Dr Pepper, Cartel prepare to get bubblicious

The rock band Cartel moves into its 2,000-square-foot high-tech habitat tonight as Dr Pepper Band in a Bubble kicks off on MTV. The group has 20 days to record a new album. Check out the bubble in 3-D on TPG Architecture’s Web site. It’s pretty cool, like something Irwin Allen would have designed if he’d had bigger budgets. What would that go for in New York’s bloated real-estate market? The walls are mostly transparent, to facilitate a “23-camera voyeuristic experience,” but this is Manhattan—you can’t expect too much privacy.