Brooklyn

Earlier this week we spilled quite a bit of pixel dust in praise of Blank Realm’s LP Go Easy, out now via Fire Records. As such, we thought we’d conjure up the opportunity for one of you to get your hands on the release, on glorious pink vinyl. “Blank Realm has been knocking around Brisbane, Australia for over half a decade, spurting out small-press underground rumblings on all sorts of formats. But with the release of Go Easy they are swaggering confidently into a bigger spotlight. The record actually came out last year and kicked up a fair amount of positive dust, but in the end that response just wasn’t satisfactory, for the UK label Fire Records has recently given it another well-deserving and higher-profile press, this time on pink vinyl. Listeners favorable to a meeting of Royal Trux’s more rocking moments and the raggedy thrust of the current garage scene should find it a keeper.” “The group is composed of two brothers and a sister, Daniel (vocals/drums), Luke (bass), and Sarah (synths/vocals) Spencer, with Luke Walsh (guitar/engineering) completing the lineup. Based on a casual first impression, the foursome seems to be tapping into a definite ‘90s indie vibe, a circumstance that’s only deepened by the comparisons between the band and the early/mid-‘90’s recordings issued by Royal Trux… Very frequently when listening to a record, a song will arise and immediately reveal its destiny as the consensus “hit” of the platter. That’s not the case here. Understandably, lots of folks are currently celebrating the odd pop of “Cleaning up My Mess,” but from where I’m listening, Go Easy has four more cuts out of a grand total of eight that are just as strong. And that’s a downright impressive feat. Due to the surface familiarity of their sound, Blank Realm is likely to be underrated a bit, but with this LP they’ve charted a fresh entry in the annals of Australia’s rocking history, and that’s a circumstance deserving of generous praise.” Enter to win our pink vinyl copy of Blank Realm’s Go Easy by sharing with us in the comments below the coolest record you own on any color vinyl. (There’s actually a Best of 70′s Porn Music LP here at TVD HQ and uh, yea…pink vinyl too. No joke.) We’ll choose one winner on 6/3! The band’s on tour too—would it kill you to check ‘em out live? Didn’t think so. Blank Realm Tour Dates: May 24 – Chicago, IL – Burlington May 25 – Cincinatti – Chameleon May 26 – Columbus, OH – The Summit May 27 – Washington – DC – Black Cat May 28 – Brooklyn, NY – Death By Audio May 29 – Philadelphia, PA – Ortlieb’s Lounge May 30 – Chaos in Tejas Red 7 – Austin ,TX June 1 – San Francisco, CA Hemlock Tavern June 2 – Permanent Records in store, Los Angeles June 3 – San Diego , CA – Che Cafe June 5 – Portland, Rotture June 7 – Seattle, Cairo Advertise here with BSA

Although bed bug complaints and violations were said to be in decline last year, exterminator Bill Swan isn't buying it. According to Swan, NYC's bed bug epidemic is still raging, and he attributes the drop in complaints to an increasing number of New Yorkers essentially giving up, sticking an apple in their mouths and tying themselves to spits for the bed bugs armies to feast upon. [ more › ]

It's Hot Dog Season! And the Brooklyn Diner (located in Times Square...) dedicated its famous 15-bite All Beef Hot Dog to Brooklyn-born Tony-nominated Harvey Fierstein yesterday. Why? Something about it being the 30th anniversary of his first Tony nomination but that doesn't really even make sense, so we think it's just because the world needed more humorous hot dog photos—it's been a while since Michelle Bachmann went to that state fair. [ more › ]

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Brooklyn: New Franny's Going Strong [Photographs: Niki Achitoff-Gray] Franny's 348 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11238 (Map); (718) 230-0221; FrannysBrooklyn.com Pizza type: New York-Neapolitan Oven type: Wood-fired The Skinny: It turns out that surprisingly little has changed at Franny's new location—if you're hungry, the wait is still uncomfortably long; it's also still entirely worth it. Price:$9 - $18 for generous personal pies. As a Brooklynite myself, I'll admit to a tinge of favoritism when I declare that there's no better borough for pizza. Or, to be a little more diplomatic, let's say that it's home to the city's greatest concentration of top notch pies. We've got the classics, like Totonno's, Grimaldi's, and Di Fara, along with a slew of (relative) newcomers—Roberta's, Paulie Gee's, and Best Pizza, to name just a few. And, of course, there's Franny's. Not only has the pizzeria been canonized by most major news outlets, but you know this place is special because even the freakiest of pizza freaks love it—it has the Adam Kuban seal of approval, it's a pit stop on contributor Scott Wiener's famed pizza tours, and it graces more than one of our 'Best Of' lists here at Slice. But this is all old news; let's talk new Franny's. We told you back in March that owners Francine Stephens and Andrew Feinberg were changing things up, moving Franny's a few doors down, with a plan to renovate and re-open the original storefront as a new (pizza-free) Italian restaurant, to be called Marco's. The operative term here is MORE. More space, more seats, more menu items—even more ovens. With a new private event room downstairs, seating for 100 (to the original space's 32), and two enormous wood-burning ovens, it's an impressive upgrade for the eight-year-old pizzeria. And theoretically, all that 'more' means a whole lot less of that notoriously long wait. Last week, I finally made it over to the new spot. And it turns out that surprisingly little has changed—if you're hungry, the wait is still uncomfortably long; it's also still entirely worth it. A $3 slice of bread, misleadingly dubbed "Bruschetta." At least, it's worth it for the pizza. Our three appetizers were stunningly over-priced and remarkably disappointing. A $3 Bruschetta was in fact a lone slice of garlicky, olive oil-soaked bread, and I've definitely been served our diminutive $6 plate of Marinated Olives entirely gratis at similar restaurants. The Pork Cheek and Beef Tongue Terrine was the best of the bunch, but that's still not saying much. For $12, I expect more than two slices of bread and a thin sheet of fatty, unseasoned meat purée. Luckily, our pies more than made up for the disappointing first course. We lucked out and snagged a Ramp Pizza ($18). That said, the menu description—fava leaves, ramps, calabrian chilies, and pecorino sardo—wasn't entirely accurate. I'm not sure whether the pizza gods were smiling upon us or somebody made a beautiful, beautiful mistake, but when the pie emerged topped with a glistening soft-cooked egg, I shot straight up to cloud nine, where I remained happily perched for the rest of our meal. As anticipated, the crust was pretty stellar. Great char, just enough salt, and a seriously beautiful hole structure to the crumb. It's definitely Neapolitan in style, but not quite as soupy at the center. As with any number of newer Brooklyn locales, it seems more accurate to dub Franny's style of pies New Yorkapolitan, Neo-politan, or Neapolitan-American. Having never ordered Franny's Sausage Pizza ($17) before, I was in for another surprise with pie number two. Sweet, tart tomatoes, generous dollops of milky buffalo mozzarella, and...pepperoni? Nope, that's sausage you see. And I'm a tough customer when it comes to the stuff. I expect juicy, tender, flavorful meat scattered across my pie. Not this thin-sliced

It's workout time for lottery teams, and the stories of draft-prospect magic are beginning to trickle in. Take, for instance, DJ Stephens of the University of Memphis, who recorded a 46-inch vertical, according to Chad Ford. Performed while working out for the Brooklyn Nets, the leap is the highest ever recorded by the NBA. Here's a shot of Stephens goofing around earlier this season, for perspective's sake: He also lit up the arena during Memphis' brief NCAA tournament run. The previous leap record belonged to Kenny Gregory, who jumped 45.5 inches way back in 2001. Earlier this draft season, Shane Larkin hit 44 inches. Outside the NBA, though, things get weird: Kevin Bania apparently leaped 64 inches from a standing start (see the video here). Michael Jordan and LeBron James are both in the 44-inch range. Now, in many ways, the vertical leap in the NBA draft is the equivalent of the 40-yard-dash time in the NFL draft: a nice handy benchmark, but not indicative in and of itself as a barometer for future success. For instance, Michael Wilson, a fellow Memphis alum, could dunk on a 12-foot-rim ... but he did it for the Harlem Globetrotters. Stephens isn't a lottery pick; indeed, he's no guarantee to get drafted at all. He averaged less than eight points and seven rebounds this year in Memphis, though his blocks were something to behold. The NBA doesn't really have room for projects, but Stephens has gotten himself some impressive positive press, and at this time of year, any positive press is golden. He may have just leaped his way onto an NBA roster.

This unfinished Park Slope edifice may look like a treehouse that Howard Hughes built over fifteen sleepless nights, but by the end of this year it'll be transformed into a $25 million manse that has taken ten years to complete. "We love Brooklyn, but this has been a nightmare," the house's owner, Ivona Hertz told the Post. "We went through such heartache. This house has been blood, sweat and tears." They'd better wash off all those bodily fluids before they hop into their Olympic-sized lap pool. [ more › ]

Close but no cigar. Brook Lopez finished just out of the running for the All-NBA team in results issued Thursday. Lopez finished behind Tim Duncan, Marc Gasol and Dwight Howard in the voting for center, despite receiving seven first team votes and 132 votes, more than two members of the third team and equal to Blake Griffin on the second team. But in balloting for the 5 spot, Lopez was far behind Duncan, Gasol and Howard. Howard, whose season with the Lakers was filled with controversy and underachievement, finished with 203 votes. Gasol had 295 and Duncan, who played a lot of minutes with Tiago Splitter, had 392. Only one other Net, Deron Williams, received any votes in the balloting and he garnered only six. Third team point guard Dwyane Wade, finished with 145. LeBron James, the 2012-13 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player and winner of four of the previous five MVP awards, highlights the 2012-13 All-NBA First Team. James was the only player to receive all 119 First Team votes. Joining James on the First Team are Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers, and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. James, Durant, Duncan lead 2012-13 All-NBA first team - NBA.com

by Andrew Sacher Scout Niblett - 'It's Up To Emma' Grungy folk singer Scoutt Niblett released her new album, It's Up To Emma, this week via Drag City. It's her first album not produced by Steve Albini, but her ass-kicking PJ Harvey-esque songwriting is just as raw and powerful as ever. It's fitting for a record of this kind that the first single is opening track is simply titled "Gun." You can watch the video for that one, along with her no-bullshit cover of TLC's "No Scrubs" (which appears on the album!) and the tracklist below. That's the artwork above. Scout will be supporting the new record with an international tour this year, which includes a run with Baltimore noise rockers/Drag City labelmates Dope Body. That run hits NYC at the mostly-metal Brooklyn DIY space Saint Vitus on September 13. Tickets for that show are not on sale yet, but you can check Ticketfly for updates. Dope Body will be in NYC even sooner to play 285 Kent on June 20. No advance tickets for that show at the moment either, and the rest of the lineup is still TBA. This past March, they released the Saturday EP via Drag City, and you can check out the video for its punishing opening track, "Leather Head," below. All dates for both bands are listed, along with those videos, below... Continue reading "Scout Niblett released a new LP (TLC cover included), touring w/ Dope Body who have other shows too (dates & videos)" at brooklynvegan

Due to tonight's severe weather forecast, BRIC and Brooklyn Bridge Park announce that Celebrate Brooklyn!'s Old School Funk and Hip-Hop Dance Party featuring Zapp and D-Nice is moving to The Bell House (149 7th Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues, Brooklyn). The performance will start at 8:00PM/doors at 7:00PM. Please note space is limited.Again, the relocated show at The Bell House is FREE but space is limited. Continue reading "tonight's Zapp/D-Nice Celebrate Brooklyn! show moved to The Bell House due to weather" at brooklynvegan

by Andrew Sacher Laurel Halo at Glasslands - 5/7/13 (via Impose) Earlier this month (5/7), Brooklyn venue Glasslands hosted a great multi-genre bill as part of the Red Bull Music Academy NYC residency with sets from rappers Mykki Blanco and Le1f, arty electronic music from Laurel Halo, Crazy Bitch In A Cave, and Papercutz, and DJ sets from Venus X and Spank DJs. Did you go to that show? If so, how was it? Red Bull Music Academy just posted a video of Mykki Blanco performing "Feeling Special" and Le1f performing "Wut" to their Youtube channel, and you can watch both videos below. You can also stream Venus X's set over at RBMA Radio. "Feeling Special" appears on Mykki Blanco's new EP, Betty Rubble: The Initiation, which came out this week (5/21) via UNO. If you liked Mykki's debut mixtape, Cosmic Angel: The Illuminati Prince/ss, you'll likely be a fan of the new EP too. You can stream it in full at Pitchfork and listen to two of its tracks below. Le1f also recently made a video for "Spa Day" off his Fly Zone mixtape. That video, and all other streams and videos below... Continue reading "Mykki Blanco released a new EP, played Glasslands w/ Le1f, Laurel Halo & others (videos & EP stream)" at brooklynvegan