Spend any time reading this blog, and you’ll doubtlessly recognize a posting pattern. Quite often, I’ll build entries around random videos that I’ve come across, usually topically flush with what has become the theme of this blog (NYC nostalgia of various stripes). It’s not that I’m always feverishly searching out appropriate videos, but when I encounter them, I usually set them to one side with the plan of expounding on them at a later date.
Sometimes, however, I’ll set them aside and then basically forget about them or forget what rumination I might have had in mind when I first spotted them.
In keeping with the same theme of the previous post (that being the impetus not to waste anything), here is a clutch of videos prized off the Web that all fit snuggily within the purview of Flaming Pablum, so to speak. While I’d initially intended on devoting an individual post to each of these clips, their respective moments have all passed, for whatever reason. Not wanting chuck them back into the deep like hooked fish too small to take home and cook, I’m rounding them all up here for your viewing pleasure. Go get yourself some popcorn, then, and settle in.
First up is a curious clip called “Natural Born in Manhattan.” As far as I can glean, it’s basically just nine minutes of cinematic moments of Manhattan, as scored by some cool jazz. See if you can name all the films and give yourself a prize. Some are obvious. Some not so much.
Next up is basically a photo-slideshow called “Lower East Side, Alphabet City … 1980s” True to its title, the video depicts just that, all courtesy of the lens of one Philip Pocock. Pocock occasionally posts on a few Facebook groups I’m in, and his work is indeed striking. Here’s a fun game while you watch this 18-minute clip -– how many invocations of Missing Foundation can you spot?
Our third video is “The Gift, featuring Freddie Katz.” Culled from a YouTube channel called “New York, New York Rock TV, 1990 – 2000,” this clip was shot at some point in the very early 90’s, and features a gentleman named Freddie Katz giving a tour of some of his favorite spots downtown, notably the Scrap Bar (which I spoke about here), Gem Spa on St. Marks, The Hat (or El Sombrero) on Ludlow Street and a few other likely locales. Katz was fronting an ensemble called The Gift at the time, who I want to say I may have seen perform at either the Limelight or the Cat Club at one point. In any case, The Gift no longer walks this earth as a single unit, but Katz himself is still in the music biz. Check out his own page here, if you’re curious. For whatever reason, this video’s embedding functionality was “disabled by request,” so you’ll have to click here to watch it. Enjoy and come on back afterwards.
This next video comes from the Kino Library and is titled “Rare 1980s New York Footage of Danceteria Club, Daytime.” I want to say this was shot by the great Nelson Sullivan (who I spoke of here), but cannot be sure. In any case, I’ve written extensively about Danceteria here a few times (notably here and here), so check those out of if you’re curious, but enjoy this trip back inside. This ground floor is a Starbucks today, if I’m not mistaken.
Honestly, I’m really at a loss as to how to describe this last clip, “Sunrise on ABC City,” so I’ll just let you press play and work it out.
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