Flaming Pablum

Hiatus

Hey there, all.

I’m not at all happy to say it, but it looks like I’m going to have to put Flaming Pablum on ice for a while. As alluded in recent weeks, my family’s been grappling with an ongoing problem, and that problem took a very serious turn this week. Moving forward, I’m going to have a great deal on my plate to contend with, and disappointingly cannot guarantee that I’ll to have the time or energy to devote to this blog.

I may pop on every now and again in the wake of topically-appropriate developments, but I just can’t say for sure right now. Please know that I’m incredibly grateful to you all for reading and following me all this time. Again, I will probably be back in a little while, but I just don’t know right now. I’m afraid I don’t know anything anymore.

To keep abreast of the sort of NYC stuff I regularly concentrate on here, you’d do well to check out EV Grieve, Jeremiah Moss’ Vanishing New York and Bowery Boogie, if you don’t already. They’ll inevitably keep you covered on the type of stories you’d normally find here. Also be sure to keep checking out Gregoire Alessandrini’s New York City 1990’s for period-specific pics. For music stuff, I’m a big fan of The Quietus, The A.V. Club and Slicing Up Eyeballs, for whatever that’s worth. Also always worth checking out for overall excellent stuff are Dangerous Minds and JYuenger's page.

Like I said, I’ll be back sooner or later, but I can’t give you any definitive dates.

Thanks for reading. Hope to see you again soon and please have a happy and healthy 2014.

Goodbye J&R Music World?

I haven’t spotted any official word on the web about it, but my very reliable source (i.e. fellow music-geek friend of mine and former colleague) Steve H. writes on Facebook….

Sick to my stomach over J&R Music going under….Not sure if it's all or just music. But I'd heard awhile ago that they were in bankruptcy, and I was there a few days ago and the fourth floor of the music store was "closed for renovation," which bummed me out because that's where the jazz and classical had moved and they're having a 30% off sale. So I called today to ask whether it had reopened, whether I could somehow buy any jazz there, and was told they don't have ANY jazz anymore. I have been shopping there for 34 years.

Much like Steve, I too have been a longtime shopper at J&R. While, no, it was never my first stop on the Manhattan circuit of record and disc outlets (it being way the Hell down on Park Row, after all), they had a solid, dependable and relatively wide-ranging selection of titles, regardless of the genre you were looking for.

And, as someone else on that thread pointed out, if it’s true, when it’s gone, it will mark the end of the multi-purpose record/disc shop in Manhattan.

Be prepared to pour one out.

Broadway Shame

Spotted taped to the door of the former Silver Spurs on Broadway and East 9th.

Good Riddance to 2013

It's that time of year again. Frankly speaking, 2013 was one of the worst years of my family's life. Pretty much everything about it sucked. As such, we're quite happy to see the back of it. I'm not expecting January 1, 2014 to be a magic silver bullet that suddenly solves everything, but as the Replacements once sagely sang, Anywhere's Better Than Here.

Herewith the inevitable end-of-year survey.

1. What did you do in 2013 that you'd never done before? I can't think of anything to put here that isn't entirely depressing, so I'm going to skip it.

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't remember if I made any, but if I did, I invariably didn't keep them. Will I make some this year? Don't know yet.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes, a couple of people.

4. Did anyone close to you die? Sadly, yes. My father-in-law very sadly passed away in January. That sort of set the tone for the year.

5. What countries did you visit? Didn't.

6. What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013? Conclusive and actionable solutions to an ongoing problem.

7. What date from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory? I'd say Thanksgiving weekend.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? 2013 was not a year of achievements.

9. What was your biggest failure? I'm not sure there was much I could have done better, but I am plagued by the notion that there was more I might have been able to do to prevent the worst aspects of this year.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I didn't, no, but those close to me have.

11. What was the best thing you bought? I honestly don't remember. Possibly the big furry beanbag I picked up at Restoration Hardware that was worryingly much larger than the one we'd initially spied in the showroom.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My wife and children.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? The usual culprits. I haven't had as much mental energy to get bent out of shape by political stuff, but the far right still have my undying contempt.

14. Where did most of your money go? School tuition, airfare, the tax man, building maintenance.

15. What did you get really, really excited about? In a bad way? The health and well-being of my loved ones. In a good way? Hmmmm. Not very much.

16. What song will always remind you of 2013? I can't say music played as much of a role in my life this year. Candidly speaking, I have the tendency to mentally associate music with whatever's going on in my life at the moment. Given that this year sucked so bad, I really wasn't inclined to taint any specific music with memories of 2013. I listened to the roiling live version of "Coward" from SWANS' limited edition live disc, Not Here/Not Now quite a bit, but that reminds me more of a night in 2012 (when I saw them perform live on the eve of Hurricane Sandy). It's also an incredibly cathartic bit of music, and catharsis was in high demand for me for much of this year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder? Much sadder.

18. Thinner or fatter? Can't say. About the same. Stress keeps me slim.

19. Richer or poorer? Poorer

20. What do you wish you'd done more of? Problem-solving.

21. What do you wish you'd done less of? Stressing out. 

22. How did you spend Christmas? We kept it pretty low-key this year. Just at home with my wife and children.

23. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with? Probably with my wife. 

24. Did you fall in love in 2013? I was already very much in love.

25. How many one night stands in this last year? I am happily married and ever-faithful.

26. What was your favorite TV program? We did watch an awful lot of the the tube this year. We quite enjoyed "Mad Men" and "Downton Abbey." I think "Girls" and "Homeland" have both started to slide a little bit. Loved "Sherlock" and "Birdsong." Probably most wrapped up in "Breaking Bad," which we're still catching up on (only midway through season 3 at the moment).

27. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? I can't spend time hating people. That's just not productive. I certainly spent a lot of time hating certain circumstances that were beyond my control. 

28. What was the best book you read? Toss up between Dave Gilbert's "& Sons" and Jon Wiederhorn's "Louder Than Hell." Both brought me much-needed distraction.

29. What was your greatest musical discovery? Like I said, I didn't spend as much time obsessing over music in 2013. I continue to quite enjoy "Like a Dream" by Francis & the Lights, though.

30. What did you want and get? The super deluxe re-release of the Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat and the super deluxe Singles Collection box set by Killing Joke. Both entirely needless, but lovely to behold.

31. What did you want and not get? Conclusive and actionable solutions for an ongoing problem.

32. What were your favorite films of this year? Probably that Big Star documentary.

33. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 46 and there's nothing nice to say about it.

34. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Better health and less suffering for the people I care about.

35. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013? Who's got time for fashion?

36. What kept you sane? Who said anything about me being sane? Honestly, the one thing that kept me sane was the imperative to stay steady, assertive, positive and in control while things were collapsing around me.

37. What celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Who cares?

38. What political issue stirred you the most? Can't say I had the time to worry about any.

39. Who did you miss? I miss my father-in-law and Lou Reed.

40. Who was the best new person you met? Some new colleagues at work, I suppose.

41. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013 Never, ever, ever take your loved ones for granted. Tell them as often as possible how very much they mean to you. And don't expect modern medicine to have every answer. Evidently, it doesn't.

42. Song lyric that sums up 2013: To slap a song lyric that pertains to the circumstances of this year would only serve to trivialize those circumstances, so I'm going to pass on this one.

Feelin' Mighty Low

Prompted by the collar of my peacoat, I had a moment of silly inspiration in the elevator yesterday.

Happy Holidays from Flaming Pablum!

The Fallen Man on East 29th

I keep passing by this notice as I’ve been walking to work, and it continues to intrigue me to the point wherein I thought I’d share it. The text on the flyer reads as follows.

This photo appeared on Google Maps Street View a few years ago, probably sometime in 2009 or 2010.

It is a picture of the corner of Park Avenue and 29th Street and it appears to depict a man who has collapsed on the street.

As part of research for a book project, I am looking for any information about this scene.

Are you one of the people who are in this picture? Do you recognize or remember anyone you know mentioning seeing an event that looks like this one depicted in the photo?

Please email: [email protected]

Anonymity respected

Curious to see how this plays out. Here's a shot of the flyer in full.

Eleven Years Gone

It's getting harder and harder to find cool shots of Joe around NYC that I haven't already used, but here's a nice one. Pour one out.

New York City to the Core

I've spoken about the New York Hardcore Chronicles 1979-2015 Facebook page before, but even if you're not a fan of bands like Kraut, Heart Attack and Reagan Youth, it's well worth liking their page, as they've been regularly posting amazing vintage NYC pics like the one above. Tell'em Flaming Pablum sen'tcha.

Unfortunately, I can't put a date or photographer name on the picture above, but that's indeed the fabled Gem Spa on the corner of St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue. I'd have to suggest this pic was snapped in the 70's at some point. You can still see the line of phone booths that later appeared in that photo of the New York Dolls I spoke about a while back. Just down Second Avenue a little bit, you can still see the signage for Freebeing Records (which I wrote about back here).

Anyway, go check'em out.

Where Can I Get A Burger `Round Here?

I got word yesterday via EV Grieve that Silver Spurs on the northwest corner of East 9th and Broadway is closing its doors for good tomorrow. TOMORROW!

Without giving away my exact location, suffice it to say that Silver Spurs is what I'd consider my "local," although if truth be told, you're more likely to find me ordering delivery from Cozy Soup & Burg down a few blocks on Broadway. The burgers at Silver Spurs are just too unwieldy, and I'm never been a fan of their fries.

That said, I was truly crestfallen to hear of its impending demise, especially in the wake of the closing of the University Diner on 12th street (now an upscale-but-probably-struggling European "fine foods" emporium).

While I always preferred University Diner back in the day, I did go to Silver Spurs on the regular. I vividly remember dining there in 1997 or so, and sitting in the window with a copy of the N.M.E., reading about then-favorite Britpop bands like Kula Shaker (forgive me) and Mansun. When my kids were born, Silver Spurs became more of a go-to spot for us.

In any case, as of tomorrow, it's gone. Apart from the afore-cited Cozy Soup & Burg, there are now precious few places in my neighborhood to get a burger or a grilled cheese on the cheap. What's up with that?

Almost as if he planned it, the great Gregoire Alessandrini of New York City 1990s just put up a new post wherein he showcases several since-vanished NYC diners of old, notably the Lost Diner, the River Diner (where that scene in "After Hours" was shot), the great Cheyenne Diner in Hell's Kitchen, the Great Jones Diner (below -- which I spoke about here), the Moondance Diner (which I've written about a couple of times), the fabled Market Diner (former hangout of the infamous Westies and fleetingly later a disco called Big City Diner in the early 90s) and much more. Check it out. It's entirely awesome.