Here’s a link to Obama’s new budget, in all its PDF glory. Enjoy!

Ya’ll remember snap music? 2005 was heady days. The stocks were maximal and the hip hop was minimal cuz Atlanta’s ringtone beats ruled every playlist. One of the most successful salesmen of languid, snare-less jams was D4L, whose member, Ju, is currently embroiled in one of the most pointless, enjoyably petty beefs to hit youtube. Starts back in ’08 when Ju dropped this video bragging about his ends:

Which, like most releases from the D4L camp since 2006, was pretty much ignored. Turns out that months later Ju would get shit thrown back in his face thanks to the perennial hero of youtube… some dude in his basement:

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You ever heard of Josh Freese? No? Neither had I until I stumbled across this site. Mr. Freese, who plays or has played dums with Nine Inch Nails, Devo, The Vandals, A Perfect Circle, etc. etc. etc. is releasing a solo album called Since 1972 on March 24. And as his site explains, you can “subscribe” to this album for editions that range in price from $7 to $75,000. The $7 is a simple digital download of the record, with things getting gradually more interesting as the price goes up (at the $5K level, for example, Josh offers to “Get drunk together. If you don’t drink we can go to my Dads place and hang out under the ‘Tuba tree,’” and as part of the $20K package, “Josh writes 2 songs about you and it’s made available on iTunes and appears on his next record”).
The full $75,000 package warrants quoting in full:

-Signed CD/DVD and digital download -T-shirt -Go on tour with Josh for a few days. -Have Josh write, record and release a 5 song EP about you and your life story. -Take home any of his drumsets (only one but you can choose which one.) -Take shrooms and cruise Hollywood in Danny from TOOL’s Lamborgini OR play quarters and then hop on the Ouija board for a while. -Josh will join your band for a month…play shows, record, party with groupies, etc…. -If you don’t have a band he’ll be your personal assistant for a month (4 day work weeks, 10 am to 4 pm) -Take a limo down to Tijuana and he’ll show you how it’s done (what that means exactly we can’t legally get into here) -If you don’t live in Southern California (but are a US resident) he’ll come to you and be your personal assistant/cabana boy for 2 weeks. -Take a flying trapeze lesson with Josh and Robin from NIN, go back to Robin’s place afterwards and his wife will make you raw lasagna.

Hell, I know it’s it a recession, but if I were some shit-out-of-luck golden-parachuted Lehman’s douchebag, I might be willing to toss the money at the dude who co-wrote that sonic shitwhale “Chinese Democracy” (check out Freese’s Wikipedia page) to be my personal assistant. You know, because asshole bankers are probably the only people who dug “Chinese Democracy” in the first place.

photograph by Tam Ngo
Since people have been asking about the mysterious Vietnamese restaurant on the Southside, it’s called Bep and it’s only open on Mondays. Inside the Simple Cafe. More information in our restaurant guide.

European discount airline RyanAir (and it’s PR people, apparently) have got their panties in a twist after one blogger’s discovery of a supposed free flight bug. Check out the angry staffers comments on Jason Roe‘s blog:

“It is Ryanair policy not to waste time and energy corresponding with idiot bloggers and Ryanair can confirm that it won’t be happening again.”
“Lunatic bloggers can have the blog sphere all to themselves as our people are far too busy driving down the cost of air travel”
“…what self respecting developer uses a crappy CMS such as word press anyway AND puts they’re mobile ph number online, i suppose even a prank call is better than nothing on a lonely sat evening!!”

Hat tip, Consumerist.

We’ve got 2 tickets to next Tuesday’s David Letterman show. U2 will be performing. Their new record No Line On The Horizon drops March 3. It’s their 12th studio album and if you’re the 12th person to email us at mail | at | freewilliamsburg.com (with ‘U2 Giveaway’ in the subject line) the tickets are yours. WE HAVE A WINNER. SORRY
Here’s their new single:

Kent Ave

Grub Street coined it. And the New York Times has a great story on the growing culinary movement in Brooklyn:

Gabrielle Langholtz, the editor of Edible Brooklyn, which chronicles the borough’s food scene, said it has grown along with the arrival of what she calls the ‚”new demographic.”
‚”It’s that guy in the band with the big plastic glasses who’s already asking for grass-fed steak and knows about nibs,” Ms. Langholtz said.
‚”Ten years ago all of these people hadn’t moved to Brooklyn yet,” she added, comparing Brooklyn today to Berkeley in the 1970s. ‚”There’s a relationship to food that comes with that approach to the universe,” Ms. Langholtz said. ‚”Every person you pass has read Michael Pollan, every person has thought about joining a raw milk club, and if they haven’t made ricotta, they want to.”

Here’s the article: Brooklyn’s New Culinary Movement.

Grizzly Bear [left to right]: Christopher Bear, Ed Droste, Daniel Rossen, Chris Taylor
Back in January of 2004, we found a promo CD dropped in our mailbox. There was no postage, just a CD crudely wrapped in thick paper with a note attached from Kanine Records. Their studios were just around the corner on Powers Street, just a few blocks from FREEwilliamsburg. The CD had some nondescript scribbling on the front and was called Horn of Plenty—an exceptionally low-key, moody record with haunting vocals drenched in reverb. It was recorded by some locals who called themselves Grizzly Bear. Horn of Plenty became our soundtrack for the winter.
Soon after receiving the CD, we saw the band play Glass House Gallery. They killed.
Of course, Grizzly Bear became indie A-listers in 2006 with their masterpiece Yellow House, which was on everybody’s shortlist for record of the year. Their latest, Veckatimest (their website explains that it’s “a small, uninhabited island off the coast of Massachusetts”) will be released on May 26. It’s among the most anticipated records of the year.
Ed Droste (guitar, vocals) wrote us a few weeks ago, inquiring about the lack of Pho in the neighborhood. He’d heard rumors of a new Vietnamese restaurant opening on the Southside, that we haven’t been able to substantiate. (Anyone?) Ed was kind enough to answer a few questions about Brooklyn and Grizzly Bear’s upcoming record.
1. How long have you lived in Williamsburg?
If you include Greenpoint (some people do and some people don’t) I’ve lived in the area since 2003. If you don’t count Greenpoint, since 2006.

2. Where do you eat & drink? Any favorite local haunts?
Chris Bear’s girlfriend works at Marlow and Sons and everyone that works there is so friendly and the food is insanely amazing so I ultimately always end up there. Other than that I’ve been cooking a lot at home. I would like to publicly say I would KILL for a good Vietnamese Pho joint in the hood, so please somebody open one!!!
3. Is the rest of the band out here?
They are. Chris Bear lives off the Graham stop, myself off Lorimer. Chris Taylor off of Bedford and Dan in Greenpoint.
4. Culturally speaking, what’s your take on New York these days?

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This Saturday at The Shank in Greenpoint (98 Bayard Street — map). From MyOpenBar

I know, I know—this sounds too good to be true, and it probably is if you look at it like a sane person: NinjaSonik, Team Robespierre, Juiceboxxx, Wild Yaks, Cerebral Ballzy, MNDR, Dre Skull, DJ C.lo and a secret guest (Spank Rock again? Whoops!) with 500 16oz cans of PBR going fast at 11pm. Oh and hey, it’s all-ages, too. Also, Santa to pop out of the fireplace with a big bag of dicks for everybody. (PBR, $6 cover / 11am till gone)

Sounds like a great show, even without the bag of dicks.