Albert Maysles is about as humble and earnest a man you will find anywhere in the world, which makes the fact that he’s a filmmaking legend all the more amazing. He and his brother David pioneered “direct cinema” in the 1960’s, revolutionizing documentary filmmaking, and are responsible for the great films Salesman, Grey Gardens and Gimme Shelter. On 8.26 Albert regaled a rapt crowd at the Rogan store on the Bowery in NYC with stories from his improbable and fascinating career, interspersing never-before-seen clips from his extensive film catalog. Criterion will soon be releasing extended versions of these gems on DVD, including a buzzed and slaphappy Marlon Brando trying to get through a press junket, The Rolling Stones listening to the mixdowns of Wild Horses for the first time, a wigged Salvador Dali speaking jibberish to a bikini-clad Raquel Welch and Muhammad Ali shadow boxing the camera on a deserted road in Africa.

Above, that’s Al and Fred [gripped tight in his right] giving an interview to Vanity Fair after the show. For a little guy, Fred is a huge fan.

Michael Stipe and designer Rogan Gregory [checkout http://rogannyc.com] launched their collaborative art exhibit at Rogan’s studio on Bowery in NYC on June 26, 08 for a month. Bronzed cassette tapes above, by Michael, represent the power of media as a blank canvas for art, retro-style. Fred was cold chillin’ at the studio in about the most humid environment of his career [a sweaty night it was]. Other interesting folk at the event included ColdPlay’s Chris Martin, brother-in-law Jake Paltrow [ NYPD Blue, Director and brother of Gwyneth ], Mike D of Beastie Boys and artists Jeff Koons, Michael Halsband and Terrence Koh. As the consummate blackbelt in hanging out, take Fred’s word for it when he says: “Checkout Rogan Jeans.” They must be Fred-friendly…

On Iceland’s independence day, Sigur Ros chose to be in NYC to celebrate Olafur Eliasson’s P.S.1 show by performing in the MoMA atrium and hanging out with Fred. On stage with the band was none other than Honoré de Balzac, preserved for posterity by the great Auguste Rodin. Why is a monument to a French writer by a French sculptor on stage with an Icelandic band celebrating a Danish-Icelandic artist? That will remain one of life’s great mysteries. Here’s another great mystery: if silk-screen artist Shepard Fairey (of Obey Giant fame) and Sigur Ros singer Jónsi Birgisson were standing in the same room, could anyone tell them apart?

Artist and Friend of Fred, Dan C. puts the screws to our buddy Fred in a sculptural piece for the opening show at the Lisa Coscino Gallery in Pacific Grove, CA. The stunning object, titled D.I.Y. Pimp my Fred, is no doubt the heaviest Fred we’ve ever seen. The kind of heavy that inspires the “long live metal” extended thumb, forefinger & pinky hand motion and makes us want to shout at the devil and/or bark at the moon. Pimpin’ may not be easy, but it sure is fun to look at. Dan Cronin, you rock.

Check out the Providence-based, all-female art collective Dirt Palace as they chronicle their own fantasy, fake, true, science-fiction, candy-coated, stripped-bare, all-lies history. Song, dance, costumes, projections and puppets all come together in this deceptively sweet yet completely unruly evening celebrating the WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution show at the MoMA’s P.S.1 in Queens.

Check PopRally more more details.

What other venue in the city can even come close to the Museum of Modern Art for throwing a shindig? None, unless there’s another glass atrium with a Formula One race car hanging from the wall. PopRally once again proves that if you get an invitation to a party at the MoMA, you say “yes” and “what time?” And oh yeah, the printmakers from Cannonball Press and Space 1026 were pretty cool as well.