Zach Sokol · NYU Local

Gallatin Professor And His Student Flow Hard In Performance On MSNBC

May 6th, 2013 by Zach Sokol

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NYU Local reported this past fall that Gallatin added a new Arts Workshop titled “Microphone Fiends: Hip Hop and Spoken Word” where students “research, write, record, produce and perform original work and the verse of inspiring underground wordsmiths,” while also analyzing poetry, and various arts movements through an academic lens. The class is taught by Professor Bryonn Bain, a Harvard Law graduate, Nuyorican Grand Slam Poetry Champion, and finalist in the 2000 International Slam Poetry Champion. As writer Andrew Olshevski aptly noted in our last article on Bain, “This guy is a legend.”

Bain and Gallatin student (as well as Local Sounds alum), Zach Levine-Caleb, both appeared yesterday on Melissa Harris-Perry’s MSNBC show in a segment called “Fighting For Social Justice Through Spoken Word.” Harris-Perry noted that Bain is “fighting mass incarceration and racial profiling…through art” and the prolific professor did an epic spoken word performance with Levine-Caleb who simultaneously played stand-up bass and beatboxed. It’s not uncommon to see NYU students appear on TV, but if there was ever a time to be rightly jealous of a student peer, then yesterday’s live performance may take the top spot.

I’ve Never Seen Game of Thrones But I Liveblogged Last Night’s Episode With My Stoner Roommates

April 8th, 2013 by Zach Sokol

Everyone seems to love Game of Thrones to the point of fetish. If people aren’t watching it on Sundays, they’re certainly pirating it. My friends, my roommates, and even my parents are avid watchers and I’m constantly bombarded with references to dire wolves and the mock version of the intro sequence. Despite the ubiquitous references to the show, I have never seen an episode and I don’t really give a shit that I’m an outsider of this pop culture phenomenon.

I know the basics of the program– it’s The Tudors meets Lord of The Rings, there are several ‘houses’ fighting in a total war-type situation, dragons are now on the show, and Peter Dinklage is supposedly a boss. That’s as far as my knowledge goes. I don’t know a single character’s name, nor do I have any context of what’s going on in Season Three (or any season, for that matter). Thus, we decided it would be funny if I watched last night’s episode – episode two in the season – and liveblogged my thoughts of the show.

I’m not the first one to approach criticism this way. At the same time, the only thing my roommates love more than GoT is “Game of Bones” where they crush joints (‘bones’) while watching this supposedly epic TV show. So last night, my two stoner roommates, one girlfriend, and me acted like Gandalf and blew dragon-shaped smoke rings and watched this overwhelmingly confusing episode of TV. I wasn’t allowed to ask questions, and I was convinced for 30 minutes that no one was speaking English – but really I just don’t know their names and they had British accents. My notes, after the jump. Read more…

Harry Weinger questlove Questlove NYU

Questlove Sits Down With NYU Local To Discuss His New Class

February 21st, 2013 by Zach Sokol

At this point, it’s old news that Questlove — drummer of The Roots and all-around music legend — started teaching a course this semester at Clive Davis called Classic Albums. We’re a month into the semester now, and while students may have heard the occasional detail about the class from the lucky twenty-four students who sold a kidney (or two) to get a seat, very little information is known about the course.

Questlove and co-professor Harry Weinger (another hero in the music business) were generous enough to grant NYU Local the opportunity to sit and talk about the course for a solid hour.

The pair have known one another for over eight years, but they didn’t discuss teaching a class together until the two dissected Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On for a Kennedy Center event. They wanted to re-create the experience, but asked themselves if it would be another panel, a series of videos, or something else. Professor Jason King suggested the two come to NYU and combine their knowledge into something absorbable for the future music moguls in Clive Davis, and thus Classic Albums was born.

Questlove talked with Local about how he views himself as a student and not a teacher, his obsession with MetaCritic ratings, and how he balances doing a million tasks without spreading himself thin. Our Q&A after the jump.

Read more…

Basketball Drunk Sober High Tear It Up

Drunk Sober High: Tear It Up!

February 5th, 2013 by Zach Sokol

One of our favorite series here at NYU Local is the highbrow, social cultural analysis-friendly Drunk Sober High. For those unfamiliar with the article, our staff sends three writers to an event under the eponymous states of consciousness, and subsequently has them review the event from their, uh, unique perspectives.

When we heard that NYU was organizing its supposedly community bolstering Tear It Up! athletic event for the boys basketball game (against the University of Rochester, the #1 Division III team in the nation) we decided it was time to revitalize the series in hopes of discovering if NYU can actually foster school spirit. Rather than send three writers, we gathered a hoard of students to toke up, drink up and go to the event with a clear head to get a better consensus regarding the merits and pitfalls of the spectacle.

We’re still not sure if NYU has legitimate school spirit, but we did realize that Tear It Up! is an irony-free zone that is serious fun (if you did the right type of pregaming). Take a look at our blurred responses and read why we think NYU cheated us on Qdoba, why some of us would fuck the Bobcat, and why player Devin Karch’s scruff is really worth thinking about.

Read more…

Crime fake ID faux Humor

Don’t Be A Loser When Your Fake ID Gets Snatched

January 28th, 2013 by Zach Sokol

As we all know, there are endless options of what to do on a Saturday night here at NYU. This is especially true in regards to consuming alcohol, be it at bars, clubs, concerts or alone in your bedroom. Your first two years at NYU typically mean you’re not of legal drinking age, but you’re realistically going to get a shitty fake ID and later a bullet-proof, weapons-grade piece of plastic that requires a loan to afford (but it was totally worth it). NYU Local has already detailed the dos and don’ts of faux identification. We know you used those tips to get into Dallas BBQ and make out with that Hayden biddy. You’re welcome. Anyway, we never told you how you should respond when your ID is inevitably turned down or taken away (gasp!).

I personally have never committed a crime or even tried a sip of alcohol – I’ve heard it tastes like sins? – but when it comes to keeping it real, I learned from the best. We’ve all seeing the pleading, flirting and begging outside of Brother Jimmy’s in Union Square. Don’t be that fool. Let’s figure out the right thing to do when the bouncers at Webster Hall snatch your ticket into the playground known as greater Manhattan.

Local Sounds Concert Showcase TONIGHT – Free!

December 13th, 2012 by Zach Sokol

Tonight! Tonight! NYU Local is beyond excited for the Local Sounds 2k12 Concert Showcase and we hope to see YOU there.

The free event is at Muchmore’s — 2 Havemeyer Street in Brooklyn near the Bedford and Lorimer L stops — and the doors open at 7 for Happy Hour. Music starts at 8 and will continue until after midnight!

See our Facebook event page for more details!

If you haven’t downloaded the mixtape yet, it’s free here: Album Download Link

Chris Hayes Highlights The Brilliant Cooper Union “Pizza-Pulley” On The Rachel Maddow Show

December 6th, 2012 by Zach Sokol

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Chris Hayes, face of MSNBC program Up With Chris Hayes, helped host the The Rachel Maddow Show yesterday and it was pretty damn amazing. While covering the Cooper Union student protests, Hayes included video footage of the quirkiest aspect of the demonstration thus far in a segment called “Moment of Geek.”

Since Monday, a group of students have organized a sit-in on the 8th floor of the Foundation Building as a means to oppose the potential tuition change at the school. In the clip, starting at the 3:17 mark, we see the students inventing a pulley-like contraption to deliver pizza to the hungry protesters.

Local Sounds 2k12: Dead Guy

November 20th, 2012 by Zach Sokol

This is the final addition to this semester’s Local Sounds project. Next week our mixtape will be released, along with details regarding our upcoming showcase. Stay tuned!

Thomas Tait makes art that may appear as if it recklessly walks a tightrope between hyper-ironic and pure earnestness. This sarcasm is evident in many of his drawings, cartoons, stories (see page 162), song titles, and even his pseudonym, Dead Guy and The Astral Swine.

When asked how Dead Guy was formed, Tait replied “It was born out of a fecal sack after a cosmic orgy occurred among Saturn, Mother Theresa, and other starry creatures. I came out with fire in my eyes.” He farted immediately after spewing this gem of a back-story.

Tuesday Track: Hiatus Kaiyote’s “Mobius Streak”

October 23rd, 2012 by Zach Sokol

Melbourne-based outfit, Hiatus Kaiyote, may be easy to box into the neo-soul label that many consider tired and stagnant. Forward-thinking acts like Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, and Lauryn Hill defined the genre in the ’90s and have arguably exhausted it since, but Kaiyote is not just a Xerox copy of these musicians. The group is a remediation of the genre’s sound – as it incorporates the funk, jazz, and hip-hop structures familiar to the Badu camp – but it takes songs to the next floor of the neo-soul skyscraper, inching towards fresher soundwaves somewhere between the stratosphere and mesosphere. The opening track, “Mobius Streak,” off of debut release, Tawk Tomahawk, exemplifies that neo-soul is anything but pulse-less.

NYU R.I.P. Time Keeper

NYU Timekeeper John Votta Passes Away Over Fall Break

October 17th, 2012 by Andrew Olshevski and Zach Sokol

The NYU community lost a vital member over fall break. John “Johnnie” Votta, better known to NYU students as the Timekeeper, passed away in his apartment of natural causes and was found on Monday night. According to longtime friend Roland Velez, Votta’s health had been deteriorating for some time. He was reportedly 70 years old.

“He was always looking to help people out,” said Gilbert del Tozo, the friend and beneficiary of Votta. Del Tozo and Velez both manage the entrance of residential building 49 W. 12th Street where Votta would stop by on a daily basis. “He was a real neighborhood guy,” said Del Tozo. The men were close with Votta, and it was Velez who discovered his death. Read more…