In an update to this story, Brooklyn’s own Graffiti Research Lab founder James Powderly, and five other American citizens/artists [bios], were released yesterday after spending ten days in beautiful Beijing, China. They were detained after lighting up a “Free Tibet” LED banner outside the main Olympic’s stadium. Here’s that video, from Vimeo:
On August 24th, Brooklyn for Barack is partnering with JellyNYC to co-host the Last Pool Party (ever) at McCarren Park Pool in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Held one day before the start of the Democratic National Convention, the event hopes to not only raise money for Barack’s campaign but to celebrate the increased participation of youth in this election. The Pool Party is an all day concert, featuring Yo La Tengo, Titus Andronicus, Ebony Bones, and other special guests. Although the Pool Party is free to enter, there is a suggested donation of $20 that will go directly to Obama for America. There will be a free concert poster- designed by Jessica Hische- for the first 1000 people who donate $20 or more. Please donate by clicking [here]!
Note: donating here does not guarantee your entrance to the concert! Please arrive early! When the event reaches capacity, they will turn people away.
And oh yeah, David Cross and Syd B (Les Savy Fav) will now be DJing as well. (Even though we’d rather see some stand-up from the former). Other surprises are rumored. More information at mccarrenpark.com.
image c/o The Brooklyn Paper / Allison Bosworth
From The Brooklyn Paper:
Justin Tranter, lead singer of the quartet, Semi Precious Weapons, rents an illegal 1,800-square-foot loft in the shadow of the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant for six years — but he and his bandmates received a 30-day eviction notice earlier this month…
‚”Things are going well for us, but we aren’t a famous band yet, so we don’t have any money,” the oft-stilettoed singer said. ‚”This city just isn’t about artists being able to live fabulously anymore.”
That may sound sad coming from Tranter, whose band was named ‚”best local rockers” by the Village Voice and have made more appearances on the Perezhilton.com blog than, well, Paris Hilton. But, unfair as this may sound, there just aren’t mega-millions to be made in recreating the sound that made David Bowie so fabulous in the 1970s.
The band can barely scrape up the $1,400 monthly rent, which is less than half the market rate for Greenpoint lofts….
‚”Everyone knows that Greenpoint is changing,” said the spandex-clad Tranter, whose band is considering moving to (gasp) New Jersey. ‚”It’s no longer for artists here. You used to be able to move here and figure it out, but it costs too much now. Now you have to have a plan, you have to have a job, and you have to have rich parents. We don’t have any of those, so we don’t know what to do.”
A new cultural project is afloat at fleshmap.com, where its creators are hosting “an inquiry into human desire, its collective shape and individual expressions.” Throughout a series of studies, they aim to “explore the relationship between the body and its visual and verbal representation.”
It’s all rather quite fun, interesting, and at times, NSFW. Regardless, go check out the musical genres Fleshmap and explore which body parts are popular per different music genre (Hip Hop is big on butts, while Gospel is all about the hands).
Oh, and you might notice some white circles blanking something out in the image above. I’m not a proponent of censorship, but I felt it’d be curteous of me to blank out the penises and vagina just in case you’re not out of the office yet. Click on through to Fleshmap for the full monty.
Grand Archives sound like summer (the drowsy front-porch afternoons, not the oppressively hot dog days). The Seattle five blend sunny, multi-part harmonies, lazily strummed acoustic guitars, cheerily whistled melodies, and laid-back hooks with ease. Equal parts Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds and the Shins’ Oh, Inverted World, Grand Archives’ self-titled Sub Pop debut is a study in the joys of easy, breezy baroque pop. Although the band fronted by Band of Horses’ Mat Brooke — has only been together for about a year, they’ve enjoyed fawning press and opened for indie icons Modest Mouse.
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SATURDAY
——————
End of the Weak 8 Year Anniversary Party
East River Amphitheater (Grand Street and East River)
6:30pm – 10:00pm, FREE
more information here
From FREENYC
Today marks the 8 year anniversary of New York’s most venerated weekly hip hop show, End of the Weak. That’s 416 consecutive weeks of New York’s best live hip hop show. To commemorate this milestone EOW will be celebrating with a free outdoor concert on Manhattan’s East River water front. The all day free outdoor concert will feature “hip-hop up and comers as well as respected Hip Hop legends” such as Scram Jones, SOUL Purpose, EODub All-stars, and many many more. Check the flyer for full line-up. All Ages.
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SUNDAY
—————— Yo La Tengo
The Last Pool Party: Yo La Tengo w/ Titus Andronicus and Ebony Bones
McCarren Park Pool, 2–8pm, FREE
more information at mccarrenpark.com
From Flavorpill
Sports and indie rock are pretty wary companions, but, in the case of Hoboken’s Yo La Tengo, action is everything (mimicking the call of a baseball player, the band’s name translates literally to “I’ve got it!”). The group has been an indie-rock centerpiece since 1984, releasing more than 11 full-length albums and a variety of covers (Cat Stevens, the Kinks, Daniel Johnston). In that time, the band’s sound has spanned everything from affable pop to the reflective garage-rock ballads of its 2006 effort, I Am Not Afraid of You, and I Will Beat Your Ass. This afternoon, YLT take the stage, along with lo-fi punks Titus Andronicus and wacked-out chanteuse Ebony Bones, for what is purportedly the last. Pool Party. ever
25th Annual Roots of American Music Festival
Damrosch Park (at Lincoln Center)
62nd St (between Amsterdam and Columbus Aves)
begins at 4pm, FREE
more information and directions here
From TimeOut
Lincoln Center celebrates a quarter century of its awesome, far-reaching roots series with a fascinating show featuring punks, jazzers, hillbillies and more. The always entertaining Patti Smith finishes things off, but the vital set might come from the Haden Family–a country and bluegrass ensemble starring Charlie Haden and his talented family, along with some of Nashville’s finest players. (These include Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Bryan Sutton and Dan Tyminski.) It will most likely not return to New York. And don’t dare forget the Knitters–X’s folksy spin-ff band–and the big opening Blues Revue.
Nick Lesley is a video artist and a drummer for the band Necking. He most recently occupied drum set #43 at the Boredom’s 8/8/08 drumming event (known as 88BoaDrum) on the Williamsburg waterfront. His fellow Necking band mate Dong-Ping Wong was at #44, and after only 20 minutes of practice time the normally improv Brooklyn band joined 86 other drummers in a structured performance that can only be described as “massive”.
Next week, Nick is doing a live-feed, generative video project that incorporates choreographed dancers and sound as part of the one-night Power 2 show at the Issue Project Room (232 3rd Street, 3rd Floor). I shot a few questions via email to Nick earlier this week to get an idea of what it was like preparing for a crazy event like 88Boadrum, and what we can expect from him in Power 2.
You can catch Power 2 at Issue Project Room next week. Doors are at 8:30, show’s at 9pm; $10 suggested donation; on Saturday, August 30th. The following video is a *test video* for Power 2, shot w/o sound but gives you an idea how the dancers affect the generative video on screen. The actual show will of course feature a sound element, more screens, and that sense of real-world interactivity that never fully comes across in web video.
After the video, click on through the jump to get behind the scenes at 88BoaDrum, Necking, and Power 2 in our e-interview with Nick Lesley.
Does this mean the gloves are off for the senility jokes? If not, we’ll just use the old fallback of he’s an elitist. Wait… are you allowed to say that about GOP candidates or does it just work with Democrats? From Politico:
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said in an interview Wednesday that he was uncertain how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own.
“I think — I’ll have my staff get to you,” McCain told Politico in Las Cruces, N.M. “It’s condominiums where — I’ll have them get to you.”
The correct answer is at least four, located in Arizona, California and Virginia, according to his staff. Newsweek estimated this summer that the couple owns at least seven properties.
Now we can only hope the Dems will run with this. We need an ad now. You know Rove would do be all over this if the tables were turned. He’s already tried to smear Obama with this doosy:
“He’s the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone who passes by.”
Who’s the real elitist? This video does a solid job of answering that question.
photo via pandamonium The Brooklyn Paper is reporting that charges were dropped against the caged Pandas arrested Saturday night, and also that Pandamonium is already planning another party! Oh, and there was a “message” to that whole mess. It was, “to retake space and transform it in a way that suits us”. They report:
The four caged pandas were arrested and charged with misdemeanors including unlawful assembly, disorderly conduct, and inciting a riot, Fulton said. Despite the police presence — which included an NYPD helicopter — another panda party is already in the works.
