Keep The Faith

“With the pride of the artist, you must blow against the walls of every power that exists the small trumpet of your defiance.”

Words: Norman Mailer

Photograph: John Naar

Forced To Deal With Pain

 

One of the rare joys to come of this pandemic and shutdown is my renewed hunger for the written word. I've always been a huge reader and bibliophile, but since early in the pandemic I've been reading books at a pace I've not experienced since my 20s. And now that Trump is somewhat insignificant, I am no longer doom-scrolling for every single news story about what horrific thing he's done, and in turn missing out on precious time when I could be learning or just escaping to other worlds. I've been trying to catch up on classics that for some reason I never read; most recently I devoured The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin and Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow; both of which were mind-blowing, albeit in very different ways.

Everybody’s Wearing A Disguise

Dylan threw away better songs than most artists record during their entire careers, and here's a perfect example: this masterpiece was recorded in '75 and remained unreleased until the Biograph collection in '85. This is a stellar take by two of the finest voices in American music history (produced by the great Dave Edmunds).

Creatures Of The Street

Jerry Brandt

Rest In Peace

"My philosophy? Have fun, make a buck, and when the DA says 'not guilty,' don't applaud..." Jerry Brandt "discovered" Chubby Checker and Carly Simon, was responsible for bringing the Rolling Stones to the States, and worked with Sam Cooke, Muhammad Ali, and countless others as a talent agent. He also opened famed NYC clubs The Electric Circus, Spo-Dee-O-Dee, and The Ritz, and managed the career of Jobriath. Brandt was yet another victim of COVID-19.

Photograph by Andy Warhol

Second Time's The Charm

 

Best Of 2020

 

I didn't bother with a 'best of 2020' list this year, but Can't Stop The Dread may well be my favorite reissue of the year. 35 tracks from Sonia Pottinger's High Note vaults, and nearly all of them real gems. The double-disc set includes big names like Justin Hinds & The Dominoes, I-Roy, Ansel Collins, The Kingstonians, and Mikey Dread, along with a bunch of lesser known artists (mostly backed by the crack Revolutionaries band), all recorded / released between '75 - '79. Doctor Bird Records has been knocking it out of the park as of late (nearly all their releases have been pretty much essential), but this one is straight-up stellar; my only complaint being that it was only released on CD.

I'm Lovin' It

West 3rd McDonald's

Rest In Peace

While I'll shed no tears over the closure of a McDonald's, I have a lot of memories tied to this particular shit-hole, including trying to help a now deceased friend when he got vicked for his umbrella there in like '87 (and it wasn't even raining outside). He also got a soda poured over his head as an extra dose of humiliation. It was an oasis of filth on many city adventures, the perfect spot to kill time, or use the bathroom, before hopping the subway at West 4th back to Brooklyn after a night out on the town. This quote from TimeOut sums the spot up well: "NYC loses one of its greatest 3am fight venues."