Arts Bombast: Malcom McLaren

Happy Birthday (and RIP), Mr. McLaren. You single-handedly translated several major underground music movements into just-the-right-amount-of-shocking, fashionable, marketable products. Bravo.

The pseudo-Situationist sure could craft though. From the Pistols and Bow Wow Wow to hip-hop and opera… the man brought it all into the British mainstream with his outlandish-but-accessible aesthetic. And seriously, are there ANY stores as cool as SEX these days? I think not. I will continue to talk shit on McLaren ’til the day I die, but I’ve got to give it up to him for two things:

1. His amazing branding
2. His final words, which were, “Free Leonard Peltier.”