music, media & other random musings

Memorial Day Ramblings

I just bought music for the first time since.. I seriously have zero recollection. 2008? 2009? I've been renting music since 2002? 2003? (If anything this writing has confirmed, my memory and previous knack for remembering dates no longer exists.) Rhapsody was my choice then, as the pickins were slim. Today it's one among many. But back then, mobile wasn't an option. So I used Rhaposdy as my daily radio station, then decided what I had to own for that trip between work & home. Now subscriptions live seamlessly and ubiquitously and I usually have no need to buy. Almost. Vampire Weekend and the National's new releases arent available on Rhapsody or Rdio - my two primary accounts. They are on Spotify, but I only have the free account, so it won't stream into Sonos. LIke I said, almost seamlessly... . So what choice did I have?  Well, lots actually.. I chose Amazon, and took advantage of using Amazon Cloud thru Sonos for the first time. Oh, those little geeky details make me so very happy...  As for the music... only half into Vampire Weekend - which I really really dig. Can foresee it being on the proverbial turntable for a while. Amongst a few other goodies waiting in line - Daft Punk & Wild Belle to name a few - which I'm psyche to hear...   

Back from the college graduation of my oldest neice, Jessica. Great reason to celebrate - and we did. My

brother and his crew came in from LA and my sister's family - including the new graduate - were also all there, of course. There's something about family - and siblings - that if you're lucky enough to have, get along with and truly like - is a bond that just can't compare with anything else. Not even your very best friends - including those you grew up with. Frank Bruni wrote a timely piece on the subject on Sunday. I feel very lucky to have my siblings in my life - along with their incredible kids who I adore unconditionally and their spouses, which through time have most definitely become more brother and sister than in-laws. It makes special occassions that much more special...

The themes of graduation: completion, sense of accomplishment, the future & all its possibilities.. all powerful, meaningful. But if those kids in the graudation class were anything like me - they have zero idea what any of it means right now. Majora Carter gave an amazing speech: be uncomfortable was the message. Live outside your comfort zone, strive for more. I found it super moving. (More so than the less authentic, rambling Josh Whedon - albeit with similar themes - which was disheartening as he is paid to be a storyteller)... But not sure if that kind of sentiment can sink properly into the bones of a 22 year old. They're still trying to figure out what their comfort zone is. At least I was.. 

Week ahead: Psyched to try a Citi Bike - just activated; more Breaking Bad. Late to the party - but with NetFlix you're never far from a new TV drug. This is mine. Season 1 was SOO good.. Season 2 begins tonight - for me; On the TV note, Mad Men is wacky this season. Still incredible. But definitely odd.

Looking forward to a short work week ahead - what's not to like... Summer has officially begun - and i DO love that summer feeling - and Jonathan Richman. Download 01 That Summer Feeling

 

The High Line & NY

While there may be countless things going wrong in this country - and even this city - there are also the small, infinitely important little gems that have been done exactly right and make this city so incredibly wonderful to live in. The High Line being one of them.

It's farther west for me to have the opportunity to enjoy on a daily, more usual basis. But yesterday I started at the top entrance at 30th street and walked the length of it down to Gansevort. A few too many people for my taste, and more tourists than NYer's it felt, but truly gorgeous summer day, tons of places for a sit & a view (one of the many things done really well) and good tastes along the way. I chose a People's Pop.... 

As I sat under the Standard Hotel busting through the Saturday crosswod, I met up with my friend Jason and together we enjoyed a perfect NY day strolling through the neighborhood - stopping at Cafe Gitane for a light bite (and fantastic hummus), continuing along Hudson Park, and ending up early evening grabbing a drink and watching the sunset at the Ear Inn.

New York - what's not to love?

 

 

View From A Window

If things had gone as planned, right about now, I would have been looking out on greater Los Angeles as the plane made its descent. But unfortunately the Blizzard of '10 (I haven't actually heard this yet, but I'm sure someone's saying it) derailed my plans. And those of thousands, if not millions of others. 

So instead of smog and sunshine, I'm looking out my window to see the aftermaths of the storm. It's hard to see how much snow has really fallen from the 9th floor. But I can see the howling wind as it blows the dust from the tops of the buildings. It's pretty awesome - unfortunately the image doesn't do it much justice. 

No way around it though, it's a serious snow day here in New York... I was invited to watch a "dress up show" (kids) and enjoy afternoon cocktails (adults) in Tribeca. But subway trains have limited service and after calling a handful of car companies have found they are either not answering their phones, or finding my request for a car today somewhat incredulous. Even 777-7777. May have to brave public transport if I want liquid and entertainment... 

Hopefully all will get back to somewhat normal conditions tomorrow. And may even get on a plane to see sunny LA after all. TBD... 

Spring is in the air...

Or at least you know it's not too far away when the local fruit & veggie guys are back on the street.

2010 Times Square

 

 

Reblog Photo: Fred Wilson Dot VC

Love this...

 via fredwilson.vc

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Central Park in Fall

A great chance to get out of the city, going right to the center of it. 

 

Lower East Side evening

Starting off early, my "out of town" friends and I met at the Bowery Ballroom. My niece, Emily and three of her friends wanted to go to see Little Jackie.  But as it is an 18+ club, they could only get in by being on the label list, and accompanied by an adult.  (Thankfully for Emily and her friends - age, not maturity is the requirement!)  Emily and her buddies went to the front immediately, while we hung back.  Towards the end of the show when she sang "The World Should Revolve," I moved up to the front with them.  As I told Emily and her friend, Claire, there are two very important things to learn early in life - how to get a bar seat and how to get to the front of a crowded show... The picture above, terrible and blurry as it may be, was from the show.  She's obviously got some retro in her - from a few different generations. Her "backup singers" and their moves were reminiscent of the Supremes, while she's also got some retro soul going on.  All in all, she's absolutely adorable, has great stage presence and puts on a fun show. 

Afterwards the three of us headed down to Bacaro on Division Street. It was supposed to be pouring out and wanted to go somewhere I knew we could walk to quickly. My sister had told me they had a great bar. It wasn't what I imagined, but the place was very cute, as was the bartender, so we were all very happy. Mellow, good lighting, good tunes. Food was delicious too.  After sharing a bunch of appetizers, a few entrees and a few rounds of drinks, I was beat so we decided to called it a relatively early evening... My friends wanted to absorb more of the city before heading back to Europe today, so I joined them on a long walk back to my place, ending up walking on a few blocks I don't think I'd ever been on - after almost 20 years here in NYC... I don't spend all that much time in this neighborhood, but when I do, I'm always amazed at how much it has changed over the years. Same sort of vibe, but just a bit different - new, richer and more populated - like the rest of the ever evolving neighborhoods in the city.  In the end, that early evening ended up to be another late one. 

The Spotted Pig

I've been to the Spotted Pig countless times - lunch, dinner, drinks - both early & very late night.  And I've never had a bad evening or a bad meal.  It's a great neighborhood place - even if it's not always just filled with the locals.  Great lighting, good music, decent bartenders.  And again, the food - so so good.  I've never been a huge fan of vegetables, and I don't know what they do to theirs exactly, but they are so yummy I consistently get the veggie plate most times I go. 

Last night I brought along a friend who is visiting from Dublin and her friend, in from London.  It was PACKED.  Packed like I don't think I've ever seen it.  I thought the economy had gone to shite!  Well, you wouldn't have known it there.  We had to wait hours for a table, but we happily stood having many drinks before we got a table upstairs - good vibe, interesting people to chat with, we were very happy.  In addition to the veggies, we had their Gnudi - incredibly rich gnocci-like pasta and Devils on Horseback (dates wrapped in bacon) - decadent!.  We were quite chatty & I naturally, as I'm prone to do, l ended up staying out way past my bedtime, making it very difficult to get up for jury duty this morning...  But all in all, a fun night & glad my friends got a good taste of the west village - literally and figuratively...

Jamie Livingston

I didn't know him well. I met him through my brother in the early 90's.  He was an music video editor and photographer who lived on Morton Street in the Village. His family had an incredibly sad and tragic history with cancer. And Jamie too, was stricken with it and died at the age of 41 in 1997. But during his life, and for 18 years straight, he took a polaroid every day. Whenever I walk down Morton I think of him.  And again today, as an article, "The Days Of His Life," was in The City section of the NYTimes.  

Before Jamie's death, friends Hugh Crawford and Betsey Reid promised they would not let the project die with him.  Ten years after his death, they had an exhibition at Bard, his alma mater. Crawford put them online here. Although a much better way to view is on this site: 

It's incredibly powerful to see all these images of someone's life all together. Not just because he was far too young to die, or that I knew him, or that I recognize some of the faces and locations in pictures.  Risa Mickenberg, a friend of Jamie's, who wrote this shortly after his death, articulated it far better than I ever could.  

 

A Still Moment From Every Day

It's strange for someone to leave behind a record of every day of their life. Or to obsessively follow a project whose only perfect completion ends with their death. 

Our work is always ahead of us. It starts when we are born and it ends when we die - this work of seeing, touching and affecting the world. 

Jamie spread this collection out every year and examined it - reviewed it. 

Our lives are a flood of images and we are collectors who keep a strange assortment of images: moments of extreme emotion, pain, beauty, and fear stand out. Events we're taught to remember: weddings, graduations, births, deaths.

Then there are the millions of images that we can't shake out of our heads, that come to us at strange times - things we can't remember why we remember: the gold threads in an old stereo speaker, the way the light hit a thousand cars in a parking lot by the water, the face of a stranger in a restaurant, a friend standing in a pool - you can't remember where, slapping the water with the flat of her hand. 

Memory is a sieve that holds curious things. A life is a trail of strange, colorful memories. 

Jamie's Photo-of-the-Day works like a life. A still moment from every day for years. Remains of the day, immortalized. It is a selection: what we choose to remember, what we add to our collection of days. 

There was no set time of day.  It was when the mood struck: this is what I will take. 

It's an accumulation, a collection, a life's work.