Last Supper

Sooooo, Cecelia is in Art Basel, Miami doing her thing and I had the pleasure of hanging with her dad this evening at Pastis.  We wish she was there with us but we had such a wonderful time catching up and talking about political science (my minor, what what), Noam Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent and New York City history.  Great night, y'all.

Cece - we missed you desperately but had the best time as well.  I love you my dear and here is to you and me in sunny California in our near futures!! Good luck in Miami. We missed Lisa tonight!

Iannis Xenakis at MOCA

Iannis Xenakis: Composer, Architect, Visionary is currently on view at MOCA Pacific Design Center.  The show was originally organized by The Drawing Center (one of my absolute favorite places in New York City; I go at least twice a month) and was co-curated by Sharon Kanach and Carey Lovelace.  I've been reading a lot about John Cage and Iannis Xenakis' innovations recently and their relationship with music composition and architecture. Xenakis also worked alongside the revolutionary modern pioneer Le Corbusier among many others in his thriving career.

The exhibition includes original works on paper, conceptual renderings, listening stations, rarely seen musical scores and samplings of innovative graphic design and notation. Show runs through February 4, 2011 and is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue with essays by Ivan Hewitt (!!), Carey Lovelace and Sharon Kanach.  If you didn't see it in New York do so in Los Angeles.  It's really something else.

Ratatat's Neckbrace

View Ratatat's new video Neckbrace here. Video directed by band member Evan Mast. What is it with Ratatat and birds? Great beats, hypnotizing video, good times...

Happy Sunday!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Pumpkin pies & little Indians

Guten Mittwoch!

Guten Mittwoch (basically the working stiff's Friday) my dearest friends! Shannon, Tierney, Adam, et al and I met at (where else but) Union Pool last night for a few 2 for $5 domestic canned beers and a small gathering to bid adieu to our Brooklyn family for the long weekend.  We gave thanks for our health, friendships, Blinky Palermo, family, Brooklyn (!!), Tuesday nights out and most importantly for voodoo beer taps. Oh, and I thanked Monster Rally for a great new Color Sky 7" that just released.  The track Champagne is smothered in awesomeness. More on that soon...

Happy Thanksgiving eve!! I do hope you are whooping it up somewhere, anywhere with your nearest and dearests. XOXO, V.

Currently listening to White Ring's Roses- a haunted melodic lullaby; quite simply, a perfect sound.

Update: Shannon says I resemble the voodoo tap. I say she's a liar.

Ariel Pink's Round & Round Video

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Round & Round from Delo Creative on Vimeo.

Admittedly this is some weird shit. But, hey that's why we love Ariel Pink...isn't it? Enjoy the video and superb song Round & Round, one of my favorite tunes of 2010.

Michal Chelbin at M+B

M+B gallery in Los Angeles is currently exhibiting The Black Eye, an exhibition of color photographs by Tel Aviv based artist Michal Chelbin.  The work recalls classical images of athletes while highlighting emotional intimacy staged behind monochrome backgrounds and lush landscapes.  At a quick glance, the figures are reminiscent of Diane Arbus' work but also differ in many ways.  Unlike Arbus, these images are neither nostalgic nor candid. Fiction and documentary talents collide in Chelbin's work. They are truly spectacular.

The show runs until December 4th.

Guten Freitag!!

Guten Freitag dearest friends! Enjoy your weekend. I'm celebrating Cecelia's curatorial talents and viewing her show Tussie Mussie at Silvershed tonight. There is a reading by Todd Colby, music by Sammy Miller & the Congregation (great name), hors d'oeuvres tray passed and most importantly, the backroom bar is hosted by Cafe Select.

Saturday is the usual volunteer sesh at MoMA. Go see the abstract expressionism show if you haven't yet. It takes up the entire fourth floor. Seeing Tyvek in the evening...Fun Fun!

Sunday is the best kind of day - completely open and free of obligations (for now). Have the loveliest weekends everyone!  XO, Nanook.

Thursday...

I met my accountant (and friend, of course) Adam for dinner (and much needed wine) in Manhattan for our semi annual feast at a (a chain, oh my god!!) restaurant this evening. We (he) ate, drank, laughed, gossiped, talked about refinancing, my taxes and found out where the obese people in the city feast.

Photo 1: Yay for endless breadsticks!! Photo 2: The Godfather (of geriatric pasta)! Photo 3: Drink up, buttercup.

We missed you Dan.

L Train...

Lookin' good girl...lookin' GOOD!

Here we go again...

YES.

The History of Stop Motion

I love stop motion from chloe fleury on Vimeo.

Above is a quick history of stop motion in stop motion, of course. Warning: this is very cute.

Blum & Poe

Hey Los Angeles, don't miss the Noritoshi Hirakawa's Returning of the Sun opening at Blum & Poe on November 20, 2010 and runs until January 22, 2011. The opening reception is November 19th. Cheers!

The show is hanging in the gallery's second floor space. I promise this exhibition will not disappoint.

CORN DONG

Here's to (meh) Mondays and corn dongs. Weekends why do you go by so quickly? Always. Maybe a little Millie Small and Sugar Dandy will make the day more upbeat?! If she can't add some brightness I don't know what will.

Enjoy the start of your week!

Dead Gaze

In the past year there have been interesting sounds coming out of the great state of Mississippi. My favorite from the current batch is the psych-gazer band Dead Gaze. God, trust me when I say this: they are amazing, amazing (think Nathan Williams meets Robert Pollard meets God Ween Satan with a lot of haze).

Come on, taste it.

Sunday's Sight & Sounds

BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD / BLIND from Alan Jensen on Vimeo.

This one is from them to him to me to you to us. Enjoy San Francisco-based band Blackbird Blackbird's celestial song Blind. It's pretty much straight forward perfection for your Sunday listening pleasure.

Enjoy the rest of your lovely weekend...

AM

NEON INDIAN-(AM) from Alan Jensen on Vimeo.

Perfect AM sound & vision. Done.

Octopus Project

Hallucinists from Wiley Wiggins on Vimeo.

Super dreamy hypnotic video and sounds from the Octopus Project's song Hallucinists. Dream on and do whatever it is you all do...

Happy Freitag!

Happy Freitag everyone!! What a crazy week that will be followed by a very mellow weekend. I plan to be in Brooklyn for the majority of it minus a dental appointment tomorrow morning in Chelsea. Aaaaack! 

Here's to home improvement weekends and wine in the comfort of our teeny tiny apartments! I'm also including a little song from The Sandwitches for your enjoyment that has been in my head all morning. Now it can be in yours.

Have a very lovely weekend! Cheers & mwah and mwah, NoNY.

Monopoly

West 22nd Street, between 10th and 11th Avenue

Wednesday Night in NYC...

The current brisk weather (it snowed on Monday morning in NYC already) and fear of what we know is in our very near future has already taken a toll on what has been our regular gang's Friday night happy hour and summer nights out in Brooklyn. We definitely do not have patio temperatures and friends are already going into hibernation. I, admittedly, have not been an exception to the current trend - minus tonight. 

I met BFF Shannon and Adam for a few 'harmless' beers, good tunes and great laughs. I kept mentioning how horrific our summer was (in terms of inferno caldera temperatures) but am already eating my words.  I'll take the heat over the bitter cold any and every day.

Winter, I beg of you, please be gentle. We also listened to Nena's 99 Red Balloons tonight and a ton of Devo. Kinda funny, kinda perfect. Thank you Wednesday night. We needed you...

Record Deals...

The Legendary Invisible Men
Dionysus Records
Vinyl LP
$10.95

This record enters fuzz and exits frenzy. Buy it. Tidbit: half of the band are from The Bamboras. Yes, The Bamboras!!

Las Robertas

V for You from Cry Out Loud EP

Kim Gordon on Dan Graham

Dia has an ongoing lecture series called Artists on Artists. It's an informal talk given in the Chelsea office space on the fifth floor one Monday evening per month.  Last night's artists were Kim Gordon and Dan Graham, the genius conceptual artist, art critic and theorist. The tiny crowd of approximately 50 guests had the rare opportunity to hear Gordon talk about Graham's influence early in her career as a struggling artist in New York City.  She shared great stories including working as a framer for the infamous Larry Gagosian, her love of astrology and going to punk shows in Los Angeles in the early 1980s. Graham was once her neighbor and 30 plus years later they remain close friends that continue to inspire one another.

Gordon performed an amazing solo piece that began with feedback, then sliding her guitar on the amps, walls and eventually ended up rolling around all on the floor. This happened about three feet away from me. Last night was so special and a very very rare treat for everyone lucky enough to be there.

Last night will always remain one of great ones in my memory bank. Thank you Kim and Dan.

Photos: badassness, Thurston Moore and the gear

Performa Party

Admittedly, I am the queen of hooking things up for friends and myself. I have managed to live in the most expensive city on a teeny budget and get into shows, films, museums, lectures, openings and some of the best parties of the year (almost always) on the complimentary list. It is simply called Brooklyn Hustle. I also have great friends that I thank daily for extending these 'gifts' to me. Thanks guys!

Enter Saturday night...I was offered four seats to the Peforma Red Party Annual Gala & Silent Auction. It's one of the best parties supporting the arts in New York City. The night was hosted by Alan Cumming, graced with Anne Hathaway and had walls adorned with red cotton candy. The end of the night was a slight blur but well worth Sunday's aches and pains.

Shannon blogged about the night too on her site New York New Home. More in the New York Times Fashion & Style section.

Dynasty: Catfights, Caviar and Hair

Don't judge. I am obsessed with the prime time television soap opera Dynasty. The plot revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family residing in (the most glamorous city of all) Denver, Colorado. It was produced by the late great Aaron Spelling and aired from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. Those were  eight glorious years filled with catfights, caviar, gold lamet headbands and over-the-top shoulder pads.

Yes, I have watched every season, every single episode and every amazing haircut. Fallon Carrington Colby (4th photo down) is my fashion idol guru and absolute favorite character on the series.  I remember watching Dynasty as a kid living in Scotland and really thinking Americans must be the most glamorous bunch of people. Boy, we sure are.

Enjoy some of the hairdos.

Reunion Union

Last night was a small reunion with old coworkers at Union Pool. Aaaw, I miss working with you guys! We laughed, partied, caught up, gossiped, listened to Ariel Pink and got pretty drunk. I even took a cab home. I know, unheard of. Oy vey today...

Dan, I owe you ten bucks. 

New York City General Elections 2010

Vote for your New York City General Election candidates today. Come on, make us proud.