5/25: “Video Slut,” Alan Alda…

…and the Ben Wolfe Quintet smokes up Smalls

By Elizabeth Bougerol

| Monday, May 24, 2010 | Updated 1:38 PM EDT

Sharon Oreck's "Video Slut" dishes behind-the-scenes dirt on videos like this one, where Prince takes a purplish bath.

POP TALES: Back in the 1980s, when video killed the radio star, producer Sharon Oreck was there—and usually, she was in charge. She’s worked with everyone from Madonna to Michael Jackson, and has plenty to recount firsthand (like what happened to the first flock of doves that were supposed to appear in Prince’s “When Doves Cry” video). In fact, she’s filled a dishy book with it, and launches “Video Slut” (Faber & Faber) at the Tribeca Barnes & Noble tonight at 7PM.

COZY: Bassist Ben Wolfe has played with greats like Harry Connick, Jr and Diana Krall, but tonight you can catch him at Smalls doing what he does best: leading his eponymous Quintet—complete with bigwigs like Marcus Strickland on sax—in an evening of smoky, intimate sounds at Smalls. 9PM.

BRAINIAC: Make fun all you want: We have mad crush-love for Alan Alda, because in addition to being funny and talented in his career of choice, he’s also a deep science nerd (our weakness). Like your favorite high school teacher, he makes learning fun, so prepare to be fascinated as he riffs on Pop-Up Physics from the Large Hadron Collider tonight, presenting a panel that includes Harvard physics honchette Lisa Randall, at the NY Academy of Sciences, 6:30PM.

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