Free Williamsburg

The Williamsburg Brooklyn-based culture guide to New York and beyond.

2011 Blip Festival Comes to NYC May 19-21

By

Don’t miss this fantastic celebration of chiptune music. BLIP FESTIVAL NEW YORK 2011 from 2 Player Productions on Vimeo. Entering it’s fifth year, this iteration of Blip Festival showcases an international chip community that stands at a crossroads. Now firmly entrenched in mainstream culture with chipsounds and pixel art finding their way into television, motion […]

All the Men in Williamsburg & Greenpoint Are Virgins

By

Can somebody please make some sense of this list that supposedly reveals the kinkiest and loneliest places in the U.S., based on dating site profiles, because I certainly cannot. For starters, Greenpoint and Williamsburg–yes, the nabe with a plethora of hormonally-charged watering holes–has the most virgin men in the country. Really? The only explanation here […]

Free 'Brooklyn Country' Show W/ W'Burg's 'I'll Be John Brown' This Wednesday

By

While Explosions In The Sky play Radio City Wednesday night, Williamsburg’s own I’ll Be John Brown will be a part of Spike Hill’s Brooklyn Country showdown — Live! Loud! Local! Free! Spike Hill gets a countrified overdrive! 8pm Paul Thornton Band, 9pm Party Folk, 10pm I’ll Be John Brown, 11pm The Evangelines. Here’s “Mine,” a track […]

Introducing the Only 'Friday' Cover That Matters, As Performed by 'Bob Dylan'

By

New York City’s own Mike Bauer recorded a fantastic cover of Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday,’ in his spot-on impersonation of a very internet-savvy Bob Dylan. Forget all those other covers out there–even Black’s original. This is the end-all, be-all of the ‘Friday’ party anthems. Watch/listen to this awesomeness: Side note: the ever-present Web Sheriff almost took […]

Interview: Meet the Urban Hunters Who Created the 'Hipster Traps'

By

Much like the urban hunters who’ve been silently setting up the NYC hipster traps, we’re semi-professional trackers too–practitioners of the fine arts in tracking someone down who’s done something of note somewhere on the Internet. I enjoy that pursuit. So imagine my astonishment when one of my Facebook friends–granted, we’ve connected because of a previous meme-y […]

Beware the Hipster Traps

By

This alleged “hipster trap,” which includes a bear clamp fit with all the earthly pleasures a hipster would wish for, comes to us via gigaface on Reddit, who notes, “Just met this guy setting up ‘hipster traps’ in NYC, baited with PBR and American Spirits. Awesome work.” [UPDATE: Meet the Urban Hunters Who Created the […]

Transportation Alternatives Barraging Lawmaker with "E-Faxes" to Stop Anti-Bicycling Proposal

By

Are you trembling, Councilmember Eric Ulrich? Transportation Alternatives has asked its supporters to send you angry faxes, a result of your “draconian” bike bill wherein we have to wear license plates like scarlet letters on our bicycles. It’s kind of an asshole proposal on your end, bicyclists say, and for that, you’re about to get […]

VIDEO: Lowkey – "Blood, Sweat, and Tears"

By

I’ve been speaking with some Islamic hackers operating out of Pakistan and the UK these past few days for an upcoming piece, and asked what they listen to while wired-in on a hack–for color, and all. The UK-based hacker told me his favorite was Lowkey. So here, presented without comment, is one track making up […]

Owner of 'Greenpoint Bikes' Detained in Immigration Facility, Lacking Toilet Paper, Food, Humanity

By

Earlier this fall, Pablo Airaldi, a 28-year-old bike messenger, opened a bicycle repair shop on Manhattan Avenue and called it Greenpoint Bikes. Today, he is sitting in a shitty Hudson County, New Jersey immigration detention facility where he’s struggling to hang on to humanity. His crime? A 10-year-old aggravated felony conviction for stealing auto parts […]