Now that NYFW Is Over, Head to Lincoln Ristorante for a Negroni

September 16, 2013, 12:30 pm

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All is quiet at Lincoln Center. The too-high heels have ceased teetering down the runways of provocative shows, and the pulsating club tunes have been replaced by the uplifting, familiar classical music for which the cultural institution is known. It is the perfect time, then, to take a civilized Negroni break at Lincoln Ristorante, beside the plaza's contemplative reflecting pool and Henry Moore sculpture.

Last week you would have had to fight a pack of designer-clad babes for a seat, but now a soft, creamy barstool is yours to savor a customized Negroni. Comprised of equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth, the recipe for the blood orange-hued cocktail is an easy one. At Lincoln, however, different permutations of this elegant Italian apéritif abound. "The Negroni bar is tailored by the guest," says wine director Aaron Von Rock, "but we love making some recommendations." One version he's particularly smitten with stars Brooklyn-made Greenhook Ginsmiths gin. "It is a powerful expression," he adds, "pairing well with lighter, brighter Aperol and Cocchi's rose vermouth."

After a few of these richly-scented, restorative tipples, and maybe an order of chef Jonathan Benno's shellfish sauce-laced lobster and scallop sausage, you'll wonder why you're not lingering here between spring and fall collections.

Recipe

¾ oz. Greenhook Ginsmiths gin
¾ oz. Aperol
¾ oz. Cocchi Americano Rosa

Build the ingredients in equal parts in a mixing glass. Add ice; stir 40 times with a cocktail spoon. Serve over ice in a rocks glass (or up in a Martini glass if you prefer.) For ice, a sphere or a single, large cube are best. Garnish with an orange twist.

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Britney Spears' New Song Is Bad. Really Bad.

September 16, 2013, 1:00 pm

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If you weren't stuck in an isolation chamber this weekend, you probably heard that Britney Spears debuted a new track called "Work Bitch." The song was rumored to sample RuPaul's "Supermodel" (which, alas, it does not) and was originally supposed to premiere on the radio today. But, it being our day and age, a shitty version of the song got leaked and in response, Britney's team leaked the real version. But leaked version or official version, the song is really, really bad. A breakdown, below:

1) First and foremost it's a straightforwardly un-catchy, thumping club song. Normally Britney songs, good or bad, still make you want to dance and sing along and then get lodged so deeply in your brain that you find yourself humming the melody in spite of yourself. Not so for "Work Bitch." I forgot it the second I heard it.

2) What's up with all of this Britney speak-singing in a pseudo-British accent? Between "Scream & Shout" and "Work Bitch" (and basically anything that has to do will.i.am.) it seems like all Brit does these days is walk into a studio, put on her best Madonna '97 Golden Globes acceptance speech voice and say three lines into the mic. 

3) That is, if she's not blatantly schilling for some movie. It would be easier to forgive Britney for "Work Bitch" if her last single hadn't been the hellish, Smurfs 2-pegged single "Oh La La" replete with vaguely incestuous vibes and overly-sexual lyrics about children's cartoon characters. 

4) This really just sounds like a gay club jam that should be sung by a gay artist. Coming from Cazwell or one of the Drag Race queens -- any of whom would bring more energy and attitude than Britney does -- the song would make more sense and be livelier. The emphatic beat and the "You better werk, gurl!" are classic hallmarks of gay musicians and while Spears (and many other pop artists of the moment) co-opt gay culture, "Work Bitch" lacks a certain bubblegum quality that's distinctly hers. "Work Bitch" sounds like Britney's people making her do a gay song to get gay money. Trust me -- you have our attention (and probably our money) either way.

So please, Britney -- make some better songs. We don't want to break up with you, but we may have to. All we request is partial custody of your short-sleeved turtleneck collection.

Sorry Miley, Beavis and Butt-head Got Their Twerk On First

September 17, 2013, 7:30 am

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Your Tuesday morning twerk-spiration comes courtesy of Beavis and Butt-head. [via Tastefully Offensive]

Jimmy Kimmel's "Lie Witness News" is back (that was quick!) with people on Hollywood Blvd. lying about watching the Dancing With the Stars finale (it just premiered its latest season). Our favorite part is when the interviewer asks a pedestrian about Ruth Bader Ginsburg's twerking routine. [via Jimmy Kimmel]

Yum. [via Paris Hilton Sex Slave]

The only thing more depressing than this book is this three-star book review. [via Reddit]


ICYMI: Here's Beyoncé getting man-handled by a crazy Brazilian fan. Beesus keeps singing, though. [via Hyper Vocal]

Orange Is the New Black's Danielle Brooks (a.k.a. Taystee) is going to be on Girls! [via Jezebel]

"Canadian Graffiti." [via Pleated Jeans]

Here's an amazing/helpful instructional on making whole grain bread in the '80s. All you need is a muscle-y gymnast dude in a tear-off shirt and a sweatband, some flour, water and voila! [via Tastefully Offensive]

Eminem is so hungry. So, so hungry. [via The Clearly Dope]

Eau de Internet Explorer is fine but we prefer the musky notes found on Netscape. [via Humor Train]

Here's Breaking Bad's Mike Ehrmantraut reading fairytales. [via Tastefully Offensive]

Sheep Invade a Gas Station in Chelsea!

September 17, 2013, 9:23 am

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As we noted in our Fall art show roundup, a gas station in Chelsea has been temporarily re-purposed as an art gallery. The old Getty station on the corner of 24th Street and 10th Avenue is currently the home of several sheep sculptures made of bronze and epoxy by the late French artist Francois-Xavier Lalanne, which will be on view until October 20. We went and took some pictures of the space so all you gallery hoppers know what to expect. Check them out, below.

Fill it up, please.

Regular or unleaded?

Don't cut the line!

Stock up on some goodies in the convenience store.

Fritos? Or perhaps a book about the artist, Francois-Xavier Lalanne.

And check the oil, please.

Eat some grass while you wait.

Sheep Station at the old Getty station.

The mural on the back wall is by JR and Jose Parla.

SNL Taps Six Web Comedy Stars to Join the Cast

September 17, 2013, 9:45 am

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Though Lorne Michaels says that strong online presence isn't a factor when selecting new Saturday Night Live cast members, telling the New York Times, "You can't be famous before you're famous," any actor or comedian coming up in 2013 has surely created web videos -- or an entire web series -- that show off their talent.  And, now that there's a void since the viral comedy kings The Lonely Island have left the show (cast member Andy Samberg left in June of 2012 while writers Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer left sometime earlier), it's almost certain that Michaels and SNL are weighing which cast members can take the digital short mantle. Ahead of SNL's 39th season, get to know the six new additions from their work on the web (or, in one instance, a very popular TV commercial).

Who: Mike O'Brien: The SNL writer (and former Paper Beautiful Person, what what!) is making the leap to featured player.

Where you know him from: O'Brien's become an Internet comedy star thanks to his viral 7 Minutes in Heaven videos, in which he interviews celebrities in closets and then tries to kiss them with varying success.



Who: Beck Bennett

Where you know him from: He played the market research dude who interviews adorable kids about big vs. small tree houses in those viral AT&T commercials.  

Who: John Milhiser

Where you know him from: The L.A.-based Milhiser, who made this amazing Step Up parody for Lorne Michaels' video channel Above Average, is also responsible for the Tumblr meme "baguetting" and is behind the site "Baguette Me Not."

Who: Noel Wells

Where you know her from: Wells does a mean impression of Zooey Deschanel, which you can watch on the comedian's YouTube series, Hey! The Zooey Deschanel Show. She can also give Kristen Wiig a run for her money with a spot-on Michele Bachmann impersonation and has a popular web series called Manic Pixie Nightmare Girl.

Who: Kyle Mooney

Where you know him from: The actor's made appearances on Parks & Rec and Sports Show With Norm Macdonald but some of his finest work may be his absurdist -- and awesomely painful -- interviews, like the time he went to a Giants vs. Dodgers baseball game and confused/pissed off the players (above).

Who: Brooks Wheelan

Where you know him from: The stand up comedian was the most recent addition to the SNL team and, though his digital footprint is smaller than the others, you can watch some very funny routines of his on YouTube, including this bit about the time he thought he had an undiscovered STD after his roommates put butter down his pants. Just watch it.

Streetwear Brand FUCT Celebrates Its 20-Year History With a New Rizzoli Book

September 17, 2013, 10:30 am

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When streetwear emerged as a potent mode of cultural communication in the '90s -- transforming the coded language on kids' T-shirts into a major international industry -- different energies and aesthetics came together under the premise that what you wore could be a canvas for radical expression. Wild and unruly as that moment was, no one was as aggressively confrontational and subversive as the brand created by Erik Brunetti in Los Angeles bearing the unmistakably rude and rambunctious name FUCT. Born out of the lawless and irreverent attitudes of skate culture and fueled by a hardcore dose of punk-rock ethos, all chronicled this month in Rizzoli's new hardcover coffee-table book about the brand's 20-year history, FUCT delivered a kind of balls-out iconoclasm that felt at the time like a heretic exorcism of visual landscape.

Alas, in this society of endless co-option, FUCT's success was its fatal flaw, and as the company became massively influential for its appropriation of iconic logos, movie posters and '70s pop-culture imagery, a deluge of imitators dulled its edge and meaning. We found Brunetti vacationing with his family in coastal Mexico, which goes to show that as times change, people do as well. Admitting that he's still "surprised by what we got away with at FUCT," Brunetti explained his guerilla tactics of engagement: "I never looked at it in terms of ripping stuff off. I was re-appropriating images based on a collective memory of those things logged in our cultural subconscious. When we'd use movies like Warriors, or Planet of the Apes, there was always a reason attached to the meaning." Given the passage of time we were curious to know what he felt to be the greatest success and failure of his unlikely venture. "I'm most proud of having a family now, of being really normal," he told us, "and my biggest regret is starting FUCT. I created a Frankenstein I can't kill."

FUCT is available this month via Rizzoli.

Alexis Penney on His New Album, Rihanna, and Partying in Kansas City

September 17, 2013, 11:30 am

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Alexis Penney has never met an urban underground music scene he didn't like. Growing up as a classically trained pianist in the suburbs outside of Kansas City, Penney found himself entrenched in the city's burgeoning collective of queercore bands that called the city home, before moving to San Francisco and becoming one of the city's most notorious drag party hosts. He then moved to Los Angeles and fell in with Teengirl Fantasy's Nick Weiss and singer/songwriter Tamaryn -- while connecting across continents with UK beatmaker Jamie Crewe -- to begin recording what would become his debut album, Window, out now on Ecstasy Records.

A two-year labor of love, Window is a syrupy concoction of house-infused R&B that turns years of emotional turmoil into fuel for slow burning, high-drama epics set to four-on-the-floor beats. And now, after decamping to yet another city -- New York -- to complete the album's recording and release, Penney is also ready to publish his debut book of the same name (out on Peradam September 19th), a "true life vignette memoir" of his experiences growing up gay in Kansas, and the subsequent wild years he relished in San Francisco's drag scene. We sat down to talk him about his debut album, how Kansas City parties were like a scene from Midnight Cowboy, and the unexpected emotional resonance of Rihanna's "Diamonds."

What was it like for you growing up in Kansas City? Were you trying to get out at a certain point or did you appreciate your surroundings?

I definitely had a lot of plans to leave, but they always seemed distant and impossible. But growing up in Kansas City was actually really cool. Like Cody [Critcheloe] from SSION was around and there was a whole host of really cool, talented, older artists and musicians doing things in the city proper. I took for granted that every city was like that, that there was always some crazy, really interesting scene happening. I kind of wanted to leave, but I wasn't very direct about it, until I met my ex, and he was the one that moved me to San Francisco.

So it wasn't a cultural wasteland growing up in KC?

No, not at all. My parents were really cool -- they have really good taste in a really classic way -- so I was raised with a lot of jazz, and they took us to a lot of musical events like opera. And the bands that I was in in high school showed me that there were so many punk kids and kids into music. We would have a house show and 150 people would show up. The first time I ever played with a band in high school was with an already established, goofy electro-rap thing that had been going, broke up for a while, and got back together. When they [got back together], I was asked to join so when I started playing with them, a lot of people would come to the shows. I would get recognized at the mall and stuff like that and I thought it was like that everywhere. We would go to New York, or go to Chicago, and it seemed like we were just a part of this pipeline of cultural stuff. It was way bigger back then -- now, I don't know so much, because we've all kind of splintered off and gone our own ways.

When was all this happening?

I graduated high school in '05, so this all happened during the early 2000s through 2008. That was a crazy time -- I remember when we got to open for The Chromatics in a basement of a club, and I really felt like we were a part of something national. Glass Candy would come through, and they'd play at some loft with a ton of people just losing their minds. It was an exciting childhood. I was like, "This is what I wanted, this is what it's like in movies." You'd be at parties populated with the weirdest, strangest people who had all congregated there at that moment. It felt like that party scene in Midnight Cowboy.

You were pretty involved in the drag scene in San Francisco as a party host of High Fantasy and the Hot Boxxx Girls Revue. 

I kind of fell ass-backwards into drag in SF. All of us punk, gay weirdos in KC, we would go to drag shows non-stop. Like that's just where we would go to get drunk, because there were so many drag shows. But I never had any drag aspirations in KC, or I just never admitted it to myself that I did. But when I moved to San Francisco, my boyfriend at the time hosted this drag night at Aunt Charlie's, one of the most famous drag bars in the country and he was like, "I'm not into this, I can't host this anymore, you should do this, you need something to do, it will get you out of my hair." So that's how I got into it.

It happened totally randomly, and over the course of two years, it kind of snowballed from, "Oh, I'm just doing this to distract myself from this relationship" to "This is what I want to do. I'm a performer." I needed to be away from the people I looked up to so much in KC, and I needed to explore my own expression on stage, and the music just evolved out of that. My boyfriend at the time was really inspiring. He had broken from his band, and just did his own thing. And that kind of attitude helped me understand I could just do whatever I wanted to and people will eventually get into it. I got really into the drag scene, and I was doing three to five shows a week. I was really wasted the whole time. But I was just kind of off my rocker in SF, doing a ton of shows, and working, and I had a lot of disposable income, but I didn't have any clear vision of productivity.

At what point during those experiences did you decide to start recording your own music?

I'd only been working casually. I recorded a couple singles that Jamie [Crewe] had sent from the UK -- we had been talking on the Internet for a while. And then I connected with Nick [Weiss of Teengirl Fantasy], and said to him that I wanted to make a record.

I thought about doing it for years, specifically after discovering Grace Jones' album Nightclubbing, which was such an experience for me -- that whole genre-bending thing. And Marianne Faithfull's Broken English was a huge turning point for me in the way I listened to music and albums, rather than just MP3s that I downloaded. Nick and I realized that if we could produce the singles with Jamie halfway across the world, what if all three of us sat down in the same [place] and tried to write? So Jamie came to L.A., and we all kind of converged there, and from the first second it was just like pure magic: all the songs fell out of me, and every time I was stumped, Jamie had the exact lyric or exact melody we needed.

We wrote four of the songs during that 10-day session in LA, but [the rest of the time] we were all spread out. I was still in SF and a fucking mess at that point, Nick was in LA on tour with Teengirl, and finishing the album became this glimmering dream. I realized I had all these songs and we just had to finish the record. And then when I met Grant [Martin], who was the guitarist on the record (and who actually passed away two weeks ago), he offered this room in NYC, and I had this epiphany that I really wanted to live with him, and I really wanted to get out of SF. Then suddenly, Nick was moving to NYC, and he moved in down the street from me, and we finally finished the record. It was just kind of serendipitous in that way.

What was your creative vision for Window when you started writing and recording it?

I was really into a lot of weird stuff. The jumping off point when I started making music with my first single "Lonely Sea" was that I wanted to be a gay, punk, Crystal Waters. I want to do some nostalgic, '90s, club-house music, but my tastes are all over the place. I'm not necessarily a pop or house singer. I don't have that pitch. But I grew up singing in church choir, so I always had this weird, gospel-y slant. I just wanted to do something really well-rounded, and really lushly textured in the vein of something like Madonna's Ray of Light, which, yes, she's this pop singer, but she has these established modes in which she works. I want to be in that place. I'm not only in the drag club, I'm also going to punk shows, and sitting on my roof listening to ambient music watching the sunset. And I wanted to bring the whole language of these divas to the table.

The album is very dark and devastating in places. Did you inject the darker moments of your life onto it?

It was a really crazy, traumatic experience for me leaving KC and at 21 going into my first adult relationship with someone who's seven years older than me. And I mean, my ex, who was a really supportive, amazing person, basically said I was on my own when we moved to SF. We got there, and he basically told me he wasn't going to live with me and he had his own shit going on. And so I sort of just cast around and made my own reality there. And then when we broke up, it was like so much of my identity was cast into his identity. When I had to find my own identity, it was really scary but also one of the most constructive experiences of my life.

And the only thing I have for a reference point that is similar to that climactic breakup is the recent death of my best friend, Grant. So Window has taken on this double meaning for me, because it's all about my ex, and the break up, and the expectations that I poured into that relationship that I maybe shouldn't have. And that's kind of the way I felt about Grant. It was like I built up all these expectations about the life we planned together, so it's kind of insane how the timing happened and that it's taken on these double meanings.

But I think that's kind of how music is. Like, Rihanna is such a bullshitter and such a product of the factory -- Grant and I would argue about her all the time, he loved her -- but at the same time, so many of her songs are so relatable. Like that fucking song, "Diamonds?" I totally get that. I'm stirred by it.

Chatting With Mother of George Director Andrew Dosunmu

September 17, 2013, 12:00 pm

≫ Next: R. Kelly's New Song "Genius" Is Un-Ironically Good

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Mother of George, director Andrew Dosunmu's follow-up to last year's debut feature Restless City, tells the story of a Brooklyn-based Nigerian couple (Isaach de Bankolé and Danai Gurira) struggling to conceive a child. The film's striking shots of flowing multi-colored robes draw on Dosunmu's background in design and photography. Here he shared with us his hopes for exposing Yoruba culture to a worldwide audience.

Why does de Bankolé's character own a restaurant?

I wanted to show the greatness of Yoruba cuisine. What better way to celebrate the culture than food? We all know of the immigrant restaurant on the corner, whether it's an Indian or a Polish restaurant. There had to be some-thing that was family-run. The film itself is about lineage.

How long did it take to make Mother of George?

It was in process for about five years. The frustration [of waiting] is what made me do Restless City, because it was like that restlessness. After that film premiered and did well, the finance for this film came through.

How did making Restless City help you with your second film?

Restless City for me was a canvas to paint on, and I was free, so that was very helpful in making Mother of George because I knew what kind of filmmaker I wanted to be. I like to tell stories visually: stories that transcend a specific place, that anyone anywhere in the world can watch. I think dialogue kills cinema.

Photo courtesy of Mother of George

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R. Kelly's New Song "Genius" Is Un-Ironically Good

September 17, 2013, 12:30 pm

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R. Kelly has a new song and it absolutely belongs in the same pantheon as classic sexxxy hits like "Sex Planet," "Sex Kitchen" and "Sex Weed." Weirdly, this song doesn't have "Sex" in the title (it's called "Genius" even though, truly, it really should be called "Sex Genius"), but it strikes that balance of catchy and sultry that translates into R. Kelly gold. Between his collabs with 2 Chainz, Phoenix and Future and his return to classic sexxxy sex songs, we think R. Kelly is about to have a major comeback (and not just an ironic comeback among the Pitchfork demographic). Can't wait for the release of Black Panties, out November 11. Listen to "Genius," below.

Iconic NYC Crime and Disaster Photos Superimposed Over Their Modern Sites

September 17, 2013, 1:00 pm

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Here's a photography project that New Yorkers will enjoy: Mark Hermann, an historian with the New York Press Photographers Association, has taken a handful of iconic old New York Daily News crime and disaster photos and superimposed them over what each location looks like today. The photos span the boroughs but primarily depict emergencies in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Check out some of our favorites below and head over to NYDN to see them all.


497 Dean St., Brooklyn

On March 19, 1942, Brooklyn resident Edna Egbert climbed onto her ledge and fought with the police from the facade of her building as she tried to jump off.
 

137 Wooster St., Manhattan

On Feb. 16, 1958, there was a large and fatal fire at the Elkins Paper & Twine Co. at 137 Wooster, whose retail space is now probably a J. Crew.


923 44th St., Brooklyn

This photo depicts the death and aftermath of gangster Frankie Yale on July 1, 1928. Yale was the victim of a drive-by shooting and his car crashed into the stoop of a Brooklyn home as he was shot to death.
 

Pacific St. and Classon Ave., Brooklyn

On July 28, 1957, a car crashed into a light pole at the corner of Pacific and Classon Ave.
 

Park Slope, Brooklyn

In December of 1960, United Airlines Flight 826 and Trans World Airlines Flight 266 crashed over South Brooklyn, creating a lot of carnage around the neighborhood.


Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Brooklyn

A five-alarm fire destroyed much of Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary & St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church in January of 1951.

The Top Five Must-Haves From the A$AP Mob Shop

September 17, 2013, 1:30 pm

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Since A$AP Rocky's rise, the fashion world has embraced his Harlem hip-hop-meets-Rick Owens fanatic style. He has GQ fashion spreads. He dates models. He sits front row. He's gotten a whole generation to COMME des FUCKDOWN. With his personal style kick-starting trends from Harlem to Hong Kong, it was only a matter of time before the A$AP Mob branded and sold Rocky's -- and the whole collective's -- signature swagger straight to the masses. On their new eCommerce site, the A$AP Mob shop, you can outfit yourself with all sorts of A$AP fan merch from graphic tees to key chains. See our top five must-haves below.  

1. "DRINKS" Laptop Case / $40.00
One must never forget that in New York, you work hard and you play hard. With your lap top outfitted in this case, you've got work on drinks on work on drinks.  

2. "PRETTY MOTHER FUCKER" T-Shirt /  $25.00
Just in case anyone should forget...you've got it on a tee. 


3. "PURPLE DRINK" Keychain / $15.00
While the "PMW" concoction of Sprite, promethazine-codeine, Jolly Ranchers and ice is a tempting combination -- we'll  keep it to our key chain.


4. "A$AP STRIPE" Crewneck Hoodie / $80.00
The sweatshirt has become something of a fashion thing, and we love the vintage Adidas vibes this one is giving. Plus there's something so cool/not cool about a crewneck.  

5. "TIE-DYE" T-Shirt / $30.00
In a mostly black and white collection, this burst of whimsy instantly catches the eye. Now that tie dye is having a fashion renaissance, you can't go wrong.  

MGMT's Latest Video Makes No Sense

September 17, 2013, 1:32 pm

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We've watched it three times and will now attempt to explain MGMT's latest video. By the way, the generic title, "Cool Song No. 2," is not helpful or relevant; nor is the clever casting of Michael K. Williams from The Wire and Boardwalk. Anyway, Michael robs a drug manufacturing hideout and steals some powder made from candy, so he can stop his boyfriend from turning into a tree. Or something like that? The boys will be at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (yo) to explain everything on December 13.

When Not Eating Italian, the Franks Chow Down on Sushi and Sichuan

September 17, 2013, 3:00 pm

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L-R: Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli

Each week in our Chefs Off Duty series, we talk to some of our favorite chefs and industry folk around the country to find out their secret late-night spots where they like to grab a bite and a pint when their kitchens are finally closed. Next up: Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli, the guys behind Brooklyn's Frankie's Spuntino, Prime Meats and Cafe Pedlar. Next week the Franks will be hosting some events on behalf of Le Grand Fooding in their newly-opened Red Hook space dubbed "the Res," which they describe as a "chef-artist residence in Red Hook, Brooklyn that brings chefs from all over the world we love and puts them in an environment where they're not pressured by corporate or money interests." They'll be in charge of preparing meals centered on the "farm-to-table" movement (this year's Le Fooding theme is "Time Mach'Inn" and explores three food trends -- fusion, bistronomy, and farm-to-table -- from the last twenty-plus years.

Where do you guys like to grab a bite to eat when you're leaving your own kitchens?

Castronovo: Yasuda. It's basically the best sushi in New York. Period.

How long have you been going there?

Castronovo: Five years.

What do you like to get when you go there?

Castronovo: We do tuna flights, which has all the different types of tuna. We'll also do a flight of salmon -- wild salmon, Chilean salmon, New Zealand King salmon, all that stuff. And then we'll do uni and oyster. I do sushi and sit at the sushi bar and it's all hand-to-mouth, I don't even touch chopsticks. I sit right in front of the sushi chefs and get it straight from them. We don't even need soy sauce. It's a seamless experience.

Sushi Yasuda

Don't they have 'rules' about what you can and cannot eat with your sushi? They don't offer any fusion-y rolls, right?

Castronovo: No, it's all high-quality, classic sushi at its finest. I'm telling you, it's seamless. There's no waiters, there's no silverware. It's so clean and you're in and out in 45 minutes. It's the best $400 for two people in 45 minutes in New York City.

And what about you, Frank, where do you like to go eat when you're leaving your own places?

Falcinelli: Mission Chinese.

Did you guys ever go to the one in San Francisco?

Castronovo: We were at the San Francisco Mission Chinese the first week it opened.

Falcinelli: We became friends with [Mission Chinese Chef/Owner] Danny [Bowien] back then. He came to New York and called us up and we were his ambassadors in the city. We had our Christmas party at Mission Chinese and that was the first time they opened and served food in the restaurant.

Mission Chinese

What do you guys like to order over there?

Falcinelli: We get the cod-fried rice and a triple or quadruple order of the fried chicken wings, usually with a pound of the spice on it. Frank [Castronovo's] favorite thing is the lamb -- the cumin lamb. Usually Danny will send out a couple of things and then there's usually a gallon or two of sake.

Any good anecdotes from nights at Mission Chinese?

Falcinelli: Our best Mission Chinese story was sitting next to Daniel Boulud and Adam Rapoport from Bon Appétit Magazine. Two months before, we'd invited Daniel Boulud to a symposium at MAD and his assistant was like, "Daniel's way too busy." So we get there and Danny sends out the whole menu and we're sitting there and right by us, Adam Rapoport says, "Hey, what are you guys up to?" And we said, "Oh, we're going to this food symposium with [Noma's] René Redzepi and we've got a friend of ours to fly us over on his plane" and Daniel Boulud goes, "Oh, man, that sounds so fun, I wish I could go there!" We were like, "Dude, two months ago [we asked you]!" And he was like, "This is not possible!" And he looks at his phone and sees he had said he was too busy and he winds up changing his whole schedule and he came [over there]. It was one of the best trips.

Castronovo: Daniel is so awesome to travel with. He is the James Brown of the restaurant business -- he's the hardest-working man in the restaurant business.

Sushi Yasuda, 204 E. 43rd St., New York; Open Mon-Fri, noon-2:15pm, Mon-Sat, 6pm-10:15pm, closed Sundays

Mission Chinese, 154 Orchard St., New York; Open daily noon-midnight

Photo of Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli by Poul Ober via Downtown Magazine

Oy: Jewtopia.

September 18, 2013, 6:53 am

≫ Next: Solange Dances Around An Empty Houston Mall In "Lovers In The Parking Lot"

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For reasons we can't possibly fathom, someone decided to make a rom-com called Jewtopia about a non-Jewish dude who wants to marry a Jewish woman ("Because I never want to make another decision for as long as I live") and lies about being Jewish. Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jamie-Lynn Sigler are in it and...oh god, we don't know, we're just as confused and irritated as you are. [via Jezebel]



ICYMI: Bill Nye is on Dancing With the Stars and as this clip of him spastically dancing to "Weird Science" proves, it's amazing/a little creepy. [via PopSci]


That's Zooey Deschanel's character in 500 Webs of Summer, right? [via Afternoon Snooze Button]
 


Sesame Street-induced swoon alert: while this isn't a level-10 swoon like when bearded Jon Hamm taught us about sculptures, slightly stiff Henry Cavill teaching Elmo and the Big Bad Wolf about respect is still pretty dreamy. [via Jezebel]


Thanks for the instructions, we needed that. [via mlkshk]


This is our dream cake. [via Rats Off]



Here's a compendium of the best Vines made by/starring children. These little guys are pretty talented. [via Jezebel]

We're wearing these every day. [via The Clearly Dope]

Solange Dances Around An Empty Houston Mall In "Lovers In The Parking Lot"

September 18, 2013, 9:00 am

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In her new video, "Lovers In The Parking Lot," Solange heads back to her native Houston and dances and prances her way through vacant hallways, a basement cafeteria, a pawn shop and a local mall where Bun B used to work. The singer's as shimmery as her pop-R&B song, dressed in shiny pink hot pants, printed Jeremy Scott-type leggings and metallic lamé blouses, appearing like a sparkly orb in otherwise muted surroundings. Produced in partnership with The Creators Project (a partnership between Intel and VICE), the highly-stylized clip is ultimately simple (no complicated, cinematic plot lines here) but mesmerizing nonetheless. And -- not that this hasn't been said before -- for all of Beyoncé's greatness, it's pretty hard to play it cooler than the younger Knowles.

"Lovers In The Parking Lot" appears on Solange's True EP, out now.  

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Young Architect Bjarke Ingels Is Re-Designing Pier 6 in Brooklyn

September 18, 2013, 9:55 am

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One of the youngest in a new crop of global starchitects, Bjarke Ingels, has just landed his second big commission in New York City. He'll be doing a new combination park and viewing platform in Brooklyn at the base of Atlantic Avenue. Here's a couple of renderings of that project, as well as his triangle-shaped building now going up on West 57th Street. We've also found some pictures of other mind-boggling designs coming from Ingels' Danish firm, BIG. This is our future.

Renderings of Pier 6 on the Brooklyn waterfront.


Ingels' forthcoming 57th Street building.

Other BIG projects.

Designer Glenn Martens Adores Royal Mistresses of Centuries Past

September 18, 2013, 10:30 am

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In our new column United Nations of Style, we'll be talking to the coolest, cuckoo craziest and most creative fashion designers around the world to hear what inspires them and what it's like to work in fashion where they live. Next up: Bruges-based Glenn Martens.

How would you describe your design aesthetic?

I've often been described as presenting a mix of Belgian "concept," French "chic," and British "cool." I'm proud people see my work this way and I suppose by now it has to be a part of my DNA.

Where do your ideas come from? What are your design inspirations?

Anything can inspire me. Some things, of course, touch me more than others. I discovered that most things I love often relate back to my personal view of the city where I grew up. Bruges does have this unique vibe of a sleeping historic metropolis re-invented as a hotspot for mass-tourism. The aggression of neon lights and the overload of commercial souvenir-shops is bleeding into the sleek shadows of the city's Gothic architecture. It's opposite worlds fusing into a new surreal reality.

Who do you dream of dressing? If you could dress anyone, past or present, who would it be?

I love women, I love history. I love historic women. I feel their stories are a never-ending source of inspiration. I don't exactly design for a certain personality. I'm more fascinated by different types of women and I try to feel their world, imagine their life. I do admit that every few months there is a new story, a new character, who I'm obsessed by. When she strikes, I need to know all about her. In the past years I've flirted with Agnès Sorel, La Païva, Lee Miller, Romy Schneider. Lately I've been slightly obsessed by the life of Elizabeth Siddal -- one of history's first top models, the muse of the Pre-Raphaelites, a torn, independent woman with a tragic beauty. British model Bianca O'Brien, a dear friend of mine, often wears my clothes for our lookbooks or campaigns. Her resemblance to Elizabeth is striking. I'm always over-excited seeing my collections on her.

If you weren't in fashion, what would you be doing?

Wherever I go I'm always obsessed by finding the most idyllic, honest places. I'm constantly redesigning in my head. So I guess I would go for urban or landscape architecture.

Describe the fashion and design community in your city.

Right now I'm in Paris, which is filled with fashion. It's a huge community where everybody seems to know one another. There's not many young independent designers in this city and therefore I feel quite blessed to have a bit of a particular place in this world. I go my own way and I don't feel much concurrence. But the whole community seems very peaceful and lovable to me.



How does the fashion and design in your city affect your personal style?

I have the feeling of doing five jobs at the same time. I'm always in a rush and often on the road. It doesn't leave me too much time to think about my style, so I'll often just go for something easy and comfortable..

How does the fashion and design in your city affect the style of your brand?

I'm not really following trends; I'm always focused on finding new techniques, new concepts to build up my pieces. I do often get ideas from the street but it's mainly based on technical details and finishings.

Describe the Glenn Martens woman.

The duality in my work evokes the combination of worlds I talked about earlier. A pure elegance would be too easy, there is always more to it than that. We've reinterpreted the bomber out of dusty couture material [such] as moiré. Hand-made bustier dresses are made out of a basic nylon. All dresses and skirts have pockets. Each piece has its secret: there's always a hidden slit, a transparent layer which caresses the body...you discover the piece little by little. My collections relate to all women...women with a secret, and every woman has her secret.

What do you know now that you wish you had known when you started out?

I was always very lucky with my past jobs. I always dealt with great responsibility in different markets of the fashion business. I do believe these experiences made me quite ready for my launch. I'm a quite rational person and therefore never have to deal with many big surprises.

What's next for you?

I'm totally happy where I'm right now. I'm designing collections, making beautiful things. I could only ask for less constraints -- being able to have full artistic freedom and not have to say no to certain wishes...that would be perfection!

Grizzly Bear Release a Song That Didn't -- But Should've -- Made It Onto Shields

September 18, 2013, 11:30 am

≫ Next: 5 Reasons Why Folk Music Is Popular Again

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On November 12, Grizzly Bear will be dropping two addenda to their acclaimed 2012 album Shields: Shields Expanded and Shields B-Sides. In anticipation of the release, Edward Droste, Daniel Rossen, Chris Taylor and Christopher Bear put a previously unreleased track, "Will Calls" online. And it's better than any track on Shields. A little haunting, very beautiful, and tad James Blake-y, it's good enough to make you look past all the whole "A-list musicians trying to squeeze as much money as possible out of an album without releasing any truly new work" thing. Turns out we'll be downloading Shields B-Sides when the time comes.

5 Reasons Why Folk Music Is Popular Again

September 18, 2013, 2:15 pm

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Folk music is back. Bands like Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers, and singer-songwriters like Passenger (né Michael Rosenberg), Jake Bugg and Laura Marling are selling a ton of records and performing for big crowds. The music's sub-genres are endless and sometimes ridiculous: freak-folk, techno-folk, Americana, punk-folk, psych-folk, etc. This fall also sees the release of the Coen brothers latest film Inside Llewyn Davis, loosely based on the life of '60s Greenwich Village folkie Dave Van Ronk.

So what's causing this resurgence? Here's 5 reasons:

1. Give peace a chance. After years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, many people are ready for a pull-back, and folk music has a long history of protest and reflection. Not that we expect to see Mumford & Sons at a sit-in. A love-in? Maybe.

2. No Molly required. Unlike EDM, folk music sounds better with pot. The tempo even drops below 128 bpm!

3. Hipsters need music to go with their artisanal cocktails and locally-sourced kale salad. And vinyl isn't just about nostalgia.

4. The lyrics can speak to adults too. There's more to life than Britney Spears' questions ("You want a hot body?") and Justin Bieber's hypotheticals ("I could be your Buzz Lightyear").

5. A real drummer sounds better than a drum machine. Even Daft Punk uses one now. Now how  about taking some dobro lessons, everyone?

Three September Movies You Can't Miss

September 19, 2013, 9:30 am

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Adore
Childhood friends Roz (Robin Wright) and Lil (Naomi Watts) have always been neighbors on the Australian seaside, and have seen each other through marriages, births, deaths and disappointments. They both even have twenty-something sons, whom they adore. But one summer each begins a sexual relationship with the other's son. Before you start giggling, the seedy, melodramatic (and just wrong!) concept -- based on a Doris Lessing novella -- is elevated by Atonement screenwriter Christopher Hampton, director Anne Fontaine (Coco Before Chanel) and the film's two luminous leads.
Out now

We Are What We Are
Jim Mickle's savage adaptation of a Mexican film by Jorge Michel Grau about a family of modern-day cannibals is set in the wilds of upstate New York, where a father (a brilliant, frightening Bill Sage) and his daughters Iris (Ambyr Childers) and Rose (Julia Garner) carry out their devoutly religious beliefs involving human flesh as a sacrament. Michael Parks plays a doctor who grows suspicious about his daughter's disappearance after discovering a human bone that has washed downstream after a heavy rain. Cinematographer Ryan Samul creates a menacing mood of impending dread with his luscious, moody photography -- and the ending is to die for.
Out September 27

Don Jon
Joseph Gordon-Levitt's triumphant writer/director feature debut tells the tale of Don Jon, a studly Jersey bro (Gordon-Levitt) who's fastidious about his home, appearance and muscle car. A devout Catholic, he religiously dines with his parents (a hilarious Tony Danza and Glenne Headly) but has a serious addiction to Internet porn. He starts to question his lifestyle after meeting Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), who takes a liking to him at a club, and befriending an odd, troubled, woman named Esther (Julianne Moore) at night school. There's a cartoonish Jersey Shore vibe to Don Jon's world, but the movie never loses sight of the humanity and heart.
Out September 19