Lust for Music: Christina Aguilera's 'Bionic'

Christina Aguilera's "Bionic" is probably one of the most underrated albums of the last few years. It gained a lot of criticism for it's electric feel in comparison to Lady Gaga. Not that I don't love the Gaga, but she is hardly the only artist with an electric feel in the industry.

Pure Lust : Ryan Gosling

There were a couple of faints and some heavy breathing from both myself and a fellow luster while watching "Crazy, Stupid, Love". Why? Ryan Gosling.

I've never been a fan of "the Notebook", but, that was the old Gosling. The new Gosling is ripped, suave, and hilarious in his newest film. He plays a smooth-talking ladies man who helps a recently seperated Steve Carell find his long lost bachelor self.

Gosling began his career at the young age of 12 starring as a "Mouseketeer" in Disney's "Mickey Mouse Club". Yep, right alongside Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Justin Timberlake. He did some modest projects after that [remember "Goosebumps"?] until landing his first serious role in 2001's controversial drama "the Believer". Seriousness payed off and earned the actor the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. He described it as "the film that kind of gift-wrapped for me the career that I have now. I suddenly found myself at Sundance, where people were asking me about my craft. So I had to pretend I had one."

A few more films followed and then "the Notebook" hit theaters making both Gosling and his co-star Rachel McAdams household names. The film has become a romantic cult classic and the chemistry on screen followed off screen. He and McAdams became an on again, off again couple for years to follow.

Now, Gosling is single and living in New York with his dog George. Films following "the Notebook", have brought him nominations for an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, and a Golden Globes Award. He has two wins for "Half Nelson" [Best Actor at the Spirits Award] and "Lars and the Real Girl" [a Satellite Award]. He is currently working on several projects and I can't wait to see him alongside Bradley Cooper in the bank heist film "the Place Beyond the Pines". Not bad for a high school dropout.

The LuStylist has done two features for Golsing. I noticed his workout as a popular search on Google, so decided to style my fellow lusters as either "Gym Gosling" or "Gucci Gosling" from "Crazy, Stupid, Love". Take your pick! 

David LaChapelle

Growing up at the height of silly white rappers, lustful pop music ladies, and all of our favortie boy bands, it wasn't always the music that created the image. Magazines like Rolling Stone and Blender [remember that one?] featured artistis like Britney Spears, Eminem, and Pink all photographed and stylized by David LaChapelle.

David LaChapelle is a renown photographer working in the fields of fashion, advertising, and fine art photography. His work has been described as surreal, unique, sexualized, and often humorous. Just a good ol' American boy from Conneticut who fled the suburban life for New York City.

It was in New York where LaChapelle met Andy Warhol in the lustworthy hot spot Studio 54. Warhol offered him a job as a photographer for Interview magazine. Interview magazine led to Rolling Stone, Vogue, GQ, Photo, and Vanity Fair [among many others].

LaChapelle hasn't stopped there. He has directed two films, "Krumped" and "Rize", as well as numerous television ads for brands like H&M and shows like "Desperate Housewives". In 2004, he took his vision to the stage directing Elton John's "The Red Piano" in Las Vegas.

I lust for the style of LaChapelle's work, having been a fan since seeing his witty photos of Britney Spears. He has a way of taking ideas of the present day and throwing them in society's face. His subjects are always styled in a combination of sex and glamour, usually with some sort of religious aspect idolizing them in a way. I'm an even bigger fan whenever he works with the iconic Pamela Anderson, like the photo above.

LaChapelle has worked with everyone from Lady Gaga and Madonna to Angelina Jolie and Hugh Hefner. He has published numerous books for your coffee table including Heaven to Hell, Hotel LaChapelle, and Artists and Prostitutes.

Music : Christina Aguilera's 'Stripped'

Is it cliche to say that an album 'changed my life'? I'm not sure what it was about Christina Aguilera's Stripped that I related to on so many levels. The songs are all passionate, raw, emotional, strong, with just enough sex appeal.

Stripped was released in 2002 following the debut of the first single Dirrty and a whole new dirty image for Aguilera. It seems pretty tame now, but the song and the video were quite the scandal given Aguilera's previous squeaky clean pop star image. She describeds the album as really baring who she was, and who she was was an entire different artist than what we were used to.

Aguilera worked alongside Dr. Dre, Alicia Keys, Scott Storch, and mainly Linda Perry on this, her fourth, studio album. It received four Grammy nominations, and took home one for Best Pop Female Vocal Performance for Beautiful. The album is ranked seventy seventh in the best selling album charts of the 2000's in the United States.

"Coming off of the height of being a part of such a big pop-craze phenomenon, that imagery of that cookie-cutter sweetheart, without it being me, I just had to take it all down and get it away from me. And that is why I actually named the album Stripped, because it is about being emotionally stripped down and pretty bare to open my soul and heart." - Christina Aguilera

Download these : Infatuation, Loving Me For Me, Fighter, Cruz, Makeover, Get Mine, Get Yours