Flaming Pablum

When the ‘East Village’ Isn’t the East Village

I don’t mean to get needlessly pedantic. Really, I don’t. But…always question the fine print.

When did “East Village” become a catch-all for “downtown”? I mean, yeah -- I know it certainly sounds cool, but it’s also something fairly specific. Just because something happens south of 14th street, that doesn’t immediately mean it went down in the East Village. I am reminded of that photo I highlighted from Wikipedia of some “East Village street art” that was actually snapped in fuckin’ SoHo, or Alec Baldwin describing his neighborhood as the East Village merely because he lives one block to the east of Fifth Avenue. That’s not how it works, Alec.

Once again, I hate to be that guy, but get it right. Let’s rewind, shall we?

The description for this video (which I appended to this post yesterday), once again, reads….

The first actual MTV logo I ever shot was this one by Director Daniel Nauke. Shot on a Master Oxberry animation stand camera in 1983 while I was working free-lance at Francis Lee's, Film Planning Associates in NYC, this spot combined traditional cel animation shot as a series of cross dissolves for the changing colors of the MTV logo that were laid over photo animation replacements for the East Village background and man with the guitar case. Finally back-lit colors were shot as an additional exposure for the changing colors in the buildings windows. Music is "You Missed It" (intro) by The Lunachicks.

With all respect to Robert Lyons, that’s just not accurate, even if accompanied by the unmistakably East Village-honed sounds of the Lunachicks.

While I am indeed still obsessed with pinpointing the location of the Lunachicks’ wall, and -– yea verily – finding some official documentation of both Downtown and Underground, when I watched this short bumper clip for MTV, I knew it didn’t smell right. I knew that wasn’t the East Village. But, by the same token, it looked entirely familiar.

Check out this grab from same…

It’s a great, well-composed image –- no argument there. But on a hunch, I Googled a couple of photographs from the era of the Etan Patz investigation of 1979, specifically of the northwest corner of Prince Street at West Broadway in SoHo.

Notice the similarity? If should be noted, that later in the 80’s, the edifice of that east-facing building on the west side of West Broadway was painted with the fun mural below … complete with that white streak across the midpoint of the building you see replicated in the “MTV East Village” video above.

It’s a corner I used to be quite fond of, as down that street used to be two of my favorite places, Rocks in Your Head and a bar called Milady’s – both long gone. Today, Rocks in Your Head is a real estate agency, and Milady’s remains starkly empty. The storefront on the above corner is also newly empty these days, although there was recently a portrait of Prince affixed to that wall (Prince Street,...geddit?)

My point, however, is this: THAT’S NOT THE EAST VILLAGE.

Try harder, please.

Here’s the full song from Lyons’ video, for those interested…

NoLita, No Luck and No Lunachicks

Sorry, but I’m still obsessing about this.

A few folks have lobbed some suggestions my way in terms of divining the location featured in the photograph of the Lunachicks I’ve been losing sleep over, but none have, as yet, accurately pinpointed the spot. KNOW THIS: I will find it.

The most promising recent idea, however, came from a reader named Zubie, who writes...

That partial perpendicular COST(REVS) tag to me, does place it in Nolita; given those two's perpetual graffitos early '90s in said area. I'll guess the vantage is the from the north side of Bond closer to Broadway, facing east with what looks like that stoic 2nd Ave at Bowery water tower in the right background????

I'm inclined to agree with Zubie on these points, given that Nolita was indeed the epicenter of COST and REVS during that era. I snapped the above photo of their once-ubiquitous tags back in the `90s on Prince Street, just west of the Bowery.

But beyond that fleeting bit of graffiti, the little architectural, old New York flourishes also match up to the type found around NoLiTa.

In the unlikely event that you are unfamiliar with the term, "NoLita" is a relatively recent appellation -- invariably concocted by real estate developers -- that essentially truncates "North Little Italy" into a single word (see also TriBeCa, SoHo, NoHo, FiDi, etc.). Opinions may be divided on where NoLita's actual borders are, but the map below should give you a pretty reasonable approximation. 

With that above map in mind, I've been criss-crossing these exact streets on weekends with my kids and on my walk home from work way downtown, scouring the edifices and looking for a match. Once again, it's that two layered facade behind Becky Wreck that keeps haunting me. I know I've walked by it fairly recently. But, thus far, I've yet to put my hand to it.

Granted, there's so much development all around town, these days, that said wall could very well be obscured by newly-erected scaffolding or a sidewalk shed, but I feel like I've seen in so recently.

I may stop mentioning it for a while in the hopes that it either just occurs to me, or that I finally stumble back upon it on my marches around downtown.

And before you ask, I have indeed reached out to the ladies themselves (well, guitarist Gina Volpe, at least), but she's either found my request too asinine or hasn't read it as yet. Not holding my breath on that one.

Once again, here are the ladies in question firing on all cylinders circa a reunion show at CB's in 2002. 

BONUS BEATS: In searching for clues to the origins of that laboriously over-cited photograph, I did a random Google search using the terms "Lunachicks" and "East Village," and up came the curious clip below. Here's what its creator, Robert Lyrons, has to say about it:

The first actual MTV logo I ever shot was this one by Director Daniel Nauke. Shot on a Master Oxberry animation stand camera in 1983 while I was working free-lance at Francis Lee's, Film Planning Associates in NYC, this spot combined traditional cel animation shot as a series of cross dissolves for the changing colors of the MTV logo that were laid over photo animation replacements for the East Village background and man with the guitar case. Finally back-lit colors were shot as an additional exposure for the changing colors in the buildings windows. Music is "You Missed It" (intro) by The Lunachicks.

Here's the clip in question. Anyone wanna name this corner?

 

Stein 'O' the Times

If, like me, you spend an entirely inordinate amount of time on Instagram (both posting and perusing), and you enjoy the same brand of stupid shit I do, you’d do well to follow the similarly inclined Chris Stein (he of Blondie, of course).

Not only does he post a rich array of vintage pics from Blondie’s heyday, but also myriad snaps of other punks, hipsters, scene-makers and New Wave royalty, as well as a trove of cool shots of New York City and beyond. He does it well, and he does it right. Check him out.

Losing It Over Locating the Lunachicks

Okay, this one is really irking the shite out of me.

I KNOW I’ve seen this spot. I feel like David Hemmings’ character in Antonioni’s “Blow-Up,” trying to piece together a possible murder. I just need to find that one clue that gives it all away.

It’s plaguing me, as I’m a walker. There’s really nothing I enjoy doing more than simply walking around New York City, usually with headphones in, and just soaking it all in. I love visually scouring the surrounding cityscape for tiny minutia left over from eras past. I love looking at a minute flourish of architectural detail and thinking that it’s been there in that same spot while lives around it have come and gone as the years have rolled on. I love spotting a tattered, ancient flyer from some forgotten gig that the combined forces of time, weather and graffiti have not managed to scrape away and wondering how long ago someone pasted it up, and whether that person is aware that it’s still there, eons after the event has come and gone.

For example, I was walking through TriBeCa the other morning and I spotted a fading sticker for an old local band called The Valentine Six stuck high on a street lamp. I vividly recall seeing the Valentine Six perform at Brownie’s a couple of times back in the `90s, playing their brand of sorta Noir-Swing (imagine mournful, whiskey-soaked saxophones and spy-movie guitars scoring a pulpy drama, and you’re in the right crime scene). That all said, the Valentine Six only managed to release a single album in 1997 before calling it a night. As far as I know, the band is no more. Likewise, Brownie’s closed quite some time ago. But over on that street lamp on Leonard Street, the flag still flies for the Valentine Six. I kinda love that.

Anyway, the trouble in the instance of this Lunachicks photograph is that I walk a lot and routinely cover a helluva lot of territory. As such, while I genuinely believe that I’ve spotted this exact location (the two-layered wall behind drummer Becky Wreck in the back, specifically), I’ve walked around so many different parts of downtown recently — from Chelsea to SoHo to TriBeCa to the East Village to Chinatown — that it still could pretty much be ANYwhere.

I’ve shared my quandary with likely communities on Facebook and with my similarly inclined sleuthy bloggers, but maybe it’s because the Lunachicks aren’t Bob Dylan or Patti Smith, no one else seems as hell-bent on solving the puzzle.

WHERE ARE THEY STANDING?

And since I invoked them....

One More Word About the Misfits Reunion

Several weeks back, I took sort of a potshot at hipster millennials for getting all hot and bothered and incredulously rapturous about LCD Soundsystem’s return to active duty after what was effectively a very brief hiatus. That wasn’t a knock on LCD –- as I said, I quite like them -– but rather a reminder to the young’uns to keep things in perspective.

Now, conversely, when a band that hasn’t played together in 33 goddamn years -– and who has a rich and storied history of acrimony, shit-talking and repeated litigation -– suddenly announces that they’re reuniting, now THAT is something to get genuinely amazed about.

The reality, of course, will probably fail to live up to expectations. I mean, how could it not? Glenn Danzig, Jerry Only and Doyle have all stayed active in the ensuing decades, but they’re hardly the hungry, lean and hostile dudes they were in 1983. Well, they’re probably still pretty hostile, but still … three decades will slow you down (trust me on that one … I know of what I speak).

And yes….it’s somewhat hard to fathom these three dudes getting together and burying the hatchet (or, at least, not trying to bury said hatchet in each other). I’m sure it took a crass amount of money to make it happen. And yes … Danzig remains a pugnacious conservative who probably supports Trump. They’re doing it for the money, and they’re a pack of grumpy old farts who’ll invariably have a very hard time replicating the feverish stealth of their glory days. But so what?

My friend Drew commented that seeing The Misfits after all this time might almost do more harm than good to their reputation, given the probability that they won't (or simply can't) deliver their music in the same way that they used to. He drew a parallel to the hypothetical notion of Minor Threat attempting same. I countered that it would invariably be more difficult for Minor Threat given their po-faced convictions and lyrical concentration on all things youth. Given that the Misfits were never so idealistic, and that they sang primarily about werewolves, martians, necrophagia and murder, that shouldn't be a problem. That stuff never gets old.

In any case, I’m all for seeing them try to attempt it. I won’t be at those shows, but I’ll be hoping for some NYC appearances if it all goes to plan … which it probably won’t.

Remember when?...

The Return of the Misfits!

Holy Crap .... THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!

Falling into Mudd?

I probably shouldn’t start new inquiries until I’ve landed the plane on the ‘Downtown’ club and the location of that Lunachicks photo (that one is really driving me nuts), but here’s a quick lark…

I’ve been listening to quite a bit of The Fall again recently, albeit for no readily apparent reason, although maybe it was prompted by news of the new Brix Smith memoir. Regardless, they’ve been all up in my headphones for weeks, now.

Given that it fit the tenor of my day, I slapped the video below of Mark E. Smith and the boys cranking through “Totally Wired” at some venue in New York City in 1981. If you’re a fan of the band, you’ve probably seen it, and it fucking cooks, accordingly. Here it is now. Enjoy…

Now, in 1981, I was all of 14 years old, and invariably not yet versed in the myriad joys of The Fall (I don’t think I’d really give them a proper listen until about the summer of `86). Moreover, as a 14 year old, while I was indeed getting well into all things Punk, I wasn’t yet hitting the clubs. As such, I don’t recognize the venue the band are seen sweatily performing in.

A quick glance at the official Fall gigography asserts that, in the balmy summer of 1981, The Fall came to New York City and played the following venues: Someplace called The Underground (with Fad Gadget opening … that’s quite a double bill), Maxwell’s in Hoboken, The Peppermint Lounge and Irving Plaza. After a few days in Canada and Boston, they came back to the New York area and played Bond’s Casino in Times Square (as one of many opening acts for the Clash during their fabled residency), the notorious City Gardens in Trenton, New Jersey, a club called Interferon here in NYC and then finally a gig at the Mudd Club at 77 White Street in TriBeca.

Taking those one at a time, I can’t say I recognize the Underground, although it might be that space on West Third Street (adjacent to what is now the Fat Black Pussycat, but that used to be Folk City). I suppose it could be Maxwell’s, but, technically, that’s New Jersey. There were two incarnations of the Peppermint Lounge, although I never made it to either of them. That said, I’ve seen footage of bands like Even Worse playing in same, and it seemed like a bigger room than the one featured above. Likewise, Irving Plaza is a much bigger space than this. I never made it to Bond’s, but clips I’ve seen of The Clash there during those gigs don’t seem to match up with this more intimate looking room either. It might have been City Gardens, but, like Maxwell’s that’s very much in New Jersey, and still seemingly roomier.

That leaves our contenders being the mysterious Underground, Interferon (which I’ve never heard of beyond it being the name of the band who sang “Get Outta London”) and, of course, the Mudd Club. My friend Lela suggested the Mudd Club as well. Let's go there now, shall we?

Now, I never made it to the Mudd Club either, sadly. But, on hunch, I dialed up this fabled clip of the Cramps playing there. Compare and contrast…

Could be the same room, no?

What say you? Anyone there and remember? Weigh in-uh. 

Incidentally, today the Mudd Club is a pricey condo, and Bond's Casino, the Peppermint Lounge, Maxwell's and City Gardens are all closed. I have no idea whatever became of Interferon or Underground, other than that they're not here anymore. Both Irving Plaza and, for that matter, The Fall are still going.

Lux Interior of the Cramps, sadly, passed away in 2009. 

Down to the Basement: Was 'Downtown' Joey's Club?

Here's a quick update in my arguably inane quest to verify the existence and location of 'Downtown,' a short-lived rock club in NoHo, most likely on Bond Street, that played host to bands like White Zombie, the Lunachicks, Celtic Frost, the Cycle Sluts from Hell and more.

My friend Chung, an excellent sleuth for these types of things, did a bit of digging and stumbled upon another invocation of the club in a seemingly random interview with Josh Harris, lead singer of ska-band, The Untouchables (not to be confused with the D.C. hardcore band of the same name). Here's that excerpt...

 While not the official documentation I'm still waiting for, it does support earlier accounts. Also, the assertion that the basement-level club was owned, operated and/or the brainchild, in some capacity, of Joey Ramone adds a new dimension to the story and the search.

Watch this space.

Chicks, Bricks & Kicks: Looking for The Lunachicks

No, I still haven’t found any official ephemera to confirm the existence of the short-lived Downtown club on Bond Street, but ever since posting that update the other day, I’ve been haunted by something, specifically the picture of the Lunachicks above. I cannot put my finger on it, but I know it’s somewhere I’ve been. I KNOW it’s somewhere in New York City. Let’s review…

Unfortunately, I have no idea who took the picture, nor a specific date. I found it on this website, although no credits or sourcing are cited there either.

The pic most likely dates to as far back as 1990, as bassist Sydney “Squid” Silver is still sporting long locks, which she largely chopped off into a punky bob not too long after the release of their 1990 album, Babysitters on Acid.

I know it must sound strange, but the location looks so familiar. Something about that ancient chain-link fence on the left abutting a short shelf of brick face really rings a bell. There seems to be a gated area behind them, set back from the fairly ripped-up-looking pavement. Overall the architecture is obviously very old New York … I’m assuming it’s either somewhere in the East Village (like maybe around the eastern end of Bleecker Street? St. Marks Church? New York Marble Cemetery? Avenue B?) or quite possibly somewhere around the far western reaches of Chelsea.

I’m projecting on that latter guess, of course, as I can’t think about the Lunachicks without thinking of the first venue I saw them in, that being the Marquee, formerly on West 21st Street. It’s obviously a mega-huge leap, but perhaps this photo was shot that same day in that neighborhood? It’s certainly possible, however much a stretch.

What else can I say? Street-art/graffiti enthusiasts might spot the “COST” tag in between the heads of guitarist Gina Volpe and Squid. The façade behind drummer Becky Wreck in the way back of the gang seems to have two layers, with the lower boasting a shinier, more reflective finish. The street in question seems fairly bright and open, like possibly an avenue or a double-wide strip like East Houston. Guitarist Sindi B. in the center seems to be wearing the same red denim vest (under her leather jacket) that she sports in this live video from the Marquee show, but that doesn’t really mean anything. I’m sure she wore it a lot.

C’mon, fellow rock geeks and location-sleuths … get busy! Where are the Lunachicks posing here?

To jog your memory…

Radioheadache: The Scourge of Klosterman's Theory

Back in 2005, I penned an Old Testament-sized post about a strenuously dubious theory initially proposed by pop culture writer, Chuck Klosterman, specifically regarding how Radiohead’s “challenging” fourth album, Kid A eerily predicted the events of September 11th, 2001. That’s them above, incidentally, snapped in …uhhh… 2001, by Danny Clinch. Odd, that.

Anyway, it was not a theory I personally subscribed to, nor one I think even Chuck Klosterman took very seriously, but it did make me listen to that record again with a new pair of ears. In any case, it was fun post at the time, and that was that.

Strangely, out of all the entries I’ve published on this silly blog over the past decade, it is the one that will not die!

As mentioned in this post from 2010 (which already feels like a lifetime ago), the post was picked up by the fine, funny folks at Cracked.com, which gave the still percolating post (seemingly roundly invoked on many a Radiohead chat board) a fresh new boost. And being that Cracked routinely gets far more deeper clicks than this silly blog, that original post’s placement on same kept people coming back to it.

Then, in 2014, Noisey also pointed to the post in a cheeky takedown of the band called Radiohead is for Boring Nerds, and –- again -– the clicks rained down.

Today, in 2016, Noisey must have revived that post in light of the long awaited release of a new Radiohead record, as this blog has received both a huge spike in page views and a fresh new crop of correspondence from feverish Radiohead fans and detractors alike.

Here’s the thing: I DON’T CARE!

I do actually like Radiohead, although I’d hardly call myself an ardent fan. I thought the new single with the claymation “Wicker Man” theme was perfectly alright. I’m not sprinting out to buy it, although I’m not even sure I could if I wanted to, being that I think it’s a digital only release and, … on yes, … THERE AREN’T MANY PLACES LEFT TO BUY A PHYSICAL COPY OF IT, but that’s obviously a different, tenaciously stinging grumble.

But in terms of the merits of the original theory about Kid A and September 11th, I’m sorry -– and I’m relatively certain Chuck Klosterman would agree –- it was just a bit of silly rumination and juxtaposition, not something you should really be taking all that seriously.

There are bigger fish to be fried, no?