Take 5: Tom Connan

Tom Connan is an artist whose work embodies all aspects of the human condition. 

His latest song and video "Charlie" is inspired by the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris. 

For the uninitiated here is the 411 on it:

"Two gunmen armed with automatic rifles stormed the office of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, a target for Islamist terrorists since it printed cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2006 and 2011, and killed cartoonists and satirists whose names were called out as they were shot dead in turn."

It goes without saying that I had to hit Tom up to "Take 5" for all of you, as in five questions addressing his latest project. You've got this Tom...

MS: Why do you have an affinity with Charlie Hebdo?

TC: I don’t have any direct affinity with Charlie Hebdo, however when the terrorist attack against them happened in 2015, the world was deeply shocked. I was, too. On 9/11, I was a child so I wasn’t able to really understand what it meant. In 2015, I couldn’t believe haters had killed innocent journalists and caricaturists. I was still sleeping when my mum woke me up and yelled at me: ”they killed Charlie Hebdo!”. It is a symbol, as this is the first attack of many that happened since: Orlando, Barcelona, Manchester, Paris… Basically I had written the track “Charlie” a few days after the attack but I didn’t want to release it. But recently, I thought I had to. 

 Charlie (sick mix)

MS: Give me your take on the current state of democracy

TC: I have the impression some people under-estimate the crisis of democracy. Anti-Semitism is terribly strong, as well as homophobia and sexism. Sometimes I feel my mum grew up in a more peaceful time. I may be wrong. But I’m not that sure.

MS: You use skin in the video. You once told me how you love nudity, extrapolate 

TC: For a long time I hated my body. Really. I was almost hiding myself with large clothes, as if I wanted to disappear. I feel better now, and when you feel better about who you are, you want to show it. Completely. It’s my own therapy.

MS: When you give a Rebel Yell, do you want more, more, more?

TC: I’m not sure I understand what you mean, but as far as “Charlie” is a rebel yell, yes, I believe it can reach the unconscious mind, which is my hidden goal. You can do much more with the unconscious than you can with the conscious. Don’t you think? 

MS: Name your favorite song, other than yours at this moment

TC:  was re-watching the old movie “Stepmom” starring Julia Roberts, and I heard that fabulous track “Ain’t no mountain high enough” from Marvin Gaye. Do you know any better song with the same kind of joy and energy? I don’t. It is brilliant. This is music. Other than that, I’m still listening to Jaden Smith’s Idol. Fucking good rap track.

Keep it real with Tom on the WWW at:
www.instagram.com/tomconnan
www.twitter.com/tomconnan
tomconnan.com/

https://www.facebook.com/tomconnan/
https://www.youtube.com/user/TomConnan

You Didn't Give Them A Chance

Entertain Me favorite and friend Tom Connan is back with a decidedly different tone. He has done a dance mix of his cool as ice song  "You Didn't Give Them A Chance."

Turning it on it's head and making it into a terrific political anthem. I could extrapolate on this, but wouldn't you rather hear it from Tom?! I thought so, moving on...

MS: What made you decide to do the dance mix with a political bent?

TC: I live in France and, as you know, several terror attacks happened here the last few years. And over time, this is spreading all over the world. I'm creating music but I can't get this shit out of my head. When we decided to make a new video, I wanted to do something special, something more personal. Then I thought about those great moving videos Michael Jackson made quite a long time ago, especially They Don't Care About Us. I said to myself: "that's exactly what I need to do now". 

MS: I like the use of Anonymous. How did you land on him as a central figure?

TC: I'm not sure I'll keep using the Anonymous mask, but this was clearly inspiring. It represents some kind of progressive hidden resistance, which is really important nowadays -social media are awesome but this is also the place where you can find a lot of hateful comments, a lot of anti-Semitic or homophobic people for instance. It can be really tough. Therefore you must have some kind of online counter power. A journalist recently said in the Huffington Post that I was trying to "bring entertainment and politics together". I think she understood exactly my intention. 

MS: There are so many images of people who were dictators and failed, I think I am sensing the overall message, correct?

TC: I tried to analyze coldly the phenomenon of barbarism. Some people, including some close friends of mine, were afraid to see the face of Hitler in the video, especially because he's laughing. Obviously I can understand that. And believe me, we thought long and hard about it. But we decided to keep the footage, because we don't have the right to forget it. A lot of Jews are still being murdered simply because they are Jews, that's why it's still a hot topic. Our world is bleeding, and history is sometimes repeating itself. We must be aware of that. We must be united as citizens to protect the free world. It's more fragile than we think.

!

Look, He's Naked!
Tom Connan

MS: What are you wearing right now? 

TC: I have to admit I'm only wearing my own clothes from now on -we launched a clothing brand this summer (www.tomconnan.com/store). This is Karl Lagerfeld's fault: as you know he's always wearing the same outfit... I do the same! More seriously, I'd say I feel more comfortable with my own clothes. Fashion is a new world for me but this is so exciting, especially when you live in Paris. 

MS: Leave us the foremost thing on your mind regarding this project.

TC: This new single and music video is closing what I would call the first chapter of my musical career. We released four singles and four music videos in ten months, it required a tremendous amount of work. A lot of things happened, I met some incredible people in the industry and new stuff will be coming soon. What is really exciting is that you never know what will be next. Six months ago I never thought I would create some clothes, or make such a "political" music video. I chose to be an artist and I always try to do my best. But I don't want to forget the main reason why I chose this path: to be free.

Be Free with Tom, check out You Didn't Give Them A Chance after the jump!

Tom on Social Media at:

https://www.facebook.com/tomconnan/

https://www.instagram.com/tomconnan/

https://twitter.com/TomConnan  

I Am Nicole Kidman Hear Me Roar...!

Easy, Breezy...
Nicole Kidman

It's been really nice to see Nicole Kidman back this awards season after a few low key years, the spotlight is where she is meant to be for many reasons and she should never ever stray from it again.

One of those reasons is her considerable acting chops, which are on display is the heavily nominated film Lion. I have yet to see Lion but those in my circle who have say it's amazing! Due in no small part to Kidman's award caliber performance.

Another reason Nicole always belongs front and center is her fashion sense. She always makes a splash with her bold choices, and while she has chosen outfits with a higher glamour quotient than this dress she wore to the Lion premiere in Paris Friday, the above look is my favorite on her thus far during this awards season.

Why? It's casual, yet stylish. Fun, yet dressy. It really allows Kidman to let her hair down, quite literally as you can see and she looks like she is having a blast wearing it. Yes, fun Nicole is back and ready to laugh!

It's nice to see this side of her again. She looks rested and her smile is radiant.

Get fashion tips from Nicole at:
nicolekidmanofficial.com/   

Congrats! Kirstin Maldonado

Kirstin & Jeremy
Yes They, Can, Can, Can

Normally I don't write about celebrity engagements but in this case since I know the bride to be, and she likes my clothing style, I would like to wish her well.

Kirstin Maldonado of the super group Pentatonix is vacationing in Paris with her boyfriend Jeremy Michael Lewis this Memorial Day weekend. What she didn't know was he was planning to pop the question.

Kirstin took to, what else, Twitter to express excitement:

"'The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.' AT THE MOULIN ROUGE. SO HAPPY. @JeremyMichael22 !!!!!!" she tweeted "Paris, I love you. Happy happy."
Congratulations to the two of you! 
Have a great Memorial Day everyone and always remember.
Kirstin on Twitter: 
https://twitter.com/kirstin_taylor  

Pretty In Pink - Jared Leto

Jared Leto
One Night In Paris

You know I really don't give a rip roaring Fuck what Jared Leto does no matter what he does he is always one of the hottest thing on three legs. I love that he expresses himself in a pure and creative way, now that's hot! 

Of course it doesn't hurt that he is extremely sexy and good looking to begin with, so him being eccentric is the icing on the cake.

Leto took to the streets of Paris with cotton candy colored hair and a technicolor dream coat that would make Joseph green, purple and blue with envy. Hey, he was there for what else? Paris Fashion Week.

Taking to his Instagram with images of his surrender the pink style he stated: "Le Pink and Le Pain"...Freak Out!

Perhaps he was trying to shake the disease of his role as The Joker in Suicide Squad, because green hair is like decaying mold.

Whatever the case Jared, keep doing you!

Join Jared on Instagram, because you should: 

https://instagram.com/jaredleto/?hl=en