Profiles

By Any Other Name

Writer seeks pen name: something simple, nothing dippy, and preferably one that avoids implying a lawyer who savors puns. In two thousand words, MIKE SMITH becomes someone new. (Profiles | November 17, 2009)

Beer and Loathing

For agents and publishers, the Frankfurt Book Fair is publishing’s biggest event: part conclave, mostly marathon, and all business. It is absolutely no place for an aspiring author, as CONOR DILLON discovers. (Profiles | October 22, 2009)

Same as It Ever Was

Ten years ago, an anonymous screed sparked a firestorm amongst music critics and rock nerds. DANIEL NESTER follows up with the targets of the Rock Critical List and reassesses the finger pointing. (Profiles | October 20, 2009)

DJ Premier: Hope to the Underground

The turntablist now known as DJ Premier got help at critical moments in his rise from a piano-playing childhood in Houston, and these days he’s looking to spread the love. PATRICK AMBROSE reports. (Profiles | September 11, 2009)

Pieces of the World

For people who lived near the World Trade Center, 9/11 can still be traced to debris that lingers around the neighborhood. PITCHAYA SUDBANTHAD maps what the tourists don’t see. (Profiles | September 1, 2009)

When the Going Was Good

British elites have been caught using public money to clean their moats, and a nation seethes. GILES TURNBULL offers a primer on Parliament and the latest controversy sweeping Great Britain. (Letters From London | May 14, 2009)

Tattooed Drunk Diamond-Dusted Kentucky Derby Fan

Churchill Downs is like no other sports event, considering sports are barely involved. EMILY BADGER attended her first Derby last year with a family of committed fans and survived to tell the tale. (Profiles | April 30, 2009)

Handel Reborn

Beethoven said Handel was the greatest who ever composed—so why do we only seek him out at holidays? DENNIS MAHONEY marks the 250th anniversary of Handel’s death with a guide to all the life in his music. (Profiles | April 14, 2009)

Gogol’s Portraits

Though his hair frequently resembled mid-’70s Rob Reiner, his gaze was more erratic. On the occasion of Gogol’s 200th birthday, ELIZABETH KIEM tracks the evolution of his visage. (Profiles | April 1, 2009)

One Spring Day

As winter wanes, everyone grows tired of the cold and damp, whether they live in San Francisco, Austin, or London. A day in the life of TMN’S EDITORS & WRITERS on the first day of spring. (Profiles | March 23, 2009)

Bangkok Anew

Bangkok’s image as a city for sex, knife fights, and cobras is burnished to a shine. Going home, PITCHAYA SUDBANTHAD finds some of that, but mostly it’s ghosts he runs into—real ones—and they’re not quiet. (Profiles | December 10, 2008)

Iggy Pop Lusts for Life

More than four decades into his career as a rock mentor, Iggy Pop chats with PATRICK AMBROSE about getting back with the Stooges and finding a daily rhythm that suits him. (Profiles | November 26, 2008)

I Will Sing When You’re All Dead

Professional opera singer, mountain climber, race car driver, and Vladimir Nabokov’s best translator and collaborator, Dmitri Nabokov has led an impassioned life. MATT EVANS offers an impassioned profile. (Profiles | November 19, 2008)

Mr. Bowyer’s Fantastic Machine

Lots of machines can manufacture things. What about one that could produce everything, including itself? GILES TURNBULL visits the man who taught a machine to replicate. (Profiles | November 12, 2008)

Henry Rollins and the Emergence of Hardcore

Early hardcore was characterized by frontmen like Black Flag’s Henry Rollins, who had the perseverance and genius to rise above convention. But as Rollins tells PATRICK AMBROSE, change is less an event than a lifelong process. (Profiles | October 21, 2008)

Giant in the House

Parents can seem larger in life to their children, but some truly are giants. SARAH WAGNER YOST recounts the death of her stepfather, for whom nothing was easier by being freakishly big. (Profiles | October 2, 2008)

Frames Consigned

Parents love to appear unannounced on a grown child’s doorstep. Rarely, though, do they ship 12 cartons of belongings to precede them. EMILY FREEMAN reports on an unexpected delivery. (Profiles | August 6, 2008)

Takin’ Care of Jesus

There’s a movement afoot to rewrite rock’s best songs with Christian lyrics, and you haven’t heard about it. Enter the world of “parodeities,” and join DANIEL NESTER in learning some deuteronomy. (Profiles | July 2, 2008)

Emails From My Father

Emails have about as much room for nuance as Post-It notes, and less staying power. But sometimes they’re pure poetry. NICOLE CLIFFE shares a collection of correspondence from her father. (Profiles | June 11, 2008)

Jello Biafra and the Politics of Punk

Having spent a quarter-century pushing Americans to face the music, the former Dead Kennedys vocalist sits down to tell PATRICK AMBROSE his thoughts on Obama, political parties, and participatory democracy. (Profiles | June 6, 2008)

Stomp and a Wink

The worlds of professional wrestling and contemporary fiction aren’t so far apart. GREGORY RUEHLMANN immerses himself in the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Federation, to the point of being flung across the ring. (Profiles | April 3, 2008)

Deified and Demagogued

Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, passed away this week. Gaming enthusiast MATTHEW BALDWIN remembers how the discovery of a game opened a new world of imagination and fun. (Profiles | March 7, 2008)

Hail Ira

Rosemary’s Baby author Ira Levin died this week—and it wasn’t a lousy book review that killed him. KEVIN GUILFOILE addresses the writer’s posthumous criticism. (Profiles | November 15, 2007)

Dianne Reeves

She started singing jazz in junior high school but nowadays Dianne Reeves draws a more refined audience. PATRICK AMBROSE talks with her about meeting a legend, experimenting with styles, and finding her own voice. (Profiles | November 13, 2007)

Our Champion

When the New York Times architecture critic Herbert Muschamp died recently from lung cancer, America lost one of its most riveting writers—one the best critics we’ve ever had, contends CLAY RISEN, and quite possibly among the worst. (Profiles | November 8, 2007)

Murder and the Masseuse

Many of us imagine killing our bosses; some people actually take it a little further. GILES TURNBULL meets a woman who got into the massage business to avoid a homicide rap. (Profiles | October 9, 2007)

What It Means to Miss New Orleans

The accuracy of Fox’s new police drama K-Ville can only be known by the cops working in post-Katrina New Orleans. SARAH HEPOLA interviews Police Lieutenant Bryant Wininger, who explains where the real drama still is, free of storylines and plot twists. (Profiles | October 4, 2007)

One Day on the Internet

In a world that revolves around email addresses and instant messages, much human interaction comes in bits and bytes. THE STAFF spends a day keeping track of their keystrokes around the globe. (Profiles | September 26, 2007)

Web Noir

When writing for online magazines, crime doesn’t always pay—but it can earn you a fashionable T-shirt. MATTHEW BALDWIN investigates the current era of crime fiction on the web and the magazines that are making new voices heard. (Profiles | July 19, 2007)

Ozymandias’s Washington

Though the U.S. capital is home to scores of memorials, just a handful of them command the attention of most visitors. CLAY RISEN takes a tour of Washington’s other monuments. (Profiles | July 16, 2007)

Cassandra Wilson, Impromptu

For singer Cassandra Wilson, some of the best music is composed on the fly, and if the entire performance is last-minute, so much the better. PATRICK AMBROSE watches it all come together. (Profiles | July 3, 2007)

Jazz Lessons With James “Blood” Ulmer

Growing up in a family that requires Saturday night recitals is a crash course in how to please a crowd. PATRICK AMBROSE talks with guitarist James “Blood” Ulmer about a lifetime of commanding performances. (Profiles | June 11, 2007)

Yolkin

You’ve read much about Boris Yeltsin’s legacy this week. His biggest may be the mean little man in the Kremlin who’s the butt of few jokes, writes ELIZABETH KIEM. (Profiles | April 25, 2007)

Cecil Taylor Explains It All

Pianist Cecil Taylor stormed onto the New York City club scene in the 1950s, shaking the foundations of modern music with what would become known as free jazz. PATRICK AMBROSE has a cup of tea with the master. (Profiles | April 10, 2007)

Renaissance Clan

Spring approaches and soon we’ll have apple pies, baseball, and that other great American tradition: Renaissance Fairs. RICHARD BUTNER has the view from the performers’ perspective, where all the doubloons in Stratford won’t fix your carburetor. (Profiles | April 5, 2007)

Bringing It All Back Home

When the St. Louis Cardinals’ former stadium was demolished, fans rushed to pick up pieces from the ballpark where their memories were made. MATTHEW SUMMERS-SPARKS finds out what they bought, and what it means to them. (Profiles | April 3, 2007)

Sigrid Nunez

Sigrid Nunez wanted to be a dancer, and lucky for her readers, that didn’t work out as planned. Nevertheless capable of some deft footwork, she explains to our man in Boston how the two pastimes are similar. (Birnbaum v. | March 29, 2007)

The Strange Case of Harmen Meyndertsz van den Bogaert, Part Two

When he arrived in Manhattan in 1630, Harmen Meyndertsz van den Bogaert had a promising future. But cannibalism, sodomy, and a pet bear (not for sale) forever changed his life, and legacy. The second of a two-part series from TOBIAS SEAMON. (Profiles | March 27, 2007)

The Strange Case of Harmen Meyndertsz van den Bogaert

When he arrived in Manhattan in 1630, Harmen Meyndertsz van den Bogaert had a promising future. But cannibalism, sodomy, and a pet bear (not for sale) forever changed his life, and legacy. The first of a two-part series from TOBIAS SEAMON. (Profiles | March 20, 2007)

Moody’s Mood for Bop

Jazz saxophone legend James Moody talks with PATRICK AMBROSE about how racism shaped his early career, what a “hot flute” can do for a repertoire, and encouraging budding musicians. (Profiles | February 14, 2007)

This Is Not a Eulogy

This is an appreciation. Our friend, writer, editor, and teacher LESLIE HARPOLD recently died. A memorial for a woman who was difficult to describe—and who couldn’t stand sentimental bullshit. (Profiles | December 18, 2006)

Around the City With Eliane Elias

Experienced musicians sometimes find it tempting to stick with already-established styles in their later albums. Jazz pianist Eliane Elias talks with PATRICK AMBROSE about breaking the mold. (Profiles | November 27, 2006)

The New Boss of Bossa Nova

Bossa nova was developed more than 40 years ago in Brazil, but one of its most lively contributors is working today in Brooklyn. PATRICK AMBROSE chats with Vinicius Cantuária about his music, how it’s changed, and what inspires him. (Profiles | October 12, 2006)

Ipswich Rock City

Somewhere between the pub stage and the capacity-filled stadium is Ipswich, home to one of Britain’s most overlooked music scenes. Though, LOUIS GODDARD figures, why anyone would want to look there in the first place is anybody’s guess. (Profiles | September 18, 2006)

Drumroll Please

A million-plus viewers will tune tonight to watch costumed young people dance with fake weapons and play bugle—and that’s just the fans already in the know. America, you live in a drum corps world, you just don’t know it yet. EVANY THOMAS writes. (Profiles | September 5, 2006)

Ahí Vamos: The Rock of Gustavo Cerati

Argentina’s Soda Stereo may have lost its pop about 10 years ago, but since then guitarist Gustavo Cerati has proved his skills as a soloist many times over, leaving an indelible mark on rock en español. A conversation with PATRICK AMBROSE. (Profiles | August 28, 2006)

The House of Truth

Washington’s DuPont Circle may now be a posh address for lawyers and diplomats—and 4,000 Starbucks outlets—but it was once a bohemian hotseat for intellectuals. CLAY RISEN looks at the city’s lost house of liberal revolution. (Profiles | July 19, 2006)

Divino, Maravilhoso: The Splendor of Gal Costa

After 40 years in music, how’s a singer keep things interesting? PATRICK AMBROSE chats with Brazil’s treasure, Gal Costa, about how things change, and how they stay the same. (Profiles | July 12, 2006)

Here Is 47th Street

New York City’s diamond district is a zone of secret laws, hidden shops, and real-estate chicanery. PAM WIDENER watches as one-block buff and guide Stephen Kilnisan pulls back the curtain. (New York, New York | June 22, 2006)

The Weathermen

Why are so many news shows so dully casted—except for the flamboyantly named superhero in front of the blue screen? CLAY RISEN reviews the top 10 best-named weathermen currently rescuing the news. (Op-Ed | May 30, 2006)

Ferry Tale

The best realtors have personality, professionalism, and drive—Mike Ferry’s One-on-One training seminar is where they get it. MATT EVANS undergoes three days of ego crushing, dream building, and chasing the world’s greatest real-estate agent, Froy Cadelario. (Profiles | May 23, 2006)

Bend Me, Shape Me

Producing music from printers, hacking Speak ‘n’ Spells for backing vocals—it’s not trendy garage band style, but then, it’s not exactly rock and roll. LOUIS GODDARD looks into the engrossing world of circuit bending. (Profiles | May 10, 2006)

While He Flatters He Bites

The New World was filled with many threats, dangers, and unseen evil—all of which sailed over in the form of one man: Cornelis Van Tienhoven, the bad sheriff of New Amsterdam. TOBIAS SEAMON writes. (Profiles | March 14, 2006)

Big in Finland

Conan O’Brien’s recent comedy bits about Finland earned him that country’s adulation; his trip there for a one-hour special—airing tonight—sealed the deal. What the unlikely matchup means for SARAH HEPOLA, and what it says about family. (Profiles | March 10, 2006)

Andres Levin’s Musical Playground

When musician and producer Andres Levin plays with sound, he doesn’t only create music, he fuses cultures. PATRICK AMBROSE interviews a man whose schedule you wouldn’t want. (Profiles | March 3, 2006)

Bill Laswell’s Method of Defiance

Acclaimed bassist Bill Laswell has his own way of making music, and these days it involves some serious drum and bass. One performance, and a life’s work. PATRICK AMBROSE writes. (Profiles | December 20, 2005)

A Path of Destruction

Since 1980, the Shining Path guerrillas in Peru have been responsible for over 30,000 deaths. So why, now that the organization is effectively dismantled, are the seeds for revolution still being planted? (Profiles | November 17, 2005)

Fame!

It’s one thing to be Mario Lopez and have a single claim to the history books, but it’s quite another to distinguish your celebrity with a striking, but unrecognized achievement. Clay Risen takes a look at three famous men, not necessarily known for inventing chewing gum or cornering the pencil market. (Personalities | April 11, 2005)

Rum Diary

Watching Hunter Thompson watch himself on Charlie Rose, when neither Thompson is comprehensible, can be difficult to follow. Paris Review senior editor Oliver Broudy offers a memorial, remembering a party when Thompson held court. (Personalities | February 24, 2005)

Your Books and Neighbors

A used-book store stocks its customers’ tastes and perversions, and then sells them to their neighbors. Pitchaya Sudbanthad profiles a Brooklyn shop long after New York’s Book Row heyday and finds an industry struggling to survive against Amazon but providing a service computers can’t beat. (New York, New York | January 25, 2005)

Revolution Rock

If rock music used to have a message, then rarely was that message stronger than for South American revolutionaries, for whom it was a significant part of the struggle. Patrick Ambrose traces a history of social uprising, and explains how the music helped fuel it. (Personalities | December 13, 2004)

Forever Changing

Arthur Lee—songwriter, social critic, and leader of ’60s rock band Love—is finally back after an extended absence. Patrick Ambrose witnesses Lee and his newly re-formed band play their classic album, Forever Changes, in concert and talks to him about what it meant then and still means today. (Personalities | October 21, 2004)

Barking At The Gate

The White House Correspondents Association dinner is D.C.’s biggest night—politicos mix with editors mix with celebrities, all very realalcoholik. But, as Washington’s Clay Risen writes, it’s also among the lowest points of journalism. (Opinions | May 5, 2004)

Swimming

Spalding Gray’s body was identified this past Monday, having been pulled from the East River after he committed suicide. Pitchaya Sudbanthad remembers the actor and monologuist. (Personalities | March 12, 2004)

The Love That We Came to Know

Love! Romance! Roller skates! Xanadu actor Michael Beck comes to town, and SARAH HEPOLA reflects on what the movie meant to an entire generation of little girls (and boys) who wanted to be Olivia Newton-John. (Personalities | November 3, 2003)

Strangers in the Night

Since the great Columbia University scandal of 1984, paranormal investigations have had a bad rap in the United States, at least on the East coast. Seattle writer Matthew Baldwin joins up with A.G.H.O.S.T. for a night of spirit seeking. (Personalities | October 30, 2003)

One Hit Wonder

Forty-five years ago this Sunday, Chuck Lindstrom got his first hit in his first major-league baseball game. He didn’t know that it would be his last of each. DAVE REIDY with an interview. (Personalities | September 26, 2003)

A Good Day To Be Alive

A conversation about life as a wino, the effects of war, heroin, Shiner, marriage and pornography, horseplay and jail, and the amount of muscles it takes to frown, between William and Sarah Hepola. (Personalities | March 27, 2003)

What Lies Beneath

New York and Washington have their differences, but the greatest disparity (at least to someone who just moved from Manhattan) is in their subway systems. Clay Risen reports from beneath two cities. (Opinions | February 25, 2003)

Designer Kidnappings

New York has a service for every customer, even those who want to be kidnapped. CRISSA-JEAN CHAPPELL talks to Brock Enright, kidnapping-artist with a degree from Columbia, whose company will force you to face your worst fears, gag in place. (Personalities | January 21, 2003)

Joe Mitchell’s Secret

Considered the best profile writer New York’s ever seen, Joseph Mitchell’s influence is unfortunately on the wane. Clay Risen on why today’s prose-makers have lost their way. (Personalities | January 7, 2003)

To the Teen Beat of His Own Drummer

Maybe all you know him as is ‘the other one’ from Weird Science, but SARAH HEPOLA interviewed Ilan Mitchell-Smith and bunked popular expectation by meeting a former-actor turned real-human-being (and Ph.D. candidate, no less). (Personalities | December 3, 2002)

It’s Not Easy Being Green

Sometimes the best person for the job actually gets it. With a good friend running for political office in Maine, SARAH HEPOLA hits the campaign trail. (Personalities | November 13, 2002)

It’s a Grave Undertaking

Pun-master and self-described ‘hauntrepreneur,’ Doug Antreassian offers a unique service in Salem, Mass.: a hearse-driven tour of the town describing past crimes and present. DAWN EDEN reports from spook-central. (Personalities | October 30, 2002)

The Macca Attack

The ‘cute Beatle’ has long been loved by many, but his tallied transgressions have dropped him out of some people’s favor. CLAIRE ZULKEY finds a new favorite Beatle. (Personalities | October 24, 2002)

Credit in the Straight World

In bad economic times, it’s hard to be picky about your job. Ex-Screw editor Ivan Lerner is still writing, though now about petroleum, not porn. COLIN BRAYTON reports. (Personalities | September 17, 2002)

Local Not-Spots

You have to exit the highway to see the sights. Sometimes you have to venture down even less-traveled roads to find the real stories. Oliver Griswold tells the tales of Yachats, Oregon, and Woody Creek, Colorado. (Stories | September 3, 2002)

Joseph Zoettl’s Grotto

The American South has many strange places to visit, though most towns don’t have their own Hanging Gardens of Babylon, complete with plastic elephants. Clay Risen reports on an odd attraction, built by a fascinating man. (Personalities | August 14, 2002)

Who’s Lee Hazlewood?

He’s truly one of the most influential and innovative figures in modern music. He’s been around a long time and left for dead more than once. And now he’s back. DAVID WILLEMS traces a life in music. (Personalities | July 24, 2002)

The All-Bastard Athletic Club

Meet the Bastards: a collection of the meanest baseball players who ever lived. TOBIAS SEAMON reports from the bench and ducks whenever a stray bat is flung at his head. (Personalities | June 10, 2002)

Saturday, November 21, 2009

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