Brooklyn Ski Club, Expect More.

I've decided to start posting more often and essentially bringing back BSC to some extent. The topics won't necessarily be what you're used to though. Sure there's going to be some music and nightlife stuff covered but I'll be covering a wider range of topics. For the past few years I've been working in the NYC tech world so you might start seeing some posts about techy shit on occasion. I'm also loosely involved in food (Kings County Cookout & Dinner In The Woods) so you might see some food shit here too. It's basically going to be whatever I feel like posting, most will still be NYC oriented though.

Quick update on what's happening with me these days, in case you give two shits. A few months back I started an interactive marketing communications agency with an old co-worker from my Going.com days. We're primarily working with NYC tech companies. It's very revealing working with young, hungry companies in that it makes you realize how much experience you've acquired over the years. Apparently all my years busting my ass at various tech start-ups has lead to a deep well of useful knowledge. It's been fun and interesting so far but we've got a long way to go.

In other news I co-executive produced and was a cast member in a reality show called Dinner In The Woods. My buddy Lex, who cooked at my event series Kings County Cookout, had the idea for an camping & cooking show. I was already in talks with another friend about producing a show so I presented her with the idea and since we both loved it we shifted focus to Dinner In The Woods and self produced it. We'll have a webisode in a few weeks and start shopping it around to networks. If it gets picked up we may be traveling the country eating and drinking on a network's dime. Sounds fucking rad to me!

Well, that's all I got. Updates will be coming soon, maybe even today.

CMJ Artists Announced

CMJ recently announced some of the performers for the 2012 festival. Among them are GZA, OFF!, The Mountain Goats, Communist Daughter, Country Mice, Lily & The Parlour Tricks, Dirty Fences, Shark?, Talib Kweli and a whole bunch more. It's one of the better years in my opinion and I'm sure there's many more to be announced. Maybe I should do a showcase this year. Is it too late for that sort of thing?

Link:

CMJ Artist Announcement

New Ninjasonik Track, "Red Cups"

Ninjasonik has a new track out called "Red Cups". It's a little more pop than what you're probably used to but they pull it off. I'm digging it.

Link:

Ninjasonik "Red Cups"

Alexisonfire Is Done For, I Am Bummed

Alexisonfire has been one of my favorite bands for the past 10 years. Today they announced that they will be breaking up. Dallas Green and City & Colour has exploded and he simply can't manage Alexis and C&C. He is choosing City & Colour over Alexis, which is understandable. Dallas is quite possibly the hardest person to replace in the entire genre, let's call it "post-hardcore". His voice is simply stunning and without him Alexis just isn't Alexis. They might do one last run of shows in Canada as a farewell and I might be visiting Canada soon.

The band gets lumped in with screamo and pop-punk bands but I've always considered them a genre within themselves. They have a passion that is rare and an enthusiasm that is even rarer. The last album was a bit of a let down and I think that had a lot to do with Dallas being spread too thin. To be honest this was inevitable. Any fan of Alexis knew that Dallas was a talent that couldn't be contained. He obviously would go on to bigger and better things at some point, which is apparently now.

I will miss this band very, very much. THE ONLY BAND EVER!

Wild Yaks Have A New Song, "Million Years Old"

As you've noticed I haven't been posting much as of late but a new Wild Yaks songs certainly warrants a post. The track is called "Million Years Old" and I remember the first time I heard it. I was at Legion, I think it was someone's birthday party. The Yaks played a couple new songs all of which were good but this one in particular was like a punch in the face. It just fucking floored me. There was a level of intensity to it that was shocking, even for the Wild Yaks. I'm happy that I can now listen to it at home. The recording is great but for the true impact of this tune you have to see performed live, perhaps tomorrow at Rock Beach.

Wild Yaks, "Million Years Old" by The FADER

City & Colour Release New Track, "Fragile Bird"

Alexisonfire (I'm wearing an AOF shirt right now, creepy) frontman, Dallas Green, has a new tune out. There is way more going on here than your typical C&C track. I'm not completely against the new sound but what is going on with the vocals? Dallas has the best voice in the game and your covering it with effects, fuck that shit Alex Newport. Get your head out of your ass, dude. Again, good song but I hate the production and especially when it comes to the vocals. The new album comes out on June 7th, it's called Little Hell.

Link:

City & Colour on Spinner

VICE Is Huge Now

VICE is becoming a proper corporate entity. The NY Times is reporting that VICE is,

...preparing to announce investment partnerships with Tom Freston, MTV’s co-founder; WPP, the giant media conglomerate; and the Raine Group, a boutique investment firm. To help it expand, Vice has also enlisted William Morris Endeavor Entertainment and its chief executive, Ari Emanuel, to represent the company.

Well, shit. Lot's of the old schoolers are already crying sell-out but when it comes to VICE that's nothing new. People have been calling VICE sell-outs for the better part of ten years. Whether you agree with that sentiment or not, the fact is they're still one of the more honest and edgy media groups out there. VBS for example produces pretty amazing documentaries about everything from the plights of war-torn, third-world countries to black metal to underground sex parties. And now with their MTV show they're bringing much of that footage to the masses (although it is highly cut down).

Frankly, I'm happy for them. They turned a Canadian punk mag into a worldwide media empire. The only thing I'm pissed about is that I never tried getting a job there. I know people there, I work in marketing and music, I produce events, I live in Brooklyn and I've been in shitty punk bands - how the fuck do I not work at VICE? Oh well, congrats VICE.

Link: 

VICE Media Empire Is Near A Big Infusion Of Cash

***PS: VICE, I won a free subscription on Twitter. You never sent it. What the fuck? 

Bronx Zoo Cobra Caught

The deadly Egyptian cobra which escaped from the high security cobra prison known as the Bronx Zoo has been found and captured. The snake was on the lam for 12 days but wisely returned to the zoo after coming face-to-face with a Bronx sewer rat. Even a venomous reptile from Egypt has second thoughts about attempting to make a meal out of one of those guys. During questioning the cobra was quoted as saying, "fuck that dude, those fuckers are huge".

So...The New Strokes Album Is Out (Full Album Stream)

Yesterday the new, and much anticipated, album from The Strokes hit the shelves. They have it streaming in it's entirety on their website. I gave it a once over earlier today and I have to say, half of it is pretty good! The other half is weird 80's shit with high pitch vocals and fake drums. I'm sure it will grow on me but right now I'm not completely sold on whatever it is they're trying to pull on Angles. Anyway, give it a listen and if you have something to add leave a comment.

Link:

Stream Angles on TheStrokes.com

Get The New Death Set Album, Michel Poiccard

The Death Set have a new album out entitled Michel Poiccard and it's available for download. 

Link:

Download Michel Poiccard

Darlings Announce New Album

Darlings will be releasing a new EP called Warma on March 15th through Famous Class Records (of course).

Metallica Pisses Off Their Fans...Again.

In the metal world 2010 was the year of the Big 4. Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax have been playing shows all over the world. However, much to the dismay of their fans, they haven't played one show in the US. A few weeks ago they started hinting at a US tour and everyone got very excited. They even created a Big 4 Facebook page where fans would hear the big announcement first.

Today was the big day everyone was waiting for, the day of the big announcement. What cities would they be hitting? How many shows would their be? How much would a ticket cost? Well, they answered all of those questions this morning by posting the entire tour schedule which consists of one fucking date in California. Yes, all the fucking hype and all the demand and they basically post a big fuck you to their fans in the US.

Now it might be a bit much to put the blame solely on Metallica but let's be honest, this will be the biggest pay day ever for the other three bands. Why would they possibly walk away from a touring opportunity? The only band that doesn't have anything to lose here is Metallica. We all know they're calling the shots here.

So here we are. Four of the greatest American metal bands in history finally playing together and guess fucking what? They're only playing one show in their home country. Fuck you dudes.

***Update: The fan feedback so far has been ferocious. People are fucking furious about being strung along. Check out the Big 4 page and you'll see what I mean. I wouldn't be surprised if all the negative publicity leads to a couple more shows. I'm thinking at the very least they add an NYC and Chicago area date. 

Happy Birthday Cousin Dolly!

Earlier this year I started tracing back my family tree and I stumbled upon a Parton. Well, that side of my family is a bunch of mountain folk from the Kentucky / Indiana area, which is not far from Tennessee. Dolly Parton happens to be from round yonder so I checked out her family tree on a hunch. Turns out me and Dolly share a grandfather! Sure, we're 5th cousins a couple times removed but in the big picture that's pretty fucking close.

So anyway, I'd like to wish a happy 65th birthday to my dear cousin, Dolly Parton. She's one of the greatest country singers ever and a true American treasure. Maybe I'll get to meet her one day.

New Gang Of Four Video, "You'll Never Pay For The Farm" + New Album Streaming On NPR

Founding members of the most radically important rock band in the last thirty years - Gang Of Four, Andy Gill & Jon King are getting excited to release their first new material in 16 years on January 25th. "c o n t e n t," the new album from Gang Of Four "reaffirms what a thrilling and intelligent noise [GO4] make," raves Uncut Magazine. Its "fiery funk will have you bouncing around and beaming at the return of this inspiring, influential unit." Mojo simply calls it "riveting" and Spin says ""[Gill and King] spit out splintered riffs and skewered tropes that approximate the band's peak."

To get fans excited, NPR will stream "c o n t e n t" in entirety for one week on "First Listen" beginning January 17th.

Gill and King, along with members Mark Heaney and Thomas McNiece, will hit the road for a 15-date North American headlining tour beginning February 4th in Toronto, ON. Tickets are on sale now. Along the way, Gang Of Four will perform powerful new single "Never Pay For The Farm" on The Late Show with David Letterman February 8th. 

Spokeo: You're All Getting Suckered, Suckers.

For the past several years there have been a bunch sites which aggregate people's public information. Some of the better known sites are Pipl, 123People, PeekYou and Spock. Recently, there's been all types of press and online buzz about Spokeo. They're essentially no different from the other sites I listed except in one simple facet - they're pretty good at social media.

The news of Spokeo sharing your "private" personal info caught on like wildfire on Facebook. You probably saw a few posts about it from one of your friends, you might have even posted it yourself. All of the posts were nearly identical, people were clearly copying and pasting. From there, actual news outlets started picking up on this. Every time I see another article or segment on the news I smash my head against the wall.

Let me ask you something - where do you think the original message came from? I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Spokeo started this shit up. Information aggregation is not new, your information being public is not new (and it is your fault, by the way), these sites are not new. Below is a variation of the message being sent around. How do people not see this is viral marketing 101?

There's a site called spokeo.com, a new online USA phone book with your personal info: everything from pics on FB or web, your credit score, home value, income, age, children, etc. Remove yourself by searching for your name, copy the URL of your page, use this new link http://www.spokeo.com/privacy fill in the information. Check your email for the confirmation and follow those instructions.

So why is this news? Because anything you plaster all over Facebook becomes a story. If your business offers a service which is a bit scandalous, make it sound more scandalous! Then take to Facebook and plant a message about how everyone's info is public and they're totally fucked. Now YOU better tell your stupid friends because they're in danger too.

Meanwhile, Spokeo is sitting back watching their traffic skyrocket. Sure, a few people come by and remove themselves from the listings but not many. A small price to pay for making the 10 o'clock news (who are morons). The lesson here is think about what you're copying and pasting before you do it. You might be part of a not-so-elaborate marketing scheme. Don't let shitty aggregator sites work your ass and end up front page news.

Oh, and if you really want to hurt these types of sites how about changing your privacy settings on Facebook and deleting old profiles (Friendster & LiveJournal can go dude)? I tend to think that blocking their source feed makes a lot more sense then sending all of your friends to check out their site. Don't be dumb.

Billboard Launches Social 50 Chart

Billboard just launched a new chart which ranks artists based on their social network popularity. The rankings are based on friends/fans/followers, page views and song plays from MySpace, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and iLike.

Overall, I like the idea of a social chart since that clearly plays a large part in the success of an artist these days. My issue with it is that it's fairly easy to game the system and artificially boost any of the numbers which the rankings are based on. I just don't know how accurate they can keep this chart. 

Link:

Billboard Social 50

Ride The Nostalgia Train

The MTA is putting all that new fare hike money to good use by resurrecting a bunch of old ass trains and running them on the lines. While I like the idea in theory I'm kinda pissed off that the MTA has time to fuck around with bullshit like this when they apparently can't get shit else done. This is NOT what I want the money I'm paying to go towards. The MTA is hiking fares and they actually think it's a good time for this nonsense?

Oh, and those old cars were hot as fuck. Remember?

Link:

MTA Nostalgia Trains

M.I.A. Playing Free Show At Brooklyn Bowl

Today M.I.A. announced on Twitter that she'll be playing a free show at Brooklyn Bowl on October 6th. It seems that it's a straight up "first come, first serve" kinda deal, so get there really early if you wanna get in.

More CMJ Bands Announced

Today CMJ announced their second round of bands performing at this years Music Marathon.

Phoenix, GZA, UNKLE, Black Sheep, John Vanderslice, Cute Is What We Aim For, Justin Townes Earle, Black Label Society, Corin Tucker Band, Dan Black, Eli “Paperboy” Reed, Freddie Gibbs, Frankie and the Heartstrings, Adam Haworth Stephens, Cults, Oberhofer, Baths, Blood Red Shoes, Extra Lens, The Bogmen, Clutch, Francis and the Lights, Screaming Females, Franz Nicolay, Children of Bodom, Wild Nothing, Dom, Marit Larsen, Good Old War, Reggie Watts and BRAHMS.

You can check out all the bands here.

Gang Of Four Announce New Album

The great Gang Of Four are releasing a new album in January 2011, entitled CONTENT. It's there first album in 16 years. With most bands I'd be weary of a new album after a sixteen year layoff but this is Gang Of Four. The rules do not apply.

Every bit as powerful and insightful as their classic work, CONTENT, the new album from Gang Of Four, sees founding members Jon King and Andy Gill continuing to deliver intelligent, powerful and liberating rock & roll that is both provocative and simply thrilling. "What we're trying to do is keep it totally stripped down, where everyone in the band makes an equally intense contribution," says King. With the simple but tough and loud sound of drums, guitar, bass and vocals on new tracks like "Who Am I?," "You Don't Have To Be Mad," "I Can't Forget Your Lonely Face" and "I Party All The Time," the songwriting on CONTENT is just as challenging and unconventional in 2010 as it was in 1978.

"What I've been thrilled by over the years is that our music still seems to make sense to our audiences, however old they are, and these days they're mostly under 30," says King. "They tell us that our music means something, that it makes them want to go start a band. That amazes me. I would never have imagined when we started off that we would have this impact after such a long time."

From creating one of music's pre-eminent debut albums (1979's ENTERTAINMENT) to influencing a wide range of punk, post-punk and indie rock bands (R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sonic Youth, Bloc Party, The Rapture, Franz Ferdinand and hundreds more), Gang Of Four have triumphantly defined their place in rock 'n roll.

Set for a January 25th release on Yep Roc, CONTENT is the band's first album of new material in years and was written by King and Gill, and recorded and produced by Andy Gill.