Once

Once has been out for quite a while now, so yes, I realize I am more than a bit late on this one. Today however, marks its release on DVD so I feel that it is timely.

Winner of this years Sundance Audience Choice, Once is a musical without actually being a musical, in the sense that people aren’t randomly busting out in song in inappropriate places a la High School Musical or Moulin Rouge, causing the cheese factor to remain low and the emotional authenticity high. It’s like Little Miss Sunshine with a melody.

Set on the streets of Dublin, the movie stars Glen Hansard of The Frames and recounts the love story of a street musician/vacuum cleaner repair man and a Czech immigrant as they write, record and rehearse songs over the course of a week. The performances are excellent and the music is wonderful, giving the entire film a certain sincerity so rare to find in most movies.

And I am not the only one who thinks so. Made on a shoestring budget of $160,000, the film has grossed over 9.1 million. Two songs have been nominated for a Grammy and the soundtrack sold over 160,000 copies. Check out the clip below and buy the DVD here.

Francesca Woodman

I don’t have much time today, but I wanted to let all of you know about an excellent exhibit of Francesca Woodwards works at the Marian Goodman Gallery. She is one of my favorites and her photos are absolutely captivating. Best known for her black and whites of herself and other female nudes, her images are frequently blurred giving them a ghostly, ethereal quality that is undeniably feminine, poignantly intimate and completely removed from sexuality. She studied at RISD and then moved to New York to pursue her career. In 1980, after career and relationship failures she threw herself out of a loft window. These are from the House Series she created in 1976. I love them because whenever I see them, combined with my knowledge of her background, they remind me of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s "Yellow Wallpaper," adding just one more layer of meaning.
Marian Goodman Gallery
24 W. 57th St., 4th fl
212-977-7160

Where Was I?: Personal Updates

So sorry on the lack of yesterdays post. We had our holiday party and left the office at noon for a wonderfully yummy lunch at Gotham Bar and Grill. I just think this place is so pretty and my belly is still feeling all nice and satisfied from their perfect Cheesecake Risotto. It tasted good enough to melt all of the caloric guilt. Mmmm…


I was off by 3pm and headed home to snuggle up in bed, since my plans for a shopping excursion were put on hold due to the horribly shitty ice-rain that fell all day yesterday. Somewhat oddly, I ended up being sucked into BBC America on Demand, otherwise known as my new favorite channel. I watched two shows and have got to highly, highly recommend them.

The first is “Love Me, Love My Real Doll,” which is the true life version of “Lars and the Real Girl.” It follows several men who own these dolls for reasons of both sex and companionship. The second is “Super Skinny Me,” which follows two British reporters as they try and whittle their waists from a size 12 to a size 0 in five weeks. Both are fascinating and completely fucked up.


As for this morning, I am once again tired and struggling not to pass out face first on my keyboard. Can you guess why, loyal readers?

A) I am hung over
B) I am getting sick

If you said A, you would normally be right, but in this case it’s a trick question. The answer is a combination of both A and B, which sucks because the weekend is here and fun stuff going on. For tonight, I had the Ultimate Douchbag Friday planned, with stops at Tenjune’s Holiday Party, the new club in Aer’s old space called Kiss & Fly ((pic) whose opening night I was too hung over to go to, but, psssttt…heard Andy Roddick was there being unexciting) to a jaunt by 1OAK to see if it is, indeed, actually open. Then, a stop by Brewed Fresh favorite, Magnum PR’s (Klaxons, Neimo, Snow Patrol), holiday party in order to submerse myself in hipsters to wash off all the douche.

And while this seems like so much fun, I don’t want to be sick for tomorrow night, when the best party of the year happens. It’s my BBF Liz’s Holiday Extravaganza where my urban family, made up of those I love the most, will come together in their most glamorous X-mas sweaters to get as wasted as possible.

Anyways, that is about it. Since I did cheap out yesterday, stay tuned for the Crush of the Week later on today. Just in case I get lazy, which is looking highly probable, and you need advice fo rwhat to zone out to this weekend, it's a 750ml Affair ( www.myspace.com/a750mlaffair). And remember, if there is ever a day I don’t show up here and you are just dying for a little Me, you can always find me over at http://www.iminlikewithyou.com/ dissing your fav celebs. .

ketchup mania

I am super tired today. Those of you have been consistently reading since I began my new ‘experiment,” of adding in some personal tidbits have got to be like, “Damn girl, STOP drinking.” And you of course would be right, but today I have a new excuse that should buy me a few more guiltless nights out: Drunkorexia (please click-it's hilarious), or skipping dinner and just drinking instead. However, it should be noted that unlike the women in this clip that purposefully skip a meal to make up for their liquid calories, I just merely don’t have time to put food in my mouth. I mean, picking up a fork means I have to put my glass down! And how can I fit food into my mouth when a straw is already in there? Essentially, eating just boils down to less time for drinking.

Moving on, in order to keep myself awake I have been listening to some super hyper music. Enter ketchup mania, a kinetic punk outfit from Japan, which is working wonders. Winners of Shojo Beat's "Best Japanese Punk Group" award in their 2007 Music Issue (and no I do not actually have this), they have only been in the US once but will be returning stateside. They won’t be in NYC (single tear drop), but they will be in Seattle WA, March 28-30, so start planning a road trip now.

Check out this video for the song 涙☆バキュームサウンド. They look like the Asian version of No Doubt. This chick so needs to hire some blond back-up dancers, name them ridiculous names and contract them not to speak. Then they can just follow her around all the time as she uses them as accessories/props/pets. Can you say "Best Job Ever!"? I am totally applying.


http://www.myspace.com/ketchupmaniajf

Two for Tuesday: Neimo and Sara Melson

Today has been an absolutely fabulous day already and it isn’t even noon! That almost never happens! Reasons for this rare occurrence: 1) I had a very nice night last night. Nuff said. And 2) I had an excellent morning, in which, if all goes well, will be the first step of a very long and exciting walk to success. Fingers crossed, Mother Universe prayed to.

So to celebrate being awake, energetic and simply alive in NYC, lets hear some music. First up, since I love me some Frenchmen, I’d like you all to take a moment and listen to Neimo. Singing in English, the native French quartet plays some hot Parisian punk rock injected with a heated dose of pop. Frontman Bruno Alexandre has been described as “Michael Hutchence meets Blondie meets Morrissey meets Jagger.” Yowza!

They released their first album, From Scratch in 2005 and it caught on quickly. Noted for their onstage energy, they have built up a fan base in both the underground and mainstream. They have gone on to create their own label, Big Fields, to ensure they keep their freedom and artistic voice.

Their second album, “Modern Incidental,” is set for release next spring from Shangri-La Music. They are in NYC this December, so you have a few chances to check them out:


Dec 12 - Pianos 8pm
Dec 15 - Luna 9pm
Dec 19 - Pianos 8pm
Dec 22 - Tiswas 11pm
Dec 29 - Midway 10pm

Put on your dancing shoes. Here is the video for “Hot Girl.”



Who else do I love today? Sara Melson. This LA-based singer/songwriter belts out the prettiest, poetic and flowing tunes I have heard in a while. Her self-produced debut Dirty Mind, will be out February 26 and is being released by Nettwerk Music Group. A yoga instructor and children's music teacher, you sort of just have to love her.
Listen to her now before everyone else discovers her. "Feel It Coming," is set to be featured on where else, but the centrifugal of current folk music, Grey's Anatomy.

Sara Melson mp3 - Feel It Coming
Sara Melson mp3 - Hardpressed
Sara Melson mp3 - Anywhere Anytime

www.myspace.com/saramelson

Happy Tuesday kids!

Two Things You Should See

So my weekend was pretty good. The Office Holiday Party, located all the way in western Connecticut, took an unbelievable and hellish four and a half hours to get to. We took a party bus, compete with two big screens playing music videos, booty bass music, flashing lights and a stripper pole. The drinks were flowing and almost everyone was blazed by the time we got the actual destination. As for me? I fell asleep on the way there and spent most of the night outside smoking by the fire. I've learned through past mistakes that it's always safer to distance yourself from the crowd when it comes to the X-mas party. Trust me: This is the best advice you'll get all year.

Saturday was more drinking and not really worth retelling, so I will just move forward and let you know about two things you should see this week:

Barbara Kruger Exhibit

Barbara Kruger can be considered an icon in both art and social commentary. She was HUGE in the ‘80’s and is renowned for her text-based photo montages that question power: how it is constructed, used and abused as interpreted through the social, economic and political arrangements. Her early works from 1978 are on display at the uptown Mary Boone Gallery until the 22nd in an exhibit called “Pictures/Readings.” There are a dozen or so photos, each constructed with a faded color photograph of unknown, residential architectural exteriors on one side and typewritten text recounting the “incidental urgencies and activities,” of the buildings’ imagined inhabitants, on the other. All of the photos were taken in Florida or California so there are tiny hints of warm climates, such as a palm tree or salmon colored roof tops. a palm tree pops into one image, while salmon-colored stucco and red tile roofs can be seen in others.

Mary Boone Gallery: 745 Fifth Avenue
http://www.maryboonegallery.com/

Here are a few of her more well known works/pieces I like:

What Would Jesus Buy
On a sort of related note, Super Size Me’s Morgan Spurlock has a new movie. It’s playing in select cities and is at Cinema Village on east 12th in NYC. The plot is as follows: Bill Talen is a lost idealist who hitchhikes to New York City only to find that Times Square was becoming a mall (a concept that doesn’t seem so far fetched). Motivated by the loss of his neighborhood and inspired by the sidewalk preachers around him, Bill buys a white collar and becomes a the Reverend Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping. He and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir go on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse: the end of mankind from consumerism, over-consumption and the fires of eternal debt. Sounds like the perfect holiday movie. Enchanted, what?

Check out the web site at: http://wwjbmovie.com/

You gotta love the Walt Disney font on this:

And lastly, in completely unrelated news: This is the cutest thing I have EVER seen.

And this is the funniest thing I have heard all day. Its sexy time, people.

mog.com

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The Lunchbox Auction Opening Event

All of you daily readers will know that I was struggling with a bit of a hangover yesterday and debating on whether or not to go out last night. Those of you are are expert partiers will know that the best cure for drinking too much, is to go ahead and just drink more.

Being an “expert,” this is exactly what I did and it was well worth it. A friend and I went down to Saatchi & Saatchi for the Lunchbox Auction event. I notified all of you about it the other day here, and you can still bid online. All proceeds go to the Food Bank For New York City and The Lunchbox Fund of South Africa to aid in hunger relief. It's a wonderful cause and well worth your dollar.

They had the over 100 lunchboxes signed by celebrities out for display and an area where people could place a silent bid. Sadly, Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake did not donate their dick in a box, which would have been hilarious and likely a real price winner.

There was one live auction. Mario Batali, in his omnipresent bright orange crocks, spoke first and introduced the event. Next R.E.M. front man Michael Stipe took the podium and explained what was in his box: photos of celebrities wearing his glasses and a few other items. I think that this is a brilliant idea. A woman from Christies led the bidding, which reached 40k. We spotted Mario in the corner excitedly encouraging people to raise the number higher.
But Mario and Michael weren’t the only A-listers in attendance. We spotted Anna Sui, the shockingly short Lisa Marie Presley and mom Priscilla chatting it up near the DJ booth. The leader in rock n’ roll fashion talking to the family of the King of rock n’ roll; now that’s a conversation I would have bid to gain privy to.

The thinking fans favorite couple Peter Sarsgaard and Maggie Gyllenhaal were also making the rounds and are just as twee and perfect as they look in pictures. Maggie had her hair back in Heidi braids and Peter wore his scarf all night, making them both appear like they would be making their way to a Williamsburg coffee shop at any moment.
Other stars in attendance included: Patti Smith, Heatherette designer Traver Rains, Billy Crudup,Rachel Ray and the amazing Zac Posen.***

Zac, if you happen to ever google yourself and come a cross this fantastic site which is my blog: send me clothes. Please!

I have to give myself a pat on the back for my behavior. I am a huge R.E.M. fan and was increasingly tempted throughout the night to go over and let Michael Stipe know that the song “Everybody Hurts,” was seminal to my coping with teen angst. I resisted though and this morning I sort of wish I would have at least introduced myself.
After the event we headed over to Goldbar and proceeded to stay out too late. I really like this place and I have to say that while most clubs who market themselves as exclusive hire asshole’s for doorman, I couldn’t adore the club’s Ryan any more. He deserves the first ever, Brewed Fresh Hugs and Kisses award for being a genuine person when his job dictates that he should not be.

Finally around 3am (AGAIN!) I head home. Even though this is way too late, I am also giving myself a pat on the back for it because a friend of mine, whom I have a tendancy to stay out too late with, was texting me to come and continue the night at Soho Grand. Today, I do not feel so shitty as I would have and am prepared to face the horror that is the “Office Holiday Party,” without a headache. In a few hours I will be off on a shuttle bus for a two hour ride to Connecticut, hating my job and the fact that going to this party, which I don’t even want to go to, requires four hours of travel time and a $25 purchase of a gift.

Happy Weekend Kids! I'll be sleeping.