And here we have a lovely music video produced by, uh, Chipotle, featuring Willie Nelson covering Coldplay's "The Scientist," which features the refrain, "I'm going back to the start." The video, created by the talented Johnny Kelly, tells the story of a farmer who has an epiphany and (sort of) liberates his imprisoned animals, letting them live free-range (until they're slaughtered to make delicious burrito bowls).
Video: Willie Nelson Covers Coldplay To Fight Factory Farming
Willie Nelson Has Post-Thanksgiving Wake, Bake, Arrest
One of everyone's two favorite marijuana enthusiasts, Willie Nelson, was arrested early yesterday morning by US Border Patrol officers in Texas on suspicion of marijuana possession...and by suspicion, we mean the 6 ounces of pot found in his trailer. A patrol spokesman said officers smelled marijuana wafting from the vehicle when they stopped it at a checkpoint around 9 a.m. To his credit, the vehicle may just smell like that permanently at this point.
Holiday Movie Releases Crowding the Chimney
The holiday-time movie releases are starting to pile up with their usual feverish frequency. Some have Christmas themes, like the widely reviled Vince Vaughn vehicle Fred Claus that’s already roadkill on the lost highway of cinema history; others, like Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, are timed to make an impression as close to Academy Award-voting season as possible. Here are some of the biggest gorillas set to dominate New York’s screens in the next six...
Carolyn Mugar, Executive Director of Farm Aid
Given the conspicuous absence of farmers in New York City, the decision to stage a Farm Aid benefit here may seem surprising. But when one considers the booming popularity of Greenmarkets throughout the city, the metropolitan locale makes a certain sense. This year’s Farm Aid will feature an abundance of organic food on sale from local farms, so health-conscious New Yorkers are sure to feel right at home. And for one week starting today, top city restaurants like Angelica Kitchen and Gramercy Tavern will offer family farm meals using sustainable, humane farming practices. The all-day event takes place this Sunday on Randall's Island; the line-up boasts Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, and many more. (Buy tickets here.)
Farm Aid is Coming
The good folks at Farm Aid have just updated us with more details about their first show in New York City, announced in June and taking place September 9th. They also have a ton of info on food and farming in New York, which you can check out here.
Jesse Harris, Singer/Songwriter
New York singer/songwriter Jesse Harris might be known for his songs performed by others, in 2003 he won the Grammy for Norah Jones’s “Don’t Know Why," and he's also written songs for Willie Nelson, Bright Eyes, Feist, M Ward, and many others. Tonight, however, he'll be belting out his own tunes at the Living Room. Come check him out, and get to know him a little bit first...
Pencil This In
FESTIVAL: The New York Ukulele Festival has arrived. The weekend includes: "nonstop Ukulele Fun! Concerts, Vendors, Workshops, Jams! 40,000 Square Feet, Two Concert Stages! FREE BEER ALL WEEKEND. FREE UKULELE DOOR PRIZES AT EVERY CONCERT!!”
New York's April Fools Day Pranks
The 22nd Annual April Fools' Day Parade is today. Did you go? We hope not, because this is a long running joke itself. During its 15th year the press was fooled and showed up to find no parade. From the Museum of Hoaxes:
This Week's Music Picks
"When Mawangu Mingiedi, 72, a musician and truck driver from Kinshasa in Congo, built a sound system for his street band, Konono No. 1, years ago, he wasn't aiming for sonic innovation." [NY TIMES] All the way from Africa, Konono No. 1 make their NYC debut at Joe's Pub on Wednesday. The dance party continues Thursday at S.O.B.'s with an early and late show. Joe's Pub is way sold out, but tickets for the other shows are still available.
The Party's Over - Tonight
Tonight, the 92nd Street Y has a screening of the documentary, The Party's Over, which follows Philip Seymour Hoffman as he looks inside the political process during the 2000 Republican and Democratic conventions, with a post-screening question & answer session with Hoffman as well. The film was directed by Donovan Leitch and Rebecca Chaiklin, (produced by Robert Downey Sr., Stanley Buchtal, Robert Downey Jr. and Leitch) and features Susan Sarandon, Bonnie Raitt, Eddie Vedder, Noam Chomsky, Willie Nelson, Newt Gingrich and Courtney Love among various artists, activists, and politicans interviewed.


