BUZZFEED: It’s a shame that the name “Pete Davidson” is now synonymous with the name “Ariana Grande.” I can’t imagine dating someone in my mid-twenties for a few intense, absurd months, and then having that relationship die like a star burning through its own fuel supply, only after it’s come to define a significant portion of my public persona. Davidson became one of the most overexposed celebrities of 2018, the face of Big Dick Energy and the boyfriend of a few other famous women. But the tabloid coverage from those relationships clearly got to Davidson, despite the fact that he’s […]
THE FLAMING LIPS: Race For The Prize
PREVIOUSLY: We’d been traversing the spine of Tornado Alley for the last two hours when the stewardess announced that we would be landing in Oklahoma City in a few minutes, and that we should fasten our seatbelts and return our minds to the upright position, when the drugs took hold. We are, as the saying goes, off to see the wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Odd—or, if you prefer, the Wizard of OK, a.k.a. Wayne Coyne, frizzy-brained mainman of the Flaming Lips, the P.T. Barnum Of The Stoned, a.k.a. The Man Who Had A Headache And Accidentally Saved The World. […]
NPR 4 THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When U Can’t
Photo by ALEX PATERSON-JONES FRESH AIR: In the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police, protesters across the country are demanding systemic changes in the way American police forces operate and are funded. Journalist Jamiles Lartey says the discussion about policing feels different now than it has in the past. “You’re hearing so much less of the ‘few bad apples’ argument and so much more of the, ‘What is wrong with this system?’ [argument],” he says. Lartey is a staff writer for The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization that covers the U.S. criminal justice system. He […]
WIRE FROM THE BUNKER: Meet Go To Blazes
BY JONATHAN HOULON This week’s Wire is dedicated to the memory of Bruce Langfeld, musical associate and friend of our subject, Go To Blazes. I swear that I selected Blazes (as they were sometimes called by their fans) before these incendiary, recent days. By the way, starting a fire can, indeed, be a component of anarchism. Fetishizing, coveting, and collecting commercial merchandise (is there any other kind?) is decidedly not. Not sure what — if anything — that has to do with the below but … really, folks? In any case, when I moved up to Philly from Austin, […]
JOHN OLIVER: Fuck Tha Police Unions
NEW YORK TIMES: Over the past five years, as demands for reform have mounted in the aftermath of police violence in cities like Ferguson, Mo., Baltimore and now Minneapolis, police unions have emerged as one of the most significant roadblocks to change. The greater the political pressure for reform, the more defiant the unions often are in resisting it — with few city officials, including liberal leaders, able to overcome their opposition.They aggressively protect the rights of members accused of misconduct, often in arbitration hearings that they have battled to keep behind closed doors. And they have also been remarkably […]
Q&A W/ Anthony Bourdain, The Lou Reed Of Eating
[Illustrations by ALEX FINE] EDITOR’S NOTE: This interview originally ran back in November of 2011. We are re-posting it today on the second anniversary of his untimely death. Good night Mr. Bourdain, wherever you are. BY JONATHAN VALANIA Anthony Bourdain is a man who needs no introduction, but for those not in the know or without a consumptive cable habit, understand that he is the enfant terrible of the foodie world who came of age on the Punk Rock Planet of New York ‘77 simultaneously pogoing to the likes of the Ramones, Talking Heads, Television, and Patti Smith and shooting […]
NICK LOWE + THE SOUTHSEA ALTERNATIVE CHOIR: What’s So Funny About Peace, Love, Etc
? This is pretty sublime.
THE BRUTALIST: Meet Inspector Joey Baloney
#FireJoeyBologna from r/philadelphia PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: A high-ranking Philadelphia police official will be charged with assault after video surfaced of him beating a Temple University student with a baton during a protest Monday along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, District Attorney Larry Krasner said Friday. Krasner, who days earlier had declined to prosecute the student, said Staff Inspector Joseph Bologna Jr. will face counts of felony aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, and possession of an instrument of crime — his police baton. Bologna, a 31-year veteran of the force, was removed from street duty and had his gun taken away Thursday evening, according […]
BEING THERE: The Twilight’s Last Gleaming
Philadelphia Municipal Services Building 6:03 PM Saturday May 30th by ALEX PATERSON-JONES
NPR 4 THE DEAF: The Fable Of Reconstruction
FRESH AIR: In the period after the Civil War, former slaves were made promises of equality and citizenship by the federal government. Historian Eric Foner analyzes the fate of those promises in Forever Free: The Story of Emancipation and Reconstruction. The drastic changes in American society are pointed up by three amendments to the Constitution: the 13th abolished slavery; the 14th guaranteed birthright citizenship and equal rights for all Americans; and the 15th barred states from discriminating on the basis of race in voting rights. Foner writes, “The unresolved legacy of Reconstruction remains a part of our lives. In movements […]
EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT: I Went Down To The Demonstration To Get My Fair Share Of Abuse
Photos by DYLAN LONG BY DYLAN LONG I was at the George Floyd protest yesterday that ended on the Vine Street Expressway in a melee with the police, both as a participant and a witness documenting the events with my camera. This is what I saw: The demonstration started at 8th & Race and snaked through Center City streets near City Hall, ending up on the Ben Franklin Parkway. At approximately 4:50 PM we approached the 22nd street on-ramp to I-676, aka the Vine Street Expressway. Police officers blocked the entrance with their cars, but protesters began bypassing them along […]
OPEN LETTER: From Admiral Mike Mullen, 17th Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs Of Staff, To America
Photo OLAF BLECKER THE ATLANTIC: It sickened me yesterday to see security personnel—including members of the National Guard—forcibly and violently clear a path through Lafayette Square to accommodate the president’s visit outside St. John’s Church. I have to date been reticent to speak out on issues surrounding President Trump’s leadership, but we are at an inflection point, and the events of the past few weeks have made it impossible to remain silent. Whatever Trump’s goal in conducting his visit, he laid bare his disdain for the rights of peaceful protest in this country, gave succor to the leaders of other […]
WORTH REPEATING: The Banality Of Evil
WILL BUNCH: The moment we’ve been dreading since that escalator ride down Trump Tower five years ago this month — that’s been slowly building brick by brick as Donald Trump tore down the rule of law, abused the presidency to enrich himself, and grabbed the bully pulpit of the White House to divide America with racism, sexism and xenophobia — finally came at 6:45 p.m. as the sun sank over Washington on the night of June 1, 2020. Backed into a corner after his incompetence and distrust in science was trampled by a virus that’s killed 105,000 Americans, compounded by […]