BlackBook Magazine

It turns out Britney did not come to Brooklyn after all, but no one noticed, because there was enough going on at the Diesel 30th anniversary party, to keep attendees occupied and fed. The circus theme meant hot dogs, funnel cakes, cotton candy, popcorn, and midgets acting as centerpieces to the wraparound bars. A cavernous, makeshift circus tent / airplane hangar hybrid was built on Pier 3 of the Brooklyn waterfront, and Diesel managed to fill it with all kinds of circus freaks. The Britney rumor-mongering came when the invite promised "many more" guests, but that "many more" turned out to be current chart topper T.I. (isn't he on house arrest or something?), who played a fairly long set which segued into Franz Ferdinand's act (easily the longest of the night).

Diesel XXX -- not be confused with that unfortunate chrome-domed actor and his unfortunate secret agent movie -- is segueing from industrial clothing brand to international party starter, with a 24-hour global shindig on October 11. The intercontinental soiree will begin in Tokyo and successively stumble to Beijing, Dubai, Athens, Amsterdam, Milan, Zurich, Munich, Paris, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Oslo, Helsinki, London, and Sao Paulo. No New York unfortunately, except for the 5,000-person grand finale we've been granted along Brooklyn's scenic waterfront, hosted by that Mistress of Seduction, Joey Arias, and featuring performances from M.I.A., N.E.R.D, and Hot Chip.

Many were shocked last month when Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A. announced at the Bonnaroo festival that this was her last show. And although there's been no final confirmation as that being the end of her music career, we can say that she's moved on to more day-glo pastures -- developing yet another celeb fashion line. WWD first reported back in May that she was starting her own streetwear collection, now visible for the first time on her website. Specifically, see the rudimentary video called "Real Pirates of the Caribbean," featuring M.I.A.'s friends dancing around to M.I.A.-style music while wearing sweaters and jumpsuits with her signature day-glo colors and graphic prints. No specifics just yet, but keep watching.

The Bonnaroo Music Festival happened this weekend, and although we didn’t attend, reading enough blogs, rundowns, and roundups of the festivities makes us feel like we did (we love you, www). And now, some of the high and low lights:

-My Morning Jacket played a four-hour set on Friday night in torrential rain. Calls of “Best. Show. Ever.” abound.

-Olsen Twins are spotted backstage at Cat Power’s Saturday show, as is Eddie Vedder, who they mistake for “the guy from MGMT”.

Read more highlights after the jump!

The release of Santogold’s justifiably-hyped album was like a starter’s pistol being shot off—and the race to become the next M.I.A. is on!

NYMag.com just named Santi, Robyn, Uffie, and Yelle as the top competitors for a throne we doubt Maya is even ready to relinquish. “The next M.I.A” is a compact (if somewhat lazy) way to describe fashion-forward, beat-driven, female solo artists who get heavy coverage by websites named after farming tools. But if we can all on agree what we’re talking about here—an “electro-pop hopeful vying to be Pitchfork's next favorite commercially disappointing MySpace phenomenon," as NY Mag puts it—then we’d like to enter our own racer as well, Lykke Li.

Watching this clip of Santogold performing her "L.E.S. Artistes" single on the soon-to-be Jimmy Fallon show, we’re baffled by all the M.I.A. comparisons she’s received in the press (granted her song "Creator" has tinges of Maya, but it ends there). You can’t read a record review or a breaking-artist profile about the Brooklyn singer without a mention of her similarities to the Sri Lankan rapper. We can’t help but wonder how apt the comparisons would be if Santi looked more like Taylor Swift.