Fresh (RE)lease

Kelly Clarkson is a pop mega star, and a reality show winner. The two aren't exactly synonymous, but Clarkson proved that her insanely powerful voice was a forced to be reckoned with. Three albums and two Grammys later, Kelly is back with her fourth CD titled "All I Ever Wanted. It's being pegged as a more mature of her multi-platinum album "Breakaway" and less of the singer- songwriter vibe that was found on her less commercially successful, yet critically acclaimed third album "My December". What we have here is a track from the new album named "The Day We Fell Apart." Normally, I'm not a fan of super cheesy pop music, and thankfully this isn't that type of the song. Kelly's voice is in prime form, and the drum line in this song is so powerful that it becomes an instant rocker. The best part about her performances is when she sings, she makes sure you feel everything that she's feeling, which makes for an even better experience. A catchy melody, strong verses, and an emotion-filled delivery prove that not only is Clarkson back, but is securing her place as one of the greatest pop singers of the new millennium.

"All I Ever Wanted" is slated for a March 10, 2009 release.

Video (RE)View

John Legend- "Everybody Knows"

John Legend's third album release "Evolver" had him go in a different, more upbeat direction than his first two records. While his forte is piano ballads, the first single off of the new album "Green Light" featuring Andre 3000 of OutKast proved that Legend is a truly versatile artists and in fact has the chops and musical ear to pull of more groove-able songs. "Everbody Knows" is a very nice mid-tempo song, with drums and acoustic guitars being the main instruments on the song. His vocals are good as usual, and the smooth, almost reggae vibe of the song makes it a very easy listening track. As my favorite song off of the album, I'm even more excited about hearing it on the radio.

The video for the song is simple and well-shot, and not lacking in a plot, nor is it overloaded in unnecessary scenes. The video follows several couples in their various romantic settings, along with solo scenes of Legend around the city. The most interesting part of the video are the scenes where Legend is alone in a dark room and has various words appear all over his body. His creativity is becoming more evident in each video and overall it is an interesting video.

Y-3 Spring/Summer 09 Collection

Yohji Yamamoto, the creator of the Y-3 line, an extension of the Adidas company bothers me. At the same time I'm in awe of the guy. He is a genius at creating urban acessories and clothing that are appealing to most people, (guys especially) but the high fashion in him makes these prices so completely unrealistic for the masses, like myself. So that's more of a personal gripe, but come on man! It's a recession, throw me a bone, slash some prices!

But about the accessories. The Spring/Summer 09 Collection is actually very good. Although I'm not a bag/accessory type of person, when I find a tight bag, the earth should shake. Because it's a rarity. I mean like finding a four-leaf clover rare. Thanks to Hypebeast, I can give you a sneak preview of the collection and for those of you who can spend Y-3 cash, more power to you. Just make sure to send me some stuff. Beggars can't be choosers, so I'll take whatever!








Those are the three pieces that I was the most interested in.
Check the rest of the preview here at Hypebeast

Flyness with a Purpose

Converse. Chucks. Whatever you call them, you know they're simple, classic, and most importantly fresh. My Chucks are my favorite shoes because I don't have to worry about beating some people up for stepping on a pair of shoes I wasted an entire paycheck on. And don't act like I'm crazy because you know people (myself included) lose their minds when they get a scratch on their shoes. And I'm just lazy and don't want to match everything I wear with my shoes. I'm convinced it's a sick cycle. If you can't match your clothes, you go out and waste more money on shoes until you do. But that's another issue.

Back to Converse. Maybe I've been living under a rock or something, but apparently they've been building up their brand. And I'm not talking about those ridiculous Ed Hardy Converse shoes either.



1Hund(RED) Artist #58 Steve Monti ($76.99)
First off, the Product Red movement is amazing. Although society tends to only praise these social movements for as long as they're 'it' issue, some really great artists have come out of this project. Steve Monti's design is completely dope and something not found anywhere else. The people cutouts surrounding the shoe equal complete freshness. And whenever the proceeds go to help people in need it's a bigger plus.



Matt and Kim #66 ($54.99)
Once again, Converse's idea to have one hundred different designers for their Product (RED) campaign was complete genius. Matt and Kim, whoever they are, created what can only be called walking art. The building photo on the side of the shoe gives me Warhol-esque feelings and I'm digging it.



Mike Schall #33 ($54.99)
The pipelines around the shoe has a really modernistic art feel to it. I think I might need these.



Chuck Taylor All-Star Big Plaid ($50.00)
It's plaid. It's fresh. It's Converse. As corny as that is, there's not really much more that needs to be said. Freshness all around.



Jeff Hamada #24 ($55.00)
The whole "we are the world" thing with the hands is really creative, and does more to drive home the emphasis of the (RED) campaign. I'd like brighter colors or at least bolder colors but the design is still fresh.

Shop Converse

Product(RED)

Fresh out the Package..

Elliot Yamin, third runner up on season five of 'American Idol' has released the first single off of his sophomore album titled "Fight for Love". Unlike most Idol rejects, he found temporary chart success with his Top 20 single "Wait For You". Elliot is point blank, an amazing vocalist. He's one of the most talented male pop singers on the scene right now, but his problem is, he releases songs that sound old and irrelevant. "Fight for Love" is not a bad song at all, in fact it's very catchy and has decent lyrics, but the production is very average and forgettable. Sure, he's more of a Adult Contemporary artist, but he never can solidly create a sound that is mature and current. He has a small shot at Top 40 airplay and even a decent run on the AC stations, but if he wants to kick the Idol curse for good and establish a solid career, he's going to need to bite the bullet and pull out a decidedly unique album, not just another cheesy pop album just waiting to be karaoke'd by every wannabe Justin, Usher, and even Elliot.

Online Shopping

Forever 21, the perennially female clothing store, has finally released a men's line that's actually worth talking about. Heritage 1981 is the name of the line, and it's actually quite affordable. Now the only cons that I've seen so far is that some of the jackets really REALLY need to be a little thicker. Because we call can't live in beach weather all of the time.


Fredrick Herringbone Jacket ($34.90)
Nice, vintage feel to the jacket. Personally I'm not a fan of all of the buttons, but it's definitely a unique jacket


Elwin Plain Jacket ($32.90)
The plaid is hot. Plain and simple. Great track jacket and fresh design.


Kaden Windbreaker ($34.90)
One of my personal favorite jackets. Perfect for spring weather, and it's a dope, creative, trendy jacket that is perfect to wear.


Kyle Hooded Cardigan ($19.90)
It just looks warm. And that's really all that counts.

And just because I think this tee is too fresh..



Music is My Life Tee ($14.90)
It's self explanatory.

Shop Forever21 Mens

Fresh out of the Box..

The Fray have just released their second self-titled EP "The Fray", and they're nothing if not consistent. "How to Save a Life" and "Over My Head (Cable Car)", the two biggest singles from their first album (How to Save a Life) are pretty good indicators of the sounds of the new album. Piano heavy ballads and mid-tempos, coupled with contemplative and at times overly dark lyrics are once again found all over the record. However, it's not a bad thing, because Issac Slade has the perfect voice for these types of records and they have mastered what sounds work, and what sounds don't. Lyrically The Fray is still on a strong level, but I think a band like them would be perfect tackling more varied subject matter in their songs.

Quick Rundown of Standout tracks:
"You Found Me"- Lead single. Wonderful production, strong lyrics. Great vocals 4/5
"Syndicate"- A mid-tempo ballad, which is more unusual for the band. Production is decent, however it's missing some power which would make this easily one of their best tracks. It's almost anti-climatic. Worth the download. 4/5
"Happiness"- I was surprised by the sound of this song. More guitar, less piano. There should've been more tracks like this on the album to make it thoroughly versatile, but this is definitely an interesting track. It's raw and bare sounding, which is a perfect compliment to Slade's vocals. 5/5
"Say When"- The best mid-tempo song on the album. The vocal structure and melody is very climatic and breaks into a powerful, flowing chorus. Production and vocals are very good.

Overall, the album is another solid effort from The Fray and while their sound hasn't radically changed, they have stuck with the format that first found them chart success and have put out another great record. Hopefully in the future they will begin to evolve their sound so they can avoid the bottomless pit of contemporary rock bands with no new tricks up their sleeves.

Here's an exclusive Yahoo! Music performance of "Never Say Never" off of the new album



Buy on Amazon