Stupidfresh

the photography, music and ramblings of Matt Lipstein


One more time


One more Daft Punk shot from the party...

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Daft Punk is playing in your house...


While it was another barn burner of a weekend (I guess I'll sleep when I'm dead), the highlight was most definitely the Saturday night Halloween party. We hightailed it up to Queens for the MSLK costume party.

That trip to get there is always a long one, so we decided to spice it up by traveling in our costumes. Which of course was the French robot DJs from the future, Daft Punk.

It was a blast riding the rails incognito. We also went totally non-verbal as we communicated with each other and other riders through hand signals and body language.

Other highlights of the weekend were: Darren's birthday dinner in Fort Green, dim sum in Chinatown, and catching Morrissey at the Hammerstein!

Check the slideshow below for more Halloween shots, and see you on Wednesday for the parade.


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Imogene Heap - One versus many

I've been loving on this song "Hide and Seek" for over a year now. It was performed by Imogene Heap, former front-woman of Frou Frou. Even though it's sung acapella, it's a complex song in many respects. Right off the bat you'll notice there are about a dozen Imogene's in there. It makes for a really lush, layered sound. There are also a good amount of effects on her different vocal tracks that make it sound processed and robotic at times.

Then there are the lyrics: personal and challenging, stark and beautiful. I mean:
where are we?
what the hell is going on?
the dust has only just begun to fall
crop circles in the carpet
sinking feeling

spin me round again
and rub my eyes,
this can't be happening
when busy streets a mess with people
would stop to hold their heads - heavy


Here is the original track:
Imogene Heap - Hide and Seek

Now, the reason this was all brought up in the first place is my man Benge played an acapella version of Hide and Seek on his weekly radio show Sex Fly (which you can listen to live, or tap into the the archives at WRUV's website.) This version was done by the UCLA Awaken Acapella group.

I'll make fun of acapella as quickly as the next blogger (I mean look at the dudes' photo), but I really like listening to these two tracks back to back. It really reinforces how strong Imogene's performance is.

Here is the UCLA take: UCLA Awaken Acapella - Hide and Seek (cover)

So, take a listen compare, contrast and discuss!

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Open House NY Rundown

It's Wednesday and I think I may still be tired from this past weekend! It was the 5th annual Open House New York festival and we did it up big. As in big-time. OHNY is a yearly event that opens the doors of some 200 sites that are normally closed to New Yorkers. The locations have an Architecture or Design bent to them, and almost all offer something interesting.

We saw 10 sites over two days, and traversed just as many neighborhoods. I won't go into all the details here, I'll let the photo set on this page do the talking. However I will indulge with a few highlights:

• We started the weekend by volunteering at a site. Not only does it feel good to give back for a change, it also feels good to get a pin that lets you cut the line at all the other locations! We were switched at the last minute to the Target Community Garden that just opened in Bed-Stuy (do-or-die, Biggie Smalls baby-baby! Uh.) The neighborhood folk were really excited about this beautiful place taking over what had been a lot "filled with crap" as one local explained to me. Nice.

• The Forbes Galleries were the biggest surprise of the weekend. Housed in the Forbes building just below 14th street, these galleries are the private collection of Malcolm Forbes' childhood relics. I have never seen so many odd things in such numbers! There were easily 5,000 toy soldiers alone, each one more mint than the last. The design of the galleries are as unique as the collection. highly recommended.

• Not a stop you'll find in the Open House event guide, but we couldn't pass up a few sesame pancake sandwiches from the Dumpling House on Eldridge. Perfect when on the go, and quite a bargain at 75 cents each!

• The last stop of the weekend was also the most impressive. We rode the tram to Roosevelt Island (see video below) for a special public art project setup on the normally off-limits south side of the island. Yes, this is the area that houses the small pox hospital that burned down. The exhibit was top-notch and the experience was thrilling.


Don't forget to check the full photo set here!

video

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Rockin' Remix

I love me a good remix - always have always will. So much so, I have threatened in the past to do a DJ night of nothing but remixes. Damn that' be sweet. Wow....

But I digress.

I took a much needed trip this week to TurntableLab to stock up on some goodies and happened across this Amy Winehouse track, remixed by the New Young Pony Club. When it's not on my record player it's in my head.

Amy Winehouse - Tears Dry on their Own (NYPC remix)

It's a stark contrast to the original which is in Amy's 50s style. This is much more rock, almost LCD Soundsystem style rock Why not dance a little bit in your life?

Enjoy!

East Village Then & Now

The sky got weird on Friday night. It was right before the heavens opened up and started a heavy downpour. They tore down the building on 3rd avenue between 6th and 7th. I was walking on Tara Schevenko Alley opposite McSorleys pub and was afforded an amazing view.

This shot shows a little bit of old EV, new EV and a whole lot of weird sky.

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