[PREV - CYPRESS_HILL] [TOP]
THE_BRIGHT_GRAY_LANDS
January 3, 2007
February 9, 2007
New York in winter is all
gray tree branches and dark
stone, but here and there I've got this feeling
a fire escape sparkles with that there's a lot to
strands of colored lights. be said, a lot that's
worth writing, and now
We stay in a second-story is when it should be
place on the El (right by done before it all
the Marcy Ave stop) and the fades from memory.
trains bother us not at
all... but the store across Don't know where to begin.
the street has put some kids
to work advertising New Shall I parade the places we went,
Year's horns. the events attended
the people we saw?
This trip we spend
more time off of And so, I postponed
the Bedford strip, the task a month, so
looking around the only the highlights
odd backstreets. remain.
Site specific art: plastic
bags collected and attached
to a chainlink fence facing
the river: a mosaic of
windsocks.
Out for breakfest at
a small place down under the We walk down an alley,
Williamsburg bridge: "Pies between two small
and Thighs", tucked away in factories, to look at A view of
the back of the "Rock Star Bar": the waterfront. Manhattan
A gray concrete hole-in-the-wall across the
with an absurdly good style of A chinese dragon East River.
post-hippie-hipster food. statutte stands
I order the "hash", which is a on a small pylon. The bridge,
facinating pile of miscellanious looming on
meats -- leftovers from other A Hasid hides the left.
dishes. around the corner
flipping through
Moto: a narrow wedge a stack of polaroids.
shape cafe/bar with
mediterranean cusine.
A small jazz band plays
something like ragtime,
set-up just inside the
front door on the point Returning to the Bay Area,
of the wedge. Dark, I go to a "KZSU reuninon",
exposed brick walls, and discover that one of
barred windows under the the old guard is now living
el tracks... the story off in Williasmburg... when
goes that this was once his wife hears where we
a speakeasy, and we don't were staying, she
doubt it. immediately begins telling
me about Moto... I gather
that was the location of
their first date.
Walking across the Williamsburg
bridge... a view of the empire
state building lined up between the
two towers of the sugar factory on The Bedford Street
the river, a steep diagonal chute strip is much the
running between them. same, though sadly
The Fixx is gone,
or at least radically
EAST_OF_THE_EAST scaled back into
a record store.
There's a new,
really good, We spent some time at
vegan-asian place. the respectable
"Reader's" cafe.
The Form Fit Custom Girdle Factory
(aka "hipster shopping mall")
(January 14, 2007) had only changed only slightly
The place at Marcy Ave is a Without thinking about
sublet (all praise craigslist): it, I ordered *another*
an excellent little apartment, Soy Latte, which I see is
complete with stereo, DSL line, what I was drinking there
and a pair of cats: several years ago. It's
not my usual, but some
The older white male quirk of environment
Bowie and the young (menu layout?) steered
black female Iman. This sinuous little me into the same groove.
beast won't leave
The apartment leave me alone:
leaves me with
the funny Dangerbaby repeatedly
impression comments: "You little
that it's hussy!"
set-up like a
movie set for
an urban pad...
Or maybe it's A small place on Grand St,
just me being open late (Royale Records,
hyped up about I think): I look for excuses
"authenticity". to buy things, and pick up
some George Antheil vinyl
and a few zines, including
Cometbus #50.
A cover story in
Cometbus: "New York
Bookstore Round-up".
I read through it
immediately.
I almost tossed it aside
after an inane Dave Eggers
dig (the new Gotham
EGGING_ON bookstore "reeks of
privilege and McSweeny's"),
but luckily I persevered
and learned of "The Thing",
up in Greenpoint...
"The Thing" is seriously We stalk up the
packed, definitely a main drag of
While I was place to go looking for Greenpoint, in
there, a vinyl, but I end up at a hurry lest we
group of the mystery/sf shelves, miss the Thing's
six, six jockeying for space with closing hour...
foot tall a gray haired lady who
black men seems to be after Andre The sheer scale of
entered the Norton books. New York overwhelms:
store and this is an authentic
very seriously (I already had a stack neighborhood, a
walked single- of Andre Norton Ace pre-car holdover;
file into Doubles stashed in my like San Francisco's
the tiny luggage, checked out Mission Street, but
vinyl room of the old Brenner it runs on for miles,
in the back, collection.) and it's not the only
where they such strip.
immediately I settle on the two
began a volume hardcover set
careful of "The Rivals of
examination Sherlock Holmes"
of records. (facimiles from the
Strand and so on).
Without a
doubt: I wince at the thought
Turntablists. of adding this much
weight to the luggage,
Supposedly but if it has to be...
there's a stash
of vinyl down
in the basement
as well: I had
no time to
look. And I
was warned
to skip the
idea of flying
out of town in
a few days if
I got started
down there.
--------
[NEXT - EAST_VILLAGE]