Back to 11th & B Circa `83

Flaming Pablum friend RB Korbet (who graciously shared her recollections of life on the nascent New York hardcore punk scene and beyond here not too long back) shared an amazing video on her Facebook page this afternoon, originally uploaded by the Sound Gallery, which is a space in Austin, Texas. Unfortunately, it being a Facebook video, I cannot embed it here (why doesn’t FB offer that functionality? I suppose they don’t want to lead people off the platform). In any case, it’s an endearingly low-budget video montage of what was then still referred to as Alphabet City, specifically East 11th Street and Avenue B, circa 1983, scored by music from Alan Vega and Martin Rev (collectively known as Suicide, but not in this instance) and the False Prophets. Here is the official explanation that comes with the post....

This video captures Manhattan's Lower East Side before the invasion of rich white people. This was shot in the early 80s when the cultural diversity of downtown Manhattan was rich and deep. And for the most part we all got along. Yes, it could get scary for some of us young white kids who grew up in suburban cocoons but we got over that shit and embraced the challenge of learning to interact with a mixed-bag of people of all colors from all points of the planet with a multitude of angles on existence. It was an education in culture, empathy, and street skills. This was our University and it was universal. And in the harshness of the urban landscape there was much love and tenderness.

Obviously, I don’t have to spell out how different the urban turf depicted therein looks today. In the 25-minute clip, you’ll see lots of amazing footage of a slice of the Lower East Side that has changed radically in the ensuing thirty-three years. Look for cameos by Stephan of the False Prophets, Alan Vega, Ru Paul, the Gorilla Girls and a slew of neighborhood punks and scenesters, along with some period-specific locations like Save the Robots and the Life Cafe (both long gone). Also check out all the great street art, including the vacant lot murals of Scott Borowsky (who I wrote about here somewhat recently).

Like I said, unfortunately I cannot embed it, so find it here. But in the event you don’t want go to Facebook to do that, here are some great images from “11 & B.”