Weekend Links Thrill The Masses With Backstage Passes
by Alex Carnevale
James Panero has long been our favorite art critic. He is hilarious, discerning, and unafraid of hurting anyone’s feelings. He studied under Kermit Champa at Brown, among other places. Often he is at his best when he summarizes the entire oeuvre of an artist in a few short paragraphs. Here he is in this month’s New Criterion:
Panero
In 1983, Mark Strand edited The Art of the Real, a landmark survey of “the new realism.” The book leads off with an essay by William Bailey, whose work also appears on the cover. Born in 1930, Bailey has managed to develop a world all his own—a strange place imagined through ordinary elements. Early in his career, he became attracted to painters like Ingres, “who seemed to arrive at mystery through the clarity of their painting.”
Now at Betty Cuningham for a second show at the Chelsea gallery, his recent paintings of crockery and nudes look stranger than ever. Not that they’ve changed in any significant way. In fact their consistency is part of their strangeness. Bailey has been painting the same thing for four decades. We merely grow stranger in relation to it.
In his catalogue essay, Terry Teachout considers the difficulty in classifying Bailey’s art. The artist considers this issue himself in The Art of the Real. He says that he is abstract: “I found that what had happened to me in trying to describe something was more abstract and carried more meaning than when I was simply trying to put something down that merely looked abstract.” He says that he is figurative: “A realist would insist upon a contemporary context and meaning, whereas for me they have a metaphorical existance. That’s why I prefer the term figurative in describing my work.” He then concludes that he is “an avant-garde painter … finding values that [are] leading the way to something else.” Wherever “something else” may be, it is a strange and beautiful place.
Panero on the MOMA.
Panero on New York fairs.
Christo or Kinkade? (Armavirumque)
Panero on erotic prudery.
Panero hearts Williamsburg.
Panero discusses the work of Robert Storr.
portrait of Robert Storr by Philip Pearlstein
Panero & Egypt.
Hating on Gore Vidal, Panero-style.
Also at the New Criterion, Jacques Barzun at 100. They’re also doing a twenty year retrospective on Allan Bloom’s The Closing of the American Mind, but we’re going to write about that at length this week.
Selling breast milk, two bucks an ounce.
My Life is a Stereo went to see Feist.
SONGS TO ENJOIE THE CHANGING OF THE SEASONS
“Onions” — Heartless Bastards (mp3)
“The Best At Being Lonely” — Admiral Twin (mp3)
Admiral Twin is straight outta Tulsa.
“A New England” — Billy Bragg (mp3)
“Shake a Fist (vinyl rip)” — Hot Chip (mp3)
ill halloween costume
MORE LINKS AND DRINKS
Genius post on craigslist:
I’m completely unable to reconcile the differences between men and women. It seems like success with women is equal to spending half of your life working to create a giant illusion, something vastly tiring and annoying, while sacrificing your own true self and your own interests. We construct our lives around nest-building. We’re like male birds building nests and showing them off to attract mates. It’s pathetic. Everything we do is to get women. It is a fucking shit deal.
Someone needs to invent a drug which has no hormonal imbalance side-effects but is able to erase a man’s sex drive and attraction to women. It would increase productivity rates to incredible heights. I’d be free and happy. I’d feel complete. I’d be able to concentrate on my biochemistry studying.
Lulz.
Hollywood tries to fuck over the writers.
I’m getting a little bored of Michael Lewis discussing things he has no idea about.
Staten Island cops take hilarious to a whole new level:
Officers Richard Danese and Thomas Elliassen caught high school freshman Rayshawn Moreno throwing eggs at cars on Halloween and decided to mete out their own punishment, police said.
The 120th Precinct cops packed Rayshawn into their squad car, drove him 2 miles into a neighboring precinct and left him in a desolate area, authorities said.
The boy’s dad, James Hazel, told the Daily News Thursday that the cops had stripped off the teen’s clothes, leaving him in only boxer shorts and socks.
The cops later told supervisors they were only trying to scare the youth and turned around and drove back to find him minutes after dropping him off.
But the Port Richmond High School student already had walked to a nearby strip mall and asked a security guard to call his parents for help.
The two cops, both 28 and on the force for three years, were charged with endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree unlawful imprisonment, both misdemeanors, authorities said.
The new J.J. Abrams movie gets a title?
Come on, calling John McWhorter an Uncle Tom is just wrong.
Patriots could care less about what they do to their markedly inferior opponents.
In the downright dumbest thing I have ever heard Random House will refund people who feel that because James Frey lied, they no longer wanted to own their copy of A Million Little Pieces.
Eric Clapton reveals what a tremendous douchebag he is in his new memoirs, excerpted in Vanity Fair:
Within a few days, I realized that something had happened for me. An atheist would probably say it was just a change of attitude, and to a certain extent that’s true, but there was much more to it than that. I had found a place to turn to, a place I’d always known was there but never really wanted, or needed, to believe in. From that day until this, I have never failed to pray in the morning, on my knees, asking for help, and at night, to express gratitude for my life and, most of all, for my sobriety. I choose to kneel because I feel I need to humble myself when I pray, and, with my ego, this is the most I can do.
Obscure Sound checks out the new release from The Tough Alliance. (Obscure Sound)
Largehearted Boy’s Daily Downloads continue to thrill us.
Sean hates Kate Tucker.
Sweet covers for Saturday.
The Music Slut brings you to the BQE. In other Music Slut news, this interview with her is worth checking out. Whatta babe.
Top track from Tokyo Police Club.
At Housing Works a week from Monday:
Best Music Writing 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007 at 7:00 PM
The contributors to DaCapo’s Best Music Writing 2007 convene at the bookstore for two panels about music writing, introduced by Robert Christgau and moderated by Daphne Carr. With Daphne Brooks, Chris Ryan, Elisabeth Vincentelli, Jody Rosen, Sasha Frere-Jones, Jessica Hopper, David Kastin, Nitsuh Abebe, Arye Dworkin, Will Hermes and Rob Harvilla. Followed by Q&A and signing.
When you realize Sarah Silverman is 36, this interview gets a lot less funny:
You once said, “I love boring cock.” You were obviously referring to Jimmy Kimmel.
You just changed the entire context of that quote, you motherfucker! I will explain. This girl came up to me one night after a performance and she basically propositioned me, lesbianically. I wish I were cool enough to have lesbian sex, but I just like boring cock. That was the context. You motherfucker.
What must that look like, by the way? Jimmy Kimmel’s penis?
Home. It looks like home.
Kimmel with penis (right)
Is Russia our enemy?
Spunky twin won’t die.
Business news just got fun:
Ms Whitney, a CIBC analyst who is married to the former World Wrestling Entertainment champion Death Mask, prompted a near 7 per cent drop in Citigroup’s shares on Thursday, after suggesting that the bank needed to raise more than $30 billion to restore its capital cushion.
For the record, I don’t remember Bradshaw ever going by Death Mask.
Kevin Garnett at home in Boston.
Peggy Noonan on Hillary, it is her favorite subject after all.
Kylie Minogue makes us feel, oh, I don’t know, awesome.
Britney’s big spending, if you haven’t seen it yet.
BLOGS FOR FOOLS, ROMANTICS, AND CRUSHBONERS
The Field Negro hilariouses us.
We are Mostly Certain we love everything about Monica.
PREVIOUSLY ON THIS RECORDING
I was guilty of love once, but never again.
It was an open window.
It’s never good to troll Craigslist when depressed.
This Recording 
no comments? C’mon interwebs!
Hate is a strong word, especially when referring to my feelings about Kate Tucker’s debut. I very much like Kate and her music…I just wish more of her was left after the production of the album. In fact, I’m hoping that she goes on tour near me so I can really hear her voice for the beauty I think is somewhat hidden on the album.
I love Jimmy Kimmel. I used to listen to him do his Karl Malone impression on Kevin & Bean on KROQ every morning on the way to school.
oh and you left out the best part of that CL post:
“A woman basically is a greedy materialistic prostitute. Although that sounds vulgar, it’s true. She trades her physical self to buy into the success a man has created for himself. ” Also I don’t know what he’s on but the purely physical appearance is consequential to a lot of superficial betches like me. Yaddaddamean?
Great Admiral Twin song in your seasonal list. Interesting that the depiction of reckless abandon featured in your top banner appears to be similar to the Dore engraving in their Center of The Universe artwork. Apparently you are both interested in events of biblical proportions.
btw, my favorite Admiral Twin song for eating the closeout Halloween candy specials is Good As Gold. It’s so sweeeeeeet.
Eric Clapton is a tremendous douchebag, but I will defend the songs “Bell Bottom Blues” and “Let it Grow” all the way to my grave. Things might have turned out that I would do the same for Layla if I hadn’t heard it ten zillion times too many.