Regarding the Pain of Others
Susan Sontag
I have said before that I have a dead spot in my brain when it comes to that iconic triumvirate of 60s writers, Didion, Vidal and Sontag, You may recall that I came up goose eggs when I ventured beyond Didion’s masterwork into Continue reading
Has it Come to This?
Rolling Stone’s 40 Greatest Punk Albums of All Time
The streetscape that defined an era. You can’t go back again. East 14th Street at 3rd Avenue, I think. Photo (c) Ann Sanfedele and borrowed from Jeremiah Moss’s inspired blog ‘Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York’ with apologies. Click the shot to visit this fabulous site.
The first kid I knew who listened to punk rock was Danny Perlowitz. I have a distinct memory of him in 1978 bouncing on the balls of his feet, clad in a leather jacket that never came off and blue jeans, making his way through a crowded high school Continue reading
New York’s Irving Plaza
At what point does one drift into helpless, even embarrassing fits of nostalgia? That thought was on my mind even before it became the subject of discussion on the ride home after last night’s Gang of Four show at Irving Plaza.
A related question: when is a band no longer a band? That second question may be more important than the first. A few months back I Continue reading
Perpetually late to the party, that’s me.
This week, the party I’ve missed is the furor over a June 16 post by Emily White at All Songs Considered. My friend, the singer-songwriter Marc Farre , called it to my attention along with retorts from two of my favorite musicians, David Lowery and, in response to him, Dave Allen. It seems that the original post and the disagreeing between other bloggers and commenters made for a regular rhubarb.
As so much virtual ink has already been spilled, let me avoid the main fray. I want to stipulate a few points up front made by each of the three bloggers noted above. First, no one has ever purchased all their music. If you’re a fan you tape, you borrow, you listen at the library but you don’t buy everything. Emily may have a proportion problem but none of us is without sin. (For the record, I have paid for all the Continue reading
“I do believe this club is The Ritz,” said Jon King after Gang of Four finished their opening number, You’ll Never Pay for the Farm, (the new album is Content and available now) at Webster Hall last night. King was right–the band had played Continue reading
An Honest Con 