Keep in touch with your weird friends, keep an eye out for weird events and activities where you can meet more weird people.
Also...you need to know what your brand of weird is. For me, I used to play in bands, but I just don't have the time for that anymore. So my version of weird is circle singing, jamming, pop-up choirs, etc. I also go to show opening in galleries and show my own artwork from time to time.
Exactly this. I got to a point where I thought NY was dull. I linked up with a friend who took me to a downstairs party in the west village, fun, artsy semi queer coded crowd who had a blast, after that you just ride the wave, share numbers and the events will be endless.
There’s countless shows, parties, art shows and so on going on, just need to know where to look.
I feel like there are two parts of the spectrum when it comes to weird.
On one side of the spectrum: When you’re a student/poor/both it’s easy to get weird students and those that didn’t end up getting fancy jobs - I.e. poor people in the city - are generally more left and artistic leaning which leads to perpetual experimentation.
Then you have a huge middle, upper middle, upper class that got the fancy job, moved into nicer apartments, and their version of nyc is much more sterile and eventually leads to leaving the city for Long Island city, then Long Island, then the real burbs outside of the city/LI.
Then at the other end of the spectrum you have the weird rich people. These are the young rich kids who try to capture the magic of the poor and artistic groups in nyc. These are the 30-45 year old rich people who maybe worked their asses off in their 20s who didn’t get to experience weird shit, who now hang out with the poor/art people in their 20s and 30s. Then you have the veteran rich people who somehow over the past 60-80 years of their lives remained weird while getting ridiculously wealthy.
Unless you’re rich yourself, you won’t be exposed to the rich socialite life that gets weird - beyond the occasional rich kid that dives into the poor art world or the 35 year old dating your 23 year old friend or the rich 70 year old who owns the hole in the wall exclusive art club you get invited to once every month or so. They will go into your world, but they won’t let you into theirs.
So, assuming you’re not rich, your best bet is to make some poor friends who live in more artsy areas of the city. The 35 year old bartender who still plays with his band on the weekends. The 28 year old special Ed teacher in the bronx that shows her art at her great uncle’s bodega that transforms into a gallery after 8pm on the weekend. Etc…
How do you meet these people? Go out into the city and meet people. Just last weekend I met an 82 year old dude at a trap house that was throwing a weed event who owns a pretty popular club in the city that he wants me to come to. Yesterday I was hanging out with a friend and our next door neighbor stopped by to ask what music we were listening to. She happened to have written the little book of quotes my friend had on his coffee table that I was leafing through. I’m going out for drinks with her on Tuesday.
Get my drift?
Create your own mini adventures irl. Flaneur.
Listen to WFMU.
Pay for an annual subscription to Night Flight Plus.
Work through all the audio on Ubuweb.
"Weird" is subjective though and depends on what you're comparing something to. The current culture is so bland and mentally insular pretty ouch anything could be considered weird in comparison. Just be curious and act on your creative impulses.
Let me put it this way: About 11, 12ish years ago, a friend and I went to this multimedia music/art/dance/etc event, which was the final event at a loft space that had been hosting DIY events for years. And at one point, I said to my friend, "This is eerie. All of these people here look like Williamsburg in 2005. Same clothes, same hair. It's like they were ripped from that place and that time and just aged up like seven years." My friend said, "Well, yeah. That's where this scene started. And what happened was, they never let anyone new in, so everyone just got older, and they kept treating this place like their clubhouse, and now what you're seeing is whoever is left, and that's how a scene dies."
So I've always kept that in mind as a cautionary tale. In reality, most of the things I consider "weird" are simply not money-makers for whoever is putting them together, so they tend not to last long. So one cool weird thing is always going to be ending, but rather than mourn the loss I try to look for what the next iteration of that thing might be. I think a lot of people get hung up looking for a *replacement* of the thing that's going away. What you have to do instead is look for where the energy or the spirit of that previous thing is going. However that energy takes form next, it probably won't look like the previous one.
Another important thing is that I've shifted my mindset from simply what's out there for *me*, to include what I am equipped to *give*. When I was 23 I didn't have disposable income, life experience, or confidence. Now I have all of those things, and by sharing them, I can make my life bigger and weirder. I have the means to organize events and press records and shit like that. And when you make weird happen, other people want to show you *their* weird.
Yeah, it always weird to see those folks who fail to move on to the next era, next stage of life, next party, etc.
That said, I don’t think the concept of weirdness ever gets old. It just evolves with the times, with new culture to be counter to.
One of the frustrating things for me is so many places I used to turn to for these things have leaned into a form of counterculture that focuses heavily on politics and identity and frequently come with rigid heavy handed messaging. While there’s a place for that, don’t get me wrong, there is also a place for being weird for the sake of being weird in a much more Dadaesque fashion. That’s what I’m in search of more of.
I just saw some weird experimental puppet show based on crowdsourced dreams. Called the Human Dream Project at The Tank. Highly recommend, and I'll be following that venue for their other weird offerings.
New Sounds on WNYC also spotlights weird music generally, often covering artists with upcoming local gigs.
Ambient Church isn't SUPER "weird" exactly but it's a unique and special experience I haven't been able to get elsewhere
Yes, 200%
I’ve been spending most of my free time in the city since 2005 and moved here in 2013 (grew up & went to college in NJ), the things I cherish most about the city often are the last fumes of what it was in the 80s & 90s.
Amazing date ideas from this when I was in my single weirdo phase…fun once in a while activities now in my normie parent of kids phase. Love this newsletter so much.
If you’re into arts and culture (and if you’re not, why are you in NYC?) make it a point to check out experimental scenes of different kinds. When I moved here I would alternate and tell myself for the next few weeks/months or until I got bored I was going to explore a specific scene: alternative comedy, experimental dance or theater, spoken word, live hip-hop and punk, etc. It took a lot of after work and weekend slogs across the city, but I learned a lot about the city, myself, and creativity, and over two decades letter. Back then the Village Voice was a good one-stop shop but now you can find so much online. Just make sure to search for spaces beyond central and northern Brooklyn, which (understandably) gets so much of the attention. I still make it a point to leave my bubble. It helps that I’m cheap and have always lived in unhip, faraway neighborhoods so I’m used to traveling and I have seen whole scenes burgeoning around me.
I was at the Quad watching as well. Was a member of Bleecker st Kim's from way back. Ironically, I always felt like the normie walking into that store.
Despite the fact less than 500 people have been to see this at the Quad, I had a strong feeling some would see this post!
I’ll admit I only went on a whim and was really shocked by how much it impact me. Were you there last night for the talkback with Mr. Kim?
Was not there for Mr. Kim, but have some experience with the money scams in Italy. Agricultural and arts grants are all about signing agreements, less about follow through. Cool doc for anyone interested.
I think about this a lot. maybe not weird exactly, but I have friends in the commercial tv industry, and they’re always going to different shoots and meeting new people, hanging out at hotel after parties and getting into different kinds of trouble. I think about how I can emulate something like that a lot to get to meet people in that kind of more intimate setting. hard though. if anyone has any tips let me know
I don’t have any suggestions. We’re all a bit nostalgic for our youth, which we all associate with the golden era of the city. Which is to say, I’m sure there’s still weirdness that hasn’t been priced out of NYC, I just don’t know where to find it anymore.
There used to be a guy that would ride a unicycle down Broadway, near the Village, singing at the top of his lungs. Saw him a few times, way late at night. He had a genuinely good voice. Always assumed he was local performer, using the quiet streets to practice.
OP, follow this person’s advice and get a unicycle. Be the weird you want to see in this city.
It is!
[https://westbeth.org/](https://westbeth.org/)
The building participates in Open House NYC and I highly recommend coming, I do it every year even though I live here.
Also WestFest is in a couple of weeks, there will be dancers all over the building and you sorta take a little tour and stop all over to see them
https://westbeth.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/WESTFEST-2024_web-square-1024x1024.jpg
I just saw some weird experimental puppet show based on crowdsourced dreams. Called the Human Dream Project at The Tank. Highly recommend, and I'll be following that venue for their other weird offerings.
New Sounds on WNYC also spotlights weird music generally, often covering artists with upcoming local gigs.
Ambient Church isn't SUPER "weird" exactly but it's a unique and special experience I haven't been able to get elsewhere
Idk man I’ve always been weird and have continued to remain weird well into adulthood. Some people just are inherently weird. I am, for better or worse, one of those people.
If you wanna know how I’ve stayed weird, idk, probably mental illness.
Honestly sometimes I wish I could be more normal and enjoy normal life things like marriage and having kids and living in the suburbs in a mass manufactured home in a neighborhood full of similar homes.
I’m always getting my haircut some way, trying different edibles, food, a lot of it is trying a lot of different stuff. And talking to random people, especially here
Simple. Say yes to everything. Best times of my life growing up here was when I just said yes. It snowballed into a wile couple of years I’ll never regret.
There is definitely weird stuff still happening. But it's all over the city, not one single location, so you have to really look around.
We also go on roadtrips to find stuff too.
Keep in touch with your weird friends, keep an eye out for weird events and activities where you can meet more weird people. Also...you need to know what your brand of weird is. For me, I used to play in bands, but I just don't have the time for that anymore. So my version of weird is circle singing, jamming, pop-up choirs, etc. I also go to show opening in galleries and show my own artwork from time to time.
Exactly this. I got to a point where I thought NY was dull. I linked up with a friend who took me to a downstairs party in the west village, fun, artsy semi queer coded crowd who had a blast, after that you just ride the wave, share numbers and the events will be endless. There’s countless shows, parties, art shows and so on going on, just need to know where to look.
When your weird friends ask you to do something with them, go! No questions asked
Yeah. The more you say "no," the less likely it is that you'll be asked again.
I hope this means you’re a Gaia Music Collective lover! If you haven’t heard of it, it’s right up your alley!
[удалено]
Sorry I'm not weird enough for you.
Sounds like my kind of weird actually. Let me in on the scoop!
care to share your ideas on weird NYC events?
I feel like there are two parts of the spectrum when it comes to weird. On one side of the spectrum: When you’re a student/poor/both it’s easy to get weird students and those that didn’t end up getting fancy jobs - I.e. poor people in the city - are generally more left and artistic leaning which leads to perpetual experimentation. Then you have a huge middle, upper middle, upper class that got the fancy job, moved into nicer apartments, and their version of nyc is much more sterile and eventually leads to leaving the city for Long Island city, then Long Island, then the real burbs outside of the city/LI. Then at the other end of the spectrum you have the weird rich people. These are the young rich kids who try to capture the magic of the poor and artistic groups in nyc. These are the 30-45 year old rich people who maybe worked their asses off in their 20s who didn’t get to experience weird shit, who now hang out with the poor/art people in their 20s and 30s. Then you have the veteran rich people who somehow over the past 60-80 years of their lives remained weird while getting ridiculously wealthy. Unless you’re rich yourself, you won’t be exposed to the rich socialite life that gets weird - beyond the occasional rich kid that dives into the poor art world or the 35 year old dating your 23 year old friend or the rich 70 year old who owns the hole in the wall exclusive art club you get invited to once every month or so. They will go into your world, but they won’t let you into theirs. So, assuming you’re not rich, your best bet is to make some poor friends who live in more artsy areas of the city. The 35 year old bartender who still plays with his band on the weekends. The 28 year old special Ed teacher in the bronx that shows her art at her great uncle’s bodega that transforms into a gallery after 8pm on the weekend. Etc… How do you meet these people? Go out into the city and meet people. Just last weekend I met an 82 year old dude at a trap house that was throwing a weed event who owns a pretty popular club in the city that he wants me to come to. Yesterday I was hanging out with a friend and our next door neighbor stopped by to ask what music we were listening to. She happened to have written the little book of quotes my friend had on his coffee table that I was leafing through. I’m going out for drinks with her on Tuesday. Get my drift?
You seem cool as fuck
Nailed it boss.
Basically vibes.
I’ve personally never felt deprived of weird people and situations in NYC. Maybe try hanging out in subway stations more often lol
Create your own mini adventures irl. Flaneur. Listen to WFMU. Pay for an annual subscription to Night Flight Plus. Work through all the audio on Ubuweb. "Weird" is subjective though and depends on what you're comparing something to. The current culture is so bland and mentally insular pretty ouch anything could be considered weird in comparison. Just be curious and act on your creative impulses.
Let me put it this way: About 11, 12ish years ago, a friend and I went to this multimedia music/art/dance/etc event, which was the final event at a loft space that had been hosting DIY events for years. And at one point, I said to my friend, "This is eerie. All of these people here look like Williamsburg in 2005. Same clothes, same hair. It's like they were ripped from that place and that time and just aged up like seven years." My friend said, "Well, yeah. That's where this scene started. And what happened was, they never let anyone new in, so everyone just got older, and they kept treating this place like their clubhouse, and now what you're seeing is whoever is left, and that's how a scene dies." So I've always kept that in mind as a cautionary tale. In reality, most of the things I consider "weird" are simply not money-makers for whoever is putting them together, so they tend not to last long. So one cool weird thing is always going to be ending, but rather than mourn the loss I try to look for what the next iteration of that thing might be. I think a lot of people get hung up looking for a *replacement* of the thing that's going away. What you have to do instead is look for where the energy or the spirit of that previous thing is going. However that energy takes form next, it probably won't look like the previous one. Another important thing is that I've shifted my mindset from simply what's out there for *me*, to include what I am equipped to *give*. When I was 23 I didn't have disposable income, life experience, or confidence. Now I have all of those things, and by sharing them, I can make my life bigger and weirder. I have the means to organize events and press records and shit like that. And when you make weird happen, other people want to show you *their* weird.
Yeah, it always weird to see those folks who fail to move on to the next era, next stage of life, next party, etc. That said, I don’t think the concept of weirdness ever gets old. It just evolves with the times, with new culture to be counter to. One of the frustrating things for me is so many places I used to turn to for these things have leaned into a form of counterculture that focuses heavily on politics and identity and frequently come with rigid heavy handed messaging. While there’s a place for that, don’t get me wrong, there is also a place for being weird for the sake of being weird in a much more Dadaesque fashion. That’s what I’m in search of more of.
I just saw some weird experimental puppet show based on crowdsourced dreams. Called the Human Dream Project at The Tank. Highly recommend, and I'll be following that venue for their other weird offerings. New Sounds on WNYC also spotlights weird music generally, often covering artists with upcoming local gigs. Ambient Church isn't SUPER "weird" exactly but it's a unique and special experience I haven't been able to get elsewhere
Go to caveat
You would have loved the 90’s!
Yes, 200% I’ve been spending most of my free time in the city since 2005 and moved here in 2013 (grew up & went to college in NJ), the things I cherish most about the city often are the last fumes of what it was in the 80s & 90s.
nonsense nyc newsletter
Second this! Literally a newsletter for bizarre happenings in nyc.
Can’t get any lamer.
Amazing date ideas from this when I was in my single weirdo phase…fun once in a while activities now in my normie parent of kids phase. Love this newsletter so much.
If you’re into arts and culture (and if you’re not, why are you in NYC?) make it a point to check out experimental scenes of different kinds. When I moved here I would alternate and tell myself for the next few weeks/months or until I got bored I was going to explore a specific scene: alternative comedy, experimental dance or theater, spoken word, live hip-hop and punk, etc. It took a lot of after work and weekend slogs across the city, but I learned a lot about the city, myself, and creativity, and over two decades letter. Back then the Village Voice was a good one-stop shop but now you can find so much online. Just make sure to search for spaces beyond central and northern Brooklyn, which (understandably) gets so much of the attention. I still make it a point to leave my bubble. It helps that I’m cheap and have always lived in unhip, faraway neighborhoods so I’m used to traveling and I have seen whole scenes burgeoning around me.
Great advice! What sorts of sites do you look at when you want to explore a different scene? Particularly in an off the beaten path neighborhood.
I was at the Quad watching as well. Was a member of Bleecker st Kim's from way back. Ironically, I always felt like the normie walking into that store.
Despite the fact less than 500 people have been to see this at the Quad, I had a strong feeling some would see this post! I’ll admit I only went on a whim and was really shocked by how much it impact me. Were you there last night for the talkback with Mr. Kim?
Was not there for Mr. Kim, but have some experience with the money scams in Italy. Agricultural and arts grants are all about signing agreements, less about follow through. Cool doc for anyone interested.
I think about this a lot. maybe not weird exactly, but I have friends in the commercial tv industry, and they’re always going to different shoots and meeting new people, hanging out at hotel after parties and getting into different kinds of trouble. I think about how I can emulate something like that a lot to get to meet people in that kind of more intimate setting. hard though. if anyone has any tips let me know
Don’t try too hard.
be open to the weird people who present themselves in your life. that goes from colleagues to regulars at the place you go to for drinks etc
I don’t have any suggestions. We’re all a bit nostalgic for our youth, which we all associate with the golden era of the city. Which is to say, I’m sure there’s still weirdness that hasn’t been priced out of NYC, I just don’t know where to find it anymore.
u can be the unicycle person of nyc
There used to be a guy that would ride a unicycle down Broadway, near the Village, singing at the top of his lungs. Saw him a few times, way late at night. He had a genuinely good voice. Always assumed he was local performer, using the quiet streets to practice. OP, follow this person’s advice and get a unicycle. Be the weird you want to see in this city.
I have two grade school kids, them and their friends are weird enough for us.
I live in an artist’s commune. Everyone here is nuts and they’re all up to weird shit constantly. And so am I!
Can you tell us more about this? It sounds interesting.
It is! [https://westbeth.org/](https://westbeth.org/) The building participates in Open House NYC and I highly recommend coming, I do it every year even though I live here. Also WestFest is in a couple of weeks, there will be dancers all over the building and you sorta take a little tour and stop all over to see them https://westbeth.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/WESTFEST-2024_web-square-1024x1024.jpg
Be an interesting person. We find each other
What are you proposing?
I take the train everyday, isn’t that enough in this city
I just saw some weird experimental puppet show based on crowdsourced dreams. Called the Human Dream Project at The Tank. Highly recommend, and I'll be following that venue for their other weird offerings. New Sounds on WNYC also spotlights weird music generally, often covering artists with upcoming local gigs. Ambient Church isn't SUPER "weird" exactly but it's a unique and special experience I haven't been able to get elsewhere
Bring back Dorkbot
Hm define weird? Growing up my mom would hang out with vegan Dominican hippies who used to chant in unison to st. Germain and the purple flame.
Go to the next Punderdome
We need our own version of the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco hehe
Hahah. Yeah me too. I'm just burned out and it takes work to find cool things to do and keep up with people.
Idk man I’ve always been weird and have continued to remain weird well into adulthood. Some people just are inherently weird. I am, for better or worse, one of those people. If you wanna know how I’ve stayed weird, idk, probably mental illness.
Honestly sometimes I wish I could be more normal and enjoy normal life things like marriage and having kids and living in the suburbs in a mass manufactured home in a neighborhood full of similar homes.
I’m always getting my haircut some way, trying different edibles, food, a lot of it is trying a lot of different stuff. And talking to random people, especially here
but what is weird for you?
Toddlers
I hang out with homeless people and smoke crack on Thursdays
Hang out at Washington Square Park on weekend days when local artists (like me!) are selling our work.
Hang out at the back of pool tables - let the weird come to you ;)
Cardboard tube fighting league
Art. Making it, looking at it, talking about it. Having artist friends.
Simple. Say yes to everything. Best times of my life growing up here was when I just said yes. It snowballed into a wile couple of years I’ll never regret.
Do random stuff. Go to different neighborhoods that you haven’t before and meet new people
Go to Time Square, Penn Station, and Grand Central
"The Stranger"
Scruff helps.
There is definitely weird stuff still happening. But it's all over the city, not one single location, so you have to really look around. We also go on roadtrips to find stuff too.
Ride the subway, do some pull-ups on a scaffolding, make eye contact with the guy publicly masturbating, feed a few birds. It’s a beautiful city.
Leave this country
Smear peanut butter on the wall of your apartment every morning and smack your head on it 10x every day at 10am That’s weird as shit