Urban Honking

“Brown is a wellspring of inspiration for artists and amateurs, not only on the dance floor and the popular stage but also in the clubs of the hip-hop generation and the concert performance venues of postmodern dance. In The Blues Brothers, the hit 1980 Dan Aykroyd-John Belushi movie, Brown appears briefly as a singing, dancing […]

I spent Xmas in Waterbury, CT, with three generations of Irish Catholics — old Dems of the Kennedy persuasion — learning all the local bon mots about Waterbury’s long history of corruption: all the mayors spend time in the clink eventually, the high school auditorium was built in the same year as the Rose Bowl […]

People come up and they’re like, ‘We’re so happy you guys are together!’ We get that all the time. Right?” asks Kelis. “It’s like one family,” Nas whispers in agreement. “We just represent the relationship.”

I can’t believe the Silver Spoon closed and these people are taking its spot. What does “Shoot Hoops Not Guns” even mean?!

NY mag’s Chris Smith blogs on the Times‘ lapse in reportage regarding Atlantic Yards, the hematoma of a development that’s being plopped in the middle of Brooklyn (not long from the spot of yours truly) and are Frank O. Ugly to boot: “Individual Times reporters have written significant stories along the way. But the Times, […]

Friends, Shareefa, whose album Point of No Return ruled late autumn for me (she especially slays “No One Said”), tells Concrete Loop that she watches The Wire (SPOILER!!! ALERT!!! Do not read if you have not seen the last episode of season 4!!!!!) Love, NERD NERD

Portland artist damali ayo has released a how-to pamphlet on eliminating racism as part of her “now art projects” (which also includes the terrific idea of handing out Black History Flash Cards at Halloween). She compiled the pamphlet by asking 2000 people for their thoughts — it resulted in a really practical, simple step-by-step guide […]

“I’m most disappointed in the viewers with bootlegged copies [of The Wire season 4] who have consistently posted spoilers on websites and impaired the viewing experience of others. I find that to be selfish and not a little bit infantile — the sort of behavior that denotes someone who is unable to, say, sustain a […]

I totally forgot to put Nelly Furtado’s “Do It” on my best singles of 2006 list. Let this be an addendum: Nelly Furtado’s “Do It,” which sounds like taking a job as a lip gloss salesgirl inside a pinball machine, is on my best singles of 2006 list, with her reggaetony track “No Hay Igual” […]