James Bradley has placed his Sound Fix record store up for sale — on Craigslist — for an asking price of $250,000. He tells the Village Voice he’s just “testing the waters,” noting working two jobs is starting to take a toll. While everyone’s always chattering on and on about the death of retail records, I think 2010 might be a better year than ever to jump at an opportunity like this.
It’ll be our generation’s version of antiquing in about 10 years, and stores like this, that were around long before the mp3 robots swam through your headphone cords and impregnated your brain with Steve Jobs’ cashseed, will probably become icons in a digital landscape.
Basically, what i’m saying is, if you and your group of friends can somehow dig up the money, this might be both a fun and worthwhile investment.
Nearly a week after the Democratic primaries, there is still no clear winner in the Williamsburg district leader race. Lincoln Restler is a leader of the New Kings Democrats club, a progressive, reformist political club. His opponent is Warren Cohn, son of long-time district leader, Steve Cohn. The stakes are high for this unpaid, little known position in Brooklyn’s 50th assembly district. So why the heated race? Why are these two twenty-somethings battling it out until the last vote is counted? One of the responsibilities of the district leader is helping select the county chairman, and this has become a big issue this election season. Democrats in the County of Kings are divided over current Democratic boss, Assemblyman Vito Lopez. Restler has said he will vote Lopez out. Cohn is believed to support him. Recounts of the votes have seen each candidate gaining and losing the lead back and forth all week, leaving the outcome of the race still very unclear. From The Brooklyn Paper:
“The recount was the second change in leadership this week after Restler appeared to win the Williamsburg-Greenpoint-Fort Greene state committee seat on Primary Day by just 19 votes. First, dozens of “emergency” paper ballots were counted late in the week, and Cohn got 97 to Restler’s 46, putting Cohn up by 41 votes. But then workers made their official recanvass of their Election Day count, and suddenly Restler’s 19-vote machine lead surged to a 3,569–3,423 total, or 146. Bringing back the paper ballot score only cut Restler’s lead to 85 votes. Tomorrow, election workers will begin counting the remaining ballots in the race — about 300, including 103 absentee ballots.”
This close vote has already brought into question New York’s new voting machines. The optical scanning machines made their debut during last week’s primary, and are generally considered more reliable and accurate than the old machines, but these fancy new toys are still getting the kinks worked out.
Pavement played the first of many NYC reunion shows last night on the Williamsburg Waterfront, and Big Ass Lens was there to capture and document the experience. The band played material spanning their entire career, including “Unfair”, the video above. Lots more footage, including a 4 song mega mix, and review of the show over at Big Ass Lens.
Alexis and Derek are totally the cool kids from your high school. If there was any question before, clearly their Ray Bans and jean jackets in this video for “Infinity Guitars” proves it. Plus burning guitars and fog machines and scary dogs and cheerleaders. This was what your high school years looked like, right?
Watch it over at NME. Then go smoke cigarettes in the bathroom.
Here’s a new one: Crif Dogs, the East Village outpost responsible for countless 4:00am chili dog binges (and morning-after indigestion…) is set to open its second location this fall, at the corner of Driggs and N. 8th in Williamsburg. But in a twist that has even the foodie experts at Eater rather dumbfounded, the restaurant is set to be open at 7:00am every day – at least, if the restaurant’s Craigslist ad for new hires is to be trusted. We’re all for adding another meat-centric joint to the Williamsburg restaurant scene; given the success of Fette Sau, Commodore, and Pies & Thighs, our appetite for all things fried, tube-shaped, and bacon-wrapped seems pretty much insatiable. But will anyone really want to down a “Good Morning” (according to the Crif website, a “bacon-wrapped dog smothered with melted cheese and a fried egg”) before hopping the L?
The "Good Morning"
Let’s hope not, if only for the sake of the poor souls crammed into the same subway car, enduring the worst morning breath since the morning we sat next to a guy who downed a liter of beer and a bratwurst at Radegast the night before and forgot to brush in the morning.
Crif Dogs, opening later this Fall at Driggs and N. 8th.
Weather officials confirmed Friday night that two tornadoes and a macroburst touched down in New York City the previous day, as residents citywide continue to survey damage and local lawmakers build their case for FEMA funding.
The National Weather Service said that the first EF0 tornado touched down in Park Slope, Brooklyn with winds of 80 mph after 5 p.m. Thursday and traveled two miles northeast.
The second EF1 tornado touched down about 2.5 miles south of Flushing, Queens and traveled north to Bayside with winds of up to 100 mph, before lifting over the waters. Middle Village and Forest Hills, Queens were the neighborhoods hit hardest.
The macroburst, which is a sudden acceleration of wind coming out of a fast-moving storm that’s more than 2.5 miles long, created the most damage in Queens, moving through Forest Hills and Middle Village with winds up to 125 mph.
“The [macroburst's] actual width upon touchdown was on the order of about 1.5 miles wide and the damage path that spread out made a cone of up to five miles wide,” said Gary Conte of the National Weather Service.
Catfish is a “documentary” about a 24-year-old photographer in New York named Nev Schulman who becomes involved in a Facebook/Gmail/iPhone relationship with the family (specifically the attractive older sister) of an 8-year-old painter who admires Nev’s published photographs. Through amateur photography, screencaps of various online sites (like Google Maps, Facebook, and YouTube), and badly recorded iPhone conversations, Nev’s brother (Ari Schulman) and friend (Henry Joost) chronicle this bizarre relationship. Was it real or faked? Is it thrilling, touching, sad, or completely despicable? This is my “review” of Catfish – written in a way that Joost and the Schulman brothers may appreciate.
Warning, this “review” will contain spoilers. And many, many screencaps.
Today, from 5-8pm artist and illustrator extraordinaire Maxwell Loren Holyoke-Hirsch’s show, “Primal Objects,” is opening at the By & By Gallery on Grand. Come by for the art, and stick around for an awesome performance by Philadelphia based band Sweatheart. Can’t make it tonight? The show will be up until October 13.
Can’t front on the freeness! One of our favorite up and coming bands, Grandfather, are making it easy on our wallets this weekend. On Saturday evening they’ll release their Steve Albini engineered debut, Why I’d Try, with a free album release show at Cameo Gallery at the Lovin Cup Cafe on North 6th street.
Their debut LP has been getting major drop on the BAL record player. These New Yorkers create dynamic, intense and violent psychedelic rock. Their album is available for free on their website, grandfathermusic.com, and handmade CDs and vinyl will be for sale at the show.
James Bradley has placed his Sound Fix record store up for sale — on Craigslist — for an asking price of $250,000. He tells the Village Voice he’s just “testing the waters,” noting working two jobs is starting to take a toll. While everyone’s always chattering on and on about the death of retail records, I think 2010 might be a better year than ever to jump at an opportunity like this.
Today, from 5-8pm artist and illustrator extraordinaire 
