PAPERMAG

Vegan Problems Meet Lana Del Rey

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:11:55 -0500

In this weekly column, MC/DJ Hesta Prynn pairs pop culture stories with an original playlist.

Everyone's got that friend of a friend at the BBQ who, just as you're picking up your juicy burger for that first delicious bite, says something like "ew, you're eating that?" That smug vegan is now me. My newfound veganism has ostracized me from my friends, has kept me up (starving) at night, and has left me standing, many times, before an open refrigerator wondering what the fuck I can actually eat. I feel the same way about being vegan as I do about Lana Del Ray songs - it's good for me and I love it, but I wish we had some more options to choose from. This week's edition of Five n Five is, in part, a cry for help. Will some more experienced vegans come to my rescue? I've outlined some of my new diet, along with my fave LDR remixes below.

Vegetable Juice: "Blue Jeans" (RAC Remix)

Have you seen Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead? Only watch it if you want to buy a juicer and hundreds of dollars in vegetables, have every surface of your house covered in bits of celery and pee red. I drink this daily. "You're so fresh to death..."

TVP: "Summertime Sadness" (Nick Warren Remix)

Texturized Vegetable Protein is a space-age meat alternative and it's what they made Morningstar Farms faux chicken nuggets out of. I eat these as a midnight snack regularly. Super-smug vegans will tell you how bad these are for you. "Nothing scares me anymore"

Kale Chips: "Born to Die" (Woodkid and the Shoes Remix)

If you're craving junk food in a totally bonkers crazy way you can sprinkle some salt and pepper on kale leaves and throw them in the toaster oven for fifteen minutes. This is what is called "kale chips" and vegans will swear up and down that they taste better than Pringles. "Come on, take a walk on the wild side"

Seitan: "Video Games" (Jamie Woon Remix)

Seitan or "mock duck" is another word for wheat gluten. It's grey, it's chewy, it's flavorless. I love this. I eat it on weekends at one of the three restaurants I go to. "It's better than I ever even knew"

White Wine: "Ride" (Active Child Remix)

It turns out that (organic) white wine is actually in line with the vegan lifestyle. Pour a little (organic) club soda in there and you've got a sprintzer -- who you calling a smug vegan now? "Every night I used to pray that I'd find my people, and finally I did..."

GIFs of the Week: Die Hard Tobias Fünke + The Best Fake Cat Ever

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:21:41 -0500

Welcome to our Friday GIF roundup, featuring a collection of this week's most important, amusing and/or newsy GIFs and GIF sets by Mike Hayes of Buzzfeed and Gifhound.

Tried something new this week. GIF free word association.

Art. [via SFMOMA]

Lies. [via Buffalo of Lies]

AH! [via Us Weekly]

Appetizing. [via Soulful Sock]

Vermin. [via ancient and holy things fade like a dream]

Fear. [via Roger von Biersborn]

Hero. [via 4Gifs]

Misandry. [via Topherchris]

Demon-spawn. [via TLC]

Victory. [via Mini Kraid]

The Best, Worst and Weirdest of the Week

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:30:54 -0500

The Only Thing We're Looking Forward to at This Weekend's Electric Daisy Carnival: this Swarovski crystal-encrusted ice cream truck from HeartsRevolution, which will be making its debut at the EDM fest. No word on the ice cream flavors being offered but we do hear that the truck will make scheduled stops throughout NYC this summer, including a stop at The Standard. -- Abby Schreiber

Weirdest Contest of the Week: King's County Bar's small penis contest, which seeks to find the least endowed men in Brooklyn. -- Max Kessler

Most Counter-Revolutionary Music Management: Lupe Fiasco's, after his management took over his Twitter following a series of tweets from the rapper about Marxism. -- Jonah Wolf

Event We're Going to Be Blowing Our Paychecks On This Weekend: Ladyfag's annual Pop Souk, which returns this Sunday to the Standard Biergarten from noon-6pm. You can expect the usual glittery array of nightlife denizens, artists, musicians, designers and DJs selling clothing, jewelry, furnishings and crafts. -- A.S.

Best Video of the Week: Jim O'Heir's (a.k.a. Jerry Gergich from Parks and Rec) video in which he shows how plus-size people can shop at Abercrombie & Fitch, in light of the resurfacing of an old interview in which the company's Chief Executive Douchebag, Mike Jeffries, implied they don't want fat people shopping at their store. -- M.K.

Fashion Victim-y Photo That's Been Seared In Our Brains All Week: Julianne Moore's squashed toes, as seen on the Cannes red carpet. -- A.S.

Best Flow Chart: The Indy's "Guide to Your Future In Media." -- J.W.

Most Childhood-Ruining -- But Kinda Awesome -- Re-Imagining of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves: Artist Paul McCarthy's upcoming show at the Park Avenue Armory, WS, which will feature "a massive, fantastical forest" and a video showing pantsless dwarves with "penises flapping in the air like pompoms." Oh boy. -- A.S.

Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" Is Still Pretty Groovy

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:22:52 -0500

What at first glance could be an old aerobics video -- or an ad for the Broadway show Kinky Boots -- is actually Nancy Sinatra's hit from the '60s, "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'. " Nancy is, of course, Frank Sinatra's daughter and she was also signed to dad's record label, Reprise. Fun fact: the song's title was taken from one of Sinatra's films, 4 for Texas. "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" went to #1 around the world and was the first of a long sting of hits written for her by Lee Hazlewood. Are you ready now, boots?

Wayne Coyne on GoogaMooga: "I'll Stand There and Sing Emotional Songs to People Who Are a Little Drunk"

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:45:29 -0500

"I kind of like Las Vegas now. It's over-the-top, and that's appealing," says Wayne Coyne when I tell him I'm calling him for our phone interview from outside a gimmicky restaurant in the Mandalay Bay Hotel. "It's a place that's better when you're older and have more money." The Flaming Lips frontman -- who, over his band's 30-year career, has performed in everything from "blood"-splattered white suits to a giant (and patented) clear plastic "space bubble" -- is certainly one who gravitates towards the over-the-top.

Coyne, in New York for tonight's performance at the kick-off event for the Great GoogaMooga in Prospect Park, as well as last night's concert at the Wellmont Theatre in New Jersey, had a few minutes to spare on set at the Jimmy Fallon Show ("I have to warn you, it's loud in here. And I don't know how to use this BlackBerry") to talk about the band's hypnotic thirteenth album The Terror, the allure of punk rock, and why doing whatever you want sometimes leads to success.

I spent all night listening to The Terror. It's haunting, electric, psychedelic and feels different from anything you've done before. Where did all this grit come from?
I don't think it's a permanent switch. We've made so many records. We've been lucky doing our thing. One record leads to another, and freedom and curiosity. What our desire was was to mostly make music we felt we wanted to make. We didn't consider making a record when we were messing around with sound and synthesizers. All ideas start in a free area. It doesn't matter what you do.

You've put out thirteen albums now, but 2002's Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots remains one of your most commercially successful works. Why do you think it resonates with so many fans?
I absolutely do not know. Popularity is mysterious. I don't know why we made it so polished and commercial sounding. If you heard this and not our other music you would think we were so organized. There's something about the story, and just the way the songs work on people. In the first month it was popular. One strategy is that it is used for weddings and funerals, for people who don't want to play standard songs.

It's been a long road, but it sounds like Yoshimi is finally going to hit Broadway.

It's been in the making since 2003. It's not really my creation, but it really hits on a personal level. When we play it we present it like a concert. I think people will really love it, but musical theatre isn't for everyone.

You're getting ready to take the stage at GoogaMooga. Anything you can reveal about that performance?
At some of these shows, a lot of people are there because it's a party, and they're drinking with their friends. I think it's about the music at GoogaMooga, and being in that moment. Sometimes I don't really think we're doing a show. We're setting up our stuff, we're doing new things. Obviously things happen, but I don't know if anything's going to happen. I'll stand there and sing emotional songs to people who are a little drunk.

Punk rock has been a big influence on you. Have you seen the "PUNK: Chaos to Couture" exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art while you've been in town?
I haven't, but if I do get a chance I'd like to go, completely. I love the British stuff for sure, and the Minutemen. It made us think that we could do this. Now, punk rock has become such a cliche, but then, punk rock meant we were weirdos who could do whatever the fuck we wanted. Or we took it that way.

You spent many years working at Long John Silver's in Oklahoma, up until you secured your Warner Bros. deal. What was that fast food era like?
I worked there from 1977 through 1990. The way that we lived then was how most of the people we knew did. They did their music with virtually no hope of living off of it. We had our jobs and our art, and we thought that's how life would be. When we signed, all that we lived and thought about ourselves changed. We could really make records. We would be recording artists.

Photo: Benjamin Lozovsky/BFAnyc.com

Catch a Livestream of the SCAD Fashion Show

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:50:01 -0500

Spring is the time we pack away our chunky knits and pull out our hot pants and tank tops. It's also the time that I make my yearly pilgrimage to Savannah for SCAD's fashion show. Savannah College of Art and Design was founded in 1978 and is considered one of the leading art and design schools in the nation. The fashion school has a reputation for attracting top talent and fashion icon Andre Leon Talley is a member of SCAD's Board of Trustees and each year gives a Lifetime Achievement Award to a fashion legend like Miuccia Prada, Tom Ford, Manolo Blahnik and this year to Calvin Klein Collection designer Francisco Costa.

The fashion show offers a glimpse at some of tomorrow's fashion stars and if you can't make it down to Savannah you're in luck. You can catch the Live Stream of the show here on Saturday, May 18th at 8pm. It's the next best thing to being there. Now if they could only figure out how to live stream me eating some hushpuppies and collards.

RuPaul and Lady Bunny's New Video Is Amazing

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:26:35 -0500

Just the Friday pick-me-up we needed: the music video for RuPaul and Lady Bunny's newest single "Lick It Lollipop" -- available on iTunes, of course -- was just released today and it's a must-watch. Between Ru looking hawt (and especially Tyra-esque, we must say), Lady Bunny fellating some very long and hefty lollipops, and that male model looking good enough to lick while licking himself, we can say with assurance that this will be the highlight of our morning. Enjoy it above.

These chefs, farmers and bakers are so ahead of their time, we had to make up a new word for them.

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:00:47 -0500

There's plenty of good food in New York, but it's on the West Coast where food movements really take shape. From Los Angeles to Washington's Lummi Island, it's not enough to be 'artisanal' anymore. We found the young chefs, bakers and farmers who are changing the dinner conversation.

Thank You For Coming / los angeles, CA

Josey Baker / san francisco, CA

Blaine Wetzel / lummi island, WA

Little City Gardens / san francisco, CA

Thought For Food / san francisco, CA

The Most Depressing/Genius Vine of All Vines

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:45:02 -0500

Sorry, Ryan Gosling Won't Eat His Cereal, but this is our new favorite Vine video. [Gawker]

Grab some Kleenex and watch these farewell interviews with the cast of The Office, which had its series finale last night. They'll make your heart soar like the eagle's nest.

You're probably not planning on doing much at work today because it's Friday and obviously not a real work day, so here you go: A mega Office blooper reel. [TastefullyOffensive]

Bug with a blog. [Mlkshk]

Must...own...this. [LaughingSquid]

This super-cut of small children rocking out in the backseat = instant heart explosion.That tiny guy who knows all the words to "Thinkin' About You" is our favorite. [Jezebel]

New Favorite Tumblr Alert: Apreensão e Arte, which features artfully arranged photos of drugs and apprehended items seized by a Brazilian police force. Hope that dog is the one doing the arranging.

True. [JuliaSegal]

Throwback Thursday: Anthony Weiner, Splattered in Phagwah Dye

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:59:05 -0500

Since there's mounting evidence that he will be running for New York City Mayor (NBC News caught him filming a campaign video this morning) and in light of yesterday's New York Post story on him -- replete with sexxxier puns than usual -- we'd like to devote our Throwback Thursday post to Anthony "Big Weiner" Weiner. PAPER photographer Rebecca Smeyne took this picture pre-sexting scandal at the annual Indo-Caribbean Hindu celebration Phagwah, where getting splattered with dye is par for the course. Smeyne recalls: "It was very rowdy, I think he had just made a speech and was on the way out. A bunch of teenage boys crowded around as people were posing with him for photos and kept shouting 'Big Weiner!' And Big Weiner didn't seem thrilled about the phagwah dye on his fancy suit. He was ready to get out of there."

Two Glorious Daft Punk Video Mash-Ups to Start Your Weekend

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:45:41 -0500

The best thing to come out of all the breathless Daft Punk coverage online this week? These two mash-up videos featuring DP's new duet with Pharrell, "Get Lucky." Viral clip "Daft Train" matches Soul Train footage with the track while "Goat Lucky" injects yelling goats into the chorus. Obviously the goat video is the better of the two because yelling goats sound just like Grampa Simpson and are always, always funny, but both are worth a watch.

Daft Punk x Soul Train, via Laughing Squid.

Goat Lucky (Feat. Pharrell Williams), via Morning Funnies.

In the Mix with Little Mix and Missy Elliott

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:00:22 -0500

We're working on our Summer Music Issue and having big debates about who gets to be included. Should it be Jake Bugg or Disclosure? AlunaGeorge or Palma Violets? And what about Little Mix? They're the girls that became the first group to win on X-Factor in the UK and their new single, "How Ya Doin'?," features Missy Elliott. What do you think? Would you use this song on your answering machine?

Bird Is Opening a Pop-Up on Shelter Island

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:30:29 -0500

Though Shelter Island residents probably feel a little queasy at the thought of thier laid-back weekend community becoming Montauk 2.0 (see these photos of André Balazs playing ping pong with Pippa Middleton at his Shelter Island hotel from last summer), there's one cool addition to the scene that's sure to be welcomed with open arms: Beach Bird. The Brooklyn-based boutique with shops in Williamsburg, Cobble Hill and Park Slope is opening a Shelter Island-friendly version of their 'high fashion-with-an-L Train twist' store. The pop-up will emphasize "easy dresses, pretty jewelry, sandals and swimsuits" over the more conceptual fare found in their city locations, owner Jen Mankins tells us. "I want the store to make sense in the context of its community and being by the beach," she adds. Mankins, who herself has been going out to Shelter Island for over a decade, tells us the store will also carry travel-friendly items like toothbrushes and soap -- though don't expect Dove or Dial. (In this case, it's saltwater soap from Sweden.) Vacation goers can also find hostess gifts like Turkish hamman towels, East African beach blankets, art and design books and hand-dyed ikat pillows.

Beach Bird will be located at 183 North Ferry Road and will be open from June 1 through September 1.

Photo of the uncompleted store

Map by Kate Diago

An Angolan Singer Tells Us About Luanda's Awesome Music and Nightlife

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:00:46 -0500

Each week in our new column, "No Sleep Til...," we'll be talking to cool kids around the globe, asking them to fill us in about the bands, DJs, music venues and night spots they and their friends are obsessing over. Next time you visit their home city, leave your Fodor's and Lonely Planet guides behind and go party like a local instead.

Name?

Coréon Dú

Age?

28

Where do you live?

Between Luanda, Angola and the world

What do you do (profession or school)?

Musician & Creative Entrepreneur. [Ed note: Watch one of Coréon's music videos HERE.]

I'm a singer and [have been] doing it professionally since 2008. My debut album The Coréon Experiment came out in 2010. I also do creative direction and production for many advertising and TV projects in Angola. My most exciting project has been writing/producing my first telenovela, Windeck.

What Angolan bands or DJs do you like and think that Americans should know about?

I'm a big fan of a lot of the classics -- two of my all-time favorites are Carlos Burity, who does a traditional style of Angolan popular music called semba, and the late, great André Mingas who did a fusion of traditional Angolan rhythms with jazz and soul music. I've also just discovered Angolan rock from the '60s through '70s and I'm really into Vum Vum and Lilly Tchiumba who have some pretty electrifying songs. In terms of newer generation artists, there is a wonderful artist that does kizomba music called Yola Semedo (both as a solo artist and with her family's band Impactus 4). She has an amazing voice and it's incredible to see her performances where it's just her singing and playing the keys. I also really enjoy a jazz artist called Sandra Cordeiro -- she's very demure and petite in person but has a soulful, powerful voice. Matias Damasio is a great singer-songwriter, and Kizua Gourgel has a really interesting sound -- a very distinctive, raspy baritone.

As for DJs, [I like] DJ Silyvi who does a style of dance music that mixes traditional Angolan rhythms with house music and an Angolan electronic genre called kuduro. I've also just discovered two really cool young DJs, DJ Satelite and DJ Ketchup, who both started as kuduro producers/DJs and now really just have their own sound, which is indescribable but will definitely keep you dancing.

How did you discover them?

Carlos Burity and André Mingas I discovered as a child listening to my parents' vinyl records and they were on radio and TV a lot when I was a kid. I also had the pleasure of working with both of them, which is really cool. I've produced shows with Mr. Burity and André Mingas actually wrote a song for my album.

Vum Vum and Lilly Tchiumba I discovered through research. I was researching for a show and compilation about how music is a big part of our "brand" as Angolans. It was a project where young artists were challenged to reinterpret songs from the past from the 1960s to 1990s. Impactus 4 have been around since my childhood -- they were a band of young kids doing music for other kids so I guess my generation grew up with them. I moved out of Angola when I was 8 and they moved to Namibia for a while and I was really happy when they came back to Angola and were still making great music. Yola Semedo -- the lead singer (and youngest sister) -- now has a really successful solo career. Her voice is flawless.

Sandra Cordeiro, funny enough, I discovered when I was producing an awards show for women called Divas Angola in 2007. I was looking for up-and-coming artists that brought something different to the table. The show's musical director was producing her debut album and I fell in love with her music the first time I heard it. Matias Damasio won a singing competition where aspiring singers mimic well-known performers, but after that he became known for winning every song-writing competition that exists in the country basically. When he finally released his debut album, I knew I had to have it. I actually have all of them, because he has great music, writes great lyrics whether it's something to make you dance, think about love or a socially conscious song.

I first heard Kizua Gourgel playing live at a local club, and the first time I ever performed in Angola was with him up on stage. Coincidentally, he and I are cousins. His cousin, my uncle Beto Gourgel, was a musician and one of the best-known Angolan comedians.

I discovered Silyvi at a local nightclub where he was a resident DJ, and then he did a song called "Let the Beat Run Free" with an incredible singer named Irina whom I grew up with, and I've been hooked on a his sound ever since. DJs Satelite and Ketchup were people I kept running into in kuduro blogs and bootleg street compilations.

What does their music sound like?

They are all very different, as I have really eclectic musical taste. Angolan music is hard to explain -- you have to experience it to know what I'm talking about. Musically we are a big melting pot where you will get an African element mixed with a lot of Latin flavor that comes from us being a former Portuguese colony and our affinity with Caribbean and Latin music. But you also have a lot edgy electronic music influenced by a blend of our own heritage with European and American influences, influences from anything to Bollywood movies to trance and hip-hop.

Where are the cool places to see live music in Luanda?

There are plenty of good places and it all depends what kind of music you are into. Most places, the music varies depending on the day or night you go. The most famous place for live music would probably be Centro Recreativo Kilamba, which plays a lot of traditional music and a lot of big acts but there's also a lot of big, local pop acts that play there. King's Club, which is owned by the band The Kings, has a really intimate, neighborhood vibe. There's also Miami Beach Club, which has a lot of different live acts, as well as Espaço Bahia where they have anything from live concerts to open mic nights and poetry shows. That's a really cool one for up-and-comers and alternative artists.

Describe your perfect night out in Luanda.

I'm a bit of a goody-two shoes so most of my weekends are spent at home. Since in Angola we are very family-oriented, we usually have a big, long lunch with family, which starts around 2-3pm and then turns into a party around 10pm. Usually after that some people go clubbing or they party until the morning in their backyard with their family and friends. Backyard parties are a big thing here in Angola. I actually like the Angolan way because you get to eat really nice food, enjoy good company, and dance.

What's your favorite bar/nightclub in Luanda? What are the cool neighborhoods/areas in Luanda to hang out?

I can't quite say I have a favorite because there are a lot of really good ones. There are some really nice beach clubs at the Ilha do Cabo (Cabo Island), which is near the Luanda bay where you can have anything from a regular club atmosphere to a down-home backyard style experience. There are some really nice bars and clubs downtown in the city center. My recommendation downtown is a place called Fortaleza that's right beside the Fortaleza de São Miguel (or Saint Michael Fort -- the Fort of Luanda) and is a restaurant that I think is one of Luanda's best kept secrets. In Ilha do Cabo is Shogun restaurant, a Japanese restaurant with sushi and hibachi. It also has a nice quiet beach. The Bay Inn Club has a great view of the Luanda Bay and Tamariz is a popular daytime hangout. (A word about beaches: the best ones are outside the city, toward the south, like Sangano Beach, which has miles of white sand and clean sea and also Cabo Ledo where local surfers go.)

Aside from clubs, the best places to get traditional Angolan food are Quintal de Tia Guida, the best place to have mufete, a dish that includes grilled whole fish with a homemade onion sauce accompanied by steamed sweet plantains, yucca and beans in palm oil sauce. Funge House, in the city center, is where you can enjoy the traditional funge, which is comparable to polenta or foufou from other African countries. It's often made with cassava (yucca) flour or corn flour and accompanied by various meat, fish or vegetable dishes. The best place for caldo -- a fish stew made from fresh fish, sweet potatoes and yucca, often with a side of palm oil beans -- can be found at Multibocas or Jango Veleiro, which is open late for an after-club shift. Caldo is enoyed as a family dish as well as a hangover cure by some of my party animal friends.

What's a bar or nightclub you would NEVER go to in Luanda?

I don't think there are any -- I've been to a wide range of different places and different crowds all over the city and the country, and it´s nice to discover new ones.

Check out Coréon's band and DJ recs:

Carlos Burity -- "Malalanza"

André Mingas -- "É Luanda"

Vum Vum -- "Muzangola"

Lilly Tchiumba -- "Mona Ki N'Gui Xissa"

Yola Semedo -- "Injusta"

Sandra Cordeiro -- "Luandense"

Matias Damasio -- "Kwanza Burro"

Kizua Gourgel -- "Tetembwa ya mwenho ami"

DJ Silyvi -- "Tambuleno"

DJ Satelite -- "Trombetas De Angola"

DJ Ketchup -- Ezio ft. DJ Ketchup "Uzaru Uzau"

Check out Coréon's nightlife listings:

Centro Recreativo e Cultural Kilamba, address unknown

King's Club, R. António Feliciano Castilho, Vila Alice, Luanda

Miami Beach Club, Av. Murtala Mohamed, S/N, Luanda

Espaço Bahia, Avenida 4 de Fevereiro 183, Luanda

Naquele Lugar or Fortaleza, Calcada de S. Miguel, s/n, Cidade Alta Provincia de Luanda, Luanda

Shogun, Próximo ao Banco BCP, Ilha de Luanda, Chicala, Luanda

Tamariz, Rua Murtala Mohamed, Ilha do Cabo, Luanda

Quintal de Tia Guida, Ilha de Luanda

Funge House, Avenida Lenine, Luanda

Multibocas, Rua Murtala Mohamed, Ilha do Cabo, Luanda (across the street from Tamariz)

Jango Veleiro, Av. Murtala Mohamed, Ilha de Luanda, Luanda

Ooh, a New Track by Giorgio Moroder

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:59:21 -0500

Legendary Italian music producer Giorgio Moroder is back in the spotlight with his new Daft Punk collab -- and he's also just released a new track on his own. The seventy-three-year old did the music for a video game called "RACER" and you can give it a listen below. Moroder is a three-time Academy Award winner and a three-time Grammy winner, but "RACER" is not his first video game. Several versions of Grand Theft Auto incorporate his music, including the film score from Scarface and his collab with The Human League, "Together in Electric Dreams" He will be in New York City on Monday, May 20, to spin records for the Red Bull Music Academy at MePa nightclub Cielo (18 Little West 12th Street). And, yes, it's sold out.