Up in the "Cloudz" with Street Artist Tyler Wallach

November 14, 2012, 12:38 pm

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For his psychedelic and playful "Cloudz by Ty," Tyler Wallach printed Lisa Frank-meets-Ren and Stimpy characters on vinyl stickers and plastered them around Williamsburg and SoHo. We recently got to chat with Wallach about the inspiration behind his lovable critters, his ephemeral art, and his love of social media.

What inspired you to create this little world of creatures?

I started drawing them in college when I had a class in screen printing. We had to come up with a theme for the entire semester, sort of like our own little world that we worked on in the class. So, I decided on this idea of being a cloud. Clouds are constantly moving, and can range in color depending on the light and the sky. It encompasses color, and emotion and movement.

There's something in the vibrant, cartoonish look of the characters that reminds us of certain children's programming from the '90s.

I can't help that! I grew up with shows like Saved By the Bell, so all those colors and patterns... [laughs]. When I was a kid, I wore Hawaiian-print lime-green shorts. It does sort of come in there whether I like it or not. There's something childish about the characters, but they can be very adult as well.

Right, there is a kind of free love theme going on. Would you say there's a queer element to your work?

Totally. I feel like it's difficult to not have pieces of you, or your sexuality, how you feel about yourself and other people come out in what you do. The intertwining of the bodies is really important to me. It's rare for there to be two bodies near each other that aren't touching. These guys from LA, Jeremy Novy and Homo Riot, who are a part of this really big genre going on out there, they were putting together this traveling collective art show called The History of Queer Street Art. They heard about what I was doing, and I worked on them with the L.A. showing. So I sent in a few pieces and a bunch of stickers, and I went out to Hollywood and got to see the show.

You are pretty rigorous about documenting your work yourself. How important is that for an artist today?

The whole reason I started to do street art was because I was consumed with my prospective career in theater. That was in the hands of so many other people. Directors, writers, you're constantly auditioning. I needed to have something to do that was just for me, by myself. And now it's a little bit more important to me that I document or photograph it. If you've seen any films about street art, like Exit Through the Gift Shop, you'll realize that you can only reach so many people if you don't document the art, because it could be gone within twenty-four hours. Most of the time my art is gone in a day, either by someone cleaning it, or someone taking it because they like it.

How helpful is having an online presence, then?
I think that's helpful to everyone, but I think I am uniquely lucky to be of the generation that I am. I feel lucky that I grew up with a computer, you know, even in first grade. You were already responsible for knowing so much more than your parents. It's a language that I grew up speaking. People have said that the social media behind "Cloudz" is strong, but it feels just right. If it's not something you can hashtag, then I'm not sure that half of the people I know would know what to do with it anymore.

What are you currently working on, and where can people catch your latest pieces?

Right now I am talking to some people at Viacom who are looking to spruce up some of their walls in their office with local artists. So I am in the middle of working that out. I just released a series of brand new stickers for sale online, and am also in the middle of working on sunglasses for this coming summer. I just moved to Williamsburg, so that would be a good area to walk around and see if I've put anything new out.

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Top of the Pops: Taylor Swift's Red V. Ne-Yo's R.E.D.

November 14, 2012, 1:50 pm

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She did it again. Taylor Swift's Red stays at #1 for another week, and in the battle between similarly-titled albums, Ne-Yo's R.E.D. goes straight in at #4. Aerosmith -- last week's oldie-but-goodie video stars -- is right behind at #5 with Music From Another Dimension, the band's first LP of new material since 2001. The hottest single on the download chart is "Ho Hey" by the Denver folk-rock trio The Lumineers, moving up from #16 to #8 this week. Check out the video here. They're at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on December 12 with Dave Mathews.

Prince Shuts Down Dollmaker + The State of GIFs Today = Eight Items or Less

November 14, 2012, 3:30 pm

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1. Prince has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the maker of these unbelievable dolls; check them out now before the site goes down on Friday! [via Spin]

2. Times food critic Pete Wells explains the process of writing his notorious Guy Fieri takedown as a series of questions: "I didn't need transitions." [Poynter]

3. The Brooklyn Night Bazaar will take place every Friday and Saturday night from November 23 to December 22, with free performances from Kyp Malone, Devin, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and Black Dice. [BK Night Bazaar]

4. Zach Seward notes that, even though the image format's name was chosen as 2012's word of the year, GIF usage has declined relative to that of PNGs. [Quartz]

5. In the meantime, check out this tumblr, whose gifs each contain one rotating object. [RRRRRRRROLL]

6. Then turn your GIFs into code with the Dehumanizer. [The Onion]

7. New Yorker staff played "Old Shanghai" from Beck's sheet-music collection, Song Reader. [New Yorker]

8. Das Racist's Himanshu did a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" session today to promote his new mixtape, Wild Water Kingdom. [Reddit]

A Man's Story: Fashion Designer Ozwald Boateng

November 15, 2012, 5:00 am

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In this video short by Nicolas Jenkins, men's designer Ozwald Boateng -- the first black tailor on Savile Row -- discusses the history of his style, from school uniforms to the 'Afro-pean' Dutch-via-Ghana fabrics used in his more recent collections. Boateng, who was creative director of menswear at Givenchy from 2004 to 2007, is the subject of a newly-released documentary, twelve years in the making, from Varon Bonicos. Check out Jenkins' video above.

Tips for Today: Portlandia at Barnes & Noble + Fishing with John at Nitehawk

November 15, 2012, 6:00 am

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BOOKS: Fred Armisen at Barnes & Noble

Cacao! Fred Armisen will be appearing at the Union Square Barnes and Noble to discuss the new book Portlandia: A Guide to Visitors. The Fiery Furnaces' Eleanor Friedberger will be there to perform in lieu of Armisen's rocking co-star Carrie Brownstein. We guarantee there's a bird on it, and that Aimee Mann is not invited.

Barnes & Noble, 33 East 17th Street. (212) 253-0810. 7 p.m.

SCREENING: Fishing with John at Nitehawk 

Before reality television became known for the Kardashians, Survivor, and Anna Nicole Smith, there was the cult classic series Fishing with John. The title describes, well, exactly what to expect: fishing trips organized by character actor and musician John Lurie and shared with celebrities like Willem Dafoe and Dennis Hopper. Catch a screening of a few of the best episodes with live commentary from the reclusive Lurie.

Nitehawk Cinema, 136 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn. (718) 384-3980. 10 p.m. Sold out.

MUSIC: Kreayshawn at Irving Plaza

Queen of the trap Kreayshawn delivers her usual hazy rhymes and beats with the signature attitude that has made her plenty of fans and a few good enemies. Opening is a PAPER favorite, the infectiously fun rap sprite Rye Rye.

Irving Plaza, 17 Union Place. (212) 777-6800. 7 p.m. $20.

Morning Funnies: Ellen Makes Rihanna Play "Who Would You Rather?" + David Bowie Playing Ping Pong

November 15, 2012, 6:30 am

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Graffiti in Belgium as tagged by Lesley Gore. [via Knusprig Titten Hitler]

No, that strapping young football player isn't Biff from Back to the Future, it's Community and The Soup's Joel McHale! (He also has a Rose Bowl ring!) [via Buzzfeed]

Sometimes great willpower will fuel great strength. [via Pleated Jeans]

Rihanna plays "Who Would You Rather Date?" on Ellen and, let us tell you, a few of her answers are a little...controversial. [via Ellen]

"It was always a creepy weird dance move to make people laugh...it probably started in college...Then there was this song, which I would often do the move to, which is Manu Chao's 'King of the Bongo.' If you play them side by side, you'll hear the inspiration, for sure. But I don't think I would have ever wanted to use the song because it already exists," SNL's Taran Killam says of his deeply weird -- and deeply infectious -- digital short character, Mokiki. [via Huff Po]

Love this re-imagining of South Park characters as 'more realistic water color' characters. [via Knusprig Titten Hitler]

Sexytime. [via People]

Surmberdy (Hard and Phirm) merd an ermegerd R&Ber song ferturing ther Swerdersh Cherf ernd Herley Werlliams erf Perermerh. (Just watch this R&B video -- it features an R.L. Stine cameo!) [via Hyper Vocal]

David Bowie playing ping pong in an intergalactic kimono blouse and shiny pants...just 'cuz. [via Retronaut]

Ecosbomy. [via Dorsey Shaw Experience]

We wish the artist who installed a "public stress release station" (a.k.a. bubble wrap) in a Milanese bus stop would bring this to 32nd and Broadway. Thanks. [via Laughing Squid]

Normally we wouldn't do this, but it's going to be a two Ellen day because this clip of a hirsute Andrew Garfield dancing on the show -- "Single Ladies," "Gangnam Style," and belly dances all included -- is awesome. [via Too Fab]

Beach House's "Wild" Is Our Music Video of the Day

November 15, 2012, 8:00 am

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Beach House goes down-and-dirty for this clip for "Wild" from their Bloom album, released earlier in 2012. Not sure what the message/moral is, but guess that's what director Johan Renck intended. Whatever these people are on, we're glad we're not. Why are they watching Cyprien Gaillard videos and hoarding $100 bills? Anyway, Beach House is still the best thing ever sampled by The Weeknd.

Chris Brown: Future Brand Ambassador, Supermodel + Jennifer Lawrence Meets Miranda Priestly in Today's Style Scraps

November 15, 2012, 9:24 am

≫ Next: Guru(s): Artists Barry McGee and Chris Johanson

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Finally we can watch that Barney's x Disney animated short that everyone's talking about! It's actually really, really cute. [via Fashionista]


Jennifer Lawrence FTW: According to Page Six, after Anna Wintour approached her at a Peggy Siegal Co. event, she said "I just met Miranda Priestly!"


Wilhelmina signed Chris Brown, and will be seeking "fashion and beauty endorsements and licenses" for him. While we're sure that means we'll be seeing a Chris Brown fragrance soon, let's hope that no brands make him the face of their products. [via WWD]


Jenna Lyons, unending source of girl-crushdom that she is, publicly acknowledged her relationship with Courtney Crangi for the first time at Glamour's Women of the Year Awards, thanking "Courtney, who has shown me new love." [via Fashionista]


The Times speculates that Sasha and Malia Obama (who are 11 and 14, respectively) are probably going to be the big new political fashion "get" over the next four years. In related news, we miss watching Saturday morning cartoons and not being expected to do anything with our lives.  


Seriously, what is going on with the cuckoo bananas jumpsuit Kristen Stewart wore to the UK premiere of Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2? [via Go Fug Yourself]
 

The Margiela for H&M line launched today! [via Racked]

Here's Marion Cotillard, wearing Dior Haute Couture (of course), on the cover of W. [via High Snobette]

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Guru(s): Artists Barry McGee and Chris Johanson

November 15, 2012, 9:30 am

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Now that longtime friends and artists Chris Johanson and Barry McGee have transcended their underground status to become established figures in contemporary art, it seemed appropriate to see what they would have to say to each other all these years later. We've known them both for ages, first seeing the mayhem they wrought upon San Francisco in the '90s as leading figures of what would be known as the Mission School. This was soon after having met them when they began showing at New York's Alleged Gallery, and following them as they mounted their first spectacle shows at Deitch. In that period of time both artists' work defined a generation. While Johanson's art came out of the random craziness he saw while skateboarding through the nether-regions of SF, McGee, who originally worked on the streets under the name Twist, spoke directly to the vandal's impulse of graffiti art. McGee has quipped that the more famous he becomes the less fans he has, and for all the truth in that, the two have earned a place in art history and youth culture that has brought them many more fans than they could have possibly imagined.

Even though we've loved these cats for decades, the best thing about putting them together here is how much longer they've known each other. And as it so happens, the following conversation, which took place at Johanson's L.A. home, marks the first time McGee (who's based in San Francisco) and Johanson have gotten together in 12 years. They've run into each other at art events throughout the years, but hadn't had a proper catch-up. Like old warriors exchanging battle stories, a lot of the references are pretty damn obscure. That's kind of the point -- it's not just that they are compelling creative spirits allowing us a rare, intimate view into how they think, it's that great art comes out of dynamic and unpredictable scenes. Here they reminisce about the old days, complain about the new ones and pay tribute to their friends and collaborators who, throughout the years, may not have gotten their proper due.    -- Carlo McCormick

Installation view from the exhibit, Barry McGee, at BAM/PFA through December 9, 2012. Photo by Sibila Savage

Barry McGee: So what about the phrase "street art"?

Chris Johanson: I never understood that. When people started asking me about street art, I would say, "Well I don't know. I was up really late at night and skating on the street a lot." So in a weird, fucked up kind of way, it was an accurate description for me to be called a street artist. I really don't think the catchphrase that went around applies to this though.

BM: It's a term I hear often... It scares the living daylights out of me. Street artists need to get back to actually doing things on the streets, instead of in the galleries where they all seem to be ending up. I hope this term street artist falls from the face of the earth, in my honest opinion. They are taking up precious space outdoors, which is normally reserved for tagging and thoughtless vandalism.

BM: Let's talk about traditional gallery owners. I've noticed most are manic depressives, much like myself.

CJ: Like, as equally fucked up as the artists.

"Window Painting #5," 2012 from Chris' recent exhibit, Windows, at Mitchell-Innes Nash Gallery.

BM: A lot of gallerists started as artists like we did. It's certainly as tough as being an artist, running a gallery and taking care of neurotic, unpredictable prima donnas. I know I behave this way. Making a high-profile sale must be similar to a toke on the crack pipe.

CJ: And then right after, it's like total defeat. The stakes are so high because of this high-rent U.S.A. lifestyle shit we have here.

BM: Then you start getting bills and all your artists need things. And quickly you need another sale.

CJ: It's like a mental hospital. And the more money an artist makes, the less they can keep their coping skills. Suddenly you don't have to do all these things you had to do before. Like, "I can't book my plane ticket! No fucking way!"

BM: I'm so guilty of that. I toss everything to my gallerist Chris Perez. I'll be like "I can't decide which date to go, can you just decide for me?" That part of my brain has died; it's completely dead. It frees me up to obsess on other weird shit.

CJ: Suzanne Geiss handles almost everything for me now. She rules. And I have no idea how to do that stuff now. A few years ago I was like "I don't wanna go anywhere, ever again. I'm done." And now I have a rider like bands have.

BM: She helped set up a rider for you?

CJ: Yeah, like, "Chris won't go anywhere without Christopher Garrett, and they travel together. And there has to be all these things there or else he will leave." And of course, I'm sure that turns off a lot of people but...

Detail of "Untitled," 2005 from Barry McGee exhibit at BAM/PFA. Photo by Colin M. Day

BM: I think it's probably a lot of help for people just to have pure information like that.

CJ: At San Francisco City College, when I went to school there from '89 to '92, there was this figure-drawing model. He was really buff, and he was older, and he had this like...

BM: Did he have "the staff"? CJ: Yeah, he would get hard-ons. I think that was his thing. I feel like it was kind of a power ritual. He was an older dude, great body. He might have been on a raw food diet because everything was really defined. He had butt muscles, like, muscles above the butt.

BM: I love that so many artists drew from him... from all angles. For a period of time too, it must have been like a 20-year span.

CJ: So you had him, too?

BM: Yes. I had him at SF City College and then at San Francisco Art Institute.

CJ: When I watched Milk, it made me so nostalgic for that particular time when I moved to San Francisco. That particular kind of guy that was there. In school I had this teacher with a handlebar mustache. It was like that incredible, gay, lesbian culture.

BM: When you are young, your mind is so wide open and accepting... to just about everything placed in front of you. It was truly a very inspiring time to be an aspiring artist in San Francisco.

CJ: The first place I ever had an art show was with William Passarelli, who had a gallery called Emmanuel Radnitzky Found Objects. He was this tough, kind of queeny gay dude and so full of information and energy. And he died like two years after that.

"Window Painting #?," 2012 from Chris' exhibit, Windows, at Mitchell-Innes Nash Gallery

BM: So much San Francisco art as we know it began with Alicia McCarthy. She was one of the first to liberate the SF graffiti and art scene. Her and Ruby Neri. Together, they opened up the playing field. They carried on where Dirtbox, Wally and Grime left off in the '80s. I hold her so dearly... She just seemed so much grander and above selling art or playing the game. The curators have yet to understand the importance of this period in SF art history.

CJ: I relate to that absolutely. She exemplifies everything I love about that time. I met her at the San Francisco Art Institute when Karla Milosevich curated a show there. Really bringing new people together.

BM: Did you ever do the nonprofit sector? They were like the indie record labels of art: New Langton Arts, Southern Exposure, SF Arts Commission, Capp Street Project, the Luggage Store. There were so many then.

CJ: Not so much. I tried to get into those shows. But they always shunned me. It pissed me off, man. It pissed me off hard. I was in some shows but me and the grant people did not connect.

"Barry's Groovy Life," 2012, a portrait of Barry McGee by Chris Johanson

BM: Really extreme things could happen at those nonprofit venues without necessarily having an object to sell. They could do massive things that weren't commercially viable.

CJ: Yes, I think San Francisco was completely like that back then. Whether it was object-based art or not. It was such a dead zone in some ways when it came to financial energy for art.

BM: So I know this is stating the obvious, but the SFMOMA is so far out of touch with art that has happened in SF in the last 20 years. It's really a huge disappointment.

CJ: There are these real SF lifers that get no love from the institutions. None of the schools hire them. There is some square academia going on there in SF. The Luggage Store and that show we were in, Streetopia, that Erick Lyle, Kal Spelletich, me and many others put on recently, really said a lot to me about the SF that I love.

Barry would like to give a shout-out to...

BM: Laurie Lazer and Darryl Smith, who run the Luggage Store, spoiled it for me. They were some of the first people I worked with. I have yet to meet people with such integrity and vision since my first contact with them in the early '90s. They opened their doors to anyone who would venture up the staircase on 6th and Market. Once I snuck over to the commercial side, I had the incredible opportunity of working with Paule Anglim. Her lineage with old school Bay Area artists and her carpeted gallery at 14 Geary have been a fixture for decades in SF. Paule and Ed Gilbert are two of the greatest people you may ever encounter.

CJ: I think Renny Pritikin, Arnold Kemp and René de Guzman, when they were working together at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, that was a nice time too.

BM: When did you connect with Jack Hanley? His gallery always had a great SF vibe and a solid platter of degenerates on board.

CJ: Jack is an artist's dealer, a Grateful Dead twirler. I think he was an outsider to that noise of the downtown art scene. I found out about him from Kiki Gallery on 14th next to the Bearded Lady, which was run by Rick Jacobsen, who has since passed away. Jack had bought some pieces. Then Scott Hewicker invited me to be in a two-person show at Jack's in 1995, and that started a many-yeared relationship. Jack is epic and one of a kind.

"Portrait of Chris," 2012, a portrait of Chris Johanson by Barry McGee

BM: Cliff Hengst and Scott Hewicker are always on my favorite artist list... such amazing artists and personalities. Absolutely Frisco till death. I think this is a good time to point out how important all these characters were and are to the development of the SF art scene. It can't be narrowed into a "school" or certain artist -- it was about an entire scene of artists challenging what came before them.

CJ: So many people met and exchanged ideas. Sean Regan, Bwana Spoons, Christopher Garrett, Ruby Neri, Rigo, Aaron Noble, Rob Trains, Andrew McKinley, Matty Luv, Johanna Jackson, Margaret Kilgallen, Christine Shields, Lara Allen, the Red Man, Swan, too many people to mention. That's a perfect moment I guess for me, and maybe that's youth speaking. From La Boheme to the Hickey Hotel, art shows in houses. Bob Lickey, Hickey, Amy Franceschini, Ovarian Trolley, Star Cleaners, Studio 4, Komotion.

BM: Yes, indeed. Changing the status quo. Seeing you and your band at that time, the Deep Throats, playing shows at Leeds Shoes, or Kinko's during the graveyard shift... this was so important to the SF scene. I liked that the normal indoor paying venue somehow became obsolete during this period.

BM: It seems a lot of curators nowadays are not looking, they're listening. I like when you termed it "diet curating" in reference to the group shows that some curators were putting together years ago. They didn't do their work, they skipped a lot of steps and left a lot out. It's very unsettling. It's happening even on a grander scale, like at SFMOMA. I somehow thought the institutions should have SF history somewhat correct. I'm losing all faith.

CJ: It was very strange when galleries like V1 in Copenhagen, galleries on that side of the planet, started showing mutations on the art that was so dear to me in San Francisco, but by people from different places and from different time periods. Talking about San Francisco makes me feel protective. I do however feel that everything is in the air. Just think about Eileen Quinlan. I really like her photographs, I wonder how she feels. Because now there're many people that are making art that looks just like it now. I wonder how that feels, to be in the new wave of photography. Because everything just gets gobbled up.

BM: Fast. And overnight.

Barry and Chris photographed by Clare E. Rojas

Barry McGee's career retrospective, presented by Citizens of Humanity, is on view at the Berkeley Art Museum through Dec. 9. Chris Johanson's monograph will be out via Phaidon in spring 2013.

Top photos by Curtis Kulig

Liz Lemon's Getting Married, Y'All

November 15, 2012, 11:00 am

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Liz Lemon, 30 Rock heroine and spirit animal of nervous young women everywhere, is getting married. NBC sent around this amazing save the date earlier this afternoon, announcing that the nuptials will take place two weeks from today, and reassuring us that it won't happen "in a creepy way that perpetuates the idea that brides are virgins and women are property." Though we've all been pulling for L.L. to end up with the fulfilling relationship her character's wanted since the show's beginning (and has apparently found this season with boyfriend Crisstopher Chross), and though it's nice to finally see the show abandon the plot line that Liz is a lonely workaholic weirdo who just can't get it together, we still feel a little tinge of sadness that the show, now in its final season, is obviously starting to wrap things up. Then again, as Vulture reports, next week's episode is titled "Mazel Tov, Dummies!' and will feature a cameo from Dennis Duffy (Dean Winters), Liz's deeply terrible/deeply hilarious ex-boyfriend. Will he burst in at the last second and profess his love for his number one dummy? Or will Liz and Criss walk happily down the aisle amid a shower of crushed Sabor de Soledads while Kenneth performs a traditional marital jug dance and Jenna sings an R&B dance remix of Corinthians 13:1 while being lowered from the ceiling with a giant heart-shaped spotlight on her? Fingers. Crossed.

PAPER's Weekend Guide

November 15, 2012, 11:30 am

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Friday, November 16

BOOKS: Moby-Dick Marathon NYC

Have you always wanted to tackle the white whale that is Herman Melville's 1851 novel? Now's your chance to chase Moby-Dick around New York, with the likes of Paul Dano, Sarah Vowell, and Touré reading at three bookstores over three days.

WORD!, 126 Franklin Street, Brooklyn. 6 p.m. More information here.

SHOPPING: Capsule Neighborhood Network

International men's trade show Capsule next touches down in New York in January, but this weekend the organizers have set up a slew of sales at boutiques and showrooms throughout Nolita, the Lower East Side, and East Village. Those not in search of a winter wardrobe can take advantage of discounts at bars and restaurants throughout the area.

Participating shops listed here.

COMEDY: Simon Amstell's "Numb" at Theatre 80

Simon Amstell, known in Britain for the TV shows Grandma's House and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, first brought his solo show "Numb" to Theatre 80 in a five-week run this summer. Now Amstell and his brand of Woody Allen-ish existential despair have returned for another week of shows. Sample joke: "If you live alone, and you don't make plans, here's what happens: you wake up, and it just gets darker."

Theatre 80, 80 St. Mark's Place, (212) 388-0388. 8 p.m. $26. Tickets available here.

Saturday, November 17

BOOKS: SandyHatesBooks at powerHouse arena

Among Hurricane Sandy's many victims was the stock of DUMBO's independent bookstore and event space, powerHouse arena, who estimate losses in "several tens of thousands of dollars." Today's fundraiser will feature readings from Brooklyn's biggest literary stars, including Pulitzer Prize winner Jennifer Egan, National Book Award winner Jonathan Franzen, and Gossip Girl creator Cecily von Ziegesar.

powerHouse arena, 37 Main Street, Brooklyn. (718) 666-3049. 12 p.m. $10 (suggested). Full schedule here.

MUSIC: Occupy Sandy! Benefit at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity

One of the past couple weeks' many surprises has been the recent, redirected resurgence of Occupy Wall Street, under whose aegis volunteers have set up a medical center in the still-ailing Rockaways. Today's benefit will feature acoustic performances from Real Estate, Vampire Weekend, Devendra Banhart, Cass McCombs, and members of the Walkmen and Dirty Projectors.

St. Ann and the Holy Trinity, 157 Montague Street, Brooklyn. 12 p.m. Sold out.

MUSIC: inc. and Sky Ferreira at Steel Drums

Do androids dream of Aaliyah? If so, the soundtrack probably resembles the music of inc., two brothers who this week dropped the single "5 Days." Opener Sky Ferreira will be joined by Dev Hynes, producer of her recent EP Ghost.

Steel Drums, 35 Beadel Street, Brooklyn. 11 p.m. $15. Tickets available here.

Sunday, November 18

FILM: The Birds at IFC Center

Anyone who watched HBO's Tippi Hedren biopic The Girl last month, and many who didn't, will want to see the role that launched that actress's partnership with Alfred Hitchcock. For the film's final scene, the director famously swapped out the mechanical birds he'd used for most of the film with live birds, which Hedren had to endure for five days.

IFC Center, 323 Sixth Avenue, (212) 924-7771. 11 a.m. $13.50. Tickets available here.

ART: Marilyn Dintenfass's "Drop Dead Gorgeous" Opens at Driscoll Babcock

Marilyn Dintenfass's richly-colored abstractions gently throb with a serenity at a remove from both angry expressionism and gaudy pop. Her latest show, inspired by the deadly Angel Trumpet flower, hints at the perils of seduction.

Driscoll Babcock Galleries, 525 West 25th Street. (212) 767-1852. 4 p.m.

Music: Chris Forsyth & Koen Holtkamp Duo at Shea Stadium

Earlier this year, guitarist Chris Forsyth and synth dude Koen Holtkamp (a.ka. Mountains) teamed up for the Early Astral LP, whose two seventeen-minute tracks ("Early Astral 1" and "Early Astral 2") shade from boogie to krautrock to ambient. Tonight the duo plays a benefit for Red Hook relief alongside Les Conversions and 75 Dollar Bill.

Shea Stadium, 20 Meadow Street, Brooklyn. 8 p.m. $8.

You Should Check Out...Photographer Sean Sullivan's Portfolio Tumblr

November 15, 2012, 12:45 pm

≫ Next: Cirque du Soleil's New Nightclub + Rihanna's New Song = Eight Items or Less

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Welcome to You Should Check Out..., a new weekly blog in which Chris Black of Words For Young Men and Done to Death Projects tells you about something or someone he really likes and that he thinks you'll like too. Follow him on Twitter at @donetodeath.

Sean Sullivan is a photographer and good-timer who lives in New York City. He has worked with J. Crew, Tiffany & Co., Ghurka and Wolverine to name just a few. Sean is also the man behind the wildly popular site, The Impossible Cool that features black and white images of well-loved style icons. He has finally posted his personal photography work in one place for all of us to check out. From late nights with familiar faces in NYC and Miami to sunsets in the Southwest and temples in Abu Dhabi, his work chronicles a life that looks both exciting and strangely familiar. Check out his site HERE. You can also follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Cirque du Soleil's New Nightclub + Rihanna's New Song = Eight Items or Less

November 15, 2012, 3:30 pm

≫ Next: Free Energy's Paul Sprangers on Potato Guns, Cowbells, and Prog

≪ Previous: You Should Check Out...Photographer Sean Sullivan's Portfolio Tumblr

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1. Crazy photos taken from a crane via our favorite construction website, Construction Graffiti. We wouldn't have wanted to be the person taking these pictures.

2. We had such a blast at Sensation -- we described it as "a mash-up between Cirque du Soleil and a megaclub" -- at Barclays Center that we're almost looking forward to the March opening of this new Vegas nightclub called The Light. Almost.

3. "Romney's Items 50% OFF" (via @jodikantor)

4. Getting real Michael Jackson-Off the Wall vibes from the new Chris Brown-Rihanna song, "Nobody's Business," (which samples MJ's "The Way You Make Me Feel"). [YouTube]

5. On Monday, we told you what was happening with the old Lucky Cheng's space on First Avenue (it's getting taken over by Acme's Jean-Marc Houmard). Now's your chance to take a home a piece of the long-running drag bar. [Jeremiah's Vanishing New York, photo by Rob Thurman]

6. Dig the .gif-tastic album cover as you listen to Rare Chandeliers, the new mixtape from Action Bronson ("Peace to Gerard Dépardieu!") and producer Alchemist. [Soundcloud]

7. Make it a Black Christmas this year with Black Sabbath's 9-disc The Vinyl Collection: 1970-1978, out December 12. [via Spin]

Free Energy's Paul Sprangers on Potato Guns, Cowbells, and Prog

November 16, 2012, 5:00 am

≫ Next: Morning Funnies: Extreme Cougar Wives + Betty's White

≪ Previous: Cirque du Soleil's New Nightclub + Rihanna's New Song = Eight Items or Less

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Not long ago, we featured Free Energy's joyfully messy video for "Electric Fever," off their upcoming second album Love Sign (Free Energy records), due January 15th. In the clip, four band members are blasted with water, paint, and a mysterious off-white powder. The song, like many in the Free Energy catalogue, makes liberal use of such classic rock devices as twin guitar solos and cowbell percussion. We recently spoke with singer Paul Sprangers about the video shoot and the band's formal choices.

Where did you shoot the video?

It was awesome. We shot that in Springfield, Missouri, actually. You know that band Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin? They're friends of ours and they live down there and I met this kid who did a bunch of their videos, Brook Linder, and he was psyched about the band and had this idea so we flew down there and did, I think, two videos in four days. We also shot one for "Girls Want Rock," which is another song from our new album. But, yeah. we set up at 8 p.m. and shot until 8 a.m., so we were all pretty delirious. We were all holding the potato gun cannons and shooting each other with stuff, it was pretty wild. It was this weird, old abandoned storefront on the west side of town. Springfield's kind of a weird city, it's kind of sprawling and there are different little main street areas that are kind of dried up. We just set up in there, no one cares.

How did you achieve the explosions?

They were just pressurized, have you ever built a potato gun at all? PVC pipe, and then you have a chamber at the end. Brook's right-hand man rigged them up so you could just use a bike-pump to pressurize the bottom chamber, so it was just air-pressurized, and whatever you put in there got shot out. I think usually you would use like nitrous canisters, but this was actually easier.

How was working with producer John Agnello?

The guy is awesome, he's worked with a lot of amazing bands and he still has more energy than any of us. He's just so excited to make music and he has a really good ear, he can make guitars sound massive. We played him some '80s rock records like INXS and Billy Ocean and told him we wanted him to make the drums more synth-y and he didn't hesitate. For some of the songs we put a drum trigger on the snare and the kick drum so we could use the recorded hits to trigger drum samples on ProTools. It could be a boing or a whistle. We used a bunch of old Roland drum pads that were contemporary of the music you were referencing.

Speaking of drums, how did you guys decide to use the cowbell?

The cowbell was just used because nothing else would have made sense there. There are times when you're like, "oh, the cowbell goes here." It's a no-brainer.

Your songs almost exclusively use major chords. Are you ever going to do a song in a minor key?

I think I'm just kind of endlessly fascinated with big, simple, major keys. That's how I hear the music that comes through my head. I feel like as long as that's still inspiring and we're able to keep finding new waves for ourselves to keep it interesting, then I think we'll keep using it. If we feel like we've exhausted it then we'll move on, but there usually isn't any better way to achieve an anthemic feel or a feeling of epicness than using big simple major chords and simple chord changes.

Are there times when someone brings in a riff and it feels too similar to something you've done before, or something another band's done, and you have to throw it out?

No, honestly, how do I explain it, I think our brains luckily ascertain whether a riff is like good or interesting to us a split-second before, our maybe minutes or hours or years before, we remember that it's from another song or it reminds us of something. We're fortunate in that respect where we don't really care if something sounds like something else as long as it's interesting to us and it has some energy or it's servicing some rare vision for where the song's going then it's okay. That doesn't ever hold us back. But you know, so many songs are the "Sweet Jane" riff or "Louie Louie." And in fact that almost fascinates us more than trying to reinvent the wheel. Using clichés and tropes and re-working them into something new and fresh is a challenging. That's interesting to us. I guess the opposite of thinking you can do something new and you come up with something that sounds like Rush or prog rock, which does not interest us right now.

Morning Funnies: Extreme Cougar Wives + Betty's White

November 16, 2012, 6:00 am

≫ Next: Keeping Up With The Karkashadzes -- Fashion's Newest It Girls

≪ Previous: Free Energy's Paul Sprangers on Potato Guns, Cowbells, and Prog

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Our apologies for opening Morning Funnies on such a dark note, but here's a hot new look at TLC's totally real, definitely not-staged, just completely creepy reality show, Extreme Cougar Wives. Papermag premiere party? We will supply the snacks and 11th story window to throw the television out of mid-episode. [ONTD]

Ramona Singer, you better run for the effing hills. There's a new bitch in town. [HuffPoTV]]

Still-being-workshopped airplane banner. [AlsoHere]


The weirdest, weirdest car commercial ever starring Grace Jones. [FYouNoFMe]
 Behind the scenes of Beetlejuice. [BobbyFinger]

It's a SWAGina. [ParisHiltonSexSlave]

O.G. Avengers. How hot is Emma Peel? [Megret]

They see us rollin, they hatin'. [Coinfarts]
 
Yuck, it's true. [KimJongChill]

Whoever drew this wins the trophy for Excellence in Textbook Doodling. Kids these days are doing just fine. [Roboshark]

Barack Obama and Joe Biden, age 10. [OldFilmsFlickr]
 
You nasty, GIF! [DorseyShawExperience]

Happy holidays, from Grumpy Cat. [afternoonsnoozebutton]

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Keeping Up With The Karkashadzes -- Fashion's Newest It Girls

November 16, 2012, 8:00 am

≫ Next: Tyra Banks' Smizing App + Grace Coddington Couldn't Be Cuter in Today's Style Scraps

≪ Previous: Morning Funnies: Extreme Cougar Wives + Betty's White

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Despite a linguistic similarity to a more tabloid-friendly set of sisters, Natuka and Likuna Karkashadze share little in common with America's most infamous family. The Karkashadze sisters are, however, garnering a devoted following of fashion fiends in their hometown of Tbilisi, Georgia -- and beyond -- with their matching Anna Wintour bobs and bold fashion choices.

"I love to experiment, but at the same time I always try not to overload my looks," says Natuka Karkashadze, a Tbilisi-based stylist and fashion journalist, who dresses mostly in Chanel, Stella McCartney and Celine. Thanks to her blog, Wardrobe Mistress, and her and her younger sister Likuna's regular appearances on the international fashion-week scene, the former Soviet Republic of Georgia might just have its first fashion stars.

Natuka remembers loving to dress up as a small child. "I changed my outfit several times a day," she recalls. Natuka's parents (their father is a lawyer, their mother, a doctor) actually encouraged her by keeping Natuka supplied with hard-to-find fashion magazines. (Natuka says that her own two-year-old daughter is less enthusiastic about sartorial experimentation.)

Luckily, Natuka, who studied at Central Saint Martins in London, has her best fashion sidekick in her sister Likuna. Four years her younger, Likuna is an auditor at Pricewaterhouse Coopers. She joined Natuka for their first international splash this July during the Paris couture shows. Natuka was photographed in a super-chic zebra-print jumpsuit by Georgian designer Avtandil that got the blogs buzzing, and that same week, she was spotted sporting a floor-length blue gingham gown of her own design.

In addition to her blog, Natuka works for several Georgian publications and last season was on the board of Tbilisi Fashion Week. Although she says the Georgian style scene is quite underdeveloped, the Karkashadze sisters and their friends -- bankers, journalists, designers -- are fashion-obsessed and shop at the city's chic boutiques like Prive and Pierrot le Fou.

"Georgia was part of the Soviet Union for a long time, and of course there was no fashion for that period," Natuka explains. "But there's always been something special in how Georgian women dress. The Georgian woman has style in her genes."

(L-R) Natuka and Likuna

Tyra Banks' Smizing App + Grace Coddington Couldn't Be Cuter in Today's Style Scraps

November 16, 2012, 9:06 am

≫ Next: Daft Punk's "Around the World" Is Our Music Video of the Day

≪ Previous: Keeping Up With The Karkashadzes -- Fashion's Newest It Girls

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Smizing aficionado Tyra Banks just made an app to help all of us laymen! For $2.00, you'll see a video of Tyra explaining how to smize and read her written instructions. Then when you go to take pictures, the app plays sound bites of Tyra telling you that you look good. Plus: Tyra says it's great for sexting! We're going to buy it right this second. [via Fashionista]


Lara Stone is pregnant! Her husband, comedian David Walliams, tweeted: "Some wonderful news. My beautiful wife Lara is pregnant. We are having a baby! It is due next year and we both couldn't be happier. Dx." [via The Cut]


PAPER favorites Dee & Ricky are designing a capsule collection with Joy Rich! It is, in a word, dope. [via Press Release]


This is the cutest! Grace Coddington on the cover of i-D is the thing we didn't know we needed until we saw it. [via Design Scene]


The CFDA, Vogue and the Tory Burch Foundation are coming together to throw a huge designer sale! The clothes will be 50% off and the all of proceeds will go to the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City! Shop for a good cause, guys! [via Press Release]
 

Kate Moss is filming a documentary which will follow her as she does her worldwide book tour. Are we excited or nervous? [via Telegraph UK]

 

Parsons plans to expand globally. They're starting by opening a "hub" in Paris that will enroll around 100 students for Fall 2013, and plan to open new hubs in Mumbai, Shanghai, and Latin America. The program in each of these hubs will be catered to their specific location. We're really looking forward to see how this unfolds. [via Fashionista]


Michael Kors is making a collection of sneakers for the very first time! [via High Snobette]

Daft Punk's "Around the World" Is Our Music Video of the Day

November 16, 2012, 10:35 am

≫ Next: Nirvana vs. Mudhoney! Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt Dishes About Grunge's Heyday

≪ Previous: Tyra Banks' Smizing App + Grace Coddington Couldn't Be Cuter in Today's Style Scraps

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This is four minutes of repetitious bliss. Daft Punk released "Around the World" back in 1997 on their Homework album, and director Michel Gondry brought it to life in today's oldie-but-goodie-Friday video. After Gondry analyzed the song, he decided to use five groups of dancers to represent the instruments. He explains in the liner notes to the DVD The Work of Director Michel Gondry:
"Bass: athletes with small heads and big legs, because they are physical, move constantly and have no time to think.
Guitar: skeletons, because it sounds itchy.
Synthesizer: Disco girls, because it sounds feminine.
Vocoder: Robots: it's obvious why.
Drum Machine: Mummies. Please don't ask why, but it's a very removed meaning association between M. Jackson (my hero) and what he did to himself."

Check it all out above.

Nirvana vs. Mudhoney! Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt Dishes About Grunge's Heyday

November 16, 2012, 11:25 am

≫ Next: Your Guide to Art Basel Miami Beach: Part V

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Few people can lay claim to starting a rock 'n' roll revolution, but Sub Pop Records founder Bruce Pavitt can do just that. In the late-1980s and early-'90s, Pavitt, 53, and his business partner Jonathan Poneman, transformed Seattle's local indie-rock scene into a global phenomenon. Deafening bands with sludgy riffs that once frequented the rock clubs of the Pacific Northwest were playing sold-out venues around the world, and flannel made its way from Tacoma thrift shops to Marc Jacobs' infamous Perry Ellis "grunge collection" show in Paris.

This month, Pavitt has released an interactive iPad book, Experiencing Nirvana, that chronicles a chaotic 1989 European Sub Pop tour that featured grunge heavyweights Tad, Nirvana and Mudhoney. To celebrate the occasion, Pavitt is DJ-ing at Manhattan's Ace Hotel tonight at midnight. We caught up with Pavitt, who lives on Orcas Island, Washington, to chat about life on the road during grunge's heyday.

On the 1989 European tour that you chronicle in Experiencing Nirvana, you portray Tad and Nirvana as up-and-comers nipping at the heels of Mudhoney, who you called Sub Pop's "flagship band." The tour climaxes at a show in London when those three bands share a bill at Lamefest UK. At that show, who put on the best performance?

The thing about that show was that all three bands did really well. Mudhoney was in peak form. It'd be a hard call to say who stole the show. But ultimately, to answer your question, I'd say Nirvana stole the show simply because, up until that point, they were the perennial opening act. They were Mudhoney's little brother. When we first started working with Nirvana, their live show left a lot to be desired. After those five-and-a-half weeks in Europe, they really came into their own. So, at the Astoria in London, they took everyone by surprise. It's rare for the opening act to get such a stunning response. If you look at the live photos at the end of the book, you'll see legs sticking out in the air, and people jumping off the stage during Nirvana's set. You typically don't see that kind of reaction for an opening band, especially for an audience as jaded as London. That was the beginning of Nirvana's ascension. They were never again looked at as an opening act. Needless to say, six months later, Kurt's idol, Iggy Pop, showed up at their show at the Pyramid in New York City, as well as the DGC corporation, who signed them shortly thereafter. I really feel like that London show put Nirvana on the map and initiated their ascendancy.

What was your impression of Nirvana the first time you heard them play?

Jon and I saw their very first show in Seattle, which was almost more of an audition. They did the show, and literally nobody showed up. It was 8 o'clock on a Sunday at the Central Tavern in Pioneer Square. Aside from the bartender and the doorman, it was basically Jon and I. I was not overly impressed with their show. They were not physically expressive at all. Kurt basically stared at his shoes. They didn't play any of their better new material. They were lacking in material and stage presence. However, it was apparent from the initial audition that he had an amazing voice. In retrospect, in really going through the music and sitting with it, despite his songwriting, as strong as it was, and his guitar playing, as strong as it was, his true legacy is his voice.

As a contrast, what was your impression of Mudhoney the first time you heard them play?

I thought they were one of the greatest bands in the history of rock 'n' roll! That, for me, is such a stunning contrast. Those guys had a lot of experience with prior groups, and they just brought it all together. They were absolutely amazing from the very first second they walked onstage at the Vogue. Interestingly, I think it was something like four days after that when we saw Nirvana for the first time.

In reading the book, it seemed like Kurt Cobain needed a lot of hand-holding on that 1989 tour, from getting his passport and wallet stolen to smashing his guitar, to getting homesick. Is there one particularly fun memory you have of Kurt from that tour?

To put things in perspective, I have to say that the tour Tad and Nirvana were on was insanely grueling. It would've been taxing for anybody. But we had heard rumors that Kurt wasn't doing well, frankly, and that's why we went down to Rome at the last minute to check him out. So we spent some time with Kurt, we spent a day walking around Rome. And I got to see some of the deeper parts of his personality. He loved to talk about music. By the time that day was finished, he was in pretty good spirits. He just really needed a break. I would say that simply getting to see him talking about music was an opportunity to see him having fun.

Soundgarden and Mudhoney, two of Sub Pop's earliest bands, are still making music today. What characteristics of these bands do you think makes them so enduring?

Well, that's a good question. They're classically great rock bands. They put on a really good show. They've got a great catalogue of material to draw from. Mudhoney and Soundgarden could essentially never write another song again, and could tour on their catalogue, and their fans would still be pretty stoked. They're resilient enough to go out on the road and rock out. So I'd say it's because they're resilient, they've got a great catalogue and they put on a good show.

You're DJ-ing at the Ace tonight. What's the most danceable grunge song?

Ha! I'd have to say the first song that comes to my mind is a single that we put out by Nirvana that a lot of folks aren't too familiar with, and that track is called, "Dive." It's super heavy. It's got a great groove to it. I remember when it came out, I'd hear it at parties all the time. As soon as we'd throw it on, people would have a very physical response to it. Mostly standing in one place and banging their head. But it always triggered that physical response because of it's great groove, and I'll be playing that tune [tonight].

 

Your Guide to Art Basel Miami Beach: Part V

November 16, 2012, 12:00 pm

≫ Next: PREMIERE: Teeth and Tongue's "The Party Is You"

≪ Previous: Nirvana vs. Mudhoney! Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt Dishes About Grunge's Heyday

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Welcome to the fifth edition of our ongoing guide to Art Basel Miami Beach (check out editions I, II, III, and IV HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, respectively).  Let's get started:

In honor of the late Tony Goldman -- the visionary real estate developer and founder of Miami's Wynwood Walls -- there will be a special tribute entitled "Come and Dream" that launches during AB/MB in-and-around the intersection of 25th Street and NW 2nd Avenue in Miami. Meghan Coleman, the arts manager of Goldman Properties, is spear-heading the project with Tony's daughter Jessica. Look for new "walls" including another by Shepard Fairey as well as a gallery exhibit.

Never before seen photos of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones will be on view at The Betsy Hotel (1440 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach) during Art Basel Miami Beach 2012. The shots are from the archives of Bob Bonis and were shot between 1964 and 1966 while he was the tour manager for both bands' first US tours. After Bonis passed away, his son took the photos to a rock 'n' roll memorabilia specialist who organized this "first Florida showcase of the images." The exhibit is free and open to the public all week.

Morgans Hotel Group will be opening a pop-up, "members only" version of the Parisian nightclub Silencio in their Delano South Beach (1685 Collins Avenue, South Beach). The original club was designed by David Lynch and is named after the club in his film Mulholland Drive. 

Breaking news: Not only will DJ Tiësto be spinning at LIV on December 8, he's also scheduled for a performance and autograph signing at the GUESS store on Lincoln Road at 6 p.m. the same night.

A retrospective of works by Las Vegas-based artist Martin Kreloff will be on view from December 3rd to the 6th in the JW Marriott Hotel (1109 Brickell Avenue, Miami). The show will reunite many of the participants in an event called "Miami Says ART" that took place in 1976 while he was a student at the University of Miami and featured local cultural leaders each saying the word "ART."

In addition to the dozens of artists appearing on the music side of the UR1 Festival (Bayfront Park, Miami, December 8 & 9) there will also be a special film, visual art and live performance art aspect. "Warhol Superstar Ultra Violet" will ignite Isamu Noguchi's 100-foot "Light Tower" with a powerful outdoor laser at sundown on December 5. The Japanese-American artist redesigned Bayfront Park in the 80s. Also look for a "village" made from shipping containers that will feature screenings of music videos in a program titled "The Art of 5 Minutes" curated by Esther Park, programming director of Miami's Adrienne Arsht Center.

Scope Miami returns this year in a new Midtown Miami location at 110 NE 36th Street. Their 100,000-square-foot pavilion will house over 85 established galleries, plus another 20 new galleries that will be featured in Scope's "Breeder" program. Also this year, Vh1 is sponsoring a special outdoor lounge dedicated to "music, art and beyond" that will be open during regular fair hours. There's also an invite-only performance on Thursday, December 6, 7 to 11 p.m. by Canadian band Metric.

The Bass Museum of Art (2100 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach) just announced that they'll be showing six individual solo projects during AB/MB in a special exhibit called "The Endless Renaissance." Rather than mount a curated group show, they'll be featuring six contemporary artists: Eija-Liisa Ahtila (Finland), Barry X Ball (USA), Walead Beshty (UK), Hans-Peter Feldmann (Germany), Ged Quinn (UK) and Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook (Thailand). The big opening is on Wednesday, December 5, from 9 p.m. to midnight.

FENDI has teamed with Belgian designer Maarten de Ceulaer for a project called "Transformations" that combines 2D and 3D designs and "shaped-wood forms covered in leather." It will be on view at Design Miami/2012.

For the first time in the US, Marni will show their "L'Arte del Ritratto" exhibition in their store at 3930 NE 2nd Avenue. The exhibit includes 125 chairs that will be sold to benefit Miami's Service Network for Children of Inmates, as well as photos by Francesco Jodice.