suit asking borderline offensive stuff, and asking Redman about personal hygiene. I say it’s one dirtbag interviewing another. Definitely very entertaining and retarded.

PS- WTF IS IN THE BOTTLES THAT HE IS HOLDING RIGHT HERE?!

Actually he aint no fool, he just pitties them!

Happy Birthday Mr. T!

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

This is so very sick!

Richard Kern for Mishka Summer 2008 T-Shirt Collection Lookbook

I was first introduced to Richard Kern’s work when I was 16 or 17. After finding out that the cover to Sonic Youth’s EVOL was a still from Kern’s Submit To Me, A friend had a video containing it, You Killed Me First and a few of his other short films from Kim’s Video. We spent the afternoon in my living room watching what at the time were the weirdest, most fucked up and transfixing piece of cinema we had ever seen in our young lives. It was the my first introduction to any sort of avante-garde film and was a defining moment in my creative direction. Kern became a favorite of mine after that point and I and my friends would regularly rent his films over and over again. We would dub them and have them play on endless loops at parties. Unfortunately after a while there were no more new Kern films for us to see, he had moved on to photography and I became an avid fan of his unique and erotic photographs. While some may look at his photos and see the obvious, naked girls any in depth study will discover he’s not just a master with camera but a genius at perversion, Kern is and remains one of a kind and it was a real honor for me to get to do this small T-shirt capsule collection. You don’t often get to work with people you idolized when you were younger but Mishka has afforded me the opportunity a few times now and words can’t really express how happy I am for these opportunities in life.

Anyway, now that I got my personal association with doing this collection out of the way take a look at the Kern Lookbook here and on to the press release below! Please be warned the lookbook is most definitely not safe for work!

I also wanted to thank the super awesome and talanted Ellen Stagg who did the lookbook shoot as well as the lovely Justine Joli, Ariel & Nicole who modeled in it.

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Today we are unveiling a special capsule with internationally recognized photographer and culturally provocative filmmaker & video director Richard Kern. Composed of 4 striking portraits, the collection will offer buyers an intimate glimpse into some of Kern’s most infamous and adored female subjects.

Born in 1954, Richard Kern is a widely acclaimed portrait artist who first came to prominence as a part of the underground cultural explosion in NYC’s East Village during the 1980s. Through his erotic films, featuring underground rock icons such as Lydia Lunch, Kembra Pfahler and Henry Rollins, Kern explored a deep interest in the aesthetics of extreme sex, violence and perversion. Often referred to as one of the fathers of Cinema of Transgression, Kern’s genius behind the lens led to further work with artists like Sonic Youth, King Missile and Marilyn Manson.

In the 1990s, Kern’s focus turned almost exclusively to still photography revolving around glamour, bondage and fetish models. He has since published 9 books of his unique photography including New York City Girls and is a regular contributor to a variety of international publications. Most recently, he also stars in Shot by Kern, a VBS. TV series for VICE Magazine that accompanies him on shoots at his Manhattan Studio.

Printed on 4 colors, the Kern for Mishka capsule illuminates the story of some of his most intriguing models including Lung Leg, a prominent scenster of the 1980s akin to Edie Sedgwick, that Kern can be accredited with discovering. To properly capture the collection, Mishka invited renowned erotic photographer Ellen Stagg – also a former Kern model – to shoot the special Look Book. Very much a disciple of Richard Kern, Ellen’s portfolio includes clients like VHI Publicity, I-D, Life, Mass Appeal, The Fader, MTV, Vogue, Interview and VICE Magazine to name a few.

To this day, Kern remains a quintessential element of what makes NYC’s art, film and music scenes so influential, inspiring and truly timeless. The collection featuring his work will be available at the Mishka Pop-Up Shop in Williamsburg and other select stockists starting mid May. For a full list of retailers and upcoming details about the Summer ’08 Collection, please visit our website.

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I’ve also updated the DoomBox with a compilation I call New York Shitty, Scum & Sludge! It’s my own little soundtrack inspired by the films of Richard Kern, NYC and a sticky uncomfortable Summer!

Since there’s typically an overdose of testosterone on the Bloglin, I wanted to shout out some female blogs, and spread some love to the female fans of Mishka or the Bloglin!

- IS MENTAL: Amanda along with a few other ladies talk about everything from clothes, to technology, photography and beyond.

- Stagg Party: (NSFW) My good friend and amazing photographer shows off her porn photography.

- Brooke Nipar: Another good friend, showing off her great photo work.

- Things We Heart: Store Owner Jill Bradshaw of I Heart (where I work) shows you what’s new and what’s going on in fashion, and merchandise for the store.

- Worship Worthy: This one’s been around for a bit, it’s pretty tip top.

- Missbehave Magazine: This superstar women’s magazine has a blog too!

- Ephemeroi (Windchill): Not really a girl’s blog, but it is run by an awesome girl; Trudi Chan. Site has amazing listings for NYC events and happenings.

*I’m sure I’m missing some great ones. Hit em up in the comments section

Uhhhh count me in! Who’s gonna go to this with me?

TRUE NORWEGIAN BLACK METAL
By Peter Beste

Exhibition May 9–June 7, 2008
Opening Reception: May 9, 6:00–8:00 pm
Steven Kasher Gallery, New York
521 W. 23rd Street, New York
Gallery Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 11am to 6pm

Exhibitions in London, Stockholm, Oslo, Berlin, Los Angeles to follow

In the last two decades a bizarre and violent musical subculture called Black Metal has emerged in Norway. It has its roots in a heady blend of splatter movies, heavy metal music, Satanism, Pagan mythology and adolescent angst. In the early-mid 1990’s, members of this extremist underground committed murder, burned down medieval wooden churches, and desecrated graveyards. What started as juvenile frenzy came to symbolize the start of a war against Christianity, a return to the worship of the ancient Norse gods, and the complete rejection of mainstream society.

American documentary photographer Peter Beste has spent the last eight years working in the milieu of this insulated and secretive community. Beste’s access and insight has been absolutely without precedent, resulting in an amazing photographic journey. Beste has earned the respect and trust of this impenetrable, suspicious and often elitist community. With each visit Beste saw more, photographed more and eventually accumulated enough material for this book. True Norwegian Black Metal is a visual testimonial to this subculture. Peter Beste and editor Johan Kugelberg have created a unique photographic narrative that explores black metal from a truly visceral perspective.

With extensive contributions from the personal archive of Jon “Metalion” Kristiansen, publisher of the original Norwegian black metal publication Slayer Magazine, a unique opportunity is here presented to see original artifacts and ephemera from this secluded rock community, and to read accounts of these events in the words of the people who were actually there at the time.

True Norwegian Black Metal offers confrontational live performance photographs of a savage subculture set alongside the stark beauty and natural allure of a landscape often shrouded in darkness.

The book is comprised of 160 pages of photographs of the following bands/individuals: Nocturno Culto and Fenriz of Darkthrone, Necrobutcher, Hellhammer, Blasphemer, and Maniac of Mayhem, Samoth of Emperor, Frost of Satryicon, Enslaved, Abbath of Immortal, Gaahl, Infernus, King, and Kvitrafn of Gorgoroth, Nattefrost of Carpathian Forest, 1349, Dimmu Borgir, Ildjarn, Aura Noir, and many more. Interviews/Quotes from Frost (1349), Abbath (Immortal), Fenriz (Darkthrone), Gaahl (Gorgoroth). Essay by authors and Jon “Metalion” Kristiansen.

32 Pages from the personal archive of Jon “Metalion” Kristiansen. also includes original artifacts, photographs, ephemera, and personal accounts by Black Metal’s key figures.

VICE Books is pleased to release this incredible document in America on May 15th 2008. VICE Books is distributed by powerHouse Books.

I watched True Romance last night, and despite having seen this film quite a few times, I totally forgot about this gem of a scene. I definitely hadn’t forgotten about Brad Pitt’s role as a stereotypical wastoid stoner, but the real beauty of this film lies in the details. Nothing like rocking out to a little Soundgarden while catching a post-wake ‘n’ bake buzz.

I love the whole concept of All Tomorrow’s Parties. I can go see some of my favorite bands and not have to worry about them slipping in 2/3rds of their set full of crappy later or in some cases new “experimental” albums. It’s a concert, i want to connect with the band and I want to hear those songs live that I already have a strong connection with. Going to concerts with bands who have 4+ albums (some of which not that great) at this point has just become a roll of the dice. There’s nothing more excruciating than paying for Built To Spill and instead getting Doug Martsch pretending to be Trey Anastasio for an hour or so.

This years NY edition of ATP on paper is as amazing as some of those early Lollapalooza line-ups. So much so I had to shake my head in disbelief. Not only are you getting My Bloody Valentine playing in the U.S. for the first time in 15 years but some other equally amazing bands with the guarantee that they’re going to be preforming classic albums in their entirety! Thurston Moore performing Psychic Hearts! Tortoise performing Millions Now Living Will Never Die! The Meat Puppets performing Meat Puppets II! And the aforementioned Built to Spill performing Perfect From Now On… and hopefully it won’t be a hippie jam take on it. But if that wasn’t icing enough Polvo, Shellac, Low, Mogwai & Fuck Buttons will also just be preforming!

If you’re going “What the fuck!? How can I take in all that auditory goodness in one sitting” I haven’t hit you with the bad news yet.

All of this awesomeness is spread across 3 day festival at Kutshers Country Club in Monticello, New York. and come with a very un-awesome price tag! Only 3000 tickets are available for the show and they are ONLY sold as full 3 day passes at a cost of $225 per person. But w-w-wait it gets worse. Not only do you have to buy full 3 day passes you HAVE to also stay on the grounds and rent a hotel room for the 3 days! The minimum price for a hotel room which thankfully fits 3 people (1 double bed, 1single bed) is $450 for whole concert. So, if you can round up two of your pals to join you you’re looking at a minimum of $1125 or $375 per person not counting food, travel and “entertainment” expenses which will probably bring this concert to the $450 per person range. So in the course of writing this, what sounded awesome at first now kind of sounds like one of those sports star cruises! $450 for a concert even at 3 days long is I don’t know kind of ridiculous, even for that line-up. But what do I know, people were paying $1000 to see the Police. If you use that as a measuring stick then this is a downright bargain! Tickets go on sale this Friday, April 25th on the ATP website.

Perhaps if they don’t sell out quickly, ATP can try hawking them over at the Home Buying for Hipsters nights sweeping all of Hipsville, U.S.A. AKA Williamsburg. If you’re getting ready to plunk down the kind of cash needed for a mortgage to buy a home & STILL consider yourself a hipster… well then it stands to reason you just may have the kind of scrill needed to fund this once in a life time event with My Bloody Mortgage Payments! I wonder what these hipster specific home buying tricks may be!?? I hope they involve Gang Gang Dance voodoo chant circles meant to bring real estate prices and interest rates down!