The first time I met Ray Young Chu he talked a lot of shit about my eyebrows.

This threw me initially, but once the topic of conversation turned to ice cream, then back to eyebrows (a friend's this time), then to PBR, I figured that Chu wasn't really talking shit, he was just full of shit — the really, really weird kind that helps people make amazing art.

It's been just over a year since Ray slammed my facial features, but in that short time he's made some serious headway. Read on as Ray slows down long enough for us to catch up.

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Everyone needs a good set of headphones. While Apple may talk up the standard iPod headphones, don’t believe them — they’re crap. If you live in any kind of urban area, you know how loud you have to turn up your iPod just to hear the song. Doing that for a couple years and we are talking hearing loss. I noticed this myself. Then the nice people at Atomic Floyd came along and released the AirJax headphones. I’ve used a few high-end head phones for the sake of avoiding hearing loss, noise canceling, etc. It was an improvement. But on the first listen with the Atomic Floyd I understood why they come with a £120 price tag. The AirJax headphones are made from special temperature treated AcousticSteel and Titanium2. Without going into the molecular structure of the headphones, let me just say they sound good. Damn good. Easily the best headphones I’ve ever used. One thing though: I use an iPhone and these are headphones only, i.e. no built in mic or play/pause button. I admit I do miss these features for my iPhone, but my ears feel so much better listening to music at half volume or less walking down the street. The Atomic AirJax headphones drop a full set of headphones in the U.K. in early December, just in time for Christmas. Check out their website for full sound specs and some nice beeps and bops.

Leather that looks well-traveled but isn’t may seem like an upscale take on those $200 jeans with holes, but Marc Marmel’s luggage collection stands to look good much longer than your distressed denim. The designer takes his cue from vintage Hermès, creating a line for stylish travelers using hand cracked Italian leather and colorful silks. His Klondike weekender bag and Mini-Cigar duffle would be equally appealing on weekend errands as far away travels. And if you still haven’t gotten grunge out of your system, he’s also created a Les Paul guitar case that retails at Barneys for $4400.

I am not sure who really set things off, but I started to take notice of this new breed of U.K. soul singers when Joss Stone started topping the charts years ago. Alice Russell is one of the hottest vocalists from across the pond, but she’s hardly new to the scene. Russell has built a burgeoning career recording and performing with artists such as Massive Attack, The Roots, and De La Soul. Perhaps it’s a rebuttal to the studio-polished music created today, but I find British artists like Russell refreshing. Many simple yet varied band accompaniments, including a great brass section, really make her upcoming release Pot of Gold shine. The album drops January 6, 2009 but you can download the digital copy now. Don’t forget to check out a free single “Got the Hunger?“