JULY The CULTURAL DIVIDE

King McQueen

Actor, juvenile delinquent, Marine, lumberjack, auto racer, producer—all the incarnations of Hollywood’s King of Cool are captured in Henri Suzeau's new book, Unforgettable Steve McQueen, a collection of quotes, anecdotes, and archival images. (Powerhouse)

Morning Fix

If you ask Jim James, our civil society could use a little more civility. “It’s always the first course of action to go straight for people’s throats. Can’t somebody try something different?” says the silver-voiced singer of Louisville’s My Morning Jacket (left), whose sprawling and majestic new album, Evil Urges, due out June 10 from ATO, addresses the never-ending war on temptation, (mymomingjacket.com)

Fun Thames!

For its sinewy oarsmen, die-hard rowing enthusiasts, and the odd Anglophile with a passion for pink ties, the Henley Royal Regatta is more social tradition than sporting event. And despite any apparent pomp, Pimm’s Cups sipped in the grandstands are every bit as tasty as the ones served in the members-only Stewards’ Enclosure. (7/2—7/6; hrr.co.uk)

For the Love of Lilly

Lilly Pulitzer's perennial brights and cheerful patterns have never looked better. And the new Lilly Pulitzer flagship store, which has just opened in N.Y.C., offers exclusive items and styling A Lilly Pulitzer services as well as iconic in o stich hot summer standbys. (1020 Madison Ave.)

Animal House

Why not spend an evening dancing with the duikers, or having drinks with the coati? For two nights in July the residents of the Los Angeles Zoo will be up past their bedtimes enjoying the company of latenight visitors and an international array of musicians. (7/8 and 7/22; lazoo.org)

ISLAND JAM

The Geejam hotel, in San San, Jamaica, has played host to Gwen Stefani, Common, and India Arie, among others. Music producer Jon Baker and musicindustry veteran Steve Beaver have teamed up to turn the creative hideaway into a jewel box of a hotel, complete with intimate cabins, a private beach, and a treetop restaurant tucked into the Jamaican rain forest, (geejamhotel.com)

9 For one night only, on July 9, the Age of Aquarius comes home to New York City with a free performance of songs from the original rock musical, Hair, at the intersection of Greenwich and Gansevoort Streets in front of the Theory flagship store, (theory.com)

MELLENCAMP MOMENT

Life Death, Love and Freedom is the new album from 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee John Mellencamp, who, with producer and collaborator T Bone Burnett, has recorded exquisite, dark, roofsy songs about loneliness, emotional pain, mortality, and compassion. Go to VF.com for an exclusive free download of the pensive "Longest Days."