Published On October 29, 2014 »
Rad Stuff
On Nov. 1, Hello Kitty turns 40 years old — with a four-day celebration, Los Angeles’s first annual Hello Kitty Con, taking place in her honor Oct. 30-Nov. 2. It’s hard to believe this ageless feline (who may or may not really be a feline) has already been rocking that red bow for four decades now. What’s her secret to eternal youth? Well, they say music keeps you young, and thanks to some famous fans, Hello Kitty has definitely led a rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle since the swinging ’70s.
To celebrate the Sanrio icon’s big 4-0, we’ve assembled a retrospective of the best Hello Kitty/music mashups in pop history. (No, Avril Lavigne’s atrocious “Hello Kitty” video did not make the list.) Happy big birthday, HK!
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- 11. The Hello Kitty Fender Squier: Guitar Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic, The Vandals’ Warren Fitzgerald, and most famously Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction/Red Hot Chili Peppers have all strummed this girly guitar, proving that real men love Hello Kitty. This axe does come in basic black, but it seems the Pepto-pink model is, unsurprisingly, much more popular.
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![10. Davey Havok's Night in the Sephora Hello Kitty Suite: There's one high-rolling hotel room that certainly no rock star would ever dare trash: Sephora's exclusive, private Hello Kitty suite, which temporarily set up shop at Beverly Hills' Maison 140 hotel in 2011. Even this AFI rocker (and avowed Sanrio fanatic) couldn't resist snuggling among the room's fluffy pillows, and putting on some guyliner at the Kitty vanity table, when he paid a visit to the suite. "I remember when [Sanrio penguin] Tuxedo Sam was released," Davey reminisced to Yahoo Music. "I was at my cousin's house in Larchmont. 'Lucky Star' was on MTV. Hello Kitty covered their room. I was enamored of Madonna and the cloud-headed cat. Sanrio has been with me ever since. I was upset for days after my pink, Louis Vuitton Hello Kitty-inspired roller case gave up its wheel after years of strenuous touring. When I walked into the Maison suite, it felt like coming home. I'd always wanted to sleep with Hello Kitty. I finally had my chance."](http://www.lyndsanity.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/rock2-150x150.jpg)
- 10. Davey Havok’s Night in the Sephora Hello Kitty Suite: There’s one high-rolling hotel room that certainly no rock star would ever dare trash: Sephora’s exclusive, private Hello Kitty suite, which temporarily set up shop at Beverly Hills’ Maison 140 hotel in 2011. Even this AFI rocker (and avowed Sanrio fanatic) couldn’t resist snuggling among the room’s fluffy pillows, and putting on some guyliner at the Kitty vanity table, when he paid a visit to the suite. “I remember when [Sanrio penguin] Tuxedo Sam was released,” Davey reminisced to Yahoo Music. “I was at my cousin’s house in Larchmont. ‘Lucky Star’ was on MTV. Hello Kitty covered their room. I was enamored of Madonna and the cloud-headed cat. Sanrio has been with me ever since. I was upset for days after my pink, Louis Vuitton Hello Kitty-inspired roller case gave up its wheel after years of strenuous touring. When I walked into the Maison suite, it felt like coming home. I’d always wanted to sleep with Hello Kitty. I finally had my chance.”
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- 9. The Kitty-fication of Steve Stevens’s Tour Bus: On the short-lived E! reality show Married to Rock, this Billy Idol guitar-slinger got quite a surprise when he let his Kitty-obsessed wife, Josie Stevens, redecorate his band’s tour bus. A massive Sanrio-store shopping spree ensued. Steve wasn’t too thrilled with the (awesome, adorable) results, but we bet Dave Navarro would be happy to take that bus and all of its contents off Steve’s hands…
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- 8. Dave Navarro’s Hello Kitty Confession to Maxim Magazine: That Fender guitar was just the beginning for Navarro. The axeman posed in 2011 for men’s mag Maxim in a garish, Kitty-themed man cave, revealing the “dark side” of his Sanrio addiction: “My first crush was on a Japanese girl in elementary school. After the summer she would come back with Hello Kitty items. So I always identify the logo with that first innocent crush. And today there’s an onslaught of young, alternative models who embrace the product. Most adult fans have a secret dark past, so it’s like a neon sign that we’re gonna relate, because I have struggled with a dark past.”
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- 7. Hello Kitty’s Moves (or Lips) Like Jagger: Ever wonder what Hello Kitty would look like with Mick Jagger’s mouth? Wonder no more! In 2012 at Los Angeles’s Known Gallery, two of pop culture’s most enduring and most opposite icons — Japan’s mouthless mascot, Hello Kitty, and England’s mouthiest rock star, Mick Jagger — were forever fused in the most awesome, if slightly disconcerting, manner imaginable. Renowned graffiti artist RISK came up with the brilliantly subversive idea to superimpose the Rolling Stones’ lips logo over the blank white space beneath Kitty’s yellow button nose, and the effect was almost downright shocking. It brought a whole new meaning to the Stones’ term “Beast 0f Burden,” even. And yet… it was kind of amazing that no one had ever thought to do this before. Now, can we see what Mick Jagger would look like wearing Hello Kitty’s red bow? Come on, RISK, make it happen!
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- 6. Detroit Rock Kitty: So get this: Hello Kitty is getting her own cartoon show. KISS are getting their own cartoon show. AND IT’S THE SAME SHOW. Yes, the children’s network The Hub — inspired by a line of genius merchandise called “KISS x Hello Kitty” that features Hello Kitty faces painted up to look like the classic KISS lineup — has thrillingly greenlit a new KISS/Kitty kiddy show. The program will star “four KISS x Hello Kitty characters living their rock ‘n’ roll dreams and bringing pink anarchy to every situation they are in.” So basically, it’s going to be the best thing that ever happened to television since, well, ever… or at least since another litter of animated rocker felines, Josie & The Pussycats, was still on the air.
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- 5. Katy Perry’s Kitty Couture: The “Roar” singer, whose pet cat is named Kitty Purry, wore this amazing Kitty corset, designed by Blonds, to the 2009 BRIT Awards. Five years later, it hangs in L.A.’s Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo, as part of the “Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty” 40th anniversary exhibit.
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- 4. Lisa Loeb “Stays” With Hello Kitty: In 2002, Lisa Loeb released the Sanrio-sanctioned Hello Lisa album; its accompanying video, “The Underdog,” featured an animatronic Kitty puppet wailing on a guitar. Suffice to say, “The Underdog” was way better than Avril Lavigne’s “Hello Kitty” video.
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- 3. Daft Kitty: In 2012, New Zealand graphic artist Joseph Senior created a range of Hello Kitty fantasy images, including these amazing Daft Punk action figures. Yes, sadly, these are fantasy… meaning, the actual dolls do not exist. But maybe one day Kitty fans will “get lucky” and Sanrio will work out a licensing deal with the French EDM robots.
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- 2. Hello Kitty Parties Hard: Andrew WK’s limited-edition Hello Kitty tee, featuring the Sanrio star recreating the hairy rocker’s iconic, bloody-nosed I Get Wet album artwork, is without a doubt THE GREATEST ROCK T-SHIRT OF ALL TIME. Pair it with dirty white jeans and you’ve got the perfect casual date-night outfit… if your date is Dave Navarro, of course.
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- 1. The Lady’s Totally Gaga Gown: For Hello Kitty’s 35th birthday in 2009, the then-rising Gaga (who was already known for wearing a Kitty-inspired bow fashioned from real hair) was photographed by Markus Klinko and Indrani wearing several custom Kitty outfits — including this amazing plush gown by G.K. Reid. Lady Gaga’s VMAs meat dress may be in the National Museum of Women in the Arts, but this dress (which is currently on display in the Japanese American National Museum next to Katy Perry’s Blonds bustier) is, in our opinion, her greatest fashion moment.
