Loving this new travel series called Far Out on VICE. It’s a show about people who live way outside the traditional lines of civilization. I especially like this episode about an 81 year old badass named Faustino who lives alone in the mountains of Patagonia.

Vivian Host aka Star Eyes from Trouble and Bass and queen of all things Brooklyn bass-related, created this well-rounded video of fun stuff to do in San Francisco.  Star Eyes grew up on the West Coast and called San Francisco home for several years while working as the Editor-In-Chief of XLR8R Magazine and spinning at clubs and raves all around Cali.  In this video, Star Eyes takes us to eat at Rhea’s Deli and St Francis Fountain, shopping at Painted Bird and Paxton Gate, and boozing at Pop’s and Uptown.  Read more over on the Mishka blog.

http://www.stareyesforever.com
http://www.troubleandbass.com/

2012 WINTER SPECIAL $250/night

Dune Road – Westhampton, NY

Located in the village of Quogue on Dune Road in Westhampton, NY, this three bedroom, two bath renovated beach cottage is only steps away from a private stretch of beach along the Atlantic Ocean.  The house also has a large, outdoor patio with a lounge chairs and a gourmet gas grill. Inside there is a large living and dining area for hanging out with friends and family and a chef’s kitchen with all new appliances.

DETAILS:
Three bedroom
Two bathrooms
Gourmet Kitchen 
Private Patio
Outdoor Shower
Private Beach Access
Two hour drive from NYC or take the LIRR to Westhampton

RATES:
Winter 2012: $250/night; $1600/week; $3500/month
Summer 2012: Vary
Available nightly, weekly, or monthly

CONTACT:
Jen Amadio  jamadio@mironproperties.com

thishotelsucks.tumblr.com

Our buddy Jonathan Krenik is AKA JK, sound man extraordinaire to The Rapture and The Presets and an electronic artist in his own right. Jonathan just launched a new Tumblr about all the great, and not so great hotels, he’s visited around the world. It’s only in the beginning stages, but we can’t wait to see it all come together!

Throne of Blood is The Rapture‘s record label and over the last two weeks we’ve posted Part I and Part II of the Throne of Blood European tour diary written by Andrew Potter (right) of Populette.  This week, we wrap up the tour as we follow Populette and label boss, James Friedman back to London for the final gig of the tour.

Words by Andrew Potter of Populette

LONDON: THE END

Once in London, we split up for a little and I took a cab to my friend’s flat in Islington. I lucked out and had the most wonderful cabby on the way there. We chatted it up the whole way. He was a typical bloke and a retired clubber who spoke fondly of Acid House and the old Ibisa. Now he is settled down with a wife and kids—not a bad look at all.  I wouldn’t recommend getting around in cabs though; it’s insanely expensive.

After catching up with my friend,  we went to eat at an old gastropub in London.  Everyone there seemed to know each other and the food and vibe were quite good. I missed out on a Turkish feast with the rest of the Throne of Blood crew at Mangal, which comes HIGHLY recommended.

Photo c/o The Shacklewell Arms

From dinner, we took another wallet-busting cab to the venue, The Shacklewell Arms for the closing gig of the tour. It was a Throne of Blood showcase with many of our European counterparts like Mat Playford, Bicep and Mugwump.

It was like coming home in some ways, since there were so many old friends from the road, London friends, and NYC ex-pats. The Shacklewell Arms is a converted pub where dudes used to play dominoes and stuff, and was described by friends as a “Rave Pub.”

After nine late nights in a row all over Europe, I felt like my nine lives were up, and I spent the next couple days sleeping and putting the pieces back together. The flight back to NYC came quick in the end and I was going home! At Heathrow airport with James, I popped into an electronics store and finally found the exact camera I had broke at the beginning of the tour. Go figure.

It was a really special and unforgettable trip. It was so much more than the places and the parties.  It was really the PEOPLE that made it what it was. And hopefully, I will be able to thank them all in person one day. One person who deserves immediate thanks is James Friedman, who made all this shit happen,  “Thanks, Homie!”

Check out music by Populette on Soundcloud.

Throne of Blood is The Rapture‘s record label and last week we posted Part 1 of the Throne of Blood European tour diary written by Andrew Potter (right) of Populette.  This week, the saga continues as we follow Populette and label boss, James Friedman throughout Germany with stops in Berlin, Stuttgart, Munich and a harrowing ride on the Autobahn.

Words by Andrew Potter of Populette

BERLIN:

Finally a couple days to chill and spend more than 24 hours in a city! I was really excited. Out of all my friends, I think I may have been the only one who had never been to Berlin. I’m sure there’s not much I can say here that everyone hasn’t said already, but all the hype is true. Berlin is a special place.

When we arrived in the morning, the weather was beautiful, everyone was outside, and we were all eager to sit somewhere and slow down. Odessa was the perfect spot. Our host Robin, who also bartends and DJs at Odessa, took us there. The four of us sat outside at Odessa along the Torstrasse for the entire day cracking jokes, talking shit and enjoying the weather. We laughed until our stomachs ached. When the sun went down we went to an Italian restaurant a few doors down and then back to Odessa. The entire day and evening was spent on only two blocks of Berlin.

The next day we were up and at ‘em and spent the day wandering around the city. Our only goal was to play ping pong in the little courtyard behind our friend Ville’s studio, situated in the same gorgeous building as the German label, Get Physical. I had a blast walking around Berlin, and life there seemed very civilized. In many ways I was happy I missed the infamous weekend-long parties of Panorama and the like. I would highly recommend spending a summer Monday and Tuesday in Berlin as a safer alternative.

That evening we moved into our friend’s Celia’s beautiful flat (Celia also manages a popular fashion boutique called Departmentstore Cabinet), and the next day some friends took me down to Alexanderplatz (which is huge!). We spent most of the afternoon walking around and taking in the city, and we even ran into a few NYC ex-pats along the way!

Photo c/o Joana Viega on Flickr

That evening we DJ’d at Soju Bar, which is connected to the Korean BBQ joint Kimchee Princess. We shared an awesome dinner at Kimchee Princess with the owner, along with the giant roster of DJs for the evening, and a few old friends from Berlin.

At some point during the dinner, our outdoor table must have been especially rowdy,  and a middle-aged German man marched from across the street, set down a strip of white paper, and without a single word or eye contact, walked away. The note said:

“Please to stop being so noisy. Thank you, the neighbor”

We thought this was pretty hilarious and one of the most politely passive aggressive things we have ever seen. We imagined him printing out dozens of these sheets and trimming them with scissors in the silence of his apartment.

Soju Bar was opened just for us that night and we had a killer time with our round robin of DJs. The people were a ton of fun and the venue itself is incredible — very small and intimate. It reminded me of some of the back alley bars I have been to in Tokyo, but with techno and dancing. It has a tiny footprint, but super tall ceilings and futuristic lighting creating this Blade Runner feel. I highly recommend it. The owner, Hyun, is a real gent (and party animal) and they get a world-class roster of DJs there on the regular.

STUTTGART:

We arrived in Stuttgart on a dark and rainy morning. After the sunshine and positive vibes of Berlin, we all were feeling a little down in the dumps. The owners of the venue keep a flat in downtown Stuttgart above a café for the bands and DJs who play at the club. I don’t want to knock it too much because our hosts from the venue were two wonderful and loveable dudes, but in the words of one of them, the flat had not changed for decades.

Starving and tired, we ventured out into the city looking for a bite too eat. Unfortunately, we hadn’t met up with our guides, so we failed pretty miserably in our restaurant choice. Even though I picked two simple items, bruschetta and a minestrone soup, it was some of the most wretched food I had ever had. We were kept company by dozens of black flies swarming around our booth in the empty restaurant. This didn’t help our spirits as we returned to the flat to catch up on some sleep. There were four or five empty bedrooms, but I refused to sleep alone out of fear, and the three of us cuddled up in one bed together and fell asleep watching DMT: The Spirit Molecule, a documentary I recommend. This video became our lullaby for the rest of the tour.

Exhausted from airports and late nights, and missing my girlfriend, it was very hard to feel positive about the night ahead after the morning we had. However, first impressions are often wrong and Stuttgart became, in my opinion, the best gig of the tour.

We woke up from our naps alive and met by Ky and Christian, two of the owners of Rocker 33. These were two rad dudes, incredibly friendly and easy to talk to and hilarious in their own ways. They took us to an old school Swabian restaurant called Weinstube Widmer-froehlich in the heart of the red light district. This was the best meal of the entire trip hands down, and one of the best meals I’ve ever had. The interior was beautiful with warm, wood panels everywhere. A real gem.

After dinner we went to Rocker 33 to DJ. This was inside a giant abandoned government building much like Berghain looks on the outside. We wound through hallway after hallway, through various back doors and empty rooms as the muffled throb of the music drew closer. We arrived inside a giant empty club painted black floor to ceiling and lined with bleachers made out of empty black milk crates on both sides. Ky informed us that this was the big room, and that we were playing down the hall in the small room. We went through another couple doors and entered the smaller area. The vibe was intense and I immediately started dancing. I didn’t give a shit. Everyone was dancing with smiles on their faces. James, Max and I played the majority of the evening, and I can’t really describe the high I felt off the atmosphere while we played that night. The room wasn’t huge, but it was packed and everyone was dancing, whistling and chanting weird shit the whole night!

BERLIN (again):

We returned to Berlin to play a venue called Asphalt, which was down in the financial district under a hotel. A lot of our Berlin friends scratched their heads over us playing here, but the money was good and allegedly the club had a world-class chef and restaurant where we were going to have dinner.

In the main room at Asphalt there was a large event and the entire atmosphere was pretty bizarre. It felt very Russian mafia meets Meatpacking district in NYC. We all got a kick out of people watching some of the clientele who were wearing lots of embroidered button downs and pants with nonsensical messaging on them that said things in English like “VINTAGE YACHTING” or “PRIORITY.”

I left early and got a special walking tour of Berlin at night that I will never forget. After so many clubs and planes and cities in a day, it was unreal to see all the old architecture lit up and move at a slower pace. It doesn’t hurt being able to sip a beer in public while you walk either.

MUNICH:

THE AUTOBAHN. The next morning we taxied to the airport to pick up our Mercedes wagon rental for the five-hour drive to Munich. What followed was one of the most harrowing five hours of my life. Kraftwerk and the Autobahn driving culture had made the highway one of my “bucket list” to-do items, and I’m very happy to say I did it, but I wasn’t prepared for the intensity of the experience. Word to the wise: if you want to drive in the fast lane you don’t need just any Mercedes. Every punter in Germany has a Mercedes or BMW. To compete and survive the ordeal, you need a cock-of-the-walk $300,000 racing number, and not the family wagon we had rented. We were running late and trying to make time so it was turbo all the way. Going upwards of 120 mph with men in gull-wing Mercedes coming up on your tale like a freight train, flashing their lights and forcing you to let them pass was hair-raising to say the least. I was riding shotgun and exhausted. Every time I started to fall asleep, I would wake up to the jolt of a fast pump of the breaks and be face to face with the back of the car in front of us. I kept wondering, “What happens if you crash at this speed?” I imagined myself being liquified on impact.

There was one moment that broke the constant terror we felt. Riding a ridge that ran along the Autobahn was a man completely naked atop his bicycle. We all had a huge laugh. In America you would be arrested, but this was Germany and no one gave a fuck.

Photo c/o Louis Hotel

Munich is beautiful, but feels quite posh.  The Louis Hotel in Munich is the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in. When Max and I checked in, we were told that we had been upgraded to the suite. This room was bananas. Max and I joked that on the floor plan, our room took up most of the floor. I felt like we were on our honeymoon. The room was ENORMOUS and had a separate wing for the toilet and walk-in closets. There was also a second bathroom with two enormous showers, one of the walk-in, stand-and-fuck variety and one more traditional shower with jacuzzi tub. The suite also had two balconies, a Mad Men style “Gentlemen’s Bar” we couldn’t afford, and the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept on.

We spun at the famous Bob Beamon Club that night and it was another one of the highlights of the trip. James, Populette and Bicep played all night and we had a blast. The designers of the club did a splendid job. The booth, the acoustics and lighting are world class and the club is heaven for DJs, just check the Internet.

Next week Part III of III: London

Check out music by Populette on Soundcloud.

This video is a collaboration between Sheldon Neill and Colin Delehanty.

Project Yosemite Website: projectyose.com
Contact info: info@projectyose.com

Music is “Outro” from the new album Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming by M83.

Behind The Scenes: vimeo.com/35223326
By Dalton Runberg

Photo c/o DecobyDesign on Flickr

Earlier this month, we heard from Jacky Tran and Rem Koolhaus when they shared their tips for eating and drinking in Paris. This week, they’re back with what to do in Krakow. It’s Poland’s second largest city and it’s history can be traced back to the Stone Age. The center of town is appropriately called “Old Town” and includes Krakow’s historic Jewish Quarter, Kazimierz where Jacky and Rem spent most of their time on this trip.

Words and photos by Jacky Tran with Tim Saputo aka Rem Koolhaus of Turrbotax.

Tim (Rem Koolhaus) and I went to Krakow for my friends’ wedding. We were still jet-lagged and under-slept from our whirlwind trip to Paris, and unfortunately didn’t get a chance to visit the tourist sites like Wawel Castle or Oskar Schindler’s factory, or eat at the remaining milk bars that managed to survive after the Cold War. Below is a list of the places we checked out, and at the risk of showing how much of a travel nerd I am, I made this Google map to prep for my visit to Krakow. I only went to a handful of them (marked in green), and anything marked in blue are places I mean to check out next time.

Zapiecek. Polskie Pierogarnie
Sławkowska 32
31-000 Kraków
http://www.zapiecek.eu/
This cute little pierogi shop is conveniently located in the Old Town and it is open round-the-clock.

Alchemia
Estery 5
31-056 Kraków
http://alchemia.com.pl
Alchemia was one of the original bars that helped revitalize Kazimierz–Krakow’s historic Jewish Quarter–after WWII. It transformed the neighborhood into a destination for nightlife and the arts. The bar/gallery/venue has remained an institution where couples, pals and families gather to get happily sloshed, offsetting the gothic vibe of the dark rooms, old paintings, and candlesticks covered in layers of hardened wax.

Photo c/o Ian Kershaw on Flickr

Singer
Estery 20
31-056 Kraków
Singer is a Kazimierz institution. It has a dark, candlelit interior and each table is charmingly adorned with classic Singer sewing machines. Singer’s allure is definitely not a secret. It’s popular among international students and beer-crawling tourists–so it’s best to go on the early side and leave before you start over-hearing eye-rolling conversations on where to find the best English bars and chicken Caesar salad in old town.

Restauracja Pod Baranem
ul. Św. Gertrudy 21
31-049 Kraków
podbaranem.com
I had my favorite meal here, which is quite a compliment in a city that I enjoyed eating in so much. What sets them above the other restaurants was how elegantly they executed such hearty dishes. I still think about their stuffed cabbage that was pan-fried to give it a crisp finish and served with a light cream sauce. Tim was into the roasted venison with “forest” sauce (made of red wine and forest berries). To top if off, the waiters stray from Krakow’s grump-faced service as they smile and joke around with their customers.

Kiełbasę z Rożna
Blue van in front of the shopping center at Grzegórzecka 4
These guys make the best kielbasa in town and have been grilling it outside of their blue van over the past 20 years. The later you go, the more likely you’ll befriend some happily inebriated locals.

Pauza
Floriańska 18/3
31-000 Kraków
Pauza is a bi-level bar in the center of old town. The entrance is hidden inside a building through a courtyard. The agreeable music selection and vibe make it an oasis in an area full of cheesy pub-crawl venues.

Photo c/o Anosmia on Flickr

Plac Nowy in Kazimierz
This is where you can find the highest concentration of Zapiekanka stands in town. Oh, what is Zapiekanka–you ask? It’s a quasi-pizza, akin to what we’ve all improvised from bread, not-mozzarella cheese and make-do toppings at some point in our broke-ass teens/early 20s–especially after getting hit with a case of the munchies. The main difference is that it’s also topped with sweet ketchup and chives. It’s probably not the most awesome thing to eat as real meal. But, if you’ve dulled your senses enough after a night of drinking in Kazimierz and can’t trek out to the kielbasa van or the 24-hour pierogi shop, then this drunk munchie isn’t so bad.

U Ziyada
Restauracja i Kawiarnia
Zamku W Przegorzalach (Przegorzaly Castle)
ul. Jodłowa 13
30-251 Kraków
http://www.uziyada.krakow.pl
The restaurant is located inside Przegorzaly Castle, located on a hilltop just outside the city. I went here for my friends’ wedding reception and was a big fan of the food and view of the Vistula River, the surrounding fields and Krakow’s old town.

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