Justin Timberlake

New York City is famously hip for many reasons: the nightlife, the cheap (i.e. legendary bagel, pizza and hot dog joints) and not-so-cheap eats, the music, the architecture, the fashion, art + culture. Not to mention the pursuit of the American dream that drives the city's youth, fostering positivity, ambition, creativity and a strong street sense. NIKE has teamed up with director BBGun for a series called "1LOVE" - to unite NYC's five boroughs + celebrate the ever-present basketball street culture. The shorts look at song writer and producer Theophilus London of Brooklyn, Young Money record label signee Corey Gunz from the Bronx, rapper Miss Banks of Harlem, the Format BMX shop led by Nigel Sylvester in Queens, and Staten Island’s Emilio Sparks of WSIA radio. These edgy vid shorts are definitely worth a peek. The first installment? Brooklyn, Harlem + the Bronx...

Stay tuned for the last two of the the five boroughs!

Here's a special video for today: Justin Timberlake and Charlie Sexton talking about the experience recording with the talented musician, Matt Morris in Austin, Texas.

Says Justin, "I've never related to somebody musically the way I relate to Matt. I feel like that's reciprocated. I feel like we are two friends that are kindred spirits." Says a lot considering they've been friends since they were children.

The song being recorded? The beautiful ballad, "Foregiveness"

Enjoy.

Matt Morris covers The Beatles

Exclusive Video with Matt Morris on Live Forever

Behind the Scenes with Matt Morris and Justin Timberlake on the Ellen Show

METRIC (http://www.myspace.com/metric)

EDWARD SHARPE AND THE MAGNETIC ZEROS (http://www.myspace.com/edwardsharpe)

DAN BLACK (http://www.myspace.com/danblacksound)

LADY GAGA (http://www.ladygaga.com)

DRAGONETTE (http://www.myspace.com/dragonette) Backstage

FREE SOL (http://www.freesol.net)

WOLF MOTHER (http://www.wolfmother.com/)

CYPRESS HILL (http://www.cypresshill.com/)

Perry Farrell, Founder of Lollapalooza and former frontman of Jane's Addiction - giving advice to little tots

CUT COPY (http://www.myspace.com/cutcopy)

NEON TREES (http://www.myspace.com/neontrees)

EMPIRE OF THE SUN (http://www.myspace.com/empireofthesunsound)

ERYKAH BADU (http://www.erykahbadu.com)

SOUND GARDEN (http://www.soundgardenworld.com/)

ARCADE FIRE (http://www.arcadefire.com/)

(Photos: Faith-Ann Young and Getty Images)

How many times have you turned your camera on yourself to take a photo? Especially when in need of a fresh + new FB profile pic...or just for the fun of it? Creative self-portraiture is no easy feat. It requires a good eye, time, patience and a p...

Since this weekend's weather in Chicago boasted uncomfortably hot 90 degree temperatures and then on Sunday, rain and associated mud in the AM, good fashion sense was a luxury far from most attendee's minds at Lollapalooza this weekend (comfortabi...

Photo by Wendy Redfern

Los Angeles five-piece Local Natives' star is rising at a meteoric rate. Their debut album, Gorilla Manor, was released in the States via Frenchkiss Records in February, 2010, and by May, David Byrne was in attendance at their Bowery show in New York, bobbing his head to the band covering one of his songs ("Warning Sign" by Talking Heads). Cut to August, and it seems New York has decided that if they're good enough for David Byrne, they're good enough for us: their show at Governor's Island was a scalpers-out-front sellout.

Live, they absolutely bombarded the senses with powerful harmonies and propulsive rhythms; it was hypnotic and primal and gorgeous. When Kelcey Ayer's (keyboardist) vocals mixed with Taylor Rice (guitarist / mustache cred) and Ryan Hahn's (guitarist), the rich harmonies were a stacked wall of sound that washed over the enraptured crowd. Then, suddenly and without warning,  Ayer's voice would launch somewhere into the stratosphere, and it felt like the entire island was being lifted out of the water. Set to a backdrop of the glittering New York City skyline under a big open sky, it's difficult to imagine Local Natives' towering sound in any lesser setting.

Photo courtesy Diana Wong / DianaWongPhoto.blogspot.com

"Airplanes":

The album, Gorilla Manor, is worth a listen to say the least. It is, at times, haunting, soaring, stark, rich -- all of it epic, wonderful. Each song seems to zig and zag its way up to a resolution that is the musical equivalent of reaching a snow-covered mountaintop, waves crashing below, arms raised to the sky. There are revelatory moments at every turn on this record, where the heavens open up, the only word you hear is "Ah," in exquisite three-part harmony, and everything seems to make perfect sense.

Exhibit A: "World News."

Visit Local Natives on their space, and their site.

We've got live video a' coming but in the meantime, here are some quick photographic clips of Tennman Records' Memphis-hailing band Free Sol performing in the middle of lush Grant Park, at Chicago's Lollapalooza this past Saturday, August 7th 2010...

If you happen to have a pair of 3D glasses laying around the house, check out this slick skate video by Breakoriginals. It will jump out at you, literally. Either way, the colors in the video are cool on the eyes. Have a look: &nbsp...

If anyone's got the midas touch when it comes to career-launching production skills right now, it's Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen and Wale would probably all attest to that, under oath). So we're always excited to see who the 34-year-old Londoner will bless with his skills next.

Introducing The Like! Four LA ladies who, for their new video, "Wishing He Was Dead", show off a penchant for intermingling sixties girl-group aesthetics, catchy choruses and grooves, with a touch of lyrical, post-modern ultra-violence. In other words, this is so cool it borders on frosty:

The Like's second, already highly-acclaimed, album, Release Me, is out now through Downtown Records, and the ladies - Z Berg, Tennessee Thomas, Laena Geronimo and Annie Monroe - will be on the road in Europe til October.

Meanwhile, Mr Ronson continues to thrill with his Mark Ronson & The Business Intl project, which you may have seen our coverage of back in June. We're still waiting with baited breath for the Record Collection album, due this October through Allido/ RCA, and featuring - in addition to Q-Tip and MNDR - '80s legend Boy George and members of The Drums, Kaiser Chiefs and The Zutons, among others. We almost want to send him a Thankyou card for being so thoughtful...

In 2007, Lady Gaga was simply a hopeful yet largely unknown artist, booked to perform at Chicago's summer festival, Lollapalooza. Relegated to the tiny mini BMI stage in an early time slot, she wore a disco-ball-bedazzled bra, a little disco ba...