The video is directed by a longtime YACHT fan, Mitchell Davis. Claire Evans of YACHT explains, “Mitchell is a longtime supporter of YACHT; we first became aware of him when he started using our music in his YouTube video-blogs (vlogs, in the parlance of the medium). We were fascinated by what he was doing, sought him out, and eventually became friends, despite our geographical separation. Mitchell made a handful of vlogs about his experiences at YACHTconcerts over the years before we invited him out to Portland, Oregon, to direct the music video for, “I Walked Alone,” a song about cyclical interconnectedness. It was really important to us to have a fan involved in the visual direction of the band; as children of the Internet age, we know that connection, self-empowered media-making, and a collective spirit are the most positive tools we have.”

Wow the internet is so cool/weird.

Lana del Rey

This week’s Most Blogged About Shows begins with an observation: The most anticipated show over the next seven days is buzz girl du jour, Lana Del Ray, at the Bowery Ballroom on Monday. Right now, there are only 83 tickets available on StubHub, although the venue has a capacity of 550. Factoring in the guest list, Craigslist and all of the other secondary markets, we wonder how many “real” people actually purchased tickets to this event.

Okay, now back to the regularly scheduled programming. Thanksgiving is over and we’re done purging all of the turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes from last week. That means it’s time to go to some shows!

Starting with tonight: You might want to check out The Roots performing their new album “undun” at the Highline Ballroom. Tomorrow you can see the Dum Dum Girls, Dive and Xray Eyeballs at Brooklyn Bowl for only $10. The weekend brings a ton of options, including Gauntlet Hair, The Big Sleep (My Social List favorites!) and Dive performing at the Mercury Lounge on Friday and Black Star (Mos Def & Talib Kweli) playing twice on Saturday. Finally, if you haven’t heard about it yet, The Black Keys are playing a “secret show” on Monday to coincide with the release of their new album. We’ll update more about the show when we find out the exact details.

On to the top 10 shows for the next 7 days…

10. Goth Prom 1986 @ Diana Event Oval @ Barnard College w/ Balam Acab, Purling Hiss, Leather, RL Grime
Saturday, December 3rd at 7:00pm – all ages, FREE!

9. Black Star @ Best Buy Theater
Saturday, December 3rd at 8:00pm – all ages, $39.5 -> tickets

8. The Black Keys @ Secret Manhattan Venue
Monday, December 5th at 8:00pm – all ages, TBD (more…)

Caged Animals – Piles Of $$$ from Lucky Number Music on Vimeo.

BK’s Caged Animals have returned from a pretty lengthy European tour with a new video to boot. There are many things that make this video great, but the best part for me is probably the enflamed guitar solo. When one adds fire to a guitar solo…I’m pretty sure this is a done deal for greatness. Caged Animals have a few NY dates coming up:

11/30 – PIANO’S – NEW YORK, NY – w/ 2:54
12/1 – BIG SNOW – BROOKLYN, NY w/ EULA, Quilty
12/11 – SHEA STADIUM – BROOKLYN, NY w/ Soft Spot, Phonetag

Today our favorite soccer team, FC St.Pauli, takes on Dynamo Dresden at the Millerntor in Hamburg, Germany. The match will be shown on the big screen at the East River Bar in Williamsburg at 7pm. Come on out and join the East River Pirates‘ chants.  Or just have a few affordable quality drinks and enjoy the general mayhem that ensues when silly things get yelled at a screen. What this is going to look like is probably best illustrated by the photos below. All of them taken by Christian Gyllensvärd at last week’s match viewing and charity auction, during which more than $7.000 were raised for clean drinking water in developing countries. To those of you who still wish to contribute to the good cause: There will be a batch of very special pins (see header) available at the bar, generously manufactured and donated by Joly MacFie of punkcast. These won’t last long and all proceeds go to Viva con Agua.

Sunday 27 | 7PM | East River Bar | Brooklyn | 97 South 6th St | FREE

(more…)

Normally it doesn’t feel right to endorse shopping “holidays” started by large corporations, but Small Business Saturday seems to hold more merit than the soulless shit-storm known as Black Friday. This nationwide initiative created by American Express is focused on a formidable goal to get Americans to avoid their Walmart dependencies for a day and shop at local mom and pop shops instead, thus empowering local business and fueling the economy as a whole.

The irony of promoting this event in NYC is that many people already believe in the “shop local” mindset all year round, but although we may pride ourselves on filling our kitchens with farmers market produce and beans from local coffee shops, many of us are still guilty of shopping at large chains for convenience and/or lower prices. Perhaps the greatest advantage of Small Business Saturday is to help us remember to consciously support independent business for at least one day and to see all of the benefits it can bring to the dozens of micro-communities that make up the great city of New York.

Here’s a list of places in the ‘Burg where you can score some good deals this Saturday for a good cause, or at least a cause that is better than waking up at 4am to get 15% off a new flatscreen TV:

1. The Future Perfect- 10 percent off all full-price, in-stock items excluding custom orders. 115 N. 6^th St. (718) 599-6278 thefutureperfect.com
2. Life:Curated- 15 percent off any purchase. 186 Grand St. (247) 689-9143 life-curated.com
3. Mable’s Smoke House- Two free draft beers with a purchase of a deluxe platter. 44 Berry St. (718) 218-6655 mablessmokehouse.com
4. Mini Mini Market- 15 percent off all non-sale merchandise. 218 Bedford Ave. (718) 218-7849 miniminimarket.com
5. Moon River Chattel- 10 percent off purchases of $50 or more. 62 Grand St. (718) 388-1121 moonriverchattel.com
6. Sound Fix- 10 percent off all purchases. 44 Berry St. (718) 388-8090 soundfixrecords.com
7. The West Beer, Wine, and Coffee Bar- All menu items are two for one. 379 Union Ave. (718) 599-1704 thewestbrooklyn.com

For a more complete list of participating business around NYC, download Paper Mag’s uber-helpful guide here: http://www.facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday?sk=app_248105571911306

Its only 9AM and the deal starved masses are home by now with their bounty, bruises, and a little less dignity than the day before. Happy Black Friday y’all, grab your pepper spray.

Someone close to me once said, “Don’t end sentences with prepositions and be thankful for your friends.” Make this Thanksgiving cocktail for a friend and think about all you can be thankful for.

Burnt Turkey
1 oz Wild Turkey Bourbon
1 oz cinnamon schnapps
3-4 fresh mint leaves

Fill a chilled glass with crushed ice and 3-4 fresh mint leaves. Combine the bourbon and cinnamon schnapps in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake, then strain over ice into a rocks glass, mason jar, or coffee cup . Listen to Big Star on the fire escape with your friends.