New York Magazine, USA
Orhan Pamuk, `Celebrity Rap Superstar,’ and Animal Collective
9/20/0711:20 AM
Entertainment picks for multiple personalities.
The lone Turkish novelist with a Nobel Prize – awarded after he was
prosecuted for "insulting Turkishness" by mentioning the Armenian
genocide – Orhan Pamuk could easily hole up and remain aloof. But the
visiting Columbia professor is a New Yorker in the best sense, warm
and outspoken, and his Other Colors: Essays and a Story reflects that,
with true stories about quitting smoking, applying for a passport, and
getting mugged in New York – still preferable, apparently, to death
threats back home. [More info]
We don’t care whether celebs can sing; we wanna know if they can
spit. (Three words: "Super Bowl Shuffle.") Celebrity Rap Superstar
pits eight – now down to six – C-listers like Sebastian Bach against
each other in live, American Idol-style competition. The results,
including Perez Hilton’s now infamous rendition of "Jesus Walks"
(DaBrat: "Jesus walked right up outta here as soon as you hit the
stage"), make for the best cross-cultural wreck since, well, The White
Rapper Show. It’s on tonight at ten on MTV.
Strawberry Jam, the new disc by New York’s premier art-rock weirdos
Animal Collective (they’re actually covered in jelly in photos we
saw), might be the indie album of the year. Cutting away swaths of
ambient sound and Rainman-esque phrase repetitions, the band gets to
the melodic heart of their exuberant sound. But trust us, seeing them
live is more important than hearing the CD. They hit national TV with
a Conan appearance in October. Get Webster Hall tickets now, or that’s
the only place you’ll see them