...more recent posts
Ramones vs. Talking Heads
Punk hits the Hall.
Further Proof That I'm Totally Out of It
A NY Post rundown of galleries beyond Chelsea and Soho includes this:
Further north, in Greenpoint, you'll find the Dabora Gallery (1080 Manhattan Ave. between Eagle and Dupont streets; [718] 609-9629). The gallery scores major Goth points with its Victorian-parlor aesthetic - low lighting, dark wood and red velvet to spare. Dabora is currently showing Christina Dallas' "Examination Rooms," an installation of childhood spaces featuring photographs, illustrations and dolls. Bring the kids, because the show's closing reception on March 24 will feature the additional talents of Marco, a magician and sleight-of-hand artist. Bring your MetroCard, too. Dabora is something of an oasis on its gritty stretch of Manhattan Avenue and, unless you live in the neighborhood, the most interesting local attraction might be the nearest subway stop.
The place is exactly one block from where I live, but I was completely unaware of it. (Well, it is on the other side of the street.) Good description of the neighborhood though…
I've enjoyed the recent Spiritualized record, Let It Come Down. Masterminded by Jason Pierce, formerly of the 80's British psychedelic-minimalist band Spacemen Three, Spiritualized has a wider range, but is still founded in hypnotic layers of sound. I can't even really point to specific great songs, and a lot of their stuff tends to blend in my head, but the cumulative effect can be overwhelming. More trance than dance, their model is the wave rather than the beat. Their "spirituality" is that of the sinner who knows better, but isn't necessarily planning on reforming. They constantly work a metaphor of addictive longing, which makes little distinction between god, love, and drugs. I've seen them play several times, with mixed results. The live band took a while to jell, and one show was ruined by muddy sound, but the last time around they were stellar. Their upcoming show at the Beacon might be worth catching.
Still haven’t come up with that LOTR movie review. Probably should see it again; first time around I was preoccupied with comparing it to my own imaginings. It measured up pretty well, but what about Tolkien’s vision? Well, here’s a good presentation of Pictures by J. R. R. Tolkien, which includes most of his illustrations for LOTR, The Hobbit, and the Silmarillion. He wasn’t a great artist, but an effective illustrator, and his renderings must be considered definitive. In line with his prose, he excels at landscape, which he lovingly describes in the books (these pictures were clearly studied by the filmmakers), but he could barely draw figures. Just so, his written descriptions of persons are often vague and general, which leaves room for your own imagination, but is rather frustrating for the geek who wants to know what an Elf really looks like. I can only find one picture with Elves, and while it’s one of my favorites, it’s not much help. It’s like a Claude Lorraine: the figures are just a foil for the landscape. Still, you can see (try this oversized version) that these Elves wear culottes and pointy shoes! In fact, Tolkien’s conceptions are much closer to Victorian fairy art than today’s sword and sorcery fans would probably like.
Anyone who cares about visual art knows that the Guggenheim is the worst major museum in town. A child's imitation of modern marketing, their Soho failure and Basque boondoggle only distract from the fact that they rarely mount a worthwhile show. The museum that had the first Ryman retrospective, where I first saw a Beuys show, has been reduced to a joke. Jerry Saltz in the Voice states the obvious.