Before it is too late! Mekons, tonight, World Cafe Live! [painting by JOHN LANGFORD]
HOLLA: The Monster Mile, Part III
BY JAMES DOOLITTLE Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007 1:35 PM There is something undeniably sexual about the buildup to the first crash of a given NASCAR race. Even I got a bit tingly in anticipation the moment the crowd yelled “Start Your Engines” with bloodthirsty enthusiasm. And as the steady thrum of 20-odd motors begin pounding rhythmically against the eardrums, there was a wanton desire to achieve an emotional orgasm that can only come through skid marks and shattered fenders. A pile up . . . Oh yes! yes! YES! Truly the closest many men in attendance will come to achieving […]
AUTHOR, AUTHOR: 13 Things You Are Not Supposed To Know About Daniel Handler, AKA Lemony Snicket
1. Mr. Handler is answering these questions while sipping his second Blanton’s in his posh room at the Four Seasons. 2. Mr. Handler plays accordion on the new Magnetic Fields album, Distortion, due out in January. He will be touring with the band on the West Coast. 3. Mr. Handler only bothered to learn to play the accordion so he could pick up chicks. “When I was coming up it was during that brief time in rock history when no keyboard whatsoever was cool, and that’s the only instrument I played. I really, really wanted to be in a band, […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh is a regular contributor to The New Yorker; his article in this week’s edition, headlined “Shifting Targets,” is about how the Bush administration is redefining the war in Iraq as a strategic battle between the U.S. and Iran. Hersh exposed the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and covers the administration closely. He’s a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and the recipient of five George Polk Awards, two National Magazine Awards and a dozen other prizes. His most recent book, Chain of Command, is a detailed analysis of events at Abu Ghraib. RADIO TIMES How ’bout them Phils….enough […]
HOT DOCUMENT: Letter From Bogota
Keith Richards and Andrew Loog Oldham at the Blue Boar Motorway Cafe, along the M1 between London and Birmingham, 1963. By Philip Townsend; never before published. JONATHAN, INTERESTING WRITE-UPS. YOU’VE ALMOST MANAGED TO GET AS FAR AFIELD AS I INTEND TO. WHILST DRIVING BACK FROM THE JUNGLESIDE TODAY IT OCCURED TO ME, AS REGARDING KEITH’S MEMORY ON ” SATISFACTION”: THE FELLOW HAS GOT SO MUCH MORE OF A STONES RECORDING MEMORY BANK TO TROLL THROUGH FOR RECALL. BEST, ANDREW LOOG OLDHAM SO PLZD TO SEE THE BRUCE S. TOUR IS FAIR PRICED AND WILL SAVE AMERICA(NS) ONCE MORE. I PLAN […]
HE SAID/SHE SAID: We Believe Anita Hill
WASHINGTON – Anita Hill, whose sexual harassment allegations against Clarence Thomas nearly derailed his Supreme Court nomination 16 years ago, said Tuesday she stood by her account of his behavior, disputing Thomas’ assertion in a new book that the charges were politically motivated. “I stand by my testimony” at a 1991 Senate Judiciary hearing on the nomination, Hill wrote in an Op Ed piece in The New York Times. “I will not stand by silently and allow him, in his anger, to reinvent me.” She said she believes the workplace environment is better now for women, but added that Thomas’ […]
INSTA-REVIEW: 5 Things You Should Know About Van Halen At The Wachovia Center Last Night
1. Wolfgang Van Halen (who’s replaced the recently shitcanned Michael Anthony), it must be said, could use a little of mom’s Jenny Craig action. But hell, he’s only 16 so we’ll call it baby fat. Decent enough bass player, but really, who even knew Van Halen had a bass player anyway? 2. Say goodbye to Diamond Dave, say hello to Gold Brocade Dave. Simon LeBon‘s closet is short a jacket. 3. Alex Van Halen: Still rocking the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles headband. Ya gotta give the guy props for sticking by his guns. For some the Flashdance look was passing […]
PHILLY MAG: Why Ask WHYY? Here’s Why…
BY STEVE VOLK PHILADELPHIA MAGAZINE STAFF WRITER Marty Moss-Coane hadn’t planned on saying anything, but the longer she listened, the more it seemed that a particularly significant issue just wasn’t being raised. The occasion was a company-wide meeting in the summer of 2006 to discuss morale at WHYY, and the longtime host of the popular call-in show Radio Times felt she had some idea what was making her co-workers angry. So she finally stood up, both literally and figuratively the heft of her role at the station allowing her to say something to CEO Bill Marrazzo that maybe no one […]
MAILBAG: Wake Me Up When It’s Over
Dear Phawker, Even though it’s amusing to read all these baby boomers working up a froth every time the Bossman releases another disc I have to give in to the truth that I’m never going to get back on his bandwagon. I find the whole shtick terribly corny (see above photo) and tired. Steve Earle has done a better job at being Springsteen than Springsteen himself has over the last twenty-four years (when is the last time Bruce has written something as good as “The Devil’s Right Hand”?). Modern day Bruce, like modern day Stones, just depresses me. It’s like […]
All Of This Happened While You Were Sleeping
MESSAGE TO YOU, RUDY: Guiliani outside the House That Joey Vento Built, 8:30ish RELATED: Joey Vento In Bed With Southern Agents Of Intolerance, Oh My! RUDY GOES TO JOEY’S: Click For Slideshow [photos by JONATHAN VALANIA]
HEAR YE: Do You Believe In Magic?
NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO* BY ED KING ROCK SNOB WHERE: The Teenage Junglelands of New Jersey WHEN: Indian Summer 2007 WHY: I took a spin with a friend in his vintage 1980 Camaro Z28 — chromewheelfuelinjectedandheadingoutovertheline — with an advance of Magic, in the back pocket of my best ripped jeans. The first song and lead-off single is “Radio Nowhere,”which sounds too close to Tommy Tutone mining one of Graham Parker’s 3rd-rate music industry rants for comfort. No great shakes, that. The next song, “You’ll Be Comin’ Down,” was pretty cool. It’s anthemic but very poppy. I could see my […]
NPR 4 THE DEAF: Giving Public Radio Edge Since 2006
FRESH AIR Wes Anderson has been called an auteur,[1] heavily involved in every aspect of his films’ production: writing, cinematography, production design, music selection, etc. Influences Anderson has acknowledged that French New Wave directors Francois Truffaut and Louis Malle influenced his penchant for sympathetic tragicomedy, unconventional mis-en-scene, and personal approach to filmmaking. He often cites Mike Nichols‘ The Graduate as a recurring inspiration. Anderson is also noted for drawing on famous works of American literature, particularly those of F. Scott Fitzgerald and J.D. Salinger. Fitzgerald’s famous quote, “There are no second acts in American lives,” applies to many of Anderson’s […]
NEVER FORGET: The NAZIS Burned Books
Sponsored by the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association, and a variety of other groups, Banned Books Week (Sept. 29-Oct. 6, 2007) celebrates the first amendment right to free speech, which includes the right to read and write books that are considered unorthodox or controversial. A banned book is one that has actually been removed from a library or school system, a “challenged” book is the attempt to ban such material. THE 10 MOST CHALLENGED BOOKS OF 2006 And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell Gossip Girls (Series) by Cecily Von Ziegesar Alice (Series) by […]