Aural report

Wacky Wednesday is here, and with it a mishmash of music to get you through those last few days before the blissfully long weekend. The best part? It don't cost a thing.

Music festivals are part of the glory of summer, and missing out, whether due to low funds, being cooped up in office buildings or sheer lack of proximity to Scotland, hardly feels festive. Just because you weren't there doesn't mean you can't still experience the magic: NME provided a free album of the acts they were most excited to catch at Glastonbury, and Flavorwire dedicated their latest mixtape to last week's Northside Festival, featuring ten bands to watch.

For its Revival Recordings project, Levi's Pioneer Sessions called in modern artists to cover timeless tracks, resulting in 13 incredible collaborations. Personal favorites include Passion Pit's Billy Corgan-approved cover of the Smashing Pumpkins' "Tonight, Tonight" and The Shins taking on the 1979 Squeeze hit, "Goodbye Girl."

The Roots' 9th studio album, How I Got Over, is one of their most cohesive yet genre-bending efforts. With guest appearances from Joanna Newsom, John Legend, Monsters of Folk and more, their fusion of funk, soul, jazz and hip-hop is daring, insightful and forward-thinking.

Turn on, tune in, drop out.

Warm up, cool down

At temperatures heat up (The National Weather Service declared a heat advisory for NYC after temps reached the 90s on Monday) city officials have deemed it necessary to open New York's cooling centers. Find the nearest one to you here, or do the old-school thing and jump into one of the 54 Parks outdoor pools, open today until Labor Day.

The only thing hotter than this week's highs is the P.S.1 Warm Up lineup. The Warm Up kicks off with the sounds of Delorean, and continues through August with acts such as Air France, Ratatat, DJ/rupture, Animal Collective, James Murphy, ?uestlove, Treasure Fingers, and more. Starting July 3, on Saturdays from noon to 9pm, visitors can rock out within the confines of an architectural installation created by the winner of the annual Young Architects Program, and check out the stunning experimental exhibition space.

Your ex-boyfriend's mug shot

Everyone knows you don't forget your first love, that the initial rush is tattooed in your memory for better or worse. What if the general public could see your first boyfriend or girlfriend the way you see them, colored by heartbreak or softened with nostalgia?
As part of her mid-career survey, A Day Like Any Other, Brazilian conceptual artist Rivane Neuenschwander has hired a forensic sketch artist on the third floor of the New Museum. Visitors can sit with the artist, who will listen to descriptions of their first love and create portraits that will hang on the walls of the gallery. You can sign up with the sketch artist by emailing firstlove@newmuseum.org. A word of advice: might be better to fly solo on this one.

Eat that up, it's good for you

It is a crazy end to a crazy week, one in which I've had to remind myself more than a few times to breathe, to close my eyes, and do things that are beneficial to my own sanity.

Planning vacations (even ones you don't end up taking) is good for you.
Blogging is good for you.
Laughing is good for you.
Single-servings of wine are good for you.
Hugging is good for you.
Music is good for you:


Don't forget to smile, my friends.

Breakfast of champions

Five minutes at my computer today, just for you guys, so my half-ass post comes courtesy of the folks at UrbanDaddy. Their e-lert just informed me that tequila den-of-sin-and-wonders, Los Feliz, will now be serving brunch, which will include a black truffle-pico de gallo omelet and a beautiful disaster: spiked Frozen Mexican coffee (also known as a tequila milkshake). See you on the floor.

A sea of CDs

Artist Bruce Munro collected 600,000 unwanted CDs from the public for his temporary CDSea installation in Warminster's Long Knoll Field. The scaly rainbow of discs, bisected by a public footpath, was inspired by Munro's meditation on light and water during his days living in Sydney, Australia. People from all over the UK and abroad donated to the cause, the first of a number of self-funded art installations using recycled materials planned for Long Knoll Field. This stunning exercise in collaboration is the gift that gives back to the community: for the next two months, anyone who visits the space can experience what it's like to walk on water.

Dinner and a movie

There are a few things that Baltimore has over New York: hardly any lines for a plethora of free/cheap good concerts, a more hilarious breed of hipster, John Waters, and Old Bay seasoning, to name a few. Now, something I never thought New York would legally allow us to enjoy is crossing over North. Gone are the days of paper-bagged 40s and purse popcorn, because the blissful trio that is food, booze and a movie screening will soon be possible (sans-smuggle) at Williamsburg's indieScreen (of course it's in the 'burg, and of course that's what it's called). Opening Thursday for the Northside Film Festival and built by the guy who curates the Brooklyn Film Festival, it will have a single screen playing a rotation of classics, as well as new indie films. Each seat features a personal fold-out desk for ease of chowing down on the restaurant's international fare, and although drinks will only be allowed from the bar into the theater on special occasions, well ... there's always Baltimore.

Play me, New York

Today, over 1,000 artists bring free music to the streets of all five boroughs for Make Music New York, which the New Yorker has called "an eleven-hour escapade of musical creativity." As part of the project, catch my dad playing Brazilian percussion with Maracatu in Fort Greene Park at 6pm.

Also part of MMNY: 60 pianos are set up around the city for free public use from now until July 5 (after which they will be donated to local schools and community groups) as part of an artistic venture called Play Me, I'm Yours. So go ahead, play something - or just listen.

Brazilian baby boogie

After Tuesday's win in which Brazil (the only nation to qualify for every World Cup) seized the lead in the so-called Group of Death, the country's fans (hey Dad!) are flying high. And despite issues with Morumbi Stadium, Sao Paulo is still set to play host to the 2014 World Cup. This ridiculously talented baby is dancing samba to celebrate with the exuberance and flamboyance that define Brazil's virtuosity.

Grand Central gig

Rumor has it Band of Horses will be playing a secret free show tomorrow night. The venue? Grand Central Station! Not exactly the most music-friendly of venues in theory, but if you get there early enough (it's first come, first served and the concert starts at 6:30), I'm sure BoH won't disappoint.

Island in the sun

I know it's only midweek, but I know I'm not the only one looking ahead to the weekend. If yours isn't already jam-packed, I've some outer-borough and off-island Saturday events to share that just might strike your fancy.

If it's live music you're after, catch the ferry to Governor's Island to sway to sunny tunes from The Morning Benders with Freelance Whales and The Wild Nothing at 8pm. Free.

Get to Governor's early to get your buzz on by sampling beers from over 100 breweries at the 4th Annual NYC Brewfest from 3:30-8pm. Win tickets here, pay $55 for general admission (unlimited sampling), or just $25 for Music Lovers Tickets (includes water taxi transportation).

For the weird and wonderful, the Coney Island Mermaid Parade is a can't-miss summer tradition. Wave your freak flag high (registration to march in the parade ends tomorrow at midnight), or just watch - it's free.

Until then, happy humpday!

D.I.Y. Damien Hirst

Thanks to iArtist London, for under a hundred bones you can recreate Damien Hirst's crystallized skull in the comfort of your own home. The company's boxed sets allow aspiring artists to make their own copies of works by Hirst, Banksy and more. Arts and crafts just got a whole lot cooler.
This post is courtesy of my dear Dana who wrote about the kits for Refinery29 today!

Summer school

NY Mag published a list of seventeen summer classes, ranging from burlesque dancing to herb gardening. If you're bored with your day job or are in the market for some new dinner-table conversation, check out the options here. I'd like to add one more to the list: the JCC's cooking classes, some of which are being taught by my very talented friend Galee Kalikow (she's only 19!). Get your learn on, New York.

TWSS

Before Michael Scott, it appears Alfred Hitchcock was the king of sexual innuendo and double entendre. The first known recording of a "That's what she said" quip (the old-school version apparently being "as the girl said to the soldier") came during a sound test for Hitchcock's 1929 film, Blackmail. With a surname like that, no wonder he can crack a pervy joke.

Word nerd

Remember flipping through SAT flashcards? I can still see harbinger written in scary red letters ("a sign of bad things to come"). I tried "word of the day" for a while ... it didn't stick.

Working in publishing, it's easy to fall into the trap of dialectic snobbery, but this list of 2010's most frequently looked-up words on NYTimes.com schooled me good. Minus maybe eight or so, every one of these entries is a new addition to my vocabulary.

I will be spending my weekend seeking out ways to use profligacy in a sentence. I suggest you do the same.

Wedding bells

One of my co-workers got engaged last night, so today has been filled with girly giggles and warm & fuzzies. A warning to my male readers: you might want to skip today's post (if I'm not mistaken, the marriage thing doesn't inspire swoons for those equipped with boy-parts).
So, to satiate your romantic side (spring is in the air, after all), here are two very sweet wedding-related pieces.

An engaged couple was gathering photos in preparation for their upcoming wedding when they noticed something in one of the bride-to-be's childhood snapshots: they were both at Disneyland on the same day, twenty years ago! The photo shows a man in the background pushing a stroller with a toddler inside. That man was the bridegroom's father, and the boy in the stroller was none other than little baby groom-to-be. Cue "aww" sound here:
And now for something completely different: a wacky, wacky man proposed to his woman in Madison Square Park on Monday, and he didn't hold anything back. I can't decide whether this is completely mortifying or totally adorable.

Museum on the moon

Did NASA plant a top-secret, teeny-tiny art museum on the moon 40 years ago? The PBS series History Detectives investigates the case in its season eight premiere episode, airing June 21. A miniature ceramic chip embedded with sketches by artists such as Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg and Robert Rauschenberg (pictured) may have been stowed away on the Apollo 12 vehicle launched in November of 1969. The artist who dreamed up the project, Forrest "Frosty" Myers, had a dream "to get six great artists together and make a tiny little museum that would be on the moon." Far out!

And speaking of art museums ... the 32nd Annual Museum Mile Festival is tonight from 6-9pm. This mile-long, traffic-free block party grants free entrance to nine of America's finest museums, all along Fifth Ave.

Retro renegade

If it's feeling like one of those Mondays to anyone else but me, I have something to share that should blast the doldrums from your desk (provided you have a set of headphones). My brother recently returned from a semester in Barcelona, and has just finished his second half-hour demo tape that, sibling obligation completely aside, I think is pretty freaking rad. The jumped-up jams mix old and new school (think Jay-Z and Johnny Cash) and blend the badass with the downright bizarre.

Download here, check out more of his beats, mash-ups and photos here, and if you want to hire this young gun for the summer, he's available for everything from Photoshop tutorials to poolboy duties.

Say cheese

Happy National Cheese day! Go to Zabar's for some free samples and cooking and pairing tips from Beemster Graskaas gourmet cheese reps (the UWS store will be rolling out the world's largest wheel of this Dutch springtime specialty). Seasonal dairy - what could be better?

Quilting bees

These rare, solitary Turkish bees use flower petals to build their nests, resulting in colorful quilt-like cocoons that are like teeny little works of art.
How very Martha of them!

Lazerproof

Redheaded synth-pop princess Elly Jackson of La Roux has teamed up with Major Lazer (comprised of dancehall DJ duo Switch and Diplo) for a free mixtape called Lazerproof. The name is a combo of Major Lazer and La Roux's single, "Bullet Proof." With Jamaican-inspired blends and dubplates, and a star-studded guest list that includes the likes of Drake, Gucci Mane, and Amanda Blank, it's no surprise that Diplo has done it again. The Floridian mixmaster is a true musical savant - not that Jackson isn't utterly breathtaking on her own, but he knows what to exactly how much space to give to allow her unusual, breathy pout to shine. Lazerproof does for La Roux what Top Ranking did for Santigold, and what Piracy Funds Terrorism, Vol. 1 did for M.I.A.

Speaking of M.I.A., whose latest effort feels show-offy and ultimately unoriginal - maybe she needs some help from ex-flame Diplo once again. Not to say girlfriend deserved that nasty blast of a NY Times mag article, but it does feel like she's lost a bit of her je ne sais quoi.

Cop Lazerproof fo' free at the Mad Decent site.

Your summer calendar is here

This is going to be a short post, both because there's enough in one link to last you more than a few procrastinatory hours, and because this blessedly abbreviated week means more work in less time. Without further ado, I present Vanity Fair's infamous all-access guide to all things summer in NY - the 2010 edition.

Also, I kind of love this Summer Goals blog. Working on my own - so far I've got: a tan, a positive balance in my bank account, and a functioning liver. What are yours?