We’re here to kick ass and chew bubblegum. And we can’t afford bubblegum.

1. Check out the release for Louder Than Hell, an oral history of heavy metal. We hear if you read it backwards, it tells you to kill your parents (Monday)

2. We virulently disagree with Bad Movie Brooklyn that They Live is a bad movie, but hey, a free showing of They Live is a free showing of They Live (Monday)

3. Branded invites you to drag an item out of your family’s archive and talk about it and the people who owned it. So try not to grab something too embarrassing (Tuesday) (more…)

And Celebrate Brooklyn we will.

Bust out those Google Calenders, because the long cold winter nightmare of not seeing free outdoor shows is finally over. This year’s Celebrate Brooklyn lineup is just another annual reminder of how much better and full of free stuff summer is, which should make all the other seasons feel bad when they look in the mirror. Highlights include Theophilus London, Mavis Staples, Big Boi (as previously reported), James Lidell, the awesome They Might Be Giants and, rounding it all out… Shaggy?! Sure, why not, it’s summer! Full lineup below: (more…)

Big Sam’s Funky Nation will show you how they do it in New Orleans

Despite how it feels out there right now, anyone who’s lived in the Northeast for awhile will tell you that this 70 degree weather thing is just a preview of what’s to come. My proof, outside of living here my whole life? Take a look at the weather forecast for this weekend. No, the real jump off for summer starts in May, when the wind dies down and we’re past all that April showers bullshit. And Celebrate Brooklyn knows that too, which is why they’re launching their summer dance parties at Brooklyn Bridge Park next month. (more…)

via flickr user NRK P3

Though our days of dancing around the bedroom singing, “Hey Ya” are long behind us, we’re still pretty big fans of the Duo Formerly Known As Outkast. Unfortunately, Big Boi and Andre 3000 have had some beef lately and it doesn’t look like they’ll reunite anytime soon; luckily, though, they’ve both been putting out some solid solo work in the meantime, and over the next few months Big Boi will be playing two Brooklyn shows with Killer Mike, including this summer’s Celebrate Brooklyn festival. (more…)

There’s a Beasties tour of Manhattan and Brooklyn on Saturday.

1. Mission of Burma: neither an assignment nor Southeast Asian. Discuss. (Friday)

2. You should never say no to free hushpuppies. Never. (Friday)

3. “Our Hideous Future” was also the campaign slogan of the aborted Cheney presidential run. (Friday)

4. You say you’ve been looking for the soul of Brooklyn, but have you tried looking, on, say, Fulton, between Lafayette and Carlton? (Saturday)

5. Rumor has it that at some point on this Beastie Boys tour, they’ll teach you how to make b-boy bouillabaisse. (Saturday) (more…)

SummerScreen kicks off its season this week with the 90s semi-incestful Cruel Intentions. Photo via SummerScreen.

Brokelyn has a well-documented pro-summer bias, and for good reason: In addition to being the season that lets us do the actual best things (beach, rooftop boozin, etc), it’s also the time of year with by far the most free events every day of the week. And this post-July 4 week is a doozy: Not only do we get the regular assortment of free concerts, outdoor workouts and games, but two of the big free film series kick off this week in McCarren Park and on the pier in Red Hook. Plus, belly dance yoga, honky-tonk music, Vice’s Dos and Donts party, star-gazing and more, all of it free for your lovely people to enjoy. (more…)

Twitterer @Latrice_davis spotted this woooops on the banner at Celebrate Brooklyn this week:

Misspellings: not just for Republicans any more.

This has to be one of the better Celebrate Brooklyn! lineups in years. The free summer concert series kicks off June 5 with Jimmy Cliff and runs a gamut of musical options that features Ghostface Killah, Keb Mo’, Grammy winner Esperenza Spalding and includes the surely awesome combo of  Wild Flag and Mission of Burma. The movie singalongs and dance-alongs are ripe too: Saturday Night Fever and The Muppet Movie! For the more popular shows, you have to get there early of course, but your best bet is to make a day of it: picnic in the park with your friends and it won’t even feel like you’re waiting in line for three hours! See the full schedule below. (more…)

You can volunteer to do this at Northside. Photo courtesy of L Magazine/Northside Festival.

Remember when you used to give back (or at least pad your resume to be more attractive to non-profits after college)? Now we’re like: “Volunteer? You crazy? I’m an intern/artist/apprentice/blogger; I don’t get paid for my real work, why would I do MORE work for nothing?” Valid point. But there are loads of opportunities to pitch in at events you probably would be attending anyway and, bonus, you’ll get free admission, networking opps and sometimes even some cool swag. BurnedGreen gave us a roundup of some of the best volunteer gigs around Brooklyn this summer. (more…)

Dusk at one of last May's dance parties, via Flickr's suz views.

We’re still eagerly awaiting announcement of the schedules for the free concerts at Prospect Park and free movies at Brooklyn Bridge Park, which truly herald the coming of another beautiful Brooklyn summer. But for now we’ll take a teaser of some other free summer fun: Celebrate Brooklyn announced today it will hold three huge, free dance parties in Brooklyn Bridge Park this spring, the first of which is on May 10, less than a month away! The three events promise a beer garden, dance lessons, a bike valet and the always-sweeping views of BK Bridge Park that will make these probably the most scenic dance parties in Brooklyn. That first one is a Funk Party features the godfather of Go-Go himself, Chuck Brown; the second is a Brazilian dance party featuring a hip-shakin’ dance lesson; the final one is Zydeco party featuring some Creole classics and dance lessons provided by Jalopy.