Directed by the dude who brought us Hipster Job, Thomas De Napoli, Guy Fantastico's "Nom De Guerre" was shot in our 'hood- well, Greenpoint.

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 03:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Updated w/ a comment from Sen. Schumer...

Could our beloved Jelly Waterfront Pool Parties actually really for realsies dry up? Gosh, we sure hope not, but that's the word from Jelly's mouth today. From an email we just received:

The future of the Pool Parties at the East River State Park could be in jeopardy. After a very successful 2009 season with 8 weeks of free performances including Grizzly Bear, Girl Talk, The Black Lips, Dirty Projectors, Deerhunter, Dan Deacon, No Age, Mission of Burma, Beach House, and Simian Mobile Disco, news came from the New York State Parks Department and the Open Space Alliance that the East River State Park may not be available to JELLY for the 2010 season. This will ultimately put an end to the flourishing free summer series.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, a Brooklyn native, is now leading the fight to save the JELLY Pool Parties. The Senator took the stage at the last Pool Party in August 2009 and pledged that the free concert series would return to the waterfront in 2010. Senator Schumer and his staff have been campaigning for the Pool Parties to remain at the East River State Park, speaking to other state and city officials to ensure JELLY's free summer series will be back for a 5th year.

So what can YOU do to keep the pool parties alive? Call or email your Senator! Chuckie hung out at the parties last summer, you might have seen him. He gave a speech before Grizzly Bear promising to pass health care with a call to keep the parties coming. Let's hope he lives up to his word. Here's Jelly's:

JELLY is reaching out to the community to call Senator Charles Schumer at (212) 486-4430, or via email phil@schumer.senate.gov to show their support and express any concerns on behalf of this tremendous free community program. The Senator will relay the public opinion to the NYS Parks Department and the Open Space Alliance.

H20 Shows.

The New York Times has a quote from Schumer who says he'll do everything he can to keep them around.

“I happened to pass by the Jelly concerts when I was riding my bike through Williamsburg and was amazed at the thousands of people who lined the streets to come to the concerts,” the senator said on Wednesday. “People from every part of the country who had made their way to Brooklyn, enjoying music and one another’s company – it’s the best of New York. When I heard that the concerts might be canceled, I couldn’t understand why, given that this is exactly what our parks are supposed to be for, and I am going to do everything I can to see that they continue.”

Posted by Brian Ries at 02:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One more version after the jump. Via The Awl.

Continue reading "New Girls Video: "Substance"" »

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 02:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BOAT, who dropped their Setting The Paces LP on October 27th, are a band that you either know, or you don't. Whenever I drop a mention of these Real Estate-gone-Hot Hot Heat sexing it with Adam Green tunes (yeah, I said it), I either get an excited affirmation or Scooby Doo ears. Anyway, they're awesome, so check out the show tonight.

Doors @ 8pm- If anyone has more info on when they go on, please drop your knowledge in the comments.

Also, they remind me a bit of a little local band we've been loving...

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 06:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks Perez!

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 01:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Directed by Abby Portner, sister of Animal Collective's Dave "Avey Tare" Portner

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 01:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From our homies at Roberta's:

Brooklyn Grange is throwing the fundraiser from hell. There will be food, there will be booze, there will be music, and there might even be strippers. Come dance, play and kill for a good cause.

Music from Team Robespierre, Anamanaguchi, and Wild Yaks

**$10 Admission
**Food by Roberta’s
**Shot and Beer Specials
...and it’s all to raise funds for Brooklyn Grange, our 1-acre rooftop farm

Starr space, 110 Starr St, Brooklyn, Doors at 8pm

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I think that's the first time I've officially typed out the numbers 2-0-1-0 side by side and it just really freaked me out. So here's a jam from the future, y'all.

One of the best things about New York is that everyone's a somebody, we're all artists-actors, writers, and musicians all at the same time. But then there are those that make it look so damn easy (while looking especially hot doing so)! Lucky for you, we think of making things easier for our readers as well. Here is the exclusive premiere (*also available for download*) of Jihae’s “My Love” off of her upcoming LP, Fire Burning Rain, due out in July of 2010. Seriously, I just want to sing that to the tune of "In the year 2000..."

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 08:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Seems Small Black became a big deal overnight. And we're not surprised.

This duo's hazy layers have been echoing strong through speakers in Brooklyn these last few weeks. More than just the en vogue sound of what OhMyRockness pegged best as lyrics sung through a "Fisher-Price microphone", these Long Island gone Brooklyn boys bring the noise, in a lovey dovey sort of way.

They killed it at Market Hotel on Saturday night, and will be doing the same TONIGHT at Bell House with Free Energy. No shows are listed until mid-December, so I'd get off your couch, put down the PBR and Ben & Jerry's and head south.

For more things Small Black check out the rest of the interview with Josh Kolenik after the jump, who sings lead on these romancing tech-infused melodies.

Reverb heavy lo-fi has been quite the craze as of late, although there's something about your sound that stands out-- what do you think it is?

I think lots of people have been making reverby lo-fi music for a long long time, just people have decided to pay attention to it a little closer over the past year or so. It seems like a natural response to the pristine production of digital music that has been floating around this decade. But I wouldn’t say that our music is lo-fi. The production style is very complicated and layered. Maybe some of tones we use are a bit cruddy, but when you put them all on top of each other, I think it’s something that is a bit more unique than a 4 track recording

Continue reading "Interview: Small Black, Big Sound; Play Bell House TONIGHT" »

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 05:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

New York Magazine has a long-overdue cover story on the Brooklyn music scene and the thing is pretty epic. The article discusses the latest wave of a-list indie bands—Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Antlers, TV on the Radio—and canonizes the Dirty Projectors as "the most risk-taking" group of the crop:

Bitte Orca, it turns out, is Dirty Projectors' real New York album, an urbane and sophisticated outgrowth of the most fertile new-music environment the city has seen since the CBGB heyday of the seventies. It is no coincidence that it came out within months of beloved albums by two giants of the local scene—Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion and Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest. These three bands do not sound alike. Animal Collective layers lush, romantic harmonies on top of kooky, heavily sampled orchestrations, a sound that is equal parts madness and impeccable logic. Grizzly Bear has a much more down-to-earth, folky approach, reveling in the pure pleasure of melodies and the ways they can be turned inside out and upside down. But the three bands all embrace many of the same virtues: fearless sincerity, devotion to craft, agnosticism about digital technology (which is to say, they use it but don't fetishize it), profound musical curiosity, ingenuity at using the human voice as an instrument, and an uncanny ability to reproduce their complex material in live performance (in no small part because this is where the money is).

The author was kind enough to include a quote by yours truly:

Meanwhile, a more studious, art-focused scene was coalescing around a Williamsburg band called TV on the Radio, which released its label debut EP Young Liars in 2003. "They had art-punk, gospel, freak folk‚ everything interesting that was going on in Brooklyn," says Robert Lanham, the freewilliamsburg.com blogger, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1996. "TV on the Radio was just a completely different organism."

And later, they deem FREEwilliamsburg one of the "Five Voices That Matter in the Music Blogosphere." Yahoo!

Critics will of course say this article came a tad late, but the real arguments will revolve around their Brooklyn Top 40 list. (We were happy to see it included zero Hold Steady songs—hipster frat rock). Still, it was nice to see New York paying respect to the amazing music scene that has emerged. As I told the reporter, it's the most exciting time to be making (and listening to) music in the city since the late Eighties.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My good friend Jables released this mixto go along with these changing autumn days. If you are working on a Saturday night that is full of fun things to do, much like the position I find myself in, this mix will make the pain go away.

Posted by Jackie Snow at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Steel Phantoms are going on at 2am for a late night secret set at Coco66 in Greenpoint. You should go! Unless you already have tickets for the secret Yeah Yeah Yeahs show...

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 06:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy Weekend!

Directed by Allison Schulnik

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 06:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Y'all already know we love Tanlines... But The Fader's description of this video just pulled on this girl's heartstrings (check out the last name, homies). Also, who doesn't love Google Earth and their iPhones!? For realsies, yo!

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 05:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just when you thought Halloween was done and gone, this little number shows up.

They're playing at Bruar Falls on Saturday. I hope they dress up.

Posted by Jackie Snow at 01:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

These kids are working on a new album and will be playing some of their new jams on 11/20 at Union Hall and 11/21 at Bell House... I have to admit though, I can't really hear the song out of fringe dress envy...

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Remember when everyone named their band after some kind of wolf? Well, Wolfmother is back with a new album, Cosmic Egg, that dropped late last month to the delight of all those rock howl obsessed.

You can buy the album here, OR you can just comment on our Facebook contest thread and hear the whole deal live because we've got a pair of tickets to their Sunday night show at Terminal 5 with Heartless Bastards.

Here's the spacey throwback video for "New Moon Rising", off the new album, via Pitchfork:

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you haven't heard of Cold Cave, you have no idea what CMJ is, and you've never read a blog in your life. I had the opportunity to see these kids perform a couple times during the music fuckfest and must say they were a bit hit and miss for me. They bored me to death at The Suffolk, but managed to redeem themselves a dozen fold at Market Hotel, where they rocked it even though there were some (typical Todd P location) sound issues -- as in the sound cut out more than once. Looks like I'll have to set my opinion in stone at their upcoming Terminal 5 show with Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. on November 21st (total wtf lineup, huh?).

Either way, Matador is giving away a download of a bonus track off of their doped up dance move debut, Love Comes Close, in celebration of the label re-release. Listen to "Theme From Tomorrowland" here (right click to download). If you decide to buy directly from the label, you also get a copy of the 12" Death Comes Close which includes all three bonus tracks.

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 02:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In case you missed it, Pitchfork brought us a different cut of the video for San Francisco darlings Girls "Lust for Life" (aka theme song for the summer, gay porn edition) last week. The boys in Girls are apparently dealing with some lineup changes as well...

Check out the video for your daily dose of tits and mushroom tips. Again, not all that office friendly-- but in all honesty, not really that risqué, non?:

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 01:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

:: LIGHTNING BOLT
:::: BLACK DICE
:::::: Mick Barr -- mem Orthrelm, Krallice, Cromtech, Octis, Ocrilim
:::::::: TV Ghost -- http://myspace.com/televisionghost

| ABOVE THE AUTO PARTS STORE |
600 Bushwick Ave @ Jefferson St | Bushwick, Brooklyn
JMZ-Myrtle/Broadway, L-Jefferson | 8pm | $12 | all ages

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 05:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you're one of many planning on seeing Deer Tick play the songs of the Sex Pistols Saturday night at Brooklyn Bowl, we're told it's not yet sold out but will likely be soon. A limited number of costumed attendees will get in for free, but "only if you get there early!" So, don't think you can roll up in your ironic hipster grifter outfit at 9pm and expect to be let in. Doors are at 6, and honestly, tickets are only $5.

[photo via]

Posted by Brian Ries at 05:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Check out the rest of the interview & performances over at Noisevox!

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Old Made, our favorite little vintage store on Metropolitan Ave., is hosting two great events tonight and tomorrow.

Details here for TONGIHT

And here for the Dance Party TOMORROW

Coupons and mix tapes!

Posted by Nicole Wasilewicz at 04:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The first night of CMJ, enjoying happy hour drinks at Music Hall of Wburg, I wondered why I was there so early. Spending an entire day bouncing around the Lower East Side, namely at The Music Slut & Sneak Attack Media's Pianos showcase, I needed a break from first day insanity (read: free Hornitos frozen margaritas). So in the quiet cavern below the stage, I waited for my (lack of a better word) date, and fellow music writer. After realizing I had caught Fanfarlo earlier that day, and have seen The Antlers a number of times, we ditched the Brooklyn Vegan party before anybody even got there (with semi-false intentions of returning) and mosied down to MonkeyTown for the unofficial Chocolate Bobka and Underwater Peoples showcase.

It stands to be my favorite show of CMJ-- and if you were following our twitter last week, you know we saw a lot of them. Fluffy Lumbers killing a solo set, Julian Lynch via video chat, the NYC premiere of seriously experimental and enchanting Africa Germany Germany..., and lovely ladies of Mountain Man, who filled in for Ducktails, closing out with a serenade of hauntingly raw echoes. Thank goodness Ray Concepcion was there to catch the magic, and major thanks for not including footage of me scarfing down a burger-- bc I know he has it: