The Popular Guru

Highschool Poppers (BSP)

2010-11-04T06:42:00.000-07:00

Back in the earlier internet days I used to always hear the phrase BSP, blatant self promotion but now that term doesn't exists because normal people use the internet and normal people know that life is a tough competition-the more self promotion the better, that's the nature of us as humans.

Anyway, I just wanted to cross reference this site with another website called, www.highschoolpoppers.com . There's like seven pages of content on that website now, it built up very quickly and it's only been a month. Most of the content was shot by me, other than the galleries and few shots from Aurora.

Please check out the website and follow me on twitter and all that good shit.

BSP,

The Pop Guru

Highschool Poppers Twitter

2010-10-14T16:14:00.000-07:00

Follow my NEW NEW twitter for www.highschoolpoppers.com please!

Highschool Poppers

2010-09-30T16:19:00.001-07:00

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Photo by Aurora Lee Hales for Highschool Poppers

Highschool Poppers is coming along, we have 2 pages of content, over 15 original images, and we put up our first submitted work, by Aurora Lee Hales.

Check out the site, leave some comments.

New Website

2010-09-27T19:13:00.000-07:00

I started a new website called, HIGH SCHOOL POPPERS. It's a website that I've been wanting to bring to the public for awhile, so I did it.

-The Pop Guru

Matte Black Car

2010-09-27T19:12:00.001-07:00

Originally uploaded by Lexis-Olivier

From:

Mid-Summer, Morning, Dreamings

http://www.highschoolpoppers.com

The Pop Guru

Girls & Boys: LA RIots + DJ Berrie + Designer Drugs

2009-08-16T21:41:00.001-07:00

Went to Girls & Boys last night, for the second consecutive Friday in a row. It was suppose to be a night of Flosstradamus, Designer Drugs and DJ Berrie, but I guess the later of the three DJ's coudln't make it, and LA Riots showed up.

The crowd was much better than last weekend, in terms of energy and the amount of people sorrounding the stage.

It feels good to walk up on stage with out a VIP bracelet and take photos with my highly overrated DSLR while dozens of people watch from below, begging for me to take their photo, trying to sneak on stage-only to get kicked off by a bouncer. A camera and the right attitude will get you far in life.

A friend of mine that happens to DJ said, "people always assume that being a DJ is glamorous". I'd say the same goes for a photographer. I enjoy myself @ Girls & Boys, but there's a fine line between doing a job and enjoying yourself. I can't remember the last time I went to a show as a fan, put down the camera and enjoyed myself to the fullest potential.

As usual Webster Hall filled with dudes.

Downstairs in the studio, I walked into this band that was playing. I apologize, because I didn't catch their name but they put on a very exciting performance.

I guess LA Riots replaced Flossradamus last minute, because I didn't expect to see him. For the longest time, I was under the empression that LA Riots was a DUO and not a single DJ.

For some reason people love to have their picture taken. I personally hate it, and avoid it at all costs. There's nothing worse than being the creepy guy in the background of a shot.

Cute girl @ the show that I kept seeing. The chill bouncer that let me on stage, also let her up at one point in the show, but she was shut down by the other bouncer with in minutes.

I learned that the bouncers rule Webster Hall and it's not in your best interest to be on bad terms with them.

A camera gets you a long way in life.

DJ Atrak making a quick appearance. Think he was just intown for the night and wanted to support FlasstraDONEmus (as he put it via twitter)? It's weird because myself and a lot of other people regard these "international" DJ's as celebrities, but when you're around them at a show or something, you realize their just like everyone else-maybe the same goes for "real" celebrities.

I only caught a little bit of Designer Drugs cause LA Riots played for soo long.

It was dude on the lefts birthday and I guess he knew the bouncer well enough to get on stage. You can always tell the people that should be on stage apart from the rest. They're always eager to be close to the DJ, get close to the crowd and ask photographers to take their photo. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I should be back next week. Getting used to the Friday night madness @ Webster Hall. Next week is DIOYY (DJ Set), should be a packed house. Hopefully less bros and more hoes.

FULL GALLERY

email me, thepopularguru@yahoo.com

Follow me on TWITTER

X

Girls & Boys 8.8.09

2009-08-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

A diverse crowd, made up of mostly guido men

Favorite act of the night, played some classics n really got the crowd into it.

These guys were from Europe or something, cause they so desperately wanted to get on stage they were throwing money to the bouncers, LMAO.

This dude was all over the place.

Lights

Dude holding the beer was crazy haha, he must have been rolling on some E because he was having a better time than everyone in the building combined. Nice guy though.

"You shoot for lastnightsparty.com right?" Nahhh, I'm not that cool.

This chick was absolutely gorgeous. The guru was there on a mission to take photos though...

Who dis?

Sinden

"Can you take our picture please" A camera will get you far in life.

Table before the destruction

"You gotta take a picture of this" And then bam, Dude in the green shirt desides to knock over all the drinks on the table behind the DJ, turns the table over and throws it to the ground in one swift motion. Luckily I was left unscathed, unlucky for me, I wasn't preprared to take some graphic photos of the occurance. Dude was obviously tossed right after...EPIC move though. Respect.

Sinden was playing some bangers but the crowd was DEAD.

This dude.

Email me, thepopularguru@yahoo.com -leave comments. cya next show!

Club One (reserved)

2009-08-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

MGMT....Again

2009-07-06T16:46:00.000-07:00

I've seen MGMT 3 times in the last year, almost to the date (July 27). I saw them @ McCarren Pool, Webster Hall and most recently @ Prospect Park. I can admit that I love MGMT's music, I've been listening to their album for a year now...daily. In all honesty I think their perfomance was garbage and they're not experienced enough yet to be a good live band. The Webster Hall show was byfar the best IMO.

MGMT sold out in a few hours when they went on sale wheneever. People on craigslist were trying to sell ticket for as much as $125 a ticket. This is MGMT, not the Led Zeppelin. But through my ways, I got a ticket for face value, which was a great success.

You gotta love prospect park. I love the vibe of the place, very peaceful. I love how you can find a spot on the grass to set up shop. I wish I had gotten to the show earlier because I like walking around the park and all that, but then again, had I gone any earlier, I wouldn't have met these girls.

Someone was having fun.

There was a very diverse crowd attending the show based on the individual to the left.

Dude cut his hair...why? He's unrecognizable now and totally lost the psyscedelic appearance.

The show was disorganized. They played a few songs off their new album which all sounded shitty to me. Their set list was ridiculously bad; I think they spent too much time smoking trees back stage and forgot they had a sold out show to do.

T secret is out-that hot chicks always show up to MGMT concert. Once again there were wayyyy too many guys. If you're still calling MGMT Management you shouldn't go to their show.

Set List:

Destrokk
4th Dimensional Jam
A Song for Dan Treacy
I Happen to Love You
4th Dimensional Transition
Pieces of What
Weekend Wars
Time to Pretend
Electric Feel
Its Working
Of Moon,s Birds, Monsters
The Youth
The Handshake
--encore break --
Future Reflections
Kids
*Congratulations

*We all know that MGMT sounds better on record but after listening to "Congratulations" after the show, I actually like it a lot.

Nothing special,

X

Joachim Garraud + Keytar

2009-06-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

So I guess I was too dazed and confused to realize that Joachim Garraud was the real headliner of the night.

Nobody probably knows anything about Joachim, I sure as hell didn't when I saw his name on the bill, but just know that he's produced songs for people such as David Guetta and David Bowie (yess, THE David Bowie).

I caught him kill it on the Keytar with the power shot for a few minutes and went shutter happy with my camera. I'm kind of bumbed I decided to bounce 20 minutes later, but then again, I'm pretty sure it was close to 3am and Webster shuts down @ around 4.

Not much else to be said, except these photos are the shit and I now want to own a keytar.

I Just Want I Just Want

2009-06-21T17:01:00.000-07:00

Steve Aoki played Webster Hall last Friday and I got in to see him for FREE. This is the second time I've "snuck into a show" due to unruly circumstances. In short I managed to jump in with Mark The Cobra Snake & Aoki's entourage just as they were entering the Hall. Read about that HERE.

Count the number of dudes

I'll be completely honest and say, the crowd was kind of lame, looked like a lot of people that didn't belong in the same place @ once. Webster Hall has turned into a giant mess of a venue. Too much going on in one place, always crowded, the female to guy ratio was bad enough to make me walk up stairs to the Spanish hall of a

The stage was packed, I don't know why so many people wanted to be on stage. The best way to listen to a show is to be facing the performer. The only reason why I wanted to go on stage is to take photos. Shouts to Igor from Driven By Boredom and Nicky Digital and to the cute girls dancing on the speakers.

Having an SLR and the right attitude get get you far in life. I easily made my way right up to the table of the DJ booth. Several times, fans were in my way but when they saw my camera, they politely gave up their spot to allow me to get some shots.

It's hard to take 200 photos and listen to music at the same time but Aoki's set was mildly entertaining, though it did come off as very routine. Let's just say it was nothing like Diplo playing Webster Hall or even Xavier from Justice. But hell, place was packed and people enjoyed themselves, can't complain

What made the performance worth while though were the moments of intense energy. Aoki jumping on the table, microphone in hand singing to "Warp". Or his signature moves of dowsing himself with water, guzzling vodka himself and offering it to female fans.

I was so dehydrated I was itching for that vodka the whole time. I wanted to ask the guy next to me, who was some how affiliated with Aoki if I could get a shot, but I knew the answer would be "No".

Aoki ended his set, there was no encore, he took his bow and bolted off stage. I tried to find that dressing room that we all were in together or Mark but never did. The night didn't end there though, I kept going till 9am.

I took so many god damn photos of Aoki it's rediculous, too many to edit, here's the entire ALBUM.

And Everyone Laughed PT. 2

2009-06-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

So the circus act continued but moved onto this thing called "The Wheel of Death". Again I must have been numb to how totally insane this stunt was. Think about what it's like to be 20 feet in the air, walking in a 360 degree axis on a steel metal platform no more than 3 feet wide.

The circus went on a little too long in my humble opinion so by the time it was over I was overwhelmed by the amount of photos I had taken and the issues I had with my flash. So I left but with the intention of coming back.

What I actually did was spend $30 to ride around in one of those black taxis, the ones you see in Brooklyn that don't have meters and the drivers hustle you based on how dumb/drunk you are. I swear it felt like we just went up the street slowly, no more than a mile and both taxi drivers wanted to charge me $20. I'm sure I've traveled from Williamsburg to god damn Grand Central for $20 flat in a normal taxi. Anyway, I left to go visit a friend @ some dive bar in Brooklyn.

"You left a warehouse party for THIS?" He repeatedly said

"Yeah man, just had to get out for a minute"

He was right though, I should have definitely stayed where I was. I was at the kind of bar that doesn't have windows and you have to get let in by a bouncer. The kind that's dark as shit, and illuminated by red lighting. So I left with in 10 minutes.

The rest of the night was decent. My issue was with the music. It was suppose to be a dance party and they were playing progressive house sounding stuff. I'm more of a hard electro fan, something that will make me put my camera down and jump up and down-so I wasn't really feeling the music, but most others were.

The night ended very early, and by early I mean early in the morning. 5am I believe we got shut down. The sun had risen, it was strange to still be drinking PBR's @ 5am but you gotta take advantage of every situation that's presented to you, right?

I had a few "good conversations" with a couple "interesting people", check that out HERE.

But what I'm most proud of is getting on that "Wheel of Death".

"I'm not going to be the one to tell you this, but you're probably going to be told get off of that and leave"

"Alright, cool"

It was easy to climb up, I'm not afraid of heights so for awhile I was just laying flat with my legs spread out to relax and clear my mind for a minute. Then I decided to see how hard it was to actually walk around "The Wheel of Death". What you do (I think), is walk straight, or maybe run, and eventually that big counter weight will flip over. I'm sure I was pretty close to having that counter weight whip around and send me to the hospital, but luckily it didn't. I did end up falling pretty hard when I tried to stop walking, which was a clear sign for me to get off.

I was dead tired when I left the venue with Michelle. I was literally falling asleep every chance I got; waiting for the train, on the train, etc. Eventually went to sleep, with the intention of waking up 2 hours later to go home but slept in until 11am ish. Woke up in an upper west side Park Avenue apartment!

Great night, thanks to everyone that dug me, everyone that read the blogs, the bartenders for serving me drinks, all the good looking girls and Misha for hiring me!

Took over 300 photos, edited 64 of them, took hours, check out ALLLL the photos (that were edited) HERE in one big gallery.

Until next time.

The Pop Guru

And Everyone Laughed PT.1

2009-06-14T13:04:00.000-07:00

Saturday June 13th I went to Williamsburg to shoot an event. I had no idea what to expect at this event but I knew is it was going to be a wild night.

And a wild night it was.

Despite not getting paid, I was compt admission and was given the holy stamp of free drinks for the night. Let me go on record and say that I will pass up $10-$15/hour for free drinks any gig! On top of that the bar tenders were super cool, giving me three drinks at a time (which I gave out to pretty girls) or a shot and vodka tonic hand in hand which I consumed myself.

There were a bunch of freaks and geeks there but what would do one expect at a circus themed event.

There was a "guy" dressed as woman, but he didn't look like a woman, didn't talk like a woman but insisted to be referred to as a "she". I think "she" was wasted and made a lot of people pissed off.

The night was running a bit slow due to a ton of delays, so I spent much time at the bar drinking PBRs and socializing with crowd.

The first person I met was John, the so called "strong man" of the event. As pictured, his head was covered in tatooo, which was interesting and intimidating at the same time. What I've learned about bouncers or "strong me" is, they rarely have to act physical, they mostly just have to look it. Read more about Tim HERE.

I met three beautiful girls that were friends with the promoter that "hired" me, and I used my charm and free drink stamp to woo them into doing a mini photo shoot. We took a bunch of staged photographs that all suck, because I wasn't taking the photos and none of them knew how to use my camera, good times though. Read about that HERE.

Eventually the night got started and everyone migrated to where the circus was being held.

I guess I was a bit "numb" to what was going on, either that or too busy trying to take photos but at the time I didn't think that what they were doing was that amazing. But now, after two days rest, I realize the shit they were doing was truly INSANE! No still photography can illustrate the level of skill these performers had.

Picture two people swinging back and forth at counter speeds and then one of the two performers throwing themselves in the air while the other one catches them by the hands. Perfection and madness at it's greatest.

There were a few lame acts that got boo'd off stage, guess that's the nature of being a circus performer.

All of this pre-ceeded an electro-house dance party!

TO BE CONTINUED.

30/30

2009-06-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

So on friday I get an invite from a friend that I literally haven't seen in 2 years, almost to the date. We took a screen writing class together @ SVA back when I was young, confused and had no understanding of what "good" writing was. For the class I wrote this screen play titled, "Field of Love" which was a love story based on the song Angel by Jimi Hendrix.

It was weird seeing my friend after 2 years. We had kept in contact and all that, but other than seeing a few facebook pictures of her or what ever I hadn't seen her. I remembered her as this cute little jewish girl that said what ever was on her mind, but in a very humorous and innocent way.

"You sound different"

"I was 16"

The get together was suppose to be the anti prom party. I think prom is such an overrated event. We grow up watching television and old movies thinking that we'll be virgins up until prom night, when we find a date and finally get layed. That's all bullshit, sure you might get layed, but the romance and extravagance is overrated. Then again, who am I to talk, I didn't go to my prom either.

That night I was drinking Steel Reserve. I purposefully bought four, as opposed to six. A lesson on Steel Reserve: it's like 13% alcohol and comes in either 16 ounce cans, or 40oz's if you're a rebel like me. Think of it as drinking 2-3 times as much alcohol as you would if you were drinking something like Coors.

I never really got drunk but I was dead tired because I had worked all day, downer fest 2.0 for me. So @ like 1am I crawl under the covers of the hotel bed thinking I was going to chill and relax but actually end up passing out. I don't know what went on while I was asleep, but I didn't wake up with any writing on my face so I assume everyone just hung around and wondered about me

There was this one kid, and again, I don't remember any ones name except my friend, that said he thought it was alright for heterosexual males to make out with other guys. I thought he was Bi-sexual or gay but he claimed he wasn't. A bit of a shock for me but aside from his views on what is considered humorous versus homosexual he was a cool guy.

"You've never kissed a guy?"

"Hell no, like make out with a guy?"

"Yeah"

"Dude, what the fuck..."

I wake up around 3am and people are leaving but I'm full of energy and want some more beer and music and excitement. But everyone's trying to fit into this one bed, peacefully ready to call it a night.

I lay in the bed for 15 minutes and realize there's no way I'm going to sleep.

I get my shit, take a subway to Union Square, walk to Webster Hall and see if I can get into the studio.

"We close in half an hour, it's 4:30"

I decide my nights over, but not before getting two cheese burgers and large fries from McDonalds on 14th st and a Budweiser for the ride back.

Come back to the hotel, which was empty the entire night, no door man, no receptionist, nobody. I sleep on a chair for an hour, wake up @ 5am walk to GC and head back to CT to work @ 9am.

Sleep when you're dead.

On the Piss Again

2009-06-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

A fictional account on a true story...

My friend Vince gave me $6 to take a cab across town to Grand Central. I was planning on walking but he had the better judgment and advised me to get a cab, and quickly, for the last train to Connecticut departed @ 1:49 sharp.

I took the $6 and leisurely walked a few blocks east eventually hailing a cab. The cab driver happened to be a woman, the second female cab driver I've come across in my entire life. I don't know if it was just me or if the drive really did take took forever because the ride that should have taken 5 minutes, took over 10.

We arrive @ Grand Central, I hand the driver $6 bucks for the $3 ride and dart into the station hoping I'm not too late.

For the second time in my life, I watched my train drive off into the darkness of Grand Central Terminal, quite possibly the worst feeling a man could feel. Words can't describe this sort of predicament.

"Alright, stations closed, you gotta get outta here" a security guard told me.

I didn't want to sleep in Grand Central for the third time so I called up Vince and made my way back to his place.

At this point, I had effectively wasted $6 and 30 minutes of time that could have been spent drinking brews and listening to music. The worst part about it was that I had to walk all the way back across town, the very edge of the west side on 42 st.

This whole time I was in a bit of a daze. Not paying attention to time, direction or bodily functions. As I'm walking down the street I realize my entire left leg is wet. It takes me a minute, but I eventually put two and two together and realize I pissed my pants. Not a little dribble either, it looked like I stepped in a four foot puddle of water.

I wasn't ashamed, walking 8 avenues with pissed pants isn't the most comfortable situation I've been in but I made the best of it and took some random photos in Times Square. I got off track a few blocks in and felt like I was lost but really I was only a few blocks north of 42nd street.

Three quarters through the walk I decided it would be a good idea to get another 40oz. So I walk into a bodega and buy a 4.50 Coors light 40oz beer (They didn't have any Colts), which was a complete waste of money considering I only have $12 in my checking account and because it was 2 in the morning.

I finally get back to Vince's apartment and he's about ready to go to sleep. I walk in like there's a party with a 40oz in hand and piss stained jeans.

"You got another 40 dude?" He laughed.

"Yeah"

"Alright well you can sleep in my room mates room".

I took two sips of my brew, took off my piss stained jeans and slept hard.

Woke up the next morning with no idea where I was, freaked out for about 2 minutes because I thought I had slept to long but I soon realized I where I was and made my way out, jeans still a bit damp.

In typical Pop Guru fashion, I left early and quietly. Vince was still asleep, my jeans still wet with piss, but it was time for me to get the fuck out of NYC.

The train ride home was miserable, I was dozing off and kept waking up in shock thinking I missed my stop.

Eventually got home, washed my jeans and headed to work.

Just another night in the NYC.

Gone

2009-05-30T18:46:00.000-07:00

Let each cigarette pack be a lost contact and let those cigarettes disappear into eternity.

My blackberry had been acting up for days; "523 errors", battery dead after a few hours of limited use, all I saw was that damn annoying hour glass spinning around while my emails, text and phone calls were blocked. I got so frustrated not having a working phone I decided to "wipe out" my blackberry completely. Little did I know this hidden feature on my "smart phone" would delete everything saved on my sim card.

With in a few minutes I lost over four years of contacts, photos, memos I had written, everything...everything except the stupid applications that I loaded, the one thing that coudl easily have been restored.

Four years of contacts, both personal and "business" contacts. I had never once lost a phone in fact, I've had the same phone number since I first got my cell phone at the age of 13.

I had some interesting contacts in that address book, a lot of people I met and will probably never hear from again.

Now most people that loose their phones make one of those facebook groups asking for everyone to hand out their number in a public forum. Ironically, and quite tragically, I've deliberately "screened" my facebook so that my friends on facebook hardly represent the people I would want in my phone book, and contrary to popular belief, not everyone is on facebook.

It's not that I'm so important, that my contacts have "real value", it's like I said, some people in my lost address book are now effectively, permanently, erased from my life. If having someones number in your phone and never calling them is rude, loosing their number for good is a plain waste of time.

In typical fashion, with in a few hours I was able to accept my demise. Realizing I was careless and rash with my actions I had no one to blame but myself'; but a wise man once told me to never get upset over something that can be replaced, instead save your tears for things that cannot be replaced.

I suppose this situation might fall somewhere in the gray area, seeing as I'm not sure 4 years of contacts are easily replaceable.

So then fuck it, let's build another four years of contact, and this time...let's back them up onto a super computer so they'll never be lost. Fuck a facebook group, I'm not making one, this is a sign, a sign to start a new and create an even better address book. I won't forget the people the numbers that were lost, or the people that were lost I should say, instead I'll do my best to hopefully meet those people again.

Drop your name/number if you read this and think I should have it.

Truthfully,

PS. I have an old sim card with three years of contacts on it, so I guess I shouldn't be that mad.

Been around

2009-04-29T23:27:00.000-07:00

Been busy, working like over 12 over days editing footage, photos, writing...takes me a lot longer thait should but what can I do about it?

SXNDRGS Open @ REFUGE from Popular Guru on Vimeo.

Next up Twin Sister in LI...

The Popular Guru

Back From Philly

2009-04-19T15:26:00.000-07:00

Philly was amazing! I had been before but this visit really made me fall in love. It was hard to pin point what kind of city Philly was prior to this visit; like NYC, but not really...certainly no Boston. So what kinda city IS Philly? I guess Philly is just a really (this sounds horribly cliche butt) CHILLL place. It's like parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn except over a larger area. There's less commotion, less clutter, less freaks and conartist (from what I've found). And that's not to say that Philly isn't also home to one of the worst crime districts in the US-just don't go to far North or South.

Block Shock was a well orchestrated bash. The weather was amazing, almost felt like a SUMMER day. I don't know if Philly is warmer because it's not as close to the coast as say, NYC or where I live, but it was warm enough to wear shorts and t-shirt, not that I ever would.

I have a shit ton of pictures to look @, something like 300. I re-touch all my photographs in someway so don't expect a super quick turnaround with these. All I can say is, I got some REALLLLY good stuff. I'm excited to show everyone.

Definitely excited to go back to Philly.

I'm motivated.

Stay Focused.

If you're in Philly Saturday

2009-04-16T21:01:00.001-07:00

The Pop Guru + SXNDRGS + So many other people will be @ the Block Shock block party!

Shouts to Daniella

Guru time,

The Popular Guru

To Clear Things Up: The Fight

2009-04-12T23:40:00.000-07:00

So I found out I got into an epic fight last night with a few people. The fight started when I refused to drop into the half pipe because I felt it was "too cold" and really couldn't be bothered with busting my ass. Everyone started calling me out because I was one of the people that said I would do it, under one circumstance though...MONEY!

No one wanted to put up money so I got pissed off and told them there was no way I would drop into a half pipe for shits and giggles.

So at some point the argument gets heated because I can't stand when people call me out. So I start screaming @ the top of my lungs in raged at everyone.

In the sort of cliche way that fights start and end everyone tried to hold each other back but it was no use.

I broke my right hand a year ago so it's not strong enough to fuck anyone up with so I fought with my left hand, throwing punches that go well beyond friendliness. It wasn't much of a fight because I didn't get touched, not in the face at all. did get thrown to the ground which would explain the scrape on my chin and busted knee, but I sustained few if any shots to the dome.

I don't remember the fight much other than what I've pieced together from talking to 6 witnesses and it also makes sense considering all my cuts are on the knuckles of my hands.

Not bad considering all thigs considers and the best part is there was no pain, aggressivation or rage on part...cause I don't remember!

The Pop Guru

To Clear it Up

2009-04-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

So I guess it's a bad idea to write notes on facebook that say, "going to the emergency room, yay!" Not only is it shocking and scary for some but disrespectful and aggravating to others.

So from what I can piece together, last night one of my friends said he would drop into a half pipe at the local skate park, a half pipe that's probably about 10'. I don't skate board, don't think I've ever even been on top of a half pipe or any ramp for that matter, but I know damn well how scary it is to drop in, certainly if you aren't a skater. So a few people said they would do it, as if it were like jumping off a cliff into some water and I doubted every last one of them.

So that night we have a "beer pong" tournament and I loose 10 dollars which made me pissed out. And after that, everything went black.

I guess later on in the night everyone went to the skate park, myself included, and in order to get to the ramps we had to jump a fence. I jumped the fence and fell and ate shit from. Can't get into any more details other than that because I simply don't recall them.

A friend drove me home and I fucked around in my room for awhile I think. I do kind of remember taking photos of my hand and face and telling my Dad I was going to sleep.

Next morning, wake up and there's blood all over my hands. I had like 6 large cuts on my left hand, one on my right, a scrape on my chin. I found blood on the floor, on a magazine, a bloody paper towel in the trash, blood on the wall, etc.

I thought I might need stitches for my chin so I went to the hospital, which turned out to be a HUGE waste of time and money because all they did in the end was put a couple bandages on my hands.

So basically I'm perfectly alright, just gunna have a shit ton of scars on my hands for awhile and my beautiful face is a little banged up, but it could been worse.

EDIT: I've pieced the story together and I've come to the conclusion that I didn't hurt myself falling off the fence. It happened sometime when I got dropped off and went to sleep.

TO BE CONTINUED...

The Pop Guru

Tonight Twin Sister @ Lit Lounge

2009-04-09T07:54:00.000-07:00

If you're in NYC and feel like listening to some goood music, check out Twin Sister @ The Lit Lounge.

Lit Lounge
93 2nd Ave

Twin Sister should be performing around 11:00am at the earliest. Other bands are playing though so arrive early and chat with The Pop Guru.

Cya there,

The Pop Guru

Twin Sister @ Lit Lounge this Thursday

2009-04-05T08:43:00.000-07:00

If you're in NYC....

The Pop Guru should be there passing out prints, taking photos, drinking beer, etc. Come out and see a great indie band perform live!

The Pop Guru

Twin Sister @ The Lit Lounge (3.7.09)

2009-03-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

What do you call a guy that loves a band but isn't in it? Not a "groupie" because that would suggest that I was a female and wanted to fuck lead singers. Is there such thing as a male groupie? Do heterosexual men throw themselves at Britney Spears so they can have sex with her in her tour bus? Something about that seems ironically homosexual.

So if I can't be a groupie, what am I? Unofficial photographer? Fan? Just a struggling artist searching for a musical muse?

Musical muse-That's it!

It was great seeing the band perform a second time. The sound was definitely better and the whole was much more polished. I must admit, I do miss watching Udbhav (keyboardist) take drags from his American spirits while playing keys and I was quite disapointed that they didn't have time to play "Dry Hump".

Other than that the place was packed, had to fight to get to the front kinda packed. I didn't even give two shits that I was blocking a bunch of middle aged women sitting down behind me, or that I accidentally knocked over a monitor that may or may not have ever been working, I was there on assignment.

So for the sake of my dignity and class, I'm going to call myself the unofficial..."Documentarian" for Twin Sister. Like a 6th wheel to the machine and instead of contributing to songs or playing an instrument, I'll be armed with a couple cameras and a few beers.

Twin Sister is definitely "on their way" though. Maybe they'll take over as "the New York City band", that would be fucking cool, but maybe they want more. It's difficult to say.

The evolution will be documented though, by The Popular Guru of course.

Read CigaretteDiaries for a different take on the night and view more photos via FLICK'R.

Sent Via Blackberry by AT@T

Twin Sister Tonight @ The Lit Lounge

2009-03-07T10:53:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite indie bands is playing @ the Lit Lounge.

Lit Lounge - March 7, 2009 8PM
93 2nd Ave. New York, NY
- With:
- Bodies,
- Slowest Runner
$6 - Get Directions

I'm going to be there, taking pictures, drinking beer and socializing. Stop by if you're interested and say hi. Their music is ulti-chilllll.

Check out their website, www.twinsistermusic.com

Photos up tomorrow!

The Popular Guru

Slept in GC...AGAIN!

2009-03-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

Last night I slept in Grand Central...again. I've come to realize that it takes damn near an hour for me to get from Williamsburg to Grand Central. Figure 15 minutes waiting for the L train to Union Square, 10 minute train ride to 14th ST, another 10-15 minutes waiting for the 6 train and then 10 minutes to arrive at Grand Central, NYC public transportation is so damn unreliable-especially at night.

Made smelly homeless people

This time there was nothing exciting or adventurous about sleeping in GC. In fact I wasn't even lucky enough to sleep on a bench. The cops on duty felt like being cunts and made everyone (which was about 40 or 50 people) stand in between a barrier and the door, right next to all the dirty smelly homeless people.

"In 10 years working here, I've never let anyone through after the station closed"

"Oh yeah, I was here a couple weeks ago and I was able to sleep in the waiting room"

I tried to pick a fight with the cop by passing through the barrier several times.

"I need to use the bathroom"

"The station is closed, what don't you understand about that"

"You mean to tell me the bathroom is physically locked?"

This woman slept like this the entire time

It was cold, I was tragically tired, hungover and in need of a comfy bed, and so I sat and waited 3 hours for the train station to open. I had other options; could have headed back downtown and found a bar or party to go to, but realistically speaking, I just wanted to sleep. I would have actually been happy if I could have slept on that bench, the one I slept on the last time I was stranded in NYC.

Dude wanted his photo taken

The station opened @ 5:15 on the dot and luckily my train departed @ 5:30am so I didn't have to wait around any longer. I got on the train and instantly passed out for over an hour. I actually missed my stop and woke up in BPT. This was the first time I missed my stop and the first time I slept through the entire train ride.

So with that said, I learned from my mistake a second time, I think it's about time I find a crash pad in the city.

What a night,

The Popular Guru

Suburban Bohemian Somethinggg or Otherrr:Various Chinatowns and Philly

2009-02-25T20:00:00.000-08:00

Chinatown is a great little slice of NYC that I haven't been to since I went on a field trip in 6th grade to visit my Asian pen pal.

According to my sources Chinatown is run by the Chineese Mob, the triad controls New York, New Jersey and Philly Chinatowns. The Chinatown in New York might as well be it's own fucking city because that's exactly how it operates, no NYPD, defferent set of rules...China rules!

I lost all my pictures from Chinatown going to Philly somehow, I think someone was playing with my camera when I was sleeping and deleted them, either that or they deleted themselves, or I deleted them.

On my way to Philly, I hunted down a 6 pack of Heineken and proceeded to get drunk on the bus ride. Arriving in Philly drunk was a bad idea because I got hustled into paying some strange guy 10 dollars to walk me a couple blocks (read more about that HERE), not a great start to the trip. I also dropped my wallet in the middle of a busy street, but luckily some kind lady picked it up and returned it to me, other wise I would have been FUCKED 15 minutes into my trip.

All in all, Philly is a cool city. I always want to compare a city to New York but that's juts not possible. Philly is quieter and less crowded, has a richer history it seems and from what I hear is more dangerous.

You can tell a lot about a city by the homeless people in it.

The homeless in Philly prey on people like me. I'll be walking around with a big grin on my face and cigarette in my mouth and a street guy will come up to me with a big smile on his face and light my cigarette.

"Thanks man"

"Hey man, you wanna help somebody out tonight...here you can have this liter, I have two"

"Aww man, sorry, I don't have any change on me"

"You know, it's alright man, you can still have the liter"

"Shit man, thanks, here's a dollar"

I'm easy prey. I can't help myself but feel bad for these guys and give them money, or food, or cigarettes because deep down inside I know they need money and cigarettes more than I ever will.

The best part about Chinatown is the liquor stores don't card you, or atleast they don't card me. You know how if you look at a Chineese person you can't really tell how old they are, they could be 28 or 18, well that's how Chineese people feel when they look at black people. So I appear to be either 28 or 18 to all Chineese people.

Also, anytime you're in Chinatown and you want to buy something, negotiate your prices.

The tickets from NYC to Philly are 12 dollars one way, the cost of my travel round trip was 15 dollars. On the way there I said, "how's ten dollars sound?" and with out any hesitation the lady accepted. On the way back, an older Asian man sold me a ticket for 5 dollars, HAHA.

When I got back to NYC, I was tired, hung over and hungry so I went to McDonalds and bought 2 large fries a Big Mac and a Cheese Burger, ate the whole thing, bought some candy to top it off and passed out on the train ride home to CT.

So what the fuck is a Suburban Bohemian Somethinggg or Otherrr?

Next stop? LA?

Read Cigarette Diaries for more on my adventures with a convicted killer!

The Popular Guru

Suburban Bohemian Somethinggg or Otherrr

2009-02-23T19:30:00.001-08:00

____________

Suburban Bohemian Somethinggg or Otherrr

____________

I have two blogs, actually three if you count a blog that I own but don't update (MetroNorthDiaries.com). Having one blog is enough for most people, but I need TWO. Why? Because my life is that fucking interesting and DEEP that I need two outlets to express myself. If I had it my way I'd have a bunch more, all dedicated to different aspects of my life; one just for photos, one for travel, one for vices, one for love, one for hate, and so on.

I bring this up because...

In December I was making big plans to take off and go on a trip across the US. I was going to start off by going to California to visit my brother, had plans to go to Florida to visit a friend, Arizona for nothing, down south for Banarroo and god knows where else. Somewhere along the way I wanted to stop off in Philidelphia, which is only about 2 hours from where I live currently.

To chronicle this adventure, I was planning on makign a new blog called Suburban Bohemian Somethinggg or Otherrr (yess, the "sss"s and "rrr"s included).

So what the fuck is a Suburban Bohemian Somethinggg or Otherrr?

So tomorrow I AM going to Philidelphia to get a cheese steak, take photos and see some friends.

I'm taking a gang of cameras so there's gunna be a shit load of photos on the way.

So what the fuck is a Suburban Bohemian Somethinggg or Otherr?

Recently I had this idea I was going to BIKE across the country. Yes, me, BIKE, the guy that hasn't worked out or done anything physical for an ENTIRE year, the guy who nobly lives an unhealthy lifestyle, the man who smokes cigarettes and doesn't drink water because he doesn't like the taste. That man was contemplating taking a bike 3000 miles west, until I read somewhere it would cost a few grand and take 3 months, which is probably bullshit, but discouraging none the less. I think I'll settle for biking to upstate NY or something.

But what the fuck is a Suburban Bohemian Somethinggg or Otherrr?

So I'm off. Not taking a laptop so all the updates will be coming from Twitter! Now is a good time to get your Twitter game up, get an account and follow the Guru.

The Pop Guru

Only In NYC 2.0

2009-02-20T21:00:00.000-08:00

Cell phone pictures from GC.

There's this loony guy that I always see in Grand Central pacing around the main floor of the station, making weird signs with his hands and muttering to himself. I literally see him almost every time I catch an evening train back to CT.

I've never heard this man utter a word of English, he's silent, which leads me to believe that he can't speak. Maybe hes deaf and suppose he never learned sign language nor how to communicate so instead he's developed his own form of communication, one that involves pointing at the ground, pounding his fists and holding up the peace sign; I wonder what it means? Occasionally he gets rhythmic and starts flailing his arms in an aerobic sort of manner.

More than likely, this guy is homeless and mentally ill but the worst part about, or maybe the best? is he doesnt appear to be under the influence of drugs, he's just plain old fashioned ape shit crazy. I can't be certain if he's homeless though because he always seems to be in good spirits, never begs and is always moving. I know homeless people. Literally, I know homeless people, and they don't even fucking hesitate to ask you for SOMETHING. This dude has NEVER asked me for anything, never even acknowledged me.

I thought he might be planning an elaborate scheme of some sort. Maybe he was part of a pick pocketing team and played the part of part of deception, the ammo to the gun. Or maybe he's secretly planning to rob Grand Central and he's just conducting research to pull the scheme off.

Tonight I almost wanted to go up to him and ask if I could take his photo but I was afraid that he may lash out against me. I've never seen anyone speak with him so I was a bit weary of striking up a conversation.
The saddest part about this guy is he's always in grand central, always doing nothing. I've never seen him with food in his mouth or much in his hands. He doesn't go into stores, doesn't beg or ask for money. Doesn't talk to anyone or bother people. He's lost in his own world passing time in Grand Central. Shit....that almost sounds like a wonderful life.

Only in New York City.

The Popular Guru
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Only in NYC 1.0

2009-02-17T08:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was walking home from work on 5th ave and passed the almost finished Diesel store. Inside were some men working and then this...

Four ferries sitting inside the store, eating food and drinking champagne.

This annoying homeless woman was behind me and she kept saying.

"It's four men dressed as women...they're all men".

She must have been stoned or something because it was clearly only one man dressed as woman, a very large and ugly man/woman, but not four. I mean, one of them DID have some Diesel side burns so I doubt he was trying to be a woman, no pun intended.

I'm not sure what the point of this staged dinner was. Probably to get people to stop? Garner attention. Shit, it must have worked if I'm blogging about it. People were outside taking pictures with cameras more expensive than mine and tripods so I guess it was a success. The ferries in the window didn't acknowledge people outside, and they weren't doing much but having conversation.

Only in New York City.

The Popular Guru

Dress Warm-You Never Know When You're Gunna Sleep on the Streets

2009-02-12T08:46:00.000-08:00

Last night the inevitable finally happened. I stayed out too late and missed the last train back to CT. Was actually surprised this was the first time it happened, I felt like I've stayed out much later and still made the train...if that makes sense. Let me just say, there was nothing fun, romantic or adventurous about the night. There's nothing to do in NYC on a Wednesday night after 2am, it's not like I'm in fucking London, on a weekend. I'm pretty sure most bars close @ 2am in NYC so that left me with NOTHING to do, except wait.

"How old are u" A NYC police Office said to me.

"Does it matter?"

"Well if your over 18 then you're a man...act like a man" -He said with great verbrato and dignity.

"Go to McDonalds, sit down, the station is closed, there's nothing I can do for you".

Although the officer insulted my manhood and character, he was right. What the hell did I expect him to do for me? I missed the last train. It was 2am and grand central was effectively closed. The first train ran @ 6am and I had absolutely nowhere to go.

Taxi Driver waiting until 4am for someone to drive to out of state

I tried to convince a taxi driver to give me a ride to CT for 40 bucks. He took out his book and told me it would cost $200. I laughed and said no thanks. Eventually he went down to $100 or $80 to go to Greenwich (half an hour from home, but my grandmother resides in GT), probably could have talked him down to $80 and $60 but what was the point? I didn't have the money, can't hustle a man with no cash in his pockets, so I just sat.

Barrier to keep homeless people out, great work guys!

Some prick police officer told me I couldn't pass his barrier. Why does it seem like every time I actually need the police to do something for me, they tell me, "there's nothing I can".

"Go to McDonalds"

I went to McDonalds, that's the first thing I did. Don't tell me to go to McDonalds, I wanna go fucking home!

My Indian comrade

I eventually passed the barrier when the officers switched duty, with my Indian friend named Singh. After being around a lot of Indian guys I've come to realize they're almost all the same. Smart, level headed and kind.

"Don't let that cop see you, he'll kick you out on the street...its cold out there. Doesn't matter if you're 5 or 50, its still cold"

We made our way to the rest area of Grand Central and set up shop on the wooden bench that stretched 25 feet along the wall.

Finally, a place to sit. Peace and quite away from the commotion and confusion of NYC. There were no bums or weirdos here, just an open room, with that inescapable tan hue glaring down on me as I tried to get comfortable and fall asleep.

I realized I wouldn't even be sleeping if I was home in the comfort of my own bedroom, why did I think I could fall asleep on a bench in Grand Central.

This is where I had to sleep

As I lay down, sprawled across the wooden bench, I thought of the thousands of people that might have slept there, or atleast sat there before me. It was a disturbing thought that nearly made me sick, and I wished I was back home and that I could fall asleep elsewhere, but it was 3am and I really had nowhere to go.

I slept lightly for about 2 hours but really, didn't feel like I slept at all. I was too nervous to leave all my stuff exposed, so I slept with my backpack strapped to my arm. I suppose if someone wanted to take my cameras all they would have to do was unzip the back pack and make off, but it gave me just the right amount of comfort to help me go to sleep.

I woke up @ 5:15am. My acquaintance Singh still fast asleep in the same position he layed the entire the time, as if he slept there nightly. There were a couple other people in the room and I decided to leave.

I took a piss in the bathroom and realized there were a gang of homeless people washing up and walking the lower level. I'm so used to Grand Central being insanely crowded, even the bathrooms, there's sometimes a line and they're always grimy as hell; the bathrooms weren't exactly empty and they were by no means clean, but they were certainly cleaner and less crowded than I was a custom too. Again I got that disgusted feeling in my gut and decided I needed to leave NYC all together.

I bought a Donut, and thought about getting a coffee, but decided I better not because I still needed to get a good rest before the rest of the day ahead of me.

I practically know this woman by first name

The sun wasn't even up yet as I finished my last cigarette and walked over to board my train. Ironically I had to pay an extra $3.50 to ride back to CT because it was "peak hours". Peak hours my ass, I just slept in Grand Central, I have a headache, I need a shower, a cold drink and a couple of Tylenols-fuck peak hours, Grand Central, the NYC Police Department, the fucking guy driving the subway that made me late, the taxi driver for being a greedy bastard with no heart, the asshole cop that told me I couldn't cross the barrier and almost made me sleep outside, all the homeless people that hang around NYC that I almost know by fucking name by now, fuck the fact that there is no feasible way to get back to CT after 2am.

No. Fuck me for being a fucking idiot with no sense of judgement.

Good night,

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

A Glimpse At Spring

2009-02-06T07:29:00.000-08:00

I had training for my new job, and after I enjoyed the warm winter day in February by going down to Union Square and taking photos.

The other day, February 2nd to be exact, god gave New York city a glimpse of spring. I almost went outside with out my pea coat, a decision that I would have regretted later in the night, but regardless, during the day it was THAT warm.

It might have only been 40 degrees, probably less according to the "weather man" but it's been so cold, 40 degrees feels like 70.

I went down to Union Square armed with my Pentax K1000 (35mm) a couple lens', an almost full pack of American Spirits and a tall coffee.

I made my way down to the East Village aswell.

Then it got absolutely freezing and I was outside for literally 2 hours. I was convinced I had minor hypothermia and needed to get inside. One problem, I was in Brooklyn so there wasn't really any place to go.

I passed by a strange church and it looked like they were having a late night service. I thought about going in, but thought I might walk in on some creepy shit, so I kept it moving.

I walked up and down the same street for like an hour until the doors @ Death by Audio opened.

Even when I got there, it was still fucking freezing cause they don't have heat and it's an old warehouse type building with a lot of drafts.

I saw some bands perform, drank a little beer, took some photos and then called it a night just after 12am.

I met a gnarly vagabond on the train and we talked for like half n hour about life, women and a bunch of other random shit. Unfortunately I don't have any photos of him, not because I didn't take any, but because the film got fucked up.

Oh how I love both the beauty and ugliness of 35mm film. I'm not sure exactly what happened, could be a number of things, might not have even been MY fault (developing). I feel like a guy that met a cute girl, only got her first name and didn't get her number (which has happened plenty of times). The film is gone, the moment and experience gone with it. All I have are some words I wrote on the way back home, no photos to back it up though. Oh well, that's life...

Read www.cigarettediaries.com for more on that night...

The Popular Guru

A New Beginning

2009-01-30T11:13:00.000-08:00

Self Portrait of Myself

So just a few days ago, I was down in the gutter, crying (metaphorically), because I lost my insurance and consequently lost my life. I live in CT so it's necessary to drive in order to get ANYTHING done. Prior to all of this, I was living the suburban HIGH life. I was able to do just about anything I wanted because I had a perfect balance between freedom and responsibility, income and enjoyment. But just when we feel most comfortable, something comes into our life, or mistakes resurrects themselves from the past, to throw a wrench in our machine.

But just when I thought my life was gunna get worse before it got any better, I got a call from someone at Abercrombie & Fitch.

I went in for not one but TWO interviews at Abercrombie after a friend/mentor(?) encouraged me to apply for the "model" position at their flagship store in NYC (5th ave, right next to Harry Winston's). For the record I was never one of those kids that wore Abercrombie in middle school and always had this negative congnitation stuck in my mind that they didn't hire minorities (60 minutes is SHIT-couldnt' be further from the truth). Nonetheless, I went to the store and scheduled an interview (which is incredibly easy by the way, YOU should give it a shot).

After not hearing from them for over 10 days I thought they weren't inrested in me, but low and behold, 15 sum odd days later, they call me back and tell me I need to come in for another interview. For some reason I thought I had the job. So I went in, paid my 25 dollars to ride Metro North, passed 6 hours in the snow by drinking coffee in 3 different Starbucks in downtown Manhattan, then made my way to the Abercrombie office on 5th Ave.

In all honesty, it was weird going for that second interview because the way they do their interviews is-a group of 10 people sit in a cubicle, and two people ask everyone 4 questions in an open forum sort of way, it's really laid back and informal (sorta like Abercrombie in genera). Of course I knew the questions already, even had a pretty good idea as to how I was suppose answer the questions but that didn't necessarily make it any easier.

So I left the city hoping I would get this job, and for 2 weeks I heard nothing-nothing until TODAY (officially got the job)!

I find it amazing how one minute you can be down and literally the next minute you're on the come up again. I see this job as a fresh start. It's my first 'real' job, my first job in retail, my first job in the city and a brand new opportunity for me to make something of myself.

The Recession by The Pop Guru

So what has this week of recession taught me? Save and prepare for the future. I did the math and had I saved just 10% of my net income ($1 for every $10 I spent) I would be in much different place currently. Money doesn't necessarily bring happiness (or does it?), but it surely does help you sustain the life that makes you HAPPY-you get what I mean?

With that said, I have my orientation on Monday for Abercrombie. Right now I'm gunna plan my next move, which might just be moving to the big apple. The recession sucks, but in away, I think it's a blessing in disguise, at least rent and the cost of living are down. Travel has become more affordable, this is the cheapest time to go to Europe-there is a huge "IF" to this whole equation though... "IF YOU HAVE MONEY".

Stay positive though, that's the key. Dwelling on the past and feeling bad for yourself isn't going to help your situation get any better.

“The good news is that you don‘t need a lot of money to make a lot of money during a depression. A basic understanding of capitalism - and a willingness to put compassion on the back burner while you extract wealth from desperate people in desperate need - are all it takes to accumulate riches in the worst of times.” Jacked from HERE.

Oh and my position @ A&F is that of a "Model". Meaning I greet people @ the door and "represent the brand".

The Popular Guru.

Days Are Getting Longer...Spring is Just Around the Corner

2009-01-29T10:23:00.001-08:00

Summer Sunset

So January went by pretty quick. Seems like we were just celebrating the New Year last week. January was a tough month in terms of the weather though, snowed atleast 4 times and we had the coldest month in 4 years-here that is, out west there was a god damn heat wave, or so I heard.

So it's almost February, which is great, because that means Spring is just around the corner.

Today (1/29), it is actually a pretty nice day. I can go outside in a sweatshirt with no coat, gloves or scarf and not freeze my ass off.

Winter Sunset

Like I said earlier though, February is a tricky month. You get days like today when it feels like 40 and you think it's finally getting warmer, and then it snows (like it did a two nights ago) but the good news IS! February is the shortest month of the year! Hell yeah! Oh and I just found out that everyday the sun rises a minute earlier and sets a minute later, so the days become 2 minutes longer!

With that said...listen to Richard Julian. He's a great musician from Brooklyn, NY.

The Pop Guru

Working on my Zine

2009-01-28T09:51:00.000-08:00

Zine according to Wikipedia:

A zine (an abbreviation of the word fanzine, or magazine; pronounced [ziːn], "zeen") is most commonly a small circulation, non-commercial publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier on a variety of colored paper stock.

I've wanted to do a zine since I began taking photos in October of 2008. If you think about it, I started working on my zine when I began taking photos, so it's already been a 4 month process.

The trouble with zines is making them unique and interesting. I've seen a number of very intriguing zines through browsing the net, seems like there's an unlimited supply of good work out there. Vice magazine is sort of obsessed with zines...

Check out some zines via Viceland.com

So how do you make a zine interesting is my question? Well the zines I've come across seem to be very "edgy" or boarderline offensive in a lot of ways (Skins and Punks, Vandal Squad, Niche Homo, Sex Beat, etc.). In away, it seems like you HAVE TO offend a few people to make your zine worth reading. A lot of it also has to do with the layout and format as well though. Some zines only have photos in them, others only words I suppose, and of course many combine the two mediums but the actual physical layout and the way the zine is produced is VERY important when it comes to zines-after all that's what seperates zines from magaZINES.

Since I'm not a punk, or skin head, homosexual or closet nerd, I guess my zine is going to have to focus on my own personal experiences with in the last 6 months. Not going to college, the jobs I've had, the problems I've run into, being broke, being down and out, being up, etc, etc, etc.

With that said, if anyone has an suggestions, shoot me an email, thepopularguru@yahoo.com

check out my photos @ www.flickr.com/thepopguru to see some of my work to date.

The Popular Guru

Face LIFT!

2009-01-27T10:11:00.000-08:00

The blog is getting a face lift, cigarettediaries.com included. I'm taking away the entry pages so when you go to thepopguru.com or cigarettediaries.com it's going to take you right to the blogs. Everything is going to be through my blog page, instead of all these dumb links to pages that no one cares about. I realized it was a bit pretentious of me to have a store and half a dozen links to my work because really no one gives two shits about any of that stuff.

I'm going to take a Kanye East approach to blogging, meaning the blog is really going to be about what I AM interested in. I need to UP my EGO. Harken (yes! always wanted to use that word!) back to my roots of not giving a fuck! I'm too young and beautiful to get stressed out over not having a car or a job. I should be fucking HAPPY that I don't have that kind of responsibility anymore! Like I said in another post, freedom is fucking scary because we're not really acustom to being 100% free, but once you get over that first hump and realize you can wake up and do what ever the fuck you want, freedom is GOLD!

The Pop GURU

Life as a Dog PT. 1

2009-01-26T12:02:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wish I was a dog. Because as a dog I would have no responsibility other than to tell someone when I felt like taking a piss/shit so they could open the door for me. I have a dog, and all he does during the day is lounge around and wait for my mom to come home. He has three beds spread across the house and plenty of comfy rugs to rest on, he gets his food when he's hungry, takes a nap when he's tired and everyone finds him to be devilishly cute.

Oh life as a dog.

The Popular Guru

I Used to Give a Fuck-less...Now I Give a Fuck

2009-01-24T20:23:00.000-08:00

Some stuff from wayyy back when I started taking pictures in October of 2008. It's been awhile.

I used to be so god damn careless. The pinnacle of my carelessness came when I spilled 32oz of Gatorade on $1200 worth of photography equipment, I'm still paying for that day, even if it's not coming out of pockets. That was back in the all or nothing days when I was just doing what ever I felt like and had no regard for value or appreciation. That was the first time, EVER, that I really had to look at myself and be like, "Damn, you fucked up".

It's hard to believe that I started taking pictures sometime in October. That's when I still had my Mom's SLR and I would go to the beach to smoke and chill and just so happened to have a camera with me. It really just started with one photo. That was my "Woa" moment (not because I think it's a great picture). For me that was the first time I really thought about photography as an art.

Back then it was more about quantity and less about quality. I had my spots and my times everything else as far the technical aspects of photography didn't really come into play. When I broke my Mom's camera I was forced to go strictly film...

Wait, what the fuck, no one cares about this shit. Fuck!

The Popular Guru

Party Time: Saturday 80/90s party!

2009-01-23T09:54:00.000-08:00

There's an 80's/90's party happening tomorrow @ CRT Lounge in NYC. Remember how popular sunglasses were in the 80s? The confusion of 90s fashion? Smh, lmao.

While it may be 2009, on January 24th, we're gonna party like it's 1999...

I Love The 80's & 90's Party Strikes Back!

Saturday, January 24th

CRT Lounge www.crotonreservoirtavern.com

108 W 40th St. (btwn Broadway & 6th Ave)

The 90's were great. No blackberry's, blogs were non existent, people wore baggy clothing. Kurt Cobain, Tupac, Biggie were all still alive. It was alright to call yourself a Knicks fan. Anyway, party like it's 1999! I'll be there...

Email me if you want to be on the guest list, thepopularguru@yahoo.com

The Pop Guru

The Poor Traits of an Artist

2009-01-22T19:40:00.000-08:00

I wrote this at the height of winter, when it snowed three days in a row and I lost my driving privileges, and I thought the world was coming to an end.

January and February are the shittiest months of the year. Right now a lot of us are experiencing buyers remorse, or coming to the realization that we actually have to pay off that credit card bill from X-Mas shopping this month (I know I am). We have all of 2009 ahead of us to fuck up and it certainly doesn't help that it's snowed for the past three days (I'm in the north east). January is historically the coldest month of the year and February isn't much better. Of course half way through February you get a week of weather that feels like Spring, so you put away your winter coat and gloves, but the winter isn't over, mother nature is just playing with your emotions.

What do I have to look forward to? A semester of college at a school I don't want to be at? Not driving for what looks like many years to come? Being stuck in boring ass Connecticut, and plenty more mundane responsibilities that bring me nothing but stress and anxiety.

Why so down trodden?

Well it seems like all my bullshit has finally caught up to me. I've pushed shit aside long enough, now it's time to sort through the mess and get back on my feet.

So what is there to do? Wait, I guess...wait, try to stat warm and continue to destroy the planet so one day Winter doesn't exists.

The Pop Guru

All The Negatives Have Been Destroyed

2009-01-22T16:34:00.000-08:00

I borrowed my Mom's medium format camera (not sure what kind it is) and just got the images developed. All together, it cost $100 dollars to get 6 rolls of film developed. Out of the 6 rolls, I would say there is MAYBE, the equavalent of 1 good roll of images (meaning less than 24 images I like, out of more than 100 total). So with that said, I love film but it's definitely a costly relationship. To put the cost in perspective, a digital SLR would cost me like 600 dollars, sooo yeah...I could have bought myself a bad ass DSLR with all the money I've spent on film.

Oh well. Film IS beautiful.

I have no car, due to an insurance issue, so I haven't been taking photos like I used to. I've been confined to my house. It's too damn cold to walk anywhere and the city costs money so I'm pretty much shit outta luck.

I've got some fish eye photos posted on my FLICK'r page and more on the way. Also a couple of holga shots coming soon. Too many photos to post in one place.

Until later,

The Pop Guru

Add me on twitter, www.twitter.com/thepopguru and I'll add you!

Happy Birthday...TO ME!

2009-01-21T14:05:00.000-08:00

It's my god damn BIRTHDAY.

Now wish me a Happy Birthday!

EDIT: Someone else has a birthday in January...that's right, sometime in January of 2006 The Pop Guru was born, what a coincidence. I don't know exactly when he was born, so lets just say he was born umm.... January 24th? Yes! The Popular Guru was born January 24th. Celebration this Friday January 24th! Party Time, Party Time, Party Time!

The Popular Guru

If this guy can tour the US and Europe...Why Can't I?

2009-01-19T19:09:00.000-08:00

http://www.myspace.com/wavves

A Genius Loves Company

2009-01-14T10:33:00.001-08:00

A Genius Loves Company

Sometime between midnight and the time the sun rises there's an hour or two when everything seems to shut down. This is actually the time that the world slows down for maybe half a second to rest. The earth has to rest just like the people on earth have to.

During this time the sky gets a little darker, the air a little colder and the atmosphere a little quieter.
This is coincidentally the most peaceful hour of the day because it's the pinnacle of peace and tranquility.

Sadly most people will never witness such a time, because, they are of course, a sleep.

The Popular Guru

Portrait of an Artist: As a Young Man

2009-01-11T09:12:00.001-08:00

Last night I was bored and tired and not really doing anything, so I decided to whip out my digital camera, that I almost never use anymore and take some self portraits. After only shooting on film for a few weeks, I welcomed the ease of shooting on digital.

All the color and tone was done in post production.

I don't think I would have been able to achieve this look with film. To think if I used film to shoot these portraits I still wouldn't even know what the images looked like, they would still need to be developed.

Awww, digital...

The Popular Guru

I gotta stop leaking photos...

2009-01-07T12:07:00.000-08:00

I'm posting to many of my photos, gots to save some for the book.

I'm going to release my work as a Zine. It will feature selections from my portfolio as well as notes, stories and other junk.

Stay tuned,

The Popular Guru

Work in Progress...

2009-01-06T13:53:00.001-08:00

Starting to build up my portfolio, getting ready to release my first book.

Popular Guru

The Glory Years

2009-01-03T11:36:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking about making a photo book for the famlay. It would be titled, The Glory Years. Last night, I was thinking, 2008 is really the first year I can remember start to finish. I think this is due to the fact that I anticipated so much for 2008, so the whole time I was conciously waiting for something BIG to happen. Needless to say, 2008 was just another year...

But 2009...No more bullshit!

Popular GURU

New Year...New Photos

2009-01-01T17:56:00.000-08:00

Today I got straight to work and took a trip deep into the woods to take photographs. It was damn cold and everything was mostly covered in snow, so I failed to capture anything breathtaking.

But, check it out.

Popular Guru

Hey...Fuck New Years

2008-12-31T21:09:00.000-08:00

This NYE, I did the most uncool, least interesting thing I could think of...I STAYED HOME!

I didn't watch the ball drop.

I didn't kiss anyone at midnight.

I didn't drink any Champagne.

I didn't go to any raging parties.

I didn't see Crystal Castles perform.

What did I do then?

I bought some film, figured out how I could use my Nikon lens with my Pentax K1000 and took some photos. It was a low key night to say the least.

While everyone is celebrating god knows what. I'm sitting here writing.

If 2008 was a transition year, not nearly what I thought it was going to be, then 2009 should be interesting.

2009, no more bullshit!

The Popular Guru

New Layout in the .09

2008-12-20T22:53:00.000-08:00

This blog is going to be revitalized come the .09. Now that CigaretteDiaries.com has some sort fo a following and a direction, it's time to get the OG blog back in order.

So what's to come of ThePopGuru?

Well, this blog/site is going to become just that, my personal blog. I'm still going to blog about pop culture and all that good stuff, but it's all going to be through the day and the life of me-truly from my own experiences.

Pop.ul.ar.guru

A Cross The Universe (Justice Documentary) CLIP

2008-12-16T23:15:00.001-08:00

Buy the whole movie @ Amazon.com!

Pop/

Bam or Bust: The Adventure Begins

2008-12-15T10:14:00.000-08:00

Pop/ul/ar/GURU

Dreamseller by Brandon Novak (Pop Guru Review)

2008-11-26T07:51:00.000-08:00

"I was a dreamseller. I sold those who loved me their dream that I was a recovering addict. I gained their trust, and betrayed them in order to get my precious next fix." -Brandon Novak, Dreamseller

Brandon Novak, best known as Bam Margera's "best friend", featured on Viva La Bam, Bam's Unholy Union and other Jackass related television, is also a recovering heroin addict, was once a promising pro skater and now...a writer. Together with Joe Frantz, Novak recently released Dreamseller, his heroin Memoir.

Dreamseller is truly an AMAZING story. Think of every negative cliche associated with Heroin and Novak's probably experienced it to some degree. Engaging in homo sexual acts for Heroin money, check. Getting beat almost to the point of death over drugs, check. Loosing almost everything, gaining some of it back, only to loose it all again, check. It's no secret that Novak is still struggling to over come Heroin, so don't think this novel has a happy eneding. Even the stories with in Brandon's own story of abuse and redemption are unbelievable.

If you're think, Brandon Novak, that dumb fuck that talks about sucking peoples dick for money on Bam Radio, how the hell could he write a ledgible Novel? You'll be surprised to know that Dreamseller is actually a VERY well written book. Not sure if that's why Joe Frantz(-) shares a co-author credit or if it's just that heart felt(+), either way, there's actually some GREAT writing in Dreamseller.

It's hard to write a review about this book with out "giving away" some key points of the story so I guess you're just going to have to pick up a copy for yourself and READ.

Watch the 5 part mini documentary about Dreamseller. They tell Novaks story in about 25 minutes-rivetting.

You can purchase Dreamseller @ the amazon.com book store.

Pop/ul/ar/GURU

A Cross The Universe (Justice Documentary) IN STORES NOW!

2008-11-25T20:51:00.001-08:00

Yes, the day has finally come. A Cross The Universe, the documentary and album produced by the French Electro DJing Duo is available TODAY!

If you're not familiar with Justice, well then educate yourself.

Here is the trailer:

I've yet to see Justice perform...I bought a ticket to see them not too long ago, stayed for the opening act (SoMe) but had to bail due to the fact that it was so late and Justice wasn't expected on stage for several more hours-plus they were only doing a "DJ Set"-what ever the fuck that means. And for the record, I have a strong feeling that their European shows are much better than their shows in the US. The documentary might just prove that.

It's alright though, they're in NYC atleast every 6 months so...no worries.

You can order the DVD+Album from AMAZON.com-FUCK I-Tunes.

Literally,

The/Pop/ul/ar/GURU...bitches

Lovage

2008-11-23T07:21:00.000-08:00

What the hell is lovage?

As far as the title goes I wish I could help us all out, but I'm just as stumped.

Far beyond the Euro-Fusion of Hotel Costes and the remixes of Marc Ronson and family, lovage originates from Chile. That's right Chile. Who ever knew South America was into this type of fusion shit, but you can hear it in their music. The Latin influence is overwhelming to the ear, or more so the 'trained ear'--sorry Fallout Fans, I don't think your ready for some Lovage.
Basically, if your in the mood to just chill out, or if your in the 'zone' (wink wink) than Lovage is what your looking for.

"What is this?" Mom.
"Lovage"

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Banned....Perma Banned...From Terminal 5

2008-11-19T06:24:00.000-08:00

______________________

Banned...Perma Banned
______________________

So I tried to see Girl Talk again for the second time in two nights. I was waiting in line to buy a ticket and it was looking to be a good night. The crowd was much more mature than it was on Sunday night, less kids, more adults. I recognized all the bouncers and security outside of course, and when I asked if they were selling tickets at the door I got this eery feeling that they remembered me too.

I had just met up with my friend Claudeen and got my ID checked when a tall white security guard came up to me and got with in half a foot of my face. It was as if he was waiting for, as if he KNEW I was coming again Tuesday night.

"You're not coming in here, get out of my line, have a nice night"

I was speechless!?!?

"Excuse me". I tried to play dumb like I had NO idea what this guy was talking about.

"Get out of my line, you're not coming in"

"I don't understand"

"Yes you do, remember me? Remember this face? Check your blog...You know exactly why you're not coming in...you took MY picture"

Terminal 5 holds something like 2000 people. This show happened to be sold out, just like the last two shows that Girl Talk played over the weekend. The venue is HUGE, three levels, multiple bars...and this guy actually REMEMBERED ME!?!?

To make a longer story shorter, I played dumb and acted like I had no idea, just to get some intel on what THEY knew. I guess mentioning my blog to one of security was a BAD idea. He must have passed the word along and I guess "head of security" didn't find my comments so funny.

"You disrespected this venue, we take that VERY seriously. This went all the way up to MANAGMENT, we all know about you, people from Girl Talk were notified and they weren't pleased. You are not coming into night, this is a private venue, you will NEVER be allowed in here AGAIN!"

What? "People" from Girl Talk know about my blog? That's AMAZING!

What I've concluded is, I've got to be a little smarter about what I say, do and post. It's gotten to the point that my life is basically written out on the internet. Had I not posted those pictures, and advertised my blog so blatantly to the security guards, I doubt they would have remembered me.

I made several attempts to try to get back in-none of them worked. I was perma banned from Terminal 5. EVERYBODY knew me, all of security was obviously briefed about the incident, my discription was known. I tried to level with just about every guy there and all of them gave me the cold shoulder, as if they knew it was fucked up that I couldn't get in but couldn't do anything about it.

My last attempt might have made things even worse. I had to get escorted out and the "head of security" took a picture of me on his phone. There was a woman standing next to him that looked like she was someone important.

"Hang around longer and I'll make sure you're banned from every venue that we own" (Terminal 5, Bowery Ballroom, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Mercury Lounge and Wellmont Theater, plus they do TONS of events at other venues)

I left and I'm not going back.

Happy guys?

Pop/ul/ar/GURU

The Night of Girl Talk (11/16)

2008-11-17T16:02:00.001-08:00

Last night I saw Girl Talk perform @ Terminal 5.

A group by the name of Grand Buffet opened for the Pennslyvanian DJ. They were actually VERY entertaining. They were a three piece rap group, made up of an older looking front man, with a red beer and frail frame, a large heavy set rapper, and a trippy "hype man" that just danced through the whole set.

Grand Buffet @ Terminal 5

Their music was a mixture of humorous rap and electronic beats. The front man kept making references to Cocaine, like when he confessed that there was an Island off the coast of Haiwi that was made of pure cocaine and Aquafina water. They also seemed to be obsessed with Skittles, maybe a reference to E?

Next was Girl Talk.

I had heard about previous Girl Talk shows and how he only uses a computer and does mash ups of all types of music, but also that he allows dozens of fans up on stage with him. I made it my goal that night to get on the stage, by what ever means necessary. I'm not accustom to being turned down, not at concerts. I always get a ticket, always get to where I want to be, always try and enjoy myself.

Girl Talk reminded me a bit of Crystal Castles, except the crowd was young and juvenile. As soon as the show started, I felt that familiar wave of adrenaline push me from left, to right, ten feet forward and then five feet back. Knowing that I was being pushed around by a bunch of Highschoolers got me a bit frusturated.

I met this girl that looked like a raver chick. She had glasse on with crazy fluorescent beeds and what not.

"If you help me, I'll help you" she whispered into my ear.

"I don't know you're name, but I think you're really amazing" she said to me before Girl Talk started which made me believe she might be tripping on E.

We latched hands and stayed together for five minutes, until we got hit by a huge wave that separated us...I never saw that girl again.

I made several attempts at getting on stage. I tried the "brother to brother" approach that has worked in the past to bypass security(A La Vampire Weekend). "The brother to brother" approach is really a language that black people use to communicate with one another. When another "brother" sees, a fellow brother in need of something, they usually do all they can to help that "brother" out.

Hence the expression, "Help a brother out!"

The security at Terminal 5 obviously didn't know about this unwritten language.

"I'm warning you, if you push, you're going to get hurt"

"I'm not pushing man"

This one security guard(pictured up top) was having a ball pushing against my stomach, marking up my plaid shirt and making me angry.

I got beer poured on me and decided it was time to take a break from trying to get on stage. I smoked a green cigarette with a couple of Highschoolers that know my little brother.

I found myself back in front of the security guards trying again to get on stage. They weren't letting anyone on, nobody could get past these guys. I talked with them some more, asking very nicely to get on stage. I got so frusturated, and came to the realization that I was NOT going to get on stage legitamently. I devised a plan to knock over the security so EVERYBODY could get on stage.

"On three, we push!"

Everyone agreed.

"One, two, three...PUSH!!!"

Security warned me not tell people to push. I don't take orders from very many people, I love to go against authority.

I put my camera in the face of a few security guards, to piss them off a bit, so they might loosen up their grip and we could push through them.

"Don't take a picture...don't do it...don't do it"

"Say cheese" I say with a big grin on my face.

CLICK!

TO BE CONTINUED....

Lakai-Fully Flared

2008-11-13T10:05:00.001-08:00

This is a pretty gnarly skateboarding video that was directed by Ty Evans, Spike Jonze and Cory Weincheque.

The film took over 4 years to make!

Check out the INTRO...

and watch the whole video HERE.

and the making of, courtesy of VBS.tv

I could see myself spending 4 years making a gnarly ass skateboarding video!

pop/ul/ar/GURU

Kaiser Chiefs Are Playing Webster Hall on 10/15

2008-11-13T08:02:00.000-08:00

Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band who formed in 1997, inspired heavily by Britpop band Blur. Hailing from Leeds, the group consists of vocalist Ricky Wilson, guitarist Andrew 'Whitey' White, bassist Simon Rix, keyboardist Nick 'Peanut' Baines, and drummer Nick Hodgson. They were named after the South African football club Kaizer Chiefs, a team which former Leeds United defender Lucas Radebe played for. [wikipedia.org]

I've never really listened to the Kaiser Chiefs, but I've seen there name pop up here and there over the last year or so. The only song I have by them on my I-Tunes is "Ruby", it's a catchy tune that I've heard on the radio, sounds a lot like "Believe" by The Bravery.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

The Kaiser Chiefs are playing Webster Hall this Saturday. The show is sold out, so check Craigslist.org for tickets, or scalp them @ Webster Hall. There's NO REASON why you shouldn't be able to get a ticket for $30. Don't pay more than $40, other wise you're getting ripped off.

Girl Talk is playing Terminal 5 on Saturday as well (SOLD OUT ).

I'll be in the city this weekend.

pop/ul/ar/GURU

MGMT on the Cover of Spin Magazine

2008-11-12T09:38:00.000-08:00

Listen to MGMT's newest EP, Metanoia.

I don't feel like scanning the actual article, so do yourself a favor and purchase a copy @ your local newsstand/bookstore.

pop/ul/ar/GURU

Girl Talk is Playing Terminal 5 (10/15+10/16)

2008-11-08T17:05:00.000-08:00

"I saw this guy perform twice and both times he used a Mac"-Anonymous

Girl Talk is performing @ Terminal 5 in NYC on the 15th and 16th of November. Both shows are completely sold out, but you can get tickets on craigslist.org or just scalp them before the show.

I got into MGMT for free, Justice for 40 bucks and countless other shows that were suppose to be "sold out". It's never impossible, some shows are just harder to get into than others but just remember, you'll never enjoy a show if you don't go.

I'll be there on the 15th, maybe the 16th too? Heard his shows are a lot of fun, I expect it to be a lot like Diplo or maybe even Crystal Castles(wild, crazy DANCE party-heard he lets people on stage too!).

See you there!

pop/ul/ar/GURU

You Look Like a Young Obama

2008-11-06T00:48:00.001-08:00

To All You Women That Think I Look Like Obama,

Yes I know, I look like Obama.

"You look just like a young Obama?" an older woman said to me @ Union Square.
"He's the next one" her husband said.

Well do I? Do I really look like Obama? Did I look like Obama 2 months ago? How about 2 years ago. Did I look like Obama when I was a baby? Do we look like we have the same mothers and fathers, is that it? Maybe we do? Maybe Barack Obama and I have the same mother and father and in which case, we might have similar facial features...WAIT. NO-we DONT!

But to all you cute Obama girls,

"Yes We Can"....

pop/ul/ar/gu/ru

Obama

2008-11-05T06:09:00.000-08:00

My President is Black!

pop/ular/GURU

Ting Tings @ Webster Hall (11/1)

2008-11-02T08:04:00.000-08:00

Last night I saw the Ting Tings perform @ Webster Hall. It was the 3rd time I've seen them perform in about 4 or 5 months, my first sober show since Vampire Weekend in June, the worst out of the 3 shows I've seen and possibly the worst show I've attended...EVER?

I don't know if it was because I was sober, or because the crowd was so god damn lame, but I didn't have very much fun. I was there STRICTLY there on assignment.

I had the biggest problem with the crowd. There wasn't enough energy, nobody was really dancing, nobody passing around blunts/joints, no pushing to get to the front. Everybody sort of just stayed in their respective area and twisted their bodies around in a very superficial, "I'm pretending to dance" sort of way.

I can't blame the Ting Tings for the lack of excitement, they did what they had to do. There was a moment when they stopped playing, turned up the lights and asked everybody where the hell they were; they made it clear that the crowd wasn't live enough.

"You guys need to start dancing"

The highlights were "Great DJ", "Shut up and Let me Go", "We Started Nothing". The low was when they killed the vibe all together and did that slow song half way through the set.

What I can blame the Ting Tings for is NOT changing their show...AT ALL. I literally could predict what was coming next every step of the way. Pausing for about 15 seconds towards the end of "Shut Up and Let me Go". The interlude between the end of the set and the encore. Opening with "We Walk". They also didn't play for very long. They should really throw in a cover track or two, why not?

All in all, I got some decent footage for the site, so I guess I succeeded in that sense.

Next show:

Ting Tings Tonight @ Webster Hall

2008-11-01T12:28:00.001-07:00

Tonight I'm going to see the Ting Tings perform for the 3rd time in only 4 or 5 months. The first time I saw them was @ The Bowery Ballroom, an intimate experience that introduced me to the band, next was @ McCarren Pool when they opened for MGMT a month later; in just a few weeks there live show got even better. I said from the beginning, this was a band that I would follow because I wanted to witness them evolve into a great live act.

We'll see tonight.

EDIT: Tonight I'm looking for a little more than the same album cuts I've heard at the last two performances. Considering the band has performed in NYC almost half a dozen times in less than 6 months, I think the fans deserve it.

pop/ular/GURU

The Night of MGMT Pt. 2 (Webster Hall VIDEOS!)

2008-10-31T19:09:00.000-07:00

MGMT @ Webster Hall (10/30) from Popular Guru on Vimeo.

MGMT-Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (10/30) from Popular Guru on Vimeo.

MGMT @ Webster Hall (10/30) from Popular Guru on Vimeo.

The show was fun. Like everyone else, I was shocked and amused to see the group come out in full mariachi gear.

Their performance was better than the last time I saw them. The costumes, lights and stage props (THC Leaves) were a nice touch to the show.

One thing I still can't figure out is the set list. What were all those songs that I've never heard them play before? I know they used to be a karaoke/cover band, but the stuff they played didn't ring any bells. Of course I recognized their cover of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". That was most definitely an awkward moment.

TO BE CONTINUED.

The Night of MGMT (pt. 1)

2008-10-31T18:45:00.000-07:00

photo jacked from Faith-Ann Young

I saw MGMT perform @ McCarren Pool over the summer and again last night @ Webster Hall, except this time there were no Ting Tings to get the crowd revved up, no dodge ball and no sun to make me dehydrated.

Before the show, I saw the guys from MGMT walk in the front door of Webster Hall. They got out of an old Van that carried about 10 people. All the band members plus an entourage of gorgeous, young, model looking chicks. That right there really put the whole experience into perspective for me. The same guys worshiped by so many, walk in the front door to their own show an hour before they're suppose to get on stage? Please, I need to be in a band.

I didn't have advance tickets for the show and had no intention of paying more than 30 bucks to see MGMT. I waited long and hard in 40 degree weather, hoping for someone to toss me a ticket for free. Believe it or not, it can happen. I saw Shiny Toy Guns just last week for $0. The truth of the matter is, not everyone is a stingy ass hole trying to make a quick buck, some people are actually considerate. It only takes patience and perseverance, doesn't hurt to be kind hearted and good looking though.

So after waiting outside for about 2 hours, I decided I probably wasn't going to get a ticket. Onto plan B. Plan B was to storm the door, force my way into the show, how ever I could. The thing about Webster Hall is, there are two check points to get in, one is where the security guards check your ID, the other is where someone checks your ticket and grants you entrance into the venue. I realized that it was easy enough to get through the first check point, just hop over the velvet rope and proceed to the next check point...but how to get past the second?

I made friends with these two kids that looked like they were tripping out on maybe Acid or Xtacy. They were both wearing t-shirts. T-shirts in 30-40 degree weather on Halloween! One guy kept complaing about how he lost his ticket, the other was denied entrance for being "too intoxicated", HAHA.

"You guys wanna storm the entrance?"

"That might be our best option".

I breifed the guys on how we were going to get in. "Just use an old ticket stub and force your way through, they might not even notice us".

With out a second guess, I stepped over the velvet rope as the two security guards were checking IDs. It was too easy. Next,step, to bypass the people checking tickets. I let the tall kid in the t-shirt jump ahead of me, he already had his ticket stub out. Just as he was passing through the young lady called his attention. In a split second I pushed the tall skinny kid in front of me and slid behind him, up the stairs to the main floor. I was in! I made my way all the way to stage in fear that I was being tailed by someone.

No one was tailing me. I had successfully done what many only dreamed of. I knew that if I got caught I would probably never step foot in Webster Hall again, but that made it all the better. While some people paid 2-5x face value for a ticket to see MGMT, I paid the nothing.

To be continued...

SebastiAn Remixes (2008)

2008-10-30T07:33:00.000-07:00

SebastiAn is performing tonight, along side SoMe, Busy P and Justice (DJ Set) @ Webster Hall. Sebastian is one of my favorite REMIXERs. I had the chance to see him way back when I saw Daft Punk perform in Coney Island, back when I was a virgin to such great music.

Download all these great remixes. HERE!

Tracklist: 01. Intro
02. Revl9n - Walking Machines (SebastiAn Remix)
03. Daft Punk - Human After All (SebastiAn Remix)
04. Mylo - Paris Four Hundred (SebastiAn Remix)
05. The Rapture - Get Myself Into It (SebastiAn Remix)
06. Editors - Camera (SebastiAn Remix)
07. The Rakes - We Dance Together (SebastiAn Remix)
08. Kelis - Bossy (SebastiAn Remix)
09. The Kills - Cheap & Cheerful (SebastiAn Remix)
10. Kavinsky - Testarossa Autodrive (SebastiAn Remix)
11. Benjamin Theves - Texas (SebastiAn Remix)
12. Das Pop - Fool For Love (SebastiAn Remix)
13. Bloc Party - I Still Remember (SebastiAn Remix)
14. S?bastien Tellier - Sexual Sportswear (SebastiAn Remix)
15. Klaxons - Golden Skans (SebastiAn Remix)
16. Annie - Happy With You (SebastiAn Remix)
17. Nadiya - Tous Ces Mots (SebastiAn Remix)

It's not too late to give me tickets to go see Justice tonight! thepopularguru@yahoo.com

Pop/ular/GURU

Tomorrow: MGMT & Justice @ Webster Hall

2008-10-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow (10/30) MGMT(early) and Justice(late) will be performing @ Webster Hall! Both shows are SOLD OUT, of course, and tickets are going for over $100 a pop on craigslist.org! I don't have $100 to spend on either group, much less, damn near $300 for both shows. My plan is to get lucky. I saw Shiny Toy Guns last week for free. How? I waited in the fucking cold for over an hour until a kind group of ladies offered me a ticket...FOR FREE! I'm thinking I might be able to get lucky tomorrow as well. All it takes is one ticket, that's it, one kind soul that doesn't care about scamming someone for $100.

Anyway, who knows if it will work. At the very least I'll hang out outside the venue and take pictures of all the cute highschool/college chicks going to see MGMT.

If it comes down to a free MGMT ticket, or a free Justice ticket...who will I pick? Hmmmm, I could go either way, but most likely Justice considering I've already seen MGMT, and they weren't as good as I expected. Plus Busy P, SoMe and Sebastian are performing with Justice...SeBASTIAN is ILLL!

A Cross the Universe (Trailer)

Also, MGMT is playing The Music Hall of Williamsburg on Halloween the next day.

We shall see!

If ANYONE is kind enough to throw me a free ticket, check out my post on craiglist.org for details and EMAIL me!

pop/ular/GURU

Ziggs.com

2008-10-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

Ziggs.com is another cool site that I found. Ziggs offers a service that allows a webmaster to see exactly where hits are coming from. Literally, they will give you the address of the people that search for you on Google or visit your website.

I'm know who you all are.

pop/ular/guru

X-Mas in the Air?

2008-10-28T22:13:00.001-07:00

Flick'r Page!!!

2008-10-27T16:31:00.000-07:00

I just made my new Flickr.com account for my photography work. I already used my alloted100mg/month limit, after uploaded the photos I took today, HAHA. Looks like I'll be forced to pay to in order to add more photos.

In the mean time, CLICK.

I'll still post photos @ this blog and my other blog, cigaretteDIARIES, but for ALL of my work check the Flickr page.

No more blogging for today,

pop/ular/GURU

New Kanye-Robo Cop

2008-10-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

Kanye West-Robo Cop(Zshare Leak)

Kanye has inspired me to do an all auto tune album; after listening to Robo Cop, I've concluded that this sounds like the shit I make when I'm in the shower or staring at myself in the mirror. REALLLLY?

Because West is such an egotist, I'm sure that's exactly where this garbage came from.

The/Pop/ular/GURU

This Week- MGMT + Justice @ Webster Hall

2008-10-26T16:12:00.000-07:00

Click (save copy as to download)
Justice-Planisphere Pt. 1
Justice- Planisphere Pt. 2
Justice- Planisphere Pt. 3

Justice

MGMT

Thursday October 30th, MGMT (Early Show) and Justice (DJ Set) along with SoMe and Busy P all at Webster Hall. Both shows are SOLD OUT, but rest assured, you can get tickets at craigslist.org or if you're like me, just scalp them the day of.

I saw MGMT perform @ McCarren Pool over the summer and must admit that I wasn't as impressed with their live show as I was with their album. I suspect this had something to do with the fact that the show was FREE that day and their energy might not have been all there. With that said, if it comes down to Justice or MGMT, I'm going to see Justice because I've never seen them live before, and I've heard great things.

We shall see though.

pop/ular/GURU

Cat Power Lincoln Commercial

2008-10-25T19:50:00.000-07:00

I like the commercial, I like the song...I HATE the car!

The song she's singing is a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity"...

Cat Power Myspace!

pop/ular/GURU

The Cipher BET Hip Hop Awards

2008-10-25T19:35:00.000-07:00

Ace Hood, Juelz Santana, Fabolous. Jadakiss...

Northpole, Hime, Blaq Poet & Cory Gunz

Pop/ular/GURU

The Night of Crystal Castles Pt.2

2008-10-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

$40

It has been confirmed. I saw Crystal Castles last night at Webster Hall! Last minute I was searching for tickets but luckily some scalper was nice enough to slide me a ticket for 40 bucks. Some guy was out there trying to hustle me for like 75 bucks or something ridiculous like that. It's never impossible to get tickets for the price you want, sometimes are just more difficult than you would like it to be.

Crystal Castles were scheduled to go on @ 10:00pm I think. They came on maybe half an hour late to hundreds of screaming fans.

The concert was MADNESS!

Here is my first mosh pit journal.

"Just remember we were all friends" A girl said right before the show started. Before Alice Glass and company came on stage, I had no idea what I was in for. A Crystal Castles show is like a war, each song a battle. If you're strong and crazy enough to survive one battle, you move onto the next. The duo might have only played five songs, but that's five battles and best believe you'll come out of those battles dirtier than before. I almost lost my glasses during my first battle, lost my scarf towards the end of the war, at one point like three people fell on the ground and got trampled on. I was caught in the middle of some weird circular fan made fortification, a group of about eight people grabbed arms to give one another strength and stay together. "Everyone alright...glasses, glasses, glasses!!!" One team member shouted. They stayed together like a platoon stationed in Vietnam.

Alice Pours Wine

Alice Glass commanded the stage like she was the demonic ruler of hipsters. As one song ended, us fans cheered until we caught a glimpse of her distorted body to signify the start of another song/battle. She climbed the speakers and crawled the stage, drank red wine and was carried through the crowd while anyone that was close enough fought to touch her body.

I remember getting through the first battle and thinking, "Holy shit". I was completely thrown off. Surprisingly I managed to stay relatively close to the people I stood with before the concert. I felt extremely disorientated, almost like I was teleported onto a foreign dance floor right in the middle of a song. The first song feels like an entire concert, but it's not, it's just one song, there's another 5 coming your way.

It was impossible for me to take good pictures at that show. More like me holding up my arm while having my legs cut out from under me, hoping, wishing, praying for a decent shot. It was dark of course so I couldn't see what my camera was set on. During any moment of a glimpse of light, I would toggle my camera from movie to automatic mode.

Demonic Ruler of Hipsters

There's something about Alice that a man can't help but find attractive. She's not sexy in the typical sense, but sexy in that she literally makes people go mad, almost as if she's not human. Her screatching, frail figure, and commanding presence make her attractive. The craziest thing was when she was crowd surfing through the front rows.

Hail Alice

A couple times I literally got in arms reach of her of course I was too busy trying to get a good shot to reach out my hand but that certainly didn't stop people a few rows back from reaching over my shoulder.

It's odd because I can't really talk about any other aspects of the show. I heard they might have a live drummer now but I can't confirm that. I know there was a drum kit set up and all but I'm not sure who was playing it. The other member of the group, Ethan, sort of just drifed in the background from keyboard to drum machine while Alice did her thing.

It was evident, five minutes into the show, that I was experiencing something special. Crystal Castles @ Webster Hall topped every show I've been to, including Daft Punk. So as the set drew to a close, and the fans screamed their heads off to try to get Alice back on stage, I lost my scarf, nearly lost my glasses and almost lost camera, but I experienced a concert unlike any other concert I've experienced before, something so raw and special that I actually CANNOT wait to see them again.

Until next time. Crystal Castles Pt. 3?

pop/ular/GURU

Shiny Toy Guns @ Santos Party House (10/21)

2008-10-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

Last night I saw Shiny Toy Guns perform @ Santos Party House. I went to Santos Party House on a limb just because I had never gone, heard a lot about it, and wasn't excited to see any other artist/bands perform tuesday. I waited in line for what felt like an eternity. It was freezing cold, damn near winter weather, and all I had for warmth was a flannel shirt. What made the experience even worse/better? was I didn't even know what I was waiting in line for. I knew I was waiting for a ticket, but to see who?

I'll grade this show via a couple categories.

Atmosphere/Setting: This might have made the show. Decent sized space, fit over 1000 people on one dance floor with a stage, reminded me of the bowery ballroom or even webster hall. Lights, Lights, Lights; they had all kinds of crazy lights going, different strobes, filtered lights, can't forget the fog. Behind the group up on stage were a bunch of demented looking skeletons and other creatures.

Crowd: This is where the night failed. The crowd was a diverse mix of head bangers, hipsters and others. A lotta couples and small groups of girls showed up to this show. The odd hipster guys that wear girls clothes and make up were well represented aswell as the flaboroyantly gay group that I can't seem to avoid in NYC. During the performance the crowd was pretty much dead though. The music was epic but the crowd, not so much.

Music/Performance: I had never heard any music from this group, except for that one song that's popular on the radio ("Rainy Monday"). I think there performance was absolutely amazing! All aspects of the show (sounds, lights, style) were well thought out and added to the stage presence of the band. There were times that I felt like I was at the wrong show though, not because of the band but because I'm not necessarily an organic fan. A few of their songs reminded me of that band Paramore or emo high school rock which wasn't good.

All in all, I'm happy with my first choice of entertainment for CMJ. The Music Marathon is really about discovering NEW bands and removing yourself from your comfort zone to experience new things, with that in mind, the first night of CMJ was a success!

Up Next: The Night of Crystal Castles PT. 2. Wednesday?

pop/ular/GURU

CMJ MUSIC MARATHON!!!

2008-10-21T08:12:00.001-07:00

Today is the start of CMJ Music Marathon, a 5 day music festival that attracts over 1000 bands to the great city of New York. There are really too many bands to name but a few I'm looking to forward to seeing are The Cool Kids, Lykke Li, Crystal Castles, Late of the Pier, Fools Gold, I Heart Comix, Hearts Revolution, The Virgins, and MORE. There's something to do every night for the next 5 days. Check out the schedule and discover some NEW music!

There are also a bunch of films premiering and screening during the maraton. Check out the official film schedule HERE.

I'll be blogging through out CMJ so check back here and my other blog, cigaretteDIARIES for much literature.

BrooklynVegan.com has great coverage of CMJ so head over there for everything you'd possibly want to find out about CMJ.

pop/ular/GURU

Crystal Castles Crime Wave VIDEO

2008-10-20T16:14:00.000-07:00

Crystal Castles will be performing @ Webster Hall on 10/23 for the CMJ Music Marathon!

pop/ular/GURU

CMJ Music Marathon: Tuesday

2008-10-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

The Cool Kids^

Lykke Li^

YAY! The CMJ Music Marathon kicks off this Tuesday; The Cool Kids(CHICAGO) will be @ The Blender Theater on East 23rd St. Show starts @ 8pm so you'll still have to time walk down to the Bowery Ballroom and catch Lykke L i(UK) @ 11pm.

Also on Tuesday, at SOB's a Mark Ronson(UK) DJ set @ 9pm. Also scheduled for 9pm @ SOB's is Ryhme Fest (GOOD music). 10pm Wale @ SOB's.

Later on in the week I'll be at the Crystal Castles(CANADA) show @ Webster Hall. It's sold out but check craigslist.org for tickets!

pop/ular/GURU

Guess Who's Back?

2008-10-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

Click!

One of the few that could take a 3-5 year break and come back n still kill it!

Pop/ular/GURU

Shepard Fairey Art Show

2008-10-12T09:45:00.001-07:00

VIMBY - Shepard Fairey

pop/ular/GURU

Super High Me

2008-10-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

This is a cool movie about a guy that smokes weed, everyday, all day for 30 days. He starts off by NOT smoking weed for 30 days straight, during this time he does stand up comedy and takes a bunch of tests. He then smokes weed for 30 days straight and takes the same tests that he took when he was sober. The results aren't amazing but it's certainly a funny stoner movie that makes you want to smoke large amounts of reefer.

You can watch the movie online, HERE. Or go pick it up @ your local blockbuster.

pop/ular/GURU

Sorry Jenny...

2008-10-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

Didn't get to see my girl Jenny Lewis perform last night in New Haven. Too tired, too busy doing nothing, lifes a bitch.

Maybe next time?

Pop/ular/GURU

Kimbo Slice LIVE blogging

2008-10-04T20:08:00.000-07:00

11:00-Lets get it.

11:00-It's over.

Wow.

That sucked.

Slice vs. Shamrock

2008-10-03T13:38:00.000-07:00

Going down Saturday October 4th!

Slice is undefeated. If you're not familiar with him, check out his street fights on youtube!

and

more on youtube.com

pop/ular/GURU

2008 CMJ Marathon

2008-09-30T16:47:00.000-07:00

CMJ is an annual music and film festival that takes place in New York city during the month of October. There are literally hundreds(?) of bands musicians playing the 5 day festival in addition to dozens of independent and commercial films. There are too many bands to start name dropping but, a few that caught my eye: Broken Social Scene, The Cool Kids, Jay Reatard, Lykke Li, Crystal Castles, Land of Talk, Late of the Pier.

pop/ular/GURU

6 Days Jenny...

2008-09-29T13:32:00.001-07:00

Jenny Lewis will be playing @ the Apollo Theater in NYC on the 4th of October and then she'll be in CT on the 5th to play in New Haven.

pop/ular/GURU

Seven Pounds Trailer (Will Smith Movie)

2008-09-29T13:20:00.000-07:00

This film looks AMAZING!

Seven Pounds is an upcoming drama film directed by Gabriele Muccino. Two-time Academy Award nominee Will Smith stars in it re-teaming with the director and producers of The Pursuit of Happyness for the emotional story of a man who will change the lives of seven strangers. [wikipedia.org]

pop/ular/GURU

Rock n Rolla Trailer

2008-09-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

This movie looks like it might be alright. I just hope it's not another Smokin' Aces. Remember that movie, too much action, bad dialogue, weak plot...generally too much going on.

Anyway, it was directed by Guy Richie so I'm sure it'll do alright. I don't think I've ever seen a Guy Richie flick.

The/Pop/Guru

Sin City 2 Trailer

2008-09-28T14:05:00.000-07:00

Coming soon. Can't wait!

Sin City 2 Trailer

2008-09-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

Ohh man. Finally, Sin City is back! This trailer has a lot of shots from the first Sin City so don't get too excited. Movie isn't scheduled to come out until April 1st 2009. On IMDB it says 2010.

POPULARGURU

Chris Rock on Larry King

2008-09-27T14:54:00.001-07:00

Chris Rock is back.

The/popular/GURU

This Is Jim Jones

2008-09-27T14:20:00.001-07:00

This actually looks like a great film. Jim Jones is about to be doing big things.

The/Popular/GURU

Get Well Soon...

2008-09-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

I was saddened to hear about the fatal plane crash that DJ AM (Adam Goldstein) and Travis Barker (Former drummer for Blink 182) were involved in. Both guys are tremendously talented.

Get well soon.

pop/ular/GURU

This is as POLICTICAL as I GET

2008-09-20T09:53:00.001-07:00

I try to stay away from politics in regards to this blog. But after last week I realized that if something drastic doesn't happen, this country is going into the shitter. I still can't believe that this is happening to the same country that I grew up in, "the greatest country in the world". That's all I heard growing up. "The richest, the most powerful". Look at us now. For the first time in my life time, both the poor AND the RICH are doing poorly.

It's time for change.

Artist Shepard Fairey is an LA street artist best known for his Obey Clothing line. He's also the guy that made the now iconic "HOPE" image which has become synonimous with the campaign.

pop/ular/GURU

Spiritualized on VBS.tv

2008-09-19T12:03:00.001-07:00

Spiritualized are an English space rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Jason Pierce (who often goes by the alias J. Spaceman) after the demise of his previous outfit, space-rockers Spacemen 3. The membership of Spiritualized has changed from album to album, with Pierce—who writes, composes and sings all of the band's material—being the only constant member. [wikipedia.org]

Part 1:

Part 2:

Download Song in A&E @ amazon.com.

pop/ular/GURU

Uptight Fridays

2008-09-19T11:56:00.001-07:00

Doing a dry run tonight. Official launch in 2 weeks or less.

The Popular Guru

Highschool Poppers (BSP)

Highschool Poppers Twitter

Highschool Poppers

New Website

Matte Black Car

Girls & Boys: LA RIots + DJ Berrie + Designer Drugs

Girls & Boys 8.8.09

Club One (reserved)

MGMT....Again

Joachim Garraud + Keytar

I Just Want I Just Want

And Everyone Laughed PT. 2

And Everyone Laughed PT.1

30/30

On the Piss Again

Gone

Been around

Back From Philly

If you're in Philly Saturday

To Clear Things Up: The Fight

To Clear it Up

Tonight Twin Sister @ Lit Lounge

Twin Sister @ Lit Lounge this Thursday

Twin Sister @ The Lit Lounge (3.7.09)

Twin Sister Tonight @ The Lit Lounge

Lit Lounge - March 7, 2009 8PM

Slept in GC...AGAIN!

Suburban Bohemian Somethinggg or Otherrr:Various Chinatowns and Philly

Suburban Bohemian Somethinggg or Otherrr

Only In NYC 2.0

Only in NYC 1.0

Dress Warm-You Never Know When You're Gunna Sleep on the Streets

A Glimpse At Spring

A New Beginning

Days Are Getting Longer...Spring is Just Around the Corner

Working on my Zine

Face LIFT!

Life as a Dog PT. 1

I Used to Give a Fuck-less...Now I Give a Fuck

Party Time: Saturday 80/90s party!

The Poor Traits of an Artist

All The Negatives Have Been Destroyed

Happy Birthday...TO ME!

If this guy can tour the US and Europe...Why Can't I?

A Genius Loves Company

Portrait of an Artist: As a Young Man

I gotta stop leaking photos...

Work in Progress...

The Glory Years

New Year...New Photos

Hey...Fuck New Years

New Layout in the .09

A Cross The Universe (Justice Documentary) CLIP

Bam or Bust: The Adventure Begins

Dreamseller by Brandon Novak (Pop Guru Review)

A Cross The Universe (Justice Documentary) IN STORES NOW!

Lovage

Banned....Perma Banned...From Terminal 5

The Night of Girl Talk (11/16)

Lakai-Fully Flared

Kaiser Chiefs Are Playing Webster Hall on 10/15

MGMT on the Cover of Spin Magazine

Girl Talk is Playing Terminal 5 (10/15+10/16)

You Look Like a Young Obama

Obama

Ting Tings @ Webster Hall (11/1)

Ting Tings Tonight @ Webster Hall

The Night of MGMT Pt. 2 (Webster Hall VIDEOS!)

The Night of MGMT (pt. 1)

SebastiAn Remixes (2008)

Tomorrow: MGMT & Justice @ Webster Hall

Ziggs.com

X-Mas in the Air?

Flick'r Page!!!

New Kanye-Robo Cop

This Week- MGMT + Justice @ Webster Hall

Cat Power Lincoln Commercial

The Cipher BET Hip Hop Awards

The Night of Crystal Castles Pt.2