David Byrne and Creative Time have hooked up to bring the Battery Maritime Building alive this summer (while it's rehabilitation process is ongoing), with an event titled "Playing the Building." When we talked to Byrne in March, he hinted at the project, saying he was working on an "audio installation at the Marine Ferry Terminal – you know, that beautiful empty building at the foot of Manhattan. Creative Time is helping." At the end......

A study revealed that a lack of secure bike parking was the biggest reason why people don’t cycle to work. So the Department of Transportation is cooperating with Cooper-Hewitt, Google and Transportation Alternatives to organize an international design competition for the next generation of city bike racks. More than $50,000 in honoraria to develop prototype bike racks and $15,000 in prizes will be awarded to the top designs. Contestants are asked to submit designs for......

On Tuesday night at St. Ann's Warehouse, David Byrne, longtime advocate of bikes, big suits, lamp dancing and PowerPoint, will be joining a who's who list of New York performers to observe the fifth anniversary of the official start of the Iraq invasion. Called Speak Up!, the sold-out show is raising money for United for Peace and Justice and Iraq Veterans Against the War. If you don't have tickets, you might want to skip......

After widespread outrage that the city Parks Department might end more than three decades of Latin American cuisine dished out during weekend soccer games in Red Hook, it was announced yesterday that the longtime vendors have been granted a six year permit. In the end, they were the only group to apply. Last summer the Department of Health cracked down on the vendors for health violations, and it was feared that the vendors would be......

THEATER: Hemingway’s play The Fifth Column takes its now-familiar name from the Spanish Civil War, when General Emilio Mola, advancing on Madrid with four columns of troops, boasted of a hidden “fifth column” of fascist sympathizers waiting within the city. Hemingway, of course, was there for the action as a newspaper correspondent and dashed off the play while fascists bombarded his hotel. His rarely produced drama tells the “surprisingly funny story of the private......

Artist and David Byrne collaborator Danielle Spencer (not to be confused with the Danielle Spencer who played Dee in What’s Happening!! or the Australian actress/singer Danielle Spencer married to Russell Crowe) has some pretty creative friends. Every November this Danielle Spencer hosts a pre-Thanksgiving dinner party in which guests make a fake turkey out of various eccentric ingredients. Some of them, like the Quiche turkey (pictured) or the sushi turkey look to be even......

This past weekend David Byrne biked to Town Hall for his “How New Yorkers Ride Bikes” event. The night began with the audience viewing his helmet-cam footage of his journey there, and eventually he biked right up on the stage. Streetfilms was there and reported:Of course our MC for the night, Mr. Byrne, who has been using a bike for transportation for 30 years, pedaled to the theater. In fact, the night started with helmet......

Did contemporary art and music come together for the first time in New York? The holy (or unholy -- if you're not a Velvet Underground fan) union can be traced back to, where else, Andy Warhol's Factory scene. So why is the Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967 exhibit being housed all the way in Chicago? The NY Times takes a look at the Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago) show,......

Bebel Gilberto was born in New York City to legendary musicians João Gilberto and Miúcha. Raised in Brazil, she made frequent trips back to her hometown -- even performing at Carnegie Hall before her age was in the double digits. 13 years ago she made the move back here and has continued to create music on her own and with other musicians. Her latest album, Momento, is her first in three years and tomorrow night......

As Grub Street and others reported yesterday, a letter written last Thursday by Senator Chuck Schumer to Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Friedman may have prevented the forcible closure of the Red Hook Ball Field food vendors this past weekend. While this seems to be a small victory for the food purveyors, doubt remains whether the operating season for the newly food safety-certified vendors will end just after Labor Day, or at the end......

MOVIES: It's a perfect night to head to the movies. Get a double-feature in at the MoMA with Fabricating Tom Zé followed by David Cronenberg's Crash. Let's focus on the former film. Tom Zé (pictured) is a Brazilian songwriter and composer and this documentary (filmed during a 2005 European tour) charts his "personal universe". Zé is an "uncompromising and inspired artist...seen by many (including David Byrne and Arto Lindsay) as revitalizing the ever-evolving Tropicalia movement.......

NYMag reports on the hard times hitting McSweeney's after their distributer hit their financial bottom: "McSweeney's book distributor filed for bankruptcy six months ago, and the indie-cooler-than-thou publisher has now realized it's out some $130,000, which it kind of needs." McSweeney's says: As you may know, it's been tough going for many independent publishers, McSweeney's included, since our distributor filed for bankruptcy last December 29. We lost about $130,000—actual earnings that were simply erased. Due......

THEATER: Breedingground Theater Company continues their three week Spring Fever Festival of work by self-producing artists. (We suggest perusing the full lineup on the company’s website, though we caution that it's quite an eyesore.) Nevertheless, one that happily caught our eye is Chess’d, about a ninja and a man in a white tux playing a game of life-sized chess. The game escalates into a no-holds-barred life-or-death struggle, which reviewer Daniel Kelly declares “hilarious from start......

We're smack dab in the middle of Bike Month, and today the Bicycle Film Festival kicks off. Tonight at the (solar powered) opening party, there's a bit of a change in the lineup as Mates of State had to cancel their performance. However Team Robespierre and Parts & Labor will be filling their shoes with help of last minute addition Dan Deacon. After that there's a dance party with Gang Gang Dance, the best part......

SALE: Our recent interviewees at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden are having a plant sale today and tomorrow. With .50 cent plants for kids and "new and exclusive varieties [of plants] from Monrovia Growers" for adults. Tomorrow at 10am there's a "Houseplants for Sun or Shade: guided shopping trip," so that may be a good time to go! Today 9am to 7pm, Thursday 9am to Noon // Kids Free, Adults $8 FILM: "West 32nd" is one......

Swedish rockers Peter Bjorn & John have won over the world with their brand of catchy indie pop. Last time they were in town their album wasn't even released yet and they sold out three shows. This time they've got two consecutive shows at Webster Hall (May 1st and 2nd)...and hopefully you got your tickets, as they are both (suprise, surprise) sold out already. This week Peter took some time to answer some questions for......

This May filmmaker/musician/actress/performing artist/writer Miranda July is going to unleash her book, "No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories", upon the world. She'll have several events lined up in New York, one with her biggest fan - David Byrne. In his online journal, he wrote: "I had recently read her book of collected short stories which is due out in about a month — No one Belongs Here More Than You — which......

David Byrne's foldable Montague mountain bike has been stolen. The avid city biker rode in the 5 Boro Bike Tour last year, commenting: "The organizers close the FDR drive, the BQE, the Belt Parkway and the Verrazano-Narrows bridge on one side — so we get the thrill of riding in the middle of the street, not having to stop at red lights and no worries of the ubiquitous jaywalking peds on suicide missions." This past......

Last night marked the start of David Byrne's "No Boundaries" series at Carnegie Hall. It was the first performance in fifteen years of the complete music from his 1985 music-theater collaboration with Robert Wilson, The Knee Plays. Tonight he continues the four night event called "Welcome to Dreamland". The evening features a handfull of his favorite experimental folk rockers, including: Vashti Bunyan, Cibelle, CocoRosie, and Devendra Banhart. Each with sonic roots in 60s psychedelia, jam......

MOVIE: Robert Wilson, a graduate of Pratt, will be at his alma mater tonight for a screening of his film Absolute Wilson. The documentary chronicles the life of the somewhat mysterious artist. David Byrne and Phillip Glass (pictured) both add insight to the artist in the film. After the screening tonight, Wilson and director Otto-Bernstein take questions from the audience. 5:30pm // Pratt Institute [200 Willoughby Ave, Brooklyn] // Free EVENT: Miss those days of......

Don’t tell the music bloggers, but Gloria Deluxe is one of the best kept secrets in New York’s indie-rock scene – even after opening for David Byrne at Bowery Ballroom. Armed to the teeth with – deep breath – guitar, trumpet, trombone, piano, drums, violin, viola, upright bass, accordion and the saw, the band has forged a cohesive yet eclectic sound that somehow manages to swing, rock and groove without collapsing under its own weight.......

Ah, remember when the Arcade Fire played Mercury Lounge and on the street in Union Square? Now they're back for a five night run which is thankfully not at Webster Hall, but at Judson Memorial Church. Rumors of a church venue have been circulating recently, and we're glad they're true. If you've heard their new song, Intervention, you know a church is very fitting. From ArcadeFire.net: "The band will play 5 shows in New York......

Spend Christmas with Rufus and Martha Wainwright as The Wainwright Family celebrates Christmas a little early at Carnegie Hall (on December 13th). The show is based around "The McGarrigle Christmas Hour", which took place in December 2005 with their mother Kate McGarrigle and aunt Anna McGarrigle. That evening featured traditional and contemporary holiday songs. The same show was touring this year, but due to an illness it has been cancelled, the Carnegie Hall show will......

With Halloween coming next week and the fall chill in the air, this is the perfect weekend to curl up with a good scary movie. The Shining or The Nightmare on Elm Street make for good rentals but if you must see a new release, the third installment in the psycho serial trickster movies, Saw III is out. This time ailing Jigsaw kidnaps a doctor and forces her to tend to him while also trying......

Not that you were asking, but we know you wanted it. The obligatory Best of '05 List. We chose to list off the Best NYC Shows in 2005. We compiled this list after closely surveying and consulting...ourselves. Here are our Top 11 NYC Shows of 2005. That's right, we said ELEVEN. In chronological order...(insert drumroll here): 1/24/05 Colin Meloy @ the Fez [photos here] - of note: Colin told us these shows were also amongst......

Recently nominated for the the UK's Mercury Music Prize, NYC's Antony & The Johnsons released one of the most unique and captivating albums of 2005. "Antony , the ethereal voice of Antony and the Johnsons, sings like a Wim Wenders angel and—when necessary—can swear like a sailor" [Village Voice]. Last time Antony played Bowery Ballroom, he was joined on stage by Rufus Wainwright and Boy George, both of whom also appear on his album.......

Hip-Hop dominates this week with at least three recommended shows. Some of the best acts in indie hip-hop play Irving Plaza tonight (Monday). It’s one of the only stops on the Stone Throw Records Tour featuring Madlib, M.E.D, Peanut Butter Wolf, and J-Rocc. On Tuesday Madlib and M.E.D. will also perform for free at Fat Beats. [Listen to some music Madlib put out on Blue Note.] Last year Madlib joined MF DOOM to release......

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah...

We're all guilty of watching VH1's "outrageous" "specials", featuring people who probably don't know Britney Spears talking for one hour about "Why Britney is SO OUTRAGEOUS", or whatever. Fifteen minutes on why she eats cheetos, FIFTEEN. You know you watch these specials, it's okay, so do we. Gothamist will be checking out Marc Spitz's new play on this whole tv genre entitled The Name Of This Play Is Talking Heads*. Spitz is an expert, as......

At the end of the year, some distribution companies will sneak a movie into one or two theaters in New York and Los Angeles to make them eligible for that year's release schedule before they're released nation-wide in January. Thus, New Yorkers get our very own extended advance screening of little gems like the Weitz brother's newest In Good Company, where we can say "nyah-nyah" to the rest of the country, because we saw it......