LONDON - THURSTON MOORE AND INDOOR EAGLE

A couple of days after Eddie fucking Vedder got on stage at the Old Blue Last (sorry about that), who turns up for a secret gig but Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and his new band Indoor Eagle. It was like Whitehouse with guitars and probably the best thing we've had there next to the Fucked Up show a couple of days earlier.

Indoor Eagle LIVE: Pictures / Video

NEW YORK - BETTER RED THAN DEAD

Remember a couple weeks ago when we said that adidas was making a sneaker and a jacket for VICE? We just found out they're coming out on May 20th. The sneaker is white denim with pink trim the same color as our headlines in the magazine, and the jacket is white with pink and black trim too. They're part of this big adidas thing called 'adicolor' that has like 85 parts, including a bunch of films about colors. Roman Coppola made the one about red, and it's the best one so far. It's like a combination of South Park and that End of the World website from a couple years ago. Watch. It's the one with the Japanese Crazies (above). The other videos are also about colors - except for the big one, which is about the VICE stuff.

SCANDINAVIA - HOORAY FOR HATE

Hate crimes aren’t a big priority in Scandinavia. When we called up Iceland to talk about it for our Hate Issue, they had no idea what the heck we were on about. So it's no surprise that Swedish non-conformist pastor Åke Green was freed from charges of hate speech in the recent trial against him (Åke has been telling people that homos rape animals, and that they are a general cancer on society in his public sermons).

One happy side-effect of the freeing of Åke Green is that it's taken the wind out of the sails of the God Hates Sweden campaigners, who were desperate for a martyr. Our favourite God Hates Sweden quotes include “THANK GOD FOR ALL DEAD SWEDES!!!” (about the tsunami), "The King looks like an anal-copulator, & his grinning kids look slutty & gay!" and "Sweden is a land of sodomy, bestiality, and incest."

WAY WORSE IN REALITY

A lot of stuff is way better in imaginary land. First off, there are characters who are better than the actual guy. Like King of Queens' Doug Heffernan. The actor that plays him is a condescending golf nerd with a stupid Kangol hat tugged tightly over his head. Watch Making the Cut and try not to hate him. Leah Remini, the girl who plays Carrie Heffernan is also a bummer. We had a friend work with her on a shoot recently and she was insisting on way out of everyone’s league shit like Balenciaga. They tried to explain that super high-end clothes like that are impossible to get but she never looked up from her nails. Carrie and Doug: great people. Leah and Kevin? Dicks.

Rap is a bummer too...

NEW YORK - OUR FAVORITE RUSSKIES

Remember those old copies of Time from the 50s and 60s that were the only thing to read at your Grandma's apartment? You know the ones with the awesome covers that looked like Tex Avery doing official state portraiture (back when folks actually spent time illustrating stories instead of just slapping text over a digital photo)? Most of those were done by one guy, Russian emigre Boris Artzybasheff, who also did a ton of equally cool and trippy stuff for books and science magazines and advertisements (back when folks actually spent time illustrating products and ideas instead of just slapping a shades on a skateboarding zebra). Like a lot of the amazing illustrators from the time, Boris was largely written off by the serious art world as "just a cartoonist" but has finally been getting his due in recent years. Ken Steacy just put out a reprinting of his 1954 collection As I See.

Check out this gallery for a smattering of his works--it's like what Dali might have done if he kept up with technology and world affairs instead of just jerking off all the time.

THE STREETS - THE HARDEST WEEK

We made video commentary loaded with confessions, anecdotes and inside jokes from Mike Skinner while listening to his new record, The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living (out today). It's in 11 downloadable, iPod ready video tracks that our friends at Music for Robots and Lemon Red are unveiling daily. They also have contests for passes to see the Streets (and everyone else) at Intonation Music Fest (curated by Vice Records.) Check it out, cross your fingers and enter to win!
Brooklyn Listening Party Info:

BAD DRUNK - DEAR VICE

Dear Vice,
This dude escaped from the local biker bar cause he choked the bartender. Then he came over to our house directly across the street and claimed be a better drinker than me, this chick and God himself. So after numerous countdowns to half slugged beers we slipped him the mickey (half a PBR filled with back wash, swill spit and liquers). This is the aftermath. Roofers rule,
Brendan
PS: Oh yeah, he tried to choke the girl in the pic too.

LONDON - KIDZ WIV NEW SLANG

Overheard by the Natwest on Kingland Road today:
Here’s the scene, two teenage mums (15ish) with babies in their prams. One says to the other: “I’m going to slice your baby up with a fucking knife!” Then then both high five and collapse laughing.
Am I missing something? Has “slice you your baby up with a fucking knife” become a euphemism for “my, how hasn’t she grown?” these days? Comments please.

LONDON - BASHMENT

Baby Cham played the Old Blue Last and had the place going mental. Jammer, Kano and a load of grime MCs also showed up, although they were so busy flashing their lighters to bashment tracks and getting Cham’s autograph, they almost missed their set. DJs Vinyl Star and Prancehall supported.

Photos: Crack-Rock Steady
(Pictures by Queenie)

Listen: Baby Cham - "Ghetto Story"

NEW YORK – FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS

Maybe it’s us fucking up but every time we go to the Golden Gloves we get these shitty seats and we’re basically just watching two tiny ants hit each other. This year we’re going to give Friday Night Fights a try. It’s run by the guys at Church St. Boxing gym and front row seats are really easy to get. Seeing a fight close up is a whole other story. The colors are so bright it’s like something out of Microcosmos.