[Illustration by ALEX FINE] BY JONATHAN VALANIA Full disclosure: Tom Moon got me into the business, hiring me on as a freelance music writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he served as pop music critic par excellence from 1988 to 2004. During that time he was also a regular contributor to GQ, Rolling Stone, Spin, Vibe, Esquire and he is currently a music critic for NPR’s All Things Considered. Three and a half years ago he began work on a frighteningly ambitious record buyer’s guide called 1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die, published by Workman Publishing in late 2008. […]
THIS JUST IN: Oceanaire 86’d In Philly
Just confirmed from a freshly dis-employed wait staffer: Oceanaire, the national chain of high-gloss sea fooderies, is shuttering its Philadelphia location on Washington Square. [Photo courtesy of PhilaFoodie]
BRENDAN CALLING: Is That A Super-Majority In Your Pants Or Are You Just Too Much Of A Pussy To Use It?
[by THUNDERLOAF] BRENDAN SKWIRE: One would think that the Democrats, who now control both houses of Congress and the White House, would be taking the bull by the horns and ramming their agenda through despite the objections of the defeated and humiliated Republican Party. […] So you’d think the Democrats would be eager to reverse all that. You’d also think the Democrats would be eager to fulfill some of their own promises, like that universal health care thing we’ve heard so much about, or making it easier for unions to organize. Instead, we get bullshit like Chaka Fattah selling out […]
HOT DOC: We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America:When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are […]
ARTSY: Hard Luck Woman
Sarah Gamble is from North Carolina. In the past year her house was struck by lightning, set aflame, and then broken into. Her car was nearly destroyed by vandals after it was involved in two separate hit and runs. She went to the hospital with bronchitis, lost her job and won the Pew. She hopes to see you at her exhibition. Opening reception Friday, July 3rd 6:00 to 10:00pm 1001-1013 N. 2nd St/Ste.7 The Piazza
UNEXPECTED: PPA Kills Meter Rate Hike
INQUIRER: Another proposed hike in parking meter rates in downtown Philadelphia has been canceled because the first increase worked better than expected. A day before rates were to increase to $3 per hour, Philadelphia Parking Authority officials said Wednesday that rates will stay at $2 , and some will even be reduced by 50 cents. The parking authority already doubled the downtown rate from $1 to $2 on Jan. 1 to discourage all-day parking. The plan worked. The parking space vacancy rate went from 2 percent to 17 percent, making it easier to find a spot. MORE
PAPERBOY: Slow-Jamming The Alt-Weeklies
BY DAVE ALLEN Like time, news waits for no man. Keeping up with the funny papers has always been an all-day job, even in the pre-Internets era. These days, however, it’s a two-man job. That’s right, these days you need someone to do your reading for you, or risk falling hopelessly behind and, as a result, increasing your chances of dying lonely and somewhat bitter. That’s why every week, PAPERBOY does your alt-weekly reading for you. We pore over those time-consuming cover stories and give you the takeaway, suss out the cover art, warn you off the ink-wasters and steer […]
COMING ATTRACTION: Q&A With Tom Moon
Former Inquirer Pop Music Critic & Rolling Stone contributor, current NPR commentator and author of 1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die. We talk about the death of the music industry, the death of newspapers, the death of criticism and how he picked the songs you simply must hear before your own death. More fun than it sounds. Look for it Friday.
BREAKING: Cop Beatdown Victims Acquitted
INQUIRER: Three men who were filmed being beaten and kicked by Philadelphia police last year were found not guilty today on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and conspiracy. Dwayne Dyches, 26; Brian Hall, 24; and Pete Hopkins, 20, were charged in a May 5, 2008, shoot-out in the city’s Feltonville section in which three people were wounded. The three men allegedly led police on a 21/2-mile chase that ended when police yanked them from Hall’s Mercury Grand Marquis near Second and Pike Streets, then beat and kicked them as a Fox29 helicopter captured the scene on tape. MORE
TIME CAPSULE: Jacksons Sign To Philly International
Standing L-R: Tito Jackson, Randy Jackson, Michael Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Jackie Jackson. Seated L-R: Joe Jackson, Leon Huff, Kenneth Gamble. Photo taken in 1976 in Mr. Gamble’s office at Philadelphia International Records. WIKIPEDIA: In 1975, Joseph negotiated a new recording contract with CBS Records, who offered a royalty rate of 20% per record, compared to Motown’s standard 2.8%; and would allow the Jackson brothers to write and produce their own records and play their own instruments. After unsuccessfully attempting to talk the group into staying on the label, Motown sued for breach of contract. Although Motown eventually let the group […]
MAILBAG: California Dreamin’
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following was posted in the COMMENTS section last night by Bdogg. I have been living in the 215 for a stretch now & you know what I rep…i’m a L.a nigga & all that hateing add up to nothing. I had some run ins wit philly niggaz since I been here & i’m still standing, had 2 put a lil work in but let me stop becausa a nigga aint fin ta snitch on himself & no disrespect but philadelphia is a playground compared to L.a even tho philly was the murder capitol for a couple of […]
EARLY WORD: Let Us Now Praise Steven Wells
PW: Most public battles with cancer are cast as heroic. Wells would have none of that bollocks. He was scared shitless, and said as much because it’s the only reasonable human response. He was mad as hell at the unfairness of it all, because, again, it is the only reasonable response. And by the end he was sick of it all—the pain, the indignity, and the boredom of dying. What made Steven heroic was his willingness to say as much for publication, in lieu of some phony brave face. If nothing else, he innovated the lost art of dying honestly. […]