Happy New Year!

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Rock on Mars: Stephen Sprouse @ Deitch Gallery

This weekend marks the start of my weekend side project installing the Stephen Sprouse exhibition at the Deitch Gallery in SOHO. S.Sprouse known in the 1980s as the king of day-glo and bringing the "downtown" flavor uptown is being honored by the gallery through a multimedia show representing his never exhibited before archive owned by his family. Sprouse who ran with the downtown motley crew including, Debbie Harry, created various fashion collections inspired by the downtown 80's New York scene. He paid tribute to Andy Warhol, Sid Vicious, street fashion, Keith Haring graffiti work and dressed rock stars such as Billy Idol and Axel Rose.

The eclectic archive includes anything from Polaroids Stephen took of his friends and the downtown party scene, to fashion sketches and wonderful iconic pieces from his collections- all exhibited in the show opening January 9, 2009. The exhibition will also include Marc Jacob's latest collection for Louis Vuitton, an homage to Stephen and his graffiti bag collaboration with LV in 2001.

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Banksy's back

British graffiti/political artist Banksy is back and this time he's put together a makeshift pet shop in NYC's West Village, conveniently a mere 6 blocks from my work, at 89 Seventh Avenue South, between West 4th and Bleeker called The Village Pet Store And Charcoal Grill.

In his "pet shop," Banksy explores a variety of themes including the consummation of pets, such as chicken and fish, as food, animal testing, fur and the lamentation of road kill.

I stand behind the "eye of the beholder" philosophy when it comes to art so far be it from me to instill any of my beliefs or interpretations upon you. Instead, I leave you with a gallery that represents a sneak peak of what's to be seen at the exhibit and encourage you to check it out on your own.

Banksy's Pet Shop will be up until October 31st.

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Dance floor douchebaggotry

This past weekend, I had the chance to check out two NYC haunts I've managed to avoid thus far. The first one, downright inexcusably, is Mercury Lounge, where Portland based duo Talkdemonic was playing the early show Saturday night.

Talkdemonic is Lisa Molinaro on viola and Kevin O'Connor on drums with various musical tracks backing them up. They sounded great live and I've made a mental note to grab their new album Eyes At Half Mast ASAP.

The second one, Santos Party House (AKA, the new Studio B) is more forgivable because it cropped up just over the summer.

We got there about halfway through The Hood Internet's set and shortly after Z-Trip came on. It was refreshing to hear some really solid DJ'ing. Z-Trip currently has an "Obama mix" available for free on his site so download it here if you want a taste of the madness I experienced.

Besides the fact that the minute my boyfriend left me alone on the dance floor I was accosted by an unrelenting douchebaggot who would not go away until nearby good Samaritans brought a security guard to remove him forcibly, Santos was a banging good time!

Hate to say it but Z-Trip really gave my favorite DJ, Diplo, a run for his money. Luckily Diplo's here on Thursday for round 2 and I just picked up my ticket after work! What better way to spend the time waiting for the Bobs to come talk to me at the office than to dance it off on NYC's finest dance floors!

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From cover to cover

Since I haven't posted in a bit, I thought I'd pick up where Yer left off with the Hot Chip show we caught at Terminal 5 the Friday before last.

Highlights included giant balloons being bounced around the audience, a harder electro version of "Boy From School" than the one they usually play and a cover of Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" that seamlessly blended into "In the Privacy of Our Love."

After the show, it was off to Love for The Bug and Warrior Queen. Sadly, the soirée was somewhat of a letdown. The Subswara DJ's were less than stellar and The Bug's set, low on headphones wearing and high on EQ tweaking, didn't really build into anything. Some good tunes were dropped though and the Warrior Queen was highly entertaining, so all was not lost.

The following night, B and I took the train way up to Harlem to catch Jenny Lewis at the Apollo theatre. We took our time getting there and, much to our dismay, arrived just in time to catch the last 10 minutes of secret opener Sarah Silverman! (On a side note, the first episode of the new Sarah Silverman Program season may just be the most hilarious to date!)

Jenny played a beautiful hour-long set. My personal favorites were the acapella title track off her new album, "Acid Tongue," followed by my favorite number from Rabbit Fur Coat, "Melt Your Heart." She also treated us to a cover of "Love Hurts" by Nazareth.

Hot Chip, The Bug, Jenny Lewis and Sarah Silverman all in one weekend? New York, I definitely still love you!

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Hot Chip @ Terminal 5 October 3, 2008

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Old school brand new

Even though Hurricane Hannah pushed last weekend's EVR Festival from Saturday to Sunday, most acts were still able to perform. Sadly, such was not the case for celebri-deejay Mark Ronson (and his hot pink "gournal"), a last minute addition to the lineup. Easy come, easy go.

Still the day was far from a loss as we were able to catch a short set by LA based hip hop/trip hop/idm/dubstep producer extraordinaire, Flying Lotus.

Flying Lotus, AKA the happiest guy in the beat making business, was all smiles as he dropped a number of heavy tunes including his Lil' Wayne track "Robo Tussin" and a brand new remix of Radiohead's "Reckoner," which he said our crowd was the first to hear.

While Flylo was easily the highlight of the day, coming in at a close second was KRS-One who managed to lay down some real hip hop all whilst waxing political and peddling the food which was on sale care of Frankie's in the tents at the back.

At one point, he called out for the crowd to grab their cameras and "Meet me by the chicken!" And most people did.

Also entertaining was the fact that Flylo supplied the beats for the first half of his set. The old-timer didn't seem to know what to do with the experimental sounds.

Regardless, looks like you've still got it, KRS-One. Word to that chicken! (And the salmon too.)

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lazy haiku

don't fear blogosphere
lazy robots will be back
post commercial break.

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Banksy unmasked?

According to Time.com, by way of Britain’s The Mail on Sunday, elusive graffiti artist Banksy’s identity has been revealed as Robin Gunningham, a 34-year old Bristol native.

Which of my favorite B-monikered masked wonders is next? Batman? Burial? ("Don't tell me he's a Hot Chip." – Ha ha!)

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Kode 9 at Winter Garden

After many a celebratory cocktail at the SSSeaport to honor the birth of Brian on Tuesday, we high tailed it to the Winter Garden for the River to River installment of Dub War featuring the one and only Kode 9.

By the time we got there, Kode 9 was already on the decks (Blame the tardiness on the bodega stop to refill our 32-ounce Nathan’s beer cups.) The concerns I voiced over the sound quality last week were fully realized but they managed to sort it out and make it somewhat more acceptable a few records into the set.

Luckily, they only set up chairs on half the floor and everyone got their groove on to the sexy beats Kode 9 was laying down. The crowd ranged from the usual barrage of dudes that attend the Dub War nights at Love to smelly hippies and guys my dad’s age who probably just wandered in there accidentally but were dumbfounded and unable to walk away from the infectious dance tunes.

Kode 9 is playing the next Dub War party on July 18th and Skream is back August 2nd at the Knitting Factory. I hope this isn’t the Knitting Factory downtown, which is way too small and generally overrun with obnoxious douche bags, but rather the old Luna Lounge. Guess we’ll see!

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M.I.A. soon to be M.I.A.?

Earlier this month, Yer, Blair and I descended into McCarren Pool for the first time this season for the sold out M.I.A. show.

I've seen M.I.A. four times and it's amazing how much she's grown as an artist from the first time I saw her at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia. Gone are the days of paper helicopters as stage decorations and here are the days of enormous lit up palm trees. The speaker stacks are much taller but she still likes to climb them.

Words can't adequately describe the fun that my girls and I had at the show so I thought I'd post the image above and let it speak for itself.

Notably, M.I.A. mentioned at the McCarren show that she was canceling her European tour. Some people took it as a joke but a week later at Bonnaroo, she claimed that performance would be her last.

Say it ain't so! Let's hope she's just messing with us...

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Why I love National Geographic

If I had some kind of life threatening illness I would write to Make a Wish Foundation and request a private plane to Iceland tomorrow for the Bjork and Sigur Ros concert. I would sit in hot springs all day sip on Cocoa Soup, which is basically an Icelandic chocolate soup and then dress myself in some kind of crazy circus outfit by some avant garde fashion designer and possibly make a huge Bjork sign out of felt and sequins and hit up the concert. But since I am not in a position to do any of these things, our buddies at National Geographic is broadcasting the live concert on Saturday! Yippie! Happy Friday!

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Ulrich Schnauss at Winter Garden

Tuesday night, after picking up my tickets for the free July 4th Sonic Youth show and downing a large and expensive cerveza at nearby "Mexican" eatery, I found a cold hard seat on the back stairs inside the Winter Garden where I could listen to Ulrich Schnauss's dreamy, and recently, eerie, sounds capes.

This show was essentially a less intimate version of the last time I caught Ulrich. He played a lot of new material, some older (more favorable track) and at least one track I didn't recognize that sounded really nice. Perhaps his new material will be more similar to earlier tunes? Let's hope so.

The Winter Garden experience has me a little worried for the Kode 9 show there next week. First of all, the sound was sub par. I'm spoiled by the sound system at Love, where the Dub War parties usually take place, so I'm interested to see how the sound will be next week.

Second, I've only been to this space twice. I saw CocoRosie there last year and Ulrich there this week. Both times, it was set up as a seated show. Is this going to be the case for Kode 9? That should be interesting...

Still, next Tuesday can't come fast enough. Hurry up the Kode 9! (And BOO to Burial's DJ Kicks release being pushed back two weeks.)

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Crazy dancer

Last Tuesday I had the chance to see iconic Icelandic band Sigur Rós perform inside the Midtown MOMA before a gorgeous New York City backdrop (though to be fair, I couldn't see much more than the giant pillar I got stuck behind.)

On Friday, I visited the Whitney Museum for the first time where I caught half a set by Prefuse 73 and then booked it downtown for Dub War's 3-year Anniversary, which featured the man running all tings dubstep, Skream.

That may seem like quite a week but the best part took place on Sunday at The Yard where we missed the rain and caught a sizeable chunk of Afrika Bambaataa's set. But if you think the tunes the legendary DJ was laying down did the trick, you're mistaken. The highlight was my introduction to the one, the only "Crazy Dancer."

From the enticing shirtless attire to the fly swatter in the back pocket and the uncanny ability to thrust around on and off the ground whilst never managing to catch a beat, "Crazy Dancer" is without a doubt the most fascinating and interesting fixture I've seen to date in the New York dance/club scene.

My friends were well aware of his antics and the sighting warranted an emergency phone call to other friends who were out of town in Pennsylvania.

I apologize for the crappy video and the fact that my memory card was full by the time he was screaming along to Daft Punk's "One More Time," but I hope the clip above gives you some idea of the insanity we witnessed.

See you around, "Crazy Dancer!"

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Ode to Coney Island and What I learned in Photoshop Today

BTW, this was a project using photos of vegetables and fruit it was weird and fun. The trees are made out of the tops of radishes and the parachutes of bow tie pasta cut in half, the sun is obviously a piece of carrot :)

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Turner @ the MET

When I think of landscape painting I think of green pastures and abstract livestock grasping at a boring, pale blue background. I certainly never envision Turner and his violent orange skies and paintings where waves become the protagonist, enveloping the canvas and the viewer.

It was an ordinary Tuesday when I found myself lost in the MET, trying to make my way to the latest summer blockbuster exhibition with an interest only in the cocktail hour afterwards. But I found myself walking through the J.M.W. Turner exhibition in awe. Various rooms were filled with famous works previously only seen in cramp musty undergraduate auditoriums on age old projector slides. The large canvases told stories and the colors evoked emotion. Each section was dedicated to a chapter in Turner's life and whispered to us his bout with depression and his love affair with the sea, the sky and with Italy. I couldn't help but stand for hours in front of his paintings feeling the emotions of nature and daydreaming of the many stories held in his paintbrushes. It was incredible and inspiring and the Pimms cup at the cocktail hour weren't half bad!

The show opens on July 1st and closes at the end of September.

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Roberta's: Real tasty

Also last month, I took the L train further out than usual, to the Morgan stop, to meet Yer at a pizza joint called Roberta's that was recommended to us a week before at our monthly dubstep outing.

As I emerged onto Bogart, a street I normally frequent between the mischievous hours of midnight to 6am for Brian's legendary rooftop bashes, I was surprised at how much has cropped up in the area. It used to be one bar and one market but the street is now lined with various establishments.

Roberta's fare consists primarily of gourmet pizzas, salads and antipasto. Our waiter was very excited about the ingredients he had to offer and sold me on a pizza named "The Teen Wolf" topped with mushrooms and ramps (a relative of onions, which I normally hate.)

The pies were *r e a l* tasty, the company was fabulous and the three bottles of wine consumed were completely over the top. We promised the staff we'd blog about the amazing experience we had there and I'm happy to live up to that promise now

If you live in the area, do yourself a favor and give this place a try. And if you don't, do yourself a favor and venture out to Bushwick to see what you're missing out on.

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I saw the sign

Last month, I attended an art opening in the Lower East Side at the Woodward Gallery called Street Language. All pieces included characters and symbols from local artists Matt Siren and Dark Cloud and the majority of them were done on street signs (one can't help but wonder how these signs were acquired.)

We got to the show pretty late so it was a nice surprise when they kept the doors open (and the free art booze flowing) past the promised hour of 8pm. Sadly, this was the beginning of a drunken downward spiral which led me to Fontana's and the Turkey's Nest (for 32 oz Coors Light and a complimentary shot of Jameson) only to wind up at Studio B far too drizzy to enjoy one of my absolute favorite Berliners, the amazing Ellen Allien.

But that, while probably not entirely shocking to most of you, is well besides the point. Street Language is up until June 28th and definitely worth seeing. Check out some pics here and then get yourself down to the Woodward Gallery to check the pieces out in person. Don't sleep!

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FREE CRUISE, RED HOOK BALLFIELDS, IKEA!

I know, I know, we're supposed to not like Ikea for all the controversy surrounding their construction in Red Hook, but . . . that doesn't mean we can't partake in their FREE FERRY RIDE from Manhattan to Red Hook, right? For those of us who already live in Brooklyn it is probably a stretch to get all the way down to the Battery, but for a quick glorious water ride cruising past Lady Liberty, it may be an awesome summer thing to do, flask in hand that is- just save room for the amazing Latin and South American food fare by the ballfields, the Swedish meatballs in the Ikea cafeteria and the loads of tasty brews at the Red Hook brewery.

I think the Red Hook Free Ferry Ride is the new McCarren Park, eh? Minus the dodge ball and amazing concert line-up that is.

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Burial get his DJ-Kicks

According to Beatport, Burial, will be putting together the next installment of K7 Records' infamous DJ-Kicks series, joining the ranks of Hot Chip, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Thievery Corporation, Carl Craig, Kemistry and Storm, Erlend Øye and Booka Shade to name a few.

Set for a release of June 23, 2008, the compilation will feature at least one new track from the top UK dubstep producer.

In other news, anyone out there want to build me a time machine? Please?

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She and Him

A few months ago, I was leafing through my weekly issue of Time Out. As I reached the back cover, I noticed that The Hot Seat featured ubiquitous girl crush, Zooey Deschanel, promoting her Sci-Fi channel Tinman project. In the short interview, Deschanel briefly mentioned her new musical side project, She and Him. I thought to myself, Interesting, and tossed the magazine aside.

Fast forward a few weeks and I'm making my way through Nylon, which did a full on feature of She and Him. What caught my eye this time around was that the "Him," M. Ward, also worked with indie darling Jenny Lewis on her country album, Rabbit Fur Coat, easily my favorite record of 2006.

So when I heard that She and Him were playing NYU's Skirball Center the night after their sold out Bowery show last week and B offered to get tickets, I knew I wanted to check it out (having not even heard their record.)

Soft-spoken and giggly, Zooey was, of course, adorable. Her voice is beautiful and she even plays the piano. Musically, it was somewhat reminiscent of the Jenny Lewis record but more folk than country.

The band was joined onstage by Yo La Tengo for the encore, like they were the night before on the Conan O'Brien show (and most likely the Bowery show).

She and Him's first record, Volume 1, is out now on Merge Records and well worth checking out. Volume 2 is apparently in the works.

This begs the question, can we except similar results when the ScarJo Tom Waits covers album drops?

Somehow, I have my doubts.

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Genius!

Apparently we slept on Sunday Brooklyn's robot parade this past weekend in Park Slope :( I know we're totes losers! But these guys, these guys are geniuses!

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Vintage Hot Chip

A couple of weeks ago, I ventured out to Terminal 5 for Hot Chip’s sold out show. It was a stellar night, much needed considering the fact that I’d lost my wallet with all my important forms of identification in it the night before at a dangerous, dangerous place in my hood called Deity Cellar.

I was particularly pleased that they threw an older number into the mix, “Crap Kraft Dinner,” from their first album Coming On Strong. I shared that sentiment with a couple of friends that night who I consider to be up on their tunes and Hot Chip fans and was shocked to find out that they didn’t even know that first album existed!

I’m sure “Over and Over” was probably the first bit of Hot Chip exposure for many folks but for those of you out there who haven’t heard it, I’d recommend picking up Coming On Strong and checking out the older tunes. It’s more of a chill vibe than the direction they’ve taken as of late. If you’re not interested in seeking out the whole album, at least check out “Crap Kraft Dinner.” It’s my favorite song on there.

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Tenori-on

First and foremost, allow me to apologize for my severe absence from the blogosphere as of late. But to quote my BFF, Jeffrey, "Blogging is the new E. Nobody's doing it anymore."

(Take a moment to ponder the irony of using that quote in a blog post.)

All kidding aside, I've been busy making big decisions and losing important things but the pieces finally seem to be falling back into place so I think I can do better this month than the one sad lonely post of last month.

And along the lines of good old E, I recently discovered a new toy that would've easily held my attention for hours on end back in those hazy, crazy raver days.

Last Wednesday night, we walked into SouthPaw (to check out German experimental dub innovator Pole) in time to catch the end of a demo featuring footage of robots building music making machines. From the fine Japanese folks over at Yamaha, I bring you the Tenori-on.

Ever play with Simon, Lite-Brite and 4-track? If those three devices somehow spawned an offspring, that would be the Tenori-on. It's a square, hand-touch light and sound midi musical interface that can be loaded with samples for live improvisational performances by dj's and electronic music producers.

The downstairs at SouthPaw had a number of these available for people to play with and we got the chance to do so once the crowd had dwindled down but it was a little hard to grasp exactly what we were supposed to do with it.

Pole, Sutekh and Safety Scissors all used the Tenori-on in their performances and Yamaha even raffled one off. Sadly, I did not win it. Even more sad, the girl who did seemed less than enthused.

The Tenori-on will be available in the States starting May 1st but Yamaha's only shipping a limited installment of 100 units. So to all the big children out there who got at least $1200 back on their taxes, get on it!

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Jeff Koons on the Roof

One of my favorite spots during the spring/summer season in New York is the Metropolitan Museum of Art's roof top. This year, Neo-pop artist Jeff Koons is gracing the roof with his enlarged, glossy, playful sculptures. Named "Balloon dog," "Sacred heart" and "Coloring book," NY Times describes them as "mischievously meaningful works." The experience on the roof with Koons is like being at children's birthday party, with the added bonus of a great view and roof top cocktails.

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Murakami @ Brooklyn Museum

I remember strolling through Hyde park in London when I was doing my study abroad there and happening upon a Japanese/manga-inspired/carnivalisque art installation by Takashi Murakami at the Serpentine Gallery. It was a mixture of child-like imagery and acid visions, all cutely packaged for universal consummation. Mostly though, I recall images of disturbing, yet adorable mushrooms and eyeballs but some of my favorite pieces include the large-scale installations infiltrating my dreams and nightmares for the next few nights. Crossing back over the pond, I'm excited to read last week that Murakami is finally in Brooklyn! Maybe we'll get some inspiration for our new Lazyrobots logo!?

The Brooklyn Museum exhibit offers one of the "most comprehensive retrospective to date," including 90+ pieces, focusing specifically on earlier works from 1992-2000. The show is on view tomorrow till June 13.

For a historical glimpse at Japanse art also at the Museum, don't forget to drop in on Utagawa: Masters of the Japanese Print, 1770–1990!

(Photos courtesy of Gothamist)

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It's not over yet

My obsession of 2007 was the Diplo remix of the VNDLSM remix of Rihanna's "Umbrella" (Ella, ella, eh eh eh.) So, what's got me all excited in 2008? I know we're not even four months in but I'm going to go ahead and just hand the crown over to the Skream remix of the Klaxons cover of Grace's Perfecto Records rave classic: "It's Not Over Yet."

This song absolutely KILLED at Love's Dub War night last Friday. Anyone else reminded of Dom & Roland's "Can't Punish Me" (which featured a David Bowie sample from "Let's Dance") or one of Dillinja's more vocally Test records (perhaps even a Test Blue?) That bassline can only be described in one word - Fabulous!

Dubstep is, without a doubt, my new hotness. Can't wait to fully immerse myself in this genre. Big tings to come in 2008!

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A Peep Show, For Ya!

Forgive us for not posting, Happy Easter!

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REDHOOK BALLFIELDS FOR ANOTHER 6 YEARS!

Yippie Skippie, Latin American vendors at the Redhook Ballfields have secured a six year permit to continue feeding us their gloriously, tasty and cheap cuisine! I can already predict our summer now a beautiful dance (or stumble) between Sixpoints Brewery and Redhook ballfields!

(Photo Courtesy of Wka)

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Stuff White People Like

this is the best blog EVER!

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Killing it at Killington

You’re probably sick of hearing about my snowboarding trips by now but since this is the first winter that I’ve had the chance to hit the slopes regularly since my parents transplanted me from the Northeast to the South at the tender age of 16, I’m just a tad excited.

Last weekend, seven of us drove five hours through a winter snowstorm to sleepy Rutland, Vermont, home of the Killington Ski Resort. Our three bedroom/three bathroom condo accommodated the crew perfectly and included amenities one would never find in a NYC apartment, such as a dishwasher, washer and dryer and, best of all, a sauna!

The conditions weren’t as ideal as the conditions at Okemo last time I went but it was great to roll up there with such a big group of people. We had a lot of fun on the slopes and off, drinking beers in a hot tub and playing Yahtzee/Jenga.

CG$/Cobble Hill crew – I had a blast! Let’s do it again next year! Until then, here are a few photos for the sake of reminiscing.

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People Get Ready, N. American Music Festivals

I'm thinking MTV or Oprah should give me a million bucks so that I can quit my job, travel and live my life as a bohemian vagabond at music festivals.

Noisepop, San Fran, CA - RIGHT NOW!

Winter Music Festival, Miami - March 25-29 - Lineups

Coachella, Indio, CA - April 25 - 27 - Lineup, but all we really care about is, Portishead!

Sasquatch Festival, George, WA - May 24 - 26 - Lineup, Flight of the Conchords!

Bonaroo, Manchester, TN - June 12-15 - Lineup

Not quite North American but . . . Sonar Festival, Barcelona, Spain - June 19-21 - Lineup

All Points West, Jersey City, NJ - August 8-10 - Lineup

Treasure Island Festival, San Fran, CA - September 20, 21 - Unannounced

Austin City Limits Music Festival, Austin, TX - September 26-28 - Lineup

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I DJ with my iPhone

Lately, I’ve been reaping the benefits of a special subsection of friends I like to call “Friends with Cars.” Last weekend, Marsha and Kathleen graciously offered their sets of wheels to take us all up to Vermont for a weekend of fun in the snow. And last night, the Jon G Express pulled up curbside outside my pad around 11p.m. to transport me to the fun side of Brooklyn, Williamsburg, and specifically Hugs, where he was DJ’ing Ms. Carrie Whitenoise’s weekly, "Do It."

When we got there, Jon spent at least half an hour rewiring the sound and lights which apparently got messed up when a DJ that works there was fired earlier in the night and decided to take his anger out on the setup. He was able to get the sound working properly but the best that he could do about the lights was one strobe that erred more on the side of annoying than anything else.

Elizabeth and I played some Skee-Ball, found out the hard way that drink tickets are only good for WELL liquor and caught up with Carrie while Jon played a solid set that included a bunch of killer CSS, Hot Chip and Justice remixes. There wasn’t much of a crowd, partially due to the Tuesday night aspect and partially due to the fact that it rained earlier that night but it was still a fun night with some choice tunes.

My heart goes out to the girl who lost her purse that contained the security deposit she’d just gotten back from her apartment. Ouch.

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Bots weigh in on the counterfeit bag discussion

I don't know about you but why is it that I don't frigging care whether or not Chinatown is a counterfeit ring for fake luxury items? (See discussion on Gothamist) Maybe it's because I'm a po, struggling middle class grad student with school loans that will more than likely go to the grave with me and only see the luxury industry trade as another way to say, "hey, see what i got, I'm rich, bitches." I try not to let labels and logos define me, thanks.

So, what is the big deal? Are these fake bags taking away from New York's economy? More importantly, will those mid-west tourists buy the real thing if the cheaper option isn't out there? I don't think so. Granted, I'm anti-mistreatment of Chinese/3rd-world children, but ask yourselves, what kind of sneakers are you wearing? Ever shopped at the Gap? Wal-Mart? and honestly lets get real, it's easy to say, stop buying all these things but the real question is where would these children end up? How will they earn a living, prostitution, slavery?

And secondly, who really friggin cares about Chanel, Gucci, Prada . . . like they are so sad and struggling? And at the end of the day, doesn't the fake bag only elevate the branding of those luxury labels?

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Matmos @ Stone, 2/23/08

Saturday, J and I hit up alphabet city to check out a small intimate show with the San Fran, now Baltimore, experimental, electronic duo, Matmos. To our disbelief, the venue, Stone, was the tiniest I had ever been to in New York. While the city is well-known for being a hotbed for sexy music shows filled to the max with fans, music-goers, fancy lights and banging sound systems, the Stone was a dream, hosting 80-100 seats with no distracting bar noise. Second reason for its dreamy attribution: no advance ticket sales, so that means, fans really win while scalpers and ebayers can die! The line wait was only 20mins.

As a non-profit performance venue who is solely dedicated to avant-garde and experimental music, Stone hosted the quirky electronic, nerdy, Bjork-producing music/noise of Matmos who began the set with a track that featured music created with a pair of white rubber rain boots. The enchanting evening ended with a beautiful "tele-opera" number featuring a reading of Robert Ashley's Opera, Perfect Lives.

Kudos to the band and to the venue! P.S. sorry for the shitty video :(

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J'adore Yelle

After work yesterday, I stopped by the B’s favorite Chelsea happy hour spot, The Trailer Park Lounge, for some amazing $5 mango margaritas. There, I got into an argument with a friend of theirs over which one of us was more French that reached a boiling point where we both threatened to whip out our passports for proof. In the end, I think I won the argument by dipping out on the group to catch French electro pop singer Yelle at the Knitting Factory.

To quote my friend Jon, Yelle “is what Uffie should’ve been if Uffie had any talent.” This was the first U.S. show for 25-year old Yelle, aka my new girl crush with the amazing fashion sense (Sorry M.I.A.) and the small room was filled to capacity. With our big winter coats in tow, because the coat check was full, we squeezed our way into to the crowd and listened to Lauren Flax drop some dated rave tunes. Then Kap10Kurt hit the stage and put on a really good show and finally, it was time for Yelle.

Yelle was, of course, super cute and super fun. She danced across the stage and performed a handful of tunes from her debut album, Pop Up. Particularly fun were “Mal Poli,” (which I found applied to the crowd) “Dans Ta Vrai Vie” (featuring my favorite lyric of hers “Mais ce soir en rentrant chez toi tu seras seul devant ton Mac”) and the closer “A Cause Des Garçons.”

Special thanks go out to the girl who handed me my medical insurance card and debit card at the end of the show. Evidently, they fell out of my purse when I was jumping up and down like a maniac during the last song! Genius.

In case you haven’t heard, Big Stereo recently did a remix contest for one of Yelle’s songs “Ce Jeu.” Check it out here and run out and buy Pop Up if you don’t already own it.

So much good music coming out of France these days… Kind of makes me wonder what I’d be doing with my life if I’d never left!

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Robots . . .

As you all know, we're obessed with robots and recently I've seen robots everwhere, including at work. While photographing the collection of handkerchiefs we have at the museum, I came across this Fiorucci hanki from the 1970s, depicting robots at labor. Robots raking, robots watering the lawn, robots walking the dog. Not so lazy afterall, eh?

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Happy Valentines Day!

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Did anyone see Daft Punk performing with Kanye West on the Grammy Awards last night? The best parts were all the shots from inside the pyramid, which you never really get to see. I had to rewind the Tivo at least five times!

Snowboarding on Saturday, I found myself green with envy because my friend had headphones in his helmet and was jamming out to a live set of theirs from Coachella while we were riding.

So yesterday, I tracked down a recording I have from the show we went to here in August and listened to it at the gym. It has a fair amount of talking in it but the sound quality is good and it brings back the experience vividly.

(I bet the Coachella recording doesn't have Kendra saying " I want a helmet. They look so f*cking cool," in the middle of "Da Funk," my all-time favorite daft punk song. Classic!)

Has everyone heard "Discovered"? It was passed onto me along with the new Hot Chip (Thanks B!) and I have to say that it's a very interesting listen. Obviously most of the electronic music we listen to is sampled from other songs but it's interesting to see how heavily. The compilation is eye opening and well worth checking out for those of us, like me, who aren't way up to speed on their obscure funk.

(p.s. - I still love you robots!)

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Another thing

Do you think the lucky souls who fabricate upholstered covers to encase televisions into played Careers when they were young?

Did any of you guys play it? Is this something I missed out on because I grew up in France?

Do all my career problems stem from not having played this game as a kid? Where are my "Fame?" and "Fortune?"

I know what all my CG$ friends' kids are getting for their birthday when they reach the required age of 8+!

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Adventures on a bus

I'm easily amazed by concepts that most people take for granted. These things usually come in the form of bad ideas that society readily accepts or is simply too occupied to question.

For example, I don't get station wagons with wood paneling on the side. Obviously the car is made out of metal, that's not real wood. Why does it need to look like wood? Is it for nostalgic purposes?

Once on a college road trip, we stayed in a cheap hotel where the walls were covered in sheets of stickers that looked like wood. The concept of going with this fake wood decor as opposed to say, a nice paint job or real wood, baffled me. You can't just put a sticker that looks like wood on something and turn it into wood!

My boyfriend at the time made me a shoebox "sticky wood world" that did just that. I'm talking wood sun, wood people a wooden house and trees. It was an amazing gift that demonstrated just how much he got me but sadly it vanished somewhere in the 10+ moves since then. Also, I guess it's kind of a silly thing for a "grownup" to hold onto.

I came across something yesterday that brought back the same exact feeling. Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you upholstered bus television!

My main concern with upholstering any sort of television, aside from the sheer lack of purpose, is the fact that someone actually does that for a living. There's either a machine out there that was invented to make this happen or a crafty gal or guy who does this by hand.

Why does a television need a carpeted cover? I assure you it's no more aesthetically pleasing than one without. It's truly mind-boggling.

To be fair, my friend pointed out that it's protective and when I got up, since we were lucky enough to score seats just below one of these beauties, I managed to hit my head on it and it didn't hurt.

Was it the clever carpeting that minimized the impact and saved me from a possible bump to the head? Am I so clumsy that I should wear a helmet on any bus I choose to ride where the televisions are not upholstered? And should I just go ahead and upholster my television, computer monitor and maybe even my microwave to make things safer around my apartment?

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Big ups Giants

Against all odds, I hit up not one but two Super Bowl parties Sunday night. And while, to this day, 90% of what takes place on a football field remains a mystery to me, I actually enjoyed the last quarter of the game because it was a real nail biter and totally worked out in New York's favor.

At fiesta numero uno, I had the chance to reconnect with Danger (pictured above), who I met and instantly fell in love with last October. The second party brought us face to face with a roomful of hot bartenders, a dangerous thing to stumble upon when you have to be at work at the crack of 10 the following morning.

Somehow, I managed to stay out of trouble (for the most part.)

It's nice to have my place back to myself after having had friends in town since last Thursday. Their visit was wildly fun but it also did a number on my liver, sleep schedule and wallet. I envision a nice long week of staying in and recuperating.

Or at least, that's the "plan"...

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TF @ Hugs

For weeks, perhaps months even, my old Atlanta room mate, DJ Carrie Whitenoise has been telling us about her weekly, "Do It", at new Williamsburg hotspot, Hugs. I still haven't managed to check out her Tuesday night, because I am "boring" and have to show up at a "job" every Wednesday morning, but I did make it out there last Friday night for some hot Treasure Fingers action.

With its low, rounded ceilings, speakers directly in the walls, and long cavernous layout, Hugs conjures up a more dungeon-like feel than its name implies. The sound isn't bad; minus one questionable speaker I had the misfortune of sitting in front of early in the night. The DJ setup in the back leaves a bit to be desired but TF still managed to churn out a rocking set.

It was good to see everyone out, especially the B's (Blair and Brian) and the R's (Reba and Ross – a veritable party on wheels.) We got our dance on; we played some Skee-Ball and munched on some cupcakes. What more can you ask for?

Here’s to hoping that Treasure Fingers graces us with his presence again real soon!

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It's raining mixes/Sunday is the new Friday

After a long hard day of quilting and drinking 40's a couple of Sundays ago, I ventured into the city to catch my favorite mix master, Diplo, at Club 205.

It was absolutely amazing. My friends always tell me that Sunday nights are the best nights to go out and it turns out they're spot on. The crowd and venue size were far preferable to what we usually encounter at Studio B or on weekend night LES escapades.

Speaking of Diplo, a new mix of his surfaced online today. You can download it here and, as usual, it doesn't disappoint. You can always count on good ol' dependable Dip!

There's at least two more really good mixes out there right now, notably Cut Copy's Cosmic mix and the Justice Fabric Rejected mix. The Justice mix isn't exactly what you might expect from those guys which is so nice.

Anyone get tickets to the Mercury Lounge Cut Copy show? Sadly, I did not but I might try to go see them at Studio B on March 15th (though I get back from my trip to Big Sky that night around 10:30p.m. which might be a little tight… life is rough!)

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Get Treasure Fingered at Hugs

On my trip to Okemo last weekend, I got to spend nearly 18 hours of quality time with two fairly new friends of mine. At the end of the day, this inside look into their tight, oftentimes comical bond conjured up only one thought in my mind: I miss my best friend.

Lucky for me the BFF in question, T$, is gracing me with her presence this weekend. And as though that weren't enough, she's brining along her boo, the infamous Treasure Fingers, making his NYC debut at Hugs on Friday night.

Recently signed to A-Trak's label, Fool's Gold, Treasure Fingers is the hot name on the tip of everyone's tongues at the moment. If you haven't heard him, check out his latest mix here and then promptly get yourself down to the Burg Friday night to check him out in person. Good times guaranteed. It's Friday night, it's free, so don't be lame - represent!

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Snowboarding

If you're a New Yorker who likes to get your ski or snowboard on and can find people crazy enough to get up at 3 in the morning with you, I highly recommend looking into the day trips organized by Emilio's Ski Shop. They leave almost every day to various New York and Vermont locations and range in price from around $60 to $90.

Two weekends ago, we gathered an impressive neighborhood crew of 7 people and traveled up to Windham Mountain in the Catskills and last weekend, three of us met up outside Homage around 3am to catch a bus to Okemo Mountain in Vermont.

Having taken a couple of these trips, with the intention of going as often as I can this season, I thought I'd share a few things I learned for those of you out there who might be thinking about going on one of these adventures.

1. Do Vermont, not New York
Okemo was a much better experience than Windham. I'll take nicely groomed trails of packed snow over ice any day. Also, it wasn't as crowded. The downside is that it leaves a lot earlier but the ride didn't seem much longer. (The exact length of it, as we found out on the way back, was exactly two National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets.)

2. Take the bus, don't drive
Maybe you have a car and you're thinking to yourself, I'll just drive up there when I want and leave when I want - no 3am for me. But look at it this way - the lift ticket price for Okemo is $72 and the price of our trip was $80. You're basically riding the bus for free. It's a great deal.

3. Don't sit in the back
Not only do the back seats not recline but both times we went, they didn't bring enough lift tickets for everyone on the bus and we had to wait around at least 15 minutes for them to get more from Guest Services. Extra time spent on the bus is not time well spent.

4. Bring beer
Beer isn't just for the train ride home from Connecticut after a hard weekend of tubing. A tasty, ice cold 24 ounce beer totally hits the spot and makes the ride home far more enjoyable (minus the bus bathroom visit that it guarantees). Thanks again to the cool guy sitting in front of us who was kind enough to share.

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Prefab Homes and other dreams

A couple of months ago I came across an article in New York Times about prefabricated homes and thought to myself what a great idea. Cheap and depending on which company you go with, ecologically-sound, the small and simple homes can go for anywhere between $35 to $300 per square foot. Think of it as an ikea-like home, packed flat from manufacturers with an instruction booklet sure to drive you insane when assembling. But for the environmentally-conscious, middle class New Yorker who could never dream of the two words, "home owner," prefab homes may be an interesting alternative (although I have no idea what the cost of land is these days).


Spending the last couple of weeks searching for a new apartment in New York has really got me thinking, where do the middle class live? Canarise? New Jersey? Staten Island? Thankfully, suffering economically and eating ramen noodles are acceptable experiences to have at my age so for now I will stay in New York, but I wonder, would prefab houses ever go over here? Can you imagine a trailer park type neighborhood full of prefab houses, you could fit so many and New York would be the best place to start since we're use to the 10X10 rooms with all of our worldly possessions stuck underneath our beds.

I'm all for it, if it means I could finally be a New York H.O.'er, even though I'd be totally fucked if a tornado or a hurricane struck. But the article does point out the Feng Sui-ness of living minimally, which does not limit the prefab home owner from technological advances, some of the homes come with top of the line electronics including a banging sound system. I do have to envy the fact that some of these prefab home owners are living in spacious nature settings outside NY, where they probably spend most of their day outdoors enjoying the clean crisp air, but I guess New Yorkers do the same except the air isn't too crisp and we spend most of our day working 2 jobs, eating out at fabulous restaurants, visiting museums and galleries and partying it up. Still though, bring on the prefab homes!

Check out Wee Homes and Tumbleweed Homes for two of my favorites!

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Pants!

I normally cringe at the thought of seeing someone on the subway with no pants on. If it does happen, it’s likely to be from the hours of 4-6am when It’s just you and one crazy pervert in the car, a situation to be avoided at all cost.

But tomorrow, Improv Everywhere is putting what is sure to be a hilarious spin on this with the 7th Annual No Pants! Subway Ride.

So grab your metro card, take off your pants and get yourself down to Foley Square tomorrow at 3pm "sharp" to join the other New Yorkers crazy enough to ride the metro sans pants.

If I don’t go snowboarding, I’ll be there with bells on! (Bells, yes, pants , no.)

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Kitty Wigs

This might be the most "redonkulous" thing I've seen all day. (Thanks Erlene!)

At fifty bucks a pop, these Kitty Wigs are well worth the inevitable barrel of good times they will bring.

And while we all know you're only buying it to ridicule your beloved pet and have a laugh at his or her expense, you can also feel good about yourself knowing that 20% of all profits from your cat’s new do will be donated to the ASPCA.

I think I'll snatch up the pink one for my favorite feline, Miya. It should match her pink pet stroller beautifully.

In other news, the CG$ may or may not be getting even more money in the near future.

Happy Friday everyone!

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