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Entries tagged with 'Mia'
Posted Oct. 6, 2008,
Diesel's xXx 30th Anniversary Blow-Out Promises to Be Insane
By Gary Pini
If you have a ticket and were thinking of skipping the Diesel xXx 30th Anniversary party on Saturday (October 11), think again. While walking along the esplanade in Brooklyn Heights over the weekend, we noticed an army of construction workers down below on an empty pier. They were busy building the largest temporary structure we have ever seen and we soon realized that it was the site of the Diesel party. The word "humongous" does not do it justice. M.I.A., N.E.R.D., Hot Chip, DJs, 4,000 hotdogs, 4,000 pretzels, 4,000 portions of cotton candy and popcorn, Joey Arias and one mind-boggling view of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty will go a long way in making people forget about the economy -- at least for five hours on a Fall weekend in New York City. If for some reason you can't make it, you can watch the event live at www.deisel.com. The best way to get to the sight is to make your way down to the waterfront near the River Cafe and the watertaxi landing, then walk south along the road that runs under the BQE.
Posted Sep. 24, 2008,
Diesel Triple X Is Italian for Par-Tay!!!
By Mickey Boardman
Diesel's turning 30 and the Italian jeans giant really knows how to throw a partay! Diesel XXX (yes triple X) will be a 24-hour party moving through 17 hot spots around the world -- Tokyo, Dubai, Milan, Paris, Sao Paolo -- and ending up right here in the Naked City. Naturally there will be musical performances. So far the NYC show will feature N.E.R.D, M.I.A. and Joel and Benji Madden of Good Charlotte (all former PAPER cover cuties) as well as Chaka Khan. The NYC party alone will be for 5,000 guests! Get your dancing shoes ready!!!
Posted Aug. 11, 2008,
About Last Night... Opening Ceremony 08/08/08 Olympics Party
By Caroline Torem Craig
There are more photos in this gallery. View them all.
Olympianistas flocked to Opening Ceremony to celebrate the start of the Olympics on the auspicious date 08.08.08. The store was stocked with exclusive Olympics related items: an M.I.A. designed t-shirt, Nike's metallic Air Max 1 and LunRacer sneakers, the ultimate "Last Place" ribbon keychains by Philip Crangi and artist End Pin's yellow leather skull key ring, which I fell deeply in love with! All profits from sales went to Chinese earthquake victims.
Outside there were cheerleaders and swimming ribbons that garnered guests of all sorts - spoiling them with tacos from Calexico and Good Humor ice cream straight from an iconic truck.
...And the thing "About Last Night" is that it went on "All of Last Night!"
Posted Jul. 1, 2008,
Introducing "Up In Da Club with Alexander Thompson"
By Alexander Thompson
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"Unleashing the content" is a big catch phrase used around PAPERMAG HQ these days. With that in mind, we are pleased, delighted and thrilled to inform you that we'll be bringing Alexander Thompson's fierce New York Nightlife shots (plus outtakes and a little write-up) from PAPER magazine's much-ogled-at front-of-the-book Cultural Sushi section to the world wide web, in the form of a regular blog, "Up in Da Club with Alexander Thompson." Without further ado, here are scenes from a recent M.I.A. after-party at Studio B.
Everyone's favorite superstar M.I.A. recently played a sweaty Friday night show at McCarren Park Pool. Blonde press darling Oxy Cottontail hosted the after-party, which brought loads of Williamsburg hipster types to Studio B. The place was packed with M.I.A. wannabees... both male & female! Studio B is like a flashback to the '80s -- a small euro dance club that is always savvy with its great, semi-famous yet underground DJs and bands. Some of these kids can't stop dressing like extras in a Visage video. American Apparel must be making loads of dough!
Posted Jun. 27, 2008,
Song of the Week: "Let Me See You" by Girl Talk
By Alexis Swerdloff
This week's SOW is really getting us pumped up for the weekend. "Let Me See You," off of Girl Talk (aka Gregg Gillis)'s stellar new mash-up-tacular album Feed the Animals, features quite the climax: M.I.A's "Boys" leading into the Cranberries's "Dreams." You have to hear it to believe it.
Posted Jun. 27, 2008,
Bonnaroo: Dresses, Porta-Potties and the Quest for a Name
By Rachel Antonoff
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For most attendees, Bonnaroo is a kaleidoscope of acid, porta-potties, painted boobs, festy-sex (doing it in a field) and general all around ‘headiness’. For me, it’s a family vacation. Over the past four years my brother Jack’s band, Steel Train has played all but one Bonnaroo, and being that my parents level of groupie-dom rivals that of Pamela Des Barres (minus, of course, the BJs), we’ve loyally attended all three. We don’t exactly rough it with our rooms at the Double Tree and clean underwear and whatnot, but we have our own reckless family fun. (A highlight I can’t seem to live down was the time two years ago when I smoked pot in front of my parents at the Radiohead show, earning the nickname "The Family Stone.")
So I was pretty jazzed this year to have a new reason to head down to Manchester. Having just finished the first round of samples for my new line, it was the perfect opportunity for me to dress some of the lovely girls playing the festival and document it for PAPERMAG. Also, the line was in need of a name and I figured the trip could be the perfect source of inspiration. So -- with my parents and a bunch of dresses in tow -- I was off.
DAY ONE
Still nameless, I fly into Nashville with my brother and my best friend Alia (who conveniently happen to be dating each other) and we head to the Double Tree in Murfreesboro Tennessee to drop off our shit and grab a cookie. (Have you had a DT chocolate chip cookie? They’re ridiculous. They keep them in a drawer behind the front desk and they’re somehow in a perpetual state of warm meltiness. They’re magic.) We head to the festival grounds after a possible Vampire Weekend sighting, although I’m pretty sure it’s just a guy in Lacoste. The noteworthy shows for the night are MGMT, possible Double Tree guests Vampire Weekend and Superdrag. Most important on the agenda however, is the mind-bendingly wonderful Nicole Atkins, who will be gracing the stage in my first dress, appropriately named after her.
Posted Jun. 6, 2008,
Eight Items or Less: 119 Channels and Nothin' On, GOOD Party and Creepy Pets
By Gary Pini
1. Bruce Springsteen was right. There really are "57 Channels and Nothin' On." Nielsen reports that the number of channels that people actually watch has flattened out at around 16 and that consumer attention "may have reached it's limit." FYI: Since the Boss penned that tune in 1992, the average number of channels has grown to 119.
2. Mmm Mmm good. GOOD Magazine is hosting a party tomorrow (June 7) to support greenmarkets featuring "bee keeping, fresh mozzarella making, cocktails and music by These New Puritans, Jacques Renault and David Prince. The fun goes from 5 to 10 p.m. at 23rd Street and the East River and it's free for GOOD subscribers and $20 for everybody else.
3. Adopt a creepy pet here. (Actually it's the work of Canadian sculptor Adam Branejs.)
4. While Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" hangs in at # 1, both Coldplay and Katy Perry made big moves toward the top of the US singles chart this week. Coldplay's "Vida La Vida" rides an iTunes ad to #3 and Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" jumps from # 21 to # 5. Her debut album One of the Boys (Capitol) is out on June 17.
5. MTV Europe was fined almost half a million dollars for broadcasting "highly offensive language and material" including Aphex Twin's video of "Windowlicker" and a UK special called "Totally Boy Band." (via Variety)
6. According to the Miami Herald, Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto is opening a restaurant in South Beach.
7. Have a great weekend and, if you've got tickets, enjoy M.I.A. tonight in Williamsburg.
Posted Jun. 5, 2008,
SONAR 2008: See You in Barcelona!
By Gary Pini
One of the best summer music festivals doesn't involve outdoor camping or slogging through the mud. In fact, Barcelona's SONAR ( June 19, 20 & 21) is held at the city's Museum of Contemporary Art during the day and at night in a gigantic convention center with five stages, an indoor carnival, numerous bars and clean bathrooms. Now in it's 15th year, SONAR is more about artists and music that you've probably never heard of rather than headliners and superstars, yet it still draws over 70,000 people every year. Yes, you can see Justice, the reunited Yazoo, M.I.A. and Richie Hawtin but you'll also find hundreds of new acts and DJs like The Dukos, Neon Neon, XX Teens, Doozer, The Field, etc. And New Yorkers have an extra incentive to attend this year: American Airlines has started direct flights from JFK to BCN. See you there.
Each year, Sonar has a visual theme. Check out this year's, pictured above.
Posted Jun. 4, 2008,
Eight Items or Less... Donna Summer, Boy Bands and Introducing the Uroclub
By Gary Pini
1. Donna Summer performed several songs from her new album, Crayons, last night at New York club Mansion. Backed by a live band, her set also featured early hits like "Bad Girls" and "Hot Stuff" but the songs from her first studio LP in 17 years were equally catchy and bode well for her revived career. Summer still holds the record for having three consecutive double albums reach #1.
2. While at Mansion we noticed that the club has a "library" stocked totally with books from DUMBO-based powerHouse Books.
3. According to Rolling Stone, boy bands are back. With record companies taking note of the sold-out New Kids on the Block arena tour, watch out for a new generation of acts including: ' V Factory, NLT and Varsity Fan Club.
4. Coney Island Lager debuts three new beers tonight at The Gate in Brooklyn (321 Fifth Ave. at 3rd St.). The "side-show" monikered beverages are: Albino Python White, Sword Swallower Steel Hop and Human Blockhead Tough-as-Nails Lager.
5. Picture yourself on the fairway at your favorite country club when nature calls. No need to run into the bushes. Just reach for your trusty Uroclub.
6. For $250 you can hit the after party of MoMA's annual Party in the Garden featuring M.I.A. (live) and LCD Soundsystem DJ's James Murphy and Pat Mahoney. (Tuesday, June 10, 9 p.m. to midnight, 4 W. 54 St.)
Posted Jun. 3, 2008,
Eight Items or Less... RIP Hummer, RIP Royal Monceau and RIP Pringles Guy
By Gary Pini
1. General Motors announced today that they might stop making Hummers. Duh, what were they waiting for, $8 per gallon of gas?
2. The world premiere of Two Turntables and a Microphone takes place tonight (June 3) in Beverly Hills, California. The documentary on the life of Run-D.M.C. DJ Jam Master Jay is screening at the Hollywood Black Film Festival.
3. Before Raffles Hotels & Resorts takes over the Royal Monceau in Paris they are having a Demolition Party on June 26. BYO sledge hammer. Philippe Starck is doing the makeover.
4. The designer of the Pringles potato chip canister died and asked that his remains be interred in one of the iconic containers.
5. According to the New York Observer, The Plaza Hotel is paying an electronic musician, Ariel Blumenthal, one million dollars to create a two-hour soundtrack for the hotel's Rose Bar. He says the hotel wants something that will "make the downtown people come uptown."
6. Make a virtual kaleidoscope here.
7. We hear that M.I.A. is planning to marry musician and PAPER 2008 Beautiful Person Ben Brewer. Brewer is a founder of eco-friendly label Green Owl Records and a member of the band The Exit.
Posted May. 29, 2008,
Eight Items or Less: M.I.A. May Leave Brooklyn, David Cook Rivals the Beatles and Naomi Campbell Makes a Scene
By Gary Pini
1. British/Sri Lankan recording artist -- and PAPER's December cover girl -- M.I.A. might have to leave her Brooklyn apartment, and the country, when her visa expires next week. The 29-year-old is considering moving back to London or to Canada. She also had a run-in with US immigration authorities in 2006 and was denied entry. (via JAM! Showbiz)
2. Christopher Conte has a great series of "creatures" (check out the creature pictured above) made from metal junk and spare parts on exhibit at New York's Last Rites Gallery (511 W. 33rd St.) until the end of June.
3. American Idol winner David Cook has 11 songs in the Top 100 singles chart at the same time, including #3, "The Time of My Life," downloaded 236,000 times last week. That is the most since The Beatles charted 14 songs in one week of April, 1964. Both Davids are on The Today Show tomorrow.
4. Two of our good friends, Jauretsi Saizarbitoria and Emilia Menocal, co-produced and directed a documentary about hip-hop music in Cuba called East of Havana (we wrote about it when it came out in the theaters) and you can check it out tomorrow night (May 30) at 10 p.m. EST on the Sundance Channel. The New York Times says the pic is "the real deal."
5. If you didn't like the way The Lord of the Rings (or several other films) ended go here for an alternate.
6. Naomi Campbell has been charged with three counts of assaulting a policeman, one count of disorderly conduct and two counts of using threatening behavior and "abusive words to cabin crew" as a result of her lost-luggage incident on British Airways last month.
Photo of M.I.A. from PAPER's December/January issue by Cass Bird
Posted May. 1, 2008,
Coachella Wrap-Up: White-Wigged M.I.A.
By J. Everette Perry
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M.I.A. sported a hot white wig as she exploded in my favorite song "Boyz" off her album Kala. All of a sudden the lights went on. Supposedly, her dancers had fake guns, and the speaker system made very realistic gunshot noises during "Paper Planes," so security wanted to be able to check things out. When they left, M.I.A. started chanting over and over: “Turn the lights off! Turn the lights off!" It sounded so melodic and smooth everyone thought it was a new song -- in reality she wanted the lights back out so that she could finish her set.
Posted Apr. 30, 2008,
Coachella Wrap-Up: Scenes from the Anthem Party
By J. Everette Perry
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The most legit party at Coachella was the Anthem party. Not only did they have a huge pool filled to the brim with people, a who's who of music industry heavyweights, but the party was an injection of adrenaline that gave me the perfect buzz right before going to see M.I.A. and Prince. The crowd was decked out to the nines: Bold stripes, vivid colors, high wasted shorts, shiny metallic fabric, sexy scarves and denim cut-offs. Everyone was rocking styles and starting trends without even trying.
Posted Apr. 21, 2008,
Eight Items or Less: A Storage Room in the Dakota Sold for $801,000, Shred Fest Is Coming and Christie’s Is Auctioning a House
By Gary Pini
1. A tiny basement storage room in the Dakota apartment building just sold for $801,000. Eight people in the upper west side building made bids, including Yoko Ono.
2. Shred Fest is coming, but this one's sans guitars. On April 27 massive truck-mounted industrial paper shredders will be placed at 11 locations around New York City and the public is invited to bring "documents containing personal information" for free disposal.
3. On May 13, Christie's New York will auction a house in their annual Contemporary Art Sale. The Palm Springs, California, house was designed by Richard Neutra. Estimated price: $15 to $25 million.
4. Tickets are on sale for the last concert series at McCarren Park Pool (before it closes for a $50 million makeover) in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. MIA appears June 6 and Death Cab for Cutie on June 10.
5. Sorry, your flight is delayed. The St. Louis Airport is encouraging travelers to walk along marked paths in the airport's corridors as an "incentive to healthy exercise." (via USA Today)
6. As PAPER reported last August, self-taught boat builder and navigator Reid Stowe had embarked from New York harbor on a three-year journey around the world without touching land. Now 365 days into his voyage, the Daily News discloses that the adventurer has "collided with a freighter, watched his girlfriend and only mate jump ship because of seasickness and received word that authorities plan to seize his boat when he returns." Stowe is still pursuing his dream and plans to return to NYC in 2010.
Posted Feb. 12, 2008,
About Last Night... The Best of the Best of New York Fashion Week, Part 1
By Caroline Torem Craig
10 years X 2 per year = 22 Fashion Weeks 4 PAPER!
It’s exciting stuff covering backstage, front of house, runway and the parties. One needs to train, like for a marathon. The stamina needed to deal with four different kinds of "lists," to travel to and from the tents and off-site venues, to fight with hundreds of manic-panic foreign and domestic photographers and videographers for a 12-inch square of space for 20, 30, 40 different shows is incredible. Sometimes there are actual fights like the Italians vs. the Japanese or the New York Times vs. The New York Post. It can be both hilarious and/or upsetting. When the lights go down and the first model struts the catwalk, it is concentration time... OH!! To get the perfect shot! There can be a gasp of appreciation as a tiny perfect breast escapes from the fabric or a moan of sympathy as wobbly legs in 6" platforms lose control or a hush when the ighting, music, clothing and the model blend together to make a sweet magic moment, hopefully captured for TOMORROW! Some of my favorite photos this season show “recognition,” not just for me but for the magazine I represent -- PAPER. Everyone loves PAPER. They show it in their eyes, their smiles and they even say it out loud! Here are some of the best moments of Fashion Week that I captured.
Posted Feb. 9, 2008,
THE Song of Fashion Week: "That's Not My Name" by Ting Tings
By Mickey Boardman
Mr. Mickey is certainly no expert when it comes to music- he spends more time perusing through the musical highlights of Broadway legend Miss Donna McKechnie than rocking out to Cat Power or M.I.A -- but he certainly knows THE song of Fashion Week when he hears it and this Week that song is "That's Not My Name" by Ting Tings!!!
Feast your ears on this!
Posted Jan. 11, 2008,
M.I.A. Gets Campy at Kehinde Wiley's Studio
By PAPERMAG Editors
Take a peek behind the scenes of M.I.A.'s cover shoot (photographed by Cass Bird) at Kehinde Wiley's studio.
Posted Dec. 4, 2007,
PAPER TV: Rebecca Carroll Introduces PAPER's December/January Issue
By PAPERMAG Editors
PAPER managing editor Rebecca Carroll gives y'all a guided tour through PAPER's most recent double issue featuring none other than Miss M.I.A. on the cover!
Posted Oct. 22, 2007,
AK47 Is the Bomb
By David Hershkovits
Here's a thought-provoking Al Jazeera report on the AK47 that begins with these sobering words: "It's the real weapon of mass destruction." The M.I.A. song "20 Dollar" is what this versatile killer costs in Liberia. Perhaps you won't be surprised to find that the United States is behind the proliferation of this weapon that kills 250,000 people per year. As Josh Rushing, the Al Jazeera correspondent and former United States Marine Captain who was a press officer for United States Central Command (CENTCOM) during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, reports: "In the 1980s the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) bought AK-47s from China -- hundreds of millions of dollars worth -- and shipped them to mujahidin fighting the then Soviet Union. This act has been called the single most important contribution to the weapon's spread."
Posted Oct. 20, 2007,
The Cool Kids Are All Up in CMJ: "I Feel a Tap on the Back and Hear a Voice Say 'Hi, I'm Maya.'"
By Mikey Rocks
I didn't know if I could do it. But I did it... Three shows in one night and I didn't half ass even one of em. Mama would be proud lol. So I'll start with the M.I.A. show. I'm by my dressing room and I decide to head to the bathroom and I'm walking past DJ Blaqstarr, Rye Rye and some shorter girl with a green hoodie on... I almost pass them when I feel a tap on the back and hear a voice say "Hi, I'm Maya." So I turn around and it was definitely M.I.A. I was mad embarrassed lol. But it was cool because she seemed glad to see me. Then she whipped out this funky looking camera that takes pictures and prints out these mini polaroids... awesome. She tells everybody to get together for a picture and before she snaps it I tell Victor to take a picture of her taking a picture of us lol. It came out dope and then we kept chatting for a while before me and Chuck had to head down to the stage. I'm headed back home tomorrow for a week of rest and all that good sh*t before we head out for the tour. I'm about to go get some free stuff and I didn't even take a shower yet so I'll talk later...
Halla at ya llama.
M.rocks
Posted Oct. 19, 2007,
The Cool Kids Are All Up in CMJ: "I Just Thought About How We Have Three Shows Tonight..."
By Mikey Rocks
What it is kids? I'm back again. Right now I’m in some tavern called Whistlin Dixies of Texas or something lol. We’re sitting across from a table of about 10 of the most hilarious frat boys and one girl. They're playing beer pong and singing "na na naaaa na/ na na naaaa na/ heyyyyy hey hey/ gooood byeeee" Wildin out yo. But anyway, we just finished soundcheck for the M.I.A show tonight. The venue is nuts. I just thought about how we have three shows tonight... this type of stuff is definitely gonna take some getting used to. I'm not tired but I might be later lol. I wanna play PAPER Mario right now... and find some cute girls. I've seen quite a few since we've been here. Speaking of cute girls, I met Tahita from New Young Pony Club last night and now I'm in love lol. Just kidding. But she's mad cute and an amazing performer... Well my food is here now so I'm out.
Halla at ya llama.
M.rocks
Posted Oct. 19, 2007,
The Cool Kids (Finally) Blog!
By Mikey Rocks
Our favorite new band to grace the CMJ lineup this year is the Chicago-based electro-meets-old-school hip-hop duo to end all Chicago-based electro-meets-old-school hip-hop duos The Cool Kids. They are really a force to be reckoned with. Which is why we were pleased as punch that they came by the PAPER offices the other day and agreed to do a little guest-blogging for us, when they're not playing about 875 CMJ shows. Catch 'em tonight as they open for MIA at Terminal 5. Here's Mikey Rocks' first installment...
Yoyoyo what up peoplesss? I'm in New York right now... It's raining, I'm hungry, and confused all at the same time. But before I get into that, let's talk about the past few nights I've been here! OK, the Fools Gold show at Hiro was like 2 days ago... It was ill all across the board... (*side note* in chicago "ill" means good but I've noticed some NY people use ill to describe something bad or lame.) But anyway, it was a lot of fun. Seemed like the crowd was definitely rockin' with us and that's all I could ever ask for. Then after that we headed over to a club called Room Service where a bunch of the homies were at. It was crackin pretty hard. Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri were in there along with Cuba Gooding Jr. I think I saw Silk the Shocker and Mike Ditka as well but maybe I was just trippin? Lol. Chinatown smells like fish. A lot. And New York homeless guys are way less pushy than Chicago homeless guys. Out here they just shake the cup and make eye contact. Back home they like to touch -- haha. Anyway, I'll be back soon with more. Right now we're headed to soundcheck for tonight's show at Terminal 5 with the beautiful miss M.I.A.
Halla at ya llama.
M.rocks
Posted Jun. 13, 2007,
Siren Festival Adds MIA, Cursive and White Rabbits to Lineup
By Shanon Kelley
This summer is going to be really awesome. The Village Voice press office just announced that they've added MIA, Cursive and the White Rabbits to the Siren Festival's already pretty stellar lineup. MIA's latest single, "Boyz," is out in the U.S. June 17th. You can watch the really awesome video for it (shot in Jamaica) here.
See you at the Siren Festival!