“Everywhere I seem to go on this island seems to me I find degeneracy. There is brawling in bars. There is indecency in public places. And there is the corruption of the young. And now I see it all stems from here—it stems from the FILTH taught here in this very school room!” So spits … Continue reading
Whew! Did I just see a flying car whizz by my window? How long did we sleep? It’s almost like we’re in the future! Give me a cocktail of Soylent Green and Adrenochrome with a spritz of Chemtrail mist–we made it to the 21st century! I don’t know if you’ve noticed, dearest Filthy Dreams readers, … Continue reading
In Michel de Certeau’s The Practice of Everyday Life, Vol. 1, Certeau draws the comparison between city walkers and voyeurs. He writes, “To what erotics of knowledge does the ecstasy of reading such a cosmos belong? Having taken voluptuous pleasure in it, I wonder what is the source of this pleasure…” (92). While here Certeau speaks of gazing at the city from above, his description of an “erotics of knowledge” could also delineate strolling through the sleazy façades of red light districts. Continue reading
As a connoisseur and supporter of nightlife as an important domain for activism and art in the face of judgments of its superficiality and frivolity, I naturally jumped at the chance to dive into Tim Lawrence’s recently published study of New York nightlife Life and Death on the New York Dance Floor, 1980-1983. At 600 pages, … Continue reading
Why, hello there! And a hap-hap Happy Memorial Day to you! Get those flags a-waving and memorials a-going! What’s that? You don’t know what to do with yourself over Memorial Day weekend? Well, grab yourself a cold one, Mary, because me neither! While other people have barbecues or beach vacations to go to, my Memorial Day … Continue reading
In his collection of sleazy and very very queer short stories Tales of Desire, which features stories ranging from the shockingly early Dennis Cooper-esque “Desire and the Black Masseur” and the sublimely titled “The Killer Chicken and the Closet Queen,” Tennessee Williams bravely dives into the power of sleaze as redemption and transcendence in his stories “The Mysteries of the Joy Rio” and my personal favorite “Hard Candy.” Continue reading