Ah, life at sea. The sun, the salt air… the blistering rock n’ roll. Yes, after an extremely impressive inaugural run last year, the Bruise Cruise is setting sail again, bringing indie rock back to the ocean for a three-day bonanza that will leave revelers swaying even once they’re back on land. This year’s lineup includes Fucked Up, King Khan & The Shrines, the Soft Pack, the Oh Sees, the Dirtbombs, and more — and while the price of admission is steeper than your average festival (this is an actual cruise, after all), we’re sending one lucky reader and a friend out to sea for free.

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Good news, music buffs with camcorders and NYU students everywhere: veteran indie rockers They Might Be Giants are launching a contest for fans to create a music video for their recent single, “Can’t Keep Johnny Down.” Though anyone on the internet can vote, John Hodgman will be the sole judge (he says ‘You’re Welcome’). The winner will have their video promoted on YouTube and on the official TMBG podcast, making the filmmaker famous among college girls and their dads. So go forth!

From the announcement:

TMBG is inviting creative visual people to make a stylish, smart rock video for the song. It can be live action, motion graphics, animation, stop motion. It can be people jumping around in capes, but they should be very stylish people in very stylish capes or you will not win the contest.Videos are to be uploaded to YouTube and posted on the official TMBG Facebook page. All videos linked there will be voted on by the Facebook friends of TMBG, but the winner will be judged by Judge John Hodgman and by Judge John Hodgman alone. Submission deadline is July 15th. Winner will receive $1000 bucks and a pizza from the pizzeria of their choice. The video will be posted on tmbg’s you tube channel as well as posted on TMBG’s podcast — so lots of people will celebrate your efforts. Select runners up will also receive a pizza.

See the official video announcement featuring John Linnell as a cat spinning around in his room after the jump.

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What started out two decades ago as a makeshift traveling musical circus has now become one of Chicago’s biggest annual events. This year’s Lollapalooza includes performances from Muse, Foo Fighters, Kid Cudi, Cee-Lo Green, Bright Eyes, Lykke Li, Crystal Castles, and dozens more — and it also marks your chance to win a VIP trip for two to attend the fest.

We’ve partnered with GUESS to send one winner and a guest out to Chicago’s Grant Park to spend three days basking in music and sunshine, with airfare, accommodation, and VIP festival passes all included. The winners will also attend an exclusive afterparty presented by Flavorpill and GUESS, featuring Tinie Tempah and Young the Giant.

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February brought the release of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band benefit album, a diverse homage to New Orleans sound that brought in high profile contributors ranging from Tom Waits and Ani DiFranco to Andrew Bird and Paolo Nutini (and if you missed our initial coverage, you can watch videos and stream the full album here).

Now, we’re giving away three prize packs featuring multiple albums from the artists who contributed to the project. To win, be one of the first three readers to tweet the correct answer to our trivia question @earplug. After the jump, view the albums included in each prize pack and read the question you’ll have to answer if you want all of this free music that’s up for grabs.

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Youth in Revolt, which opens nationwide today, is a Michael Cera comedy based on C.D. Payne’s quirky novel about adolescent love and rebellion. Cera plays Nick Twisp – a horny, precocious teen with a taste for Sinatra – who falls madly in love with Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday) while on a family vacation. It turns out that Sheeni has a thing for bad boys, so in order to win her over, Nick takes on an unruly (and French) alter ego: Francois. That’s when the sex and destruction begin.

Earlier this week we asked Flavorpill readers to upload images of their alter egos to our Facebook page for a chance to win tickets to see the movie, along with gift certificates for free soda and popcorn. View our five winners after the jump.

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Artists Wanted is a collaborative project between several New York City artists and creative organizations that helps emerging talent gain exposure in the professional art world. It’s currently hosting a multi-medium competition called The Power of Self, which focuses on the art of self portraiture. The panel of judges includes actor Steve Buscemi, director/producer Chris Weitz, Guggenheim curator Helen Hsu, and Flavorpill’s own Sascha Lewis.

The grand prize: A reception in New York City, international exposure, and a feature in 3rd Ward magazine, plus your choice of either six months free living at The Edge in Williamsburg or $7007 cash.

Ready to be discovered? Visit their website for more details.

Update: Due to an overwhelming response, they’ve decided to extend the deadline to January 21st. Good luck!

Calling all product devs, designers, and mashup artists… we invite you — and your talented friends — to show us your ideal Flavorpill Local page!

We’ve got some good ideas, but we want to know what our readers want, which is why we’re asking you to help us envision the perfect hyperlocal page. Starting with our event feed, how would you show your neighborhood on Flavorpill?

Go ahead, mash up your favorite APIs, including (but not limited to) Google Maps, Google Calendar, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, Friends Connect, Yelp, Craigslist, and Foursquare, along with the best local blogs. All neighborhoods are welcome, but for a dynamic page based on our event feed, focus on one of the US cities where we’ve already got content — NYC, LA, San Francisco, Chicago, and Miami. We’re looking for great vision, but submissions that actually work — dynamic pages, tapping live feeds — have a better chance of winning.

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Whether you’re a die-hard romantic, a lit-nerd, or a fan of astute screenplays, we have a feeling you’ll love Bright Star, the new biopic from writer/director Jane Campion (The Piano), which follows the tragic love affair of John Keats and Fanny Brawne.

To celebrate the film’s release, we’re sending one lucky reader and a guest across the pond to explore the poet’s past and legacy at teh newly reopened and refurbished Keats House in London. We’ve got your airfare, three nights hotel accommodation, and your Keats House passes covered — so prepare yourself for a whirlwind romance with London.

Enter to win a trip to London

All contest participants will be subscribed to Flavorpill. This contest closes on October 30. Winner will be chosen November 2. Check out our privacy policy, and contact us with any questions.

There’s barely a nip in the air some mornings, but usually that’s the only excuse we need for breaking out one of Threadless’ awesome hoodies. Top independent artists are always submitting cool new designs for the site’s graphic tees and hoodies — and thanks to the current sale, Threadless is making it even easier for us to stock up for fall.

We’ll do you one better. Tell us your favorite excuse for wearing a hoodie; the best/funniest/most creative reply wins a gift card for $250 bucks to spend on anything (and everything) Threadless. Ten runners-up each win $25 gift cards.

SUBMIT HERE>>

Our friends at BuzzFeed just posted a new fanboy supercut of cell phones failures in horror movies. All of the movies selected are from 2000 on. This made us wonder: While an on-screen novelty item in 1995′s Clueless, cell phones were fairly common as of the late ’90s. So, what was the first horror flick to feature one? Watch the video after the jump, and then leave a comment with your best guess; the reader who answers correctly first wins a True Blood Season One box set. (Admittedly not horror, but it has its thrilling moments.) Good luck! Read More »