I’ve been reading Poseur, the memoir of the author Marc Spitz. He wrote one of my first favorite books as a teenager and was a long time writer for Spin magazine in the early 2000’s, his work of the time, along with a few others writers, built the foundation of what I thought it meant to be a fan of things. “Love what you like” is one of my life’s guiding principles and Spitz played no small part in that thinking. He passed away in 2017 and reading his memoir has felt deeply personal, I read mostly non-fiction at this point in my life, but something about Poseur was felt more intimate. Spitz struggled with drugs for a number of years and his memoir is one of the more open and upfront accounts I can remember reading in a while. As I was finishing reading the other night, I flipped the book closed and on the first page in scribbled sharpie was his signature. I’ve never been one to care about celebrities, but this hit me immediately and in a different way, with a slight pang in my heart it felt like a direct jumper cable line to this man who was so formative to who I am in this world. We never met but through his stories and works, he lives on; cover stories, downtown plays, frenetic fiction, he crafted something that others still look to, and in his own way lived out the rock ‘n’ roll dreams he always wanted to.
“They say you really die the last time anybody says your name”
- The Lawrence Arms “The YMCA Down the Street From the Clinic”
Thanks for hanging!
Be good to each other.
Urban Villages
I have very much drank the kool aid on new urbanism and for good reason, it is rooted in the way our societies and communities existed for thousands of years. 79% of Americans want to be able to walk to shops and parks, and 32% want access to good public transit. Do some math for me right now in your head; think of your 10 closest friends, do 8 of them live in a walkable area, do 3 of them have easy access to public transit. Most likely no, so why are our cities and communities built this way?
Greg Girard- Under Vancouver
Greg Girard is my secret favorite photographer. He’s the one I return to the most and pour over his images. His work on Kowloon Walled City (written about below) is how I originally found him, but the work that really grabbed me was his early color work from the late ‘70s through the ‘80s in Vancouver. Vancouver at the time was still very much a port town where the streets ended at the docks. Mostly shot at night, he captured neon lit bars, diners, and cold flophouses and the people who frequented them. The photos dance that fine line of alone but not lonely that cities can so often offer.
Kowloon Walled City
An essentially lawless Chinese enclave inside British Hong Kong, Kowloon Walled City was at one time, the most densely populated city in the world. What started as a military outpost, by the mid 1980s it had 35,000 residents, and was mostly controlled by gangs. With no over arching government, illicit trade, unlicensed doctors, gambling, and prostitution ran rampant. The first floors were often lit by fluorescent light because sunlight didn’t reach them, and it’s rumored that the network of staircases, alleys, and passageways was so extensive, that you could traverse the entire city without ever touching solid ground. Demolished in 1994, a park now stands in it’s place.
When To Call A Thing What It Is
Journalism is a hot button issue these days and I think that’s because it truly matters. Words matter and they have lasting implications. This episode of the Question Everything podcast brings together two journalists to discuss what it means to report on lies and what their responsibility to the truth is. The second part talks to a journalist who deals with the ramifications of trying to cover these topics.
Studio Updates
Custom candles will be added to my store in a couple weeks, just finishing some last tweaks.
One of my favorite records of all time, The Good Life “Album of the Year,” turned 20 this year so I made some new art for the cover.
