Story
The Auctioneer
Bernard Meisler
My wife showed me the back of a circular, junk mail. There was an ad for an auction the next day. A police auction, items confiscated from felons. Jewelry, artwork, gold coins and such. It was at the community center, right ...
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Review
The Bouncer by David Gordon – Review
Bernard Meisler
The Bouncer, a novel by David Gordon
The Mysterious Press, New York, 259 pages
Legend has it that when criminals and others in "the game" would read Elmore Leonard's novels, they always assumed he was a crook who had don...
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Writing
Bob Dylan Deserves the Nobel Prize for Literature
Bernard Meisler
Bob Dylan just won the 2016 Nobel Prize for literature. Many are angry. But they're wrong. He deserves it.
Joni Mitchel says Dylan is a fake. I take her critique with a grain of salt. Certainly Dylan is a confabulist—in...
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Music
Timber Live At Brownies, NYC, June 1, 1995
Timber
Here's a gem that just resurfaced, a video of the complete performance by Timber live at Brownies, NYC, June 1, 1995.
https://youtu.be/mRPQfvsUuq4
0:00 Let It Down
5:10 Jam/Belay That
10:47 Anti-Mother-In-Law Ca...
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Review
The Other Paris by Luc Sante – Review
Bernard Meisler
You're about the read what may be the strangest book review you've ever come across, because I'm going to admit up front that I haven't read the book I'm about to review. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm sure that ha...
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Review
All This Life: A Novel by Joshua Mohr – A Review
Bernard Meisler
The cover illustration for Joshua Mohr's terrific new novel, All This Life, offers a clue—no, more than that, a cipher—to the book's heart. It's subtle and you might not notice it, or give it much thought on first blush,...
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Comics
William S. Burroughs, Nancy Comics and the Cut-Up Method
Bernard Meisler
Nancy, the iconic series of graphic tone poems by the legendary Ernie Bushmiller, achieved landmark status not for its dada-esque art, its stark depiction of a near-barren (yet strangely psychedelic) landscape populated by p...
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Evergreen
The Rolling Stones in Mono
Bernard Meisler
I remember when I was a mere tot, I'd see old Rolling Stones albums (yes, these were actual physical objects made from vinyl, a fragile black petroleum-based substance) at the used record store, selling for what was a small ...
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Music
Serge Gainsbourg’s Histoire de Melody Nelson
Bernard Meisler
Here's a Friday night treat for you all - the complete concept film of Serge Gainsbourg's classic "rock opera", Histoire de Melody Nelson.
There's little doubt that Melody Nelson, a short (27 minute) album release...
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Billy Bang, R.I.P.
Bernard Meisler
Billy Bang, the great jazz violinist, moved on to the next plane, April 11, 2011.
When I first came to New York, in the early 80s, Bang was the man in the LES jazz scene. Bang was born in Alabama as Billy Walker, but as a...
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Essay
The Sensitive Skin Guide to Daikaiju Eiga (Japanese Giant Monster Movies)
Bernard Meisler
Oh no! There goes Tokyo!
-Blue Oyster Cult
Japan's problems seem to get worse every day. First the earthquake, then the tsunami, then Ernst Blofeld's secret volcano lair blew up again and to top it all off, a horrific ra...
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Essay
Dock Ellis and the LSD No-Hitter
Bernard Meisler
On June 12, 1970, Dock Ellis, a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, accomplished what is perhaps the single greatest achievement in the history of sports - he pitched a no-hitter while under the influence of LSD. Apparently ...
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Music
Timber, Released and Unreleased
Bernard Meisler
I ran into Jenny Wade on Avenue A, summer of 1993 I believe it was. Asked her where she was going, she said she was playing a gig at the Knitting Factory, so I asked if I could come along. She said nah, you won't like it, it...
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Essay
The Sinners & other great Latin garage rock bands
Bernard Meisler
So after watching Simon of the Desert last week, and being blown away by what is perhaps the most ridiculous (or sublime?) ending to any film ever made, I did my research and figured out the name of the band - The Sinners. ...
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Essay
Inception Antidote – Luis Buñuel’s "Simon of the Desert"
Bernard Meisler
I hate to write a negative review of anything - what's the point, really? - and I don't want to rain on anyone's parade who might have enjoyed it - but I hated Inception. I mean, I didn't just not like it, it made me angry. ...
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