CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival 2009 will hit New York City from October 20-24 and for five days and nights, over 1,200 artists and 120,000 fans will take over more than 75 of the city’s greatest nightclubs and theaters. Don’t miss your chance to participate in New York City’s largest music festival; we’re giving away a pair of CMJ badges to three lucky *Flavorpill NYC readers. Read More »

Attention Elvis impersonators, reckless gamblers, and Katy Perry fans: Our friends at Virgin America and Le Tourment Vert absinthe are offering Flavorpill readers the chance to win a weekend at a Palms Fantasy Suite in Las Vegas. Entering is easy; just click here and tell us your Vegas fantasy. The contest closes on September 30th, and we’ll announce a winner on October 1st. Hope you get lucky!

While we’ve never really had a problem with the way they sounded, it’s hard not to be excited by The The Beatles’ remastered return — particularly the limited-edition Mono Box Set. You don’t need to be an audiophile to understand what all the excitement is about: a team at Abbey Road Studios has gone back, cleaning up and remastering the band’s original recordings, making the Fab Four’s entire catalog available in box sets of both the familiar stereo and harder-to-come-by mono recordings. (Until now, the only album versions available outside of the original releases were the 1987 CD versions.) Read More »

Our friends at the Museum of the Moving Image are giving Flavorpill New York readers the chance to win a pair of tickets to an exclusive screening of director Jane Campion’s latest film, Bright Star, Monday night at the Directors Guild Theater. The period romance — a return to the kind of material that made Campion a ’90s arthouse darling — tells the tragic, true life story of John Keats’ final years (ie., his late twenties), and his doomed romance with the girl next door, Fanny Brawne. Read More »

Fashion types have long been gaga for Scott Schuman, the photographer whose street fashion photos are the centerpiece of his blog, The Sartorialist. Now that Schuman’s best photos have been compiled into a book, his pictures can finally be seen as they were meant to be seen, in an enviable package full of glossy pages. Flavorpill has five copies of the book to give away to our readers — if you can guess how many times a certain accessory appears in the book — more on that after the jump.

As we perused the 500-page book, we couldn’t help but notice some of Shuman’s special affinities.  For example, the guy can’t get enough suits.  Seriously, if you are a man in a well-cut suit, watch your back, because Schuman’s probably on your tail.  We went through the book page by page and tallied up instances of a few of the photographer’s obsessions.
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We’ve got two tickets to a private screening of Liam Neeson‘s new thriller, Five Minutes of Heaven, tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at the Tribeca Grand. The film follows two men from the same town and opposite sides of the political divide in Ireland trying to reconcile over a death. Neeson and the director Oliver Hirschbiegel (who took home the World Cinema Directing Award for his work this year at Sundance) will both be in attendance.

For your chance to win, send a tweet to @flavorpill_ny with the name of your favorite Neeson flick. Check out the trailer for the film after the jump. Read More »

Earlier this month we held a hiddent talent contest inspired by HBO’s popular new series Hung. The idea behind the show — which was created by Dmitry Lipkin (The Riches), is executive produced by Alexander Payne (Sideways), and stars Thomas Jane, Jane Adams, and Anne Heche — is rather unique. Ray Drecker, a former high-school sports legend, is now a middle-aged high-school basketball coach. He’s divorced, struggling to support his kids, and virtually homeless after his house catches fire. That’s when he decides to take on a second job — as a gigolo.

But enough foreplay. We’ve gone through all of your entries and finally chosen our winners. For the record, you guys are a lot stranger (and more talented!) than we ever would have guessed. Read More »

Tomorrow night the Museum of Sex hosts Summer Sex & Spirits, Planned Parenthood NYC’s annual benefit, and we’re offering one lucky Flavorpill reader a pair of tickets to the event. The museum’s current exhibitions will be open to guests, and if The Sex Lives of Robots doesn’t float your boat, perhaps one of the 15,000 sex artifacts in the permanent collection will. There will be an open bar from 8 to 11 p.m. — sure to up the ante on the evening’s already titillating theme — as well as access to a pretty swank silent auction.

To put your name in the running, correctly answer the following question in the comments below: From 1930 to 1965, which country produced more “Stag Films” (early hardcore pornographic films) than any other?

Good luck!

City Chase is like The Amazing Race, but real  — and it’s giving one New York-based Flavorpill reader the chance to enter a team of two in its upcoming competition (a $190 value). Read on for an interview with Jason Erkes, President, Chicago Sport and Social Club, City Chase USA, and leave us a comment explaining why we should pick your team to compete on Saturday. Note: Flavorpill will be competing too, so this is your chance to take us on in activities like strip bowling and cow milking as Manhattan is converted into one giant obstacle course. Read More »

A 1996 Details article asked, “What has 20 legs, 18 balls, and 1 brain?” The answer: The State. This MTV sketch comedy series is an unmatched cult classic; it’s also the show that gave established funnymen like Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain their first big Hollywood break. As of Tuesday it’s available for the first time ever on DVD. Read More »