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 Nick Deakin |
Cultural Stimuli in NYC
Issue 316: celebratory flavor
With Independence Day forcing an extra-long weekend by falling on a Tuesday and a gaggle of free summer jams getting kicked out city-wide, it feels a bit like Christmas in July. Seu Jorge, Belle & Sebastian, TV on the Radio, Antibalas, and Japanther all play gratis parkside shows, while the Brooklyn Museum hosts a no-cost, hip-hop-themed party and M*A*S*H screens in Bryant Park. For just a few bones, you can study up on looking menacing at the Mob Movie Marathon or uncover your inner-freak while watching Jerri Blank in Strangers with Candy, the movie. This coming weekend also marks the beginning of P.S.1's Warm Up series, which offers six hours of art-music madness for a mere ten spot. Plus, to give you a jump on planning (and ourselves a holiday break), we're wrapping a few Fourth of July happenings into this issue. We'll be publishing on Wednesday next week, so we can take Tuesday to roast some weenies and drink a cold one on behalf of our Founding Fathers. Let freedom ring, and spread it.
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flavorpill NYC is an email magazine covering a hand-picked selection of music, art, and cultural events — delivered each Tuesday afternoon.
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Hey, New York: Want a reason to celebrate? Introducing STOLI BLUEBERI™ — the latest in a long line of Stoli® vodka flavors. Visit www.stoliblueberivodka.com for recipes, contests, and more. |
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| ART |
From You to Me and Back Again
| when: |
Now through Sat 7.1 (Tue-Sat: 11am-6pm) |
| where: |
Wallspace Gallery (619 W 27th St, 212.594.9478) map |
| price: |
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| links: |
Event Info |
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In an age when photographic imaging dominates both commercial and media
spaces (two worlds sometimes operating in direct complicity with one
another), the reexamination of photographic practice and consumption
becomes
particularly relevant. Enter artists Matt Keegan and Leslie Hewitt, who
fill
Wallspace gallery with a number of conceptually driven installations,
prints, and readymades, all of which engage and interrogate past and
current
modes of photographic image production. Both artists demonstrate a
particular deliberation in situating their work in its surrounding
space,
turning photographs into sculptural documents, and three-dimensional
objects
into allegories for imaging processes. The show's subtlety and
intelligence
demand lingering in the gallery, a refreshing experience in
Chelsea
today. (BB)
Note: Matt Keegan, along with Sara Greenberger-Rafferty, is the cofounder of exciting new artists' publication
North
Drive Press, the third issue of which becomes available this week.
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| COMEDY |
Gothamist presents Laughable Hype 2.0 feat. Eugene Mirman w/ Todd Barry and Aziz Ansari
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Following the success of their Moveable Hype concert series, the folks at Gothamist thought to themselves, "Let's do it again...but funny!" Hence, Laughable Hype 2.0, the second of their comedy shows showcasing a crop of buzzed-about NYC comics. Special Agent Eugene Mirman deadpans and waxes philosophical on everything from gynecology and robots to pop on his new CD, En Garde, Society!; Conan fave and Dr. Katz alum Todd Barry manages to be bitter, droll, and adorable (like a good New Yorker); and branching out from his Upright Citizens Brigade standby, Crash Test, comedic wunderkind Aziz Ansari brings offbeat, en vogue musings for the Pitchfork generation. (LT)
Note: Aziz Ansari presents Crash Test at the UCBT each Monday.
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| FILM |
Who Killed the Electric Car?
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It handled beautifully; it was virtually pollution-free; and it proved
far
thriftier than its gas-operated counterpart lumbering down US highways.
So
why, asks this neat piece of cine-activism, did the battery-operated
vehicle
disappear from the assembly line before the American public could even
hiss
the words "big oil"? Evenhandedly sifting through the detritus of the
entire
issue — from oil companies to apathetic consumers to feds in bed
with
lobbyists — the Martin Sheen-narrated Who Killed the Electric
Car? may linger too long on its celebrity interviews, but it
successfully conveys some Inconvenient Truth by training its lens
on
an environmental issue narrow enough for everyone to grasp. (LR)
 Name the three surviving major automobile companies in the US. The first four correct responses each win a pair of tickets to this film.
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| FILM |
Strangers with Candy
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After a lifetime of debauchery, tragically over-bitten Jerri Blank
returns
home to find her daddy in a self-induced coma. With hopes of reviving
him,
Jerri endeavors to be the perfect progeny and enrolls in high school,
but as
a 47-year-old ex-junkie whore, Jerri has some trouble fitting in.
Serving as
a flashback to the popular Comedy Central series, Strangers with
Candy the movie is the show in long form; it features the same
outrageous cast — including Stephen Colbert, Greg Hollimon, and
Amy
Sedaris as Jerri — and is sure to tickle newbies and devotees in
all
those queer and quirky places. (MB)
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| MUSIC: Hip-Hop |
Aceyalone w/ Ugly Duckling, the Procussions and Diverse
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A literate Los Angeles MC with a polished flow and immaculate wordplay, Aceyalone was giving props to indie hip-hop when the rest of the West Coast was still obsessed with rims, blunts, and bouncing Cadillacs. A founding member of the Freestyle Fellowship and head of forward-thinking label Project Blowed, Acey's in the midst of a career year, putting serious miles on the tour bus after dropping a celebrated collaboration with Rjd2, Magnificent City, earlier in '06. This time around, he's headlining the Storm Tour, performing in the company of rising talent like Ugly Duckling, the Procussions, and Diverse. (PS)
The Freestyle Fellowship formed as a group of friends at which Los Angeles café? The third correct response wins a pair of tickets to this show.
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| MUSIC: Glamtastic Rawk |
The Ark w/ Baby Dayliner
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Like Queen at their gayest plus Bowie on uppers, AC/DC at their most furious, and Mötley Crüe in their tightest pants, the Ark are storming our shores with cries of life, liberty, and the pursuit of glam. When performed live, the songs from the Swedes' latest album, State of the Ark, are pure anthems: lead singer Ola Salo's cheeky banter and killer falsetto rally for audience attention with the crossed axes of Martin Axén and Jepson. The perfect balance of cheering pop and rousing rock (with surprisingly substantive lyrics), the Ark's music makes us clamor for their glamour. (LT)
Note: One-man-synth-army Baby Dayliner (aka Ethan Marunas) opens with literary, tongue-in-cheek rap tunes and disco beats.
According to Salo, the members of the Ark grew up in a rural town where most people manufactured what for a living? The fifth correct response wins a pair of tickets to this show.
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| ALSO ON WED |
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DANCE
Catalyst, Dances by Emily Johnson: Heat and Life
Wed 6.28 - Sat 7.1 (Wed-Sat: 7:30pm) Dance Theater Workshop (219 W 19th St, 212.691.6500) map $20
Event Info |
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With Heat and Life, the Minneapolis-based company Catalyst takes on
global warming and its ramifications through a blend of furious dance,
haunting live music, and even simulated weather conditions. (SP)
 
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MUSIC: Pop-Rocks
Gil Mantera's Party Dream w/ the Harlem Shakes
Wed 6.28 (9pm) Knitting Factory (74 Leonard St, 212.219.3132) map $10
Event Info |
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'80s revivalists and electrotrashers Gil Mantera's Party Dream get
support
tonight from upbeat popsmiths the Harlem Shakes, who just might turn
the
Knitting Factory into a dance party. Or a totally rocking pep rally.
(LT)
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| ART: Opening |
Implosion: 10-Year Anniversary
| when: |
Thur 6.29 (6-8pm) |
| where: |
Anton Kern Gallery (532 W 20th St, 212.367.8135) map |
| price: |
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| links: |
Event Info |
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Anton Kern celebrates his 10th year in Chelsea with this group show of gallery artists past and present, as well as new collaborators. Implosion includes installation artists such as John Bock, who combines frenetic videos with wild assemblages of found material, and Jim Lambie, who uses vinyl wallpaper and sheeting to encompass viewers in floor-to-ceiling psychedelic patterns. LA-based painter Mark Grotjahn finds colorful abstraction in organic forms, while Dresden-based painter Eberhard Havekost alters the realism promised by media such as photography and video. Among participating non-gallery artists, Jack Pierson contributes drawings and sculpture from his '90s heyday, and rising star Adam McEwen produces conceptual signage. (AM)
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| FILM |
Essential Wilder
| when: |
Fri 6.30 - Thur 7.20 |
| where: |
Film Forum (209 W Houston St, 212.727.8110) map |
| price: |
$10 per screening |
| links: |
Event Info |
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A Jewish émigré from Nazi-occupied Poland, writer-director Billy Wilder
embraced American culture in all its big-shouldered, red-lipsticked
glory;
witness his Marilyn Monroe classics Some Like It Hot (1959), or The
Seven Year Itch (1955). Of course, the deadpanning, double-taking Ace in
the
Hole (1951), One, Two, Three (1961), and even The Apartment (1960) evince
how
he didn't turn a blind eye to this country's worst impulses. But Wilder,
peppery and kindhearted, understood the true mechanics of humor as
metaphor
— how to pitch a running gag, how to give a sight joke a little
wiggle
room (thank you, Marilyn), and how a well-oiled comedy runs best with a
few
wrenches in the works. (LR)
Note: There are several double feature bills. Check the schedule for full details.
Who was Wilder's original pick for the role of Sugar in Some Like It Hot? The third correct response wins a pair of tickets to A Foreign Affair on Mon 7.3.
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| FILM |
Afro-Punk Weekend
| when: |
Fri 6.30 - Tue 7.4 |
| where: |
BAM's Rose Cinema (30 Lafayette Ave, Bklyn, 718.636.4100) map |
| price: |
$10 per screening |
| links: |
Event Info |
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"Punk" is one of the shiftiest words in the cultural lexicon, and while
the
idea of a film festival doesn't automatically scream "punk," BAM's
Afro-Punk
weekend certainly does. The series explores cultural rebellion from a
black
perspective, covering topics from Black Panther history to drag queens
in
Paris to jazz pariah Sun Ra. Of special interest are screenings and
talks
from roots radical Don Letts, the filmmaker/DJ who introduced white
punks to
reggae at London club the Roxy in 1977, and Afro-Punk, a
documentary
by co-curator James Spooner on the evasive subject of race and the punk
rock
scene. This year, you could celebrate independence with another
washed-out
day of beer and fireworks, or you could, you know, actually celebrate
independence. (MP)
Though the exact origins of the word remain unknown, "punk" was originally associated with prostitutes, as first recorded in what year? The first eight correct responses each win a pair of tickets to a screening.
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| ALSO ON FRI |
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FILM
Billyburg Short Film Festival feat. Michael Showalter and Japanther
Fri 6.30 (6:30pm) McCarren Park Pool (Lorimer St btwn Driggs Ave & Bayard St, Wburg) map $10
Event Info |
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The first of many chlorine-free activities to fill McCarren pool, the Billyburg Short Film Festival plunges in tonight with a Stella-fueled party featuring a 90-minute mix of narrative, experimental, and documentary cinema, with strong showings of comedy and art-punk. (MB)
Note: Food from area businesses and $1 Stellas courtesy of My Open Bar will be available for purchase.
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MUSIC: Indie Soul/Rock
TV on the Radio w/ Matt Pond PA and Voxtrot
Fri 6.30 (6:30pm) Prospect Park Bandshell (Prospect Park W & 9th St, Park Slope, 718.855.7882 x33) map
Event Info |
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With a propulsive backbone and intricate songwriting, TV on the Radio's upcoming Return
to
Cookie Mountain is the band's most fully realized effort. Tonight,
amidst the foliage, Brooklyn's (arguably) finest art-rockers offer a
tantalizing sample. (JPC)
Note: Voxtrot and Matt Pond PA open.
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| DJ |
Warm Up feat. Body & Soul
| when: |
Sat 7.1 (3-9pm) |
| where: |
P.S.1 (22-25 Jackson Ave, LIC, 718.784.2084) map |
| price: |
$10 |
| links: |
Event Info |
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New Yorkers revive their Saturday summer pilgrimage to Long Island City
today for the first of ten of P.S.1's legendary Warm Up parties. Music
aficionados groove and frolic in the courtyard under the white opulence
of
NYC architecture group OBRA's balloon-like shell canopy. Walls quake
with
deep-house beats from the Body & Soul DJs, whose Danny Krivit,
François
K, and Joe Claussell reunite after 10 years to inaugurate this
sun-splashed
musical orgy. Revelers beat the heat indoors with exhibitions from
emerging
artists, such as Lisi Raskin's mock Dirty Bomb factory, Drew Heitzler's
Rockaway surf video, and Curtis Mitchell's sculptural show incorporating
rotating footage from Stanley Kubrick's 1971 masterpiece A Clockwork Orange. (FAY)
Note: Arrive early to beat the lengthy line for admission. Afterwards,
keep
the party going at LIC's Water Taxi Beach with eclectic DJs at Rebound,
catch hip-hop legend DJ Premier at Williamsburg's Triple Crown, or bump
to
minimal techno at 3rd Ward in Bushwick.
Apart from the heat, how do you know that it's really summer? Our favorite response of 50 words or less wins a pair of tickets to this event.
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| PARTY |
Target First Saturdays
| when: |
Sat 7.1 (5-11pm) |
| where: |
Brooklyn Museum of Art (200 Eastern Pkwy, Bklyn, 718.638.5000) map |
| price: |
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| links: |
Event Info |
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Target and the Brooklyn Museum of Art celebrate fine art and street art
at
this month's First Saturday. Beatboxers and breakdancers perform around
a
mini-Lady Liberty in the Steinberg Family Sculpture Garden between
screenings of Dave Chappelle's Bed-Stuy Block Party,
graffiti-doc
Style Wars (1983), and old-school classic Wild Style
(1982).
To fete the museum's new exhibition Graffiti, shadow-chasing
chalk
writer Ellis G ties the renegade murals to the contemporary art world
and
John "Crash" Matos discusses his own 20-year tenure in the graf scene.
Partygoers inspired by the upstart artists can leave their own legacy in
full color (in a dedicated space) until Coney Island's Black Underground
Show lays down a funky, old-school soundtrack to the night's festivities
in
the BMA's parking lot. (IB)
Note: Tickets to most events are distributed one hour before scheduled
start
times, so early arrival is a must.
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| ALSO ON SAT |
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FILM: Triple Feature
Mob Movie Marathon feat. Scarface (1983), Goodfellas (1990), and Casino (1995)
Sat 7.1 & Sun 7.2 (2pm) Symphony Space (2537 Broadway, 212.864.1414) map $10
Event Info |
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This weekend, get a refresher on the principles of the American way with
Scarface, De Palma's remake staring Pacino as Cuban immigrant
Tony
Montana, and two Scorsese/De Niro gangsta hits, Goodfellas and
Casino. (MB)
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MUSIC: Afrobeat
Antibalas w/ Balkan Beat Box and Ska Cubano
Sat 7.1 (3-6pm) Central Park SummerStage (Rumsey Field at W 72nd St, 212.360.2777) map
Event Info |
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In Central Park, it's easy to forget you're in the city. That's
especially
true tonight, as Antibalas channel African polyrhythms, Balkan Beat
Box
mix punk and old-world klezmer, and Ska Cubano meld Jamaican riddims and
Cuban mambo. (JDS)
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DJ
PHONO presents the Hacker w/ Smash TV
Sat 7.1 (10pm) Avalon (662 6th Ave, 212.807.7780) map $15 with RSVP
Event Info |
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Last year, Smash TV's Holger Zilske lent his fractured sound to Ellen
Allien's Thrills LP, whittling both techno and pop from
electronica's
greater whole. Tonight, bpitch's beat-basher is joined by the Hacker,
the
man once behind another of techno's formidable females, Miss Kittin.
(JJ)
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| MUSIC: Samba-Folk |
Seu Jorge w/ José González, Alex Cuba Band, and DJ Cut Chemist
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The stripped-down folk of both Brazilian Seu Jorge's Portuguese-language Bowie covers and Swede José González's takes on the Knife and Springsteen disarms with earnest vulnerability. While Jorge's soft samba, accompanied by traditional Brazilian musicians, welcomes audience sing-alongs, González's introspective sound can quiet even the rowdiest crowds. Multi-instrumentalist Alexis Puentes leads his Cuba Band — and with it — Latin pop into the future by combining traditional Caribbean melodies with a jazz sensibility. Segueing between today's performances is ex-Jurassic 5 turntablist Cut Chemist, whose recent single, "The Garden," re-contextualizes bossa nova legend Astrud Gilberto's voice with hip-hop beats and live percussion. (CN)
Note: José González performs with Juana Molina and Psapp at Bowery on Thur 6.29 (sold out) and Mon 7.3.
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| ALSO ON SUN |
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MUSIC: Indie Everything
CitySol feat. Aa w/ Japanther, the Occasion, Parts & Labor, Tomorrow's Friend, and the Wowz
Sun 7.2 (1pm-sundown) Solar One, Stuyvesant Cove Park (24-20 FDR Dr, Service Rd East) map
Event Info |
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Solar One kicks off their eco-aware summer music series today with a great lineup of local art rockers and DJs, interactive exhibits, and a green lifestyle marketplace — all powered by renewable energy. Did we mention the sweet waterfront location? (JL)
Note: Because of last Sunday's rain, this event was rescheduled from Sun 6.25.
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| FILM |
M*A*S*H (1970)
| when: |
Mon 7.3 (dusk) |
| where: |
Bryant Park (6th Ave & 42nd St) map |
| price: |
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| links: |
Event Info |
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Let it never be said that director Robert Altman is pedantic. Even
though
M*A*S*H, his first studio feature, was adapted by a blacklisted
screenwriter from Richard Hooker's anti-war comic novel about his
experiences as a military surgeon in Korea, it boasts far more pratfalls
than sermons. The ensemble film's social commentary washes over you as
painlessly as its theme song's lyrics in a series of irresistible
vignettes
punctuated by Donald Sutherland's lovely whistle and a
where-were-they-then
cast including Robert Duvall, Elliott Gould, and Tom Skerritt when they
were
still unequivocally loose-limbed and nice-looking. (LR)
Note: The lawn opens at 5pm. Though the film won't begin until dusk (between 8 and 9pm), arrive early for a good seat.
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| ALSO ON MON |
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PERFORMANCE
Manhattan Monologue Slam
Mon 7.3 (7:30pm) The Bowery Poetry Club (308 Bowery, 212.614.0505) $6
Event Info |
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Hosted by the Galinsky Brothers, the Manhattan Monologue Slam provides a rapid-fire night of wit via three-minute solo skits enacted by both veteran performers and newbies — and judged by a celebrity panel. Tune into video trailers offered on the site to get a sense of the hilarity. (JL)
Note: The MMSlam happens the first Monday of each month.
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| THEATRE |
Godot Has Left the Building
| when: |
Now through Sun 7.9 (Mon & Wed-Sat: 8pm / Sun: 3pm) |
| where: |
45 Below Theater (45 Bleecker St, 212.253.7017) map |
| price: |
$15 |
| links: |
Event Info |
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Picking up where Samuel Beckett left off, John Griffin's Godot Has
Left
the Building revisits the same bleak landscape, finding it littered
with
the detritus of the half-century or so since Vladimir and Estragon first
sat
waiting. This time, the patient protagonists include the barefoot,
briefcased Joe and beatnik-philosopher Sebastian, who match wits, debate
subjective reality, and play golf. Their conversations dig into dirt
first
probed by Beckett, but unearth more than just the ponderings of their
predecessors. Entertaining and thought-provoking, deftly acted and
technically creative, this postmodern exploration is one Godot would be
sorry to have missed. (NB)
Before earning his own literary fame, Beckett was the secretary of which other famous Irish writer? The fifth and eight correct responses each win a pair of tickets to a Godot performance.
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| ART |
Diamonds Cut Diamonds
| when: |
Now through Sat 7.29 (Tue-Sat: 11am-6pm) |
| where: |
Rare Gallery (521 W 26th St, 212.268.1520) map |
| price: |
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| links: |
Event Info |
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One of New York's top young sculptors, Johnston Foster takes a turn at
curation with Diamonds Cut Diamonds. Foster's exhibition showcases
five new talents who celebrate the use of common materials. Dave Choi and
Kate Horne combine mass-produced bric-a-brac such as tissue paper and fake
flowers to create inventive, animated creatures. In contrast, Morgan Herrin
carves classical figures from blue, pink, and white insulation foam with
deadpan precision. Melting found plastics, Brian Basnett models everyday
objects ranging from shoes to wheelbarrows, infusing them with soulful,
human characteristics. Ryan Kitson provides the most understated work in the show, with a collage of cheap dollar store products, creating unusual material connections and underscoring the show's spirit. (PJ)
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| THEATRE |
Dixon Place presents HOT! The 15th Annual NYC Celebration of Queer Culture Theatre
| when: |
Thur 6.29 - Sat 8.26 |
| where: |
Dixon Place (258 Bowery, 2nd Fl, 212.219.0736) map |
| price: |
$6-15 |
| links: |
Event Info |
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With a penchant for the psycho(sexual), the HOT! Festival brings together the city's trannies, provocateurs, F-to-Fs, and oculophilists in a multi-gendered, omnisexual, multicultural performance festival. Nuyorasian hip-hop/electric-violin duo Slanty Eyed Mama headlines, joining cyber-butoh dancer Satomi Shikata for Americasiana, based on oral history collected on the road. New work by Inner Princess summons the butch lesbian Harlem Renaissance blues singer Gladys Bentley in celebration of genderbending history, while Dan Fishback's Please Let Me Love You links the destructive loves of mother to child, the US to Iraq, and Michael Jackson to his little friend Gavin Arviso. (JG)
Note: The festival runs through August, with a bevy of other performers. Check the official site for a full rundown.
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| MULTIMEDIA |
Douglas Gordon: Timeline
| when: |
Now through Mon 9.4 (Wed-Mon: 10:30am-5:30pm) |
| where: |
MoMA (11 W 53rd St, 212.708.9400) map |
| price: |
$20 admission |
| links: |
Event Info |
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Scottish multimedia artist Douglas Gordon explores horror cinema's
frayed
technological edges using deceptively simple concepts. 24 Hour
Psycho
is a daylong version of Alfred Hitchcock's hit. Between Darkness and
Light (After William Blake) pits the saintly heroine of Henry King's
classic Song of Bernadette (1943) against the possessed protagonist of
William Friedkin's chilling The Exorcist (1973) in an overlapping
projection. The exhibition showstopper, however, eschews occult themes
in
favor of surreal naturalism. Play Dead: Real Time, projected on
two
huge screens, features a circus elephant wandering around the emptied
interiors of Chelsea's Gagosian Gallery, while two accompanying monitors
display haunting close-ups of its almost human eyes. (AM)
Note: On Fridays MoMA extends its hours to 8pm.
What simultaneous horror film combo would make for the most terrifying experience? Our two favorite response in 50 words or less win a pair of passes to this show.
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| FILM: Fourth of July |
Rooftop Films presents Fun with the Founding Fathers feat. the Double
| when: |
Tue 7.4 (6pm) |
| where: |
Solar One (Stuyvesant Cove Park, 23rd St & FDR Drive) map |
| price: |
$20 |
| links: |
Event Info | The Double |
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This Fourth of July, Rooftop Films presents Fun with the Founding
Fathers, an evening of live music, comedy, short films, and fireworks,
if not exactly to celebrate the Founding Fathers, then to at least have fun
with them. The films include Cox and Combs (Washington), a musical
about George Washington's lovemaking prowess; Preacher With An Unknown
God, a biopic of anti-capitalist activist Reverend Billy; and Frank
and Wendy: A Blow to the Back of Society's Head, an award-winning
animated Estonian film about FBI agents battling Latvians in Estonia. Noise-rockers the Double perform (8pm) and the waterfront Stuyvesant Cove Park provides a perfect place to watch the fireworks. (JDS)
Note: Though the films start at 10pm, NYPD regulations require all attendees be at the event at 6pm. Rooftop Films presents the doc Guerilla Girl at the Open Road
Park on Fri 6.30 (9pm) and Industriance Shorts 2: This Land Is Not Yours
at the American Can Factory on Sat 7.1 (8:30pm).
If you could have a dinner party with one of the Founding Fathers, who would you choose and what would you serve? Our favorite response in 50 words or less wins a pair of tickets to this event.
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| ALSO ONGOING/UPCOMING |
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MUSIC: Fourth of July
River to River presents Belle & Sebastian w/ Martha Wainwright
Tue 7.4 (3:30pm) Battery Park map
Event Info |
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With the release of their seventh album, The Life Pursuit, Belle & Sebastian have confirmed their dominion over impossibly catchy pop. Today they perform with Martha Wainwright, the yet-another-Wainwright, and an outstanding singer/songwriter herself. (JDS)
Note: Tickets are required, and can be picked up at several Starbucks locations on Tue 6.27. See event info for full ticketing details.
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AND THAT'S THE WAY IT IS: Newsmap |
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In this age of RSS feeds and niche bloggers, the Internet has become a
welcome alternative to mainstream media's obvious biases. But webmasters' political agendas, combined with fears of losing site-funding advertisers and of litigation due to muddy copyright law, keep digital reporting from being entirely objective. That's where Newsmap comes in. Using a method known as "treemapping," the site collects
the latest news from Google and reinterprets the text as blocks of
titled information grouped on a single page. Categories are color-coded and
further shaded to reflect the newest headlines; in the same way that bigger
stories get bigger fonts or the front page in traditional reporting, hot
Newsmap topics get larger blocks, while old news shrinks to make room for them — ultimately exposing patterns in any or all of 11 nations' reporting trends. Talk about a new way to look at the news. (IB)
Note: For an uber-filtered approach to world news, subscribe to Flavorpill's newest publication, Activate, just launched last week.
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CD REVIEW: Be Your Own PET, Be Your Own PET |
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Ecstatic Peace/Universal
Released June 2006
$9.99 (Insound)
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When dealing with 15 tracks in just over a half an hour, it's safe to assume that you're not getting a rock opus — even if there is a song cheekily titled "Stairway to Heaven." In fact, the debut album from Nashville's Be Your Own PET is very much in the classic punk-rock mold (hell, they namecheck Bad Brains), with just enough skewed new-wave guitar and Karen O intonation to make it perfectly modern. What's remarkable about the band members isn't that they're in their teens, so much as their impressive amount of confidence. When singer Jemina Pearl declares, "I'm an independent motherfucker, and I'm here to take your money," you'll be ready to toss your wallet at the speakers. Things get most interesting when BYOP test the limits of their songwriting with less straightforward tracks like "Adventure" and "October, First Account" — but, as another song title implies, it's all "Fuuuuuun." (DL)
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DOWNLOAD: The FADER Podcast |
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In a particularly innovative example of print media adapting to address an increasingly digital audience, emerging-music and style magazine The FADER has released a DJ-mixed podcast on iTunes, including all of the artists featured in its latest issue (entitled "Summer Jams," appropriately enough). The assembled sounds run the gamut; number-one hustler Rick Ross' Miami crunk, button-cute Uffie's endearingly nasty hip-pop, Justice's stuttering electro bombast, band-to-watch Brightback Morninglight's languid psychedelia, and NYC princesses Nina Sky's reggaetón bounce all make appearances. In addition to the podcast, a free PDF version of the magazine is available, so if a track grabs your interest, you're but a few clicks away from additional background and insights. (CJN)
The free iTunes podcast subscription and downloadable PDF are available here, while the MP3 version of the July/August podcast can be streamed | | |