Category Archives: Music

In Support Of The Hipster

I’m sick to death of hearing about how hipsters, kids from Ohio, bearded bicyclists or any young person that’s not a mindless banker from Jersey is ruining their neighborhood.

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Is there no room for new people in New York City? WTF?  Stop blaming your problems on a demographic that can’t even be defined.  Just like when you generalize who “hipsters” are as being destructive to your old school digs, so can the generalizations of “hard-working families” as anyone that isn’t young, cool or not fans of Dancing With The Stars just fits into that more appreciated demographic. Well, let me tell you, the “hard-working families” of North Brooklyn can also mean racist, homophobic, destructive, belligerant thugs and bitches that don’t blame themselves for anything and live a life not unlike those super-sized disasters that we see at Wal-Mart in Nebraska on the Internet.

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If for every new hipster that moves to Greenpoint, a non-hipster that believes they somehow deserve 11222 residence more has to leave, then so be it. If it means for every new hipster, it’s one less non-working dirt bag that’s sleeping, barfing, shitting and screaming in my park; one less fat-faced kid littering trash on my block without shame or parents with any care, ten feet from a trash can; one less idiot putting half-eaten pizza and potato chips in tree pits thinking that they are doing a service for local wildlife; one less woman beating the shit out of their kids on the bus; one less closeted homosexual NRA nut who likes to burn out his tires while listening to raging house music from his red and white eagle stickered pickup truck; one less hard-working family man who only shops at chain stores that put small businesses out and cause unprecedented environmental consequences so they can save pennies on their unneeded mass-produced, foreign plastic products; one less angry dependent who thinks Brooklyn owes them something for being here longer than me; one less middle-aged woman barely dressed, scratching lotto tickets on her stoop all day every day with my state taxes; one less clueless neighbor who doesn’t understand what is actually recyclable; one less careless parent who looks the other way while their child destroys tree branches, defaces statues with swastikas and beats up old drunks in McGolrick Park; one less glass bottle collector that wakes up every light sleeper in the neighborhood collecting at 3am; one less religious store keeper that provides all the liquor, beer, porn and tobacco for the neighborhood; one less fast-food eating, non-local food enjoying, non-local agriculture supporting meat head; and finally, one less Manhattan Avenue junkie screaming at invisible demons while the ole ninety fourth takes a nice long break; then so be it.

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People have been asking me why I have loved New York for over a decade and my response has always included some line about the “diverse cultures” that inhabit NYC, but you know what? Maybe I should forget that. I appreciate citizens that came from other parts of this country that couldn’t deal with the intolerant hilljacks of Madison County, and came to this urban bubble to collectively take over and turn it into a nature appreciating,  food exploring, non-violent, generally tolerant band of new-wave hippies that don’t cause pool riots or look the other way when the fucking Exxon Valdez is under their homes.  Ideally we all get along and truly enjoy each other’s company, or all find the importance of having such different views.  I wrote this piece for any mainstream journalist or New Yorker on the street that has some generalized complaint about hipsters.  

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You’re no better, so stop hipster-hating.

Happy 4th of July from Wacky Greenpoint

To the All-American Chinese marathoner guy who has the mini-Twin Towers tribute on his Nassau Avenue building and today has a battery-powered speaker playing patriotic music, smiling and flashing peace signs in McGolrick Park,  I say, “God bless America and Happy Extra Wacky Day in Greenpoint, Brooklyn!!  There were two separate, distinct drunk Polish screamers at the exact same moment I saw this dude in action. Go America!!

Choice November Pop

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving, dear readers.  This is going to be a fun post. Choice means these are my favorite random bits of the Internet for the month of November 2011 for you to consume. Happy eating.

Bacon Apple Pie.. yup. (Via Tasty Trials)

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A good cop helps a deer in headlights. (via Neatorama)

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A roller coaster for pedestrian use only in Germany. (Via Kuriositas)

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Protestors clashing with police and each other in Warsaw, Poland that someone caught on a camera-mounted remote control helicopter. (Via kottke.org)

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“Inglourious Animals” is a really well-done movie trailer mashup of “Fantastic Mr Fox” and “Inglorious Basterds“  (Via Boing Boing)

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Christophe Courtois makes mosaics of film poster clichés. (Via Laughing Squid)

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Social Media Magazines (Via Buzzfeed)

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28 seconds of Picasso painting. (Via MetaFilter)

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Check out Ron Arad’s “Two Nuns Bicycle”. Go to 0:42 (Via NotCot)

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Ever see a camel run? (Via The High Definite)

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Check out the “GOP Clown College” Flickr page from WMxdesign

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And finally.. Benetton has a new ad campaign.  (Via The Gloss)

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Music Marathon

The NYC Marathon is making its way through Greenpoint, Brooklyn with a record estimate of 47,000 runners that finish the course.  We came out to support the runners, but what I like the most is the random live musicians playing every 2-3 blocks.  Here’s three of many others from Manhattan Avenue alone; sorry, didn’t get good shots of the bands.

Orthodox Jew Reggae music

Classic Rock Duo

Organ Polka Improv (?)

This building on Greenpoint Avenue was full of non-stop cheer for many thankful runners at this mid-marathon spot.

Blogging Is Work

In addition to my 9 to 5 work day, my life with my number one homeslice: “J” and continuing my attempt at an art career, blogging is a lot of fucking work to keep the posts comin’ every single day.  Just sayin’.

Free Noise Tonight

Wanna see a bunch of Brooklyn imbeciles? Come to a free punk n roll noise party tonight only at K & M Bar.  One of my most dedicated readers of this here site will be performing with his band: Cobretti.   Free!

 

Nyan Cat UPDATE

Can I assume that everybody on the Internets knows who or what the Nyan Cat is?  Am I the only one who wakes up early in the morning with the Nyan Cat theme song stuck in my head, you know, the repetitious melody that makes stable people unlike myself go Looney Tunes?

I seriously find the whole Nyan Cat craze a very interesting piece of electronic-based sociology where one individual begins a useless campaign of absurdity and quite literally, the rest of the world not only joins in, but creates their own version within some generally unofficial collective boundaries to keep the whole “movement” intact. I realize that comparing this to something like the Dada or Fluxus art movements of the past might seem ridiculous, but it kind of resembles a similar pattern.  Boundaries are established but not concrete, people create work both individually and collectively and it grows from a single concept.  One big difference is time.

Art movements, when they used to exist, slowly evolved through time, since global travel and electronic communication did not exist, it took much longer than say a week or two.  We’re already months into the Nyan Cat movement and although it continues on in mighty force as you will see by the videos below, it is also susceptible to extinction at any time.  You probably think that I’m finding too much meaning in an animation of a cat with a pop tart body flying through the air making rainbow trails, but it can be more if you choose to see it that way.  I am the Internet curator. I am the Brooklyn Imbecile. Keep reading, my people.

Mexican Nyan Cat

Nyan Cat takes over downtown LA

Real life Nyan Cat

Star Trek Nyan Cat

Nyan Cat Man

Nyan Metal Cat

Ole timey Nyan Cat

Super Mario Nyan Cat

Nyan Cat on Soul Train

And finally, Nyan Cat fully explained by Molly

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ALSO ON BI:  Owling Is The New Leisure Diving, Which Replaced Planking

Also, a teasure box of NSFW specials from BI

Northside Open Studios This Weekend!!

This is it, people: your chance to visit it me in the imbecile flesh in my den of creativity. This weekend only you have the chance to visit hundreds of Brooklyn artists in their studios as well as a ton of other art-related events.  Here’s an excerpt from the NOS website:

“Greenpoint Open Studios is teaming up with L magazine this year to bring you NORTHSIDE OPEN STUDIOS, a four day event celebrating a burgeoning art scene in Greenpoint and Williamsburg, Brooklyn. NOS is a collaborative effort between artists, organizations, businesses and volunteers to build a creative platform in which all members of the community can foster and contribute to a support system that encourages the sharing of ideas and relationships. As artists’ studios and exhibition spaces continue to emerge in the neighborhood, we hope to facilitate the growth of a thriving art community.”

As you can see from the images below, there is no shortage of talent here in North Brooklyn. Come check it out.  If you do decide to visit me, I am in the 233 Norman Avenue Studios and I will only be there today, Saturday, from 12 – 6PM.  I won’t be participating on Sunday only because I am also quite interested to see the art of my fellow citizens.

Also, don’t forget about this great group show that opened last night, but will be up for the next few weeks.  There’s just no excuse not to have fun in the BK hood this weekend!

It’s Friday, Y’all..

So do us all a favor and pass the dutchie to the left hand side..

That’s right, let’s go back 29 years, d’Oh! I’m that old, shit, well.. back to 1982′s “Musical Youth” video about either Dutch ovens or Dutch masters.

Whaddya Listening To?

I work in a lab where most people are wearing the white earphones and I always want to know what these young(er) folks are listening to.  Whenever I ask, I usually don’t get a straight answer.  Tyler Cullen hit the streets of NY and did the same thing, but with better results.  This is kinda cool.