Check out NPR Music for an essay I wrote about Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi Birgisson’s visit to Soundcheck last month. He played three songs from his upcoming album, “Go,” in a stunning acoustic set, two of which you can hear on NPR. (Hear the full session at Soundcheck.) If you can ID any of the mics on display, you are a full-blown gear geek. (Pssst: I am a proud owner of a Shure from the same era as the one WNYC has on display. Yes, I am bragging.)
Editors of America: Only you can stop the perpetual “vinyl is back!” story from surfacing once per year in newspapers and magazines across the country. Year-to-year sales increases don’t matter if vinyl’s total market share remains less than 1 percent. I love records. I hate this stupid story.
December is a time to reflect on the past year: we compile top-ten album lists, spend time with family during the holidays and try to figure out what went wrong with the New Jersey Nets. For me, 2009 was the year I developed an interest in boxing, thanks in no small part to a friend who should probably be working as an analyst for HBO. I took baby steps: I watched some pay-per-view title fights, I read Joyce Carol Oates’ On Boxing and Thomas Hauser’s The Black Lights, and went to a couple of amateur nights at Gleason’s Gym in Dumbo.
We also moved to the Sunset Park neighborhood this year. On my walk home from the subway a couple of weeks ago, I noticed two fighters sparring in a ring that was visible through second-floor windows of a building on Fourth Avenue. But there was no sign. I told a few friends about it, and one of them pointed this New York Times article out to me yesterday. Quite a story.
Photo: John Jon-Long Tan, from Ardon Sweet Science Gym Facebook page
This was a little crazy: Three hours. Trays full of sliced beef on French bread. Taps flowing with McSorley’s. Sides: pickles, peanuts, salads. Live entertainment. And … an apron. To protect one’s self (from one’s self). The event was delicious and raucous — everything a meal should be. My only complaint — I couldn’t hear the lectures (with Power Point presentation) about the history of this tradition: The Beefsteak.
My fantasy football rival, who tipped me to this fabulous event, informed me that you don’t eat the bread. You stack it. Except … it’s really, really hard to stack slices of French bread (because of that angle at which nearly everyone cuts French bread.)
He joined us during the station’s fall fundraiser. Public radio colleagues: Make sure to watch to the end. During a pledge break, the RZA opted to sit at our Steinway grand and provide light classical accompaniment.
