George FialaGeorge Fiala has worked in radio, newspapers and direct marketing his whole life, except for when he was a vendor at Shea Stadium, pizza and cheesesteak maker in Lancaster, PA, and an occasional comic book dealer. He studied English and drinking in college, international relations at the New School, and in his spare time plays drums and fixes pinball […]
Arts
MUSIC: Wiggly Air, by Kurt Gottschalk
Apparitions of the Eternal Earth. On their monolithic 2022 debut, Eyes Like Predatory Wealth, the Houston, TX trio Apparitions set forth a slow burn with three tracks running, in sequence, 10, 20 and 30 minutes. The fire has been spreading ever since. In 2023, they issued the digital-only Semel, with three poundingly untitled tracks, and this month comes Volcanic Reality (CD […]
Quinn on Books: “Lost in Love”
“Lost in Love”: Review of “Horse Crazy,” by Gary Indiana, introduction by Tobi Haslett, Reviewed by Michael Quinn Years ago, I fell for a recovering drug addict. I met him at a funeral for a man we had both been involved with. When he caught me looking, he smiled—a slow, disarming gesture that made my heart thump like a […]
Medea Hoar on pussy riot & Lamb of God, by Medea Hoar
Welcome to the March Edition of “Tits up Brooklyn!” March is reported to come in like a lion and leave like a lamb…What does that actually man for us music lovers? Does March arrive like the Stray Cats (rockabilly) and leave like Lamb of God (heavy/dark metal)? Or perhaps like Pussy Riot (punk) and leave like the Electric Sheep (female […]
FILM: Director Carson Lund Breaks Down the Gently Brilliant “Eephus”, by Dante A. Ciampaglia
“Baseball isn’t statistics,” legendary New York sports columnist Jimmy Cannon once wrote. “Baseball is DiMaggio rounding second.” I wonder if Tim Bassett, second baseman for Adler’s Paints, had that in mind when he quipped, decades later, “Is there anything more beautiful than the sun setting on a fat man stealing second base?” It’s entirely possible. Bassett, like his Adler’s teammates […]
Defiant Jazz, by George Grella
What is the sound of being ghosted after going through a job interview? According to the prog-rock band KADAWA, it’s the crisp, complex rhythms, slashing riffs, and soaring major key guitar solo of “We’ll Get Back to You” off their album, Post-Graduation Fees. Take something larger and not focussed on an individual’s experience: What is the sound of what the […]
Political Comedian Nish Kumar Asks, “Why Not Do Something More Fun?” by Laryn Kuchta
“You have to justify telling jokes about the news at a time like this.” That’s what British political comedian Nish Kumar said in 2022, during his last tour. A lot has happened since then, and Nish is performing in the US now. So, how has this feeling changed? “It’s got worse!” Nish laughs, sitting on a couch in the green […]
Books: A Valentine for New York
Review of “Days Without Number, New York City,” photographs by Giovanna Silva, with a text by Sasha Frere-Jones Review by Michael Quinn You hardly know anyone, and there’s no place you need to be, so you walk around to get your bearings. You snap pictures of whatever catches your eye. You’re trying to capture a feeling—not just the place but […]
MUSIC: Wiggly Air, by Kurt Gottschalk
Ghosts in the guitar. The wonderfully inventive Jules Reidy has been going through a period of transition of late. Affairs of the heart, a change in gender identity and a renewed interest in mysticism have all, it seems, led to Ghost/Spirit (CD, LP, download out Feb. 21 from Thrill Jockey). While they’re often heard in more experimental and freeform settings, […]
JAZZ: ”Evil is Always a Bad Stylist,” by George Grella
Spend time on social media, especially text-based sites like Bluesky (that’s what I use—and enjoy—now after deleting my account at the neo-Nazi’s site) and you eventually find people decrying a lack of media literacy. What they mean by that is the ability to see the difference between assertion and fact, to know what’s reporting and what’s stenography, to tell when […]