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☆ Why auction houses are embracing luxury — and celebrity — fashion
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Joan Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

(CNN) — There’s a lot of talk about luxury’s rising prices, but it’s at auction that fashion is selling for the most eye-popping of sums. Fashion items from the sets of TV, film and even commercials can also garner high prices. Frank Augstein/APWhile selling prices are widely publicized, auction houses maintain something akin to attorney-client privilege when it comes to the identities of their bidders. In fact, much of the archival fashion seen on stars today has passed through auction. “That dress would now sell for $10 million because of that double whammy connection of a celebrity,” said Nolan.

Persons: —, Celine, Joan Didion, Levi’s, Kurt Cobain, Elton, Burberry, ”, Nicole Kidman, Lucy Bishop, Frank Augstein, Bishop, Audrey Hepburn, Diana —, Victoria, they’re, Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Michael Jackson’s, Laverne Cox, Jordan Strauss, ’, Shannon Hoey, Hoey, Dior, Elizabeth Debicki, Diana, “, Meg Randell, Leigh Anne Clark —, Valentino, Saint Laurent, Chanel, Andre Leon Talley’s Birkin, Christie’s, Anna Wintour, Clark, Talley, would’ve, Andre Leon Talley's, Meghan McCarthy, Renae Plant, Diana’s, It’s, Carrie Bradshaw, Martin Nolan, Carrie Bradshaw's, Craig Blankenhorn, Barbie, Marilyn Monroe, John F, Kennedy, Nolan, Read Organizations: The, Fashion, CNN, AMC, Albert Museum, York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vogue, USA, Plant, City, Julien’s, HBO Locations: London, Dallas, Palm Beach , Florida, California, Paris, Australia

LONDON (AP) — Paul McCartney no longer gently weeps for his original bass guitar. “Paul said to me, ‘Hey, because you’re from Höfner, couldn’t you help find my bass?’” Wass said. The thief didn't set out to steal McCartney's instrument and panicked when he realized what he had, Jones said. Its estimated value is based on the fact that a Gibson acoustic guitar Kurt Cobain played on MTV Unplugged sold for $6 million (4.7 million pounds), Jones said. It’s a red alert because the minute you come forward someone’s going to go, 'That’s Paul McCartney's guitar.

Persons: — Paul McCartney, McCartney, Höfner, Scott Jones, Nick Wass, “ Paul, ” Wass, Paul, ” McCartney, Jones serendipitously, Jones, “, ” Jones, Naomi, Ian Horne, Horne couldn't, Naomi Jones, didn't, Ron Guest, Admiral Blake, McCartney's, Cathy Guest, Haydn Guest, Cathy, Kurt Cobain, Paul McCartney's, ” Organizations: Beatles, Glastonbury Festival, Wings, London, British Library, MTV Locations: Höfner, Hamburg, Germany, Wass, Notting, London

☆ My First Cigarette Was My Last
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Karen Kicak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Our elementary school was set deep in the rural Ontario countryside, nestled in the forest beside the local dump. At recess, a year later, I didn’t make the choice to get into trouble that day, either. She had been invited to smoke cigarettes in the trees on the far side of the running track. The invitation came from Kyle, a charming ringleader who looked like Justin Timberlake and dressed like Kurt Cobain. I would have certainly wussed out if she had told me we were going to smoke (!)

Persons: Ashley, Kyle, Justin Timberlake, Kurt Cobain, — Locations: Ontario

☆ In ‘Last Days,’ Strange Sounds of Simultaneous Joy and Sadness
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Hugh Morris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Like, ‘Oh, are you being serious or are you not?’ No; I am deadly serious when I’m doing these things. I’m just chasing this strange feeling.”Leith’s way of talking about music is a lot like his actual music: blurry and discursive, but also precisely evocative. That strange feeling he’s chasing, for example, is one he compared to being at a wake, where “outward joy and outward sadness” are possible at the same time. Take his opera “Last Days,” which receives its U.S. premiere on Feb. 6 in Los Angeles as part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella series. It is adapted from Gus Van Sant’s 2005 film of the same name, which fictionalizes the final days of Kurt Cobain.

Persons: Oliver Leith ., Leith, ” Leith, “, I’m, Gus Van Sant’s, Kurt Cobain Organizations: Los Angeles Locations: Los Angeles

☆ Why American-made Martin acoustic guitars are so expensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Chris Snyder | Emily Christian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Martin acoustic guitars are some of the most popular and well-known high-end acoustic guitars in the world. They're owned and played by pop stars like Ed Sheeran and Shawn Mendes. In the past, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, and Bob Dylan all have used Martin guitars. Martin is one of the oldest guitar brands still active, having opened in 1833 in downtown Manhattan, New York. Today, the company is based in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and is still owned by the descendants of its founder, Christian Frederick Martin.

Persons: Martin, Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Bob Dylan, Christian Frederick Martin Locations: Manhattan , New York, Nazareth , Pennsylvania

☆ The First of Our Friends to Go
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( James Poniewozik | More About James Poniewozik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Instead, “Friends” became a show about the first decade of adult life. This may be part of the reason it found a perpetually renewing audience among Millennials, who found it in syndication, and Gen Z, who found it streaming. Your job might be a joke, you might be broke, your love life D.O.A., but it would get better. You and your friends would make it better. The “Friends” finale, in 2004, left the characters at the end of the beginning, getting married, having kids, moving away.

Persons: Kurt Cobain’s, Marcel the, ”, Millennials, Gen Z, D.O.A, Matthew Perry’s Chandler, Joey, Matt LeBlanc Locations: Manhattan

☆ Restored Paul McCartney and Wings tour bus to be auctioned
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - A fully restored double-decker bus used by Paul McCartney and his band Wings for a 1972 European tour is headed for auction next month, with bids expected at $200,000-300,000. Former Beatle McCartney and his late wife Linda formed the American-British rock band, Paul McCartney and Wings, known as Wings, together with drummer Denny Seiwell and guitarist Denny Laine in 1971, after the break-up of the legendary band. In the summer of 1972, they set off for the “Wings Over Europe" tour, travelling on the 1953 Bristol KSW double-decker bus, known as WNO 481. The bus, whose exterior is painted in shades of blue, red, green and yellow, with psychedelic artwork, reflecting the hippie style of the era, travelled across nine European countries on the 1972 tour. "This bus went all over south of France and Germany and Finland...just a summer of fun with the Wings band," said Nolan.

Persons: Paul McCartney, Beatle McCartney, Linda, Denny Seiwell, Denny Laine, Paul, Paul didn't, Martin Nolan, Nolan, Eric Clapton, Kurt Cobain, Marie, Louise Gumuchian, Deborah Kyvrikosaios Organizations: Wings, “, Bristol KSW, Julien's, Thomson Locations: European, British, Europe, Spain, Britain, France, Germany, Finland, Nashville

☆ Eric Clapton and Kurt Cobain guitars could fetch up to $2 million each at auction
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Rollo Ross | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 10 (Reuters) - Two iconic guitars played by Eric Clapton and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain could each fetch $1 million to $2 million when they go up for auction in November. The Beatles' George Harrison gave it to Clapton after his guitar was stolen. The other guitar, also estimated between $1 million and $2 million, is Kurt Cobain's guitar, the "SkyStang I", which Cobain played during his final public performance on Nirvana's "In Utero" concert tour. The auction also features items belonging to Cobain, including his cardigan, jeans, and a pack of cigarettes, all of which he left behind at rehab. There are over 1,000 items going up for auction at Nashville's Hard Rock Cafe between Nov. 16-18 at the "Played, Worn & Torn: Rock 'n' Roll Iconic Guitars and Memorabilia" event.

Persons: Eric Clapton, Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, Clapton's, George Harrison, Clapton, Martin Nolan, Layla, Kurt Cobain's, Cobain, Kurt, Nolan, Martin, cardigan, Nirvana, Amy Winehouse's bustier, Elvis Presley, Frank Zappa, Rollo Ross, Remi Acosta, Lisa Shumaker, Michael Perry Organizations: Julien's, Hall of Fame, Fender, Seattle, Brit, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles

☆ Princess Diana’s ‘black sheep’ knit is the most valuable sweater ever sold at auction
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Princess Diana wore many show-stopping outfits over the years, leaving behind an indelible impact on fashion history as it relates to royal dress codes, semiotics and more. The piece: a “black sheep” sweater first worn by the late Diana when she attended a polo match in 1981, while she was engaged to the now King Charles III. But the quirky knit sold today has not only eclipsed that record sum, it has also become the most valuable sweater ever sold at auction. One black sheep stands out from the crowd on the front of the sweater. “We are thrilled that this cherished sweater has now found a new home, carrying with it the enduring legacy of Princess Diana,” said Muir and Osborne in a statement.

Persons: Diana, Princess Diana wasn’t, King Charles III, Victor Edelstein, Kurt Cobain, Sotheby’s, Sally Muir, Joanna Osborne, Muir, Osborne, Princess Diana, Osborne didn’t, ‘, ” Organizations: CNN, MTV, Buckingham Locations: New York, cardigan

☆ Tyler Childers Puts His Own Spin on Heartfelt Rural Anthems
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Marissa R. Moss | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Childers grew up in East Kentucky in the shadow of the Baptist Church. At 15, Childers moved to a new school, where he coped with being the new kid by spending his lunch playing guitar. When he sings live, his eyes burn with the ferocity of a preacher, and fans hang on to every word. Childers went from opening shows with his band, the Food Stamps, to headlining the same venues in a little over a year. “There are a lot of artists out there trying to do the work,” Childers said.

Persons: Childers, Truckers, ”, who’d, Ricky Skaggs, Kurt Cobain, Sturgill Simpson, “, Breonna Taylor, —, ” Childers Organizations: Baptist Church, Food Locations: East Kentucky, Kentucky, West Virginia, Nashville

☆ Hate Gen X? Get in Line (Behind a Gen X-er).
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Sarah Miller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I was born in 1969 and I have feelings about generations. And, punching older, “Why is Eric Clapton on tour and Sinead O’Connor and Kurt Cobain are dead?” as the film critic A.S. Hamrah put it to me. Behold these recent tweets — I mean “posts on X,” formerly known as Twitter, run by a Gen X-er with whom I have no wish to affiliate myself, generationally or otherwise:“Gen X sucks.”“Gen X had it so good with their high income jobs with excel skills and 30yr fixed interest mortgages. This is why they make the worst leaders, ZERO empathy for the people that came after them.”We can all agree Gen X is the worst though right? I wrote to my millennial friend Sarah Hagi and asked her what she thought of baby boomers and Gen X.

Persons: Eric Clapton, Sinead O’Connor, Kurt Cobain, A.S, Hamrah, ”, X, Sarah Hagi, Gen X Organizations: Twitter

☆ Kurt Cobain mementos, Elvis Presley web domain hit the auction block
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Aug 2 (Reuters) - An electric guitar once owned by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain is among the top lots to be sold at Kruse GWS Auction later this month, and could fetch upward of $200,000. "I think we are going to see some great activity on that guitar," said lead auctioneer, Brigitte Kruse. "I would expect this one to probably fall in the couple of hundred thousand range conservatively," Kruse said. The “Artifacts of Hollywood & Music” online sale, on August 26, will feature over 350 lots from singers, actors and movie costumes. A live band backs up a virtual Elvis Presley during a memorial concert of Elvis footage in Memphis, Tennessee, August 16, 2007.

Persons: Kurt Cobain, Kruse GWS, Brigitte Kruse, Kruse, Elvis Presley, Lucas Jackson, King, Jamie Fox, Thelma, Louise ”, Alicia Powell, Diane Craft, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Kruse, Hollywood, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Memphis , Tennessee

☆ Deconstructing Men’s Dress Codes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Simbarashe Cha | Photographs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It’s not a stretch to say that men’s wear has long been seen by many as simpler and less creative than women’s wear. But as more men have found ways to personalize even the most traditional staples, they have shown that there are far wider possibilities than once thought. This style evolution was on full display outside the recent men’s wear shows in Milan and Paris, where neck scarves were a potent accessory and the few who had traditional neckties wore them atypically, including with collarless shirts. Others on the street revived a fad popularized in the early 1990s by the hip-hop duo Kriss Kross: wearing blazers and shirts in reverse, so the buttons and lapels were on the back. What I found most exciting, though, were the various tops with graphics referring to popular culture, including a fisherman’s sweater with the face of Kurt Cobain and a sleeveless tunic featuring the album cover of “Substance” by New Order.

Persons: It’s, Kriss Kross, Kurt Cobain Locations: Milan, Paris, New

☆ Pink Floyd, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and Me
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Charlie Savage | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +19 min

Muted tk tkLike other band members have done consistently over the years, Waters denied that Pink Floyd intentionally structured its 1973 album to align with the 1939 film. Before my article, “The Dark Side of the Rainbow” was just a word-of-mouth thing on an early internet message board. I mostly listened to alternative rock in those days, but Pink Floyd’s Usenet group had a hold on me. I shared that page on the Usenet group and added it to a Pink Floyd “Web ring” — a system in which people with related pages linked to one another. The article page was logging hundreds, then thousands, and eventually tens of thousands of visitors.

Persons: Floyd, ‘, Oz ’, ”, Roger Waters, Joe Rogan, Waters, Noam Chomsky, Rogan, Pink Floyd —, Oz, Dorothy, Clare Torry’s, “, Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons, Willie Nelson, ” Waters, ” Rogan, “ I’ve, it’s, I’m, floyd, Kurt Cobain, Toto, Marvel, grooving, Dave Gilmour, Pink, Kurt Loder, Oz ”, “ Akira ” —, Dorothy tiptoeing, perversely Organizations: The, Gazette, New York Times, Hoosier, MGM, Miss, Journal Gazette, Columbia Records, Dave Gilmour & Co, MTV, New York Daily News, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, YouTube Locations: Austin , Texas, Louisiana, Fort Wayne, Ind, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Indiana, Boston, York

☆ Kurt Cobain's smashed-up 'Nevermind'-era guitar sells for almost $600,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —An electric guitar smashed up and signed by the late Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain has sold for almost 10 times its estimated value. The instrument was the headlining item in a three-day auction of pieces of rock history. The guitar, which had been reassembled but remains unplayable, was originally valued between $60,000 and $80,000. According to Julien’s Auctioneers, who staged the sale, Cobain smashed the guitar up “during Nirvana’s seminal Nevermind era,” though no specific details were given. In 2020, the guitar played by Cobain during his 1993 “MTV Unplugged” performance became the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction, going for $6 million.

☆ Kurt Cobain's smashed Fender guitar sells for almost $600,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Kurt Cobain's smashed Fender Stratocaster guitar sold at auction for $595,900, more than 10 times its original estimate. The Nirvana frontman's iconic left-handed electric guitar was smashed while the grunge pioneers were making their seminal Nevermind album in the early 1990s. Reassembled but unplayable, it was expected to sell for between $60,000 and $80,000 at the Julien's auction at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York over the weekend. According to Julien's Auctions, Cobain gave the guitar to Lanegan during Nirvana's Nevermind tour in 1992. The guitar Cobain played during a legendary live acoustic concert on MTV Unplugged in 1993, just five months before his death, was sold two years ago for $6 million.

☆ How MTV Broke News for a Generation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Remy Tumin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A little over a year into his first term, President Bill Clinton made good on a promise to return to MTV if young voters sent him to the White House. The town hall-style program in 1994 was meant to focus on violence in America, but it was a question of personal preference that made headlines and helped put MTV News on the media map. Now, a generation after MTV News bridged the gap between news and pop culture, Paramount, the network’s parent company, announced this week that it was shuttering the news service. They brought viewers on the presidential campaign trail and face to face with world leaders like Yasir Arafat, and took them into college dorms in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. They also embraced the messy chaos of 1990s and early 2000s celebrity, as when Courtney Love interrupted an interview with Madonna.

☆ Welcome to the era of viral AI generated 'news' images
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

None of these things actually happened, but AI-generated images depicting them did go viral online over the past week. The images ranged from obviously fake to, in some cases, compellingly real, and they fooled some social media users. There are also concerns that AI-generated images could be used for harassment, or to further drive divided internet users apart. Eliot Higgins, founder and creative director of the investigative group Bellingcat, posted fake images of former President Donald Trump to Twitter last week. Many of the recent viral AI-generated images were created by a tool called Midjourney, a less than year-old platform that allows users to create images based on short text prompts.

☆ Welcome to the era of viral AI generated ‘news’ images
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

☆ Kanye West claims he's running for president again. Don't believe him until he files the paperwork.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Walt Hickey | Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It's easy to formally declare a run for president — all it takes is filling out two pages of paperwork. Kanye West filled out the forms in 2020, but was only listed as a candidate in 12 states and had no chance of winning. Earlier this week, Ye said he was running for president again, and on Tuesday night, he claimed that he had asked former President Donald Trump to be his running mate in 2024. Despite the announcements, Kanye West has yet to file the most basic of paperwork required to become a federal candidate. All it takes to formally declare a run for office is a two-page "Statement of Candidacy" form.

☆ Kurt Cobain's smashed guitar, Lennon's glasses hit the auction block
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Alicia Powell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, Nov 9 (Reuters) - A Kurt Cobain smashed guitar is expected to fetch top dollar at Julien’s Auction’s annual Icons & Idols: Rock ‘N’ Roll Auction in New York. The taped-up instrument is considered by some a piece of rock and roll history and estimated to be worth $200,000 to $400,000. “This guitar was actually smashed in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, 1989," said executive director of Julien’s Auctions, Martin Nolan. Glasses worn by John Lennon are estimated to sell for over $80,000. “You sort of identified John Lennon as wearing those type of round granny glasses, as he called them himself.

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