The Velvet Underground And Nico

The Rolling Stones - Loveyoulive

Pink Floyd - The Division Bell

David Bowie - Diamond dogs

Nirvana in utero

Radiohead - Hail to the Thief

The Chemical Brothers - Push the Button

Van Halen - 1984

Michael Jackson - Dangerous

Elton John - Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy

Hugh Jackman was announced as the host of the 81st Academy Awards, a brand new direction from the tradition of picking U.S. comedians on Hollywood’s most prestigious night.

Jackman has award-winning hosting experience, He won an Emmy in 2005 for hosting the 58th annual Tony Awards in 2004, when he also took a best-actor Tony for his performance in the musical “The Boy From Oz.”, Last month People magazine named Jackman as 2008’s “sexiest man alive”.

“We hope it shows in some way the new direction the show hopes to take,” said Larry Mark, a co-producer of the Academy Awards telecast.

“We think the Oscars should be a party, a celebration of the year in movies. Someone like Hugh, a consummate entertainer, is the perfect host.” Mark added.

In recent years, show organizers have experimented with a variety of hosting styles ranging from political satirist Jon Stewart, to edgy Chris Rock and popular Ellen DeGeneres.

Jackman, who can sing and dance, was “genuinely thrilled” at the offer, Mark said, but “he wanted to make sure the format would mesh with his skills.”

The 40-year-old actor plays a roughhewn cattle driver opposite Nicole Kidman’s English aristocrat in the new Baz Luhrmann romantic adventure “Australia.” Jackman was abroad promoting the film Friday when his Oscar role was announced.

The February 2008 three-hour plus broadcast,hit a low 32 million U.S. viewers and entered the record books as the least-watched Oscars ever.

Still, even an audience of that size makes the telecast annually one of the most-watched U.S. TV shows. The broadcast also is televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

To celebrate Gabrielle Coco Chanel’s 125th birthday, Karl Lagerfeld has designed a €5 coin.

The coin is a limited edition, has lots of detail.On the front of the coin displays Coco Chanel’s face and Karl Lagerfeld’s signature. On the back is the brand’s iconic print and the €5 symbol.

The five ounce collector’s coins come in four different denominations-two in silver and two in gold and each are a nomination of five euros as a nod to the popular Chanel No. 5 scent.

There will be 99 gold coins which cost 5,900 euros and 11,000 of the silver coins which cost 45 euros . The coins will be available from December 1.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is honoring Oscar-winning Federico Fellini and the 50th anniversary of his film “La Dolce Vita” with an exhibition titled “Fellini Oniricon — The Book of My Dreams”.

One hundred sketches from Fellini’s two personal journals covering the years from 1960 to 1990 will go on display in Los Angeles, including a caricatures of Pablo Picasso, Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni and drawings that inspired movie characters.

The show will run from January 29, just before the Oscar nominations are announced, until April 19.

Fellini worked briefly as a cartoonist while trying to get into cinema.The director of classics like La Dolce Vita, Eight and a Half and Amarcord, started drawing his dreams after meeting a Junghian psychoanalyst in 1960.He kept up the habit until 1990, three years before his death.

Fellini won four foreign-language film Academy Awards La strada (1954), Le Notti di Cabiria (1957), 8½ (1963) and Amarcord (1973) and one honorary Oscar during the course of his four-decade career.

Debuting alongside at this week’s Los Angeles Auto,the new 2010 Mercury Milan and the Milan Hybrid is set to arrive in showrooms in the first half of 2009.

Mercury Milan shows off its new grille, and front and rear fascias.Its grille is widened, creating a softer-looking front end than the one it replaces. The Milan also gets updated taillights, though its rear view is less of a departure from the current car.

Mercury’s 2010 Milan promises to offer plenty of cabin space and luxury.An improved seat design with a new perforation pattern has been added as well. The seat contour itself was revised, with more side support to help create a softer seat overall.

The Milan also only gets two gas engine options, a 2.5L Duratec four-cylinder with 175hp and or the upgraded 3.0L V6 that makes 240 horsepower, up from 221 HP in the previous model.Six-speed automatic transmissions will back both engines.

There’s also the new Milan Hybrid, which is identical to the Fusion Hybrid, the hybrid delivers 155 horsepower and 136 pound-feet of torque. An upgraded nickel-metal hydride battery is said to be 20 percent more powerful than previous batteries used in Ford hybrids and can drive up to 47 mph on all-electric power.

“The Milan has been a strong part of the Mercury lineup since its initial launch and has helped attract more consumers to dealer showrooms,” said John Felice, general manager, Ford, Lincoln Mercury Marketing. “For sophisticated consumers looking for a stylish hybrid, the Milan now offers them the most fuel-efficient hybrid sedan in its class.”

In the 2010 model year, the Mercury Milan Hybrid will sport better fuel economy than the Toyota Camry Hybrid.Ford is claiming that their hybrids will deliver “at least” five more miles per gallon than the Toyota Camry Hybrid.

Hybrid cars also gain the customizable LCD “SmartPanel” instrument cluster.

The Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White will be jamming for a rockumentary from Oscar-winning director Davis Guggenheim.

Sony Pictures Classics will present the guitar heroes from U2, Led Zeppelin and the White Stripes cranking their instruments up to 11 in “It Might Get Loud”,the documentry looks at the history of the guitar through the eyes of the three musicians profiled.

Each of these three picked for their contributions to guitar playing in three separate eras - Page in the ’70s, The Edge in the ’80s and ’90s, and White in the early years of the 21st century.

The movie was shot in London, Dublin, Nashville and Los Angeles.

n2a Motors, Inc. announced that it will debut its latest model, the Anteros(In Greek mythology, Anteros was the god of requited love), at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 21st. Continuing a tradition of unique styling and impressive performance, the Anteros is built on the new 2009 Corvette platform and features a body reminiscent of iconic Italian designs. Built from modern lightweight carbon fiber, the Anteros is available with a variety of performance and appearance options. n2a Motors is taking orders for January 2009 deliveries.

n2a Motors will be displaying the first production convertible and coupe versions of the Anteros in their exhibit. The black convertible is built using a stock 2009 Corvette donor car, featuring the 430 hp/424 lb.-ft. torque LS3 V8 engine that gets 16 MPG city and 26 MPG highway. The silver coupe is based on a 2009 Corvette Z06 and is modified with Lingenfelter’s 630 horsepower performance package. All base models include a carbon composite body, hand-stitched leather interior, three-piece aluminum wheels, and a custom cat back exhaust. Chevrolet’s 100,000 mile powertrain warranty remains completely intact and the Anteros can be serviced at any GM dealership.

Each Anteros takes approximately 12 weeks to build from the time of order. n2a Motors starts by removing the donor Corvette’s body panels and installing the new carbon composite Anteros body, a process that takes nearly 800 hours for n2a’s coachbuilding craftsmen to complete. The interior is entirely new with re-contoured leather seats, leather dash, Italian carpeting, and leather-wrapped interior panels, while the wheels and exhaust are removed and replaced with n2a’s custom-made components. The turnkey Anteros Coupe starts at $149,500 and the Anteros Convertible starts at $154,500. Anteros Coupes built on the Z06 platform start at $176,500. Performance packages ranging from 525-1000+ horsepower are available for an additional cost.

The Anteros is the follow-up to n2a Motors’ 789 model that debuted to critical acclaim at the New York International Auto Show in March 2008. Inspired by the designs of the 1957, 58, and 59 Chevrolets, the 789 was hailed as “merely the coolest car…on the planet” by the New York Times. The 789 is also built on the C6 Corvette platform and utilizes a carbon composite body. Coupe 789 models start at $139,500 and the convertible base model is $144,500. A convertible 789 will also be on display at the LA Auto Show.

“We wanted to produce diamonds that resemble the Louis Vuitton brand,” says Albert Bensoussan, watch and fine jewelry director at Louis Vuitton Malletier.

While mainstream diamonds feature only 58 facets to be classified as a brilliant-cut diamond, the Louis Vuitton diamonds have between 61 and 77 facets.

“You have it today with ready-to-wear,with handbags, with watches, with eyeglasses. You can recognize a brand, and that association is very appealing to us. You’re going to recognize the name and value behind the shape of these diamonds.”  Bensoussan added.

LV diamonds have been set into a necklace consisting of 1,001 tiny brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 15 carats, coexisting with 65 round flower diamonds (49 carats) and 79 pointed ones (44 carats), for a combined bling bang of 108 carats that retails for about $4 million. Vuitton has dubbed the collection Les Ardentes, which translates roughly as “the blazing.”

The two newly launched and patented, rounded flower and point flower are cut at Lili Diamonds in Tel Aviv by three master cutters.

Aretha Franklin has been named the greatest singer of the rock era in a new Rolling Stone poll.

The Queen of Soul topped the list ahead of  Ray Charles at No. 2, Elvis Presley at No. 3, Sam Cooke at No. 4 and John Lennon at No. 5.

The top 100 list will be published on magazine’s December issue.The listed was selected by 179 musicians, producers and experts,including Keith Richards of Rolling Stones, James Hetfield of Metallica, David Crosby, Yusuf Islam,Iggy Pop and Mary J. Blige. Voters submitted their top 20 choices, and an accounting firm tabulated the results.

Besides 66 years old Franklin, the only other living people in the top 10 were Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder.

The top 10 is as follows:

1. Aretha Franklin
2. Ray Charles
3. Elvis Presley
4. Sam Cooke
5. John Lennon
6. Marvin Gaye
7. Bob Dylan
8. Otis Redding
9. Stevie Wonder
10. James Brown

What ’s your idea about this list?

Moscow has seen the opening of the Kandinsky art competition this week,after an intense selection process of 337 submitted pieces by Russian modern artists for Kandinsky Prize, the display will show the top 60 works.and one of 32 first prize finalists will win the top prize worth 40,000 euros ($50,840).28 other finalists are in the running for a young artist or media project of the year award.Best Young Artist will receive a work trip; and the winner of the Media Project will receive 10,000 euros ($12,710).

Faked photographs of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin cavorting naked on a sofa with U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, a giant styrofoam throne and pins in rubber erasers are vying for Russia’s top modern art award.

The display of heavily politicized art by finalists competing for the Kandinsky Prize is considered a knock against Western critics who say freedom of expression has been curtailed by the Kremlin, though Russia’s deputy minister for culture, Pavel Khoroshilov, sits on the prize’s council of trustees.

Siberian art duo Blue Noses are in the running with their video installation that includes photographs of posed naked male and female models whose faces have been replaced by those of Russian and world politicians.

The Kandinsky Prize, named in honor of one of the greatest Russian 20th century artists, Wassily Kandinsky, is supported by Deutsche Bank AG and the Moscow-based Art Chronika Culture Foundation.

The prize was first given out in December 4, 2007, this award series has already been compared with the Turner Prize, which honors protagonists of the English art scene.The event is aimed at showing the public “the fingerprint of Russia’s modern art”, uncovering new names and trends.

“We want more artists to have an opportunity to show their work and for the Moscow public to see them,”said Shalva Breus,one of the organizers.

The award ceremony will take place in December, the month of Wassily Kandinsky birthday.