WATCH IT! THE MEOW MURDERS Here’s exciting news for horror buffs, and just in time for Halloween. Kaneto Shindo’s “Kuroneko,” a Japanese ghost movie acclaimed on its release in 1968 but now mostly forgotten, has been resurrected by the Film Forum, where it receives a week’s run starting today. In 11th-century Japan, a woman and her daughter-in-law are raped and murdered by a band of samurai. Afterward, a black cat is seen lapping blood from the corpses. In Japanese folklore, that’s a sign that the women will be turned into avenging feline spirits. So they are — and the bodies of their victims start to pile up. The Forum is on Houston Street, west of Sixth Avenue; 212-727-8110. — V.A. Musetto
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DON’T MISS! VINYL OFFER We’ve been hearing lately that vinyl has been scratched from the endangered species list. More music fans are collecting, and more artists and labels are releasing new music on old-school discs. Look no further than this weekend’s WFMU Record Fair (at Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th St.) for confirmation. More than 150 dealers will be offering their finest vintage and new 45s and LPs — New York’s own Daptone and Norton labels will be represented, too. Why is vinyl heating up? “College kids find it a novelty and like the physical format,” explains Ken Freedman, the general manager of noncommercial WFMU, adding, “Vinyl still sounds better than any other format!” In addition to the hot wax sale, there will be live broadcasting, rock ’n’ roll-abilia, performances (Ted Leo and others), groovy movies and more! “It’ll be part circus, part garage sale — with beer,” boasts WFMU deejay Mr. Fine Wine. Admission, $7. Today, 7 to 10 p.m.; tomorrow and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. For schedule, go to wfmu.org/recfair. — Billy Heller
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CHECK IT OUT! THE BIG PICTURE “I will not make any more boring art,” John Baldessari once scrawled, over and over, and he’s tried to live up to his promise. “Pure Beauty,” the big new retrospective of the California artist’s work at the Met, is a crash course in conceptual art: It’s often sly, occasionally infuriating, even ghoulish at times, but rarely dull. Baldessari’s been called the West Coast Warhol, but he’s more fixed on the surreal than on soup. This, after all, is the man who cremated his unsold work and placed it in an urn; videotaped himself singing about conceptual art and placed big red, yellow and green dots on the faces of people in his photos. For his show at the Met, spanning 1962 to the present, the 79-year-old’s painted a brain-like cloud and a palm tree for the Great Hall — and somehow, they look just right. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street; metmuseum.org. — Barbara Hoffman
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BUY IT! SHOP SHAPE Sharpen those elbows, bargain hunters. Boutique Week kicks off Sunday with discounts in more than 30 small retailers throughout the Big Apple. Fashion lovers just need to log on to boutiqueweek.net and sign up for an exclusive access code, which can be used as a coupon to get 25 percent off fab merch. “Our ultimate goal is get people shopping again,” says Boutique Week co-founder Polina Raygorodskaya. “Especially since boutiques are more like mom-and-pop shops that only have one location and one owner. The economy has hit them hard.” In addition, deal seekers can enjoy markdowns in trendy shops such as SoHo’s New York Look, upscale milliner Ellen Christine and men’s Chelsea haberdasher Parke and Ronen. Savings last till Oct. 31, and a portion of the sale’s proceeds will benefit Dress for Success, a nonprofit that helps suit up needy, unemployed women trying to get back into the workplace. — Kirsten Fleming Getty Images
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HEAR THIS! FETES OF FREEDOM Exercise your First Amendment right to assemble this weekend when bands including Admiral Pork Brain and Greenpoint Terminal Market join at least half-a-dozen scholars at My Daily Constitution’s celebration of the US Constitution. “The Constitution makes us the government of this country,” says ACLU president Susan Herman, who will be reading from and discussing the great document Sunday. “Not knowing what’s in the Constitution is like being an umpire in a ballgame and not knowing the rules.” This non-political party is split between two Lower East Side bars where attendees can also practice their 21st Amendment right to a beer. The preamble and articles will be read from 1 to 4 p.m. tomorrow at National Underground (159 E. Houston St.; 212-475-0611) while the rest of the document will be read from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Living Room (154 Ludlow St.; 212-533-7237). For more info: mydailyconstitution.org. — Brian Niemietz
