cmj in nyc

the 2009 cmj music marathon and film festival starts today in new york city. cmj spans five days and showcases hundreds of new acts playing small shows at a variety of venues in the city. highlights include atlas sound, who we posted about earlier today, playing two shows (tonight and tomorrow night), and the very best, playing tomorrow night. for a full list of bands, venues and showtimes click here.

also if you haven’t heard of the very best, check out their song warm heart of africa featuring ezra koenig of vampire weekend…i dig it.
you can listen to it on their myspace page here.
if you’re going to any cmj shows tell us how they are and send pics!

film fix

if you’re a fan of jack kerouac, a new documentary came out today called one fast move or i’m gone, which focuses on the phase of kerouac’s life chronicled in the novel big sur. one of my favorite jack kerouac books, it is set mostly in a cabin owned by lawrence ferlinghetti in the scenic section of the northern california coast called big sur. kerouac stayed in the cabin for several weeks as he struggled with alcoholism and depression after publishing his famous novel on the road. the documentary tells the stories behind big sur through voice-overs paired with high-def imagery and interviews with people who knew kerouac or were influenced by his work, including ferlinghetti, tom waits and patti smith.

bixby bridge at big sur, which kerouac wrote about in the novel. i was lucky enough to go there and it’s incredible.
click here for a list of theaters where the film is playing.

tunesday

time for this week’s new music review…

atlas sound – logos
atlas sound is the solo project of bradford cox, the lead singer of deerhunter (whose album microcastle was one of my favorites of 2008). with atlas sound, he is able to be more experimental than he is with the full band, blending ambience, airy electronics and soft, warm lyrics. you can hear the influence of 60s pop and doo-wop in the undertones of songs like “walkabout”, “my halo” and “shelia”, which when compared to the dreary melancholy of most of cox’s music, sound just like a crisp sunny day. “walkabout” is a collaboration with noah lennox (a.k.a. panda bear/member of animal collective), who also rocks. check out this cute video set to the song.

atlas sound is touring now, so check out the tour dates on myspace to see if he’s coming to a town near you.
the above image is from the deerhunter/atlas sound blog.

what are you dressing up as for halloween?

time to get creative…send us your costume ideas and photos!

i have a feeling the max costume will be big this year…
(the photo is of a max costume by christian joy, on display and for sale at space 15 twenty).
you can send your ideas and images to me, jkeim@freepeople.com, or upload your photos to our new flickr page!

free people on flickr/ fp photo hunt

we love hearing from our fans and readers, and we’d like to give you all a chance to share your passion and creativity with us. we’ve created a free people flickr page where we will post pictures from around the office as well as images that inspire us, and we want you to share your images with us as well! check out the new page here.
furthermore, in a new feature on the blog called fp photo hunt, we will introduce a new theme or subject and invite you to send us a photo displaying that theme/subject in a fun and creative way. our favorites will be selected at the end of the week and posted on the blog the following monday.
this week…what is the strangest object in your home?

this is by far the weirdest thing in my apartment.

pumpkin pancakes

a friend told me about these pumpkin pancakes and they sound like an awesome breakfast for a fall morning!
prep time – 20 min
cook time – 20 min
recipe makes approx. 12 pancakes
ingredients:
– 2 cups all-purpose flour
– 3 tablespoons brown sugar
– 2 teaspoons baking powder
– 1 teaspoon baking soda
– 1 teaspoon ground allspice
– 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
– 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 1 1/2 cups milk
– 1 cup pumpkin puree
– 1 egg
– 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
– 2 tablespoons vinegar
directions:
– In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt, stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
– heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. brown on both sides and serve hot.
enjoy!