The Indispensible Magazine for Dilettanteϟ and Today's Short Attention Spans.

COSMIC UNCONSCIOUSNESS

2012-02-05T11:56:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, while enjoying a friend's birthday dinner in the back room of El Quijote, i looked up while rolling my eyes at a joke about penguins and noticed the decorative lattice work on the ceiling, and felt that the two or three plastic vines running through it just werent nearly enough. It looked unfinished and needed more like twenty. But the lattice, combined with the shrimp i was eating, was enough to remind me of the scene in the movie Repo Man where the character "Miller" talks about 'a lattice of coincidence that lays over everything".

El Quijote, the classic Spanish restaurant next door to the notorious Chelsea Hotel on 23rd street, is one of my favorite spots here in NYC - classic old school surf and turf, with Spanish delights such as Paela Valencia and Chicken Villaroy, all seasoned with a huge amount of salt, and served in an original 'Old Spain' decor with Don Quixote murals, Don Quixote statues, and art deco glass - left largely unmolested since the 30s. White tablecloths, and you cant wear a hat.

Next door, in the late 70's at the Chelsea Hotel, temporary resident Sid Vicious stabbed Nancy Spungeon to death, and a bit later the hotel was home to everybody's favorite Ramone, Dee Dee, who was convinced that Satan worshippers were living in the basement feeding people to piranhas. Not to mention the list of other former guests who's names might carry more weight outside the disgusting world of "rock music", such as Mark Twain, Tennessee Williams, and Stanley Kubrick....

Nancy Spungeon being carried out after her murder.

Sid Vicious under arrest for the murder of Nancy Spungeon

If you havent seen Repo Man, a punk cult classic from 1984, starring a very young Emilio Esteves and the beloved Harry Dean Stanton, i suggest you netflix it immediately. Maybe amazon the soundtrack too while you're at it. Black Flag, Iggy, Circle Jerks, Fear, Suicidal Tendencies, etc. Both are great.

But if you have seen it, you'll no doubt remember Miller saying "A lot o' people don't realize what's really going on. They view life as a bunch o' unconnected incidents 'n things. They don't realize that there's this, like, lattice o' coincidence that lays on top o' everything. Give you an example; show you what I mean: suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness". Miller's character was the that of Repo shop mechanic, possibly an ex-hippie burnout, and it's easy to write off what he said as the inane ramblings of a drug casualty, but what he was talking about was no less than Carl Gustav Jung's "THEORY OF SYNCHRONICITY".

Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events that are causally (not casually) unrelated, occurring together in a meaningful manner. To count as synchronicity, the events should be unlikely to occur together by chance. The concept does not question, or compete with, the notion of causality. Instead, it maintains that just as events may be grouped by cause, they may also be grouped by their meaning. Since meaning is a complex mental construction, subject to conscious and subconscious influence, not every correlation in the grouping of events by meaning needs to have an explanation in terms of cause and effect.

I lifted that straight from an encyclopedia, and as i'm no Mensa candidate, it almost gave me a headache trying to understand it. But the short description is simply "meaningful coincidence", often in a way that might relate to you personally.
Like a coincidence that would make you say "BALLS MARIE, man".. Some people might describe it as a "sign" - Say you're wondering if you need your umbrella and then your hear a crash of thunder. Or say you pull into a packed parking lot and suddenly a car pulls out creating a space for you. Or say you're walking along, thinking "i really could use a drink", but there are no bars in sight. You round the next corner and there's a gay bar with cheap drink specials. You go inside and have a FANTASTIC TIME. These are all good examples of synchronicity that have happened to other people than myself.

There are many more references to this concept in popular culture. The Police, probably under Sting's coersion, titled their last record Synchronicity, and while it was their biggest selling record it was also their worst, and predicted the downward spiral that later spawned Sting's "Dream of the Blue Turtles" solo nightmare. The Police were my first 'favorite band', and looking back i remember feeling disappointed and betrayed by the band that i felt should have given us more "Walking on the Moon" new wave reggae...

Another band victimized by this same syndrome was U2. From 'Sunday Bloody Sunday', 'New Years Day', and 'Refugee', and those first 2 or 3 stunning albums, to "the Fly" and "Lemon"!? WTF? And those glasses?

The short explanation might be "Ego", another psychological theory. But that's a discussion best saved for another time...

-Karl Monroe

DEATH OR GLORY

2011-12-31T13:47:00.000-08:00

In the midst of a casual stroll back from the coffee shop the other day, warming my hands around my four dollar mocha latte, i found myself in front of Billy's Antiques, on the corner of Houston and Elizabeth - the famous one stop shop for vintage furniture, mummified cat heads, bizarre medical implements, and Nazi parapernalia. While saying hello, Billy stopped and pointed at the the little skull and crossbones pin on the lapel of my pea coat (pea coats were originally called Urine Jackets when they came out, but they didnt sell) - He said "Oh yea, 17th Lancers". I didnt know what he was talking about - all i knew was that the Clash had a song called "Death or Glory" and my pin said the same thing and that was good enough for me. So i did a little research....

In 1854, after reading a newspaper article depicting a recent bloody and disastrous battle in Crimea, a region now known as the Ukraine, Alfred Lord Tennyson was inspired to write the now legendary poem called "The Charge of the Light Brigade".

It describes the Battle of Balaklava, (not "Baklava", a delightful dessert which has caused more than a few documented scuffles) in a war fought between England and Russia, and how a misinterpreted English order to attack the Russians in a valley (later immortalized as the "Valley of Death") between two Russian held hills sent the English Light Brigade into a maelstrom of artillery, infantry and cavalry.

The 17th Lancers were part of the Light Brigade, which included several other dragoon (meaning mounted infantry, trained in horseback and ground fighting) regiments, and totaled 603 men (there is some debate over the exact number).

Hammered from both sides, the entire Light Brigade pressed through the valley, led by Lord Cardigan (his involvement with button-up sweaters is unknown), and upon nearing the enemy at the end they accelerated into a full charge. The 17th Lancers drove through the artillery and smashed into the Russian cavalry with such impact that they were able to drive them back. They were unable to hold their position due to insufficient troops, but this impact resonated so hard, figuratively, that the Russian cavalry flatly refused to engage the 17th Lancers in battle for the remainder of the war.

The 17th lost 109 soldiers out of its 147 on this courageous but tragic day, but their heroics reaffirmed their reputation as a top class fighting machine.

Their motto was "Death or Glory", and their cap badge featured a skull with a banner underneath saying "Or Glory".

Tennyson's poem, published shortly thereafter, praised the brigade while simultaneously mourning the appalling futility of the misinterpreted command. It became hugely popular and even reached the soldiers in Crimea.

Half a league half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd ?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die,
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd & thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack & Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke,
Shatter'd & sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse & hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

Original photo of the "Valley of Death" after the battle, littered with cannonballs.

There is some speculation whether the photographer Roger Fenton added cannonballs to the first shot, or if they were simply removed in the second shot by troops in order to re-use them...

In 1983, Iron Maiden recorded "The Trooper", about this same battle..

You'll take my life but I'll take yours too
You'll fire your musket but I'll run you through
So when you're waiting for the next attack
You'd better stand there's no turning back

The bugle sounds as the charge begins
But on this battlefield no one wins
The smell of acrid smoke and horses breath
As you plunge into a certain death

The horse he sweats with fear we break to run
The mighty roar of the Russian guns
And as we race towards the human wall
The screams of pain as my comrades fall

We hurdle bodies that lay on the ground
And as the Russians fire another round
We get so near yet so far away
We won't live to fight another day

We get so close near enough to fight
When a Russian gets me in his sights
He pulls the trigger and I feel the blow
A burst of rounds takes my horse below

And as I lay there gazing at the sky
My body's numb and my throat is dry
And as I lay forgotten and alone
Without a tear I draw my parting groan

Throughout history the 17th saw action in Waterloo, the U.S. War for Independence, the Boer and Zulu Wars in Africa, also in WW1 and WW2, and they still exist today in the form of an armored regiment fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Above: "Death or Glory" - in this case "Death"...

Seen here YET again, combined with Clockwork Orange references on the cover of this Angelic Upstarts single.

-Karl Monroe

Racerette

2011-12-08T14:58:00.000-08:00

We Miss You Razzle!

2011-12-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

R.I.P., December 9, 1984

Tragically, on this day in 1984, Nicholas Dingley, aka "Razzle", rock 'n' roll drummer extraordinaire, was killed in a car crash in Los Angeles, California.

We all do miss him.

Now if it seems to you that just a week ago we here at Lost At Sea NYC Magazine Worldwide (LASNYCMW) were wishing him a Happy Birthday, you're right, and while he was born on December 2nd, and then died on the 9th of December, it's important to recognize that it was a December 9th TWENTY-FOUR YEARS LATER, making him age 24, not a 7 day old infant.

*EDITORS NOTE: The editor would like to state that LAS-NYC is in no way a Razzle fan page, despite our admiration and respect for the man - it's just been a busy few days for him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAZZLE!!

2011-12-02T09:55:00.000-08:00

In keeping with this month's theme of Razzle Dazzle Camouflage, today we wish a Happy Birthday to England's Nicholas Dingley, aka "Razzle", drummer of Finland's dazzling Hanoi Rocks.

Surely now he pounds the drums in Valhalla.

December 2, 1960 - December 9, 1984

We Are All Lost At Sea

2011-11-29T21:39:00.000-08:00

Copy Cats

2011-11-20T16:02:00.000-08:00

Its no secret that LAS-NYC is revered as one of the most influential Electronic Magazines on the interweb, but these latest copy-cat antics fringe on the absurd. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery but honestly does anyone have an original thought in their domes anymore?
This latest bit of "street art" on the corner of Elizabeth Street and Houston stands as a testament to LOST AT SEA NYC - always at the forefront - and it's recent amazing expose on Dazzle Camouflage, and as our resident in-house art critic Tipton Newquay pointed out, "It really ain't half bad".

photo: Turk 183

U-BOATS on HOUSTON STREET!!

2011-11-13T15:58:00.001-08:00

Ze Germans are koming!

GENE VINCENT, R.I.P.

2011-10-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

D.P. Flores and I popped over the hill into Santa Clarita to visit Gene last time I was in L.A., and after a bit of light landscaping around the grave, managed to take this incredibly well lit foto with my camera, which also happens to have a built-in telephone.

Feb 11, 1935 - Oct 12, 1971

Gene Vincent We Miss You.

BANNED FROM THE GUGGENHEIM

2011-10-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

AN EXHIBITION OF FANZINES PRESENTED
TO CRASS BETWEEN 1976 AND 1984,
PLUS ORIGINAL CRASS-ERA ARTWORKS BY GEE VAUCHER
AND A NEW AUDIO INSTALLATION BY PENNY RIMBAUD.

Once again the Boo-Hooray Gallery has put together a great exhibition featuring art from the punk era.
Last time it was Linder Sterling's early Xerox generated images at their old location in Chelsea, and now it's Crass, at the gallery's new spot downtown on Canal Street.
With their first blistering release in 1978, Crass was the first true anarchist punk band, and their philosophy influenced other heavyweights such as Discharge and Conflict, and resonated with hundreds of bands that followed.

The artwork they created for their albums and posters featured the now classic bold stencil print, screen prints, collages and satirical paintings, which not only made their message very clear, but also defined what then became a style, again adopted by like-minded political punk bands, and their fans.

This exhibit features posters, flyers, and a huge collection of similarly minded punk fanzines given to the band over the years - a MUST for the true anarchist, punk rocker, rebel-rocker, rock-n-roller, mini-punk, art connoiseur, arm-chair anarchist, punk, ex-punk, backpack punk, spare-changer, hippie, limousine liberal, rasta, Combat 84 fan on the fence, Falkland Islander, Argentinian, crustie (no pets allowed), skittle, Wall Street occupationist, and Sesame Street occupationist.

It runs through October 20, is open every day, 11-6pm, and is free. Dont miss it.
Check the website HERE.

DAZZLE SHIPS

2011-10-08T21:57:00.000-07:00

Dazzle Camouflage was first used on ships in World War One, designed to confuse and disrupt visual rangefinding, making it difficult to hit and sink a ship with artillery, which was very trendy at the time. If you've ever used an old film camera and focused until the two images line up correctly, you'll understand how this worked on old military rangefinders.

Looking back on these ships today they seem almost like massive works of art, not giant machines dodging death and destruction on the high seas...

Click on the link to listen to the song "Dazzle Ships" off of Orchestral Manoevres in the Dark's 1983 album of the same name and then scroll through the pictures for SOUND + VISION.

GARY GILMORE'S EYES

2011-08-09T19:11:00.000-07:00

On a quiet evening in July of 1976, the pull of a trigger in a sleepy Utah town set forth a chain of events that would reverberate through the American legal system, human rights debate, and eventually make it's mark on popular culture here and throughout the world.

It would seem that Texan, Gary Gilmore, was doomed to his fate from an early age - victimized by some of the same circumstances that mold many innocent children into hardened criminals - an unstable home life, a nomadic existence, and an abusive, alcoholic father - he not so much spiraled into a life of crime, as much as just went with what seemed natural to him.

In a Playboy Magazine interview he had this to say:

[INTERVIEWER: Was that the point at which you just told yourself, from here on, I’m in for trouble?

GILMORE: (laughs) I always felt like I was in for trouble. I seemed to have a talent, or rather a knack, for making adults look at me a little different, different from the way they looked at other kids, like maybe bewildered, or maybe repelled.

INTERVIEWER: Repelled?

GILMORE: Just a different look, like adults aren’t supposed to look at kids.

INTERVIEWER: With hate in their eyes?

GILMORE: Beyond hate. Loathing, I’d say. I can remember one lady in Flagstaff, Arizona, a neighbor of my folks when I was three or four. She became so frustrated with rage at whatever shit I was doing that she attacked me physically with full intent of hurting me. My dad had to jump up and restrain her.]

He got an early start on his road to ruin, engaging in shoplifting and petty theft, prodigiously (he had a respectable 130 IQ) organizing a car theft ring with friends by the age of fourteen. During this period he was arrested a few times and eventually sent to Woodburn Reform School.

INTERVIEWER: How did you feel when you were released from Woodburn?

GILMORE: I came out looking for trouble. Thought that’s what you’re supposed to do. I felt slightly superior to everybody else ‘cause I’d been in reform school. I had a tough-guy complex, that sort of smart-aleck juvenile-delinquent attitude. Juvenile delinquent - remember that phrase? Sure dates me, doesn’t it? Nobody could tell me anything. I had a ducktail haircut, I smoked, drank, shot heroin, smoked weed, took speed, got into fights, chased and caught pretty little broads. The Fifties were a hell of a time to be a juvenile delinquent. I stole and robbed and gambled and went to Fats Domino and Gene Vincent dances at the local halls.]

By age 22, he had graduated to assault and armed robbery, and became the textbook recidivist offender, repeatedly caught and sent to jail. Until 1976, the longest period he had been out of jail was only 8 months.

Things escalated considerably on the 19th of July of '76. He robbed and killed a gas station attendant in Orem, Utah, and the next night did the same thing to a motel manager in nearby Provo. While getting rid of the gun he accidentally shot himself in the hand, and was then witnessed hiding the gun in some nearby bushes. He was captured shortly thereafter.

After his trial and conviction, he would be the first prisoner to be sentenced to execution in Utah since the the reinstatement of the death penalty, which had been declared unconstitutional in 1972. Even back in the 'barbaric' 1970s, this set off a firestorm of controversy, with religious and human rights groups ranging from the ACLU to the NAACP (both death penalty opponents) getting involved on Gilmore's behalf. No one was contesting his guilt, but specifically his death sentence.

In a previously unheard of twist, Gary Gilmore not only refused their assistance, but actually fought the justice system to ensure he would be executed more quickly, stating (and referring to the organizations acting on his behalf),
"They always want to get in on the act. I don't think they have ever really done anything effective in their lives. I would like them all — including that group of reverends and rabbis from Salt Lake City — to butt out. This is my life and this is my death. It's been sanctioned by the courts that I die and I accept that.".

The entire world watched with morbid curiosity, fueled by a sensational media, as he actually tried suicide twice, each attempt following a 'stay of execution' brought on by the ACLU. But the assistance/interference continued, and his final stay of execution was overturned just a mere 37 minutes before his actual death.

Execution today in Utah is only by lethal injection, but in 1976, death row inmates had a choice between it, or firing squad. Before the ban on capital punishment in 1967, Utah prisoners could choose only between firing squad or hanging.

[ FUN FACT - But before that, when Utah was still only a territory, prisoners had a third option, "beheading" - but no one chose it, and it went out of practice in 1888.]

Lethal injection usually involves a quick succession of three injections - the first renders the prisoner unconscious in a few seconds with a powerful anesthetic, the second, a muscle relaxant designed to paralyze the prisoner, stopping all muscle function including the diaphragm, causing asphyxiation. The third injection causes cardiac arrest, stopping the heart. Provided they all work as they should.

Gilmore chose the firing squad, responding when asked with, "I'd prefer to be shot".

On the day of execution, Gilmore ordered his last meal - steak, potatoes, milk, and coffee, of which he only consumed the milk and coffee (similar to more recent death row inmates, who have ordered extravagant, expensive meals and then not touched them, resulting in that particular final request being banned recently in Texas).

He was administered his last rites by the prison chaplain, and was marched before the firing squad, which was set up in an unused cannery on prison property. When asked if he had any last words he replied only with "Let's do it". A hood was placed over his head, a target attached to his t-shirt, and the five-man squad took aim and shot him from behind a canvas curtain on the cannery's loading dock.

He was the first to be executed in the US in almost ten years.

-The makeshift execution site - an old office chair with nylon restraints, and a mattress placed in front of sandbags. Various press and prison officials on the right.-

Minutes later, on that Monday of January 17, 1977, 36 year old Gary Gilmore - drifter, robber, and cold-blooded murderer - was pronounced dead by the coroner. He was also an organ donor, and that same day two people received his corneas for transplant. His body was taken to the University of Utah for research, later cremated, and his ashes placed in a plastic bread sack, spread from a small airplane by his uncle and his lawyer.

Since that day there have been over 1200 executions in the United States.

But that wasn't the end of it. Extensive international news coverage of the event, and the sheer bizarreness of it all, practically ensured that just about everyone had at least heard of what happened - including a certain Tim Smith, then living in a sleepy coastal town in Devon, England. An article he just read inspired him to write a song about an organ recipient who had just woken up, only to realize in horror that he's just received the eyes of a murderer. At this time, Tim Smith also changed his name to TV Smith, and along with his girlfriend Gaye Balsden on the bass, who changed her name to Gaye Advert, formed a punk band, and called it The Adverts.

Here's a sample of the lyrics to "Gary Gilmore's Eyes"...

"The doctors are avoiding me.
My vision is confused.
I listen to my earphones,
And I catch the evening news.
A murderer's been killed,
And he donates his sight to science.
I'm locked into a private ward.
I realise that I must be...

Looking through Gary Gilmore's eyes. (x2)

I smash the light in anger.
Push my bed against the door.
I close my lids across my eyes,
And wish to see no more.
The eye receives the messages,
And sends them to the brain.
No guarantee the stimuli must be perceived the same...

When looking through Gary Gilmore's eyes. (x2)

Gary don't need his eyes to see.
Gary and his eyes have parted company"

Watch the Top of the Pops appearance HERE.

The song became their second single, went to number 18 in the charts, and along with some Top of the Pops television appearances gained the band alot of attention. Punk wasn't much different from old guard rock n roll at the time in that it was populated mostly by men, so any pretty girl was likely to get alot of attention, and much of it was aimed at the sultry bass player, who, with her classic good looks, black hair, and black leather jacket, was hard to miss.

Gaye Advert soon became a Punk Pin-Up of sorts (PP-U), as seen in this fold-out from Record Mirror magazine...

Eventually tensions escalated within the band, as Gaye began to receive what her bandmates felt was more than her fair share of attention. Mentions in the press of "Gaye's Adverts" and reports of her heavy-handed approach to band business only contributed, and it didn't hurt that she had done some shoots for a porno magazine called "Fiesta" before joining the band.

These charming and delightful shots are featured here, for your viewing pleasure.

It wasn't long before guitarist Howard Pickup and drummer Laurie Driver left the band, ostensibly to pursue greener pastures. They were never heard from again.

Well, they were, but this version sounds better.

Thoughtfully included also For Your Viewing Pleasure (FYVP), some more Adverts Punk Knick-Knacks (APK-K).

LQQK at this Punk Dream Calendar (PDC) - NINE of the best bands (not the Stukas) in history playing at the same place within a month and half!

But let us now go back to the USA, again across Atlantic Ocean, and back again through the sands of time, but not as far, to the offices of the Wieden and Kennedy ad agency in New York City.

It was 1988, and the Nike shoe company needed something to help them compete against industry leader Reebok, who had somehow taken control of the market with their ridiculous shoes during the 80s aerobics craze. Nike needed a new angle, a new direction, a new approach. They needed something that would separate them from the competition. Wieden and Kennedy gave it to them. This was still an era when most people only wore athletic shoes while actually playing sports, and so W+K helped change Nike's entire marketing strategy (EMS) from selling "athletic footwear", to selling the shoes as fashion and lifestyle accessories. And they promoted it with the new, hugely successful "Just Do It" campaign. It appeared everywhere, in magazines, on billboards, in TV commercials, and featured the biggest sports stars of the day. It was what helped push Nike into the number one position with sales surpassing $3 billion by the early Nineties.

Little did anyone know that this iconic slogan was inspired by the last words of a cold-blooded murderer. Dan Wieden admitted as much years later in the ad industry documentary "Art & Copy" how he got the idea from Gary Gilmore's last words, and then gave them a slight twist, not thinking much of the connection at the time. “None of us really paid that much attention. We thought, ‘Yeah. That’d work,’ ” he said, adding, “People started reading things into it much more than sport.”

Of course the official Nike version of the meeting sanitized its the slogan's genesis, claiming Wieden, speaking "admirably" of Nike's "can do" attitude, randomly said "You Nike guys, you just do it.".

It just wouldnt do to have a killer selling shoes, now would it, but to quote Ian Faith, manager of Spinal Tap, "Death sells."

-Karl Monroe

MUGS

2011-06-18T19:18:00.001-07:00

Johnny

Axl

M D Chapman

Jerry

Keith

John

Wendy

Random Criminal Girl

Karl

Axl

David

Ozzy

Elvis 1

Elvis 2

Sid

Random Criminal Girl

Steve

Myra, Ian

Random Criminal

Kurt

Ronnie

Reggie

Mick

James

Frank

Prince

2011-06-11T19:30:00.001-07:00

NOW AVAILABLE ON iTunes... Click the link in the sidebar ---->

2011-06-11T19:08:00.000-07:00

From November of 1978, Queen "Jazz".....

Produced by Roy Thomas Baker, not a jazz album at all, with gems like Fat-Bottomed Girls, and "Don't Stop Me Now", and this lovely tri-fold sleeve insert...

Click on it - you will thank me.

The Warriors

2011-06-11T18:49:00.000-07:00

FROM 1965...

From 1979...

842 SRO

2011-06-11T18:47:00.000-07:00

Pantalones Caliente

2011-06-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

Stone, Rollin'...

2011-06-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

Coffee Time...

2011-06-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

REAL NEW YORK STORIES! with Karl Monroe

2011-03-29T17:35:00.000-07:00

New York City in the 1970's was a different place than it is now, a different world altogether. But not just in comparison to today. After World War Two, it had become the richest city in the world, the glittering jewel of the Eastern Seaboard, and still an embodiment of the American Dream, but a mere twenty years later it had declined into an aging, crumbling cesspool of violence, crime, and urban decay.

People had always flocked to the city, searching for prosperity, trying to find a better life. But many 'unfortunately' stayed poor, and from 1961 to 1969 the number of people on welfare had tripled, and this, combined with bad inflation, and years of ineptitude by the city's money managers, left the city on the verge of bankruptcy and financial ruin.

Today's most popular and hip areas were nothing like they would become decades later. Artists such as Chuck Close and Robert Rauschenberg had only begun to move into the raw cold-water lofts of Soho then, and after business hours, once the manufacturers and garment workers had left for the day, the area was a desolate wasteland, with visitors in danger of being mugged by "Italians" from the surrounding neighborhoods.

West Broadway and Houston, looking south into SoHo - WTC in distance.

The East Village, a bombed-out hellhole with landlords who would set fire to their empty buildings rather than pay property taxes, was headed towards becoming the drug infested squatter warzone that it was in the 80's, and the West Side Highway, the first elevated highway in the world, now home to luxury lofts and tree-lined jogging and bicycle paths, actually collapsed in 1973, under the weight of an overloaded dump truck carrying the very asphalt meant to repair it.

The highway was then closed between Canal and 18th Street, and subsequently parts of that area and its abandoned piers became a shantytown for the city's derelict homeless, it's sex maniacs, and it's heroin addicts, which numbered 200,000 by the mid seventies.

The subways were filthy and dangerous, and the streets unsafe. In 1973, 2040 people were murdered in New York City, and there were over 80,000 robberies. Car theft became so lucrative that over 112,000 cars were stolen that year, and one mafia crew, under the Gambino family, led by Roy DeMeo, (below)

known as the "Murder Machine" for being the most 'prolific' hit men ever in organized crime (suspected by the FBI for killing 70 - 200 people in the late 70's and early 80's), began devoting time purely to stealing them, going so far to ship up to 70 cars at a time on freighters to a connection in oil rich Kuwait.

"Broadway Freddy" DeNome, (right), member of the DeMeo crew, pro drag racer, car thief and hitman, with one of his race cars.

Needless to say, there was easy access to all of society's ills - drugs, guns, prostitution - but there was still some effort involved, some protocol required, to 'gain access' some of these things. You had to know somebody, or some thing, and here's a REAL NEW YORK STORY about just that.

This is where the "Pizza Box", on Bleeker Street near MacDougal, comes in.

The Pizza Box is a typical New York Pizza place - nothing fancy, but serves a good slice the way you want it. It's still in the same spot it always was, and is still a popular stop today for pizza eaters in the Village. But back in the 70's you could get something more than a slice of pizza there, if you knew how to ask for it.

"Hey how 'bouta plain slice", you would ask, "And also could i get directions to the World Trade Center?" That was the code.

Back then a slice was around 50 cents, but in this situation you had to hand over a fifty dollar bill, and while the guy behind the counter heated and wrapped up your slice, he also gave correct directions downtown to the World Trade Center, "that new building they're building downtown".. (The second WTC tower was finished in 1973)

You said "thank you", grabbed your white paper bag wrapped sideways over the pizza with one hand underneath (as you would), and walked out. When you casually strolled down the block and around the corner, or sat down in your car, and reached into the bag, you not only found a hot slice of pizza, but an unmarked, untraceable .38 caliber revolver.

Welcome to New York.

You can try it today, but you'll probably only get a slice and $47.50 in change.

-KM

2011-03-26T16:59:00.001-07:00

For The Mod Who's Had Enough....

2011-03-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

PIN-UP OF THE WEEK

2011-03-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

Daughter of 50's rocker Marty Wilde, who came from the same stable of dashingly named British rock n roll stars as Billy Fury, Dickie Pride, and Vince Eager (no, not the cast of a torrid gay romance novel), Kim's first album came out in 1981, and of course, featured the hit "Kids in America", but it and her following albums contained several other good songs, all in the same guitar/synthesizer vein, and written by her father and her brother, who played in her band (just the brother) - check out "Chequered Love", "Cambodia", and, "View From A Bridge", among others....

Click here to look at Kim's Fan Club Magazines

-KM

THEN and NOW....

2011-03-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

Bleeker and Lafayette, THEN....

And NOW...

1978

2011-01-14T18:04:00.000-08:00

And Now A Word From Our Sponsor....

2010-12-29T16:28:00.000-08:00

IN HEAVEN...

2010-12-22T18:55:00.000-08:00

From THE GUARDIAN, Monday 23 December 2002...

Punk pioneer Joe Strummer, a musical and political inspiration for a generation, has died aged 50.

The former Clash frontman died of a suspected heart attack yesterday at his home in Somerset.

U2 singer Bono called the Clash "the greatest rock band" and said they "wrote the rule book" for later acts.

Billy Bragg said Strummer was the driving force who helped give punk its "political edge".

Writer Jon Savage said: "In 1977, the Clash did one of the best live shows I've ever seen. Joe Strummer in particular gave it his all - and thereby inspired a whole generation."

Born in Ankara, Turkey and the son of a diplomat, Strummer, whose real name was Mellor, was middle class and public school educated but became a hugely admired figure as the musical voice of rebellion.

The Clash scored 16 top 40 hits including Rock the Casbah, Bankrobber and I Fought the Law. Should I Stay or Should I Go? reached number one after the group split up when it was used in a Levi's ad.

The group's third album London Calling was named the greatest album of the 80s by Rolling Stone magazine - even though it was released in 1979.

The news of Strummer's.death was announced to the world today on his official website. A message dated December 23 on strummersite.com reads: "Joe Strummer died yesterday. Our condolences to Luce and the kids, family and friends."

A statement issued by his publicist said Strummer "died peacefully at his home in Somerset". It added that the musician's wife Lucy, two daughters and stepdaughter "request privacy at this harrowing time".

Strummer -singer, guitarist and songwriter - was the creative force behind the Clash, along with Mick Jones.

Strummer and Jones began writing two-minute, three-chord punk anthems such as White Riot, but eventually diversified into reggae, funk, blues and rap. In many ways they were at the forefront of world music.

The pair had a strained relationship and Strummer - famed at the time for his mohican haircut - ousted him from the line-up in 1983. The band limped on with new members but called it a day in the mid-80s. They always resisted lucrative offers to reform, unlike their contemporaries the Sex Pistols.

Today Bob Geldof - a musical contemporary as frontman for the Boomtown Rats - today said he admired their refusal to sell out. "I know for a fact they were offered huge amounts of money," he told the BBC. "They just said no, that isn't really what we stood for. That's truly admirable."

He added: "They were very important musically but as a person, he was a very nice man."

Bragg said his political imagination had been fired by Strummer, after seeing the Clash at a famed Rock Against Racism show in east London's Victoria Park.

"I have a great admiration for the man," he said. "His most recent records are as political and edgy as anything he did with the Clash. His take on multicultural Britain in the 21st century is far ahead of anybody else," he told the BBC. "Without Joe, there's no political Clash and without the Clash the whole political edge of punk would have been severely dulled."

Bono planned to work with Strummer next month on a Nelson Mandela tribute track for an Aids fundraiser show in South Africa. He said today: "The Clash was the greatest rock band. They wrote the rule book for U2. It's such a shock."

Strummer made a number of film appearances, including Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train and Alex Cox's Straight To Hell. The Clash also made a cameo in Martin Scorsese's The King Of Comedy and starred in their own film, Rude Boy.

He had a brief stint as singer with the Pogues in the early Nineties and by the end of the decade had formed a new band, the Mescaleros. He had long resisted lucrative offers to reform the Clash and preferred to develop new music rather than dwell in the past.

It long irritated him that the spectre of the band cast its shadow over his solo work. The band finished a tour just a month ago, during which he performed with Jones for the first time in almost two decades at a firefighters' benefit show in west London.

The Clash had been tipped to finally play together for a one-off performance next year as they were inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame in the US.

A post-mortem examination is due to take place tomorrow to establish the cause of death, which is not thought to be suspicious.

Merry Christmas, Everybody - from LAS Trans-Global MegaCorp Intl, LTD!

2010-12-21T12:17:00.000-08:00

Some more BSA info HERE

N.M.T.B...

2010-12-13T22:08:00.000-08:00

Linder Sterling Tattoo

2010-12-12T21:54:00.001-08:00

By Duncan X, London...

And Now A Word From Our Sponsor....

2010-11-15T16:13:00.000-08:00

SOHO '79

2010-11-14T21:01:00.000-08:00

Broadway and Houston...

Kools

2010-11-14T20:41:00.000-08:00

Once again with our hero, Paul Simonon...

You Can Only Die Once....

2010-10-31T18:04:00.000-07:00

Reich-N-Roll

2010-10-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

After several months of cultivating a "secret" connection within the FBI, our minions have finally been able to produce these never before seen correspondences (until now) on the subject of Wilhelm Reich, and his incarceration for experimentation on Orgone Energy. Follow the chain of command all the way to the top and you'll find no less than the famous cross-dresser and all around closet-case, J. Edgar Hoover. Funny how the ones pointing their fingers always have something to hide...
Sure, half the staff at the LAS Offices are perverts, kooks, or weirdos of some variety, but we don't try to conceal it - See the distinction?

The Tentacles of the International Lost At Sea Global Worldwide Network (ILASGWN) reach far and wide, and we will stop at nothing to continue to bring you the latest developments on this subject.

Read more about it HERE

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2010-10-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

Technological Advances of the Twentieth Century

2010-10-23T17:48:00.000-07:00

HD NYC

2010-10-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

Joe

2010-10-16T16:30:00.000-07:00

Street Rods for the Nuclear Age

2010-10-16T16:28:00.001-07:00

Steve Jones Radio

2010-10-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

Back With A Bang......

2010-10-09T12:04:00.001-07:00

2010-10-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

2010-10-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

STRUMMER

2010-10-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

Get 'em HERE

HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR - 65 Years Ago Today..

2010-08-04T21:19:00.000-07:00

- AUGUST 6, 1945: U.S. AIR FORCE BOMBER 'ENOLA GAY' DROPS ATOMIC BOMB ON HIROSHIMA, ULTIMATELY KILLING 166,000 PEOPLE.

(photo actually of Nagasaki blast)

The Hiroshima bomb was nicknamed 'Little Boy'.

A second bomb was nicknamed 'Fat Man'.

Three days later Enola Gay drops Fat Man on Nagasaki.

Six days after Nagasaki bombing, Japan announces its surrender to the Allied Powers.

- JUNE 10, 1959: FRENCH FILM DIRECTOR ALAIN RESNAIS RELEASES 'HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR', A DRAMA ABOUT AN INTERRACIAL FRENCH-JAPANESE COUPLE, SEPARATING AFTER A BRIEF RELATIONSHIP.

Through a series of long conversations, it recounts effects of the Hiroshima bomb blast (loss of hair from radiation sickness, loss of life, friends, relatives, etc), and compares and relates them to the relationship.

It became an early example of the La Nouvelle Vague (FRENCH NEW WAVE) school of filmmaking in the 1950s and 1960s, through its use of innovative editing, narrative, and visual styles.

- JANUARY 1, 1977: BRITISH NEW WAVE BAND ULTRAVOX RELEASES 'HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR', ON THEIR SECOND ALBUM 'HA HA HA'.

It signified a departure from their earlier 'artschool/glam/punk' style, and was an early example of the 'synthpop' sound later embraced by such bands as Depeche Mode and Heaven 17, and also the New Romantic/New Wave movement of the late 1970's and early 1980's.

- SEPTEMBER 26, 1980: BRITISH SYNTHPOP BAND 'ORCHESTRAL MANOUEVRES IN THE DARK' (OMD) RELEASE 'ENOLA GAY', A CRITIQUE OF THE USE OF THE ATOMIC BOMBS.

"Enola Gay, you should have stayed at home yesterday
Aha words can't describe the feeling and the way you lied

These games you play, they're gonna end in more than tears someday
Aha Enola Gay, it shouldn't ever have to end this way

It's 8:15, and that's the time that it's always been
We got your message on the radio, conditions normal and you're coming home

Enola Gay, is mother proud of LITTLE BOY today
Aha this kiss you give, it's never ever gonna fade away

Enola Gay, it shouldn't ever have to end this way
Aha Enola Gay, it shouldn't fade in our dreams away

It's 8:15, and that's the time that it's always been
We got your message on the radio, conditions normal and you're coming home

Enola Gay, is mother proud of little boy today
Aha this kiss you give, it's never ever gonna fade away"

*"LOST AT SEA NYC DOES NOT SUPPORT OR CONDONE THE USE OF ATOMIC WEAPONRY EXCEPT IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS WHEREIN WE OURSELVES WOULD BENEFIT."

KOOLS

2010-08-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

Dread Meets the Punk Rockers...

Don Letts

Wonder Products of the 21st Century

2010-08-04T20:24:00.000-07:00

Many of you have written us letters and emails complaining of nocturnal breast discomfort and the resultant back and neck pain, not to mention the concern over developing 'breast wrinkles'. So in our continuing effort to be sensitive and supportive to the needs of Women (Ladies), LAS-NYC is pleased to present a true Wonder Product of the 21st Century - the Kush Breast Support System.

It offers support for:
Side Sleepers
C-Cup or Larger
Breast Implants
Chronic Lactators and Nursing Mothers
Prevents Cleavage Wrinkles
Post Operative Recovery
Neck and Back Pain

No longer must you "simply tolerate" the pull of gravity on your lady lumps, or sleep on your stomach (ultimately hyper-extending your back and spine, thereby actually HEIGHTENING the problems!), nor must you recruit your husband or sympathetic neighbor to provide support and security throughout the night.

Simply place the Kush Support between your breasts and sail off into a restful nights sleep.

Doors of the City

2010-08-04T19:31:00.000-07:00

foto by Jane Doe

Dr. Feelgood, by Julien Temple..

2010-06-01T17:03:00.001-07:00

Those of you who've seen Julien Temple's "The Filth And The Fury," the great Sex Pistols documentary, and "The Future is Unwritten," about Joe Strummer, of course, will no doubt want to check out Oil City Confidential, his latest rockumentary, this time about the world's heaviest R n B Pub Rock outfit, Dr. Feelgood.

"Pub Rock," a misleading name for what was often a vaguely 70's British take on country-rock, is often touted as one of many precursers to punk, and was no doubt legitimately just that, but rarely would anyone today make that connection without a history lesson, except in the form of bands like Joe Strummer's 101'ers, Eddie and the Hotrods, and Dr. Feelgood.

This documentary is only released in the UK and Europe at the moment, but sanity would dictate that it should be available eventually in the US on DVD.

Here's the trailer...

.

L.A.S.

2010-05-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

Crazed randomness from the mind of Polywog...

http://www.polywogdesign.com/

The Secret Public

2010-05-23T10:49:00.000-07:00

At the Boo-Hooray Gallery in Chelsea - Linder Sterling and Jon Savage: The Secret Public - Punk Montages, Photography and Collages 1976-1981. Sterling and Savage did posters and flyers for the Buzzcocks, Joy Division, and Factory Records, as well as the early punk fanzine "The Secret Public", with some of the first use of the Xerox cut and pasting technique that would soon become common in the punk world. Also on display are several photographs of parts of London during the time, decaying and barren, almost unrecognizable now after years of population explosion and "urban renewal"..

Early Gen X flyer with first drummer, Jon Towe, who later joined the Adverts..

A short video for your pleasure...

Boo Hooray
The Steven Kasher Gallery
521 West 23rd Street
New York, NY, 10011

Suzuki Baby

2010-05-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

Harley Mama

2010-05-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

2010-05-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

It's for all u kids out there doin' it - whether it's movin' your feet on the street or shakin' your meat in the disco heat. U got your finger on the pulse, the beat of the street. Hey! - it's "STREET BEAT".

One lump or two?

Mean Machine

Showcasin'...

Boss Cruisers - Men's & Ladies, by Schwinn..

'64 - bought in pieces..

Randy Newman

Hairdryer

Flipper, Williamsburg Bridge - Foto: Todd K.
Nice Roller

Damned Damned Damned

2010-05-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

ZEN and NOW

2010-05-11T19:17:00.000-07:00

Led Zep (not Def Lep) with their St. Marks Place album cover, and a couple bonus stills from the Rolling Stones "Waitin' on a Friend" video, shot on the same doorsteps..

So Zen..

And Now..

Mick - He's just waitin' on a friend... Wonder who it is?

Oh look, it's Keith!

WTF of the Week

2010-05-11T19:04:00.001-07:00

THE FRONT

THE BACK

AND IT LIGHTS UP!

MADE IN GODLESS CHINA

FTW

Frank Frazetta, R.I.P.

2010-05-11T18:50:00.000-07:00

The Godfather of Fantasy Illustration, Frank Frazetta, died Monday at age 82 after a long bout with illness. We'll get lost in his artwork forever..

STICK AROUND, KID.....

2010-05-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

CORPORATE MEMO:
- RE; Lack of New Articles...

**Straight from the 48th floor, the Executive Penthouse Suite - L.A.S. TRANS -GLOBAL MEGA-CORPORATION, LTD -

"...apologies to our multitudes of devoted readers for the lack of new content the past few weeks - look for nu titillating topics and auto-erotic sensationalism in the near future..."

Dig the New Wave...

2010-04-11T19:01:00.000-07:00

Live on the Marc Bolan Show - Hawkwind with "Quark, Strangeness, and Charm" from their 1977 album of the same name...

2010-04-09T18:52:00.000-07:00

Cute ATTACK!!

2010-04-09T16:29:00.001-07:00

They were hanged for crimes they didn't commit.

I mean it's easy to see why the one in the middle gets a bad rap but this is just excessive.

Killer Lords

2010-04-09T16:10:00.000-07:00

A poetic journey into dementia compliments of punk's first supergroup, the unrivaled Lords of the New Church, starring Stiv Bators of the Dead Boys, Brian James of the Damned, Dave Tregunna of Sham 69, and Nicky Turner of the Barracudas..

Tale of Two Cities

Copulation explosion spreads disease
Premature evacuation into the sea
Two cities erected by Babylon's whore
Sodom and Gommorah destroyed once more

Tale of two cities, tale of two cities

Celluloid dreams of thin transparency lives
Silent screams of glazed carnivorous eyes
Civilization built on social decay
Hollywood's burning, San Francisco slid in the bay

Tale of two cities

Round black glass shoots up in the sky
Looking just like a dirty syringe
Energy vampires suck limousines
The locust ate their gods
Lepers on the loose release the torment of rejection so long ago
Metal masochists leather stud stars
Legends in their own minds

Tale of two cities

- From their album "Is Nothing Sacred?"

Public Image, Ltd. - ON TOUR....

2010-04-06T14:08:00.000-07:00

Finally on tour again, John Lydon's Public Image, Limited could be playing in a town near you.

DATE CITY VENUE

Fri 4/16 Indio, CA Empire Polo Field/Coachella
Sat 4/17 San Francisco, CA Grand Ballroom @ Regency Center
Tue 4/20 Seattle, WA Showbox at The Market
Wed 4/21 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom
Fri 4/23 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot
Sat 4/24 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
Mon 4/26 Kansas City, MO Midland Theatre
Wed 4/28 Pontiac, MI Crofoot Ballroom
Fri 4/30 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater
Sun 5/2 Chicago, IL House of Blues
Tue 5/4 Boston, MA Royale Boston
Wed 5/5 Boston, MA Royale Boston
Fri 5/7 Toronto, ON Kool Haus
Sat 5/8 Montreal, QC Theatre L’Olympia de Montreal
Tue 5/11 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live
Wed 5/12 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Fri 5/14 Pittsburgh, PA Club Zoo
Sat 5/15 Atlantic City, NJ The Borgata Music Box
Sun 5/16 Northampton, MA Pearl Street
Tue 5/18 New York, NY Terminal 5

THEN And NOW.... (special No Wave edition)

2010-04-02T22:02:00.001-07:00

Bowery at Bleeker Then...

photo:godlis
On the very right you can barely see a gas station - Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" video was shot there a few years later...

And Now...

What a Drag...

2010-04-02T21:55:00.000-07:00

Bloody Red Hands

2010-04-01T16:26:00.001-07:00

So the other day, as I was stepping out of Yonah Schimmel's knish emporium on East Houston, entranced by the the first bite of my piping hot Knish, i literally bumped into Betsy Maher, photographer, (among other things), and she showed me a nice little picture she took of a badge on an old bicycle.

- betsy maher photo

It was from a Rudge, an English company that also made motorcycles, like alot of the companies did back then - here in NYC i see alot of Triumph and BSA bicycles, with the exact same logos as the more preferable motorcycles.

Then i remembered that the hand in the Rudge logo was nothing less than the very dramatic "Red Hand of Ulster". It makes you think of grainy black and white photos of IRA bombings, political murals on sides of buildings, and little kids and armored vehicles in the cobblestone streets of Ireland. And anyone growing up listening to bands (or, say, reading the NEWSPAPER) like Sham 69 and Stiff Little Fingers and of course U2 (before they went kooky, as i've mentioned before) knows that Ireland is full of a chaotic and violent political history.

clive limpkin photo

Rudge actually started off as a bicycle manufacturer in the late 1800s but then also made motorcycles from 1911 to 1946. The bikes were originally made in Coventry, but the ones that say Nottingham were built afterwards, once Raleigh had purchased the company. So why the red hand? Neither of these two cities are in Ireland, and the surname "Rudge" only has connections to the west midlands of England, none to Ireland at all.. So maybe it was just a stylistic move, like the Ferrari horse or the BMW spinning propeller logo...who knows?

They made some nice motorcycles though...

..the Rudge Ulster

The ACTUAL STORY of the red hand is no less dramatic than you might hope for, but maybe a bit more appropriate for a saturday afternoon TV movie. In Irish pagan times the kingdom of Ulster had no rightful heir, according to one myth. As in any such situation, a boat race was the sensible way to solve the problem, and it was decided that "whosoever's hand is the first to touch the shore of Ulster, so shall he be made the king". One of the potential kings, who saw that he was losing the race, cut off his own hand and threw it to the shore, winning the kingship. The red color is the hand being covered in blood, as you might have guessed.
Another legend tells the story of two giants, fighting each other, one of whom had his hand cut off, leaving a bloody handprint on the rocks. In doing my research on this, my source pointed out that both of these stories are most likely fabrications, "particularly the one about the giants", but I feel that it's probably true.

There's much more though to the history of Ulster (not a city, but one of four Irish provinces), and the Red Hand as well, largely involving disputes between Protestants and Catholics, and resistance to British rule. Volumes have been written on this topic, but it's been the subject of several rock n roll songs as well. The B-side of England's Sham 69's first single "Ulster" warned that "The Troubles" (the name for this period of political turmoil) would continue "for a few more years - so when ya throw them bricks, don't ya cry no tears..."

And Stiff Little Fingers' second single "Alternative Ulster" commented more personally on life as the Irish band saw it. (They had actually been encouraged to write about their perspectives on The Troubles by Marxist journalist Gordon Ogilvie)

"Take a look where you're livin'
You got the Army on the street
And the RUC dog of repression
Is barking at your feet
Is this the kind of place you wanna live?
Is this were you wanna be?
Is this the only life we're gonna have?
What we need is...
An Alternative Ulster"

(RUC is the Royal Ulster Constabulary, aka the police)

Most famously, "Sunday Bloody Sunday" by U2 lamented the tragic massacre on the 30th of January in 1972 when twenty-seven unarmed civil rights protesters were shot by British Army troops while on a march. Fourteen died, seven of whom were teenagers. Several others were injured, two of which were run down by armored personel carriers.

BELOW - Mural of Father Daly waving a white handkerchief while trying to help a mortally wounded Jack Duddy..

Giants, kings, machine guns, bloody hands, blood on other people's hands, motorcycles and punk bands.. Funny how such an innocuous little image on a bike can be so full of life (and death)....

K.M.

Compromising Situation Du Jour #2

2010-03-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

Curiously again involving my hero, Steve Jones....

submitted by Michael Wildwood

Gettin' Eggy

2010-03-19T20:21:00.001-07:00

They're finally back in season...!

2010-03-19T15:49:00.000-07:00

LOST AT SEA

2010-03-19T15:48:00.000-07:00

The Future is NOW...

2010-03-19T09:37:00.000-07:00

Many of you are no doubt familiar with the Dyson line of Vacuum Cleaners, and many of you are probably OBSESSED with "ball technology", but even if you're not, you'll have to concede that the people at Dyson have managed to surpass even themselves with their latest re-interpretation of an almost obsolete product. It's the Dyson AIRBLADE and it really is the most exciting thing in the world of Hand Drying to come along in quite some time.

If you've ever been in Las Vegas and walked into one of those wide doorless open entrances to a casino, you'll remember that it's like a wall of cool air coming down, as you leave the outside heat. That's how the Air Blade works - a focused blade (more like a squeegee) of air blasting at your hands as you pull them from the little machine. You put em in wet, they come out dry, in one move. In wet, out dry. That simple. Your hands have never been dryer, and all without the nightmarish over dried demoisturized cracking skin you normally expect from a hand dryer. SO exciting.

2010-03-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

It's for all u kids out there doin' it - whether it's movin' your feet on the street or shakin' your meat in the disco heat. U got your finger on the pulse, the beat of the street. Hey! - it's "STREET BEAT".

Nerd Alert

Sloan's Triumph...

Betsy's Diabolical Honda...

And Some Lovely Hairdryers...

Lazer Tits

2010-03-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

Its all at Lazertits.com...

2010-03-17T00:41:00.000-07:00

THEN and NOW...

2010-03-14T17:39:00.000-07:00

Houston and Mulberry then...

And now...

Shakin' Street....

2010-03-13T18:13:00.000-08:00

From France, the ill-tempered little country not usually associated with great rock n roll, featuring Ross the Boss from the Dictators, and of course later the world's loudest band, Manowar, and Fabienne Shine on the lead vocals, Shakin' Street put out a few great songs in the late 70's/early 80's, this being one of them... Check it out.

Additional Trivia Information (A.T.I.) - Fabienne supposedly was the girl that Johnny Thunders wrote "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory" for..

Tilapia, the Garbage Fish (this. is. a. public. service. announcement.)

2010-03-12T21:52:00.000-08:00

Just one of the many reasons why LAS-NYC enjoys it's reputation as THE indispensible electronic magazine (E-Mag) for music, style, and ideas, is that while we prefer to embrace and promote the niceties of the world, such as luxury automobiles, fine dining, and women in high heels, we also feel an obligation to put the final nails in whatever coffin of lameness we deem necessary - in this case "Tilapia".

Anyone of 'going out to eat' age knows that every few years restaurants come up with a new "It Fish" - an exoticly named thing usually included in the menu at a Chili's or TGI Fridays chain, (i was gonna say Steak and Ale, but i actually like Steak and Ale, great salad bar, great decor) because salmon and flounder apparently are no longer good enough. A few years ago it was "Mahi Mahi", a Hawaiian delight..

And before that it was the somewhat disturbing "Orange Roughy"...

It's not a 'pretty' fish..

The "It Fish" of the last few years has been Tilapia, and you'll see it anywhere from the aforementioned chains to hip privately owned spots who might otherwise serve fine cuisine, but have been unknowingly duped into passing off this aquatic abomination as something you should eat.

What people dont seem to know about Tilapia is that not only is it not exotic - it's farm raised here in the US and all over the world - it's DISGUSTING. Tilapia are raised in fish farms, often along with other farm-raised fish such as catfish, and are held in tanks downstream from the other fish - this makes good economic sense to the fishfarmers, because the Tilapia feed on the fecal matter of other fish. In fact, they consume at least SIX TIMES their own body weight in fish poop, to the point that they're actually known as the aquatic world's "shitmouths" - really! You'd never know by tasting this bland species - it usually takes on the flavor of whatever seasoning or batter it's prepared with, but don't forget that "you are what you eat", and so is a fish - so do the math!

And next time you're perusing the menu at Chez Pussycat or Satin Dolls (oh wait those are strip clubs) remember - skip the bottom-feeder (no pun intended), and go with the Monte Cristo Sandwich.

-KM

POST SCRIPT 3/18/10 - Irritable reader "Ricky" sent in this picture of his Tilapia dinner along with some anti-sushi "disinfo" in his little comment. Thanks Ricky from Des Moines!

M.C.

2010-03-12T21:50:00.000-08:00

Outlaw "lite"..

Chinese Junk

2010-03-10T19:26:00.000-08:00

Ghost Ships of Hong Kong Harbour...

Praise Jesus

2010-03-07T19:08:00.000-08:00

Fog City

2010-03-07T19:00:00.000-08:00

Driving in Style with L.A.S.

2010-03-07T18:56:00.000-08:00

Neon Angels on the Road to Ruin...

2010-03-01T18:59:00.000-08:00

I hope it's good...

Release date March 19th.

ICONS OF STYLE

2010-02-27T23:44:00.000-08:00

This week's selection for ICON of STYLE needs no introduction.

Known for his roles in Deliverance, Smokey and the Bandit, the Longest Yard, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, The Cannonball Run, and of course later his return in Boogie Nights, he has always displayed a certain affinity for the good life and a level of taste and class that has lifted him above the mundane.

He turned down James Bond producer Albert Broccoli's offer to replace Sean Connery astutely recognizing that an American actor simply should not play 007.

He dated Tammy Wynette. He also dated Dinah Shore, who was twenty years older than he was. He married Loni Anderson.

He then divorced Loni Anderson.

He wore a toupee AND a mustache. He has a high pitched laugh. His tax issues are surpassed only by Willie Nelson.

You need that jacket.

Few people can pull off the 'wetsuit during the day' look...

This week's ICON of STYLE IS Burt Reynolds.

2010-02-18T23:35:00.000-08:00

Zodiac Mindwarp

2010-02-15T20:28:00.000-08:00

2010-02-14T23:27:00.000-08:00

2010-02-14T22:20:00.000-08:00

2010-02-13T16:51:00.000-08:00

Real Skateboarding Will Never Die

2010-02-13T16:06:00.000-08:00

Craig Johnson

John A. Grigley

Vive Le Rock!

2010-02-12T18:32:00.000-08:00

ANGELYNE...

2010-02-11T23:01:00.000-08:00

Volume Two of the Interactive Sound+Vision Series (I.S.V.S.), this time featuring Angelyne, the bizarre Billboard Queen of Hollywood, with her story told by Steve Jones (while he was in the Neurotic Outsiders) in his song "Angelina". A very 1980's product of plastic surgery, narcissism, and someone else's money....

Click on the music player and look at the pictures...

"I can feel myself getting more and more famous every day."

- We do realize that some of you 'sleazeballs' might like to "interact" with Angelyne in certain "other" ways, but LAS-NYC just isn't that kind of website, sorry.

POST SCRIPT MARCH 13 - "Anonymous" sends in this sighting of Angelyne on Santa Monica mere hours after reading about her here on LAS-NYC

Snakebite Love

2010-02-11T22:42:00.000-08:00

Down By The Jetty

2010-02-07T19:52:00.001-08:00

Canvey Island - Home of Dr.Feelgood...

2010-02-07T19:06:00.001-08:00

2010-02-05T19:42:00.000-08:00

Compromising Situation of the Week

2010-02-01T17:11:00.000-08:00

Yes it's who you think it is...