happy halloween

hope your halloween brings you more treats than tricks. here's a treat to start you off. emusic editors asked their fav artist to send over halloween costume pics. this is bon iver's justin vernon as garth from wayne's world. party time! excellent!

brooklyn flea design co-op

lotta jansdotter's last day at the co-op this saturday. snatch up her goodies. also, free totes to the first 60 peeps who make a purchase at the co-op.

an education

must school girl fantasy fix: an education. shar's been anticipating watching this effort from lone scherfig and finally got the opportunity last evening. a much more richly set film versus the dogma style italian for beginners.

carey mulligan shines as jenny. in a role that is already earning her oscar buzz, she's a bright student excelling her way to oxford. enter the charming and older david (aka peter sarsgaard), who opens her eyes to the luxuries of art and travel. she's whisked away by cigarettes, champagne, fashion, music, art, and not to mention paris. i was particularly taken by her gown to the right. loved it!

the cast of alfred molina (perfect as the over bearing dad), olivia williams (as english schoolmarm), dominic cooper (as cad #2), rosamund pike (as ditzy counter to the "clever" jenny) and emma thompson (as stern headmistress) are an excellent ensemble. the film rounds out with a perfectly pitched soundtrack that sets the 60's in it's place beginning with floyd kramer's bouncy opening keys. swoony french from juliette greco and my fav brenda lee. the adaptation was penned by one nick hornby and i'm sure he had a hand in this ultimate 60's era mixtape. go see it!

did i get you a sigg?

belated green report: sigg is conducting a voluntary exchange program. shar's bought many siggs for her friends. if you wanna exchange your's, kula is an exchange site. got to get them to me by october 31 tho. if you wanna be safer than sorry that is, but you are talking to that gal who has her nalgene from 2001. i'll bring to the bottles in and bring back you a shiny new sigg with powder-based, co-polyester ecocare liner instead of previously used water-based epoxy resin liner. exciting no?

shar wants...

hmmmmm, what color?

reason why shar loves matt

awww, got this and isn't helping my bout of homesickness. love me some matt tho. loved him more when he was anti-twitter. i forgive him because he is adorable.

hey.. pssst, it's matt.
i'm on twitter now.
i know, i know. i said i never would.
well, i lied.
i haven't told the world.
just you.
you should feel special. and loved.
now come and follow my ass!

love,
@_mattnathanson

bfc: red hook

mini bicycle fun club excursion: red hook. this destination was just a hop, skip and a jump away. funny shar was thinking of an ikea trip just yesterday, but all the rain deterred it. the sunshine was out, and we had the largest turnout for a bfc.

mike - check
eric - check
jen - check
richard (bfc first timer) - check
shar - check

i was all over this trek. first stop, steve's key lime pie. in my brief residence living in carroll gardens, i attempted to go twice and was denied. not today friends.

eric, richard, mike and jen post-pie

bfc is becoming a food tour on bikes. we hit up the ball fields after pie. i gots me some mexican corn. kids, the red hook food vendors close up trucks for the season november 1. get your papusas and delicious aqua frescas now.

bonus basia

best way to get over withdrawal pains: basia bulat nuggets of gold. shar's still a little bummed that basia had to cancel her gig earlier this month. i got a pleasant surprise a few nights back watching the amazing race and came across the subaru commercial, "lost sunglasses" featuring basia's "before i knew". it's the perfect tune for the spot.

added bonus goodness - rough trade just put up basia's dumbo sesh for her latest single, "gold rush". bobby looks grown up and basia's autoharp skills are tip top. can you tell someone is excited?

laura marling @ joe's pub

somewhat of a disappointment
: laura marling at joe's pub. she did not show up for mike and eric. saki and julie, it was okay you missed this one. i was hoping the change of venue would make last night's show better than the previous gig i saw at bowery. she AGAIN played a short set under an hour.

however, laura does know how to charm a crowd with a self-introduction of "hi i'm laura and i'm going to play some songs for you." she interweaved oldies with new tunes from her forthcoming second album. she did address the fact that it's a bit ugh when you have to sit through new tunes you aren't familiar with, expecting to hear the stuff you know. laura, you are very thoughtful. from her first album, she played "ghosts," "blackberry stone," and "my manic and i". of the new tunes i could decipher, she did play "no hope in the air" and "rambling man". i really liked that later. the encore was her explaining how it's weird to retire behind a curtain five feet from the stage. she remained on stage and plucked through two more tunes. she didn't play my fav "alas i cannot swim". :(

i do think laura is a great artist with thoughtful, original lyrics set against gentle acoustic chords. the video below produced by mtv (didn't know she was on their radar) illustrates the pure simplistic goodness of ms. marling. just wish she would play longer sets. sigh!

fltgc: harris lieberman and kate werble galleries

perfect fltgc pairing: harris lieberman and kate werble galleries. i've paried the two of these galleries together previously, but today the exhibits seemed to especially flow nicely together. starting with alexandre singh's assembly instruction (tangential logick) at harris lieberman, the monochromatic pieces align to diagram a playful commentary on religion to consumerism. singh is giving four free lectures at white columns at the conclusion of his exhibit on november 9-12.

at the front gallery of hl is bernd ribbeck's vibrant small paintings of geometric composition. he uses indian inks to create these eye catching works. these were my favs.



the bright colors flowed nicely into the newly opened pinch pots and pyramids exhibit at kate werble. i was first drawn to liliane lijn's rainbow glazed pyramids. it was color goodness for this week's fltgc.

liliane's sig is niiiiice. i think she was behind me when i took this.

oops, shot vert and i don't have fancy edit capabilities. turn your head. looks about right. liliane lijn's fire and ice.

sam moyer, brings our gallery crawl from color back to mono.

fan-freakin'tastic

much anticipated fall classic:

antlers @ soundfix

best cmj in store: the antlers at soundfix. shar's second cmj freebie gig. i was expecting to see the antlers at the soundfix lounge, but it's been closed for some time. proof that shar has not been to billyburg in a while. i loved the space. that's where i first saw bon iver.

in any case, i walked the block to the new space. the performance was cozy against the racks of cds and vinyl. i first learned about the antlers earlier this year when they put excepts of hospice online for first listen. i'm also just realizing they opened for lucinda black bear when i saw them in early january at cake shop.

fast forward nine months later...

peter proclaimed that this set would be a mellow one for those recovering from their cmj hangovers. darby confessed he wasn't hungover, and mike teased him about his argyle socks. they didn't sort out a set list, so the impromptu set included "shiva", "two", darby's choice "kettering" and audience requested "bear". the crowd was mesmerized, and even peter had to comment on the silence.

"it's so quiet when people aren't drinking."

very true, peter. here's to more intimate gigs at soundfix sans clanging bottles. hurrah! here's a vid of the antlers at dc's all our noise since i was lame a forgot my camera to document the set.

AON Sessions: The Antlers, "Two" from All Our Noise on Vimeo.

fanfarlo @ rebel nyc

best cmj warm up: fanfarlo at rebel nyc. shar got an invite to the syndicate showcase, and she sure couldn't pass up a good free show with a swede frontman. simon and the gang hit the stage a bit late from their scheduled 11pm set time. cathy seemed perturbed by the sound check, but all was well in the end. she was clad in a levi's zippy and bespectacled. that's her on mandolin below.

i was ahmazed at a simple unzip revealed a fem blouse and no glasses.

saki made a good comparison of fanfarlo to beirut, but i think they are more upbeat with a little less slavic gypsy influence. you can decided for yourself and listen to their latest album, reservoir below.

fanfarlo plays lots of instruments to produce a jubilant party of whimsy. check simon out on the clarinet.


for those who haven't see them live there is a black cab sesh in london and one stateside. sorry i couldn't embedded i don't have vimeo plus. since i suck at getting you embedded black cab sessions, here's a segment they just did on atc for npr.




best giveaway:

jealous? i know you are.

wtwta

much anticipated viewing: where the wild things are. shar's been wanting to see they classic children's adaptation since arcade fire's "wake up" flooded the trailer. don't wanna give too much away for of you yet to see it, but expectations were high and sadly not met. however, the film did have some really great moments of laughter and heart. also, really enjoyed karen o's soundtrack, which really captured the heart of childhood and truly being a wild thing.

i left with my crown intact and happy to have seen the film despite its missteps. yes, i wore it all the way home and yes people ask for my review.

fltgc: white columns

much much belated gallery visit: white columns. shar's been wanting to pop into this gallery since seeing their showing at the armory. currently on show is registered, a collage of photos and mix media artworks. i was quite taken by margarida correia. sorry friends, shar sucks and forgot her camera for this crawl. boo on shar! more reason for you folks in ny to check out the show that goes on until october 24.

the impeccable composition of correia's photos juxtaposes the rooms artifacts into a narrative of who has/had occupied them. this was one of my favs in the show. mostly because there was an old school star war toy boxes. on the top shelf. makes me think of the little boy that lived in the room and all the crazy adventures he had.

i missed her artwork at abc no rio's recent hanging out at no rio. i'll keep a keen eye on this portuguese photog and you should too.

music inn

instant inspiration: music inn. shar was catching up on her take away shows and stumbled upon the tallest man on earth's cover of jackson browne's these days. shar hearts this song. notable covers by nico, st. vincent and mates of states of the tune swirled in her head. kristian tackles this ditty with fervor and zig amongst the exotic instruments of the music inn. boy's got some dandy fingers against the toy piano. his twangy and throaty rendition of the song against a mishmosh of curious doodads is unique. i wandered to the music inn today to experience the cramp quarters where the unique playthings reside. i must say the video below glamourizes the place a bit, but i did love the shop keeper and assistant who were attentive to my curious needs. kristian is uber cutes in his wife beater and black skinney jeans. sigh! moustache anyone?

Tallest man on earth - These Days (Nico Cover) - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

new swell season

best cheer me up: swell season's strict joy. it's streaming on npr for 2 weeks until it's released october 27. the album is a hushed lullaby to relationships gone south. the album is more layered than the mostly organic soundtrack for once. it's a testament to the evolution of glen and marketa's relationship from romantic to true friendship.

mad men - sesame street style

they had me at the opening sequence.

the end of the wire

series of all series: the wire. shar's finally done with all five seasons. it was heart-wrenching and moving against the backdrop of inner city baltimore. from the streets to the docks to the schools to the press, david simon is a genius at connecting the lines between the interworkings of a city struggling to pick itself up. complex characters that stretch through the cat and mouse drug trafficking circles.

i've spoken of my love for a certain officer, but he was not getting my love in the final season. he went WAY rogue on me and was breaking mine and beadie's hearts. don't want to spoil anything for those of you who have not yet finished this stellar series. let's just say there's good and bad, but the swan song is ever so satisfying.

thanks to my brother for getting me hooked, andy for lending me the last three seasons, and virginia for her added in-depth commentary.

bfc - staten island

unexpected scenic ride: staten island. bicycle fun club (bfc) met up to ferry over to staten island. shar's never really been to staten island. only rode the ferry once and got off to get back on. it was quite the treat. biked to the verrazano and past it to the beach. my beach cruiser sure loved it and all the boardwalk biking. what a successful trip that ended with the best pizza in the five boroughs according to the daily news.

eric, jen, mike = bfc

spectrum of bikes in bfc - eric's fancy fixed gear beaut and my beach cruiser
reward = sausage and broccoli di rabi from sal's

the crazy "apocalyptic weather" colors of sunset from battery park. we just caught the view as we departed the ferry.

fltgc: wild things to obamas

best preview for wtwta: the art of maurice sendak at animazing gallery. this is a coast to coast celebration. they are celebrating maurice over in sf at the contemporary jewish museum. shar got totally yelled at when i tried to take pics. i was able to sneak in these from the less patrolled downstairs space.

i really want this to be my xmas card this year.

did you know maurice did little bear too?

best exhibit to celebrate obama's nobel peace prize: kurt kauper's barack and michelle obama at deitch. whether you are cheering for barack's prize or puzzled, kauper's portrait are set against subtle backdrops that question the icons at the forefront.

must gory exhibit to roll in halloween: francine spiegel's mud and milk. francie creates melty, zombie-like paintings of females. reminds me on b-movie poster melting like wax.

whoa nellie!

an education

must see: an education. virginia clued me in on this upcoming flick opening friday in ny. ahmazing cast with alfred molina, olivia williams, peter sarsgaard and dominic cooper. early reviews are raving about one carey mulligan, kitty in the last pride and prejudice version. jane (rosamund pike) from the same film also is in an education.

director lone scherfig caught my eye with her first major film, italian for beginners, but she sorta fell of my radar. shar's a fan of danish filmmakers. heck, who am i kidding i love all things danish. this latest offering looks like it just my danish cup of tea.

cancelled - basia bulat @ bell house

reason shar is crying inside: basia bulat's gig at bell house tonight is canceled due to visa issues. note posted on bell house website:

WED 10/7: 7:30pm / CANCELED

BASIA BULAT

Basia Bulat has been canceled due to visa issues. Full refunds are available at point of purchase. No make up date has been scheduled.

good news is ticketweb has already refunded me my dough, but jac is denied again from seeing the canadian cutie. it would have been her first show in brooklyn. basia come back please. for now, i will have to keep myself satisfied with her new tune, "gold rush" from her new album, heart of my own.

kleerup feat. lykke li

belated music goodness: ms. li's collab with kleerup for "until we bleed" is really rockin' my day. it's swedish goodness wrapped in sweetly lulling beats.


shar somehow snoozed on this when stereogum reported on it last may. boo shar, but enjoying it now. hope you do too.

sad to have missed...

bummer about being on the east coast. shar love loves the strictly hardly bluegrass festival. i attended from 2004 to 2006 and miss my annual dose of gillian welch in golden gate park. this year they added neko case, okkervil river, aimee mann, amandou & mariam, dr. dog and even mc hammer. sad shar.

niners win!!!

best redemption: niners 35, rams 0. after the heartbreaking loss at the hands of farve, the niners lifted shar's faithful spirit with a 35-0 shutout of the st. louis rams. the defense really came through from the ab fab interception by patrick willis to ray macdonald's fumble recovery. 3-1 baby!

mayer knows best

must retro live act: mayer hawthorne and the country at mercury lounge. the last time i saw mayer he was was behind the tables and only graced us with a short vocal set. i've always liked him more behind the tables than behind a mic, but my mind was changed after tonight's performance. he was charming and cheeky. he even presented a rose to a female admirer while crooning "when i said goodbye". throughout the night, he continued to ask, "do you feel the love new york?" mayer, when you are around we are always feeling the love.

he had the crowd eating from his hand, from requests to throw "L's" in the air for "love is alright" to orders to dance to "your easy lovin' ain't pleasin' nothin'". he threw in a nice cover of e.l.o.'s mr. blue sky into "one track mind" too.

the setlist to the best of my recollection (i tried to get one, but the boys have it memorized)

maybe so, maybe no
just ain't gonna work out
on track mind
green eyed love
your easy lovin' ain't pleasin' nothin'
i wish it would rain
when i said goodbye
the ills (encore)
love is alright

he did a similar set for kcrw


i broke down and got a strange arrangement on vinyl. i got the extra special, limited edition bonus 4-inch.

fltgc: earth room and HERE AND NOW/AND NOWHERE

best escape: fltgc. work sucked, so today's art excursion was just what shar needed to clear her head. this was a solo effort while co-founder jac is on the west coast. first up was deitch for the tauba auerbach show, HERE AND NOW/AND NOWHERE. her works are of grand scale, playing with the ideas of 2d and 3d. her paintings allude to 3d action but in actuality are flat. cases in point:

this subtle detailing reminds me of some snake skin.

this one resembles crinkled newsprint.

the centerpiece of the exhibit is auerglass, the two person pump organ by auerbach and collaborator cameron mesirow. each player has to supply wind for the other player's notes. the two ladies that graced us with their talents donned costumes by ida falck øien. the tunes from the organ reminded me of a soundtrack for mermaids swimming under the sea.

you can check it out for yourself tuesday thru saturday at 5pm. pipes are packed up october 17, so you gots two more weeks people.


second stop was the earth room (thanks jesse for the rec). okay, this wasn't as awe inspiring as the broken kilometer, but it totally made me think about how it could be a huge compost room.