118. Classic clip of the week (W/e 5.31.09)- ABBA-Dancing Queen

After taking a week off from classic clips, I feel this was a big way to come back. I honestly couldn't care less what anyone would think of me for loving this record. It makes me want to dance (I'm far from being a dancer), it's a feel good song, one of the best the 70's (screw that, the 20th century) has to offer. Sadly it's gets that negative stigma for being a homosexual anthem but I look at things this way: Sure homosexual men and women highly supported this record back in 1976. But there is no way they could have possibly been the only demographic that bought the single, requested the song on radio, danced to it in discos or sang the song at a show.

117. On the street (14th street, NYC)

I love this look completely. His wingtips (which are an absolute must have for me) take the outfit to the next level and strikes such a chord. Just about any other color wouldn't have the same impact. Beautiful look for the warm weather months.

116. On the street (W. Village, NYC)

115. Armed, chic and dangerous (Central Park South, NYC)

I love her choice of accessories. It takes what would be a normal solid dress to another level by adding a not so subtle cocktail ring, bracelets, and even her long hair and glasses add a great dramatic effect to the look.

114. Physical Graffiti (Rivington St, L.E.S., NYC)

113. Gay Talese: Famous Writer/Style conisseur

He gives his take on style, tailoring and why appearance is so damn important. For me, these four minutes were music to my ears and a great source of inspiration.




via: Men.Style.com

112. "The Volt"* (Rivington St, Lower East Side, NYC)

I'm going to quote my twitter text right after I took these shots: "Ladies & Gents, I've captured another moment.....another pic for the awesome files. Think the Yeah Yeah Yeahs time warped to 1973 E. Village"....or you can also say The Velvet Underground and Nico, circa 1967, except it's only Lou Reed, John Cale and Nico....with darker hair...and a classic NY chip on her shoulder. This set of photos are easily in my top 3 that I've done in my short career so far, and arguably my favorite.

If any of you three happen to be reading this, when you guys make it big as "The Volt", consider me as your photographer.

*- The Volt isn't the name of their band because they aren't one which I found rather shocking. I was immediately drawn to their energy, you get the sense that they've known each other for quite some time. I didn't even notice until the 330th time I looked a these pictures were that the man on the left had a small cocktail ring similar to the ones I mentioned before which I liked by the way (I bought one similar to his, but it's aqua blue and a bit bigger).

111. Coldplay live (5.24.09) @ Hershey Park Stadium (Hershey Park, Pa)

Taken before the show but this is what I felt the crowd was doing for most of it. Just no energy at all.











I enjoyed myself, it being my first time seeing them live and despite being in section 26(!). Aside from 2 girls sitting in front of me singing to every song and screaming as if a Jonas brother was nearby, most of the section remained quiet or sat during most of the show. It almost felt like they've seen Coldplay many times before and what they were seeing was nothing new. No chant after "Viva La Vida", very little crowd participation but they only managed to get the most excited when they did a Monkees cover (go figure). I hope they got their $100 worth. But I didn't go to see the crowd, it just would have helped had the less active portion of the crowd been more into it and the band felt the body language (or lack thereof).

As for the band itself, Coldplay was as good as advertised. Fresh off of a quick thunderstorm that shortened Pete Yorn's set and canceled Holwing Bells', they were energetic and on point. At the very beginning of the show, during "Life In Technicolor", Chris Martin burned himself on the hand (probably due to the pyro) and seemed a bit annoyed by it. As I mentioned before, after performing their biggest hit to date, "Viva La Vida", there was no encore chant and Chris Martin proceeded to fall on the floor, almost playing dead. When they realized the end of song chant wasn't going the way they'd hoped for (I was shocked myself), Chris springs right back up and on to the next record they went.

My 3 key highlights
- Free "LeftRightLeftRightLeft" live cd (even though I had the album on my ipod nearly 2 weeks ago).
- Not letting my section spoil my fun, I sang at the top of my lungs to every song.
- The upbeat, techno version of "God Put A Smile On Your Face" and "Talk". Hopefully it's available for download somewhere.

*- Note that the first 3 photos are mine but the live ones of the band were courtesy of some friends at Coldplaying.com. My seats weren't close enough to get detailed ones.

110. The Eccentric (Kate Spade 5th Ave, NYC)

...And I obviously use the term "eccentric" in a positive way. Most people I run into think of that term in a negative light but I feel the world doesn't have enough eccentrics anymore. I think of myself as one, someone who doesn't mind being different, at times the odd man out. It's not that I think I'm weird, it's just that most people are too square (that's right, I said square) and refuse to live outside of themselves for even a nanosecond. Plus, she's an older woman with a great sense of style, the kind of style I always admire because most people don't grace with age. She certainly has. You look great my dear......

109. Live Clip: Coldplay- Fix You (Live from Sydney, Au)

Classic clip will be taking a week off in place of Live clip and by the time you read this, I'll either be at the Coldplay show screaming my lungs out or on my way back home, with my vocal cords nearly collapsed from screaming them out. The version of this on their new live album "LeftRightLeftRightLeft" is so amazing. The crowd participation gives me chills everytime I listen to it. It's gonna be amazing come sunday.

**- I know this version is about 2 minutes longer than the album version but it's for good reason. Chris Martin takes "embracing" the crowd to a new level and after it all, ends the song on a wonderful note with a little help from some friends.

108. How to stay cool (and look it) in unforgiving NYC weather vol. 1

Anyone else notice a resemblance to model Chanel Iman?

107. On the street (Apple Store Soho, NYC)

106. Horrible and unfortunate news from TMR HQ......

Never in a million years did I ever think I'd ever have to make a post like this. I never ever thought of the possibility that I'd ever have to. I lost my Macbook the night before, after finishing and packing it with my laundry. I'd really hate to get into details about it since it's only been about 24 hours at this point and the wounds are still very fresh and painful. In the two years and two months that I've had the pleasure of being a Mac user, I've only had to deal with minimal problems, nothing major whatsoever and most importantly, we had good times. Maybe it was a sign to get a newer and better one. Recently there have been problems with hardrive space and I could have easily settled that by purchasing an external hardrive but I always managed to clear up enough room.

This also isn't going to stop TMR, I'll just have to work a little differently until I manage to either get my Mac back or replace it. The hardest adjustment I'll have to make in this temporary process is that I have to go back to windows which should be enough motivation to hurry the process up. A day later and I'm still shocked that one of the most precious things I owned (besides my apartment) just slipped away from me in a flash. To the person who happens to have it in their possession, I hope you have fun trying to figure out the password, and maybe the 4 guys plastered on the shell will give you a clue.





Good old Mac with "Rubber Soul" vinyl

105. On the street (W. 14th street, NYC)

Awesome look, man on right. The man on the left looks like he could be his enforcer and I didn't want to test this little theory hehe

104. When less becomes more (9th/10th streets, NYC)

Some things are simply done better in black and white. Case in point.

103. The Marlboro Man Revived* (6th ave, NYC)

Looking at this photo reminds me of a few things. The obvious would be the Marlboro man ads in the back of Time(?) issues once upon a time. This then reminds me of how much I associate those Marlboro cigarettes from my youth because that's what my old man smoked....and when I was about 13, I took 2 of his cigarettes, locked myself in the bathroom and smoked for the first time but I digress......I think his look is very timeless that if you look back on it years from now, it'll be as fresh as it is today or in the 1950's. A great thing about this look is that all of it is vintage but it still looks modern at the same time. I also happen to contain all of these elements (except the hat) to take on the "urban cowboy" look but sometimes you just have to know when to say no (haha).

BTW: I also love the band he has on his right arm. It immediately made me think of the ones Space Ghost used to wear.

*- Sorry Sart

102. Classic clip of the week (W/e 5.10.09): AC/DC- Let There Be Rock

If you own or played "Rock Band 2", I don't see how this wouldn't be your go to song to rock out to. Even at it's frenetic pace, playing it on easy can be challenging but this song is so awesome that you forget how badly you might be playing it at that time. There isn't much that I can say about this particular record that isn't explained in the song. Feel free to break out the air guitars for this one because it calls for it.

101. On the street (9th ave, NYC)

I'm wondering how she added that effect to her scarf or if she purchased it like that. Maybe I should have asked her.....

100. My 100th post!!

Who knew I'd get to this point this soon? Thank you to everyone who posted a comment, my loyal followers or those who even remembered the address before I got business cards to view the site. This is obviously the beginning of the madness that is The Mod Revival and hopefully by the time we reach 200 (at this rate, I'm shooting for late July, early August), the blog will be twice the size in viewers, followers and posts. I think thats how I'd like to measure the success of the blog, on a 3 month, 100 post basis seems feasible to me. The only thing I ask of you as my readers are to let me know what your favorite 5 posts are (I won't be mad if you only give me three). I'll briefly give my five favorite moments shooting for the blog at this point and they go like this:

1) Post #28 The Ting Tings Live: My first time seeing them live and I really didn't know what to expect....except maybe a mid 20's and older crowd and came upon the opposite. I'm 25 myself and was in the minority of the "over 20" demographic that showed up that night. I nearly lost my voice so it had to be blast for me.

2) Post #20 "Gossip Girl" sighting: Chace Crawford and I nearly on had the same outfit. I wasn't a "Gossip Girl" fan at that time but what a difference 2 months can make. I've watched all of the shows episodes (except for the latest one) and I'm a new huge fan. Maybe I should have called Chace out and challenged him to a "who wore it best" contest.....

3) Post #82 Barker Black W. Village sighting: What more could I say about that post? Nearly got into a fight like I was one of the paparazzo, a classic case of miscommunication.

4) Post #50 Topshop Grand Opening: That was such a lovely day. I only regret not getting there early enough and not seizing the opportunity to get more subjects for the blog. I still came away with a good amount of material (and free goodies too!).

5) Post #85 The Modern Mad Man: Easily one of the best dressed non celebrity people I've seen in real life. The detail was on point from head to toe. He really lit a fire in me to take my wardrobe to the next level and at the end of the day, that's what fashion is all about.

Some things to look for within the next 100? My "Love you Live" series continues with Coldplay, No Doubt and possibly Jarvis Cocker. Stay tuned because you never know what will transpire when Jane (my camera) and I are swinging through town

99. On the street (5th avenue, NYC)

98. Lord of the rings?

Stanley Tucci in "The Devil Wears Prada"


Ringo Starr, circa 1964


Ringo Starr in "A Hard Day's Night"


Jimi Hendrix


I mentioned in my 25 random facts (post #36, random fact #22) that what I wanted to take on but was insecure about were wearing cocktail rings. I don't know what came over me in the last few days or so but I've made it a mission of mine to find one (or as many as possible) that fit my style and has a masculine edge to it. I figured I'll eventually get over those insecurities (like I did with sprouting pocket squares, skinny jeans and warm weather scarves) and I sort of have an idea of what I'm looking for (some vintage, some classic or even classic with a modern twist).

Not only am I trying to find one that will fit my index and ring fingers (ideally I'd like to wear two at a time if they are smaller and just one if it's a big and bold one)

97. Window Porn III: J. Lindeberg, (Soho, NYC)

I love how the white jeans dresses the look down without making it look costumey. Even if they happened to be black, I'm sure I could find someone (other than myself) who could still make it look as striking.

96. Classic clip of the week (W/e 5.10.09): John Lennon- Mother

95. Another Mother's Day without you (Anywhere but here)

The reason you probably should be telling your mom or dad how much you love
them more often....

Can't believe it's been nearly 15 years since you've been gone. Still feels like yesterday when I got the news about you dying and the immediate impact I felt from hearing this. I was only about to turn 11 and Kenny 9 and didn't have the slightest clue how this would affect the rest of our lives. God took you from us way too early, not to mention I wasn't even aware that you were dying in the first place. You were a young 47 with tons left to accomplish. I sadly can't say what those goals were that you set out to do but in spirit, I'll carry on that mission. They say time heals wounds and I thought after all this time, things wouldn't be as painful. Anytime I go to visit you, even to this day it reduces me to tears and I still think of you every living day and thinking about the relationship between parents and their children I came to realize that children don't really know or get to know their parent's personality and character at least until their teens.

I didn't know much about you up to that point in 1994 except of course for the basics that kids seem to always know about their parents and the only way I can learn about you is through the memories of family and friends. All of the stories are pretty much the same, how much you gave, how you raised them one way or another and in one case, introduced them to a Brooklyn pizza but the point is the impact you made on their lives and the permanant impression you left on them. My grandmother still in 2009 can't even speak your name because it still brings her to tears and it's hard when I want to learn anything about you and I can't depend on her. I can only imagine how different my life would have been if you beat the Lukemia, but like I have been doing for the past 14 and a half years, I can only imagine and draw up my own conclusion.

So to anyone out there reading this, if you happen to have some static with your mother or father, honestly it isn't even worth it because obviously life is too short and just like that you can easily lose them. I never had the best relationship with my father growing up and didn't have a reason to but I love my life and he's partially responsible for me being here so I forgave (can't really say I forgot) and we presently have a more than good rapport. So in closing, I hope mummy (that's what me and Kenny called her) is watching over he and I closely and guiding us in the right direction and also we won't have to see you for a long while.


-J.E.J.

94. Blog World Meet Lourdes Marie! (Greenwich Village to Kensington, Brooklyn, NYC)

I was so eager to get my bike, I cut out of work an hour early, went up to Greenwich village to this vintage bike shop, tested 2 of them out (this being the second one) and it was smooth sailing from there. Since the weather was gorgeous (there was supposed to be rain, but later on in the day), I decided to ride the bike home. If anyone knows how far the trip from the village downtown (a suicide mission in itself), over the Brooklyn bridge and through Prospect park is, let's just say it took about two hours. I quickly realized as well how much of a chick magnet it is (or potentially could be). Not even ten minutes on the road and I had several smiles on faces as well as "nice bike" remarks. This lets me know that Pee Wee Herman was a visionary who was way ahead of his time. Sitting on "26 never felt this awesome.

I'm trying to figure out if I can add fenders to the back as well as the front and possibly a bell to spice things up. I also decided to name the bike after my late mother (her name was Marie Lourdes). Not that there was any significance between getting a bike and my mother but I just thought it would be cool to name something in her memory.

I might be dead exhausted, sweating a little and my legs feeling like noodles from all of the peddling, but hey, at least I looked good while doing so.

93. Window Porn II: Bergdorf Goodman (Midtown, NYC)

That blazer is so me, the only thing I can hope for are double vents (normally, they aren't). If I had to guess who designed this, my first though was Michael Bastian. This window story is right up his alley.

92. On the street (8th avenue, NYC)

91. On the street (Union Square West, NYC)

This young lady said she made this coat herself which I think is dope and creative.

90. Window tease: Ralph Lauren (Greenwich Village, NYC)

There's nothing on these two mannequins that I don't like.

89. New purchases: Vinyl

I went to union square today in hopes of getting a new bicycle to no avail once again then I noticed a "Store closing, final sale" sign at the Virgin Megastore across the street and decided to investigate. They are closing their doors on the 31st of this month and are offering various discounts on the remaining inventory. I scored these records at about $13 a piece ($11 being the lowest, $15 being the highest) and if I'm lucky when I feel like going back, they'll have the Nas "Untitled" Lp still lying around. I can now add these four lovely albums to my upstart collection that includes these two and this one (*not an actual pic of mine) I found for $2 at a record shop in the West Village (felt like '78 all over again! lol). Besides Nas, I'll wait for a deeper discount for cd's and get The Smiths' first 3 albums.

Now I'm wondering if Ikea has any storage units specifically for vinyls......

88. The Corner of chic dreams (14th st Apple Store, NYC)

87. Classic clip of the week (W/e 5.3.09): Led Zeppelin- Stairway To Heaven

Just like Ted Mosby once described himself (and me hehe) on "How I Met Your Mother" ("I'm not some top 40 song, easily digestible. I'm complex, and require multiple listens. "I'm Stairway to Heaven"") and as much as I love this record, listening to it hundreds of times, I still couldn't tell you what it's about. Isn't that the case with most popular songs anyway? Just drawing up your own conclusions? Maybe it isn't so complex. There was no promotional video because Zeppelin didn't believe in releasing singles so this video is from their live album "The Song Remains The Same" (which is actually about 2 minutes longer than the album version). Bon appetite.

BTW: "Does anybody remember laughter?!"

86. On the street (Chelsea, NYC)

85. Mad Men: "The 2009 version" (Soho, NYC)

I think I might have peaked with this photo here. I don't know anything about this gentleman, except that I took this photo of him and that I'd trust him with anything and for 3 reasons: his haircut, his tv fold pocket square, and the length of his trousers/jacket sleeve. This might sound crazy to you but these are my beliefs. In all seriousness, men can't look any better than this. I actually felt this warm feeling in my stomach (maybe it was hunger at the time hehe) that maybe there is hope in America. There are thousands upon thousands of well dressed men like this man here, it's just a matter of finding them.

This also reminds me of a recent discussion I had with a friend of mine in which he told me he never complements a man on his look or inquires about a specific item because he doesn't want to inflate the next man's ego. While I can see the reason behind his logic of...I have absolutely no hang up about giving another man props on what he is wearing because there are so many sloppy and uninformed dressers these days (both male and female), anytime I see a well dressed guy, I have to give credit where credit is due. I'm confident in my ability to stand out as an above average dresser, no matter what the circumstance.

Dare I say (in the most humble way possible) that I'd put this photo up against anything The Sartorialist has ever taken.*


*- Aside from the recent photo he took of the adorable little boy in Sydney. That would just not be fair.

84. The Sartorialist looks of the month *04.2009*

*late addition*



(This is easily the most adorable picture I've ever seen...even more so than my own (post #10) (feel free to comment by the way))

via: The Sartorialist