Scraps

I want one

Cool and Crazy Right Down the Street....

In the midst of running errands today, I managed to find time to pop into Cool and Crazy - a record store within relatively close proximity to my apartment. The store itself seems a bit out of place, but once you walk in, you're greeted by a musty yet pleasant atmosphere. Cool and Crazy, owned by Tim Warren - who many may know for his work in the 80's cult-garage genre - is exactly the type of store you expect to be in Brooklyn, offering a very diverse mix of several very specific genres. Tim, a master of so many genres of American music from decades past (50's and 60's primarily) helped me pick out some pretty stellar R&B collections. The guy's great, quirky and so very knowledgeable. Oh, and they have an open listening policy and really comfy couch.

Check it out: 72 Manhattan Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11206

Makes me want to listen to Nina Simone and watch Ray

Agora II

I've been seeing signs all over Willamsburg for Agora II - like most things New York, the fliers are obscure, intriguing and vague. Unfortunately, it's rained every Saturday for the past several weeks. I'm hoping to check it out (weather permitting) in the next week or so.


From the main site:
"Inspired by the "agora," the center of town or marketplace in ancient Greece, AGORA II investigates the role of public space in contemporary urban life. Performed beyond the theater walls, this work challenges the interactionss between public space, performance and audience. AGORA II is a continuation of the site-specific piece AGORA originally created and directed by Noémie Lafrance in 2005 in the abandoned McCarren Park pool in Brooklyn. It further explores treatments of the pool site combined with ideas of collectivity. Expressed as one large breath, AGORA II layers strokes of audience interactions around a core group of characters and cameo appearances by guest artists, creating a grand tableau - a city slice - a social experiment..."

Intrigued?? Check out this video.

So, Zune Me!

photo courtesy of stereogum

I'm not crazy about the name (read: I absolutely hate the name. Zune?? Whose idea was that?), but I'm willing to give Microsoft a shot.

Today, Microsoft unveiled the intimate details about their new MP3 player, Zune, which is expected to compete with Apple's iPod. I'm going to try to be an educated consumer and wait it out until I can actually use one, but thus far, while the Zune offers some pretty amazing features which Apple (and other MP3 producers) have failed to produce in the past. Personally, I'm drawn to the verticle/horizontal full color screen and Wireless Technology.

Stereogum gives us a great rundown of pros and cons.

Rumor has it that Zune will be released on November 14th of this year - just in time for the holiday rush. Oh, Microsoft, you're so predictable.

Updates Galore!

It’s been quite a while since my last update.

But now that I don’t have one of those gross fulltime jobs, I have plenty of time to devote to more interesting efforts, like blogging and music and staying out too late.

Since my last post, I have relocated to Brooklyn (that’s in New York City for you folks in the Midwest)

I am without a job, living off my savings and still don’t know how to get from my stop on the L train to my apartment once the sun sets.

…but…

fear not!

I’ll find a job, maybe some money and definitely a sense of direction.

Onward and upward!!

Though the mass of boxes that have been occupying my apartment (rent free) have been keeping me more than busy, my initial impressions of NYC have been overwhelmingly positive. I haven’t spent much time on the other side of the river, but thus far Brooklyn’s treated this girl like a real lady.

Though I can say that I’ve had a bit of homesickness – I can come up with at least 3 reasons why NYC >>> DC:

3. The Sheer Abundance of Fashionistas(os)
I’m unsure as to whether or not it has to do with keeping up with the celebrities that live here or the exorbitantly high rents that make people so well dressed. This year, I’m wearing nothing but skinny jeans and slouchy boots.

2. The New York City Subway System
Its on time, it runs 24 hours a day, its reliable. I can say none of those things about Metro.

1. New Shows (ahem, The Presets)

I was going to devote an entire post to this, but decided not to because its definitely old news at this point. Last week, L. and I went to Galapagos to see the reformation, reincarnation of a favorite band of ours (Elkland), rebranded as Goat Explosion. After just barely making it through the first band’s attempt at synthesized, alt-country, twee – Goat Explosion went on, only to play four songs. Apparently, the lead singer couldn’t hear the bass in his monitor, the sound guys couldn’t fix it, and he decided to coerce the rest of the band to walk of stage. Angry, but unwilling to surrender, L. and I waited 45 minutes while the Presets set up – and we were not disappointed. Mixing distorted vocals; synthesized, genuine beats and a lot of natural energy, these guys delivered a hell of a show.

Check out The Presets on MySpace

I’m sure that in the coming weeks, this list will exponentially grow from 3 to 300.

Stay tuned.