Everyone and their mother has already posted this project from the Bronx’ own Street Etiquette, and for good reason: “The Black Ivy,” Street Etiquette’s tribute to the style and culture of historically Black colleges produced alongside Unabashedly Prep, is a master class in attention to detail.  Every look is pretty much flawless.  These guys are really blowing up, thanks in no small part to support from the blogosphere and from a certain men’s mag who has taken them under their collective wing.  If they keep churning out quality projects like this, they’ll certainly be around for awhile.  Check out the full slideshow at Street Etiquette — the video is even better.

Monica says true love waits.

Bonus points for the girl at the top right at 1:21.

Tonight I caught a screening of “Last Play at Shea,” a documentary playing as part of the Tribeca Film Festival that chronicles the story of Billy Joel’s rise to stardom alongside the Mets and the history of Shea Stadium, culminating in Joel’s performance at Shea Stadium shortly before it was demolished.  As someone who is neither a Mets nor a Billy Joel fan (or frankly, a fan of Queens in general), I was surprised by how much I liked the movie.  Not even the presence of Mike Piazza and his weird face/hair was enough to turn me off to the film as a whole.  I also decided that my favorite segment of the storied canon of Billy Joel was the late-Eighties, booze-addled, Christie Brinkley period.  At least from a stylistic perspective, it sort of represents everything that is simultaneously wrong and right with the 80′s, and I love those two crazy kids for that.  Plus, it seemed like they were pretty fun back in the day. A few more photos after the jump.

In 1977, Elvis Costello and the Attractions filled in for the Sex Pistols on Saturday Night Live when the iconic punk band couldn’t get work visas to perform in New York.  Costello’s record label insisted he perform “Less Than Zero,” despite his desire to play the media-bashing “Radio Radio” (sample lyric: “You better shut up or get cut out/They don’t wanna hear about it/It’s only inches on the reel-to-reel”).  Never one to back down from industry pressure, Costello and his band played a few notes of “Zero,” before grinding to a halt and launching into a legendary version of “Radio Radio,” becoming one of the first acts to be banned from SNL and setting the stage for other groups’ future acts of rock n roll rebellion on live TV.

(Image via Nerd Boyfriend — one of my favorite sites)

The WSJ’s Speakeasy today posted about a previously unreleased Whitney Houston track from 1985.  But more striking for me than the unpolished recording from a pop icon-in-the-making is the accompanying photo.  Not only is it a bit jarring to see Houston so fresh-faced and young in light of the unfortunate turn her life and career took in the 2000′s, but it’s kind of funny how she’s dressed exactly like a lot of girls today.  Place her as is in the East Village, and she wouldn’t even get a second look.  Unless she started screaming.