James Murphy

With just one night and counting before the madness that is Fashion’s Night Out, we’ve already brought you the breakdowns for celeb spotting and scoring an evening’s worth of free food and booze. So it’s a perfect time to discuss the musical performances of the night. But if singing a karaoke duet with A.J. “The Bad One” McLean to “I Want It That Way” or chiming in to a chorus of high-pitched tweenage screams at a Joe Jonas concert would absolutely ruin your reputation, then this is the list (in alphabetical order) for you. Do you just feel more at home quaffing a PBR while checking out a band at Bowery Ballroom/The Bellhouse/the Cake Shop/[insert teeny, sticky-floored music venue here]? You're going to love Fashion's Night Out. Of course, to keep in the spirit of the evening, be sure to do a little shopping, too.

• By Fawnia Soo Hoo
  Sep 7, 2011

Monday night's Volkswagen-sponsored party at the MoMA had all the promises of a good time: fine art, James Franco, and James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem as the DJ. Sounds like just the formula to get any cool kid out of their apartment on a Monday night and into the MoMA's sculpture garden; and not even the rain could stop party-goers from busting out their best looks. (That vanguard of handsome umbrella holders may have helped...) But why the bash? Because Volkswagen was celebrating the North American launch of its new Formula racing prototype, the XL1. You don't have to understand "carspeak" to know that VW's newest addition to its fleet is a hit. The design is sleek, futuristic, aerodynamic, and fit to be shown off at a museum. Honestly, it was hard not to try to sneak into the driver's seat and speed away. The XL1 also functioned as a great segue to announce Volkswagen's new partnership with MoMA--it's financing exhibits and donating works of art to MoMA's collection. But enough business, on to the partying...

• By Steff Yotka
  May 25, 2011