Tinkling, angelic bells ushered in the most mournful rendition of the Lady in the Radiator’s ascension anthem, “In Heaven,” I’ve ever heard, like a warbling hymn sung at a gravesite scented with night-blooming jasmine. At the conclusion of Xiu Xiu’s live interpretation of Eraserhead’s minimalist whooshing score, performed last week at Brooklyn’s Elsewhere, Jamie Stewart’s … Continue reading
A familiar two-toned intergalactic bleep warps as a stitched-up ass in flesh-colored leather pants, alluringly rocks side-to-side on screen. That recognizable do-doo emerges from its muddied distortion into the sonic perfection of “Goodbye Horses,” as Q Lazzarus’s stunning, androgynous voice hums over the beat. A face peers into the camera in slo-mo. Lit only by … Continue reading
Can ball gags be wholesome? Can an object stuffed into your gaping mouth, eyes watering as you struggle to slurp back a swallow, be family-friendly? Can that same ball gag, yanked into place by a leather harness with straps cutting sharp diagonals across your face, be a suitable accessory for a lovely, casual dinner with … Continue reading
A young boy in a rumpled maroon T-shirt and jeans pushes a wheelchair filled to the brim with heavy yellow plastic water jugs. His face is a spectral smear with a hint of a nose, a curved ear, and a slight, concentrated frown. These indistinguishable features not only obscure his identity but mark his effort … Continue reading
Heaven apparently isn’t a kingdom in the sky with gigantic pearly gates, but a warm, golden-hued sky with pluffy clouds and a perpetual, dramatic, hair-fluttering wafting breeze. And what do lucky VIPs do once they hit paradise? Apparently, take a whole lot of selfies with others who perished in similarly violent ways. At least that’s … Continue reading
Is white lipstick the trashiest shade of lip color? Despite continually mulling over what belongs in the oozing dumpster of the trash aesthetic, I never really thought about it until the elongated scream of “Whiiiiiiiiiiiii-te lipstick!” that kickstarts the sonic tribute to this pasty lip on Hunx and His Punx’s new album Walk Out on … Continue reading
I haven’t attended an art fair in about a decade. Okay, fine, I do attend the Outsider Art Fair most years. But other than sampling art made by true weirdos rather than those whose eye has been hammered into submission by crit classes and high-end commercial galleries’ demands to maintain a samey-samey aesthetic to sell … Continue reading
Thank the filth elders above that Connie Marble somehow survived her attempted execution for assholism and skulked from Baltimore to small-town Pennsylvania to live out her sunset years! That was the first thought that crossed my mind as Aunt Gladys rounded the corner of Pepperidge Farm, crap cereal, and hot dog enthusiast Principal Marcus Miller’s … Continue reading
A tan Statue of Liberty proudly shoves a ripe, red, late summer tomato into the air, a more delectable replacement for her tired torch. A basket of more perfect-looking tomatoes, ideal for a caprese salad or simple tomato sandwich, is tucked under her arms. It doesn’t take a trained art history snoot to understand the … Continue reading
There is a tornado at the heart of Ethel Cain’s new album, Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You, a storm of such Southern Gothic biblical proportions that it rivals the foreboding flood that heralds the foretold birth of Elvis and his dead twin on Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ “Tupelo.” The tempest rolls in slowly … Continue reading