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Sunshower
The clouds are purple above the white-capped Hudson. The rushes along the river are bright green. I’ve been running for over an hour, through driving rain and wind, Central Park, Morningside Heights, and Riverside Park. And I feel like I could keep running forever. I hope for one more downpour. I love the sound. It…
Read MoreRandom Notes: Danny Glover, Candice Bergen, More
It’s Friday night. It’s rainy. The forecast? Rain. I’m on my third Grolsch, waiting for Fresh Direct, posting random notes. I rehearsed, somewhat reluctantly (I was tired, waaah), with Cockfight last night. We arranged a few tunes, including “Intoxicated Avenger,” amongst other titles I now forget, and are sure to perform before summer’s end. Think…
Read MoreOut Of My Head
More than one of the new kids at work has said to me recently, ‘I didn’t know you were a musician!’ So apparently at least a few people are wondering what’s going on with my singer/songwriter career. Well, I’ve been listening to the new Fountains of Wayne record, ‘Welcome Interstate Managers,’ a ton. It’s genius…
Read MoreFinally, My Fifteen Minutes
31-years-old, fifteen years of performing, eight years in New York City, and finally, I get my fifteen minutes. Well, my 45 seconds, anyway. I wake up early. It’s only 5 a.m., so I go back to sleep. I fall deep, deep into a dream where I’m a front-seat passenger in a Humvee barreling down a…
Read MoreNote To Self
We had the penthouse at the Soho Grand. With the patio. The DJ was spinning. The bar was open. The wind was blowing. Mist was rising off the Empire State. It was just starting to happen. Then came the lightening, and the nickel-sized rain drops. The entire MTV News & Docs department scurried indoors into…
Read MoreBegining The World: Ethan Baruch Wagner
I fell asleep watching TV in the waiting room of the Elizabeth Seton Birthing Center on 14th Street, but woke suddenly when Christofer burst in and announced emphatically, “It’s a boy!” My nephew, Ethan Baruch Wagner, began the world at 12:38 a.m. ET on Tuesday, June 10th, 2003. When Chris carried him out for Jen’s…
Read MoreSerendipity (Or, Bumping Into A Rockette)
What constitutes coincidence? By what device, and to what end, does serendipity factor into our lives? I’ve been wrestling with a spate of last-minute productions despite a mostly non-breaking news environment at the MTV of late. Primarily, it has to do with planning, scheduling, coordination — the kind of thing MTVers loath (but I love).…
Read MoreGentrification
I’m not one to worry about gentrification. In fact, I’ve enjoyed seeing my little Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood grow over the last eight years. But it might just be getting a little scary around here with all these luxery apartments and skyscrapers going up. It’s not the height or the extra people, it’s the “luxury” and…
Read MoreMy Reckoning
A few random notes (before I leave the office and go for a bike ride along the river): “Their Reckoning” [LA Times]: REM, my favorite band of all time, is back in the studio, and back on the road. I’m not psyched that they’re going the greatest hits route (it’s the kind of thing they…
Read MoreAll Summer In A Day
In 1979 or so, I saw a movie in Mrs. Purcell’s third grade English class called “All Summer In A Day”. The story took place on Venus where it rained all day, every day, except for one fifteen minute window every year when the sun came out. That’s what it feels like in New York…
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