Posts by Benjamin
A Life Less Ordinary
I’m not sure whether my life is more moving, or that I’m more open to being moved. Either way, I choke up pretty easily these days. A few weeks ago, for example, Abbi and I bought Ethan a grab bag of magic tricks for his sixth birthday. He and Edward sat transfixed, wide-eyed and amazed…
Read MoreMichael Jackson: The Memorial
There’s so much to be said about today’s Michael Jackson Memorial. But the chorus of pundits, critics and sycophants is at fever pitch. Three things, then. It was difficult to take in the once-in-a-lifetime event as a fan or even a regular member of American culture. I was in the back row of the MTV…
Read MoreStrong Island
When I went there, anyway, ninety percent of Syracuse University students were from New Jersey, New York City (“The City,” as they presumptuously called it), or Long Island. Now, by 1989, I’d been to New York City to see a few Broadway plays, which — coming from suburban Philadelphia — meant I’d at least been…
Read MoreThe Hurt Locker
A few months after September 11th, the Department of Homeland Security launched a website called ready.gov. The site’s initial incarnation was ostensibly a series of updated ’50s brochures: what to do in the event of nuclear blast (duck and run), what to do in the event of building collapse (duck), etc. (It’s since been significantly…
Read MoreLife & Death In The Magical Kingdom
I left the office at 7:15 last night. The sun was still casting its golden light across the Hudson. After five days of Michael Jackson coverage, it felt like a half day. I stopped at the grocery store on my way home and, inspired by the sight of fresh limes (on sale, natch), resolved to…
Read MoreBlack Or White – MP3
From the moment the Michael Jackson story broke Thursday night, just one song has been on my mind. I appreciate that most would cite “Beat It,” “Billie Jean,” or “Thriller” as Michael’s finest pop song, and they may well be right; they’re great songs with great hooks. But it’s Jackson’s 1991 “Dangerous” single, “Black or…
Read MoreBreaking The News: Michael Jackson
Sadly, breaking news doesn’t surprises me much anymore. It is immediately what it is. I was in a seventeenth floor corner office overlooking Times Square on a conference call with a blogger from VH1’s Best Week Ever (of all media entities) when I heard the news. “Michael Jackson had a heart attack.” Now, I was…
Read MoreIn A Sea Black With Ink
I tell this story a lot. Way back in 1996, just a few weeks into my Wenner Media tenure, the then-managing editor of Rolling Stone Magazine led an intern Q&A thusly: “I’m 37-years-old, I don’t live in New York, and I don’t go to rock shows or movies. Any questions?” I was floored. Flabbergasted. Agog.…
Read MoreThe Hagley Fireworks (Or, In Consideration Of Teflon, Kevlar & The Apollo Space Program)
All I knew was that Abbi signed us up for “The Fireworks” back home in Wilmington, Delaware, and that the tailgating started early so I had to catch an early train out of the city and wear nice pants. “The Fireworks,” it ends up, are an annual tradition at The Hagley Museum in Greenville, Delaware,…
Read MoreHit Hard
Such is my rock bio jones that, not only was I the only person in the office to grab a copy (an unproofed gally, natch) of Joey Kramer’s “Hit Hard” out of the mailroom, but surely the only to read the Aerosmith drummer’s tale of drug addiction and recovery in a measly 24 hours. Listen,…
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