Monthly Archives: July 2006

Go After Therapy (Or Before?)

From the Times, of all places:

MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, 1120 Fifth Avenue, at 103rd Street. Sunday at 3 p.m., a staged reading of “Camp Logan,” a work about black soldiers in the early 1900’s and the Houston Riot of 1917. Through Oct. 12, “The High Style of Dorothy Draper,” a display of furniture, photographs and other items relating to the career of that noted interior decorator. Through July 30 [actually through August 6], “On the Couch: Cartoons From The New Yorker,” psychotherapy-related cartoons from the magazine. Tuesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Suggested admission: $9; 62+ and students, $5; under 12, free; families, $20; Sundays, 10 a.m. to noon, free for all. (212) 534-1672.

Ellroy’s Three Answers

I’m extremely thrilled about the upcoming movie of James Ellroy’s The Black Dahlia, to be released in September. With Scarlett Johansson (see the Emdashes Island review), as I’m sure you know, and a fine choice, since she’s one of the few actually beautiful, genuinely mysterious actresses in Hollywood. Here’s a brief interview with Ellroy in PW (“Aberrant behavior is seductive, there’s that. And noir is the prism through which we visit the recent past”). Looks like there’s another Dahlia retelling afoot, too, which IMdB says is “undergoing audio sweetening.” That might not be enough to counteract the Brian De Palma factor, but I say show them as a grisly double feature. There aren’t enough movie pairings going on, in general.

The New Yorker connection? Find it and you get a prize!

Shteyngart tonight at the Union Square B&N

Don’t forget! Gary Shteyngart is reading at 7 at the Union Square Barnes & Noble (33 E. 17th Street) as part of the new Upstairs at the Square series. From the press release:

On Wednesday, July 19, at 7:00PM, Gary Shteyngart, author of the new bestselling novel Absurdistan, and singer-songwriter-guitarist-bandleader and Norwegian chart-topper Sondre Lerche, will discuss art — and the art of making it — in America as well as in New York, which both call home. They will read and perform their work. Journalist Katherine Lanpher will again host the program. Admission is free, and no tickets are required. Seating is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Gary Shteyngart — author of Absurdistan, praised by The New York Times Book Review as ‘so immodestly vigorous, so burstingly sure of its barbaric excellence, that simply by breathing, sweating and standing upright it exalts itself’ — was born in Leningrad in 1972 and came to the United States seven years later. His debut novel, The Russian Debutante’s Handbook, won the Stephen Crane Award for First Fiction and the National Jewish Book Award for Fiction. The novel was also named a New York Times Notable Book, a best book of the year by The Washington Post and Entertainment Weekly, and one of the best debuts of the year by The Guardian. Absurdistan has been translated into ten languages. Shteyngart’s fiction and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, GQ, Esquire, The New York Times Magazine, and many other publications.

Still in his early twenties, Sondre Lerche has already released two critically acclaimed albums, and been called ‘one of the most talented new names in contemporary pop’ by The Los Angeles Times. He has appeared on the Conan O’Brien and Carson Daly shows, toured with Elvis Costello, Jason Mraz, Nada Surf, Liz Phair and Ed Harcourt. His new album, Duper Sessions, is a fresh, back-to-basics collection of songs that showcases a more intimate side of this gifted singer-songwriter. Inspired by Chet Baker, Caetano Veloso and even David Lynch, Duper Sessions transports the listener into a different time and place, filled with melody and romanticism. The album is Sondre Lerche’s tribute to the music he loves.

Katherine Lanpher is an award-winning print and broadcast journalist. Springboard Press will publish her first book, Leap Days: Chronicle of a Midlife Move, this October.

The third event in ‘Upstairs at the Square’ will be held at the Union Square Barnes & Noble on Wednesday, August 16, at 7PM.

Audio downloads of all three events, including the series premiere on June 21 with Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the New York Times bestselling memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, and singer-songwriter Jen Chapin, whose new album, Ready, comes out July 11th, will be available on Barnes & Noble.com.

Crawford, Gable, Tone, and Benchley!


Good news from our friends at the Robert Benchley Society:

Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone, and Robert Benchley in “Dancing Lady” available now on DVD

Watch for:

–Joan Crawford in a rare dancing role;

–Ted Healy and His Stooges presenting their physical humor in the same film with the dry wit of Robert Benchley (it’s so early a Stooges appearance that Curly is still being billed by his real name — Jerry);

–Film debut of Fred Astaire;

–File debut of Nelson Eddy;

–Early (uncredited) appearance by Eve Arden; and

–Grand musical finale with sets and choreography that MGM will recycle later in the decade for the Emerald City scenes in The Wizard of Oz.

City of the Semi-Silents

The clever and enjoyable rejected-Talk site Silence of the City has been around for a while now (on my “Rossosphere” list, for instance); in any case, the Voice has just written about it:

Rejection, of course, is simply a rite of passage for most writers. For [Mac] Montandon, though, it formed the seed of an idea. Since there was no shortage of writers like him who’d tried and failed to make The New Yorker’s pages, he figured there was an abundance of unpublished Talk stories lying around New York City. About a year ago he set out to provide a home for the orphan submissions, quietly launching silenceofthecity.com, where he resurrects the unpublished contributions of Talk of the Town rejectees. Montandon insists the site is every bit a tribute to The New Yorker, not a parody of it. It maintains the look and feel of the magazine’s signature section down to the font and, in the top left corner, the profile of Eustace Tilly, the aristocratic fellow who appeared on the cover of The New Yorker’s first issue in February 1925 (and on many others since). On Silence, however, Tilly trades his monocle for an eye patch to reinforce the theme of the site—work that under other circumstances wouldn’t have seen the light of day.

Though Montandon has yet to receive any feedback from The New Yorker about Silence of the City and was unsure whether anyone there had even come across it, staffers at the magazine have been aware of the site for some time. “We were flattered by it more than anything,” says Lauren Collins, a 26-year-old New Yorker staffer who writes for Talk of the Town and assists in putting the section together. “I think it’s good-humored and a fun spoof on what we do.”

Keep reading. When I corresponded with the friendly Montandon (who encouraged people to submit) back in January, I asked him if he was related to the villanous Montandons of Sean Wilsey’s unforgettable memoir, Oh, the Glory of It All; fortunately for him, probably (if not for Sean), he’s not.

The Voice story is by Dan Schulman; link via Romenesko. Thanks for the tip, Jeff! Hope your northern travels are going swimmingly.

Keep Those Cards and Letters Coming

with questions for the New Yorker senior library staff, who will be answering them here. The first column will appear very soon; look for it, then dare to submit your own. Want your query to be pondered and investigated at the heart of the brain trust? (If I add “the belly of the beast,” we’ll have a Bodies-worthy anatomical mixed metaphor on our hands.) Here’s your chance. I’m obviously screening questions, so make yours a good one. Feel free to be anonymous; just let me know what you prefer.

Also, via Boing Boing, it’s Chico Marx on the piano—literally, on the piano.

Burton Silverman in the Altogether?


No indeed; the longtime New Yorker Profile artist is being Volterraized. In Utah, some people (at the Brigham Young University Museum of Art) just don’t like nudes:

Silverman, who chuckled about the religious university eliminating his nudes from the show, said he began doing nudes by visiting burlesque houses.

“Nudity in public life is relevant,” he told the Deseret Morning News.

BYU officials take exception to that view, maintaining that nude illustrations are irrelevant to the exhibition that will open July 29.

Update: Another local profile of Silverman. Nudes not included.

O Ralph Stanley, Where Art Thou?


Right up there on stage and live on the radio. From the travelin’ preachers at Cybergrass:

Bristol, VA-TN – /BCMA/ During the weekend of July 22-23, the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance, with contributing support from The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail and Virginia Tourism Corporation, will be hosting Mountain Stage, for a celebratory weekend acknowledging Bristol’s designation as “the Birthplace of Country Music.” Both shows start at 7:00 PM and admission is $18 for adults, $15 for seniors/students, and children under 12 admitted free. Tickets may be purchased at the Paramount Center for the Arts Box Office or by calling (423) 274-8920.

Mountain Stage will record two radio shows and at least four public television productions. Mountain Stage, a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, is a two-hour radio show recorded before a live audience that has established a long tradition of featuring national and international acts in almost every style of music. Mountain Stage can be heard weekly on over 100 Public Radio International affiliates throughout the United States, Voice of America, and XM Satellite Radio. The television program has been carried on over 200 PBS stations nationwide.
…
Artists confirmed for the shows include Roni Stoneman, Darrell Scott, Rambling Jack Elliott, Ollabelle, and Reagan Boggs for Saturday night; with Ralph Stanley, Yonder Mountain String Band, Tim O’Brien, Dale Jett, Odetta, and Chris Thile performing Sunday evening. “Our goal is to work with the local community putting together programs that reflect where country music has come from and some of the directions it is taking,” commented Larry Groce, host and artistic director.
…
SUNDAY, JULY 23

Dr. Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys – An influential figure in American music, Ralph Stanley has recorded more than 200 albums since he and his brother Carter founded the Stanley Brothers in 1946. Inspired by the dark emotions of Appalachia, their haunting mountain melodies made them stand apart from other bluegrass bands. When Carter Stanley died in 1966, Ralph carried on, and the Clinch Mountain Boys grew to be one of the most respected outfits in bluegrass. His music had a direct influence on Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris, the late Keith Whitley and Ricky Skaggs. While he has long been revered by folk, bluegrass and country enthusiasts, thanks to the success of the film “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”, Stanley has become a star. In 2002, he won Grammys for “Best Country Male Vocalist Performance” and “Album of the Year” (for his part in the O Brother collection). He was profiled in The New Yorker by novelist David Gates [in the August 20 & 27, 2001, issue] and is the central figure in the D. A. Pennebaker/Chris Hegedus documentary “Down From The Mountain.” In January, 2000, Stanley became the first artist to be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in the new millennium. He holds the “Living Legend” award from the Library of Congress and was the first recipient of the “Traditional American Music Award” from the National Endowment for the Humanities. It was only fitting that Stanley was chosen to be the closing act for the 2002 Down From The Mountain Tour, a sold-out series of concerts inspired by the success of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? album.

From Gates’ 2001 piece—not online, but available at a Complete New Yorker near you. What, you mean to say you don’t have one yet? To read the rest, go git ‘er.

Ever since the death of Bill Monroe, the putative father of bluegrass, in 1996, Ralph Stanley has been the supreme icon of authenticity in American vernacular music. He is neither the last nor the oldest ofthe mountain-music patriarchs: Earl Scruggs, who is the prototypical bluegrass banjo player,and served as an early model for Stanley, has just released his first album since 1984, “Earl Scruggs and Friends.” But Scruggs hasn’t performed much in the past quarter century; Stanley, who is slightly younger, continues to do more than a hundred shows a year. Even when he was in his twenties, Stanley’s voice—hard, piercing, with a touch of raspiness—made him sound like a scary old man. Today, he sounds even scarier, and he has begun appealing to an audience far beyond the usual bluegrass circuit of summer festivals, college-town coffeehouses, and school and firehouse gigs throughout the rural South.

Felinity

Almost forgot: Happy birthday, Matilda of the Algonquin. I see her pretty often and, sometimes, give her a pat. She tends to hang out a little on the outskirts of things, but she’s always around, sitting on a suitcase or the counter. I haven’t seen her sit on the small, Freudlike couch they’ve set out for her, but then, I’m not there all the time. I’ve taken a turn away from meats, but for the hotel’s defunct steak sandwich, I’d veer back again.