Become Enchanted with Forest Rain Eau de Toilette Spray



Kiehl’s scientists traveled to the Black Forrest and collected dewdrops from the lashes of sleeping fairy’s to make their new Forest Rain collection of eau de toilette, lotion and cleanser. It’s a blend of spicy and woodsy notes, fit for boy, girl or talking doe. It will conjure up images of grey haired wizards and velvety forest beds where the soil tastes like cinnamon and wet leaves taste peppery sweet. This scent is not for the uninspired, although it might work like pixie dust on an oblivious office crush while you’re hanging out by water cooler. When they ask what exactly you are wearing, you can offer the nape of your neck and say, “Why, it’s Forrest Rain, the top notes are Wet Grass and Muguet Petals, but you’re probably smelling the Damp Moss and Soft Musk.” After they get a good whiff of this stuff, you may have to slip your invisible cloak over their shoulders and find the nearest empty cubicle or available utility closet...it’s magic. Invisible cloak not free with purchase.

Sheehan McGuirk

VALIE EXPORT
Body Sign Action, 1970
Color photograph
Courtesy: Kontakt. The Art Collection of Erste Bank Group

Location: Midtown East, NYC
Art: Cutting Realities: Gender Strategies in Art
Show time: Mon – Sat: 10 AM - 6 PM; Through November 29
Venue: Austrian Cultural Forum
Food: Peking Duck House
Drink: Blackstones Pub & Restaurant
Miscellaneous: New York Milkshake Company

Focusing on mixed media art from Central and Eastern Europe, Cutting Realities: Gender Strategies in Art takes a look at the boundaries and restrictions of sexual identity, standardizations, and transgressions of physical appearance and mentally pre-configured constructions of social behavior. In other words, this exhibit explores the gender roles we perceive and all the different ones that are out there. At one of my favorite places to get duck, The Peking Duck House, the meat is succulent and the skin crunches like a potato chip. Sometimes you just want to grab a pint without paying a cover charge or playing host to a group of people after work, which is why I like Blackstones Pub & Restaurant. It looks like an old-time saloon and has two pool tables in the back and plenty of other games, while also being big enough to grab traditional American food from the menu. If you’re still hungry, check out the New York Milkshake Company for one of the best $6 shakes of your life.

Late of the Pier could be the next great band! All photos by Tim Needles

Deep electronic bass and synth sounds reverberated throughout walls of the newly renovated Fillmore at Irving Plaza Friday night as part of CMJ Music Marathon’s Insiders Showcase. The late night show was hosted by BBC Radio 1 DJ Peter Tong and the lineup was loaded with Europe’s hottest electronic bands and djs such as: The Whip, Luciano, Late of the Pier, Rob da Bank, and Soulwax. Early on in the evening Manchester newcomers The Whip made a huge impression uniting the crowd with a rousing set featuring great renditions of "Sister Siam" and "Blackout." They electrified the room with their adrenaline loaded performance and closed their set with a superb track "Trash" which I found myself downloading shortly afterwards. Another highpoint of the night was the set from Late of the Pier who wove together an electronic 80’s synth sound with a classic rock feel that almost bordered on hardcore at times. Their intense set featured some really cool moves such as the intro to the song “The Bears Are Coming” that had the lead singer drumming on 2x4 wooden slats. The growing crowd came alive with their performance of “Focker” and the Gary Numanesque “Space and the Woods.” The show ran deep into the early morning with Belgium favorites Soulwax (also known as 2 many dj's) who hit the stage around 2am. The young CMJ crowd stumbled out the doors early in the morning awed and hung-over from an amazing night of cutting-edge European music.

Tim Needles

More Pics

The Whip

Luciano

Let's get Reatarded! Dead or alive, Jay Reatard plays CMJ

Friday October 24

Location: West Village, NYC
Band: Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens
Show time: 8:30 PM
Venue: Fat Cat
Food: Tortilla Flats
Drink: White Horse Tavern
Accessory: Magnolia Bakery

For $3 you can see one of the greatest gospel bands around today in Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens who have a residency at Fat Cat, playing every Friday night. They’re on the Daptone label that boasts Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, but it’s Naomi’s voice and personality that will make you feel like you’ve gone to church. For dinner, check out Tortilla Flats. The food is Mexican and delicious, but it’s the insanity within (bingo and hula-hoop nights) that is the real calling for this place. For drinks afterwards, hit the White Horse Tavern, a great bar and the old haunting grounds for Dylan Thomas. If you somehow have time before all of this, stop by Magnolia Bakery for some of the best tasting cupcakes in the city.

Friday October 24

Location: DUMBO, Brooklyn
Books: MADONNA CONFESSIONS Photography by Guy Oseary
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: The powerHouse Arena
Food: RICE
Drink: Low Bar
Miscellaneous: Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory

Photographer Guy Oseary takes us into the world of Madonna with Madonna Confessions a book of 250 pics of the Material Girl during her 2006 Confessions Tour. Tonight Powerhouse opens its doors where Madonna Classics will be spun by the legendary DJ Disco Wiz. RICE not surprisingly offers a pretty intense variety of rice, from brown to Bhutanese red. Most of the rice based dishes come in large and small sizes. Right below RICE is Low Bar, an extremely convenient place to grab a drink and catch some great DJs spin in a lounge environment. Right off the water, with a view of the South Street Seaport and the Brooklyn Bridge so close you can touch it, the only thing that could make this view better is ice cream. You’ll usually find a long line for Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, but the sweet flavors are worth it!

Saturday October 25

Location: Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Band: Mr. Robinson and DJ Honky present:
Dig Deeper with Harvey Scales
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Five Spot Soul Food Supper Club
Food: Junior’s
Drink: O’Connor’s
Miscellaneous: Thomas Beisl

Two DJs who can’t seem to get enough of old school soul and funk 45s, Mr. Robinson and DJ Honky also enjoy finding original soul singers from the 50s and 60s and coaxing them out of retirement to perform for appreciative audiences. This is the case here as they’ve found 60s R&B singer Harvey Scales, who hasn’t performed in 20 years. Tonight he will be backed by the Sweet Divines and the Divine Soul Rhythm Band. This should no doubt be a classic. Known more for its cheesecake than anything else on its menu, Junior’s also offers fantastic diner and deli style eats from steak burgers to deli sandwiches. If you can make it through dinner, the cheesecake will be worth the wait! One of Brooklyn’s most interesting dive bars, O’Connor’s offers cheap drinks in a place where Park Slope hipsters meet old-time drinkers, making for one of the oddest pairings that works. An excellent place to get schnitzel and goulash and other Austrian delights, Thomas Beisl is right across the street from BAM.

Saturday October 25

Location: DUMBO, Brooklyn
Band: Rachel's Homemade World
Show time: 3 PM
Venue: Galapagos Art Space
Food: Hecho en Dumbo
Drink: reBar
Miscellaneous: Almondine

Rachel Trachtenberg (drummer of The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players) presents her own show for kids, Rachel’s Homemade World. The flowery set was made by her mom and here she has fun with the audience doing sing along’s, puppet shows, interactive arts and crafts, and cooking segments where you and the kids get to be creative. Taking Mexican food, keeping it authentic and using organic, locally grown produce and free range, antibiotic free proteins, Hecho en Dumbo takes faves like tacos and uses ingredients like Berkshire pork steamed in banana leaf with Yucatan spices and pickled red onion (Tacos de Cochinita Pibil-$7) making traditional Mexican food healthier and taste even better. A giant loft space converted into a bar also serving tapas ($3-$8 range), reBar is a gorgeous addition to Dumbo with 15 beers on tap. If you like bread and desserts, you MUST stop by Almondine, who make the best croissants in the city along with breads and desserts. This place is a little secret that deserves to be told.

Saturday October 25

Location: Midtown West, NYC
Band: Billy Bragg + The Watson Twins Get Tickets Here
Show time: 9 PM
Venue: Manhattan Center's Grand Ballroom
Food: Empanada Mama
Drink: Circus
Miscellaneous: Vintage

Having worked with Wilco on a few albums, folk singer Billy Bragg goes back to being a solo-artist and returns with his 12th album Mr Love & Justice. Joining him are The Watson Twins, who having recently worked with Jenny Lewis have just released a beautiful folky album in Fire Songs, making for a show featuring an excellent pairing of music. Though small, Empanada Mama packs a hefty punch with more than 40 kinds of empanadas. Choose from a wheat or corn flour shell to start as ingredients include basic rice and beans to what they have dubbed “Viagra,” a wheat flour empanada stuffed with shrimp, scallop, and crab ($3). Appropriately, at Circus, you’ll get free hot dogs, peanuts, and popcorn without the animals, screaming babies, and clowns at this Rudy’s Bar spin-off that has beer just as cheap and a neighborhood feel. If cheap beer ain’t your thing, Vintage has a wine list with over 200 wines by the glass or bottle from most of the boutique wineries in Long Island and Upstate New York.

Sunday October 26

Location: Tribeca, NYC
Band: Jay Reatard Get Tickets Here
Show time: 7 PM
Venue: Santos Party House
Food: Pakistan Tea House
Drink: Mocca Lounge
Miscellaneous: Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

One of five times playing CMJ, Jay Reatard brings his brand of garage rock-lo-fi-punk music to the stage with openers the Vivian Girls and Cola Freaks. Nearby, Pakistan Tea House is a buffet style Indian restaurant where you can choose between chicken, meat, fish and vegetables. It’s affordable and very good. For drinks, check out Mocca Lounge. With a funky interior and a menu of Italian inspired fare, it’s also a bar with a large list of coffees with or without alcohol, beers, and frozen shots. Smack dab in the heart of Chinatown, the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory makes gourmet ice cream flavors like Black Sesame, Ginger, Durian, and more exotic flavors like Taro and Wasabi. Don’t worry, they have the go-to’s like Vanilla, fruits, and chocolate flavors too.

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
by Haruki Murakami
(Knopf)





At 33 years old, acclaimed Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami started his writing and running careers, both of which because he wanted to. In this memoir, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Murakami puts into words what many runners just leave in their minds.

From the start of the book, Murakami has two goals: to train for the New York City marathon and to finish this marathon with a smile. Murakami takes the reader on runs in blissful Kauai, Hawaii; around the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts; through Jingu Gaien, Tokyo; and along the congested Marathon Avenue in Greece. There are also marathons in New York, Boston, and Narashino (Chiba Prefecture, Japan), as well as triathlons, and finally the 62-mile ultramarathon!

One of my favorite parts is the 1983 Athens solo run he does backwards along the original marathon course. A men's magazine had asked him to write a travelogue as a running novelist. Although the original course of the marathon in Greece has become a major highway full of dead animals and cars whizzing by, and although the magazine encourages him to stop due to the overwhelming heat, Murakami's determination to complete what he's started carries him through to the end.

As a runner, I can relate to the range of emotions a runner experiences. Murakami doesn't glorify running; rather, he seeks to explain what it is he goes through. At the end of some races, it's not reward he feels, but relief. He keeps things interesting by transforming himself. What I learned from him was not what the runner goes through, but how the rhythm of running, like writing, has to carry over to the next day to keep up its momentum.

Having always said that I need to run to be able to express myself, I now understand even more, why Murakami is such a fantastic writer. I never got such a great glance into what he's all about as I did through reading this book. I'll admit, I missed his fiction at times, but reading this was well worth it to see how Murakami can create what he does.

Christine Thelen

George Clinton brings the funk and some friends

Location: Midtown West, NYC
Band: George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars Get Tickets Here
Show time: 7:30 PM
Venue: B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
Food: Burger Joint
Drink: Bill’s Gay Nineties
Miscellaneous: Tafu

George Clinton has always brought the funk and at this CMJ show he also brings guests including El DeBarge, System Of A Down bassist Shavo Odadjian, gospel singer Kim Burrell, and more. Just as shocking (maybe not) is. Located in The Parker Meridian, Burger Joint serves up excellent burgers and milkshakes in its curtained off space inside the hotel. The theme at Bill’s Gay Nineties surprisingly is an ode to the speakeasies of the roaring twenties. With a second floor dedicated to the history of entertainment, it even has an autographed poster of Buffalo Bill. The history’s deep here and the drinks are stiff. If you want to get some sort of sanity back after this night, stop by Tafu for some premium Japanese teas and desserts. No chair throwing allowed!



Location: Midtown West, NYC
Film: Sawfest
Show time: 4 PM
Venue: AMC Empire 25
Food: Gordon Ramsey at the London
Drink: Social
Miscellaneous: Tuck Shop



It’s Halloween time again and what better way to get into the spirit than with some scary movies, and the scariest by far, of those made in the last few years, is the SAW series. If you haven’t seen any of the twisted games Jigsaw plays, then you can catch the SAW marathon- Saw 1, 2, 3, and 4, leading up to the premiere of SAW V tonight at AMC Empire 25 for $15. Everyone’s favorite celebrity chef, who most are likely afraid of, Gordon Ramsey serves a three-course French menu with international flare at Gordon Ramsey at the London. Make reservations early and wear a jacket, as the place only has 45 seats. If you’ve seen his shows, I’m sure you know that you don’t want to piss off this chef! Social, a three floor bar and lounge is big enough to never get bored in and is a great place in that area of town to drink and, well you know the rest! For something different, check out Tuck Shop. This small Australian eatery serves individual sized meat pies wrapped in pastry you have to try if you’re in the hood.

Deerhoof
Offend Maggie
(Kill Rock Stars)






Brewed in the belly of the Bay Area, Deerhoof's fourth album, Offend Maggie, is a catchy coup d'etat of indie rock--if it can be categorized at all. For starters, the double guitar play by Ed Rodriguez and John Dieterich deliver a veritable rock vibration that seems a rough dance partner for Satomi Matsuzaki's dainty vocals. However this album is a successful case of 'opposites attract;' a hearty balance is struck in this cross-genre mix of jazz, rock, classical, J-pop (Japanese pop), and straight cacophony (at times). Even the noise serves as a supportive backdrop for Matsuzaki's striking vocals; most of which are often too indiscriminate for even the most astute Japanophile to decipher. Still, listeners will fare well with the play-yard lyrics of "basket ball get your groove back." Lyrical comprehension or the lack thereof does not obstruct the enjoyment of this musical layer cake.

Nicole Velasco


David Byrne and Brian Eno
Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
(Todomundo)





If you're looking for My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts Part II, you won't find it here. Everything That Happens Will Happen Today is nothing revolutionary; as Byrne and Eno tell us themselves on their website, it is simply what happened when years of material from both artists collided and conversed, which is an event we can celebrate. This record is solid and timeless, and doesn't vaunt its importance or cling to hipster trends. Although the album feels underwhelming at times, the funk rhythms invite us to dance and the lyrics, which teeter in ambiguity between the jaded pessimism of age and the optimism that stems from acceptance, invite us to ponder life's questions...and to ponder where we put that old Remain In Light record.

In opener "Home," Byrne sings "Heaven knows what keeps mankind alive," and the album continues with an ironic torch-song feel, reminiscent of the Talking Heads' "Road To Nowhere." The chord progressions are classic and folk sensibility pervades, which also serves to highlight the two excellent exceptions, "I Feel My Stuff" (sounding like Mister Rogers on X) and "Poor Boy" (possibly an old blues dirge from Mars). "Life Is Long" and "Strange Overtones" will quench your thirst for the old Heads sound, while "Wanted For Life" gives you the curious feeling that Byrne is imitating his imitators. Everything That Happens may not be thumping with choppy samplings of other-worldly chants, but what the record lacks in urgency and innovation, it makes up for in catchy refrains amidst turquoise-cool grooves.

Dorit Finkel


Jaguar Love
Take Me To The Sea
(Matador)






Portland, Oregon’s Jaguar Love incorporates the talents of three area men formerly of The Blood Brothers and Pretty Girls Make Graves. Their first full-length outing, Take Me To The Sea, is a decent straight-ahead rocker.

With some punk motifs and rock complexity, the record starts out strong with the poppy “Highways Of Gold” full of drum breaks and power chord progressions behind singer/pianist Johnny Whitney’s blazing falsetto. Next is my favorite song of the album, “Bats Over The Pacific Ocean,” which extols the travails of an eviction and subsequent jaunt to Australia. I really like the acoustic guitar played with domination here, and it’s the driving force behind the song that makes it really strong and catchy. Thirdly, “Georgia” is an organ-laden blues nugget that glides along like a late-summer day.

Overall, it’s a guitar heavy, riff-loaded rocker: think Wolfmother, but more interesting. There are gems in between the static, and on first listen, I really dug it, but I find myself being a little less interested as of late. Still, I’d recommend picking it up if you’re looking for something new and “art rockish” (maybe pop it in at the listening station first).

Dave Levin