To go away on a summer's day

Vampire Weekend's video for the third single off their new album takes a Holiday from their preppy Ivy-Leaguer image in favor of some badass New Romantic flava.

Vampire Weekend - New Music - More Music Videos

Pretty sure VW got their sexy composer inspiration from last year's Halloween costume:
Happy Memorial Day Weekend to all - I'll be back & blogging Tuesday!

Beat the heat

Memorial Day weekend is approaching, which means summer is finally officially upon us! If you're staying local for the holiday, there are plenty of ways to celebrate the season. Here's a few:

Water Taxi Beach's Memorial Day Party, 11am-11pm: from 4-6, nab clams, shrimp and oysters for 80 cents apiece, and slurp $6 pints of Sixpoint and Gaffel plus $9-12 cocktails all day long.

What better way to celebrate Fleet Week than by doing it on a boat? Join Wayne Kramer and political rap group The Coup on the 31st for their Rocks off Concert Cruise show.

Speaking of boats, the Intrepid's free Summer Movie Series begins Friday with a Flight Deck screening of Top Gun.

Relish your hot dog, and the fact that you're not stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Grilling is for those with tricked-out rooftops or suburban backyards. Do it up city-style and celebrate the opening weekend of BKLYN Yard with PARKED: eats from NYC's best food trucks. I have a feeling Van Leeuwen's is going to rake it in.

Sip a summer seasonal, slather on the SPF, and blast some songs of summer:
Admiral Radley - I Heart California
She & Him - In the Sun
Dom - Living in America
Quadron - Pressure
Math & Physics Club - Jimmy Had a Polaroid
Sleigh Bells - Tell 'Em

More of my warm-weather playlist to come. Happy holidays!

Single in the city

Time Out NY's infamous "Date these Singles" section is the stuff of urban dating legend. Everyone claims to know someone who knows someone who had their picture snapped by the mag, then met the gal/guy of his/her dreams because of it. It's one of those secret "single in the city" dreams - you don't want to admit you hope they'll approach you, but, well ... why not get a little extra internet boost, right? It's not like going on JDate (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Now, I really do know one of those people! My good friend Haley* was recently snapped while on a date at a beer garden in Queens - a perfect pickup spot, according to TONY. She's beautiful, smart, fun, and she knows her way around the kitchen of Otto. Men of New York, have at her! Click through to #4 ... she's a winner.
*please don't murder me

Summerfests

I know I already gushed about all the amazing concert series in NY this summer, but there are a couple more I can't not share with you.

The Northside Festival (four days of music, film and art in Williamsburg, June 24-27) is slowly but surely releasing a pretty bomb lineup: Au Revoir Simone, Memory Tapes, Dom, Liars, Forest Fire, Lissy Trullie, and many more. Four-day festival badges are just $50, which gets you access to every Northside event as well as a bunch of drink specials and food discounts at local establishments. Super-cheap tickets to individual concerts are available as well.

If it's a one day hip-hop extravaganza you're looking for, Rock the Bells (Governor's Island, August 28) is already starting to blow every other lineup out of the water. Rumor has it Lauryn Hill may appear as a special guest (although girl is fickle as they come), but even more exciting is the theme of the show, which is artists performing four classic albums in their entirety. That means Slick Rick will do The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, Krs-One will perform Criminal Minded, Rakim will perform Paid in Full, and Wu-Tang will headline with Enter the 36 Chambers. In addition to the four full album performances, special guests include Wiz Khalifa, Clipse, Immortal Technique, Jedi Mind Tricks, and more, plus surprises that may well include a Guru tribute. Keep checking the site for ticket info, which should be posted soon.

NY pride

LCD Soundsystem ended each of their NY shows this weekend with a version of "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down," that incorporated this fall's NY anthem, "Empire State of Mind." I thought nothing could make me want to hear that Jay-Z jam again, but LCD really did us proud. Aw.

Can't scalp this

Finally Paterson does something right: the governor recently reenacted a law from the 1920s that prohibits scalpers from reselling tickets for more than $2 above face value. And even better, the law prohibits primary sellers such as Ticketmaster from tacking on extra service and delivery fees. Rock on, Gov. P!

And to celebrate, free tunes for all - this is SPIN's Bonnaroo Mixtape 2010, featuring tracks from Phoenix, Kings of Leon, Mumford and Sons, The National, and more.

Absolut Brooklyn

Chances are, you haven't thought about Absolut vodka's marketing campaign since you used to tear out those magazine ads and paste them on your preteen bedroom wall next to pictures of Johnny Depp and the guy who played Roger in Rent. Or ... maybe that's just me. Either way, they're getting hip to the groove once again with the launch of Absolut Brooklyn, and this time, it's a Spike Lee joint. The BK-raised director (whose childhood address is depicted on the bottle's label) helped conceive a flavor that tastes just like the borough - "a fresh and distinct character of ripe apples with a slight hint of ginger." Actually, that sounds pretty on the money. If they can manage to legalize drinking this on stoops, they might really have something here.

Oh yeah, and Absolut is donating $50,000 from the proceeds of the limited-edition bottle to Habitat for Humanity's project to build affordable, green homes in Bed-Stuy. Drink the right thing.

Inhale books instead

German publisher Hamburger Automatenverlag (say that five times fast) is recycling old cigarette vending machines to disperse literature to the masses. Books, graphic novels, poetry collections and travel guides by local Hamburg authors will cost a mere 4 euro - both cheaper and better for you than a pack of smokes. Knowledge over nicotine, man.

Morning affirmations

If all gals started their mornings the same way Jessica does, maybe low self-confidence would be less of a problem among America's female youth. "I like my hair, I like my haircuts" ... you go, girl!

Reminds me a little of that scene from Cool Runnings:

Go ahead, take a look in the mirror and tell yourself how much you rock.

Banksy in the Big Apple

Did anyone really think Banksy would embark on a cross-country promotional tour without hitting up the street art capital of the continent? So far, pieces have been spotted in TriBeCa and Dumbo. If there's anyone who hasn't seen his new flick, Exit Through the Gift Shop, well, what are you waiting for?
Photos courtesy of ANIMAL

Outdoor concert season

It's the most wonderful time of the year - the time when free outdoor concert series start announcing their summer lineups.

Central Park SummerStage is off the hook in 2010: highlights include Dan Deacon, Jimmy Cliff, St. Vincent, The xx, Public Enemy, Pharoahe Monch, and Doug E. Fresh. There's also a pretty rad benefit lineup (yes, that means these tickets cost money) including John Butler Trio & State Radio, The Flaming Lips (sold out), The Black Keys & The Morning Benders (sold out), Hot Chip, Hercules and Love Affair & Holy Ghost.
If you didn't snatch up Keys tickets fast enough (muahaha), word on the street is that they'll be playing a secret show this Saturday night - downtown location yet to be announced.

And let's not forget our favorite outer borough - Celebrate Brooklyn at the Prospect Park Bandshell is hosting The Roots, Talib Kweli, Sonic Youth, Metric, and many more. If you're not broke, tickets to benefit shows by Rufus Wainwright and The Dead Weather (Jack White's newest musical venture) are still available.

Stay tuned for the Jelly NYC Pool Parties list, which Chuck Schumer recently confirmed will be back again with eight sure-to-be-sicknasty shows. Schumer reportedly "can't wait to ride [his] bike this summer to the East River Park to rock out at these concerts once again." Me too, Chuck. Me too.

Get hired for $6

Remember that possibly-urban-legend about the guy who got into Harvard by answering their essay question about the scariest thing you've ever done by scrawling "Fuck Harvard" across the application page? This is sort-of-not-really like that, only cooler:
Copywriter Alec Brownstein bought Google ad words for top advertising creative directors' names for the low price of $6. When they Googled their own names, they got a message from Brownstein asking for a job. The results are pretty freaking amazing.

Food for thought

I'm proud and pleased as punch to welcome my good friend Jamie to the blogosphere! Who better to take nutrition/fitness/foodie advice from than this smart, savvy and svelte soon-to-be dietitian? Her motto: "duh, just eat it (and work out tomorrow)." Now that's a policy I can get behind.

Some more of my favorite recipe/food-related sites:

Smitten Kitchen
Not Eating Out in New York
101 Cookbooks
Tartelette
Cupcake Project
Serious Eats
Wined & Dined

Bon appetit!

Definitely not a book

If this was a Bad News blog, I would tell you about Tyra Banks' new YA book deal (it's called Modelland, and it sounds like what happens when stupid meets crazy). But since this is the Good Newspaper, I'll tell you about a new project coming out June 15, from the wacked-out mind of an author I have an intense love-hate relationship with.

Chuck Klosterman (also known as the bestselling author of Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, not to mention a fair few more pop culture critiques and snobby-yet-true music commentaries that all grace my bookshelves) has written something that is "definitely not a book." Nor is it an essay, or an article. The Random House-published collection, called HYPERtheticals: 50 Questions for Insane Conversation, is essentially a deck of cards made up of hypothetical questions designed to do what Chuck does best: provoke. Klosterman calls it "just something weird for weird people." Unfortunately, if you're like me, it will be very difficult to avoid paying money to be disparaged by him. That's the Chuck Klosterman we all love to hate.

But we do love you, B

Just when you thought she'd reached the pinnacle of music video hotness (Single Ladies, clearly), Queen B hits us with this jam, ensuring that hubby Hova won't be leaving any time soon. Why Don't You Love Me might just be her best look yet.

"Why Don't You Love Me" - Beyoncé from Beyoncé on Vimeo.

Golden Saturday night

Nothing says Mother's Day like Betty White hosting SNL, with musical guest Jay-Z thrown in for the kids. The onetime Golden Girl has experienced a recent resurgence of popularity, sure to skyrocket tomorrow night when she and Hov appear in a few sketches together. "I'm very excited about meeting him, and I bragged to all my friends who think I'm over the hill," she joked. "Well, I did a sketch with Jay-Z."
Check out the promo video below, as well as a special Betty White SNL drinking game from the folks at Flavorwire.

10 years of Siren Fest

The free Coney Island concert extravaganza known as Siren Festival is in its tenth year running, and in the history of the event, no band has ever played Siren twice. There was a conscious decision made at the festival's conception that if they made it to ten years, the show would re-host some of its best performers. This year on Saturday, July 17, the time has finally come. Matt & Kim, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Surfer Blood are just a few of the festival's veterans who will be coming back for round two. Keep checking the site for more acts TBA.

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

We have the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army at the 1862 Battle of Puebla to thank for the glorious festivities that take place every May 5th. Guacamole, margaritas, mariachi music ... all good things.
Here are a few ways to celebrate:

• Learn how to make some Dos Caminos-style guac. And while you're at it, a rice, bean and corn salad (I used black beans and a lime, cumin, cayenne and cilantro dressing) and some Berry Rosé

• Sangria to wash it down.$3 Dos Equis drafts and margaritas, $2 quesadillas and burritos at the South St Seaport's Water Taxi Beach & Beer Garden opening party, 4-10 pm.

• Grab a margarita-flavored cupcake from the CupcakeStop truck.

• Celebrate Cinco and Bike Month with the Time's Up ride, complete with breaks for pinatas, dancing, and burritos.

• Free margaritas, chips and salsa from 6-7 at West 3rd Common when you become a fan on Facebook.

• Check out the opening night of Diablo Royale Este, a massive Mexican saloon in the East Village.

• Listen to live mariachi, sample "the hottest drink on Earth" (or stick to $5 tequila shots), and enjoy a $30 sharing menu at Mercadito .

• Free margaritas and live music at Ofrenda in the West Village for anyone eating dinner between 7 and 9. Free jalapeño margs for the first 25 people who ask at 9pm. Oh yeah, and a 4-hour happy hour starting at 3, with $5 chorizo nachos and $5 margaritas.

• Blast a little Gloria Estefan, and some Ricky Martin for good measure. You know you want to.

Say yea

I think I've told you how much I lurve Yeasayer before, but have I mentioned that my friend Katie just got us tickets to their sold-out show at Webster Hall tonight? A Baltimore-born, New York-based duo that melds Middle-Eastern, psychedelic indie rock influences, bringing to mind the Talking Heads meet, say, a gospel choir ... what more could you ask for? A free download, perhaps?

The opening band ain't half bad either (in fact, they rock pretty hard). Check out Sleigh Bells' "Ring Ring":

Snuggle with this

Think there's nothing nerdier/more genius than a Snuggie? Guess again. THE KEEP MY ARMS WARM WHEN I READ IN BED THING is the perfect solution for the bookworm who hates cold arms in bed and has never heard of gloves or, say, longsleeved shirts. How could you not love something from a company called Happiness in bed ... that isn't a sex toy? This is the only thing that could make me think about returning to cold weather without a frown.