KAREN ELSON Keri RUSSELL MorningWood DEC 2003

dec 2003 5 years ago in nyc nightlife

dec 4 2003 : beavher at don hill's. frankie's famous 80s night. arrived about midnight. i spoke to richie birkenhead anout his 19 years of vegetarianism. iris came we discussed hemingway & salinger. Keri russell from felicity came again, she is ultra cool just hanging out like a normal person. Celebs who have huge entourages & bodyguards are so gauche. I remember one night at the Tunnel when Prince was walking down the big staircase and he was flanked by like 5 bodyguards and at least 5 more 'hangers on.' He really does dress like 'that' even when partying. well if anyone can pull off a lilac ruffled bullfighters uniform its Prinn. Back to BeavHer Keri is cool she just hangs out like everyone else and so theres no weird 'star-gazing' celeb hubbub even tho shes really famous. she always wears this cream wool sweater and brown corduroys, demure & cozy. Frankie played some major tracks: Earth Wind & Fire "September" (best dance); Anita Ward's Ring My Bell (2nd best), Kids in America; Hotel Yorba; Wanna Be Starting Smthng; Lucky Star; def Lep; GnR; Vito & Cori came he encouraged me to join Friendster [lool] so Im recommending MySpace to him. I guess myspace is more valid in 2009 yaah? Really fun & great vibe the only party i know worth hitting every week. ***3/4.
* the same night the Inflatable Men were at Piano's. Another NY band from 5 years ago that disappeared.

dec 5 2003 steve lawler was at arc. one of my favourite djs circa 2004-06, lawler's ny bookings have been sadly few in 07/08.

dec 6 2003 junior vasquez was at sound factory. now called pacha.

dec 8 2003 i got my first cel phone at verizon, 3rd ave/ 73rd st. and now text since 2007 ....

dec 9 2003 i moved from 196 e 75th st to 86th betw 1st & york.

dec 10 2003 optigrab was at plaid, formerly spa & cat club.

dec 11 2003 the rapture were at bowery ballrm.

dec 12 2003 larry tees electroclash night at crobar with fannypack. crobar became studio mezmor + now the useless mansion. dave ralph was at avalon, former limelight.

dec 13 2003 my birthday party with morningwood + justine d at don hills tiswas. started out with spartan greek salad at gracie mansion on 86th st.
gracie's spartan greek salad incl artichokes, spinach, carrots, cucumbers, olives, oregano, and a tangy vinaigrette; gimme breadsticks with sesame seeds for some ever-living crunchies!
Tiswas in soho, Nick marc & Justine's XMas party [pt. I.!!] JJ & Chris from DC spending a few days in nyc & englewood (201) were kind enuf to celebrate my (circa) birthday with me at Tis, NY's longest running and surely best mod-indie-britpop-chemicalbeats-groovealicious saturday night anglo party. upon my arrival tuesday suits were playing, pretty good support act with jazz/surf inflected chording and stentorian, choppy timbres. jj gave me tootsie pop stickers (!!!) birthday cake labels (total= 28 candles) and a quick's root beer lolly. showed justine pic of anouck lepere with her new big augmented boobs. I recommended myspace to becca. donna is still my friend on "spencer I". becca likes gotham girls roller derby. lots of rockstar. morningwood played. as yet they were unsigned. now you all know them. chantalle claret has gone from mod party list girl to charismatic raunchy singer-star-mama. these guys can play with a teetering on collapse but just in the nick of time punk veering crashing banging buzzsaw abandon that is feedback filled yet also diverse and , improbably, scripted. in absence of YYY MW seems to have grabbed that anarcho-Blondie niche. I was surprised & impressed by morningwood at first exposure. danced to move your feet jnr snr. kinks til the end of the day. justine said she's prob going to winter music conference in miami march 6-10, what does justine D, NY's best dressed and best tressed scenester model dj hostess wear on the beach? keith came w/headquarters. hadnt seen nick P in months. carlos d from interpol came late, complaining to some girl (non-empathetically) that english lead singers get all the attention. lena looking good dancing round her handbag with 2 or 3 disco dollies. also saw 2 girls making out/ dirty dancing & recorded it with my fuji camera [for journalistic/anthropologic purposes only, course. ] stayed til 3-330, great to see jj & chris, nightlife experts both, they made Tiswas birthday & XMas party [pt I] a memorable and extra warm n spicy caffeine laced event. 17 more party days left in 2003! informal myspace meet up & whiskey shandies au go go. what is the color of rock star splattered cross oxidized copper panels? wash yer hands. who put vodka in my rockstar & what's her e mail again?? ***-1/2

dec 13 2003 SUEDE my favourite band of the 90s played their last gig at London Astoria

dec 16 2003 stellastarr* were at webster hall. SS* are almost as much of a joke as fannypack at this point in 2009.

dec 18 orange park & aerial love feed [rockethouse] were at mercury lounge. 2 of nycs best bands of the century, now sadly retired :(

dec 19 2003 the everyothers were at bowery ballroom. see OP & ALF above :(

dec 21 2003. started out at sin e on stanton & attorney sts. this is the kind of 212 rock venue that manhattan truly misses in 2009 [sin e closed about 4 yrs ago]. I gave bartender dee marukawa japanese bubblegum + she gave me 2 free red stripes. karen elson sang, accompanied by james iha. not only is karen 1) one of the greatest models ever 2) one of the most beautiful red heads in human history, 3) shes also an extraordinary singer!!!! think of mazzy star's hope sandoval. so slow. soft. coo-ing. incredible singer + great repertoire of alternative rock classics!! karen played acoustic gtr. she blew mouth harp. and hit xylophone !!
setlist: talking heads' heaven. joy division heart & soul. echo killing moon. gorgeous red hair. cute stage patter self effacing. milky skin.
between sets I saw craig mcdean elise crombez, ivanka trump + eric trump. I met karen + her bf aurelio.
secret machines played. their 1st LP hadnt yet been released. they were awesome & everyone knew it. iincredible atmosphere. long long drones and churning dance rock gtr. awesome drummer as propulsive as p-funk! cool singer plays gtr & sits at keys. cool 60s keys liek dandy warhols. hypnotic drones like velvets or echo & exploding into thrashing crescendoes. sin e was packed.
stunning night of music ****+
* next I wandered stanton for a bit. found hot coffee in korean deli with supernatural bagpipe music playing. extremely otherworldly moment. Id just seen karen the worlds most beautiful woman sing hypnotically transcendantly; then secret machines whipped up a total; frenzy of modern psychedlic transportation sturm & drang, then rushing on hot coffee in 30 degree weather with harsh lit korea deli bagpipers...surreal & otherworldly. heaven tonite.

** finally, cabbed it to sound factory. west 46th st [now pacha]. beauitiful old-school huge disco. 4 floors. 'snow' everywhere. good sound very hard hitting. empty at 1 but medium crowd by 3. met maya anthropology at CCNY. talked to some JNR expert whos staying til afternoon. (starts at 11 pm goes til 2 pm or so!!) danced to 'love sensation' remix. the 718 girls loved that. danced to 'flippin' by exacta, 1 of newest JNR smashes, defines rubbery bassline & tripped out vocal/effects. fun crowd....stayed til 530 but party hadntt even 'begun' if u can believe it. so i lasted like 1-530, i guess move is to come at 4 and stay til 8? 9??? tried 180. orange energy drink. good taste but doesnt pack rockstar buzz. **3/4 Im sure it got better at 6-8-10-12 +

dec 27 2003danny howells was at arc.

dec 28 2003 boz boorer was at aouthpaw in BK. my favorite was at tiswas .

dec 31 2003 sander kleinenberg was at arc.

Top Fashion Models in Dec 2003 incl:
julia stegner, louise pedersen, karen elson, jessy stam, elise crombez, heather marks, rianne ten haaken, eugenia volodina, angela lindvall, luca gadjuf, marija vujovic, gisele, caroline winberg missy r & valentina z.


ON THE RADIO:


NYCs Best Radio Shows were JUNIOR VASQUEZ' WORLD & PAUL OAKENFOLD's Global Grooves on WKTU. Here are playlists, 12/20/03-12/27/03:

junior vasquez' playlist wktu 12/20/03:
missy elliot pass the dutch
exacta flippin vernessa reap
kelis milkshake
101 billy rae martin.juniors world on wktu
dido when you are stoned
nelly furtado like a bird dance mix

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junior vasquez' playlist on wktu 12/27/03:
black eyed peas 'lets get it started' house mix.
kelis 'milkshake' dub
50 cent 'in da club' techno mix
todd terry 'bango'
fast eddie 'lets go'
miss kitten 'rippen kitten'
led zep 'babe im gonna leave you' remix
jefferson airplane 'white rabbit' latin rascals mix
nirvana teen spirit rmx
kristine w save my soul
vivien green music
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paul oakenfold global grooves 12 27 03
kate bush wuthering heights 2003 trance mix
brainbug nightm,are 2003 remix
underworld 'rez'



and in the news:
dec 3 2003: david hemmings from "Blow Up" died on a romanian movie set. he was 62.

AND TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO: DEC 1983 :
25 years ago this month, 12/12/83:

spandau ballet played the savoy touring their hit lp "TRUE"

my reggae / cassette playlist incl:
yellowman 'gregory free'
sugar minott 'level vibes' [water pumpee riddim].
gregory isaacs 'love me with feeling'
and king sunny ade's nigerian LP 'late olabinjo [bobby] benson'

and i was reading poetry incl 'after long silence' by WB yeats:

After Long Silence by William Butler Yeats
Speech after long silence; it is right,
All other lovers being estranged or dead,
Unfriendly lamplight hid under its shade,
The curtains drawn upon unfriendly night,
That we descant and yet again descant
Upon the supreme theme of Art and Song:
Bodily decrepitude is wisdom; young
We loved each other and were ignorant.

HERE are my FASHION AWARDS for 2003:
awards 2003
BEST DESIGNER: prada; in US ralph ;

WORST DESIGNER: many incl rocawear, phat farm; tommy h; sean john; versace, many many more

BEST LIPSTICK: black chapstick

BEST LIPGLOSS: rachel perry's cocoanut, raspberry, vanilla, etc

BEST MASCARA: keef

BEST SHAMPOO: herbal essence, BABY!!!!

BEST PERFUME/COLOGNE: hermes/ralph

BEST DRESSED CELEBRITY: the who 1965

WORST TREND/FAD: all fads; Iraq war; GW Bush ; murakamis

BEST STORE: prada- gucci-ralph-armani

BEST ATHLETIC LINE: adidas, vintage lacoste ; some fred perry;

BEST ACCESSORIES LINE: hermes