Helen Levitt - Shooting New York City...

Recently, I stumbled across a first edition copy of Helen Levitt's beautiful and now, highly collected, photography book In The Street: chalk drawings and messages, New York City 1938–1948. The book documents children's chalk drawings in New York City. The series of images were shot with a Leica camera.

Finding this gem was an amazingly rare discovery; It is often described as one of the best photography books of our time.

Helen Levitt (born August 31, 1913) has achieved the highest acclaim in the arts community as a leader in documentary photography. Never formally trained, she dropped out of high school and taught herself how to shoot her own pictures. Incredible! Later, she studied with such greats as Edward Steichen and Walker Evans. Levitt is best known for her documentary photographs of working class neighborhoods in New York City.

Helen Levitt has been shooting pictures for over 70 years and resides in New York City's Greenwich Village.

Below (and the above) are images from her retrospective show at the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation in Paris.

Record Deals

Janis Joplin
Greatest Hits
Look About Thrift Shop
900 King Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Vinyl LP
$1.00




Charles Manson
Lie: The Love and Terror Cult
Amazon (www.amazon.com)
Vinyl LP
$24.95

Happy Birthday America!

Sonic Youth is scheduled to play on July 4 in beautiful Battery Park, New York City!

The Deets: FREE gig with a rare appearance by The Feelies. The show is part of the River to River Festival and is also celebrating WFMU's 50th Anniversary. Tickets (limit 2 per person) are needed for the show and can be reserved at the River to River site on June 12 at noon.

Happy Birthday America!

Record Deals

Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
What Now My Love
Salvation Army
436 Atlantic Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
Vinyl LP
$2.00




Nirvana
Bleach
Sub Pop Records (www.subpop.com)
Vinyl LP
$8.00





Karla Pundit
Journey to the Ancient City
Dionysus Records (www.dionysusrecords.com)
Vinyl LP
$10.00

Viva La Polvo...

Polvo Reunites! I was fortunate enough to catch the opening show of the Touch and Go band's mini three stop tour (additional dates have now been added) at the Black Cat in Washington, DC a few weeks ago.

The sound was exactly what you'd expect from a band that has taken some time off. Well, a decade to be exact. In true indie pioneer form, the instruments were loud and hard but the entire sound was still able to cradle itself in melodic genius.

Simply put, it was one of my personal favorites. Polvo is not just a mid 90's era college band briefly reuniting; they are a musical staple.

At times, and admittedly stated by the band, the show seemed like a sound check with an audience. Nonetheless, I was still more than happy to be a part of the litmus test.

God bless Polvo.

May 9 Washington, DC @ Black Cat
May 10 Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
May 16 Minehead, England @ Butlins Holiday Resort (Explosions in the Sky All Tomorrow's Parties)
May 29 Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Sound Festival
May 30 Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Sound Festival
May 31 Barcelona, Spain @Primavera Sound Festival

June 20 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
June 21 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
June 22 Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell's
June 25 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
June 26 Chicago, IL @ Wicker Park Festival

Memorial Day Weekend BBQ Sounds...

I just purchased the 2007 self titled vinyl album King Khan & BBQ Show from Juno Records after seeing the duo (Mark Sultan & Blacksnake) play at New York City's Cake Shop with the lovely Miss Jenni Kline many months ago. The garage sound and on-stage antics from this band make for one infectious show.

The grit and beer stink in the air from that amazing late night gig has never left my olfactory senses; purchasing this album was a must.

King Khan & The Shrines, on VICE Records, is an offshoot of the above mentioned (Mark Sultan and a 9-piece psychedelic garage rock caldera) are touring this summer and will be sure to blow your ass away.

June 27 New York, NY @ Seaport Music Festival
June 28 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brendas
June 29 Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel

July 1 Huntsville, AL @ Flying Monkey Arts Center
July 3 Atlanta, GA @ Lenny's
July 4 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
July 5 New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks
July 6 Austin, TX @ The Mohawk
July 8 Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room
July 10 Los Angeles, CA @ Echo
July 11 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
July 12 Portland, OR @ Dantes
July 14 Vancouver, BC @ Pats Pub
July 16 Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
July 17 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
July 20 Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music Festival
July 21 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
July 23 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe
July 24 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe
July 25 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa
July 26 Ottawa, ON @ Zaphod’s
July 30 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse
July 31 Boston, MA @ Middle East Upstairs

August 1 New Haven, CT @ Cafe Nine

King Khan and BBQ Show call Quebec home.

Nanook's Manifesto...

Music Geeks, Uber Chic, Herb Garden, Disco Nose, Analog, Downey Mob, Parliaments, Protest, Unrest, Rock Stars, Open Bars, Geetar, Adderall, Risk Takers, Taste-makers, Dollar Stores, TOFU, Foto, Jimmy Wilson, Mildred Pierce, College Years, Tecate Beers, Thrift Shop, Mix Tapes, Sour Grapes, Leg Warmers, Bronski Beat, Faux Meat, Celluloid, Record Players, DIY, Detention Centers, Polvo Power!, Brooklyn Love, etc...