No Handstamp Required - Feast of Music

"I’m the type who’d be happy not going anywhere as long as I was sure I knew exactly what was happening at the places I wasn’t going to. I’m the type who’d likes to sit home and watch every party that I’m invited to on a monitor in my bedroom. " Andy Warhol

Well, it’s not quite the same thing, but for all you NYers who just can’t muster the energy (or cash) for another night out, MTV now brings you VLES – short for "Virtual Lower East Side." Yes, you can now hear the hippest new bands at familiar venues such as Bowery Ballroom, Cake Shop and Max Fish, all from the comfort of your laptop. Tonight, for example, you can visit the Virtual 205 Club to catch a "show" by Owen Pallett’s Final Fantasy – no, Pallett isn’t actually playing tonight, just his virtual self is. They’re also soliciting tracks from unsigned bands, and users will get to vote for their favorites, with one winner getting a slot on the real MTV2.

MTV has spent over a year-and-a-half on the site, building out impressively realistic visuals and hiring locals for some proper hipster cred. Still, there’s something deeply creepy about all this. I mean, I guess it’s cool if you’re an indie kid stuck in Iowa, but c’mon lard asses, get off your couch already. You can update your Facebook page at work.

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