“Well, fuck you! You wanna fuck me, don’t you? I know. I know. I don’t blame you. If I was all of you, I’d want to fuck me too. You don’t see too many of THESE in Dayton, do you, honey?” Who could deny the demented allure of our putrid and preeminent filth deity Divine? … Continue reading
The Brooklyn Museum’s latest offering Studio 54: Night Magic, curated and designed by Matthew Yokobosky, Senior Curator of Fashion and Material Culture, could, for some discerning spectators, be alternately called Studio 54: Lite. The curatorial focus is, of course, on fashion and design, so adjust your expectations as such. It’s about meticulous attention to lavish … Continue reading
Love can’t turn around! I remember the first summer I arrived in Chicago. I was living in Pilsen, and it seemed like just about every weekend there was a neighborhood block party. At the time, I was totally broke, so I was grateful for the constant merry-go-round of free events. Taco and churro stands spilled … Continue reading
In our constantly accelerating culture of crazy from Trump’s Twitter tirades to Nunes’s nonsense memos to art world shenanigans like deciding xenophobic border wall prototypes are “art,” it can be difficult to find time to pause and reflect. But, sometimes the most ridiculous historical moments can have chilling contemporary resonances. Case in point–the late 1970s … Continue reading
Living in New York, you get used to loss–not necessarily just the loss of beloved people, but of establishments. These bars, clubs, dives and cafes, particularly queer and queer-friendly spaces, are not just favored locations to grab a bite or a beer, but they’re where communities and even, worlds are built and thrive (even if temporarily). Continue reading
I’m not used to suffering from invasive flashbacks inside a major museum. But, pulling back the heavy curtain, leading into Kenny Scharf’s Cosmic Closet, a cozy yet mind-altering intergalactic Day-Glo-painted trash utopia, I was immediately sent through a time warp to June 2011, boogying to The B-52s “Planet Claire” and Martha and the Vandellas “Jimmy … Continue reading
Writing about nightlife isn’t easy. Something about that transcendent substances and dancing-fueled atmosphere gets lost in translation when put to a page. Not that many academics and fellow writers haven’t attempted to capture that rhythmic, sweat and glitter-drenched disco ball-illuminated utopia. But, staid and stodgy academics that haven’t stepped foot in a club in the past 20 years or maybe ever don’t typically spin captivating tales of after-hours debauchery. Continue reading
“They called it the Terminal Bar but they had no idea that like twenty years later the place’d be filling up with terminal cases.” –Tom Waits, Tom Waits on Tom Waits: Interviews and Encounters (33-34) While our favorite down-and-out drunken troubadour Tom Waits was not actually referring to New York’s bygone glorious and dangerous dive–the Terminal Bar, he … Continue reading
Why hello there, my loyal lovely Filthy Dreams readers! What’s that? What’s this colorfully excessive makeup I have on? Oh well, Mary, I’m wearing it in tribute to Steve Strange, the Blitz Kid and frontman of the New Romantic band Visage who sadly passed away recently. Born in Wales as Steve Harrington, Strange’s first foray into … Continue reading
Why hello there, Mary! Brrrrrrrr! Quick! Come on in and pour yourself a hot toddy. It’s fre-fre-freezing out! Whether you’re wearing 20 layers to walk a block, huddling under the covers or trying desperately to remember what warm feels like, we’ve got the perfect solution to these mid-winter blues: Psykho 3: The Musical. You’ll have such … Continue reading