Flaming Pablum

Bohemia Lost

I'm all about other people's content today. Found this item on the always entirely excellent This Isn't Happiness. Suffice to say, Greenwich Village hasn't looked this enticing in years.

Big Laughs for a Shitty Monday

Fuck Yeah Swearing

Steak House or Gay Bar?

Fuck You, Penguin

Shit My Dad Says

On Bein' Ian

I only caught the last half of it, but when I flicked on WNYC this evening, I was pleased to stumble upon Ian Mackaye of Minor Threat/Fugazi being interviewed on "The Sound of Young America," talking about his life, his work and his principle-driven approach to both. Hit play below to hear the entire compelling interview.

The Sound of Young America

Never Mind Black Friday,...

I'm officially re-christening this day Black Sabbath Day, as I just read with some sadness that Ronnie James Dio has been diagnosed with stomach cancer. Bummer. Crank up "The Mob Rules" in tribute. Get well soon, Mr. D.

Happy Turkey Day

Stuffing You Might Have Missed

Pardon the strenuously lame title of this post, but it's the best Thanksgiving-allusion I could come up with. Sue me. In any case, herewith a list of items I deemed worthy of your perusal. Tuck right in, do.

First up, Scouting New York put up an exhaustive post about the site of the World's Fair over in Queens. I've always adored the bizarre, futuristic structures of that place. There's a certain moment on the Long Island Expressway as you approach Manhattan when you climb a small hill. Once you clear said hill, the strange towers of the World's Fair loom into view. As a child, I always associated the sight of those towers as an indication that we were almost home. Also, evidently there used to be a Fountain of the Planet of the Apes there (see pic above). Why, exactly, wasn't I notified about this?

And now for some other fine items…

Tim B. strongly advises you to go check out Kevin Mazur's exhibit of rock photography the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle.

Be careful next time you go a-sushiing. That might not be tuna you're tucking into. Yipe!

Holly of The New York Nobody Sings remembers The Clash at Bond's Casino.

Tragically, the former site of Downtown Music Gallery on the Bowery is slated to become a Subway. Yeah, like we need another one.

Hail to the king. Papaya King on 7th Avenue has evidently abdicated.

Enter the Cultural Dictionary of Punk Holiday contest and maybe win an awesome book!

Here's your chance to tell Marc Jacobs where he can stick it.

I didn't know this either, but Glen discovered that Henry Rollins has been blogging for Vanity Fair.

There's nothing I can say about this item that would adequately explain it, so simply click here to enjoy the Muppets' rendition of Queen's magnum opus, "Bohemian Rhapsody."

It seems Bon Jovi was performing on the TODAY show (a veritable stone's throw from my office) this morning. Being that I neglected to bring my assault rifle with me to work, I wasn't quite able to do the right thing. As a consolation prize, though, my co-worker Jeff passed on this classic encounter between Bon Jovi and Triumph the insult comic dog. I practically cried watching this. Enjoy.

Lastly, meet Sarah Palin's public. Chilling.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bring Back the Rawkus

I've fielded a few e-mails telling me that the photograph of 180 Ludlow Street in 1999 from my latest Then & Now entry doesn't seem to be showing up on some browsers. I checked and it does indeed go missing on Firefox and Internet Explorer for some reason. As such, here it is once more in all its glory.

"I Ain't Got Time For That Now"

Yes, it's time for yet another impassioned entreaty for you click on over to The New York Nobody Sings to check out my latest entry about Manhattan-centric music. This particular installment involves Talking Heads' endearingly paranoid ode to life under hostile surveillance from 1979, "Life During Wartime." This ain't no party. This ain't no disco. This ain't no foolin' around.

XOXO, 99X

This is already been making the rounds, but I too let out a heartbroken gasp when I first read the news on EV Grieve's site, so I thought I'd share it here. It turns out that 99X over on 10th street is closing its doors for good. Initially affiliated with 99 Records, 99X has been selling Fred Perrys, Vans & other cool gear to the punks, skins, mods & hip kids for over three (!!!) decades. I've bought many a fine textile myself there over the years, most recently those stylishly macabre paisley Vans you see in the photograph above. Yet another outpost of cool vanishes from downtown NYC. Pour one out.

Then & Now: Ludlow & Cortlandt Edition

Just a quick one, this time. I had to walk over to the southern end of Ludlow Street on Saturday. Some friends of ours who live there were about to decamp to Japan, and wanted to graciously unload some items onto us. So, en route to their perch on the other side of Grand Street, I took a stroll down Ludlow. As I wrote in this post from a while back, Ludlow Street used to be a regular stop for me in the early-to-mid 90's. With the exception of Max Fish (where I'm now simply --- let's face it -- too old to be hanging out in), most of my favorite spots are long gone, replaced by newfangled condos and the like. In any case, below are a couple of Then & Now images from that walk.

Today, meanwhile, found me running an errand on Canal Street. While there, I ducked down Cortlandt Alley to try to knock out two more pictures. The first was simply a bit of graffiti I stumbled upon in 2002 that neatly summed up not only the state of Cortlandt Alley (the yellow brick road to the Oz that was the old Mudd Club's Oz at 77 White Street), but also the state of "Downtown" as a whole. Unsurprisingly, it's been painted over. 'Samo,' of course, was the tag of artist/musician/iconoclast/Mudd Club-regular Jean-Michel Basquiat. 77 White Street, meanwhile, hasn't been the home of the Mudd Club since it shut its doors in 1983. I was sixteen when it closed and, of course, never went, but its legend loomed large. In more recent years, the building was entirely renovated and turned into plush condominium. A former neighbor of mine actually bought an apartment there. Sadly, when he told me about it, he hadn't the slightest clue about the building's history.

Southwest corner of Ludlow & East Houston, 1998:

Southwest corner of Ludlow & East Houston, 2009:

180 Ludlow Street, 1999:

180 Ludlow Street, 2009:

Southwest corner of Ludlow & Rivington Streets (a.k.a. "Paul's Boutique") 1995:

Southwest corner of Ludlow & Rivington Streets (a.k.a. "Paul's Boutique") 2009:

Cortlandt Alley 2002:

Cortlandt Alley 2009:

77 White Street 2002:

77 White Street 2009:

Mercer just North of Canal Street, 1997:

Mercer just North of Canal Street, 2009: