A Fan's Take on Lou Reed's "Walk On the Wild Side"

April 12, 2013, 9:15 am

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I thought about "Walk On the Wild Side" last week -- because David Bowie produced it -- but there was never an "official" Lou Reed video. Yesterday I found this "fan" version that includes lots of rare footage of the Andy Warhol "superstars" that Reed mentions in the song: Candy Darling, Jackie Curtis, Joe Dallesandro, etc. A couple of years after quitting The Velvet Underground, Reed released his first solo album, Transformer, and it included "Take a Walk...". Despite the lyrics about cross-dressing and other (for the time) NSFW lyrics, it made up to #16 on the pop charts. Doot, da doot, da doot, da doot, doot, doot.

P.S.: Fans of topless Marky Mark may recall that he released this strange "re-interpretation" of the song in 1991 and changed the title to "Wildside."

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The Trailer for G.B.F. Is Here and Is Great

April 12, 2013, 12:07 pm

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Here's the official G.B.F., a new teen comedy about an unpopular high school guy who comes out and then basks in the glory -- yes, glory! -- of it. In this high school, having a "gay best friend" is a hot trend, so each of the popular girls vies to make him her G.B.F. He becomes popular, there's fallout, and we're sure everything gets resolved neatly. Written by George Northy and directed by Darren Stein -- of Jawbreaker fame -- the movie features a slew of up-and-coming actors from teen TV shows, including Sasha Pieterse from Pretty Little Liars, Paul Iacono from The Hard Times of RJ Berger and Molly Tarlov from Awkward. Megan Mullally, Horatio Sanz and Natasha Lyonne are also in it, which makes us even more on board to see it. The world is  wanting for well-made gay teen comedies and we can't wait to learn some valuable lessons about how gays are people, not accessories. Watch above.

10 Etsy Finds: Crowd-Surfing Dogs and Vegan Leather

April 12, 2013, 12:30 pm

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1. Picasso Cats Scarf

This 3ft. x 3ft. silk chiffon scarf printed with a Picasso illustration of god's favorite animal, cats, is beautiful!

2. Crowd Surfing Guitar Pick

This guitar pick with a picture of a chill dog crowd-surfing on it had got to be the coolest guitar pick we've ever seen.

3. The Knit Kid Dress

This oversized, color-blocked knit dress is apparently "very, very soft." Give... to ...us!

4. Convertible Leather Bag

This colorful bag made of vegan leather seems like it can hold everything. Perfect for laptops, not so perfect for your neck muscles.

5. Decollections Masking Tape

Who says tape can't be pretty? Nobody, that's who! Next time the back of the remote falls off and you need to tape the batteries in, reach for this.

6. Flowers Screen-Printed Canvas Backpack

This light-weight, backpack-style tote, featuring a lovely floral screenprint, is perfect for carrying a few essentials in the spring time.

7. Gold Long Necklace With Three Skulls

A dainty little gold necklace that's just a little bit spooky.

8. Bacon n' Egg Napkin

This hand-stamped, cotton towel will help you clean up the crumbs from making...bacon and eggs, duh.

9. Handmade Leather Rucksack

Love this simple, handmade, sturdy white leather backpack!

10. Thank You Reusable Shopping Tote

This "Thank You" tote is almost the exact same as its disposable version but in durable, non-rip vinyl. 

Designer to Watch: Rejina Pyo

April 12, 2013, 2:14 pm

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Rejina Pyo is a designer we'll be keeping our eye on. In two years, the Korean-born Central Saint Martins grad has already been an assistant designer at Roksanda Ilincic, collaborated with H&M-owned high-fashion store Weekday to sell designs from her graduate collection, had her work featured in the 'ARRRGH! Monstres de Mode' exhibition, and, after winning the Han Nefkens Fashion Award, was commissioned by the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum to show a collection that seamlessly fuses art and fashion. Inspired by modern art and architecture, Rejina's designs run the gamut between cool, easy outfits that wouldn't look out of place at on one of New York's girls-about-town, and cuckoo pieces that blur the line between fashion and sculpture. Read below to learn about Pyo's past and future and to see images from her ready-to-wear collection and museum exhibition.
    

When did you know you wanted to be a designer?
It was more of a natural thing. My mother was in fashion for a while when she was young and I always loved looking at her sketchbooks. I remember when I was a child, I wrapped some fabrics around me, which my mother bought for a curtain I think, and I then showed it to her as if it was an haute couture dress!

What was your experience like at Roskanda Ilincic?
It was such a great experience. Having worked in a big corporation in Korea, working in a design studio is very different. I worked very closely with Roksanda. I was responsible for assisting all the key areas of designing including research, coming up with ideas, fabric selection, draping, sketching, embroidery design, print design. I also designed the Net-a-Porter exclusive collection and Debenhams collaboration collection. The job was so broad so I get to experience almost everything, which was amazing.

What inspired you for the collection that received the Han Nefkens fashion award? How does it compare to your current season of ready-to-wear?
The boundary between art and fashion is always somewhat blurred, so I wanted to experiment with a more direct approach. I did not want to create fashion garments that could be worn and had just been inspired by the color, mood or design of an art piece, instead I wanted to create sculptural artwork that had been influenced by garments. So none of the pieces are wearable, although at first glance they look like dresses or garments to some degree. Then when you get up close you can see the pieces are made using metal and plastics, together with some fabric, creating sculptures in their own right.

What's next for your business?
I think you know it's really serious when you are in Paris meeting buyers and getting stockists. We had some great feedback from buyers from all over the world as well as editors and stylists. I am excited about next season too. [But] I try to think of my label as a life-long project.

What's next for you personally?
Going to Cambodia and Korea in May with my husband who is an amazing chef -- check out his cookbook 'The Guilt Free Gourmet' -- so we are just going to eat and relax! Then it's back to work!

If you could dress anyone, past or present, who would you dress?
Diana Vreeland, when you see her, she dressed so simply and effortlessly. She always looked so elegant.

How do you feel about the state of the industry for young designers today?
There are so many young labels these days, so it is extremely difficult to make a name for yourself, but at the same time I believe that if you are true to yourself then there will always be a place for your designs. When that happens though is another story, so much is about timing and luck!

Pyo's SS'13 Collection:


Pyo's sculptural exhibit on display the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum:

Portrait of the Artist as Don Draper

April 12, 2013, 2:30 pm

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Mad Men's season premiere left many of us gasping, wondering what happened to Don Draper and what happened to Matt Weiner, the mad genius behind one of television's most talked and written about show. Don barely said a word for the fist 10 minutes and seemed preoccupied throughout the entire episode as it veered from Betty to Peggy to Roger to Meagan, all the while with Don the center of it all not really doing anything. Until the end, but we won't get into that.

Everyone has an opinion about the show, many of them logged in our roundup, each one perhaps telling us more about the writer than about Don. There's the feminist view, the semiotic, psychological, biographical, mother centric...

My take is somewhat different and, from my perspective, the one that matters most because without it Mad Men is nothing more than a well-dressed soap opera. Don is an artist and a large part of what we see is how his art comes to be. It's not easy to show the creative process at work in a compelling way. Filmmakers have struggled with this aspect of life because it is so internal and difficult to visualize. (It's easier if you have someone like Van Gogh who cuts off his ear.)

Mad Men's season premiere opens in Hawaii with Don pretty much spacing out and staring off into space, looking for inspiration for the ad campaign he needs to dream up. We see Don's self-loathing take a self-destructive philandering bent that's guaranteed to leave him more and more isolated -- even at the office, where he's equally undecipherable and misunderstood. So when he returns from his Hawaiian work-ation and comes up with an ad campaign that can be construed as a suicide note, we get a glimpse of what it's like to be a self-centered egoist trying to manage life in the real world. The ad campaign's implications my seem shocking to viewers, but I think it's fair to say that many of our greatest artists do not measure up as the best role models.

Don's alter ego Peggy Olsen also has a secret, a baby she hasn't acknowledged or told anyone about. She, too, knows that creativity cannot be turned on and off, that it can come with isolation and darkness, and that sometimes the best thing to do is just stare off into space. Maybe you'll see your boyfriend in headphone silently shaking his head to the music and then it'll strike. Or maybe you won't. It can be funny that way.

The Best, Worst and Weirdest of the Week

April 12, 2013, 3:24 pm

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Best Revenge of the Week: Rapper RiFF RaFF is set to play a role on One Life to Live as "Jamie Franko," probably in retaliation to James Franco playing a character based off of him in Spring Breakers. How the tables have turned. -- Rashard Bradshaw

Best Heckler: The guy jumping up and down in front of the Mercury Lounge's stage on Saturday night, demanding that veteran Boston indie rockers Big Dipper play "new shit" from last year's comeback LP, Crashes on the Platinum Planet. -- Jonah Wolf


Most Oddly Compelling Reflection on Margaret Thatcher: Russell Brand -- that's right, the actor and ex-husband of Katy Perry -- wrote a thoughtful column for the Guardian about growing up when Thatcher was Prime Minister. -- Max Kessler

Best GIF of the Week: We just can't get enough of the RHOA antics from NeNe Leakes, who recently signed on for another season. -- R.B.

Best Use of a Sexy Sex Sex Trailer: This very NSFW teaser trailer for Filth. Is it weird that I've never been more attracted to James McAvoy? -- M.K.


Best Podcast: Three weeks in, I'm just catching up with Norm MacDonald Live. It sounds like it took the podcast a little while to find its footing, but Norm's wacky timing is hard to resist. -- J.W.



Worst Cry for Attention: Though he denies the single is about his sex tape costar Kim Kardashian, Ray J's single "I Hit it First" adds new depth to the term "lowbrow." -- R.B.


Best Study of Parenting: I'm not a parent and I don't typically find articles about child-rearing interesting. But I read every word of this post about how national cultures create very distinct differences in the parenting styles of most nations (even the European ones that share borders). -- M.K.

Dictator Chic: The Playlist

April 12, 2013, 3:55 pm

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In this weekly column, MC/DJ Hesta Prynn pairs pop culture stories with an original playlist.
 
With the specter of global nuclear annihilation hanging over us, I thought this was an appropriate time to pay homage to some of the world's Most Fashionable Dictators. Whether they're bombing their own people, preciding over genocide, or just plain blaming the Jews, the following leaders are looking good while doing it. This week's Five 'n' Five takes a look at the men leading our wacky world. That shit cray.


1. Muammar Gaddafi/Libya - "Crazy" - Ne-Yo feat. Jay-Z

When he wasn't busy accusing Israel of assassinating JFK, the late Dictator of Libya relaxed in floor length printed robes with matching headdress, Michael Jackson-esque military regalia and blue eyeshadow. Guarded by a unit of all female virgin bodyguards, the "Olivier Zahm of Dictators" collected sunglasses and rocked Africa pendants like the fifth member of A Tribe Called Quest. "You say I'm crazy, I say I'm fabulous."


2. Mobutu Sese Seko/Democratic Republic of Congo - "Crazy" - Gnarls Barkley

Remember that scene in 90210 when Kelly and Brenda showed up at the prom in the same dress? One of the benefits of being an insanely violent dictator is that you can rest assured that this will never happen to you. When Mobutu ruled Zaire he banned all leopard-skin hats except for his own. "Maybe I'm crazy. Probably."


3. Kim Jong Un/North Korea - "Crazy " - Seal

Lil' Kim is serving monochromatic communist minimalist realness like whoa. His ensemble is saying, "Yes, I can sport an ill-fitting suit and an undercut and annihilate all human beings at the same time, what WHAT???" Note to self: Quit hitting the plate so hard, a double chin is never on trend.


4. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad/Iran - "Crazy" - Aerosmith

Ahmadinejad works five o'clock shadow and a slim fitting suit like none other. His dashing James Bond-esque wardrobe and handsome smile can almost make you forget that he's a total psycho. Almost.


5. John Kerry/USA - "Crazy" - Patsy Cline

He's not a dictator, but the Secretary of State has clearly become the sleeper hit of this impending nuclear catastrophe. John Kerry's hair is so aggressive one has to wonder if it will, in fact, help or hurt the situation. Who will save your Seoul? No way of knowing.

Veep Met the Real Veep

April 12, 2013, 4:58 pm

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1.  Veep met the Vice President: Julia Louis Dreyfus met Joe Biden. [via Hyper Vocal]


2.   Mykki Blanco is on the cover of Village Voice. [via Kenneth in the 212]

3.  For those who love Foosball and also love the environment, here's the world's first Foosball table made from 100% sustainable materials. [via Kartoni]

4.  Actor, poet and writer Taylor Mead has officially surrendered his Lower East Side apartment to landlord Ben Shaoul and will be moving to Denver. The building will probably be renovated and the rent greatly increased. [via Bowery Boogie]


5.  Amid increasing controversy, Rick Ross wrote an official apology for the following verse in his song "U.O.E.N.O.": "Put Molly all in the champagne/ She ain't even know it/ I took her home and I enjoyed that/ She ain't even know it." Says Ross: "To every woman that has felt the sting of abuse, I apologize." [via Pitchfork]

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Coachella Chatz: IO Echo

April 12, 2013, 6:15 pm

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Welcome to Coachella Chatz, in which we ask musicians at Coachella to answer our version of the Proust questionnaire. (That is, if Proust had fallen asleep in the sun for five hours outside the Gobi tent, wearing a tie-dyed onesie and holding a beer.) Below, we chat with Ionna Gika and Leopold Ross from Io Echo.


What song reminds you of high school?

IG: I lived in Washington D.C. for a couple years -- I lived all over -- and there's Go-go music, which is unique to Washington D.C. and it kind of has a funk, hip-hop feel. It reminds me of house parties in high school.

What was the first concert you ever went to?

LR: The Beastie Boys in London at a place called The Astoria -- or Brixton Academy, I can't remember.

IG: I went to a Yanni concert. I'm a big New Age music fan. I used to have his poster on my wall.

What is the best song to listen to in the car, windows down, cruising-mode?

LR: I like R. Kelly's "Ignition."

IG: I was gonna say maybe "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe."

What's the best song to make out to?

LR: Uhh...I like Suicide -- the thing about it is it's all very anticipatory tension, you know what I mean? It's loops that are just building and building and building. I think it creates for some good...vibes. Definitely some grinding can be done to that.

IG: Maybe "#1" Crush by Garbage.

LR: The Jurassic Park theme song is also really good.

What was the first album you ever bought?

IG: I really loved the Sliver soundtrack growing up. It had Enigma and Massive Attack and Heaven 17 and Fluke and just some really awesome '90s bands that I still love today.

LR: I actually bought Paradise City by Guns N' Roses on 7-inch but mainly because I thought the artwork was amazing.

What's your favorite one hit wonder?

LR: I like that one song -- I don't even know what it's called -- "More to Life," maybe?

IG: [starts singing] "There's gotta be more to life than just..."

LR: It's a very positive, Disney channel song.

What's your go-to karaoke song?

LR: "All That She Wants" by Ace of Base.

IG: You stole mine!

Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift?

LR and IG (in unison): Justin Bieber.

Who would you rather tour with: all denim-suit Justin Timberlake or Suit and Tie Justin Timberlake?

LR: All-denim Justin Timberlake. That man looks like he knows how to party.

Photo by Abby Schreiber

Check back on papermag.com for more Coachella Chatz

Coachella Chatz: Tegan and Sara

April 13, 2013, 11:21 am

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Welcome to Coachella Chatz, in which we ask musicians at Coachella to answer our version of the Proust questionnaire. (That is, if Proust had fallen asleep in the sun for five hours outside the Gobi tent, wearing a tie-dyed onesie and holding a beer.) Below, we chat with Tegan and Sara.

What song reminds you of high school?

Tegan: UB40's "Red Red Wine" and anything off of Ace of Base's record, The Sign.

Sara: For me, it's anything from A Tribe Called Quest because we used to drive around in our friend Mitch's car listening to it so whenever I hear it, I'm just like, "I want to go to a rave and call my ex-girlfriend."

What was the first concert you ever attended?

T&S [in unison]: New Kids On the Block

T: And we just met them a week ago. It was so cool -- we got to meet our childhood heroes.

What song makes you want to go cruising in a car, sunroof down, windows open?

S: Björk. I love the pink record, Post? Why am I forgetting? That record is also a high school record and I swear to you, every time I hear that record, I think about driving in cars, listening to music, summer crushes.

T: I was gonna say that the last time I had a serious crush, I was listening to a lot of Band of Horses. Every time I hear -- not this new record but the one before -- I get really nostalgic. But I'm with the girl that I had that feeling about so it's fine...I don't know why it's so nostalgic.

What's the best song to make out to?

S: Oh boy. I would say that the last time I was listening to music and making out on a regular basis -- you know when you get into a relationship with someone and you stop making out to music cause you're just like, "turn off the stereo, it's time for bed!" But when I was still making out to music, Matthew Dear -- I love Matthew Dear. There's something about his voice and his records that I'm into for making out.

What was the first CD/cassette/vinyl you bought?

S: Our parents were major, major music people so we had a lot of music. For some reason I remember R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People, which would have been when we were in 7th grade so that was the time we were starting to save our allowance and buy music. At that point, we were just relying on our parents to buy records.

T: I remember we went to this old record store by our house and we bought the Sublime record [40oz. to Freedom] that has the sun on the front. We bought it purely because we thought the cover was really cool and then we got into music around that surfer rock, laid back, California music scene. A lot of it was probably over our heads, what they were singing about, but we didn't know.

What's your favorite one-hit wonder song?

T: You know what, if you'd asked me seven years ago, I would've said that Robyn song ["Show Me Love"] -- "remember that Swedish pop star?" -- and now she's amazing. But I still think in a strange way, it's a whole other era of Robyn and I'd still pick that song. I saw her play it acoustically and it's still amazing -- "Show Me Love." Still a fantastic song.

Who do you think is the best-dressed musician of all time?

S: Prince.


What is your least-favorite song? What's song is like nails on a chalkboard?

T: I feel like every summer there's the "party song" and generally it's sexist and glorifies terrible behavior and someone who's a terrible person would get drunk and do terrible things to another person -- that song. Party anthem. If they're calling it a party anthem, I'm like, "Noooo! Stop it!"

What are your go-to karaoke songs?

T: I'd say Bon Jovi is a safe bet. And Cyndi Lauper. Go with something old and something you know really well. Don't go with that song you really liked last year, because guess what part you don't know: The bridge. And then you lose people.

Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift?

S: Bieber.

T: Taylor Swift. I do love Justin though.

Here's something we asked bands in our April issue: If Weird Al covered one of your songs, what would he cover and what would he change the title to?

S: He would do "Closer" and instead he would call it --

T: "Poseur!"

S: I was gonna say he'd do "The Closer" and do a spoof on that show The Closer. Love that show.

Would you rather tour with denim suit Justin Timberlake or "Suit and Tie" Justin Timberlake?

S: "Suit and Tie," obviously.

T: Obviously. I will say that era [denim suit] was pretty awesome. He was still dating Britney Spears, right?

I had to photoshop Britney out.

T: Actually I want to change my answer. I'd go with the all-denim 'cause I wanna hang with Brit.

Coachella Chatz: IO Echo

Coachella Chatz: Danny Brown

April 14, 2013, 11:00 am

≫ Next: Coachella Chatz: Bat For Lashes

≪ Previous: Coachella Chatz: Tegan and Sara

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Welcome to Coachella Chatz, in which we ask musicians at Coachella to answer our version of the Proust questionnaire. (That is, if Proust had fallen asleep in the sun for five hours outside the Gobi tent, wearing a tie-dyed onesie and holding a beer.) Below, we chat with Danny Brown.

What song reminds you of high school?

I don't know. It's not like I had my first kiss to a song -- I didn't have that type of life. It wasn't like Dawson's Creek or anything.

What was the first concert you ever went to?

It was LL Cool J, Run DMC and Beastie Boys.

What is the best song to cruise to in a car, windows down, sunroof open?

I don't know how to drive. I've never driven a car before.

What's your favorite song to make out to?

I'd rather hear sex noises and shit -- moaning and shit.

What was the first CD, cassette or vinyl you ever bought?

The first tape I ever bought was Kid 'n Play's 2 Hype.

Who is the best-dressed musician of all time?

Prince 'cause he had his shit custom-made. He didn't wear brands.

Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift?

I've never even heard a Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift song. I guess if I have to pick, I'd pick the girl 'cause I'm not picking the dude.

Here's something we asked bands in our April issue: If Weird Al covered one of your songs, what would he cover and what would he change the title to?

It'd probably be "Blunt After Blunt" and he'd probably call it "Cry Night After Night."

Who would you rather tour with: all denim-suit Justin Timberlake or Suit and Tie Justin Timberlake?

Neither one because we have totally different fan bases and I wouldn't want to perform in front of his crowd. I wouldn't want to know who'd come see that denim suit guy!

More Coachella Chatz
IO Echo
Tegan and Sara

Coachella Chatz: Bat For Lashes

April 14, 2013, 3:00 pm

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Welcome to Coachella Chatz, in which we ask musicians at Coachella to answer our version of the Proust questionnaire. (That is, if Proust had fallen asleep in the sun for five hours outside the Gobi tent, wearing a tie-dyed onesie and holding a beer.) Below, we chat with Bat For Lashes.

What song reminds you of high school?

I'm not sure it was high school -- it might have been university -- but Missy Elliott's  and Tweet's "Oops that goes my shirt, there goes my..."

What was the first concert you ever attended?

Michael Jackson's "Bad" tour, Wembley Stadium, when I was nine, with my mum. It was amaaazing. I loved it.

What's your favorite song to listen to in the car when you're cruising, windows open, sunroof down, the whole thing?

I really like LCD Soundsystem's "Someone Great," but I think the better answer would be Fleetwood Mac. It'd be like "Sara" or "Gypsy" -- all those amazing songs.

What's your favorite song to make out to?

I'd probably say that one off the Drive soundtrack that's really sexy -- "I can't eat, I can't sleep, I do nothing but think of you." It's "Under Your Spell" [by Desire] off the Drive soundtrack.

What was the first CD/cassette/record you ever bought?

True Blue by Madonna. I'm such a pop girl, really.

What's your favorite one-hit wonder song?

Who do you think is the best-dressed musician of all time?

David Bowie.

What is your go-to karaoke song?

It's probably "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler.

Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift?

Justin Bieber!

Have you ever dedicated a song to someone on the radio?

I have. I've dedicated a song to my sweetheart when I did a DJ show in England for a radio station. I also did a live session on the radio and I dedicated "Laura" to my best friend, Katherine.

Here's something we asked bands in our April issue: If Weird Al covered one of your songs, what would he cover and what would he change the title to?

Well we change our songs names all the time because we get bored so we call "Daniel" "Spaniel" and "Rest Your Head" is "Rest Your Shed" and "The Haunted Man" is "The H Man" so I'm thinking he'd do "Spaniel" and say it was by Fat For Lashes and do it in a fat suit.

Who would you rather tour with: all denim-suit Justin Timberlake or Suit and Tie Justin Timberlake?

Definitely all-denim! Just so I could piss myself laughing every morning. Everyone would say "Suit and Tie" because he's trying to be James Bond but I like him with curly hair.

More Coachella Chatz
IO Echo
Tegan and Sara
Danny Brown

Aubrey Plaza's Weird Will Ferrell Stage Crash

April 15, 2013, 6:15 am

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Aubrey Plaza tried to crash Will Ferrell 's MTV Movie Awards speech last night and it was maybe not planned but probably planned? She seems genuinely horrified when she goes back to her seat, and MTV supposedly asked her to leave afterward, as mentioned in this MTV article that's mostly about how awesome MTV's social media presence is. They also have a clip of Will Ferrell describing the incident as "just a lot of hot liquor breath" and have already created a timeline, which is all very odd. But who knows.



This GIF of Quvenzhane Wallis at the MTV Movie Awards makes up for the MTV Movie Awards. [MTV]

Some lady threw her pubes at Hugh Jackman in a gym. [Mlkshk]

Danny DeVito's tweets from Coachella are excellent. Great reviewing/reporting skills. Pitchfork, you know what to do. [Buzzfeed]

Another pic from Julia Louise Dreyfuss' hang session with papa Joe B! We're jalouse. [OfficialJLD]
 
Our favorite thing about this video of a woodchuck eating an ice cream cone is that he/she has great manners. We were like, "surely this woodchuck is going to smash the cone into its face and make a big mess." But no! Very dainty! Where can we get a woodchuck?  [TheClearlyDope]



Riff Raff, AKA Jody Highroller AKA Blueberry Jones, has a Vine account that is 100% mindblowing. Here are six seconds of himself calling cashews "squirrel boners." The DailyDot has many more highlights.

This tiny lamb wants you to try and have a great day today and to remember that you're #1. Go get 'em, buddy. [LaughterKey]

Nashville's Catbird Seat Guys Tell Us Where They Grab Banh Mis and Spam Sandwiches

April 15, 2013, 10:00 am

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Josh Habiger (left) and Erik Anderson (right)

Each week in our new Off Duty series, we'll 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: Josh Habiger and Erik Anderson, chefs at Nashville's The Catbird Seat.

Where do you guys like to go eat when you're leaving your restaurant?

Josh Habiger: Nolensville Road is where all the ethnic food is. There's a spot on Nolensville called Interasian Market. It's owned by a Vietnamese family and they make banh mi there, but there's no menu. You just sort of walk in and tell the person at the register that you want three banh mi's or whatever, and he gets on a walkie talkie to the back and then you wait around for five minutes or so and then someone comes up and hands you a bag.

Erik Anderson: They make roast pork on the weekends and spring rolls and all that stuff. There's a little deli counter in there.

How did you first come across this place?

JH: Someone told me about this secret banh mi thing and I went in there one day. They're super good.

How long have you been going there?

JH: I don't know, a year and a half I guess.

And besides Banh mi, do they have other specialties?

EA: Yeah the roast pork and spring rolls. They have this little hot counter and deli stuff.

JH: It's an Asian grocery store, too, so they have fresh produce and all that stuff.

What's your favorite thing to get there?

EA & JH: The banh mi.

The tradional banh mi, with the pate?

JH: Yeah, there's no options. [It'] sliced beef pate, pickles...

EA: Yeah [I get the banh mi, too]. I live right down the street. A guy and his dad run it and the mom does all the cooking in the back. They're super, super nice. There's usually grandkids running around. It's a family-run place.

Any fun anecdotes?

EA: [We have more] anecdotes at this place called Paradise Park that's where we go after work if we're drinking.

JH: Yeah that's a good place for late-night burgers. It's right on lower-Broadway.

What makes the burgers so good?

JH: 'Cause it's the only thing open at that time...

EA: [laughs] And you're usually pretty drunk.

How long have you guys been going there?

JH: I started going there in 2009 -- it was one of the first places I started going to in Nashville.

EA: [I've been going] probably for a year and a half since I moved here. I'll usually have a couple of drinks and then grab something there before I go home.

Do you guys always go for the burgers?

EA: I go for the spam sandwich.

What do they put on it besides spam?

EA: Mayo, lettuce, cheese, tomato, white bread.

JH: Their tator tots and the fried chicken sandwich is good, too.

So tell me your funny stories about nights there.

JH: The nacho cheese [story].

EA: Yeah, one of our [chefs] was loaded one night and started drinking straight up nacho cheese. So I took a picture and put it up on Instagram and I think his girlfriend was a little disappointed. He was pretty drunk. Usually you're there drinking. I don't think I've ever been there sober. Have you Josh?

JH: When I first moved here I went there for lunch a couple times. But now I know better.

Interasian Market, 2160 Nolensville Pike, Nashville; Mon-Sat, 9am-8:30pm; Sun, 9am-8pm

Paradise Park Trailer Resort, 411 Broadway, Nashville; Daily, 10:30am-4am

More From Our Chefs Off Duty Series

Mark Kamins' Memorial Party at Santos Party House

April 15, 2013, 11:24 am

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There's a big memorial/party coming up for DJ and downtown music scene mainstay Mark Kamins on April 17. But before we get into the details, a brief explanation is in order. When I got the news that Mark had passed away in February, there wasn't much reaction from the young'uns around PAPER's office except for a mild, "Who's he?" That's understandable, so I'll explain: Mark was one of the first DJs to play "new-wave" dance music (and to combine it with punk or James Brown or whatever he'd just discovered) at the height of the disco craze in the early '80s. He was one of the resident DJs -- with Sean Cassette -- at a club called Danceteria and it was there that he met another of the club's employees, Madonna. Mark started working with the then-unknown singer and produced her first single, "Everybody." He also introduced her to Sire Records owner Seymour Stein, who immediately signed her. In essence, it was Mark who gave Madonna that first push and who's responsible for putting her on the map.

Mark went on to produce and remix numerous other artists including underground New York locals Quando Quango and Urban Blight as well as big, established artists like UB40 and Sinead O'Connor. He traveled and DJ'd around the world and was one of the first DJs to incorporate world music into his repertoire. He died at age 57 in Guadalajara, where he'd been teaching at the Fermatta Music Academy.

Mark had his ups and downs. He was a hard-partying, friendly and open guy that you'd find behind the turntables at MARS nightclub at 4 a.m., sweating like a fountain and madly blowing a whistle. And then the next week, you'd spot him on a panel at a music biz convention, telling hard truths to a rapt audience of curious kids.

Anyway, let's get back to the "party." It's happening on April 17, at Santos Party House (96 Lafayette Street, 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.) and features performances by KONK (doing their first show since 1986), Crystal Ark, Nomi Ruiz, Coati Mundi, Strafe, Johnny Dynell, John Robie and Harmony Trujillo as well as over twenty DJs, including Mike Pickering, Jellybean Benitez, Justin Strauss, Stretch Armstrong, Francois K, Jazzy Nice, Bill Bahlman, Murray Elias and more. There's a $20 suggested donation and the proceeds go to a Mark Kamin's Scholarship Award. Seems like a fitting tribute.

 

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Daft Punk and Pharrell Get Lucky

April 15, 2013, 1:33 pm

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Daft Punk is back with a new album, Random Access Memories, and a new record label, Columbia, on May 21st. Yippee! They aired this short video "teaser" over the weekend at Coachella -- and also on Saturday Night Live. Rumors of various collabs have been floating around for several months and this clip for "Get Lucky" confirms that both Pharrell Williams and Nile Rogers are on board, at least for one song. Other names kicking around as contributors include legendary disco/electronic producer Giorgio Moroder, songwriter/pianist Chilly Gonzales, house music producer Todd Edwards and "smooth jazz" artist Nathan East of Fourplay. DP also just announced that they'll be contributors to the next Kanye album, currently in production in Paris where West has been living since Fashion Week. Watch the teaser for "Get Lucky" above while dreaming of Daft Punk and Kanye hanging out.

Recapping the Mad Men Recaps: Episode 3, "The Collaborators"

April 15, 2013, 2:30 pm

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Each week PAPER will help you sort through your feelings about Mad Men by rounding up the best and brightest of the MM recaps. Read below so you can compare, contrast, and think real hard about it while arguing with your mistress over the menu at your local Italian restaurant.


Surprise! That opening wasn't a sex party.

"I kept expecting someone to pull out a fishbowl full of housekeys." -- EW

"I thought we were going to have a key party and a couples swap in the first three minutes." -- NY Times

"The opening bit at Pete and Trudy's party (Pete flirting with two women; two men flirting with Trudy, Playboy bunny cottontail Easter joke and all) led me to expect this episode would be about counterculture/Hair values infiltrating the suburban middle class...But no, it was a traditional Mad Men setup, contrasting a man's 'boring' suburban life at home and his 'exciting' 'single' life in the city." -- Vulture


Pete still sucks. The word 'shitty' was used twice in last night's episode and you, Pete Campbell, are the SHITTIEST shit in all the land:

"We've always known Pete was a cretin: We've seen him force himself on women and cheat on Trudy before. But, God, it's the callous cluelessness that makes me hate him." -- NY Times

"I'd like to petition the authorities to have every episode punctuated by Trudy reading Pete the riot act, or at the very least, it'd be nice to have someone punch Pete in the face." -- Huffington Post

"[Pete] is a monster. Trudy tried to make it easy for him and he was too dumb to see it." -- Slate

"How much more horrible do you think Pete can become without literally sprouting horns?" -- NY Times


Don needs to do it with everyone, 24/7.

"Don lives and breathes seduction and oozes self-confidence. He comes to it naturally, where Pete is always calculating and self-questioning. Don sleeps with women to fulfill some need, to temporarily caulk the Rosebud-shaped hole in his soul that prevents him from ever being content, but Pete's problem is more that he needs the need. He wants success, and success is synonymous with Manhattan Sex Pads and meaningless affairs. But where Don chooses a collaborator who values discretion as much as he does, Pete's fling shows up on his doorstep and ends up telling Trudy about the whole she-bang." -- EW

"Apologies for the sophomoric analogy, but Don and Sylvia Rosen's sloppy affair reminds me of that Sex and the City episode in which Natasha catches a pink-bra-ed Carrie in the apartment she shares with Big. Between Don sneaking into the Rosens' on his way to work and remaining with Sylvia at a restaurant after Megan and Sylvia's husband, Arnold, bailed on their double date, I have to wonder (yes, I'm doing this in Carrie Bradshaw-speak), 'Are they trying to get caught?'" -- Rolling Stone


..because he was raised in a brothel:

"Perhaps what he saw through the keyhole as a boy growing up in a whorehouse implanted the desire for that kind of transgression (or transaction -- him throwing money at a woman was a jarring moment). One thing that life experience probably taught him was the idea that entry into every new place -- even the most private places -- comes at a cost." -- Huffington Post

"Whores and johns, agencies and clients. Pete asks Don why he won't just give Herb what he wants. Because of the way Herb sees the agency. Because of the way Herb sees Joan, sees the world. Because Herb is a john." -- Slate

"The idea of prostitution was everywhere in 'Collaborators' -- Don gives Sylvia money after they sleep together, Joan's public shame Herb comes into the office and ignites Don's protectiveness of her because of what she did for the company to ensure Jaguar as a client. It's a theme that has been ever-present in Don's life." -- Collider

"It's easy to see where Don's lifelong relationship with women might have gone awry. He hands Sylvia a wad of bills after they finish up, ostensibly helping with the Rosens' cash troubles, but really he's just signing the bill of receipt for their encounter, echoing his earliest experiences with transactional sex. Don relies on women for affection, but can't return that affection fully or monogamously." -- EW


It turns out Don had a Psycho moment:

"Young Don [peeped] through keyholes à la Norman Bates and watching his uncle, a self-identified "rooster," laying his newest hen, Don's mama. In the present day, Don ends a morning tumble with Sylvia by giving her a handful of cash." -- Vulture

"It's only the third episode of the season, but remorse is slowly encroaching upon the sinners, even those who have been taught from an early age that it's OK for your stepmother to sleep with her sister's lover, which Dick watched, Psycho-style, through a keyhole." -- Rolling Stone


Are Don and Megan over?

"When Megan plucks up the courage to break the news to Don, he perfunctorily comforts her, but her devastating loss looks more like the death knell of their marriage." -- Rolling Stone

"You watch [Megan] climb into bed wearing sleepwear that appears to be made from mattress pads, and it's like watching her die. A woman wearing a buttoned-to-the-throat nightgown on Mad Men spells doom like nothing else." -- Complex

"Don reassures Megan after her miscarriage/abortion, and strengthens their bond to end the episode..." -- Collider

"In the scene in which he sympathized with Megan over her miscarriage, [Don] was kind, understanding and sympathetic. And that's just not how Don Draper is built. He can only be that guy up to a point, but that scene (among others) laid the groundwork for the end of that marriage." -- Huffington Post


Peggy's 'Leaning In':
"Now that Peggy knows SCDP's relationship with Heinz is shaky, Ted Chaough is prepared to go in for the kill. Get ready for Draper vs. Olson, Round One." -- Rolling Stone

 "In the end, Peggy has to sell out her friend -- her only friend? -- for that work, another take on the work/life (im)balance of successful people that the show often illustrates." -- Collider


Is history still a backdrop, or is it coming to the fore?

"Much of the tension threaded through the episode came from news reports and updates on dire situations in Southeast Asia. There was a sense of the real world not just leaking in to everyday life but repeatedly intruding and bringing with it a sense of palpable dread and tension. That kind of intrusion has occasionally happened in the past within the world of "Mad Men"...but over the years, the show has gradually amplified the sense of danger and made scary events feel much more ever-present and unavoidable." -- Huffington Post

"I think Weiner's pushing the pace and amplifying the sense of crisis to mirror the world outside Madison Avenue."  -- NY Times

"We talked about race in shows like Mad Men, and how it's a background issue (should it be more in the forefront?). The war is, too. A newscast plays in the background when Don is with Sylvia, and he doesn't listen. Pete tunes in to the nightly news, but his mind is elsewhere. It hasn't really hit home, but it's also inescapable." -- Collider

"As usual, the show throws in a few timestamp references like the U.S.S. Pueblo being captured by North Korean forces and the Tet Offensive ramping up in Vietnam. Politics and current affairs vaguely invade the conversations on the show, but it's still mainly background noise." -- EW


Was this episode a little bit dumb or great?

"Jon Hamm directed for the second time around, but other than eliciting a couple of knockout scenes from Alison Brie and Jessica Paré the episode fell a little flat." -- Rolling Stone

"Seeing Don as a kid in a brothel and then seeing him hand money to his mistress: It's all so obvious...At this point, I feel like there should be AMC coffee mugs emblazoned with Don's catchphrases." -- NY Times

"This was one of my least favorite episodes of Mad Men overall -- not just because it covered well-trodden territory and lacked the subtly cinematic moments that the first three hours of season five had in spades, but because it just felt muddied. The one big stylistic flourish -- cross-cutting between Don getting Sylvia hot-and-bothered in the restaurant and their inevitable tryst -- was sexy, all right, but the execution was cliché. The whorehouse flashbacks were purely expository and pretty clunky, and that final music cue, 'Just a Gigolo,' was face-palm obvious, as if Robert Zemeckis had suddenly stepped in as music supervisor." -- Vulture

"'The Collaborators,' the third episode of the sixth season of Mad Men, found the series settling into a dark and nasty groove. A bloody gash, really, where the characters will fester and fail. Mistakes are there for the making, and everybody wants in on the action." -- Complex

"At what point does Dick Whitman's life story become so utterly filled with horror and tragedy that it tips into some kind of parody? His life is like 50 country songs condensed into one long litany of rejection and pain." -- Huffington Post


And everyone's favorite line. Motherf*cking Trudy Campbell, ladies and gentelman:
"If you so much as open your fly to urinate, I will destroy you."

Alison Brie Takes on Internet Memes

April 16, 2013, 6:04 am

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Here's Alison Brie acting out some of our favorite memes of the moment. Obviously Brie doing Grumpy Cat is the best. [via Gawker]


90210 vet Ian Ziering just made a deal with the Las Vegas Chippendales, meaning Steve Sanders is gonna get half-naked and dance onstage. We're not complaining. [via Huffington Post]



This video of Jenga-stacked dildos falling is oddly riveting. [via BoingBoing]

Glad we got to the heart of that problem. [via Afternoon Snooze Button]


Oh no, tax software from the '90s! Thank god we've come so far. [via Mashable]

A supercut of the fakest websites on Law and Order. [via Laughing Squid]

True. [via Afternoon Snooze Button]

The new big internet challenge involves trying to snort a condom until it comes out of your mouth. Double yuck, triple yuck, quadruple yuck. [via Dlisted]

Loving CRAPCHA, the widget which mocks CAPTCHA. We dare you to type in the correct word. [via Laughing Squid]


How we feel about it only being Tuesday. [via The Clearly Dope]

 

Vampire Weekend's Hilarious Promo Video with Steve Buscemi

April 16, 2013, 10:26 am

≫ Next: Speck Mountain's Incantatory Drone "Lies"

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So it turns out that Steve Buscemi will continue to grace Vampire Weekend with his presence. Buscemi will direct the webcast of their Roseland Ballroom performance in NYC (you can buy tickets for said peformance here) on April 28th. We laughed at their little rendez-vous at the Easter Parade but this promo clip might take the cake. Seeing Buscemi pretend to know absolutely nothing about Vampire Weekend -- mistaking Chris Baio for drummer Chris Tomson, taking fault with at their "inaccessible" lyrics and asking Rostam Batmanglij, "Are you the DJ?" -- is genuinely funny. Enjoy the clip above while we all ask ourselves, "Ez-what?"

Vampire Weekend's new album Modern Vampires of the City is out on May 14th.

Speck Mountain's Incantatory Drone "Lies"

April 16, 2013, 10:36 am

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Chicago-based Speck Mountain released Badwater, their third album of Marie-Claire Balabanian's incantatory drawl and Carl Briedrick's droning jangle, in January on Carrot Top Records. We're happy to unveil non-LP b-side "Lies," which pulls off the old Velvet Underground trick (perhaps derived from Indian raga) of building tension between a battering-ram bassline and a one-note high-end drone. "When you tell me that I'm crazy," Balabanian sings, "I believe your lie." Speck Mountain plays Brooklyn's Cameo Gallery next Friday, April 26, with Lazyeyes and Wim.

Photo © 2012 Julia Stotz, all rights reserved.