Archive | Music RSS feed for this section

Toddlers dance on (teak) tables at South Street Seaport

27 May
I grabbed this image from the South Street Seaport website.

I grabbed this image from the South Street Seaport website.

I swear—your next playdate should be at South Street Seaport. On summer Sundays from 2-4pm, the See/Change stage features a kid-friendly program that miraculously (!) does not drive adults nuts. Live music and DJs (playing more than kiddie tunes) add to a mini-scene that is not crowded or lame. The astroturf area is semi-contained, so tots can move around while parents kick back in sling chairs. Plus, there is shade! And it’s free! What’s not free are the $8 sizable draft beers sold by the two-week-old Ambrose Hall, but who cares with DJ BagelBites leading the party?

“Family programming” aside, there’s a lot happening down there as the area continues to rebuild after Sandy. Pop-up shows, food trucks, an art gallery, outdoor movies and live entertainment make it a good place to while away an hour or two this summer. I might be getting old, but I like things to be easy.

And did I mention the shade?

 

 

 

Your new workout song

22 Oct

I have a pretty high tolerance for big beats, but if you can’t take Dada Life‘s insane new album in its entirety, at least try the song Boing Clash Boom. I swear it will make you run faster!

Free music. Outdoors. Not too crowded.

5 Jul

This is what an urban concert looks like. There is a funky band way up there.

Do you know City Winery? It’s an intimate space that brings great performances to downtown Manhattan. While most shows are indoors, the venue throws a tiny backyard party with live acts on Tuesday nights during the summer. And it’s free. The Hudson Square Music & Wine Festival features eclectic musicians, food vendors, and of course, vino from City Winery. From 5:30-7:30pm, chill out and have a drink or two with other people from the nabe. Even the treats are pretty cheap—$3 hot dogs, $6 beers, $7 wines. But my favorite thing is that it’s not crowded (like so many other outdoor music experiences). Check out the rest of the lineup—the party happens weekly until August 28.

Your best summer playlist

8 Jun

Rock on, homefriends.

Thank you, Harley Viera Newton.

 

Paul McCartney – “Dance Tonight”
Jim Noir – “Key of C”
The Smiths – “Girlfriend In A Coma”
David Bowie – “Sound And Vision”
Can – “I Want More”
The Cardigans – “Lovefool”
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “American Girl”
Traveling Wilburys – “Handle With Care”
Jackson Browne – “Somebody’s Baby”
Two Door Cinema Club – “Something Good Can Work”
Wilco – “Heavy Metal Drummer”
Madness – “Our House”
The Kinks – “Picture Book”
Edwyn Collins – “Girl Like You”
T. Rex – “Baby Strange”
Belle & Sebastian – “White Collar Boy”
The Jam – “Start!”
The Castaways – “Liar, Liar”
The The – “This Is The Day”
Sebasten Tellier – “Divine”
Sleigh Bells – “Rill Rill”
Neil Diamond – “The Boat That I Row”
The Strokes – “Barely Legal”
Pulp – “Babies”
Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark – “Electricity”
Little Dragon – “Ritual Union”
Elastica – “Never Here”
Delta 5 – “Mind Your Own Business”
The Slits – “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”
The Supremes – “Come See About Me”
Zombies – “Care Of Cell 44”
Oasis – “Live Forever “

It’s Wednesday. Remix your week.

8 Feb

BK DJ Jacques Renault + Chairlift‘s Evident Utensil.

Kind of a sexy track, no?

More of his remixes.

Video

Azealia Banks is the freshest.

6 Feb

Do you know Katy B yet?

8 Sep

Beautiful UK club-pop diva whose vocals are set to dubstep, house, funky and R&B. Her first album On a Mission is about to drop in the U.S.

Listen to what this 22-year-old can do …

Or watch:

On a Mission

Louder

And just for fun: Magnetic Man remixes Katy B’s Perfect Stranger

 

Music Heads Unite at Turntable.fm

11 Jul

Just read about this in the NYT and am already hooked. Turntable.fm is a free new music site that lets you listen to other users as they DJ, rate their mixes and communicate with them (and other listener avatars). It’s nerdy, social and hip at the same time. Choose from rooms like trance, indie, rock, ambient, etc. So far it seems like the site has more electronic rooms than other genres but anyone can create a new area. One more thing: You can only sign up if one of your Facebook friends already has an account. But if you happen to be reading this on FB right now …

 

(Photo: flickr.com/freeloosedirt)

Not that I ever illegally downloaded music, but…

7 Jun

… a young person recently turned me onto something that has made my life a lot better since the suspension of Limewire. You can convert any online video to an MP3 for free… like, say, a music video on YouTube, perhaps? I will fully admit that I was not hip enough to discover this on my own but it comes in very, very handy.

Free. I swear. And no software to download—just the converted file.

http://www.video2mp3.net/

(Photo via flickr.com/Ferrari + caballos + fuerza = cerebro Humano )

Book: Just Kids by Patti Smith

19 Apr

Hardcover Edition

OK, so I’m obviously not the only one who has discovered this NYT Bestseller. But trust me: If you have a love for music, poetry, art, photography or the NYC that once was, pick up this book. Patti Smith has written a romantic ode not only to the amazing Robert Mapplethorpe but also to an era.

More images: