North Fork Sound Top 20 - September 26th 2010

Mikel Rouse

1. Mikel Rouse: Failure
2. Addie Brik: Word Became Flesh
3. Randy Newman & Valerie Carter: Sailin' Shoes
4. Ben Folds & Nick Hornby: Doc Pomus
5. Wormburner: Pike City Proper
6. Rhys Chatham: A Crimson Grail (2nd movement)
7. Joe Gibbs & The Professionals: High Noon
8. Rosie Flores & Albert Lee: Heartbreak Train
9. Shelby Lynne: Killin' Kind
10. Alejandro Escovedo w/Bruce Springsteen: Faith
11. David Allan Coe: If That Ain't Country
12. Altai Hangai: Khöömii
13. Richard Thompson: Bad Again
14. The Penguin Cafe Orchestra: Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter
15. Buddy Guy & Junior Wells: Cut You Loose
16. Audience: Buy Me An Island
17. Amos Garrett, Doug Sahm & Gene Taylor: Big Mamou
18. Iris Dement: Big City
19. Sonny Landreth: Shooting For The Moon
20. Lucinda Williams: Can't Let Go

North Fork Sound Alb O' The Week

Kristian Hoffman: Fop

North Fork Sound Legend Of The Month
Lowell George

Last Week's Listener Favourites
Adam & The Ants: Killer In The Home

Addie Brik
photo: Rudolf Istvan

Addie Brik: Saki
Aswad: Love Fire
BB King: I Got Some Help I Don't Really Need
Bo Diddley w/Ron Wood & The Shirelles: Oops! Bo Diddley
Bow Wow Wow: C30 C60 C90 Anda!

Brenda Lee

Brenda Lee: Sweet Nothin's
Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band: Too Much Time
The Cure: Kyoto Song
Guitar Gabriel: Juice Headed Woman
Howlin' Wolf: Killing Floor
James Hunter: You Can't Win
Jimmie Vaughan: Roll, Roll, Roll
Jimmy Reed: Down In Virginia
John Lennon: Give Me Some Truth
JJ Cale: Starbound
Kenny Burrell: Kenny's Theme
Kristian Hoffman: Cassandra
Little Feat: Skin It Back
Los Lobos w/Susan Tedeschi: Burn It Down

Lou Reed

Lou Reed: Hold On
Lowell George: Two Trains (demo)
Lowell George: Himmler's Ring
Lynn Hope: Blue Moon
Randy Newman: Lonely At The Top
Rhys Chatham: A Crimson Grail (1st Movement)
Sandy Nelson: Let There Be Drums
The Small Faces: I've Got Mine
Sonny Landreth: Back To Bayou Teche

Suicide
Irving Plaza, NYC
photo: ht

Suicide: Radiation
Them: I Like It Like That
Tim Buckley: Look At The Fool
The Upsetters: Return Of Django
Warren Zevon: My Shit's Fucked Up

I now have a show - 'PURE' - on a GREAT radio station - WPKN, Bridgeport, CT.
Find the station and archived shows here: www.wpkn.org or tune in to listen "live" at WPKN 89.5 fm
SEND PROMOS - cds or vinyl ONLY, to Box 45, New Suffolk, NY, 11956
Next show: October 8th, and every second Friday of the month, 12 (noon) - 3pm

North Fork Sound Top 20 - July 4th 2010

Laurie Anderson & Lou Reed
photo: Guido Harari

1. Laurie Anderson feat. Lou Reed: Only An Expert
2. Dennis Diken w/Bell Sound: The Sun's Gonna Shine In The Morning
3. John Lee Hooker: Tupelo
4. The Lone Sharks: Willesden Green
5. The Blaggards: Last Of The Steam Powered Trains
6. Family: Bolero Babe
7. Levinhurst: Sargasso
8. The Girls: Vietcong Women
9. The Dirty Strangers: Survival Dance
10. Robert Palmer: Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley
11. Swingadelic: Down Home Girl
12. Lee Webber: Your Love's So Good
13. The Skatalites: Christine Keeler
14. Justin Hines & The Dominoes: Carry Go Bring Come
15. Dub Syndicate: Echomania
16. Faster Pussycat: Poison Ivy
17. Gene & Eunice: Bom Bom Lulu
18. The Peddlers: Horses Collar
19. Gavin Bryars: Last Hymn
20. Prolapse: Move To Limit Slabs

North Fork Sound Alb O' The Week

Peter Case: Wig!

North Fork Sound Legend Of The Month
Doug Sahm

Last Week's Listener Favourites
? & The Mysterians: Do You Feel It
Alan Price: I Put A Spell On You
Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes: Before I Grow Too Old
Bell XI: Amelia
Bettye LaVette: Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Bo Diddley: Can You Shimmy?

John Fogerty, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Ben E. King
Waldorf Astoria, NYC
photo: ht

Bob Dylan: Make You Feel My Love
Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band: Too Much Time The Cramps: Muleskinner Blues
The Cramps: Wrong Way Ticket
Dave Rawlings Machine: How's About You
Dennis Brown: Black Magic Woman
Doug Powell: A Prayer For Ray Davies
Dr. John & The Lower 911: Only In Amerika
Dr. John & The Lower 911: Change Of Heart
Eddie Cochran: Hallelujah! I Love Her So
Egg: A Visit To Newport Hospital
The Faces: You're So Rude

The Flying Lizards' Deborah Evans
CBS Records photo session, Camber Sands, E. Sussex
photo: R. Rayner-Canham

The Flying Lizards: Summertime Blues
Frank Zappa: Waka/Jawaka

Garbage
W. 23rd St, NYC
l-r: Bob Bortnick, ht, Shirley Manson, Shannon O'Shea, Steve Marker, Beth Halper, Butch Vig
front: Eric Danville Duke Erickson, ?, Cindy Marker

Garbage: Drive You Home
Gene Casey & The Lone Sharks: Bad Baby

The Girls: Methodist Church
Glasvegas: Flowers & Football Tops
Guadalcanal Diary: Watusi Rodeo
Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes: If You Don't Love Me By Now
Harvey Mandel: Wade In The Water
The Isley Brothers: That Lady
Jerry Lee Lewis: High School Confidential
Jim Backus & Phylis Diller: Delicious
The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Keith Richards: You Win Again
LCD Soundsystem: Bye Bye Bayou
Little Richard: True Fine Mama
Manbreak: Kop Karma
Neil Young: Rockin' In The Free World
New Math: Thay Walk Among You
The New York Dolls: Dance Like A Monkey
New York Stories feat. Danny Gatton: Mike The Cat
Otis Clay: She's About A Mover
Patsy Cline: Why Can't He Be You
Peter Stampfel: Holy Terror
Sinner DC: Golden Horses
Steampacket: Holy Smoke
Them: Here Comes The Night
The Velvet Underground: Stephanie Says
and finally...

Lemmy...

...gets to take Homer to Hell in an episode in next season's The Simpsons...
(thanks to the utterly essential Doc 40 blog for this news)

live365 and the internet is just not big enough so we're now on terrestrial radio too! SEND PROMOS - cds or vinyl ONLY
Next show: July 9th, and every second Friday of the month, Noon - 3pm:-
WPKN 89.5 or www.wpkn.org

North Fork Sound Top 20 October 4th ‘09

1. The Wolfmen (feat: Sinéad O’Connor): Jackie Is It My Birthday?
2. The High Dials: I Am The Eye
3. Jerry Jeff Walker: I Ain’t Living Long Like This
4. Garland Jeffries: 35MM Dreams
5. Mickey Newbury: Sunshine
6. Miles Davis: All Blues
7. Chas & Dave: Edmonton Green
8. Billy Fury: My Advice
9. Mark Ashton (feat: Cyril Jordan): Get Up And Groove
10. Nick Lowe: Tonight
11. We Fell To Earth: Lights Out
12. The Goons: Bloodnok’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Call
13. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: In My Own Dream
14. Randy Newman: Baltimore
15. The Fatback Band: Yum Yum (Gimme Some)
16. Ed Sanders: Marie LeBage & Huey Long
17. The Byrds: Chestnut Mare
18. Sugarloaf: Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You
19. The Jolly Brothers: Conscious Man
20. Rubén Blades w/Lou Reed: Hopes On Hold

Sylvia & Lou Reed, ht, Vicky Germaise, Rubén & Lisa Blades
photo: Gary Gershoff

NoFoSo Alb o’ The Week:
Mark Knopfler: Get Lucky (Reprise Records)

The Guilty Pleasure:
Pluto Shervington: Sixpence (Opal Records)

Last Week’s Listener Thumbs-Ups:

Ian McLagan, John Stainze
Austin, TX
photo: ht

Ian McLagan: Kuschty Rye
The Low Anthem: Charlie Darwin
George Gilmore & The Giblets: Cuttin’ Out (Goin’ Back Up The Line)
Vernon Reid: What’s My Name
Rocket From The Tombs: Muckraker
Marc Bolan: The Third Degree
Brinsley Forde: Your Love Is Overdue
Eddie & The Hot Rods: Do Anything You Wanna Do
The Shazam: Hey Mom I Got The Bomb
The Shazam: NFU
Vince Taylor & The Playboys: Brand New Cadillac
Brinsley Schwarz: (It’s Gonna Be A) Bringdown
Little Feat: Sailin’ Shoes
Gene Casey & The Lone Sharks: The Snizz Part 2
Ray Davies: Yours Truly Confused, N10
Delbert McClinton & Dick 50: Wouldn't You Think (Should've Been Here By Now)
The Anti-Nowhere League: So What
Lou Reed: Tell It To Your Heart
Angelo Badalamenti: Laurens, Iowa
The Grateful Dead: Truckin’
Martin Rev: Dragonfly
Jackie Brenston: Rocket 88
Abba: The Visitors
Georgie Fame: Daylight
Angus Khan: Call Me Motherfucker
The Everly Brothers: Walk Right Back
The Blaggards: Carleen (live)
Earth Wind & Fire: September
Randy Newman: Rednecks
The Action: I'll Keep Holding On
Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women: Don't Make Promises
The Pink Fairies: The Snake
Social Distortion: Prison Bound
Ry Cooder: My Dwarf Is Getting Tired
Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band: Mr. Slater's Parrot
Dion: Born To Be With You
Can: One More Night
Dillinger: Flat Foot Hustling
Mick Ronson: Growing Up And I’m Fine
Aubrey Small: Country Road
Marianne Nowottny: Instrumental

remembering: Danny Gatton (9/4/45 - 10/4/94)

Danny Gatton, Delbert McClinton, ht
'Sun Medley' vocal session, Nashville, TN
photo: Beth Gwinn

North Fork Sound Top 20 May 10th ‘09

1. Angel Corpus Christi: Me And My Beretta
2. Bell XI: Amelia
3. Lady Ann: Informer
4. Lou Reed: What’s Good
5. The English Beat: Save It For Later
6. Kevin Teare: Fairwell Fair Cruelty
7. The Kinks: Everybody’s Gonna Be Happy
8. Commander Cody: Seven Eleven
9. Mark Bingham: The Earth Cracks
10. Gavin Bryars: The Sinking Of The Titanic (Hymn II)
11. Home: Fancy Lady Hollywood Child
12. The Heptones: Cool Rasta
13. The Soundtrack Of Our Lives: Babel On
14. Doug Sahm: Just Groove Me
15. Jimi Hendrix: Like A Rolling Stone (live)
16. Bettye LaVette w/the Drive-By Truckers: They Call It Love
17. Doo Rag: Chunked & Muddled
18. Bo Diddley: Do What I Say
19. Radio Birdman: You’re Gonna Miss Me
20. Seasick Steve: Thunderbird

NoFoSo Alb o’ The Week:
New York Dolls: Cause I Sez So (Atco Records)

The Guilty Pleasure:
Anita Ward: Ring My Bell (T.K. Records)

Last Week’s Listener Thumbs-Ups:
Ray Davies: Yours Truly Confused, N10
Lonnie Mack: Baby What’s Wrong
Symaryp: Skinhead Girl
Wizzard: See My Baby Jive
The Kinks: Come Dancing
Frankie Miller: It’s All Over
Eric Heatherly: Judging Beauty
Elvis Presley: Big Boss Man (alt take 2)
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Hey Joe
Hoodoo Gurus: Bittersweet
Backyard Babies: Babylon
Graham Parker: High Horse
Muddy Waters: Caldonia
Kasabian: Club Foot
Jill Sobule: Mexican Pharmacy
The Hellacopters: (Gotta Get Some Action) Now
The Hellacopters: In The Sign Of The Octopus
T. Valentine: Hello Lucille, Are You A Lesbian?
The Rolling Stones: Not Fade Away
Errol Dunkley: You’re Gonna Need Me
Suicide: Cheree
Eddie & The Hot Rods: Do Anything You Wanna Do
Sinead O’Connor: Jerusalem
Mick Farren: Mona (A Fragment)
Spiritualized: Broken Heart
Chuck Berry: Memphis Tennessee
Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3: TLC
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell: Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing
Gene Vincent: Baby Blue
Finn’s Motel: Concord Village Optimist Club
Chumbawamba: Give The Anarchist A Cigarette
Albert Lee: Good Times
Veneice Stark: I Still Love You
Cracker: Low
Doug Powell: The Uninvisible Man
Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson: Motor Head Baby
Kris Kristofferson: The Show Goes On
Lambchop: National Talk Like A Pirate Day
T. Rex: Ride A White Swan
Mark Bingham: It Never Goes Away
Medicine Head: Rising Sun
MX-80: Don’t Hate The French
The Pretty Things: Cries From The Midnight Circus
RL Burnside: Stole My Check
Pete Wingfield: 18 With A Bullet
Danbert Nobacon & The Pine Valley Cosmonauts: Rock ‘n’ Roll Holy Wars

Angel Corpus Christi
Phoenix, AZ
photo: ht
scanned from a lenticular 3-D print

Angel Corpus Christi tops the pack this week with a track deemed too 'heavy' (content-wise) to put on the US album. So what did we do? We made it the first single in the UK!

"So if you see me comin', you better step aside
A lot of kids didn't and a lot of kids died.
Don't be reaching for your knife it won't do you any good
Look, whatcha gonna do...stab a bullet?
And I can get by your metal detector,
Don't mess with me and my Beretta"

Her recent homage to Lou Reed called, (what else?) 'Louie Louie' is well worth checking out. Go here, look around...

Lady Ann

The best single to come out of Jamaica in 1982, was 'Informer' by Lady Ann. Produced by Joe Gibbs, it features a killer bass line and a hook that simply chanted the word "Murderer". I used to have the 7", the 12" and the album. Somehow I've ended up with just an mp3. My advice? Never move. You lose stuff.

The (English) Beat are back in full effect at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, May 16th. See you there.

There's a brand new Commander Cody album called 'Dopers Drunks and Everyday Losers' (Blind Pig Records). It's highly enjoyable.

And finally, Sara Hickman wrote to tell me Stephen Bruton finally lost his battle with throat cancer yesterday. This is desperately sad news. Anyone tuning in to North Fork Sound over the last couple of years will know he was a favourite here and I'm sure Nofoso regulars Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt, Delbert McClinton and Jimmie Dale Gilmore would agree his presence in their lives made a huge difference, both personally and professionally. My condolences to his family and all his fans.

Lou Reed, Rubén Blades

Lou Reed
Long Beach, Long Island

I met Lou Reed at Trident Studios in 1972 when he was recording 'Transformer'. David Bowie produced, Ken Scott engineered and Mick Ronson supplied the beautiful arrangements. By then, I’d progressed from “tea-boy” to “tape-copier” but I was still able to stick my head into the studio occasionally if a session looked interesting. Lou seemed pretty distant much of the time – valium, according to Ken – and occasionally I'd hang out at receptionist Dennis Richardson's desk and we'd watch him (unsteadily) negotiate the stairs between the studio and the control room in his platform shoes, wondering if he’d make the journey without falling over. He generally ignored us lesser Trident staffers and never said a word to me during any of the sessions.
On July 8th 1972, I went to see David play a Save the Whales benefit at the Royal Festival Hall with my friend Liz Arnold, who worked at Liberty/UA Records, a copy-room client. I copied copious Slim Whitman production masters so UA could release them in places like Belgium and Holland. Sometimes, she would slip me an LP or two from the record cabinet. Her boss was U/A's head of a&r, Andrew Lauder and it didn’t take long to figure out I wanted a job exactly like the one he had. Hey, I could read the music papers during by day and see bands at night! I was introduced to the music of Brinsley Schwarz, Man, Help Yourself, The Flaming Groovies, Nektar, Dave Edmunds, Neu!, Amon Düül, Cochise, Johnny Rivers and Eddie Cochran's album work thanks to Andrew and Liz and I’m forever grateful to the both for all the records/cds sent my way throughout the years. I still have them all, except the Cochise album which somebody ‘borrowed’ and never returned.
I’d blagged the Bowie tickets from either Don Hunter or Diana Graham at his management company, which is how we found ourselves sitting next to David’s mum. Most of the show featured songs from Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust (which had just been released) but for the first encore, David brought out Lou (in his first UK ‘live’ appearance) to join him on 'White Light/White Heat', 'Waiting For The Man' and 'Sweet Jane'. During on of these, David's Mum tapped me on the arm, leaned over and asked “who’s that weird fellow with all the make-up on?” I had to stifle a laugh, since both of them were caked in the stuff. In October, I went to see Lou at Kingston Poly where he played with his band, The Tots. At this show, I finally ‘got’ Lou and from then on, would try to see him at every opportunity.
Whilst at Elektra, I remember hustling an advance of the ‘New York’ album from Seymour Stein, whose Sire Records office was a couple of floors above mine. I rushed back downstairs with a sense of great anticipation and was about to press ‘play’ when there was a knock on the door and Rubén Blades stepped in. Now, in case you don’t know, Rubén is a remarkable man. While getting his international law degree at Harvard, he made 'Crossover Dreams', which started a distinguished film career acting opposite people like Jack Nicholson, Christopher Walken, Mickey Rourke, Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Joe Pesci, Gary Busey, Elliott Gould – our kind of actors! – and along the way, after starting in the Fania Records mail room, becoming one of the biggest, Grammy-laden stars in the world music world and running for President of Panama on his own Papa Egoro party ticket. He’s a killer performer and I loved working on 5 albums with him. He asked what I was up to and I told him I’d just got the new Lou Reed album – would he like to hear it? “Of course”, he said, so we grabbed a beer from the fridge, put our feet up and played the whole album through without saying a word. At the end, both of us were pretty speechless and thought it was Lou’s best solo album to date.
The year before, Rubén had written and co-produced 2 songs with Lou for his (first, and only) English language album, 'Nothing But The Truth'. While he prepared for its recording - always the multi-tasker - he took a lead role in 'The Milagro Beanfield War' and invited me to Arizona for a couple of days. It was my first time on a film set and Rubén introduced me to Robert Redford and Sonia Braga. Back in his rented apartment he picked up an acoustic guitar and played me a dark and very beautiful version of the Beatles' 'Baby's In Black'. I wish he'd recorded it for the album, but a somewhat changed arrangement showed up later on his 'Amor y Control' album. During rehearsals for the album, I cycled from my apartment on 23rd St. to SIR Studios on the west-side at 25th and as I dismounted, I rang the studio bell. 4 white guys approached and said "give us the bike". I said, "what for" and two of them grabbed it and set off down the street. I ran after them and grabbed the saddle. I don't know why I did that. What was I expecting? That they would apologize and hand it back? Anyway, shortly after, I picked myself up from the middle of the street with a throbbing in the back of my head. There was no one in sight. I went back to the SIR, was let in and went into the studio where the band were. There may have been a little blood on my head and the band stopped mid song and asked if I was ok. When I told them I'd just experienced my first mugging right outside, Rubén and the guys rushed outside to see if they could mete out a little street justice. When I get my cassettes digitized, I’ll playlist the unreleased, up-tempo version of ‘Hopes On Hold’ that Lou produced. I’ll probably not play the voicemail an apoplectic Lou left when I left a message telling him I thought the test pressing sounded dodgy. In the end, my experience as a mastering engineer at Trident paid off and Lou came around after I was able to articulate my problems with the sound of the pressing. A change was made and everybody lived happily ever after. I think he saw I was a record company person who knew what I was talking about - sonically, at least - and all encounters since have been respectful and, often, very friendly. Last time I saw Lou, I was surprised to receive a hug so big right in the middle of Greene Street that, if he hadn’t called me by name, I would have sworn he was mistaking me for someone else. The version of ‘Hopes On Hold’ that did appear on NBTT was a Tommy LiPuma-produced, synth-driven, rather disappointing and now dated, MOR ballad and unfortunately, someone else picked it as the first single. I went out to Long Beach on Long Island to watch the video get made. I never liked music videos much, but I always relished any opportunity to hang out with Rubén. Lou had a small cameo in it and must have been in a great mood because later, he showed a side of his personality I had no idea existed. During the ride back to Manhattan, after the shoot had wrapped, he did about an hour of what could be described as a contemporary ‘Borscht belt-style’ comedy routine that had Rubén, his actress wife, Lisa, Lou’s wife, Sylvia and I howling with laughter all the way home. I have some candid snaps of it – here - but this was one performance I wish I had taped. When he wants to be, Lou’s a hysterically funny guy. Who knew?
Ok, what else? Oh yeah, I got thrown out of a Velvet Underground show. For my birthday in 1993, I treated myself to a (reformed) VU concert at the Olympia, in Paris. Because this show was being filmed, Luna (who were supporting them on the European leg) was asked to sit this one out because their equipment would have gotten in the way of the cameras. Lead loon-er, Dean Wareham and I were given tickets to watch the show from a seat in the balcony, close to the stage. Both of us were feeling pretty, uh, ecstatic and the show was everything I had hoped it would be. At the end of the set, while the band were lined up, arms around each other’s shoulders, bowing and accepting the audience’s love, I took 2 photos with my 3-D camera. Apparently the flashes were enough to attract attention and it wasn’t long before someone grabbed me and marched me backstage, where my film - and the cassette upon which I had recorded the show - were confiscated by their tour manager, who had been kind enough to sort out my ticket in the first place. Talk about humiliating. I was very embarrassed and hoped Lou and John Cale, who played squash at the same Tribeca club where I played racquetball, wouldn’t notice me getting admonished when they came offstage after the encore. I don’t think they did, although I wouldn’t be surprised if they heard about it later. Hey, we all make mistakes. I had a habit of recording shows by people I liked, purely for my own enjoyment, of course. Later that evening, Dean and I found ourselves drinking in a mildly sleazy boîte called La Lily Tigresse, which was the inspiration for his song ‘Tiger Lily’.
The last time I saw Lou was on 9/11. My friend, singer Amanda Thorpe, had recently undergone knee surgery and one of her legs was in a brace necessitating the use of crutches to get around. She lived on Beach Street, way downtown, and that morning the phone rang and she asked if I could turn on the news and tell her what was going on, as she had heard this enormous crash and her tv just gave out static. I switched mine on to see that the world trade center had a huge, smoking hole in it and CNN was reporting that a ‘small’ plane was the cause. As I was telling her this, a second plane hit. Whoa! She asked if she could continue her recuperation for a few days at my apartment and could I come downtown to help her evacuate. “Sure”, so I threw some clothes on and made off for 7th Avenue where I was going to grab a cab, picking up some cigs at the Greek Deli near the corner. In the deli, a television was now reporting that the Pentagon had been hit by something, so it was clear (as if a second plane flying into the WTC wasn’t enough) the US was under attack. There were no cabs to be had, but Amanda’s apartment was close to Franklin Street, just 6 stops below 23rd, so I decided I’d take a train if they were still running and be there in minutes. Didn’t take long for a train to show up so I boarded and looked around. People were reading the paper as they would on any normal day. From conversations I overheard, it seemed like two or three people had heard something but they seemed unconcerned or oblivious to what really was going on as we sped towards the Manhattan's southern tip. When we shot past the Franklin St. stop, I thought I’d ended up on an express train by mistake and when we passed Chambers St, too, I thought something was definitely wrong. Then the train stopped, and stayed still for about 10-15 minutes during which the carriage I was in (towards the back of the train) started to fill with acrid fumes, a smell similar to what you’d get from an electrical fire. A light, blue-ish, thin cloud of smoke seeped through the car. There was nothing anyone could do except hope for the best. The train then spent the next 20 minutes or so shuddering forward, a yard or two at a time, with long breaks between each shudder. The smell of burning slowly dissipated (or we just got used to it) and after about 40 minutes, the train eventually pulled into Fulton St, stopping right at the beginning of the platform. We were instructed to walk through the carriages and exit the train at the front. There was no panic. Everybody, though somewhat weirded out by the whole deal, showed remarkable New York attitude/cool and we filed forward, disembarked, and climbed the stairs to the street. It had been a gorgeous day on 23rd St...sunny, warm, clear, the sky a rich, bright blue, but once we got outside, everything was completely covered in a fine, sandy coloured dust and bits of paper flew around like it was a kind of fucked up ticker-tape parade. Fulton St is approximately 6 or 7 blocks away from where the towers stood and by that time the south tower must have collapsed. People were running in all directions covered in dust, some bleeding, many carrying briefcases over their heads, wearing what was once their smart, work apparel. Everyone on the street looked like the zombies in 'Night Of The Living Dead'. Cops herded us away from the disaster site and soon I was at the South Street Seaport watching crowds crossing the Brooklyn Bridge on foot. I tried calling Amanda but the payphones weren’t working, so I set off on foot, in the direction of her apartment. I worked my way north and then west and had to convince 'security' that I had to get back to my apartment on Beach and after an hour, I got there. Amanda had her suitcase, a backpack and her guitar ready and we slowly walked/hobbled up Greenwich St, stopping into a bar on the way to watch, on tv, what was occurring just a few blocks to the south. Continuing up Washington St, we turned right onto Little West 12th and, just before we got to Pastis there, sitting at a table in the sunshine, nonchalantly drinking coffee with a companion was 'Mr. New York' himself, Lou Reed. An introduction, an exchange of pleasantries and a desire to not intrude made this chance meeting brief, but as we moved on we felt it was a brilliant moment in a ghastly day.
This week, the station’s playing Lou’s 'Endless Cycle', Rubén’s 'The Calm Before The Storm', Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham's 'Ginger Snaps' and Amanda’s 'Burn This House Down' from her brand new album, 'Union Square'.