Darbe's Best/Worst Music Videos of 2011

Happy New Year!! As we say goodbye to a year of more elitist-run politics, worldwide economical hardships and natural catastrophes, Kardashian hi-jinx, and the the God-awful debut of X-Factor, its time to wash it all down with a bit of fun. I love lists, so here are my picks for top 5 best and 5 worst music videos of 2011. 

2011's BEST MUSIC VIDEOS

NUMBER FIVE: That New York underground sh*t!

NUMBER FOUR: That old school New York sh*t revisited by a sh*tload of celebrities!

NUMBER THREE: I love Dubstep and inspirational dirty old men in music videos.

NUMBER TWO: I love Rihanna and this video directed by my friend Melina Matsoukas.

NUMBER ONE: By far the best artist in 2011, Abel Tesfaye. On everyone's top lists!

2011's WORST MUSIC VIDEOS

NUMBER FIVE: The over auto-tuned George Michael destroying a great song by New Order. Why? Why?

NUMBER FOUR: Wasted 15 minutes of my day on this ridiculous crap a few weeks ago.

NUMBER THREE: WTF??

NUMBER TWO: Beyonce ramming her sexuality down our throats before its too late. Soon dear. Soon. 

NUMBER ONE: Technically, this is a music video and by far the worst video I saw in 11'.

Fridge Top Predator

Hot N Spicy

Union Square Farmers Produce

Occupy Wall Street: Day 49 at Zuccotti Park

My daughter and I made our first trip to Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan today. We were curious to see what all the fuss was about. If you read, or saw the cover of the New York Post this past week, it wouldn't be too obscene to think that the park was filled with marauding thugs, smelly hippies and filthy homeless people. I was glad to see that wasn't the case. For the most part, the place was peaceful and buzzing with media, tourists, celebs and yes, peaceful occupiers. Marine sgt. Shemar Thomas was on hand. Multi-millionaire and current Zuccotti neighbor, Russell Simmons made an appearance. The park frequenter spoke openly with the OWS faithful as well as the media. We spotted plenty of Guy Fawkes masks throughout the park. After all, it was a day to "Remember, remember, the 5th of November. 

After spending a few hours milling about and getting a good feel for the place, we headed back home to Brooklyn and the warmth of our apartment. I'm still wondering how long the the Zuccotti occupiers can continue the movement with winter fast approaching. If mayor Bloomberg doesn't force them out before then, I wish them all the best. I support OWS.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/44938917#44938917

LIVE LAST NIGHT/The Drums at Music Hall of Williamsburg

Occupy Wall Street: Day 29

Occupy Wall Street gained considerable momentum this weekend as worldwide demonstrations, which drew hundreds of thousands of people, mostly in the U.S. and Europe, joined the movement. On Saturday local protesters took to Times Square, marching north through Manhattan from Zucotti and Washington Square Parks early in the afternoon. Once there, they held a rally for several hours before dispersing. You can see video of the massive rally here. Police say that all in all, throughout the day, more than 80 people were arrested. Here are a few of my pictures from the center of the demonstration at 44th st and Broadway...

Occupy Wall Street: Day 22

On Saturday October 8th, the Occupy Wall Street movement marched to Washington Square Park in the West Village in New York City. It was a peaceful day that primarily served as a means to disseminate information and draw more support for the cause. Here are a few pictures I snapped on my first day covering the people's movement in person.

ARCHIVES: Nine Eleven Remembered

Summer's Coming to an End

I took my daughter to see my favorite band Incubus, this past weekend. This was her first time seeing them live and thankfully, she enjoyed the show. She actually picked up two songs, "Punch Drunk" and "In the Company of Wolves", that she's been playing on her Mac since. Young the Giant, another new southern California band, opened and were very good.

In support of their first new album in 5 years, "If Not Now, When?", Brandon and the guys put on an amazing performance. The visuals were intense and the songs from the new album were enlightening. My friend Nicole and I were a little disappointed they didn't perform "Stellar", but overall it was a great experience. A perfect end to a great Summer in New York. Can't wait to see them again already! Here's a few pictures I snapped with my Powershot from about 100 rows back.

Hurricane Irene: Assessing The Aftermath In North Brooklyn

Hurricane Irene roared into NYC last night with winds reported by the local ABC, NBC, FOX and CBS media outlets as high as 80 mph. Evacuations and a complete mass transit shutdown had begun 24 hours in advance of this devastating storm with anticipation of the worst natural disaster this city has seen in more than 40 years. Flooding was expected to wipe out power to many of the boroughs and those that chose to stay in their homes spent untold savings on bottled water, groceries and supplies to hunker down with.

Less than 24 hours after Irene pummeled the city, we ventured out(against Mayor Bloomberg's orders) to document the devastation she left in her wake.  Here's a sampling of some of the damage to the Bushwick area...

1) On Wyckoff street, a large garbage can still lies tipped over as emergency efforts to upright it have not materialized as of 2PM eastern standard time.
2) At the corner of Wyckoff and Hart street, flooding is still apparent as passersby brave the remnants of the storm in an effort to get ice coffee.
3) On Harman Street in Ridgewood, Queens, a leaf lies motionless on the sidewalk. A reminder of the devastation that could have been had this impaled an unlucky pedestrian.
4) An empty plastic cup lies in the street as the cleanup of Hurrican Irene's horrendous aftermath continues at a snail's pace.

In The Studio

Lebanese dancer/instructor Johanna, visits the studio for portfolio shots.

The Hugo Boss Rooftop Circus Party

On Monday I got a last minute call from my client and was asked to photograph the Hugo Boss Rooftop Circus Party at the Starrett-Lehigh Building.. on Wednesday. I love this client, so despite the short notice, I made it happen. My job was to photograph the production space, but I ended up sticking around and covering the whole event, from beginning to end. Notable guests included actor Anthony Mackie, Alex Lundqvist, Lance Bass, Carson Kressley and model Coco Rocha. There were Coney Island sideshow performers scattered about. Food and refreshments included cotton candy, vodka infused Sno-cones, bacon and truffle flavored kettle corn, mini burgers and an endless open bar of exotic cocktails for all guests. Cee Lo Green was the featured performer of the night and had the fashionistas and socialites hopping through an energized 5 song set. Here's a small edit I put together from the evening's events.