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Leaves of Grass

by 12/01/2007
Neighborhood: East Village

I slouched on my unmade bed in the murky mid-afternoon twilight, back against the wall, staring forlornly out the window. The sooty red bricks across the air shaft, crusty with flecks of ancient pigeon shit, provided little comfort. I tried casting my eyes around my room every now and then, for variety, but that was [...]

A Word From Number 4: Hat’s Off to the Homeless

by 06/09/2007
Neighborhood: Upper East Side

At the risk of sounding insensitive – I normally have zero patience for whining panhandlers. I had an unpleasant experience a couple of years ago when I bought a homeless guy a slice of pizza. He then showed up five minutes later, with his friend, asking if I could buy them both a beef patty. [...]

To Every Dog Its Bone

by 12/31/2006
Neighborhood: Lower East Side

I felt like I owed him something, even if I couldn’t say what. It wasn’t money. I closed my eyes like a dead man and gave those coins to the nuns on the corner. My brother is a music publisher. I’m not really sure what this means, but I’m proud. People always ask about it. [...]

The First Emperor at New Rochelle, Theater #16

by 12/31/2006
Neighborhood: Across the River, Letter From Abroad

Tan Dun’s new opera, “The First Emperor,” which premiered in December at the Metropolitan Opera and included Placido Domingo in the title role, was a complete sell-out for its run. The Met’s new GM, Peter Gelb, created a unique opportunity to expand the audience, by telecasting the WQXR “Live from the Met” broadcast in cities [...]

Spinning Tables at the Frying Pan

by 08/10/2006
Neighborhood: Chelsea

I had never gone to the Frying Pan—the restored boat/event space docked beside the Chelsea Piers—before last week. It was one of those places that I’d almost been to a bunch of times, but never actually made it. I nearly didn’t go that night, either, but I’m glad I did, because I think I ended [...]

Very Old Stones at the Mercury Lounge

by Thomas Beller 06/04/2006
Neighborhood: Lower East Side

The Mercury Lounge is a well-known venue for live music. All sorts of distinguished and screwed up and talented and untalented musicians have played there since the place was founded in 1993. It’s been home to a great deal of rock music. Previously it was home to a different kind of rock. Before it was [...]

Throw The Drummer A Bone

by Thomas Beller 06/04/2006
Neighborhood: East Village

For the last five years I’ve played drums in a rock band named Honus Wagner, but now it seems that we’re breaking up, and I’m trying to reconcile myself to life without the drums. Of course I can still play the drums by myself, which is a joy in much the same way shooting a [...]

Mountain At Charles Lane

by Thomas Beller 06/03/2006
Neighborhood: West Village

Charles Lane is a narrow cobblestoned alley that connects Washington Street and the West Side Highway. There is nothing particularly remarkable about it, except it feel like one of those narrow crevices in the city which time has forgotten, even though it is tucked into a peculiarly modern housing development. What I most remember about [...]

Big Fat Love

by Thomas Beller 05/31/2006
Neighborhood: Upper West Side

John Berry, an original member of th Beastie Boys, played bass on all the tracks and sang on a few, along with Bosco (more biographical info follows). The band, however, went through several subsequent incarnations and recorded numerous songs after the 1984 sessions at Secret Society studios. Here is Piscataway Freak. The band that plays [...]

iPod on the Tracks

by Thomas Beller 05/23/2006
Neighborhood: Upper East Side

I was bounding down the stairs into the subway, three steps at a time, hoping to make the train. The stairs were wet. The air was cold. It was a day of harsh weather, a gusting snowstorm, but I had my iPod and was experiencing everything dreamily. To say it was a new iPod was [...]

He Lived in the Streets

by 03/02/2006
Neighborhood: Financial District

I met him in Starbucks while drinking a cup of coffee. He didn’t look like the kind of man that frequented Starbucks. He was reading a newspaper and I sat down at the table and chairs next to him. Even sitting down he seemed very tall; his hair was neatly shaved off his head, and [...]

Don’t Wanna Go Uneasy

by 11/17/2005
Neighborhood: Midtown

So we thought a movie, and he says “you pick one.” I look into it and suggest either that one about the Rwandan genocide or “Raging Bull” in a new print at the Ziegfeld. “Remember,” I ask him, “remember how at some point they started issuing tickets for actual seats at the Ziegfeld, with seat [...]