New York needs American Clave now more than ever. Have you taken a walk down the Bowery recently? Start at Cooper Union, take a deep breath, and just throw yourself headlong southward into the abyss. What the fuck happened? Have you SEEN that horrible apartment complex on Bond Street between Bowery and Lafayette? It looks like Spider-Man threw up all over half of the block. CBGB's is gone, that gas station on Great Jones and Bowery is now a hotel that serves $40 pizzas, there are more duplex taverns on each block than ever before, and even some of the restaurant equipment suppliers are closing down... It's all inevitable, yes. Didn't they turn Astor's first home in Argentina into a Chinese food restaurant? Hell, if you can't beat 'em, eat 'em, I suppose... |
...So somewhere amidst all of this bizarro-world metropolitan brain-fucking, Kip started sneaking these amazing records out here and there by Robby & El Negro, Silvana DeLuigi, Piri Thomas... Christ, there was even a new Conjure record, and it was a fucking DOUBLE ALBUM. And then he disappeared again. And now he's got a new album out, as Kip Hanrahan, just like the old days, and guess what? It's the best thing he's put his own name to since Tenderness waaaaay back there in Knitting-Factory's-still-on-Houston-Street New York folklore. The kidney-punching caveat? It's only out in Japan right now. WTF? Three cheers, EWE, in all seriousness, but c'mon - who else is stepping up to the plate? These aren't iTunes-friendly pick-n-mix variety assortments - and you should all know, because let's be honest, I'm really just preaching to the surly converted right now - these are records that need time. Strike that - they want time. YOUR time. They want you to buy them dinner first (a $40 pizza, perhaps?), they want you to read them some Chomsky before bedtime, and they want you more than anything to stop being a dip-shit - to shut your mouth, stop text messaging your ex, and just LISTEN for a changee. |