aka The Big Apple, N.Y.C., Zoo York, Capital of the World, Gotham City
So the Balearic sound (a musical style that relates to the dreamy euro-pop music played at Amnesia on the island of Ibiza in the mid 80′s and the house music played at the club Pacha, Cafe del Mar etc in the late 80s) keeps going this summer, proving it is not some indie trend revival. Read More
Showing “Sideboob” was surely around last summer, but this summer I have heard people discuss it as “the new cleavage,” in the midst of many other serious academic discussions. Read More
The MoMA PS1, the branch which features art from emerging artists, is the summer spot for day events in Brooklyn (technically Queens). With the departure of the big Jelly’s Pool Parties where indie stars played for free to thousands of attractive people in their 20′s, where else are indie dudes gonna show off their cool sunglasses and shorts? Read More
The only movie that seems interesting coming out other than Harry Potter, which is like the best series of movies ever, is Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia. Read More
Not sure if its cuz of Gang Gang Dance or what but everyone seems to be using Cirque Du Soleil synths and new-agey bell tones. Somehow many of the parties going right now in NY seem to be referencing a sort of 80′s new-age mysticism as well- think words like “gaze” and “vision.” Read More
This 4th of July, the Rockaways was where everyone was partying…. or at least everyone who wasn’t invited somewhere involving richer people. It has been dubbed the “hipster hamptons” by someone snarky, but I for one am happier to spend my day near surfers and trendy artists than I am investment bankers and their pregnant wives. Read More
Gourmet food trucks in NY are really trendy and it can often be a delicious trend and a nice update to the awesome authentic street carts that feed millions of workers daily. Read More
So the mainstream world has caught on to the post-dubstep thing it would seem. That is cool, I guess, but the indie/DIY side of it is really IDM and cutesy and mostly loses the deepness and darkness that makes it so good. Read More
Citing new “looks” becomes increasingly difficult as I notice a growing closeness between the ironic/street styles of hip kids and the new clothing lines of high fashion. The “interconnectedness” resulting from the net-age is really noticed as the tribalism of fashion culture is beginning to disappear. Read More
So everyone seems to be obsessing over Game of Thrones because of its taboo exploitative nature. The problem with most of the other medieval drama series’ (Borgias, Tudors etc.) is that they don’t say contemporary dirty words like the “F” word, or expressions like “who is your daddy now slave woman?” (not actually spoken to my knowledge), and the sex, even if forced and somewhat psychological, doesn’t have that really twisted sleazy vibe that makes it 2011. Read More
I have been referencing the themes of Net-art and internet-punk a lot on this site since before maybe it was ready to talk about, yet I still have a hard time showing it beyond blue hair and Second Life images on party flyers. Read More
In New York this Spring I have noticed that everyone is wearing shades of blue, either monochrome outfits or just bold blue accents. Read More
I have been writing about internet stars like Lil B, and producers like Clams Casino quite a bit over the last year, and it would seem that people can’t stop talking about Odd Future, but for those who like rap music to be powerful and sincere without performance art or stream of conscious brilliance, this year will be the year of Pusha T. Read More
Producers Clams Casino and AraabMUZIK are too good of artists to be anonymous despite the luminous presence of Lil B and Juelz Santana and other stars who rap over their instrumentals. Read More
From Nicki Minaj and Rihanna to “emo” mall-kids with raver backpacks, it seemed that bright red or blue hair was everywhere except for the cool kids in cities like NY and LA, who are believed to descend from the “alternative” lifestylings that popularized dyed hair in the early 80′s. Read More