BY LOUIS MENAND OF THE NEW YORKER No one would say of Norman Mailer, who died on November 10th, at the age of eighty-four, that he hoarded his gift. He was a slugger. He swung at everything, and when he missed he missed by a mile and sometimes ended up on his tush, but when he connected he usually knocked it out of the park. He was immodest about his failures and modest about his successes, which is a healthy trait for a writer and probably a healthy trait for life. He left a huge footprint on American letters. Mailer […]
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INSTA-REVIEW: Five Things You Need To Know About Menomena At First Unitarian Last Night
1. They have great taste in opening acts. Bucks County’s Illinois singing catchy, clever pop songs to the banjo over multiple bottles of Sailor Jerry really puts you in the mood for more music. Either that or a sock-hop. But that’s cool too. 2. Menomena is just as organic and fresh as anything else coming out of Portland. The band is comprised of three really tall musicians who produce the instrumentation of a 10-piece orchestra. It’s impressive to hear so much sound coming from such a small group of people. Like a puzzle, these sounds fit perfectly together, only it’s […]
JUSTICE: D.A.N.C.E.
[Hat tip to EVA LIAO]
RITA PAVONE: Il Geghegè
Look at her go! [Hat tip to EVA LIAO]
INSTA-REVIEW: Five Things You Should Know About Spoon Last Night At The Electric Factory
1. They start off mellow, measured and, frankly, boring-as-hell. Half the crowd is asleep by the third song. Please oh please, Britt! Break out some of them catchy tunes. You know, like that “Camera” song. Yeah, that one! Okay, that’s more like it. Hips are moving. People are grooving. Now the pace is set for the rest of the night. 2. “The Ghost of You Lingers” is meant to be heard live. The bassist and guitarists are banging, banging, banging on the keyboards. Britt’s tremulous voice lingers and echoes as if he were singing into a vast subterranean cavern. It’s […]
ALT-RAWK TALK: Thirteen Astonishing Things You Are NOT Supposed To Know About Spoon
[As told to JONATHAN VALANIA] 1. Britt Daniel has never killed anyone. “Technically, no,” he says when asked. 2. “Don’t Make Me A Target” was originally titled “Don’t Blame Me I Voted For Nader.” 3. Spoon is named after the Can song of the same name. Britt first learned about Kraut Rock in the 11th grade from his obsessive study of every word uttered by Julian Cope. 4. Britt Daniel may have voted for Ralph Nader instead of Al Gore in 2000. “I think maybe I did,” he says when asked. 5. Britt Daniel is 36 years old and has […]
I Went To The Daily Show & All I Got Was A Good Time
BY EVA LIAO The first thing you learn about seeing Jon Stewart tape “The Daily Show” is that you have to wait — in line, for three hours to be exact — but it’s worth every tedious, snail-paced minute you spend in the Comedy Central queue. The vendor outside is making a killing selling overpriced hotdogs at $2.50 apiece (my friend and I, showing foresight, came prepared with a fifth of whiskey and a joint). Surprisingly, the crowd was not nearly as overwhelmingly white and college-y as we’d expected — though there were four Penn students representing — but unsurprisingly […]
All Of This Happened While You Were Sleeping
DISCO RIOT: Taking A Well-Deserved Rest, Girl Talk, Starlight Ballroom, Monday [Photo by EVA LIAO]
BONNAROO: When The Music’s Over
[Click image for slideshow] EDITOR’S NOTE: All weekend long, assistant editor EVA LIAO and her trusty sidekick, book critic MAVIS LINNEMANN, hung out with guys named Dude and That Other Dude, consumed mind-bending substances and blogged photos and scene reports straight from the primeval muck of Bonnaroo to your mind’s eye. Hope you appreciated that these chicks were sweating their tits off in Vietnam-like conditions so you didn’t have to. I sure did. BY EVA LIAO AND MAVIS LINNEMANN LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY — We’re here at the airport, waiting to catch our flight back to Philadelphia. Frankly we don’t have the […]
LIVE & DIRECT: Bonnaroo Day 3
BY EVA LIAO AND MAVIS LINNEMANN MANCHESTER, TENN. — We got a late start yesterday, spent the morning recovering. Some asshole started blaring Jay Z from his car at 7:30 in the morning. We all moaned and grumbled. 6 p.m. Ben Harper opened with a killer jam to “With My Own Two Hands.” Harper showed the audience a side they don’t usually hear on his albums. Known for his impassioned guitar skills, though not always evident in his recordings, his work on the slide guitar really highlighted his raw ability. John Paul Jones made a special appearance for a balls-to-the-wall, […]
LIVE & DIRECT: Bonnaroo Day 2
[Click image for slideshow] EDITOR’S NOTE: Phawker has two of its best correspondents on the ground at Bonnaroo. All weekend long, assistant editor EVA LIAO and her trusty sidekick, book critic MAVIS LINNEMANN, will be hanging out with guys named Dude and That Other Dude, consuming unknown substances and blogging photos and scene reports straight from the primeval muck of Bonnaroo to your mind’s eye. Hope you appreciate that these chicks are sweating their tits off in Vietnam-like conditions so you don’t have to. I sure do. BY EVA LIAO AND MAVIS LINNEMANN MANCHESTER, TENN. — Friday went like this… […]
Q&A: Daily Show Comedian Paul Mecurio
Comedy Central’s Paul Mecurio & Brian Regan, Tomorrow Night At The Tower. PHAWKER: You gave up a successful career as an investment banker on Wall Street to become a comedian — a profession that pays migrant worker wages to most of its practitioners. How come? Is your mom still pissed? PAUL MECURIO: I really got a connection from creating jokes out of thin air and having people respond to them. There was nothing like that feeling on Wall Street. PHAWKER: Everybody thinks being a comedian is nonstop laughs, but what is the worst part about the job? PM: The subjectivity […]
All Of This Happened While You Were Sleeping
THE TEACHA: KRS-One, World Cafe Live, Last Night [Photo by EVA LIAO]