Flaming Pablum

That's My Boy

My son made this. Why Godzilla is playing an accordion I'll never know, but it made my day on a level that simply cannot be quantified. 

Another Trip to Second Coming

I’ve spoken about Second Coming Records on Sullivan Street several times here, most notably and recently here, wherein I consolidated all the pics I’ve ever found of the place. Well, as it happens, this morning, someone surfaced this photograph, allegedly from 1989, by one Walter Leporati. At first glance, I was stopped dead in my tracks, as not only did it feature my beloved Second Coming, but I would have sworn on a stack of rare, imported vinyl that the figure in the foreground was my friend Steve H. (immortalized here), but he says he never owned sneakers like that. Ah well.

In any case, given some of the sleeves pictured in the window — South by Shona Laing, Tunnel of Love by Bruce Springsteen, Hot Animal Machine by Henry Rollins, Lovesexy by Prince — I’m more inclined to say this picture was taken in 1988, but y’know … whatever.

Incidentally, whenever I hear an invocation of Sullivan Street, my mind instantly starts playing “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” by Billy Joel. While I was never a fan, Joe’s stranglehold on the tri-state area’s rock radio since the `70s has ensured that his music has been nigh on inescapable. In the song in question, Joel invokes a restaurant called Mr. Cacciatore’s “down on Sullivan Street, across from the medical center.” For a start, there has never been a medical center of any discernible kind on Sullivan Street, although I cannot speak about a Mr. Cacciatore’s. But, y’know, Billy Joel is certainly no stranger — pardon the pun — to the concept of poetic license.

Who Did Bauhaus Burgle for Bela? Parsing a Mystery Riff

I probably should have posted this on Halloween, but it didn’t occur to me until now.

The interview was actually first conducted in 2019, but British rock journalist John Robb just recently re-surfaced his chat with Bauhaus guitarist Daniel Ash in tandem with Bauhaus’ recent tour. I actually had tickets for a Bauhaus gig at Radio City Music Hall in June or July of 2020, but that obviously didn’t happen. They re-scheduled for 2021 with a show at Brooklyn’s magisterial King’s Theatre in Flatbush. I neglected to get tickets for that show, but it, too, was cancelled over VISA concerns. New York can’t seem to get a break.

In any case, I remember listening to this interview --- which you can hear below – the first time in 2019 and this particular point struck a chord (pardon the pun) with me, but I later forgot about it. Listening again this morning re-ignited the intrigue.

Towards the end of the discussion, Ash alludes to cribbing the riff from the band’s iconic, breakout 1979 single, “Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” from, in his own words, “a very, very, very well-known pop song,” further conceding that he messed with the tuning and slowed it down a bit. Robb does not press him to own up to whatever song it might be, nor does Ash elaborate further, presumably lest some songwriter’s solicitors come calling.

In case you’re unfamiliar, you can hear the original recording of the single below. I’ve always been struck by the simplicity of the riff in question. Subtract the electrical storm of effects and reverb, and it’s a deceptively uncomplicated sequence of largely major chords spilling over the top of David J.’s dubby bass notes and Kevin Haskins’ suitably deathless bossa-nova pulse.

Listen again.

After being a massive fan of this track for decades, it’s very hard, for me, to hear it out of context, but if I had to speculate, I’m thinking … maybe “The Girl from Ipanema” by Astrud Gilberto, João Gilberto and Stan Getz. But that’s just a guess.

What do YOU think?

ADDENDUM: We have our first guess. A reader named Vladameer unearthed a quote wherein Daniel Ash copped that it was from an "old Gary Glitter song, slowed right down." Vlad suggests it might be "I Didn't Know I Love You `Til I Saw You Rock n' Roll."

Back to NYC `94 with "NY SCENE"

For whatever stupid reason, 1994 still doesn’t seem *THAT* long ago, to me. I still regularly listen to some fairly crucial albums that were released that year – Portishead’s Dummy, Jeff Buckley’s Grace, Nick Cave’s Let Love In, Massive Attack’s Protection, Release by Cop Shoot Cop, Pandemonium by Killing Joke, Orange by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and many, many others. It was a great, great year for music. I was still technically living on the Upper East Side, at the time, but spending most of my time downtown. I would have just been starting my gig at the TIME Magazine News Desk and freelance writing for various music periodicals.

But, obviously, once I take off my rose-tinted shades, I realize that 1994 was freakin’ 27 years ago. Pre-O.J. trial. Pre-Oklahoma City bombing. Pre-Princess Di death. Pre-9/11. Pre-Afghanistan. Pre-Iraq War. Pre-Indian Ocean tsunami. Etc. Etc. Etc. On a personal level, it was before I met the woman who’d become my wife, before our wedding, before we moved to our current apartment and, very obviously, before we had kids. It was verily several lifetimes ago.

Never is this more apparent than in the video below. Shot in 1994, “NY SCENE” was an “alternative” New York City tourism documentary. Here’s the official description:

NY SCENE is an alternative New York City travel documentary from 1994. As the tape says, "How to do New York... without looking like a tourist." Ripped from a VHS tape that I found while rummaging through The Thing thrift store in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Featuring many defunct and some still-functioning New York City establishments, local alternative music from the time and a superfluous use of the word "funky," NY SCENE is an incredible snapshot of NYC culture in 1994.

From the back of the VHS tape: NY SCENE is the ultimate insider's guide to New York City. This 52-minute travel documentary is a sonic blast of New York sights and sounds. Price down peddlers at the 25th St. flea market, feast at an Indian row restaurant, breeze past the ropes of Manhattan's hottest clubs. It's much more than the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. NY SCENE will show you where to find the New Yorker's New York. A few more NY SCENEs: Day Activities: Street art, funky museums and Central Park like you've never seen it. Cheap Eats & Dining Out: Bagels, falafels, coffee shops, Indian, Mexican, Sushi... and more! Night Out: From performance poetry to Showtime at the Apollo... and everything in between. Tips Around Town: How to get around and get by- without getting taken.

Travel expert Julie Karlin walks you from St. Marks to Soho and real-life cabbie Clinton Herrington gives you the tips for a change. Fueled by a soundtrack from some of NYC's hottest bands, NY SCENE is for those who want to be part of the scene... even before they get there.

So, yeah.

For all its bluster, the recommendations herein are nothing too especially radical, but it’s fun to see several since-vanished concerns again, like Howdy-Do, the Sixth Avenue flea markets, the Yaffa Café, Magical Childe, the Ludlow Street Cafe and the old Japonica and invocations of since-closed ventures like Wetlands, Downtown Beirut, Club USA and even my old neighbors at the 24-hour pool hall, Le Q (which is now a sedate antiques emporium). It's a very different city. 

Enjoy the trip back in time…

We’ll Always Have Parris

In the enduring saga of the Age of Quarrel-era Cro-Mags, much is often spoken about the primary players, those being band-founder and bass player Harley Flanagan and vocalist John Joseph. Powerhouse drummer Mackie is also frequently invoked, not least for his jazzy versatility. Insufferaby pedantic trainspotters like myself will also quickly cite rhythm guitarist Doug Holland, then-fresh from the ranks of proto-NYHC band Kraut. But one member seems frequently overlooked, that being guitarist/co-founder Parris Mayhew. Back circa the release of Quarrel, despite Parris’ blazing guitar chops, he appeared like the least-likely guy to be backing up burly skinheads like Harley and John, sporting a clean-cut, low profile behind all the movement at the front of the stage. That’s him up top on the far right, behind Mackie's replacement, Murphy's Law drummer Petey Hines. Last spotted playing with the Cro-Mags on 2000’s Joseph-less Revenge album, Parris evidently had a falling-out with Harley shortly thereafter and went onto pursue a career in video direction.

Well, as it turns out, Parris has resucitated his musical pursuits in the form of Aggros … an “instru-METAL” (geddit?) ensemble, although judging from the video below, it’s all Parris.

In this just-released, epic-length clip for “City Kids,” we see Parris pulling a card from Paul McCartney’s “Coming Up” video and portraying all the band members himself (as well as showing off some seriously stylish sneakers), all filmed around downtown spots like the L.E.S./Coleman skatepark and various subway stations and platforms. It all gets a bit “extreme sports”-y, but it’s still really well done, if occasionally a bit over-the-top.

Check it out. Crank it up.

Bartering Bowie

I quickly stopped into the Bowie pop-up shop on Wooster Street in SoHo, last week, which is “celebrating 75 years of David Bowie.” No math major I, but I suppose that implies that Bowie would have been 75 had he not passed away in 2016, but subtract 75 from 2021, and that gives you 1946, while Bowie was born in in 1947, but… y’know, whatever.

In any case, if you haven’t stopped by (and if you’re curious, you can read this VOGUE piece about it), it’s basically a boutique selling all variety of Bowie ephemera, from coffee mugs, fridge magents and jigsaw puzzles to box sets, art prints and a wide array of Bowie-themed clothing. As the VOGUE piece points out, those expecting a re-hash of the David Bowie Is show will be disappointed (it’s nothing quite so immersive), but there is some archival media to be enjoyed therein, although I found it hard to concentrate on it whilst shoppers milled busily around me.

At this stage of proceedings, I’m pretty much all set on Bowie gear. I have all the crucial albums, to say nothing of several rareities compilations and live sets, most of which I revisit with some frequency. He does have an unreleased album coming out later this month, but oft-times, unreleased material swiftly reveals precisely why it was unreleased in very short order. I’m curious about it, but we’ll see. I own one lovely Bowie t-shirt, that being the man’s profile from the sleeve of Low with his name rendered in the same bold, angular font faithfully employed on every album cover by Iron Maiden, a dichotomy for rock-geek trainspotters and keen-eyed metalheads that I quite enjoy.

So despite not “needing” anything they’re hawking (altough I wouldn’t turn my nose up at a cool Diamond Dogs shirt, if I spotted one), I still felt somewhat obligated to look around. But in doing so, I was left with two icky feelings… the fist being my inner, frothy-mouthed gatekeeper bubbling to the surface (not that he’s ever far away), blanching incredulously at the sight of some sniveling Gen-Z’r trying on a t-shirt with the sleeve art from 1.Outside on it, when in all likelihood they’d absolutely never listened to the album in question (“SING ME THREE VERSES FROM ‘THE HEART’S FILTHY LESSON’!”). The second was the overall feeling that Bowie himself might not have been so gung-ho about such a brazen merchandising initiative, not least in the wake of his own untimely death. But that, of course, is pure projection. I mean, I’m used to robust displays of materialistic avarice by bands like KISS and the Rolling Stones, but don’t normally associate that with Bowie. But, clearly there’s money to be made, and I’m probably just being naïve. If you're not bothered by those notions, you should trot on down to Wooster street. It's open through January. 

Speaking of Bowie, even though I just evangelized the “new 4K version” of the video the other day, here’s a cool “behind the scenes” of the making the “I’m Afraid of Americans” video with ol’ Trent and Dave on Howard Street, Orchard Street and other spots around downtown Manhattan. Enjoy…

Not Yet, Fat Man