A Fips guide to your workout playlist

So you made a commitment to work out and now you need something to distract yourself from the thoughts that run through your head the entire time you're working out (something along the lines of, "Hey, why don't we get off this treadmill, go home, eat a block of cheddar cheese, and watch The Golden Girls?").  You're in luck: FIPS has put together three work-out playlists that'll keep you focused on your workout, and not how comfortable your couch is.

Overzealous Treadmill Runner

You know this dbag.  He’s the culprit of the headache you get every Saturday morning because he’s running so hard and so far up on the machine that his feet are literally smacking up against the plastic on the front of the machine.  He’s a RUNNER, drenched in sweat, working hard, and he wants everyone to know it—even though more seasoned runners are gliding effortlessly on the machines next to him.  Here’s a list of trite running songs for this jerk (hey, how about you go to the park?  The pavement can take way more damage).  

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Bonnaroo to bring weekend-long food & music fest to Prospect Park

Start dusting off your tents and hemp, Park Slope! The folks behind Bonnaroo, the yearly music and arts fest held on a farm in Tennessee, will be bringing their festival talents to our very own Prospect Park this spring. On May 19th and 20th, the park will be transformed into an "Amusement Park of Food & Drink," which for me inspires images of giant, donut-shaped ferris wheels and competitive milkshake drinking games.

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Cool Brooklyn Bartender Alert: Lem of Flatbush Farm

Lem, the bartender at Flatbush Farm, plays the coolest music.  If that sounds a bit teenage and gushy, maybe it’s because his musical taste is not easy to define. Like the dark-haired boy who always sat in the back of the class in high school, I just know I likes it.  The music is a mix of everything from jazz to world music to guys who sound like they might be Ian Curtis’s older brother. When I stopped in to talk to Lem last Thursday, he was playing a dark swirl of moody-Englishman that reached out and enveloped me. It was a mellow tone that could have passed for a 1950’s cocktail lounge song that somehow did not make you immediately want to slit your wrists. Flatbush Farm has low lights, a gorgeous dark wood bar, organic beers and wines, slammin’ cocktails, plus delicious affordable bar food, so that doesn’t hurt either. 

Lem is a bit of a closed oyster -- a man who doesn't normally like to talk about himself -- so I was gratified when he agreed to have a chat.

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Park Slope Has Its Very Own Hip Hop Group

Well, sorta. 

In the dregs of YouTube, we've discovered a very special gem of internet glory -- a song called "La Dee Da Dee" by a musical super group that goes by the name "Park Slope." Never heard of em'? Yeah, me neither. BUT this music video of what looks like their only "hit" (I use the word hit loosely), is pretty much exactly what happens in the day-to-day life of the average Slope citizen. 

Alright, so maybe it's nothing like what really happens in Park Slope. I'm actually starting to doubt they've ever been to New York City for that matter, considering they are riding Segways while rapping. Let's break it down into a couple scenes that exemplify how un-Park Slope "Park Slope" actually is. 

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Two Slope-Area Roots Fests This Weekend

by Robin Hoffman, via eastriverstringband.com
When's the last time you felt that plaintive twang in your voice? Does your largest belt buckle languish in your closet, glinting like a Texas moon? Do you miss Kentucky and your Sweet Carolina? Don't cry, cowboy. Two big doses of Americana hitting the Slope area tonight will cure what ails you: country, roots, and bluegrass sounds will ring forth during the three-day Brooklyn Country Music Festival and the Fifth Year Anniversary hoedownhootenannyshindig at roots-haven Jalopy in Red Hook. The BCMF twangs and bootstomps with 12 classic country bands from around Brooklyn. The vaudeville-or-earlier environs of Jalopy will host a helping of roots acts Friday night.

* BCMF shows start at 9pm Friday, 8pm Saturday, and noon on Sunday. All FREE (but tip the poor bastards, ya mizer).
* Jalopy show starts at 8pm (Friday only), art opening at 6pm, $20.

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