defend the indefensible: new jersey

Anyone been bearhunting?

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/12/06/nyregion/06bear.large1.jpg

I plan on heading over to New Brunswick to check out the Rutgers campus. Anybody have suggestions of cool things to see in NB?

1) The Court Tavern is a great shitty place to see great shitty bands.

2) Basement shows are always fun.

3) Do yourself a favor and eat at Efes on Easton Ave.

4) Do your arteries a disservice and get a grease truck sandwich.

5) There's actually a neat little historic colonial house that I think you can tour on Sundays -- it's on Easton Ave in Bucheluch Park.

http://www.pinkchampagnemotel.net/

anyway: what are the most wonderful towns of nj?

Pizza World!
Van Saun Park (as a kid)
Van Saun Park (w/ girlfriend as teenager)
Jobs at the Mall (Garden State/Willowbrook/Paramus Park)

Dan - Cafe Soundz! Whoa. My friend Myke Hideous worked next door at Tu Tone and I'd stop by for a chat then head over to CS. Crazy.

Grease Trucks! Easton Ave. had/has a Mexican place that made great deep fried tacos. Though I wouldn't consider eating one of those nowadays.

Planet X still there? Spike, the owner, was a good guy.

PLUS I know that Rwood residents start claiming curb space for the 4th of July parade a WHOLE DAY before the event, and the sight of well fed, well kept, perfectly capable people jockeying to set up their folding chairs a little closer than their neighbors...the poverty of spirit just brings me down.

I grew up in Red Bank/Long Branch, and there's not enough Monmouth County love on this thread - Jack's Music Shop, Brighton Bar, Monster Magnet, Kevin Smith, etc.

I also lived for years in the Pine Barrens area - scary fucking place. One town I lived in had no garbage pickup and no mail delivery.

A funny thing about NJ is that the border of South Jersey is relative to where you live. If you live in Jersey City, anything below Perth Amboy is South Jersey. If you live in Monmouth County, South Jersey is anything below Toms River. If you live in Cape May, anything below the Mullica River is South Jersey.

Damnit, a grease truck gyro and a Snapple sounds AWESOME. No grease trucks in LA.

http://www.roadsidepeek.com/rpeekeast/moteleast/wildwoodmotel/edenrocwildnj.jpg

chrisquartztelecom and i stayed at the starlux a few new yearses ago:

http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/studentwork/cns/2002-06-10/images/wildwoodweb.jpg

it was the only wildwood hotel that was actually operating in the winter season. eerie, but in a really cool way. the boardwalk was DEAD.

this is the second summer running that i haven't made it out to the boardwalk (a term which usually signifies seaside heights, for me - trashcan that it is, i still have a lot of affection for it)

http://www.landingnewjersey.com/bertrand.htm

These guys remind me of fairly typical Jersey white kids: argumentative, profanity-loving, race-conscious, with an almost hyperactive respect for psychotic violence.

This wednesday, Glenn Mercer, co-lead guitarist/singer/songwriter of the Feelies will be performing a solo set with Wild Carnation opening up. Wild Carnation features Brenda Sauter, who was the bass player for the Feelies in the 80s as well as Speed the Plough and the beautiful and amazing Trypes. Meanwhile, Glenn is backed by a few of the Feelies original percussionists, Vinny DeNunzio and Dave Weckerman, the later we love for his early 80s DIY single Shore Leave and his Feelies spin-off Yung Wu.

It's hard to sum up their history...the Feelies began in the early/mid 70s in New Jersey with a more angsty, more aggressive Modern Lovers sound. They played CBGB's with all the NYC punk greats and over the years refined and re-defined their sound, so by the time their first record, Crazy Rhythms, was released in 1980, they were able to present something unique. The closest comparison might be the Talking Heads, but the Feelies focused more on rhythm and a Velvet Underground meets Krautrock experimentation. Through the 80s, the Feelies would release 3 more albums, sometimes veering towards a more subtle, folksy, yet no less angsty sound that was even more beautiful. In the meantime, there were countless line-up changes, spin-off bands, pseudonym bands, all quite wonderful.

Here's a clip of the Feelies performing Crazy Rhythms at CBs in the 70s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ammeQSyUF00

Here they are 10 or so years later on David Letterman:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vddceSol5k

Here's a great Feelies website:
http://www.geocities.com/thefeeliesweb/

Glenn's myspace page for his new solo project:
http://www.myspace.com/glennmercer

and the Wild Carnation page:
http://www.myspace.com/wildcarnation

You can hear Glenn's great new songs at his myspace page, and hear what has always been true, that through the years, Glenn's songwriting and playing has consistently been wonderful and consistently been his. You can not mistake these songs for anything other then yet more wonderful stuff from one of the guys behind the Feelies.

The line-up that's playing at Maxwell's wedneday played an outdoor festival in Hoboken a few months ago that's all over youtube and along with the new material they played some Feelies classics and some classics the Feelies have been known to cover, so maybe we'll get some oldies wednesday.

Maxwells is the famous club in Hoboken NJ best known for being where The Boss's "Glory Days" video was shot. It's also been the home to many legendary Feelies and Yo La Tengo shows.

http://www.maxwellsnj.com/
1039 Washington Street
Hoboken NJ
201-653-1703

Wed. 9/6
Glenn Mercer
Wild Carnation

8:30 pm
8$

see you there,

Dan

i have never been to ridgewood, sorry. and i've lived in north jersey for almost 8 years now.

-- Jay Vee's Return (milkis...), August 29th, 2006.

Hmm, I wonder if you're talking about the (now defunct) Hungry Eye, which was in fact run by a Greek couple, although you could certainly think they were Middle Eastern. I never had baklava or mint tea there, but they generally tended to make special things not on the regular grease truck menu. They also put up literary quotes all over their truck - I think they had been English teachers. Really nice folks - I was sorry to see them go.