Wowser..... Julian.... So hot..... Listen to the new single "My Drive Thru" by Julian of the Strokes, Santogold and Pharrell of NERD

Somone say new summer single........ H-O-T....

Here the details from NME (http://www.nme.com/news/pharrell-williams/37201):

The song, 'My Drive Thru', was written to commemorate the birthday of Converse trainers and sees Santogold's Santi White swapping vocals with Julian Casablancas, while N.E.R.D and Neptunes man Williams takes care of the production.

"We were in the studio together," Williams told NME.COM of the hook-up. "We came together and did a track for the commemoration of the 100th year anniversary of the [Converse shoe] Chuck Taylor, which is an iconic shoe in the punk world, an iconic shoe in the rock world and definitely in the hip-hop world - so it made sense."

To listen to the song head to NME now and simply launch the media player or try this:
http://www.nme.com/mediaPlayer&playlist_id=1402

All I know is it nice to see that boy again... I has been too long.... Summer is starting to look good.

Bringin' it back to 1988 - The Cool Kids at the Knitting Factory

I say Cool.... You say Kids..... Cool Kids..... Cool Kids....

Last night, I found myself again down in the Chinatown end of Tribeca to see Chicago's The Cool Kids. The night before I found myself at 100 Layfette AKA Santos Play House for some soiree. Is chinatown becoming the new L.E.S?


The Cool Kids consists of Antoine "Mikey Rocks" Reed and Evan "Chuck Inglish" Ingersoll who interestingly found each other on MySpace a few years back. And as they stated as lit up an incendary stage after the hot sounds of HEAVy(BBE), Mickey Factz and Egg Foo Young, they are here to be the new beastie boys. Here to bring us back to "88"(also name of one of their songs).

Making old school new....

And they did. The crowd- many of whom I question to have experienced the year 88 personnally- quickly put up their hands in the air and danced like they really could care. Putcha hands, putcha hands up.... And the Cool Kids filled the smoldering room (about 100 degrees in fact) with their refreshing smooth, tongue-in-cheek rhymes over basics back beats and simple samplings.

Being soo hot was never soo cool.....

And the Cool Kids, well, they are on their way to be the hottest thing around.

Punk rock reigns again with the Black Lips @ Market Hotel | Jun 5th, 2008

So last night, I made my way out to one of the new DYI venues to see the Black Lips that seem to be popping up in Brooklyn. An interesting trend mind you.....


Best part it is not in one of the gentrified areas like Williamsburg... No, no... It is big, bad Bushwick - one of the last neighborhoods of New York that stills wear the dodgy rep that once haunted New York.


Many moons I went to a few parties at McKibben lofts part of Bushwick but have not been in the area in years. Not much has changed it seems... But that is kinda refreshing considering since most New York has become a corporate mall.


The new venue is called the MARKET HOTEL.


It is pretty nondescript from the outside. The only reason I found the door that takes you to the 2nd floor space was there was skinny indie looking kid shooing away other indie kids from loitering in front of the ancient cast iron facade building.


Go up the rickety steps and you enter a fading former Dominican speakeasy from the late 70's. The stage was in the corner of the largest of three rooms. It had that CBGB's punk rock charm of peeling paint and fear of electrical fire from overloaded sockets. In fact, a few times the lights went out leaving the barely legal crowd dancing and moshing in the dark until the fuse was replaced.


Tonight, the line-up was: So So Glos - TITUS ANDRONICUS Gringo Star - BLACK LIPS .


The room filled up quickly for the So So Glos, the house band, which is a pretty good band with a definite clash vibe. It did not take long for a pit to form. The pit grew and grew as Titus Andronicus and Gringo Star played their sets. There was a definite brit influence in the air and the crowd seemed to get into. The roomed filled with slamming bodies and the fervor seem to grow the hotter the room became.

When the Black Lips plugged in, the place was on fire. Kids invaded the stage and danced the band in the corner. It was sheer punk rock madness. Bodies colliding. Drums wailing. Guitars thrashing....

Somehow I was thrusted on stage and landed by the amp. It ended up being a great place to be and it sheltered me from the full force of mayhem of the flailing front.

The crowd went from mosh to mob... Members of the band had seek out refuge by standing on the amps.

One point I saw the lead singer smack a drunk shirtless trouble maker in the head with his guitar. Next thing they were rolling on the stage knocking invading stage divers back into the crowd. Pretty punk rock.

With all the chaos, there was a brilliance about it. Not another typical New York show where the crowd is too self aware, too cool to unwind and let the music take hold of them. Not like the Terminal 5 show earlier in the week where the Black Lips challenged the Raconteurs status as monsters of rock and people just talked over them and tried hard to resist the urge to tap their feet.

It was one of the best shows I have been to in ages and it was so about the venue.

I look forward to many more sweaty fun filled nights there.


DETAILS:

MARKET HOTEL 957 Broadway @ Myrtle enter on Myrtle Bushwick, BrooklynJMZ - Myrtle, L - Jefferson, G - Myrtle-Willoughby


-- MYSPACE --> http://myspace.com/markethotelnyc

Time keeps slipping into the future...

I have been a horrible blogger of late. I never seem to be able to sit down and tell my tales and I should... I have had much intrigue, travel and adventure in my life. God, I could write days on my experience of having roommates in New York...

The Horror, The Horror, I have seen.....

In fact, I just got over a batch of normal ones - nice, well mannered, not trying to steal from me roomies. A few minutes of peace... But good news for plot content... The crazies are back in my life.

Anyways, I need to start to be more disciplined and begin to spin my tales.

I swear by Apollo, Asclepius, Hygieia, and Panacea....

A few nights ago I went and saw Michael Moore's new movie SICKO. And sitting next to me in the theater was no other than Salman Rushdie, the author of one of my favorite book's Midnights Children and the carrier of a death fatwa from the Muslim world on his head. I got to thinking about it and it seems that Michael Moore is the Salman Rushdie of the documentary world. Just the mere mention of his name in some circles can incite a murderous rage....

The movie, itself, was disturbing. How can we let all these people suffer and die, especially when we have such tremendous innovation and resources right here on our soil? Why are we allowing a select group of people decide who can live and who can die in the name of ROI and profit? It is criminal really... (Is it a mediated death? Or worse, is it a genocide of sorts?) Why are people in the states so afraid of socialized medicine? Why is universal health care such a radical notion?

Health is a subject close to my heart. I have spent a good part of my professional career dealing with the subject of health and human security, espicially in reference with the topics of HIV/AIDS and cancer in the developing world. I have spent time in Russia and CIS region, Latin America and Africa working on health policy. I am even now working on my applications to get in a PHD program where I hope to focus on health policy and infrastructure building in populations in or just getting over a crisis. My long term goal is to restructure health care in the states. the irony as I write this, I am without health care myself.

I truly believe that health and the access to good health care should be a fundamental human right. Even if you strip me of everything I own or my identity, restrict me from movement and speech, my body will still be there. It is all I have. It is me - the essential element of my being. Therefore, its health dictates my ability to obtain my full potential.

It seems so elementary.. How could it be contested?

Bright Lights, Big City......

When I was the NEW kid in NYC, a man dressed in black looking a little like a NARC and a little like a PUBLIC PERVERT that hangs on the subway gestured to me come over as I was looking for the NEXT EXIT out of this grimy UNTITLED, illegal lower east side dive. To much forced PDA and stilted conversation here.

The man in black seemed like another OBSTACLE 1,2 but this bar was EVIL tonight and NOT EVEN JAIL would make me stay. He said C'MERE while he beckoned me to the door with his MAMMOTH fingers. I was lonely in this big city - never in my life before did I feel it a TIME, TO BE SMALL so I moved forward slowly, remembering PACE IS THE TRICK. SLOW HANDS wrapped around my wrist pulling me out in the light of street lamp. I was ALL FIRED UP by this boldness and came at him like a WRECKING BALL and growled at him "HANDS AWAY buddy. WHO DO YOU THINK you are?"

He said "I am the SPECIALIST.. And I want to TAKE YOU ON A CRUISE." I just rolled my eyes, oh the SCALE of the lies men will go to for LENGTHS OF LOVE. The MASCARA on my eyes smudged on my cheek and he bent forward brushed it away. I felt my heart PRECIPITATE as the REST MY CHEMISTRY became flushed. He grabbed my hand and said come with me to PIONEERS TO THE FALLS. What I said? A bar on Avenue A.

We moved like LEIF ERICKSON in search of a beacon from a phantom LIGHTHOUSE on unchartered shores.

SAY HELLO TO ANGELS as we walked into the half empty bar and then he introduced me to ROLAND, who was cutting with array of knives limes, made them perfectly CUBED. Then I met his other mate. HEINRICH MANUEVER close to me while my STRANGER IN THE NIGHT got me a drink. Both his friends leered at me in a hungry way and I knew that there would be NO I IN A THREESOME tonight with them and slinked away slowly.

The man in black returned. And said come with me to the jukebox. I want show you something. He said play SONG SEVEN. I did.

As the room became filled by a booming voice singing "STELLA IS A DIVER AND SHE IS ALWAYS DOWN," I turned to my companion who was quietly gaging my reaction while smoking a marlboro red and asked him what his name was. And he replied Paul and I was listening to a song of his new album.

And that is how i became introduced to INTERPOL*

(It is mostly somewhat true story. Please note names of people and places have been changes to protect the innocent and maybe to get all the names of the songs in their catalog to fit).

So, I wrote this little story to try to win tickets from Gothamist to Interpol's concert in Atlantic City. I have not heard anything yet so I assume I was not the winner. Oh well, It occupied a good hour or so on a very boring work day at the NRDC.

Day after day....

I guess I have not posted my blog in almost two years. Alot has happened since the halcyon times in good ole London town. I promise I will fill you in. In fact, there is much I need to tell you of my past. And I will.

But for now, all you need to know is I am back in the East Village again..

100% Better Club

Today, Babyshambles put on a vibrant and kinectic show at the famed 100 Club on Oxford Street (gawd, the last time I was there was in the early 90's to see a big band play swing.) Anyways, Babyshambles seemed to be having a grand ole time playing at this small, smoky basement venue. There was a much nicer vibe than the Brixton show, even though there seemed to be just as many celebs: Jonny from Razorlight, the guy from Primal Scream and a few faces I recognize from somewhere but I am not a native to the land so the names escape me...

Babyshambles shows are always better when they are closer in proximity to the fans...

Pete also seem to be in a better mindset. He joked around with Patrick and even made an attempt to leap into the crowd but the hired muscle pulled him quickly back...He even quietly wished me happy birthday in between sets* Ah sweety petey.....

Here are my photos:

Guerrilla Gig

The Others just announced that they are going to hold one of their signature Guerilla gigs tonight.

They will be doing a gig on the pavement outside the South Kensington museum at 7.45pm.

If you missed their infamous Guerilla gig on the tube. Here is your chance to be part of what make the British music scene so much fun and just plain cool.....

Transformation

I was once this http://londoncallingtothefarawaytowns.blogspot.com/ and now I am this