Flow Natural

There may not be another place in the world where the bike messenger is as vital to the city energy as right here in New York. And leave it to the messengers to provide me with a daily dose of philosophical enlightenment. So tonight I watched Daniel Leeb’s 2005 docu-short about 10 times, and I’m loving it more every time. It’s mostly follows one messenger named Alfred Bobe Jr. as he goes on his daily run. His matter-of-fact attitude and talk of consciousness and awareness makes him a yogi on wheels, if not an artist. Seriously, not getting run over by the psycho traffic should be an art form.

Messenger


The man's got some insight, I tell you.

I love riding through here, you know? We have the Plaza Hotel on 5th avenue. This whole area smells like money…

(Sniffs the air as he rides pass a Central Park carriage.)

Or horse shit.

It is what it is...

Love the use of Masta Killa too. Old School/New Classic.

Water can flow, water can crash. Be water, my friend.

Masta Killa- Masta Killa
(Buy Masta Killa- No Said Date)

Knock Knock. Hello? Anyone There?

I'm off to Boston for a few days. In the meantime, someone should take a look at those cardboarded windows. Wouldn't hurt to find out where the rest of the house is too.

"Of all the endless combinations of words in all of history, 'Cellar Door' is the most beautiful."- Ms. Pomeroy, Donnie Darko

Sensible Deductions

MadTV's Keegan-Michael Key's Sensual Seduction spoof reminds us to maximize our deductions on this last day for filing tax returns. He might have some trouble writing off the bong and the mountain of weed though, but just sayin' is all.



Also, this gentleman ,who might be your accountant, is jumping in on this musical fun too. Steve Zelin quit his job to pursue music full time and he's something like the Weird-Al Yankovic of CPAs. He does accountant-themed parodies, so his audience must be rather limited. Not that we can't all appreciate "Tax Busters", a spirited rendition of "Ghost Busters," but maybe he should keep his day job.

For You, A Thousand Times Over

After finishing A Thousand Splendid Suns a few weeks ago, I eagerly picked up The Kite Runner. I stayed up until the wee hours last night finishing it because I couldn't’t bear to put it down. Khaled Hosseini is such a brilliant writer, and it’s been a really long time that I’ve read a novel worthy of getting under-eye dark circles.

It's been a couple of years since I've really enjoyed a book, and I don't mean reading on the subway during morning commute, or catching bits and paragraphs whenever I can. So last week when the weather was beautiful, I went to Bryant Park, and sat in the park, soaked up the sun, marveled at how green the lawn was, enjoyed a warm breeze and just read and read. There is something so satisfying about getting knee deep in a novel with no distractions except when the wind gets ahead of itself and turns the pages for me.

What should I read now?

Dealing A False Hand

My dear friend Sofiblu updates me on music I should know about, so I was excited when I hit the theatre today to catch a screening of 21, and the opening scene featured one of her picks, MGMT’s “Time To Pretend.”

This is our decision to live fast and die young,
We’ve got the vision, now let’s have some fun.

MGMT- Time To Pretend
(Buy Oracular Spectacular)

However, it’s ironic that Time To Pretend is the song choice considering the controversy surrounding the film. The story is based on a real-life MIT blackjack team who beat the odds and raked in millions of dollars at the casinos. The movie version is led primarily by Caucasian actors, like Jim Sturgess, with Asian-Americans playing supporting roles. Problem is, the real MIT team and was led by Jeff Ma and consisted of mostly Asian-Americans. I know movies are “loosely based” on the real story, but that’s quite a liberty to take on casting. Hypothetically, if the real-life team was headed by an African-American or a Latino-American, would studios have taken such liberties? Does having an Asian-American male, in a leading dramatic role that has nothing to do with a historical period, and everything to do with a damn good story, signify the film will tank in the box office?

Studio executives need to take a risk. The bottom line is the bottom line, but give the audience some credit that they’ll shell out money for a good story regardless of the skin color of the lead actors. That kind of honesty would be refreshing, and I'm not the only one who thinks so.

Block Party

I'm going through a dry spell. I'm a girl! I have needs! The dry spell I speak of has to do with one of women's greatest pleasures: shopping. It's a self-imposed ban that I'm calling "wallet celibacy."

However, my sob story shouldn't stop you from picking up this really adorable & portable ipod speaker. No batteries needed, you plug your ipod into this baby and you're good to go. It's available through this retailer, and they also ship to the UK and Canada. Isn't it cute? I'm thinking it would be rad to try to build a lego house and plug a whole bunch of ipods into it. Art project! Woot!

The Lady Reincarnate

I’ve been collecting covers of Elliot Smith’s "Between The Bars" for a little while now, and although I can’t say the collection I’ve amassed is particularly impressive, there is one cover that stands out, and it belongs to Ms. Madeleine Peyroux.

Unlike the other covers I have heard, which are distinctly Elliot Smith, her cover has Lady Day stamped all over it. From the surreptitious gloom haunting the intimate vocals, she may as well light up a cigarette and take solitude on the stage of a smoke filled jazz bar. If Elliot Smith and Billie D had a love child, it wouldn’t surprise me if it was this amazing young woman.

This track comes from her second album, Careless Love.

Madeleine Peyroux- Between The Bars
(Buy Careless Love)

In Great Company

The UK births yet another great band called Red Light Company, and they have opened for one of my favorite groups, The Editors. Fresh, bright, kind of like a springtime green salad, I can absolutely hear RLC being enjoyed on a patio deck party of some sort. Watch for the EP available for download later this month. You CD fanatics out there, can grab a copy on May 26th.

Until then, enjoy this mp3 and video!



Red Light Company- With Lights Out
(Red Light Company myspace)

"Pickles & Fries. Hold the Rabbit."

Last year I blogged about this woman's awesome website devoted to rockstars and the food they love to cook. It's nice to see she's on the move again, and there's even a foodie interview with Brooklyn's White Rabbits. Remember them? Well breaking news! I am happy to report that, the White Rabbits "eat daily." Good to know.

Steve and Greg also talk about their bitchin recipe for something called, "The Long Burger." Watch Jen's interview to see what the heck goes into a long burger.



And earlier today I made that Sam Fogarino fettucine dish again which was yum as usual. Mushrooms and cream? Seriously, what's not to like?

Beat On, My Metal Heart

Oh, Chan... Chan, Chan, Chan. You are the rare and enigmatic one.

Did y'all catch her performance on Letterman a couple of days ago? She sang her heart out, mimed the shizzile out of that song, and was like, "talk to the hand." I mean, maybe she jot down some lyrics to jog her memory. It happens, you know? Songs are generally made up of lots of words. Can't expect to remember all of them. Sheesh-- she's not a dictionary.

Oh, Chan... we love you.

Cat Power & The Delta Blues- Metal Heart (Live on Late Show with David Letterman)

(Buy Jukebox)

Gypsy Death... and You

Midnight Boom was released last month, and I’m in love with it. It seems that The Kills have done some serious editing in terms of their drum machine. While the music is not appropriate for interstate highway chases like on their last two albums, it’s kind of perfect for the pit stop. The occasional pull-over, let’s stop and think about our overwhelming badge of coolness.

Understandably, the duo gets a lot of flack for purporting an aura of intense secrecy and mythology, even giving each other little names like VV and Hotel—right, it’s drivel to anyone else except the two of them. Kate Moss excepted perhaps.

It’s been reported that Alison Mosshart is having issues with her bandmate’s girlfriend. No doubt, three’s company, and I bet the rumors of a Hince/Moss gypsy wedding in the works can only add oil to the fire. I would personally hate to see this affect the quality of their music, and their live show. Mosshart has banned Moss from appearing with them onstage or intruding on their live act, which I hear is electric—addictive, sweaty guitar licks, ferocious chain-smoking, sexual energy. It sounds pretty amazing. Haven’t seen them live yet, but they’re making their way to New York again (Webster Hall, May 1st!) Come next month, I hope I only count 2 people on stage…

And here is just Alison, doing her thing. Go girl.



The Kills- Gypsy Death and You
(Buy Keep Your Mean Side)