Really, the era ended last year when the club shut down, but with the death of HIlly Kristal, the founder of CBGBs, it has truly come to an end. I have many a fond memory of the club, of bands I saw play there, of hanging out with friends (who were both on and off the stage). This series of pictures was made in the photo booth at CB's in the early 1990s, Julee and I there to see some band, back when I was living in Brooklyn.
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Sigh. I was going to leave it at that. I was. But.... well.... it's the end of the same era, really, in the form of the demise of Leona Helmsley. I saw the death notice and thought about posting something... and then though, nooooo.... I mean, the woman's just died! How can you post anything? Shouldn't speak ill of the dead.
And then. And then. And then they read the will. For the love of god, she left more to her dog (apparently a little biter, no less) than she did to her grandchildren combined. She left two out completely. She gave the dog twelve million dollars. And then told two of her grandchildren "you know what you did." Good gravy.
I remember the Queen of Mean. I remember that "taxes are for the little people." I'd like to think that that kind of spitefulness passed with an era, but... then I see that Paris Hilton is popular for.... I'm not sure what, and she's rich and catty and thinks she's above the, ahem, "little people" and the law and think.... I guess Leona Helmsley's passing doesn't signify the passing of an age so much as the passing of a sad, nutty woman. (Really, I think if you can get to the end of your life and be so angry at 50% of your grandchildren that you leave them out of the will, and so worried that your memory and that of your son will be forgotten by the other 50% that they have to be held financially hostage, well... that strikes me as dysfunctional and incomparably sad. It's like the plot of a Sidney Sheldon book or something.... they have to visit the grave or no dough? $3million for washing her mauseleum? Yowzers.... You know, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that if you hadn't been quite so... ahem.... difficile in life, you wouldn't have to extort remembrance from your grandchildren).