If we wanted to fling open the lobby doors and prop up the windows to let in some raw New York air, we could, but the results always run at a risk on these streets. Instead, we’ll just have the crew at OAK bring the intrinsic scents of this metropolis to us. Each of the four new candles from the downtown boutique has the power to transport you to a different time and place in New York’s olfactory history. Take for instance, McKibbin + Bogart ’03, a candle that boasts the scents of the infamous McKibbin Lofts (in the year 2003, to be exact). But if the aroma of drying oil paint, dust, turpentine and booze isn’t your thing, you can still choose from: trash and vintage clothing stores or poppers, sweat and disco leather.
It seems that this uber trendy boutique is having its “post-hipster” moment. But seriously, what better way to preserve a nostalgia for the past, than by locking up its perfumes as a keepsake? After all, scent is the strongest sense linked to memory. As New Yorkers we learn to live with the odors of our city, embrace them, and fetishize them with oversized bodega votives.
The limited edition LP was once the bread and butter of any DJ worth their needles. Luckily for the rest of us, the digital revolution has given us all access to even the rarest of cuts, while Serato has made mixing songs as easy as pressing a button. Now, everyone is a DJ.
Despite the democratization and/or bastardization of DJ culture, limited edition vinyl are still produced and coveted by true DJs.
Most of us only hear about these limited edition releases after they’re only available on eBay for hundreds of dollars, however, we’ve just learned that the recently announced Massive Attack vs. Burial collaboration – limited to 1000 units – is still taking pre-orders.
If £25 is too much to splurge on this instant collectors item, then you’ll be happy to hear that the artists have already uploaded the A-side track on Youtube.
Head over to Vinyl Factory to secure your copy of the real thing, and in the meantime, grab the best headphones you can find, and take a listen to the awe-inspiring twelve minute track below.
Don’t worry if you think twelve minutes sounds like a long time, you’ll reconsider it after hitting replay a few times.
We like to think BIG here at Gramercy Park Hotel. That’s why we couldn’t help but take notice of Danish architect, Bjarke Ingels. Not only did Mr. Ingels name his development company, Bjarke Ingels Group (a.k.a. BIG), after our own mantra, but his breadth of work has an impact to match. Ingels designs have shaken convention and he maintains his role as one of the most innovative architects – or as he likes to define his role: as a “midwife of this continuous rebirth of the city rather than the actual creator.”
Ingels is hosting a featured talk this weekend at the BMW Guggenheim Lab as a part of Archtober. Considering the architect published his manifesto in the form of a graphic novel, we’re intrigued to see what else he has to offer. As practicing proponents of utopia, here at the Gramercy Park Hotel, we’re intrigued by Ingels’ search to find “hedonistic sustainability” in the world of design. Ah, a man after our own hearts.
Last month, ingenue Lana Del Rey was slated to give her first official concert at The Box. After selling out in minutes, the show was then postponed in order to secure a larger venue. Now, half a month later, people are continuing to buzz over her, and whether or not her “hype factor” has reached its breaking point. With the recent release of her first music video for the single, “Video Games,” and second chance to sell-out an NYC venue in minutes coming this Friday, we think the city is about to realize that Lana Del Ray is the real deal.
Check out the video that emanates an old-Hollywood charm that calls to mind some of our favorite classic songstresses, and is a welcomed departure from other hyper-produced pop acts. Still, with no official music released and this much buzz, we hope she starts picking up the pace and can keep the momentum alive.
Sick and tired of coming up with new unique gift ideas for your friends and colleagues (There’s only so many times a D.L. & Co. Skull Candle can hold its charm.)? Among the wide array of niche-topic books that make perfect gifts, publisher Assouline has the perfect solution if you want to add a level of academia to your luxury gifting: their leather-bound, silver foil and vellum version of Proust’s Questionnaire is a classy twist on the lost tradition of a guest book.
Marcel Proust’s famed questionnaire began as a family pastime for Proust himself, and has since been utilized by everyone from Inside the Actors Studio, to Vanity Fair. The questions are meant to provide a revealing psycho-analysis that reveals the aspirations and true personality of its subjects. So, the next time you wake up in a Gramercy Suite next to some stranger whose first name you can’t even remember, try this little game of Q&A out for size. We’re sure you’ll learn more than you bargained for.
There is nothing worse than finding out one of your favorite bands is in town, but that the show is already sold out. Sometimes a few phones calls can get you on the guest list, other times, it’s better to just book the band to play a private show for a few close friends.
With The Asteroids Galaxy Tour playing a sold-out show at Bowery Ballroom tonight, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to host our latest Rose Bar Session a day earlier. Last night, the band set-up at Rose Bar and blew away the crowd with their impossibly catchy Danish dance pop. Singer Mette Lindberg rocked through the set with an infectious energy that signaled big things to come for this young band.
We’re looking forward to finding out when the band comes back to town for their next show, but then again…maybe it’s not too late to get into tonight’s gig after all.
Kanye West had the fashion world’s attention last night, and it wasn’t due to an incoherent Twitter rant. The debut of West’s womenswear collection has became the talk of the town over at Paris Fashion Week. With plenty on intrigue leading up to the show, the guest list was a mix of High Fashion (Carine Roitfeld, Azzedine Alaïa, Terry Richardson), Hollywood (Jared Leto, Ciara, the Olsen Twins)… and Lindsay Lohan (we’re not sure what she does anymore).
Some of the kinder commentary of the night suggested that the show was impeccably staged, well cast, and – if nothing else – entertaining. Critics also took note that Kanye actually designed the line himself, rather than just throwing his name behind the creative work of a more established designer. Still, for someone that has spent his fair share of time in the front row, one would have a expected a little bit more in the way of actual clothing. Then again, as his lyrics would suggest, maybe Yeezy just focuses more on the women and the labels of fashion, and less on the actual deign.
All in all, we can be sure of one thing, Kanye still know how to bring the crowd… even if most of them were spewing hater tweets from the minute the lights when up.
Herb and Dorothy Vogel certainly the most bad ass postal worker and librarian you will ever meet. With a world-class contemporary art collection that they’ve been hosting out of their modest New York apartment since the 1960′s, and a 2008 documentary that featured the amazing feats of these D-I-Y curators, the Vogels have become one of the most fascinating stories in the modern art community. Sixteen years after they transferred their collection to the National Gallery, the 4,000 works were more than this behemoth establishment could handle.
Herb & Dorothy are at it again. The solution to the National Gallery’s overcrowding was a gift project that would distribute 50 pieces to museums in each of the 50 states of our great nation – a total of 2,500 works. Thus, Vogel 50X50 was born. Director and Producer, Megumi Sasaki documented their endeavors once again, and is hoping to complete the project for the country to see. If Herb & Dorothy make you feel inspired, maybe you should take a closer look at your friends’ work. It’s not too late to start a legendary collection of your own.
Provoking flashbacks of the LCD Soundsystem fiasco earlier this year, the anncouncement that Radiohead would be playing two shows at the relatively tiny Roseland Ballroom threw the city into a tizzy this week. After various reports of scalpers asking for $550, “priceless heirlooms,” and “foreign treasures,” among other things, Radiohead delivered on their first of two shows last night. The two-hour set offered the best of the band’s new and old material, and a venue in which fans could geek out Beatlemania style in the presence of their alterna-rock idols. According to The New York Times, Yorke would have liked a more elaborate show in which, “the piano would rise out of a trap door. There would be no dead air,” and “somehow a giant inflatable pig would be involved.”
Personally, we would opt for the stripped-down format any day… Then again, we could always just install an inflatable pig at Rose Bar.
