BY ZIVIT SHLANK JAZZ AMBASSADOR Pianist. Composer. Arranger. It’s always risky to define an artist by a certain device, technique, or way of going about things. Each word is finite; they only begin to scratch the surface. Matthew Shipp is an improviser, pure and simple. By the same token, there are countless hours of thought behind every gesture. Admittedly, he questions his own understanding of what it all means. Like many musicians of this ilk, Shipp and his music are akin to the elements. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, both take on different forms and move in […]
DEENEY: Scenes From My (Non-Celebrity) Rehab
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following are excerpts from a longer piece that Phawker contributor Jeff Deeney wrote for the website The Fix about his own experience in rehab. The kind of rehab you go to when you can’t afford health insurance. * Four beds are crammed into a tiny room, their mattresses encased in bodily fluid–proof rubber and covered in thin, ratty sheets. Dusty dorm furniture in disrepair is shoved in a corner. The common area reeks of sweat and stale smoke. An antique television with a wire-hanger antenna plays grainy tapes from a comically outdated video library. Extra folding […]
EPIC FAIL: Breitbart’s ‘Bombshell’ Is A Dud
Watch Obama Speaks at Harvard Law in ’90 on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE. NEW YORK MAGAZINE: Breitbart.com’s explosive, blockbuster video that would expose Barack Obama as a radical commie who wasn’t vetted by the media was almost entirely hype. Breitbart.com’s editor-in-chief Joel Pollak and editor-at-large Ben Shapiro appeared together on Fox News Wednesday night with Sean Hannity to discuss the one-minute teaser clip released earlier today in which a younger Barack Obama, president of Harvard Law Review, spoke to a group at a rally about racial equality among the Harvard Law staff. The demonstration was led by professor Derrick […]
STRAIGHT OUTTA SPACEJUNK: The Count Bids Adieu To Le Bec-Fin In The Pages Of The NY Times
Mr & Mrs. A.D. Amorosi photographed at George Perrier’s farewell to Le Bec-Fin Saturday night. NEW YORK TIMES: Philadelphia, like so many American cities, has enjoyed a fractal explosion of different styles of restaurants, most of which signal a shift “away from the classic French model,” Mr. LaBan said in an interview. There are much-praised, chef-driven magnets like Mica, Zahav and Barbuzzo. There are ambitious, ante-raising chefs like Marc Vetri and Jose Garces. There’s the vibrant energy of Mr. Starr’s restaurants, and a boom in beer-centered gastropubs and B.Y.O.B. spots. “These are small, personal places that reflect the best part […]
A New Group Of Old, Rich Guys Gets A Turn To Buy Philly Newspapers And Run Them Into The Ground
INQUIRER: A group headed by the businessman Lewis Katz and the philanthropist H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest has entered into an exclusive agreement to negotiate for the purchase of The Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com, according to sources close to the process. Lenfest, in an interview Wednesday, said he was asked by former Gov. Ed Rendell to take over as chairman of a group of political and corporate leaders assembled to bid on Philadelphia Media Network Inc. (PMN). The group also now apparently includes Raymond G. Perelman, the Philadelphia philanthropist whose individual bid to buy the media outlets last month […]
LOOK UP: When The Moon Is In The Seventh House
Step outside and look up. The moon is full, perfect, and lovely. Look north- about halfway up the sky are 2 steady lights. They are Jupiter and Venus. They will never look this wonderfully bright and near each other again in your whole entire life. — NICOLE STRANKO
WORTH REPEATING: Who Said It? Rush Limbaugh Or The Rowhome Racist, Possibly Ex-Cop, Domelights Refugee, Philly.com COMMENTS Trolls?
Quizmaster General Johnny Goodtimes has a brilliant don’t-know-whether-to-laugh-or-cry piece up on PhillyPost called “Who Said It, Rush Limbaugh Or Philly.com Commenters?” Here’s a taste: 3. “If Obama wasn’t black he’d be a tour guide in Honolulu.” Rush or Philly.com commenter? 4. ” This … is about you wackos trying to dig deeper into my pocket to pay for your rubbers while you sit home all day collecting the money I work for via your ‘gummint’ check.” Rush or Philly.com commenter? 5. “The NFL all looks like a game between the Bloods and Crips without any weapons.” Rush or Philly.com commenter? […]
INSTA-REVIEW: Bruce Springsteen Wrecking Ball
BY ED KING ROCK EXPERT The opening synth squeaks and electronic handclaps of “We Take Care of Our Own,” the kick-off single from Bruce Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball album, makes me wonder if Bruce and His E Street Band have been hi-jacked by Modern English. The mix further ups the play for a “contemporary” sound with tepid use of early ’90s-style vocal echo gently nudging along The Boss’ opening lines. Springsteen and His occasional repetitive synth riff songs (eg, “Born in the USA”) are strange birds in the catalog, but the repetition allows the “visionary” furor of His lyrics a chance […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
Diamond David Lee Roth, Wells Fargo Center, last night by ROBIN ODLAND INQUIRER: Dropped lines, variable-pitch delivery, and all, there’s still no better ringleader for an arena rock circus than Roth… arguably the best front man in rock history. MISSION CREEP: To his credit, Mr. Roth seemed aware of his shortcomings. He knows that the only way he can make money performing this utter horseshit and keep the audience from hurling beer bottles at his cranium is to provide a distraction. Which is exactly what he did. Incredibly, the distraction—his dick—became the focus of the entire show. (It’s sad, really, […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: Sh*t Captain Kirk Says
[Artwork by COMICRAZY] FRESH AIR William Shatner has played an attorney, a starship captain, an alien and a Roman tax collector, among many other roles. Over the past half-century, the Canadian actor has performed on television, in commercials, in movies and on Broadway — and penned several novels. He recently returned to Broadway for the first time in over 40 years with a new solo show, Shatner’s World: We Just Live In It. In the 90-minute performance, Shatner talks about his childhood growing up in Montreal and reflects on his many acting roles with an assortment of photos and video […]
REVIEW: Bruce Springsteen Wrecking Ball
BY COLONEL TOM SHEEHY In October of 2009, during the Working On A Dream tour, Springsteen took to the stage at Giants Stadium up in the Meadowlands of New Jersey, right before the venue was to be torn down. For that august occasion, he opened the show with a newly-penned song called “Wrecking Ball.” Symbolically, the stadium represented the old — a place built with the sweat equity of the working man — while the wrecking ball symbolized the power of change to make way for something new. The metaphor of the wrecking ball evolved over the next two years […]
Q&A With The Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt
[Illustration by ALEX FINE] BY MIKE WALSH The Magnetic Fields new CD, Love at the Bottom of the Sea, is similar in many ways to their previous nine records, and that’s a good thing. It’s got singer/songwriter Stephin Merritt’s playful rhymes and eccentric lyrics, his unabashed romanticism and instantly recognizable melodies, and his joy in toying with gender roles. As usual for the Magnetic Fields, the songs are short, averaging less than 2:30 each, have few instrumental breaks, and end abruptly. And there are several great songs of unrequited love and longing sung by Merritt in his deep, lovelorn voice […]