PW readers: No matter what party or side you reside, you cannot condone civil war or those who lead it.
Nope. Nope. Nope. With that, as we inch closer to January 20’s inception and farther away (please, please) from the violence, sadness, savagery and stupidity of insurrection and impeachable offense, I am reminded of what author/ provocateur William S. Burroughs wrote in “Roosevelt After Inauguration.”
This brief and caustically humorous missive-turned-reed-thin book – one where earth is a spaceship with a lifeboat and its panicked minion astride it – finds the wry, dry Burroughs warning the world of a Supreme Court filled with nothing but “purple ass baboons,” a kingly Franklin Delano Roosevelt acting as the justices’ sole interpreter, and a regal predilection toward “degrading the human race beyond all recognition.” Of this all-consuming hatred, Burroughs’s take on FDR is one of a madman cackling such undemocratic rhetoric such as, “I’ll make these c******** glad to mutate.”
To all of you reading this, do not ever let yourself be mutated by a self-serving and horribly wrongheaded king; Right, Left, Green, Libertarian, Communist or otherwise. I am not a man who usually, favorably, quotes Nancy Pelosi, but to hear her say that the Capitol’s looters chose “their whiteness over democracy” just about nails the rot of their rioting on the head.
Ready to dine out and in?
Oh. As of the day I write this, it looks as if plans are truly moving forward for indoor dining in Philly propahh to re-pop its top, albeit with limited, distanced seating, on January 16. Good. Fine. You know I think it is good and fine, because I have griped, on countless occasions, that the closures of restaurants and live arts, theater and exercise venues in Philly have seemed arbitrary in comparison as to what else the evil axis of Kenney and Wolf have allowed open. But. BUT. A casual perusal of those dining spaces that will, or even can, open indoors in January – to say nothing of those who can’t open due to a lack of profitability with such lockdown seat spacing – at a time when COVID-19 vaccines aren’t being distributed fast enough? Now I’m torn. Philly. Answer me. Are you ready to dine out, and in, yet? There was something inside of me at Christmas that said the mayor and his health director weren’t going to allow the great culinary indoors to re-open until after Valentine’s Day. Now that it’s happening sooner… what do YOU think? If you have an opinion either way, TELL ME. I’ll be seated indoors this weekend, but I’ll have my head stuck waaay outside the nearest window.
Beyond the taco
With that, it looks as if exec chef Roth Perelman and the cooking, curating and event planning team of Catering by Design opened the Bart Simpson-esque (at first glance, c’mon man) DOHO Taqueria on W. Hortter Street in Mt. Airy, serving everything from Chorizo samosas, hot chicken with bread n’ butter pickles and spicy soft pretzels. Maybe that’s why the Do-Ho-ians are going with the tagline, “Beyond the taco.” Atza nize.
New music
Philly R&B diva Jazmine Sullivan just released her first full album since 2015, with “Heaux Tales,” with a new single, featuring H.E.R. (“Girl like Me”) and an ardently audacious cut with Ari Lennox (“On It’) that righteously illustrate the fresh elpee’s esprit au empowerment. I just wanted to drop that in, here, so that you know, and act accordingly.
Uzi’s been busy
For anyone keeping score – or not, I got you – of Philly rapper, rider, graphic artist/author and forward-fashion ‘grammer Lil Uzi Vert since 2021’s start, you know that he’s had to field, and debunk, many social media rumors. One was that he had died. His brand new video for “Drankin N Smokin” (a track from his joint project with Future, “Pluto x Baby Pluto”) directed by DJ ESCO and Sam Lecca, has become the cartoon focus of a Game Boy Color match up, was the subject of Playboi Carti’s “Punk Monk” on the biggest album in America last week (the Number 1 LP, “Whole Lotta Red”), appears on fellow rapper Kid Trunks’ “Universal” single, and has asked Poppa Hunna to remove his verses from the Tik Tok smash, “Adderall (Corvette Corvette)” due to Hunna’s alleged snitching past. That’s 14 days’ worth of productivity that we know about. Yay, Uzi.
Good Buy Supply
Congrats to nearly-marrieds Emily Rodia (the one-time GM of my favorite Old City tippling sippery and antimicrobial sanitizer distributor, Art in the Age) and Philly photographer Jason Rusnock for opening Good Buy Supply on East Passyunk Avenue. The Rodia-Rusnock coupling is all about sustainable, eco-friendly home products such as goat milk bars of soap and lots of bamboo stuff.
Masked Philly: DECOUPLR’s Bailey Walker and Adam Laub
In Icepack’s continuing saga of asking mask-donning local celebrities what they’ve been up to, beyond the pale, during COVID-19’s pandemic, I reached out this week to West Philly’s favorite icily electronic music making couple, singer Bailey Walker and multi-instrumentalist Adam Laub of DECOUPLR.
When I looked in at them between December holidays, they had just dropped their first, anxious and aptly titled single, “Cold Sweat,” while putting the finishing touches on their debut, full-length trip hoppy album, “Digital Bonfire,” which is out in two weeks.
Living and working together as they do, and in quarantine for so long, the twosome – separate and equal – must do their own things when not noodling through moody synth-phonica.
“I’ve been exploring home projects that are sustainability minded,” noted Walker. “Reducing household waste has opened up opportunities to be creative, too, like soap and candle making. Sanitation workers always have a lot on their plates, holding myself accountable by reducing and making eco-friendly choices is a big focus this year.”
As for Laub, an IT manager in his real life, he’s spent much of his quarantine down time advancing his skills with servers.
“I have been setting up a home server stack in my bedroom. It’s quite loud with all the fans running, but quarantine has given me some extra time to learn more about the technology I already work with and set it up in my house.”
The couple that masks together basks together, and both Walker and Laub are on the case, and cool with it. Walker purchased hers from South Street Art Mart (“a magical home to over 100 Philly area artists and makers”) and finds her face mask to be really comfortable. “It fits snug to my nose, which I’m a fan of because I don’t have to readjust it as much,” she said.
Laub, on the other hand, went through a lot of masks before finding a brand called SpaceMask that suited him. “They are a lot more comfortable than other masks I’ve worn, and they are the only mask I have found so far that doesn’t completely fog up my glasses.”
While the couple is both excited by the personal prospects of hugging long unseen friends and “going to a real restaurant, eating and drinking without having to get a takeout container from a delivery driver,” once the masks are “hopefully” no longer needed, they’re currently readying “Digital Bonfire” for February release and are working with the SUPERVOIDtv a visual design team on a new music video for a single they did as DECOUPLR. “We have known the people at SUPERVOID for years and finally getting to work with them on a visual project has been a blast,” said Walker. “They really are amazing at visual art and we are looking forward to sharing this video soon,” said Laub.
