Agenda Newsletter - July 26, 2007

826NYC smartly links lit to music
Revenge of the Book Eaters

Untitled Document

Beacon Theatre; August 26, 7 p.m.; $35–$50; Tickets
You’ve got to hand it to the twee and tweedy hipsters at Dave Eggers’s 826NYC: They tutor wee children and throw proper benefits. Last year, their crossbreeding of music and lit (and yeah, inviting of Jon Stewart and David Byrne) was enough to sell out tickets in a day. This year, they’re going with fresher faces: Demetri Martin will emcee, the front men for the New Pornographers and My Morning Jacket will perform solo, and Feist (pictured) will read.

Mindfreak meets Jackass
Mind Control
With Derren Brown There’s a new mindfreak in town. English megastar Derren Brown deploys psychological manipulation, not magic: convincing motivational-seminar attendees to rob a van, paying for a diamond ring with a plain piece of paper, vaporizing people’s memories of what subway stop they want. Once he even put a man playing a zombie video game in a catatonic state, then roused him in an abandoned building where zombie actors attacked him. Brown just sat back and watched the guy scream. Sci-Fi
Premieres tonight
10 p.m.

MC steps off soapbox and back into our hearts
Say Something We’ve found the predictable fist-in-air mentality of Talib Kweli’s albums grating, but on tracks like this one, the Brooklyn vet reminds us just why we spun those Black Star discs until they skipped. Over some hero’s-homecoming horns, Kweli puts aside the social commentary for some good old-fashioned shit-talking: “I’m the type of nigga to put lead in your grill / Number two pencil is sharper to bruise mentals and / Beatin’ in my chest is the heart of a true gentleman.” Talib Kweli feat. Jean Grae
Ear Drum
Listen »

Controversial painting is indeed spectacular
Berlin Street Scene Ronald Lauder made headlines last year when he snagged Gustav Klimt’s gilded portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer for $135 million. In November (for a mere $38 million), he picked up another masterpiece: this 1913–14 painting of garishly attired pedestrians by Kirchner, which inspired a political battle in Germany when it was returned to the heirs of Nazi victims shortly before a state election. Berlin’s loss is our gain: The work has a spectacularly aggressive energy that rivals the busiest afternoon in Times Square. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Neue Galerie
Opens today Through September 17
$10–$15
More info »

Check out Basel in the Hamptons
Scope Hamptons Just closed on a Further Lane estate but have nothing for the walls? Here’s an art fair in your backyard that’s also cosmopolitan: Some exhibitors hail from nearby Bridgehampton and Watermill, others from Seoul and Sao Paulo. The action starts tomorrow night, with a VIP event and a screening of Luis Gispert and Jeffrey Reed’s experimental film Stereomongrel—leaving you the weekend to decide whether your new purchase looks better in the pool house or the game room. (Today’s the preview.) East Hampton Studios
July 26–29
Noon–8 p.m.
$10
More info »

New service tells you where to go
MizPee Your absentminded young one is suddenly crossing his legs, but there’s no public bathroom in sight—what to do? Punch up this new Manhattan-centric mobile app for a list of nearby spots rated for cleanliness on a one- to five-roll scale. It’ll even tell you if they’re diaper-friendly. MizPee’s still in beta, with some useful features, like an SMS option, to be rolled out next month. In the meantime, point your Web-enabled phone’s browser to mizpee.com. mizpee
.com »

July 26, 2007

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