The designer might have given CBGB (home to his new shop) a spiffy new floor, clean bathrooms, and a chandelier, but some of the original's punk-rock spirit came through last night. The store hosted its first gig, a benefit for VH-1's Save the Music foundation. The concert also inspired a handful of protesters, who aren't happy about the legendary space becoming a luxury menswear store. (Read Style Guy Glenn O'Brien's insightful thoughts on the matter here.)

But the show went on, and the impressive lineup included Joan Jett, the Hold Steady, Slash, and Tom Morello, who actually made playing your guitar with your teeth seem cool again. Sen Dog of Cypress Hill got the crowd—a mix of model types and dudes in leather jackets and JV suits—to, ahem, jump around, and inspired at least one guy to spark a joint. But the night belonged to Ronnie Spector, whose voice still sounds great at age 64. She kicked off her set with what could've been the evening's theme song: "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory."

Click here for a slideshow from the event >

This Saturday, celebrate the assholes who made you feel like a tool for buying that ELO album. Musicians from Metallica to Deerhunter are joining together to support the independent record stores, where rock snobbery and obsessive fandom were born—long before the advent of MP3 blogs, Napster, or the iTunes store. Check out recordstoreday.com for a list of events, and to read some of the aforementioned artists' musings on the mythical place of the record store in our hearts and minds. And should you require an appeal to the less mythical part of your heart or mind, know that Dresden Doll Amanda Palmer will be at Boston's Newberry Comics in her underwear to show her support. Every little bit helps.

This poster is part of a great campaign for Balls, a sleek new men's underwear and pajamas store in Berlin. (We can't really vouch for the name—we'll just assume something got lost in translation.) From the looks of it, Robin Hood was something of an American Apparel enthusiast. To see how they've reworked famous portraits of Napoleon and George Washington, click here.

The lads across the pond have just launched a new set of online videos on travel. Best of all, it doesn't star a lad at all: The host is the fetching Camilla McPhie, who guides you through Santiago, Chile. (And, yes, she includes the obligatory "tasting weird foreign food" scene.) Unfortunately, you can't embed the file, but you can watch it by clicking here.

Who's that? Allegedly, the next trophy wife to hit the world stage. Vladimir Putin is rumored to be engaged to Kabaeva, 24, an Olympic gold medal-winning rhythmic gymnast. (He has denied the charges, saying journalists should keep their "snotty noses" out of his personal life. Another mitigating factor: He's still married to his wife, Lyudmila, though the two are rarely seen together.) As the Telegraph helpfully points out, Kavaeva is "known for her flexibility and agility." (Way to go, Vlad!) In fact, with her and Carla Bruni around to spice up the next G-8 summit, it's a shame we didn't find a way to get Mrs. Kucinich into the White House.

Bjorn Borg seems to be everywhere these days: He's the inspiration for Fila's new vintage offerings, his underwear line is about to launch stateside (it's huge in Sweden, seriously), and now Diadora is rereleasing the Borg Elite. First introduced in 1981, the tennis shoe has the unusual distinction of being the first ever made from kangaroo leather. Interesting, but we're happy to report they've updated the new edition with a napa-leather upper, which you can get in either white or a white-green combo.
Diadora Bjorn Borg Elite Trainer, about $110, oki-ni.com

Score one for BMW in the eco-one-upmanship game: The company just started parading around a new version of its Hydrogen 7, a 7-series sedan with a V-12 that burns only liquid hydrogen. (The previous one was a bi-fuel model that slurped gasoline as well.) But here's the really trick part: The car's engine actually cleans the environment—the exhaust has lower amounts of non-methane organic gases (NMOGs) and carbon monoxide than regular air. Good news for the earth, but bad news for depressed Detroit auto execs: Should a car like this ever make it into production, their tried-and-true method of ending it all—closing the garage door with the motor running—will simply result in a breath of fresh air.

The company's new ad campaign has installed decibel monitors on billboards in London, Madrid, Brussels, Berlin, and Milan—all to promote AEG-Electrolux's new "silent" washing machines. No word on how those work, but the ads seem to be doing their job: There are reports of kids yelping to try to drive up the numbers. See how the cities rank against one another at noiseawareness.co.uk, but at present, no U.S. cities are included.

[NotCot]

Toward the end of Ralph Bakshi's 1973 movie Heavy Traffic, one of the characters literally shoots God in the face. The Almighty might have settled the score later, however, when the director's animated adaptation of the Lord of the Rings trilogy ran into production problems, ultimately remaining unfinished. You have to love a director willing to tempt fate, and tomorrow you can ask him about it yourself: He'll be making an appearance at Anthology Film Archives for a screening of both Heavy Traffic and his 1975 picture Coonskin. Can't make it? Check out the new collection of his illustrations, including stills from the X-rated Fritz the Cat, in Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi.
Heavy Traffic and Coonskin at Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Ave., NYC, (212) 505-5181, anthologyfilmarchives.org

The English luggage company has been supplying the Royal Family with leather goods since the early 1800s—and in the best British tradition, not all that much has changed since then. Until six months ago, that is, when the fusty firm brought in Dominic Laurelli—former accessories designer for Alexander McQueen—to breathe new life into the brand. His first collection, called the St. James, debuts later this month, and is modeled on vintage accessories from the twenties. Made of durable, water-resistant tweedlike fabric with leather trim, each piece is handmade by a single craftsman—no two are exactly alike. No word on a price, but expect to pay accordingly later this month when the handsome line—pictured here for the first time—goes on sale at the brand's London digs.