Tag Archives: Brooklyn

A First Hand Account of how Hipsters came to be & reviled.

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http://www.reddit.com/r/TrueAskReddit/comments/1e2gbk/what_is_a_hipster_and_why_do_we_have_such_a/c9w6hvg

For all of our Brooklyn-ites & curious internationals, the hipster has come to embody a lot of what urban America/Gotham City is known for now. A random cool person breaks it down on Reddit for ya. It’s one of those gigantic posts that really puts things in perspective. For people that aren’t into reading, the tl;dr is

“There’s no one thing that defines a hipster. It came out of the punk/DIY movement, but has become a commercialized subculture that many of us who were part of the earlier counter-culture don’t recognize.”

Coming out of the anti-capitalist/DIY/post-punk movement, a lot of heads eventually got recognized as unique/authentic, and then the fashion got stole’d by richies, diluting the entire construct and making it totally against what it was started for. Now, instead of looking retro/vintage because you spent 5hrs thrifting because you reject capitalism/materialism, you spend 2 grand and look the same. Interestingly this was lampooned in both Gangnam Style (for those of us who bothered looking up the translated lyrics) and more accessibly, in Thrift Shop by Macklemore & Lewis, posted below for the approximately 4.7 people in America who still have not heard this song.

So, check it out, and next time you see em, remember, authenticity is forever and douches will always find a way to get ripped off trying to be authentic. See you on that dance floor, wear something that helps you express yourself, not some bullshit that some style-guide told you was in.

Party of the Month: Black & Light Ball: Enter The Golden Age

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http://kostumekult.com/events/blb13/ An amazing party that starts with a Sunset…set from some stellar DJs in an amazing space. Get there early to ensure you don’t miss a second of the shenanigans.

As April showers turn into…May showers, the annual unholy alliance between Kostume Kult & DiSORIENT comes out of the gray rainy mists to dazzle the denizens of Gotham City. While DiSORIENT has pulled off amazing stuff documented around here previously, I’ve not mentioned Kostume Kult yet. They’re one of the best & most flamboyant crews in the NYC burner community. Even though the event is technically in June I’m going to be excited about it all month, so here’s the event not to miss in the next 4 weeks.

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Mix of the Week NYC – Good Times by JustDan (Studio Mix)

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I could not be happier to post this mix. This was done by an exceptionally good friend of mine who is finally getting the exposure he deserves. He prepped this mix originally for a party that was thrown in late Feb. somewhere in Brooklyn, and it was definitely a whole boatload of Good Times.

The set is a full hour of classic liquid drum & bass, mixed expertly. Dan has some of the best track choices around and the set reflects both an ambitiousness and a competence that we don’t see much very often. It flows from track to track, pulling through a stupid number of tracks by the time the hour is up. The list includes the who’s who of liquid D&B, from old stalwarts like Danny Byrd, London Elektricity & Deekline to new kids on the street like Moti, Camo & Krooked and nu:tone. Put it into yo face. You’ll thank me.

j.viewz blows your mind. Veggie EDM!!

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This hit too many of my filters to get away with not being posted. Especially when it involves making the “House” theme (or Teardrop by Massive Attack for those of us playing the home game) with a circuit completed by fruits & vegetables purchased at a grocery store. The most innovative & entertainingly wicked thing you’ll see all day.

Digital Love Delivers.

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“Excuse me, could you please make some room and let him through? We have a celebrity in our midst!!” 

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I thought nothing of it until I looked up and saw Guncle, the St. Peter of Brooklyn’s pearliest & most ephemeral of gates, ushering me forward. As he is one of the most visible and delightful members of the underground, the line parted like the Nile, as we all know not to question the man when he wants something. After presenting my ticket, I received my wristband from Bob Bob-omb, the resident Techno Viking of Digital Native. In case you weren’t aware that East Coast burner camps had techno vikings, one would only need to look down to reconfirm this fact, as there were two large swords on the check-in desk, which were a wonderful way of reminding people coming in off the street not to screw with this party. Digital Native was here with The Love Muscle, and they weren’t getting pushed around by anyone while having a good time. After thanking my friends Guncle & Bob (it’s Mr. Bob-omb when you’ve done something wrong), I dropped off my outerwear & headed to the bar to take in the space. The BEX was there, performing, keeping the attention of the crowd on the dance-floor, DJ booth, and generally being the Mistress of Ceremonial Awesome that only she can be. The combination of sound, well-costumed staff, the alt-culture bus and the ridiculous art made me want to dust my costume off and take a sip from my camelbak if you know what I mean.

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Shiny Silent Disco Balls, Gratitude & Balancing Acts.

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image_1356408818741589Sitting at the diner on Lorimer & Metropolitan, I watched the scores of people lamenting the dysfunctional G train with a quiet smirk. After finishing up the burger & red bull I’d ordered when we were forced out of the station like confused cattle, I made my way to the Electric Warehouse just as cold drops began to fall. Tonight, the unofficial Burning Man Decompression event for NYC was going down and a little rain wasn’t going to stop it.

I shook hands with my friend Drew, the producer of the event and congratulated him while he processed my entry/ticket rapidly. There were dozens of burners in stilts, top hats, fur coats, el-wire tuxedos and all manner of costuming that were aching to get into the space and I didn’t want to get in their way. After checking my coat I received what I have come to cherish at Drew’s annual event, my hug to enter. Every attendee is given an honest-to-goodness hug. Not a patdown, not a security check and not a grope. A straight up “thanks for coming, you’re cool, gimmie a hug” hug. Which feels great, and there’s a person of each gender so it doesn’t get weird of course. I get hugs from both people (because I like to live on the wild side) then head in to check out the Silent Disco. Two DJs I am totes crushing on right now were rocking out.

The Silent Disco, run by a clever fellow by the name of Michael White, provides each of the listeners in a space with can-style headphones, with a button to press to switch between two DJs spinning in the room. This solves two problems. First, you can have two DJs playing violently different music standing next to each other with no problems, and secondly, if you want to have a conversation with someone, you take off the headphones & the room is splendidly quiet. The consummate professional DJ Pony & the gorgeously talented DJ Orange Krush were opening the night there, generating the dance floor from thin air yet again, like two beat-matching magicians. Slowly but surely, burners, ravers, club kids, hipsters, girls in slinky dresses & heels, guys in camouflage pants & hoodies, all manner of person came in, put their headphones on and got down. By the time the duo were halfway through their sets, the tent outside the party was packed warm, with projection work on the ceilings and two simultaneous dance floors intermingling I went back inside to grab a bottle of water, suddenly being reminded how big the old trolley repair station actually was. 10,000 sq feet, high ceilings and places to hang lights & equipment galore. A friend was delighted to find his pictures were playing off of a projector, and a stream of amazing HD photographs lit up the bar. As I chatted with DJ Resy, who was taking the night off behind the decks to help out at the bar, I remembered what Gratitude was all about. Many of the people at this event haven’t seen each other since Burning Man, while others see each other daily/weekly.

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Party of the Month – End of the World by Digital Native & Entwined

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While there are dozens of parties every weekend here in Gotham, every once and a while, a special one happens that just may be different than its competition. Tonight, at an abandoned church in Brooklyn, I believe one of those will be happening. The Mayan Apocalypse is upon us, and as long as the music is good in the handbasket, come what may. And that’s why I’m naming this End of the World party, Terry Gotham’s Party of the Month.

The reasons are multitudinous & compelling. The two room venue will have plenty of art and of course the body painting that events of this caliber usually come with. The music in the cathedral starts out with DJ B3ar, a house DJ with a penchant for electro-swing, Alex Funk, discussed here previously for his dirty electro funk, Barney Iller, the impresario of bass and beats, and EZ, the king of the big room. In the mausoleum, the music is even more impressive, with two of my favorite locals, DK, of Toad and Kostume Kult fame, and DJ Pony, the consummate professional and Duke of Deep House. And of course, the door will be manicured by the only man that would still be fabulous while the world ends, Guncle himself.

If you remember Limelight, then there’s no reason to not want to come on out, listen to some great music and perhaps even close your eyes and pretend you’re back there one last time. If you have no idea what Limelight is, you owe it to yourself to party in a church at least once in your life. Considering the world’s gonna end today, what are you waiting for?

Big Booty Breaks at Vitamin B

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I finished my beer by the 8ft tall Christmas Tree at the bar down the street from the L train and ducked back into the chilly air, pushing past a few yupsters smoking American Spirits below the ironic red, neon sign that says BAR above the door to a place that sells artisanal cheeses and microbrews. It was that time of the month again, Vitamin B was back, and it was time for my fix of epic breaks.

I arrived on the early side because the guest opener, DJ Orange Krush was someone I definitely did not want to miss. A dj, designer & all around excellent human being, I first encountered her particular flavor of shake your booty, funky house & breaks on the Boom Boat, the Disorient day boat party, a day that is not to be missed if you are down with sick music with a cool mix of burners (just try to ignore the volume of bad “I’m on a boat” jokes made). She was rocking out the dance floor early on in the day and the crowd was eating it up. Tonight was no different. I arrived to see the sparsely populated dance floor swell. I give far more credit to DJs that make dance floors happen as opposed to just maintaining them. To get people out of their shells is much more difficult when they think they’re alone, so the music has to be that much better. And it was. The influences ran the gamut from Latin, to hip hop, tinges of chip, dashes of tech and this underlying bassline that just could not be ignored.

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