Shoe In

This spring, I'm obsessed with the Samba -- whether it's the Latin American ballroom kind displayed on (White Cheddar Cheese Alert!)ABC's "Dancing With The Stars" or the forever-classic Adidas Samba sneaker.
Me and the samba have a fantastic past. There were the countless pairs of childhood worn until the heels fell apart, or got so pebble-strewn within the little grids of the soles that they no longer proved pliable. There was the pair that put the "pleasure" in Janet Jackson's "Pleasure Principle" video that made me ask Mom and Dad for a new pair, get rejected, and hoped they would magically appear in the clearance section of Marshall's (definitely pre-DSW days, folks).
My latest resurrection of the Samba is the all-white pair as pictured here. Pristine white with the iconic black stripe and funky large soccer-style tongue, it don't get more Spring 2007 than this folks. Imagine them paired with a straight leg jean or a pair of tailored mid thigh shorts. Better yet, imagine them strapped to your feet as you dance and tumble your way through an abandoned warehouse. Oh, Janet!

[Adidas Samba Classics in White, about $45, (www.shopadidas.com)].

Bringin' down the 'house

I know I've been blogging about music fairly often lately, but this is my latest obsession: Meet Amy Winehouse.
Her jazzy, bluesy, 60s tinged album "Back to Black" is so soulful, you'll be calling C.Thomas Howell and asking him what kind of tanning pills he was taking in that movie just so you can hang.
It also doesn't hurt that the British Ms. Winehouse puts the "wine" in "winehouse." Girl is drunk on the tele like every other minute. And she doesn't deny it. Her single "Rehab" announces, "They tried to send me to rehab, but NO NO NO." Take that Destiny's Child. AND she's besties with Kate Moss. Dear Hello Magazine -- White Hot Mess Alert!
Lately, it seems the British ladies are reclaiming the neo-soul genre from Americans. Between Corinne Bailey Rae's subtle debut and Amy Winehouse, the Stateside gals better get it together before the Brits steal what us Yanks invented!

[Amy Winehouse, "Back to Black," available soon to US Markets].

Singled out

Two singles receiving mucho rotation on my iPod are Mika's "Grace Kelly" and Paolo Nutini's "Last Request."
Continuing my seemingly neverending anglomania, these two artists are accomplished successes across the pond in the UK, but now are just hitting ashore here in the USA. Mika's style harks back to strong stroytelling-within-a-song, much like a 70s Elton John. It may sound like a hokey musical approach, but for some reason, its bubblegummy tongue-in-cheekiness all works.
On the other hand, Paolo Nutini is a more traditional alterna-pop singer/songwriter. Thankfully, he won't have an annoying hit a la James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" and that's a good thing. Let's keep him a secret. At least until Grey's Anatomy uses "Last Request" for some overly dramatic musical montage featuring soft focus shots of medical residents.

[Mika, Life in Cartoon Motion, www.mikasounds.com]
[Paolo Nutini, These Streets, www.paolonutini.com].

For your eyes only (or so wished the producers of 1982's Oscar telecast)

White Hot Mess Alert! Wow, remember the days when the Academy Awards had horribly entertaining musical numbers sometimes choreographed by Debbie Allen? Yes, good times.
But like all good things wonderfully cheese, the over-produced musical numbers have gone moldy, been discarded, and instead we get treated to gems like Beyonce singing all 5 nominees at 2005's Oscars (cute in theory, but thankfully we were too distracted wondering how B's weave went from blowout to updo to ponytail in between each song).
From 1982's Oscars comes this way over the top slice of cheesecake: Sheena "Sugar Walls" Easton performing "For Your Eyes Only" from the James Bond flick of the same name. I'm not sure which is my favorite part, but watching the whole thing reminds me of long cherished trips to Universal Studios in the 1980s. I mean, it's like I'm right there on the set of Battlestar Galactica!

Thanks to Entertainment Weekly for the tip.

Telenovelamazing!

Ugly Betty just got so freakin' fantastic it almost makes you want to cut your own bangs. Fresh off a double doozy win at the Golden Globes (Best Comedy Series and Best Comedy Actress for America Ferrera), Betty had much to prove on its first showing of the new year. And boy did the ugly come out flying. Viewers were quickly reminded of the key story plots that have been building since the pilot. Perhaps the best "i didn't see that coming" moment of the season occurred in classic cliffhanger style. The unveiling of the mysterious bandaged woman turned out to be ... (Spoiler Alert!) Alexis "Don't Call me Alex" Meade, the post-operative transsexual brother of Daniel Meade, EIC of Mode, and thought to be very, very dead from a freak skiing accident. Telanovelamazing!
Fortunately, Betty never takes itself too seriously, so this plot twist really works. And it doesn't hurt that the former Alex Meade has been cast as the former Mrs. John Stamos, Rebecca Romijn. Upgrade!