Posts Tagged ‘J. Eric Smith’

Media Watch: The Newspaper Junkie Speaks (Again)

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

J. Eric Smith has posted a nice little compare and contrast between The Albany Times Union and The Daily Gazette newspapers. The TU: great online presence, but kinda thin in print. The Gazette: boffo print edition, not so great website.

J. Eric Smith’s Top 10 Albums of 2009

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

mosDefJ. ERIC SMITH (Times Union blogger, former host of “Soundboard,” former Metroland music writer)

10 The Big Pink – “A Brief History of Love”
09 Matt and Kim – “Grand”
08 The Veils – “Sun Gangs”
07 Super Furry Animals – “Dark Days/Light Years”
06 Clutch – “Strange Cousins from the West”
05 The Clean – “Mister Pop”
04 Niwel Tsumbu – “Song of the Nations”
03 Napalm Death – “Time Waits for No Slave”
02 Pere Ubu – “Long Live Pere Ubu!”
01 Mos Def – “The Ecstatic”

We want to know what Nippertown.com readers listened to (and liked) in 2009. Send your list of Top 10 Albums to greg@nippertown.com

Let your voice be heard!

Odds & Ends @ The End Of The Week

Friday, November 27th, 2009

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET…: It’s that special time of the year once again. That’s right, it’s almost time for the Santa Speedo Sprint.

The fourth annual .5K benefit run takes place on Saturday, December 12. Registration starts at 12noon at Tess’ Lark Tavern and the Oh Bar, and the race itself begins at 2pm. Registration and pledge sheets are also available in advance online. All runners must make a minimum donation of $25, but runners are encouraged to collect donations from sponsors.

The Santa Speedo Sprint will benefit the Albany Damian Center. (As a public service, we’re not publishing a photo in this item.)


The Royal Palace in Brussels

The Royal Palace in Brussels

Four months, 29 assistants, 1.6 million beetle shells. That, my friend, is how Jim Fabre decorated the ceiling of the Royal Palace in Brussels.

Hmmm, what do you think the R-Value of beetle shells is?


Calling Berkshire Photographers! The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts has issued a call for photography for an upcoming juried exhibit of contemporary photography, entitled BerkshireCity: Pittsfield on Film that aims to celebrate the unique urban landscape and architecture of Pittsfield. There is no entry fee and artists may submit up to six works.

Applications are open to everyone and will be accepted until Monday, December 7 at 5pm. The exhibition runs from January 15 – March 6, 2010. More info here.


Making lists is always a seriously fun time suck. Reading other people’s lists? Well, maybe not so much fun. Unless, of course, the list-maker is our old pal J. Eric Smith, former Metroland writer and host of the unfortunately defunct local music TV show, “Sounding Board.” These days, he’s chewing up the Times Union’s blogosphere, and he recently spit out the delightfully entertaining “My Ten Most Memorable Concerts.” Anybody who’s got ears big enough to embrace Nick Cave, Rush and Nippertown’s own Clay People is AOK in our book.


DEADLINE EXTENDED: The Lake George Arts Project is presenting “Peoples Pixel Project,” a video festival of original video shorts of 3-5 minutes in length. Entries are open to anyone living within 75 miles of Lake George, NY. The deadline has been extended to Thursday, December 31. For list of catagories, guidelines and entry form go here. The festival and award night will take place at the Charles Wood Theater in Glens Falls on Saturday, February 6.


File it under: The Crooks Were Stupid, The Mark Was Stupider (Alternate title: Some people just have way too much money….)

A Utah couple has been charged with selling six fake Andy Warhol silkscreens of Matthew Baldwin, one of Alec Baldwin’s brothers, that the artist created in 1996.

There probably is a Matthew Baldwin, but not in the family of actor Alec Baldwin. Andy Warhol died in 1987. So the burning question in our minds is why would someone have laid out a $25,000 down payment for those works?


Theremin Alert!! The Mable Ensemble videos shows 14 musicians simultaneously performing on theremins in the shape of Matrioshkas (Russian nesting dolls):

Bubble Wrap: End of Days

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

J. Eric Smith alerted us to the existence of Arthur Metcalf’s very funny (in a sick way) Fantaisie in Bubblewrap (audio is NSFW):

Fast, reliable local internet service
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