Encouraged and emboldened by the feedback and fun generated by the first quiz, I feel may have bitten off a little more than I could chew with this second one, as there are still a few pictures that I cited that remain frustratingly unsolved. I have some hunches, and maybe you do to, so let's get to it.
1.
This is, of course, another photo of the Beastie Boys by Josh Cheuse (you may remember the last one I lost sleep over). This shot was taken on the northwest corner of 50th Street and Sixth Avenue in June of 1985. It's obviously too easy a shot to identify, but I included it for personal reasons. At the time, the Beasties were opening for Madonna at Radio City. My friend Rob B. and I didn't have tickets for this show and frankly didn't give a flyin' crap about Madonna at the time. But we actually quasi-attended this show by simply walking into the lobby between the Beasties' set and Madonna's. We couldn't actually get into the theater area (I honestly don't remember if we tried), but I did grab a freebie sticker of the event, which I still have somewhere. I know, ....how geeky. In any case, below is Radio City Music Hall on today. Not much has changed, other than that you're not supposed to cross the street at that corner anymore.
2.
Another ridiculously easy one. This is, of course, KISS -- holding court on the elevated platform on the corner of West 55th Street and 6th Avenue. This shot was snapped by Warring Abbott (you can see it in the man's excellent collection, KISS: The Early Years). I get a pile of grief for still being a KISS apologist, but screw the haters. I'm especially a big fan of this era of the band (when they weren't quite as family-friendly). Dressed to Kill was the first record I ever bought. Abbott took some other great shots in this shoot, including several of the boys cavorting around Central Park. In any case, this corner now looks largely the same as it did then circa 1974, but -- like many of shots in this quiz -- is now obstructed by scaffolding, as you'll see below.
3.
Slightly tougher, I suppose, but only marginally. This is John Cale of the Velvet Underground. Regrettably, I have no idea who took this photo or when, but from the looks of it, I would guess it was snapped in the late 60's or very early 70's. John's sitting only a little ways away from the location of the KISS shot above. He's perched on the eastern side of 6th Avenue between 52nd and 53rd streets (the big giveaway being the New York Hilton behind him). Here's me attempting to replicate it today.
4.
Another simple one. This is U2 as captured by Lynn Goldsmith at the St. Patrick's Day Parade in 1982 (i.e. around the era of War). They're approximately crossing East 59th Street on Fifth Avenue. Below is that spot today.
5.
I should preface this one by saying I've never really given a crap about Bob Dylan. I included it as I was more intrigued by the location than the personages depicted. This is, of course, Bob Dylan, Suze Rotolo and Dave Van Ronk at the corner of Bedford and Grove streets. If you care more about this shot, click here. Below is that same spot today (that's my bike standing in for Dylan).
6.
Okay, here's a toughie. This is the groundbreaking British punk band X-Ray Spex (fronted by the great Poly Styrene, who tragically just passed away), taken by their manager, the excellently-monikered Falcon Stuart circa 1978. Frustratingly, I'm not entirely certain where this shot was taken. I'd first assumed it was West 34th Street at 8th Avenue, but if you look at this second shot from the same session, it looks like that may be an inaccurate call. Regular reader James Taylor thinks it's the NW corner of Broadway and West 46th Street, crediting the tip-off to the Howard Johnson's in the background. James helpfully cited this website to support the theory (and I found one of my own), but I still remain somewhat skeptical. What say you?
7.
This is, of course, Monty Python (inexplicably sans Graham Chapman, his place filled by Neil Innes standing between Eric Idle and Terry Jones on the right) posing in front of City Center on West 55th between 6th and 7th Avenues (just up the street from the KISS shot above) circa 1976 (here's another shot from the same day). Unfortunately, the building today is under some form of renovation, and I couldn't capture its elaborate edifice. But here's that spot today, in any case.
8.
Ah, this is a great one. Popular theory dictates that this photo of The Who (shot by Art Kane for the cover of The Kids are Alright) was taken at Grant's Tomb, but that's a fat load of horseshit. This particular photograph was snapped a few blocks to the southeast on 116th Street at the Carl Shurz memorial that overlooks Morningside Park. What the Who were doing in that neck of the woods is mysterious, but evidently Kane wanted to pay homage to this photo of a vagrant in Trafalgar Square by Henri Cartier Bresson (you can read more about all that here). Anyway, here's me looking foolish in that same spot today.
9.
Okay, as I alluded in this recent post, this one IS KILLING ME. This is The Cure snapped by Ebet Roberts in 1980. The band were playing at Hurrah's at 36 West 62nd at the time, so one might assume that this shot was taken somewhere around that address. That could certainly well be the case, but if you look just above then-drummer Lol Tolhurst's head, you'll see the building number 406 (adjacent to a sign that says "hardware"). They're clearly walking on an avenue and not a side street, but the location in the photograph has thus far failed to match up any avenue addresses at 406. This has become my new Holy Grail shot. Let's hear it: WHERE WAS THE PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN?
10.
This is the criminally undersung band, Motherhead Bug (fronted by erstwhile Cop Shoot Cop/Firewater member Dave Ouimet), and it was taken sometime in 1993 or so on the southernmost stairwell that leads to the 79th Street Boat Basin from Riverside Drive. Because I didn't bring a funky fish-eyed lens with me at the time, I was forced to capture the location in a few photographs. Under the archway to the left of the band is now a restaurant, but this stairway is still a quiet, desolate and worryingly unpopulated spot, and it would otherwise seem like a lovely place to be stabbed, molested and slain.
11.
Pals of the band above, this is Firewater circa 2001, on the southwest corner of Vestry Street and the West Side Highway in Tribeca. The offices of their then-label, Jetset, were situated there at time (where Firewater mainmain, my friend Tod [A], was living). Tribeca continues to morph into a posh utopia, but this corner still looks relatively the same. That's my bike again today, lying in for Tod.
12.
Here's another headscratcher. That is, of course, Lydia Lunch. This image is a still from No Wave filmmaker Vivienne Dick's transgressive favorite from 1979, "Beauty Becomes the Beast." Given the locations used throughout the film, one would assume that this location is somewhere in the East Village. In the clip below, you can see the scene this image was culled from around 4:11 (right before Lydia turns to the camera and charmingly asserts "YOU'RE ALREADY DEAD!") Right afterwards, you see her walking on Bond Street off the Bowery, but it was hard to synch up an address. Bob Egan from PopShots NYC suggested that it might be the old Yippie headquarters on Bleecker, but that doesn't completely gel, as it looks like the door Lydia's in front of says #10 (which would put it across the street from that spot). Watch the somewhat painfully plodding clip below and see if you can name it. Fun footnote: Watch for a cameo by a disarmingly young Harley Flanagan (then of the Stimulators, later of the Cro-Mags) at 2:56.
13.
Initially spotted in the booklet that accompanies the Clash On Broadway box set, this is a beautiful shot of Mick Jones shot be Pennie Smith (the same photographer responsible for the iconic sleeve of London Calling). Those with a keen eye for detail will notice that Mick is awkwardly grasping a bag from Trash & Vaudeville on St. Marks Place. In terms of where this particular corner is -- it really remains anybody's guess. From the look of it, I'd suggest he's somewhere either on 6th Avenue or possibly Houston Street. Sadly, I have no idea. That all said, I did pose the option of a bonus point for anyone who could name where a lovingly framed print of this photograph could be seen. The answer to that, of course, is in Trash & Vaudeville itself. Walk upstairs and it's right there on the north wall by the door.
But this street corner? Probably only Mick or Pennie could name that. Can you?
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