manic mess

madness and mayhem, h&m-style

so, something you should know about me is that i'm not a very big shopper. especially when it comes to sample sales and crazy annual ones. i hate crowds.

however, a friend of mine is in town from LA and she convinced me to go to H&M for the unveiling of the much-hyped stella mccartney line. holy christ! when we got to the 51st street store (apparently the only one in manhattan with the entire collection) at 9:45, there was a line down the block that wrapped around the corner and continued on for an ENTIRE AVENUE BLOCK. i've never seen so many trendy girls tapping their toes in my life. i tried to capture the madness but my camera battery died too quickly. this is one half of the line. there were at least a hundred girls behind me, and fifty more on the other side of the building.

luckily, the line moved super-fast once they opened the door. inside was a mob scene of mythical proportions. you know how it is when you're right at the very front during a sold-out stadium show and you feel like you could be trampled any second? like that. girls were racing around grabbing as many clothes as they could hold, women were guarding their piles with the ferocity of guard dogs, and entire racks were emptied in seconds. you'd think there were hundred-dollar bills hidden in the clothes. seriously.

anyway, if you're still interested in going after hearing all that, here's the skinny: tons of awesome clothes, especially the coats and dresses, which were the most coveted items, and they're restocking the 51st street store throughout the day, but only for today. happy shopping.

[update: apparently about an hour ago they brought a rack of stella's sought-after black coats, and shoppers bumrushed the poor employees, who were forced to subdue the situation by threatening to call the police! good lord, people. it's only the most perfectly cut, totally fabulous article of clothing that you'll ever be able to afford on your paltry assistant's salary. geez.]

art brut afterpartIEs.

oh, and don't forget...tonight is another rocking ad lib party at sway (check out the list of fresh upcoming DJs!). here's the deets.

"WE WILL GET YOU DRUNK
Every Wednesday @ The Ad Lib w/ The Vet (AD LIB NY) and special guest djs each week
Tonight Wed Nov 9th
THE LOVELY LADIES OF ADDVICE
GINA GOLD & ELHAAM (12AM)
FREE AGUILA BEER FROM 10 to 11
plus give aways from Modular Records(CUT COPY/WOLFMOTHER)
$2 shots o' jack all night
10PM FREE
Sway - 305 Spring St. (btw Greenwich + Hudson St.)
for monthly update on all Ad Lib Happenings & Shows email nat@theadlib.com
Upcoming guests for Nov & Dec include The Notorious SHOUT DJs, We AreScientists, The Fever, Japanther, Cheeseburger, Panthers, The Bangers, The Soulpusher kids, Matt & Kim, Diamond Nights, TV On The Radio and a bunch of other jerks.
the ad lib
NEW YORK.LONDON.SYDNEY"

oh man it's almost the holidays.

tickets are on sale now for yo la tengo's annual hanukkah rockathon at maxwell's in hoboken, nj. no supporting acts have been announced yet, but (as productshop points out), recent years have featured the likes of the wrens, built to spill, conor oberst, and many others. the shows will probably sell out fast.

happy wednesday! i'm going to see a loft screening of the new sarah silverman movie tonight. so stoked.

it's been a good week. on sunday, i went to an amazing event at my alma mater and got to meet/see all sorts of famous writers. and later that night i went to see spoon at warsaw. great show, as always, but i've reversed my formerly positive opinion of the spot. the sound was waaaaay too loud- as in, i couldn't bring myself to move any closer than the very back of the room, and it was a total pain in the ass to get to the venue. i thought about taking pictures, but as britt was wearing the same white-shirt nice-pants combo he always does, it would have looked like i've every other show i've seen. nonetheless, i still contend that they're one of the most underrated bands around. are you as obsessed with spoon as i am?

i'm sorry, so sorry.

so, it turns out that living on the top floor of a lower east side apartment building has its drawbacks. namely, the possibility of there being people smoking and partying outside your bedroom window at all hours of the night. now, before you get all 'suck it up you brat' on me, i think i should explain that i'm not exaggerating when i say that the roof is RIGHT outside my window. like, i can step out on to it. i could make out with someone on the roof without even straining my neck. if i didn't have curtains, we would basically be in the same room. not to mention that the roof is HUGE, and there's about 50 feet of space to hang out on that wouldn't involve strangers hanging out in my underwear drawer (or anyone else's for that matter).

normally if people are being obnoxious i just crank up the law & order or maybe open my curtains to let people know how close i am, but last night i totally snapped. i used the f word. i screamed. i threatened. and all at someone who then very kindly introduced himself as my neighbor nathan and asked if i wouldn't mind addressing him a little more politely.

sigh. in my defense, he was like the third person to come up to talk and hang out right outside my bedroom window that night. in his defense, i'm a raving lunatic. so, sorry, i guess, if you happen to be one of my neighbors. i'm looking into anger management classes.

anyway, onward. last week i was half-watching a preview for this week's episode of smallville, and i heard strains of (what? could it be? it IS!) diamond nights' the girl's attractive! that makes their second network appearance after their debut on alias a few months ago. how utterly fantastic. i hope they become big, big rock stars because i love their music. plus i always get a big kick out of the fact that their music is only used on tv when a character is doing something really, really naughty. totally awesome.

now let's see. what's going on this week? a friend's cousin is having an opening at the xanadu gallery, and a friend of a friend is going to be performing there. here's the info, in case you're into such things.
"Omar Khouri is having a NY gallery opening on Thursday November 10th @ Xanadu
217 Thompson Street
New York, NY 10012
tel: 646.319.8597
Time: 7:30 pm
Christian Sbailo will be opening the gallery for him.
Playing an acoustic set.
Cheese and Wine will be served."

and here's some other junk that's on the horizon.

"Saturday Nov 12 at Movida
BPM Magazine New Issue Party w / Stretch Armstrong & Steve Aoki Kid Millionaire.
At our Robot Rock Party this Saturday , BPM Magazine are celebrating their new issue by throwing a Launch Party with us; with guest DJs Stretch Armstrong and Kid Millionaire (a.k.a. Steve Aoki).
Robot Rock resident DJ Alex English will also be spinning in the main room.
Downstairs, Daai Lo will be playing soul, funk, hip-hop and stuff like that.
Stoli Vodka Open Bar from 10pm to 11pm
Late Night Drinks Specials 2am to 3am (2-for-1 Vodka Drinks & $3 GBH shots)
Hosted by Tom & Alejandro, Dagny, Nico XO and May
Doors open at 10pm
Complimentary Admission on the Cheeky guestlist.
Email cheeky@gbh.tv with your name and number of guests.
Movida 28 Seventh Avenue South at Leroy (the closest subway is the 1 at Houston St.)"

"Thursday, November 10, Kodak One Gallery (102 Wooster St.):
Join us on this eclectic night when we listen to three new albums before they are out in the US. Jazzanova's 'Remixes 2002 – 2005' compiles the best remixes that the collective has done for others since, well, 2002. Lewis Taylor delivers yet another fine slice of British soul on his long awaited album 'Stoned' and Lady Sovereign emerges from the underground with a chock full o' grimy beats album. RSVP info below.
The Kodak One Gallery is a space displaying various new Kodak products by providing visitors with an in-person sense of the brand as well as showcase photos by up-and-coming photographers.
ticket information
This is a FREE event, however you need to RSVP to get in. Send an email to rsvp@giantstep.net to be added to the list.
Doors Open At: 07:00 PM
Show Starts At: 07:00 PM"

"Saturday, November 12th, 2005
FIXED
Special Guest Live Performance by:
ART BRUT (UK) @ midnight! http://www.artbrut.org.uk
Plus resident DJs JDH & Dave P all night!
at Studios (sublevel) at Tribeca Grand Hotel
2 Ave of the Americas NYC
10pm-4am
FREE! w/ rsvp only to: weare138nyc@yahoo.com"