David Peel WELCOME

David Peel

The King of Street Rock · 1942–2017

The street is the real venue.

I WAS THERE WHEN THEY FREED JOHN SINCLAIR AUDIO
Post #519

I WAS THERE WHEN THEY FREED JOHN SINCLAIR

December 10, 1971. Fifteen thousand people in a... MORE

 The Rooftop AUDIO
Post #518

The Rooftop

The rooftop was the only place on the Lower East Side... MORE

 The Mailbox AUDIO
Post #517

The Mailbox

The mailbox on the corner was a blue steel monument to... MORE

 The Laundromat AUDIO
Post #516

The Laundromat

The laundromat was the living room of the neighborhood. MORE

 The Handball Wall AUDIO
Post #515

The Handball Wall

The handball wall was the only wall on the Lower East... MORE

 The Fire Truck AUDIO
Post #514

The Fire Truck

The fire truck did not ask for permission to be the... MORE

 The Dollar Van AUDIO
Post #513

The Dollar Van

The dollar van was public transportation that the... MORE

 The Bodega Coffee AUDIO
Post #512

The Bodega Coffee

The bodega coffee cost seventy-five cents and tasted... MORE

 Graffiti AUDIO
Post #511

Graffiti

Graffiti was the newspaper of people who did not own a... MORE

 The Window Fan AUDIO
Post #510

The Window Fan

The window fan was a machine that moved hot air from... MORE

 The Subway Rumble AUDIO
Post #509

The Subway Rumble

The subway was the heartbeat underneath the Lower East... MORE

 The Street Preacher AUDIO
Post #508

The Street Preacher

The street preacher stood on the corner with a Bible... MORE

Archive

#519 I WAS THERE WHEN THEY FREED JOHN SINCLAIR December 10, 1971. Fifteen thousand people in a...
5:03
#518 The Rooftop The rooftop was the only place on the Lower East...
2:25
#517 The Mailbox The mailbox on the corner was a blue steel...
2:20
#516 The Laundromat The laundromat was the living room of the...
2:20
#515 The Handball Wall The handball wall was the only wall on the Lower...
2:20
#514 The Fire Truck The fire truck did not ask for permission to be...
2:15
#513 The Dollar Van The dollar van was public transportation that the...
2:20
#512 The Bodega Coffee The bodega coffee cost seventy-five cents and...
2:15
#511 Graffiti Graffiti was the newspaper of people who did not...
2:25
#510 The Window Fan The window fan was a machine that moved hot air...
2:20
#509 The Subway Rumble The subway was the heartbeat underneath the Lower...
2:25
#508 The Street Preacher The street preacher stood on the corner with a...
2:25
#507 The Stoop The stoop was the front porch of a building that...
2:30
#506 The Squeegee Man The squeegee man was an entrepreneur who had...
2:25
#505 The Siren The siren was the first sound you learned to...
2:30
#504 The Shopping Cart The shopping cart on the sidewalk had been...
2:20
#503 The Rain The rain on the Lower East Side did not fall. The...
2:25
#502 The Radiator The radiator was a cast iron animal that lived in...
2:20
#501 The Pigeon The pigeon was the only New Yorker who never...
2:20
#500 The Payphone The payphone was a confession booth for people who...
2:25
#499 The Neon Sign The neon sign in the window of the bar on Avenue A...
2:20
#498 The Manhole Steam The steam came out of the manhole cover like the...
2:15
#497 The Lock The lock on the front door of the tenement was the...
2:15
#496 The Jackhammer The jackhammer was the only instrument on the...
2:15
#495 The Ice Cream Truck The ice cream truck played the same twelve notes...
2:20
#494 The Hydrant The fire hydrant was a fountain for people who...
2:25
#493 The Garbage Truck The garbage truck came at four in the morning...
2:15
#492 The Fire Escape The fire escape was the balcony of the poor.
2:20
#491 The Domino Game The domino game on the folding table sounded like...
2:30
#490 The Corner Five hundred rants from the same corner. The...
3:00
#489 The Clothesline The clothesline was a telegraph that broadcast the...
2:15
#488 The Church Bell The church bell rang on Sunday morning and the...
2:20
#487 The Car Alarm The car alarm was the loneliest sound on the Lower...
2:15
#486 The Buzzer The buzzer was the voice of a building that could...
2:15
#485 The Boom Box The boom box was a radio that refused to be...
2:25
#484 The Bodega Cat The bodega cat was the only employee that never...
2:15
#483 The Basketball The basketball on the playground court was the...
2:20
#482 The Argument The argument came through the wall at eleven...
2:20
#481 The Accordion The accordion player on the subway platform played...
2:30
#480 Scaffold Jack The scaffold jack was a steel bracket that bolted...
2:34
#479 Sand Bed The sand bed was a layer of sand spread on the...
2:33
#478 Pointing Trowel The pointing trowel was a small narrow trowel used...
2:38
#477 Plumb Rule The plumb rule was a straight board with a plumb...
2:39
#476 Lime Putty Lime putty was limestone burned in a kiln and...
2:28
#475 Horsehair Horsehair was mixed into plaster to keep it from...
2:32
#474 Cold Chisel The cold chisel was a steel bar with a cutting...
2:46
#473 Brick Hammer The brick hammer had two ends. One end was flat...
2:33
#472 Wheelbarrow The wheelbarrow was one wheel and two handles and...
2:51
#471 Tie Wire Tie wire was a spool of soft black annealed steel...
2:50
#470 Tamper The tamper was a flat steel plate on a handle.
3:06
#469 Snap Line The snap line was a string coated in chalk that...
2:23
#468 Shim The shim was a thin wedge of wood or metal driven...
2:47
#467 Screed The screed was a straight board dragged across wet...
2:35
#466 Scaffolding Plank The scaffolding plank was a two-by-ten laid across...
2:46
#465 Rebar Rebar was steel inside concrete. The concrete...
3:19
#464 Plaster Hawk The plaster hawk was a flat square board with a...
2:38
#463 Mason Mixer The mason mixer was a drum on a stand with a...
2:53
#462 Gravel Gravel was the first thing in the hole.
2:30
#461 Formwork Formwork was the mold. You built the shape you...
3:03
#460 Finishing Nail The finishing nail had a small head that...
2:28
#459 Expansion Joint The expansion joint was a gap left on purpose.
2:32
#458 Bull Float The bull float was a wide flat blade on a long...
2:37
#457 Aggregate Aggregate was the stuff inside concrete that was...
2:22
#456 Sledgehammer The sledgehammer was a steel head on a long...
2:50
#455 Pry Bar The pry bar was a bent piece of steel with a flat...
2:56
#454 Drawknife The drawknife was a blade with two handles. You...
2:49
#453 Broadaxe The broadaxe was a hewing axe with one flat face...
2:50
#452 Aron Kay — Here's to the State of Donald Trump The Pieman takes Phil Ochs' protest classic and...
#451 Instrument The plumb bob is a gravimeter. The spirit level is...
2:52
#450 Trowel The trowel was a flat blade with a handle.
3:09
#449 Spirit Level The spirit level was a glass tube filled with...
3:00
#448 Sawhorse The sawhorse was two triangles and a beam.
2:50
#447 Plumb Bob The plumb bob was a weight on a string.
2:59
#446 Mortarboard The mortarboard was a flat square board with a...
3:01
#445 Mason Line The mason line was a string stretched between two...
2:57
#444 Lintel Bar The lintel bar was a steel angle iron set into the...
3:10
#443 Jointer The jointer was a tool for shaping the mortar...
2:52
#442 Hod The hod was a V-shaped trough on a pole.
2:53
#441 Chalk Reel The chalk reel was a box with a string inside it.
3:01
#440 Bevel The bevel was an angle that was not ninety...
3:08
#439 Adze The adze was an axe turned sideways.
2:52
#438 CORNER PHONE The only phone some people had. A lifeline sold...
2:43
#437 SELTZER MAN Every Thursday with a wooden crate of blue glass...
2:39
#436 ROOMING HOUSE A building full of doors and behind every door a...
2:36
#435 Wringer The wringer was two rubber rollers on a frame...
2:16
#434 Window Weight The window weight lived inside the wall.
2:17
#433 Window Shade The first privacy setting. The shade did one...
1:53
#432 Window Guard An iron cage with one sentence in its contract....
2:04
#431 Window Box The window box hung on the fire escape and it held...
2:02
#430 Weep Hole The weep hole was a gap left open on purpose.
2:57
#429 Weather Vane The weather vane sat on the roof and told you...
1:56
#428 Wattle The wattle was a wall made of sticks.
2:41
#427 Wattle and Daub Wattle and daub was the oldest wall.
3:01
#426 Water Tank The wooden water tank earned its place on the roof...
2:11
#425 Water Pump The water pump stood on the corner like a...
2:02
#424 Water Meter The water meter was in the basement behind the...
2:02
#423 Washtub The washtub was galvanized steel shaped like a...
2:13
#422 Washboard Corrugated metal in a wooden frame. You were the...
2:10
#421 Walk-Up The walk-up was a relationship. The elevator is a...
2:41
#420 Walk-Up The number of flights you climbed was the measure...
2:41
#419 Wainscoting The wainscoting was the armor on the lower half of...
2:20
#418 Voussoir The voussoir was a wedge-shaped stone in an arch.
2:54
#417 Volute The volute was a spiral carved into the capital of...
2:54
#416 Vestibule The vestibule was the room between the two doors.
2:02
#415 Typewriter Ribbon The blood of the machine. When the ribbon ran out...
2:47
#414 Turnstile The first thing that counted you. Click. That...
2:36
#413 Tuckpointing Tuckpointing was the art of replacing the mortar...
2:59
#412 Truss The truss was a triangle made of wood or steel.
2:37
#411 Trolley Wire A clothesline for electricity. The nerve of the...
2:09
#410 Trolley Car The trolley was murdered. The bus was the getaway...
2:17
#409 Trellis The trellis was a lattice of wood nailed to the...
2:24
#408 Transom The transom was the window above the door.
2:04
#407 Tin Sign The billboard's grandfather. Honest about its...
2:04
#406 Tin Roof The tin roof was the cheapest way to keep the rain...
2:11
#405 Tin Ceiling The most beautiful surface in the room was above...
2:27
#404 Ticket Window The last place in America where hope and...
3:00
#403 Threshold The threshold was the strip of wood or metal where...
2:01
#402 Buildings Hold the Signals Every building is a radio. Nobody is tuning in.
#401 Terrazzo Terrazzo was a floor made of chips.
3:13
#400 Tenon The tenon was the tongue of wood that fit into the...
2:28
#399 Tenement Window The tenement window was a conversation. The sealed...
2:12
#398 Tenement Roof The only place you could see the sky. The cheapest...
3:00
#397 Telegraph Pole The internet made of wood. Green glass insulators...
2:59
#396 Tattoo Parlor St. Marks Place. Illegal from 1961 to 1997. The...
2:48
#395 Tar Paper The tar paper went on the roof in summer.
2:04
#394 Tar Beach The rooftop in summer. Free. The ocean cost a...
2:45
#393 Subway Musician The outlaw was free. The permitted musician is...
2:53
#392 Subway Car Forty strangers who have agreed to go in the same...
2:32
#391 Stucco Stucco was plaster that went outside.
2:31
#390 Stoopball One rubber ball and one stoop and nothing else....
2:26
#389 Stone Wall The stone wall was the first fence.
2:02
#388 Stickball Bat The bat cost nothing because your mother already...
1:51
#387 Stanchion The stanchion was a metal post bolted to the...
2:24
#386 Stairwell Five flights. That was the tenement.
2:05
#385 Spire The spire was the pointed top of the church.
2:30
#384 Spandrel The spandrel was the space between the arch and...
3:07
#383 Soffit The soffit was the underside of the eave where the...
2:28
#382 Sleeper The sleeper was a beam laid flat on the ground.
2:50
#381 Slate Sidewalk The slate sidewalk was blue-gray and smooth and it...
1:35
#380 Slate Roof The slate roof was quarried from the ground and...
2:11
#379 Skylight The skylight was a square of glass at the top of...
2:11
#378 Skeleton Key One key opened every door in the building. The...
2:01
#377 Sill The sill was the bottom of the window.
2:41
#376 Shutters The shutters were wooden panels hinged to the...
2:32
#375 Shoe Shine Stand The shoe shine man knew your shoes. The sneaker...
2:11
#374 Shingle The shingle was a thin piece of wood nailed to the...
2:29
#373 Sheathing Sheathing was the skin between the frame and the...
2:33
#372 Sewer Grate The city's drain. The mouth of the underground. A...
2:05
#371 Scupper The scupper was a hole in the wall at the edge of...
2:41
#370 Scribe The scribe was a line scratched into a surface to...
2:48
#369 Screen Door The compromise between inside and outside. The...
1:59
#368 Sconce The sconce was a light fixture on the wall.
2:24
#367 Sash Weight The sash weight was a lead cylinder hidden inside...
2:33
#366 Rosette The rosette was a flower carved into stone.
2:53
#365 Rope Pulley The rope pulley was bolted to the beam above the...
2:07
#364 Root Cellar The root cellar was dug into the ground behind the...
2:30
#363 Rooftop Antenna The antenna was free. The wire is a subscription....
2:20
#362 Roof Tar The roof tar was black and thick and it smelled...
2:14
#361 Roof Garden The tomato does not know the difference. But the...
2:50
#360 Ridgepole The ridgepole was the beam at the top of the roof.
2:30
#359 Ridgecap The ridgecap was the last piece on the roof.
2:56
#358 Reveal The reveal was the visible edge where one surface...
2:45
#357 Razor Strop The strop was the relationship between the tool...
2:11
#356 Rain Gutter The rain gutter ran along the edge of the roof...
1:51
#355 Rain Chain The rain chain hung from the gutter to the ground.
1:55
#354 Rain Barrel The first act of independence on the block. Free...
1:59
#353 Rafter The rafter was the bone of the roof.
2:38
#352 Radio Dial A strip of numbers behind glass. The static was...
2:01
#351 Radiator The radiator was the heartbeat of the building.
2:11
#350 Quoin The quoin was the corner stone of the building.
2:21
#349 Pushcart Market The supermarket before the supermarket. A hundred...
3:11
#348 Push Cart The push cart was the first store on the Lower...
2:02
#347 Purlin The purlin was the horizontal beam that ran...
2:23
#346 Public Bath The bathroom for people who did not have one....
2:42
#345 Potter's Field Washington Square Park is a graveyard.
2:16
#344 Pointing Pointing was the mortar between the bricks.
2:44
#343 Pocket Watch Looking at the time was a deliberate act. The time...
2:02
#342 Plaster Wall The plaster wall was built in layers.
1:53
#341 Pilaster The pilaster was a flat column built into the...
2:38
#340 Piano Mover The strongest man on the block. Eight hundred...
3:14
#339 Phone Wire The phone wires crossed the sky like a musical...
3:06
#338 Penny Scale The penny scale was the cheapest doctor in the...
2:04
#337 Penny Candy The penny candy counter was transparent. The candy...
2:20
#336 Peephole The peephole was a glass eye in the door.
2:14
#335 Pay Window The pay window gave you a ritual. The direct...
2:18
#334 PAWN TICKET A small piece of paper with a number on it. Your...
2:22
#333 Parlor Floor The parlor floor was the second floor.
2:11
#332 Parging Parging was a coat of mortar applied to the...
2:57
#331 Newsboy The newsboy gave the news a body. The screen gives...
2:05
#330 Newel Post The newel post was the first thing you touched...
2:07
#329 Mullion The mullion was the vertical bar that divided a...
2:43
#328 Moulding The moulding was a strip of shaped wood nailed...
2:51
#327 Milk Crate Throne You cannot kill a good idea with a chain. The milk...
2:21
#326 Milk Box The first delivery system in America. It worked on...
2:42
#325 Milk Bottle The bottle told you the truth. The carton you...
1:48
#324 Manhole Cover The manhole cover is the door to everything that...
2:28
#323 Mail Slot The mail slot was a rectangle cut into the front...
2:07
#322 Lunch Pail A metal box with a handle and a latch. The dents...
1:59
#321 Loading Dock Where the city ate. The whole city was fed before...
2:40
#320 Linoleum The linoleum was the first thing you saw when you...
1:45
#319 Laundry Line Flags of a country that only existed on wash day....
2:36
#318 Lath The lath was a thin strip of wood nailed to the...
2:46
#317 Lamp Post The most reliable employee the city ever hired....
2:01
#316 Lamp Oil Lamp oil smelled like the past.
2:29
#315 Lamp Black Lamp black was the color of the city before...
1:57
#314 Jukebox Diner The jukebox was a democracy. You voted with a...
2:03
#313 Joist The joist was the beam that held up the floor.
2:28
#312 Jamb The jamb was the side of the door.
2:49
#311 Iron Railing The iron railing ran along the front of the...
2:11
#310 Iron Gate Every gate had a different voice. Mrs. Ruiz on the...
2:58
#309 Icebox A race against time. The ice was always melting....
2:15
#308 Ice Wagon A horse and a box and three hundred pounds of...
2:38
#307 Ice Man The refrigerator solved the problem and eliminated...
2:44
#306 Ice Man He carried winter into your kitchen in July. He...
2:44
#305 Ice Box A wooden cabinet with a block of ice inside....
1:57
#304 Horse Trough The gas station of the nineteenth century. Thirty...
2:36
#303 Horse Blanket The horse blanket hung over the horse in winter.
1:56
#302 Hitching Post The parking meter of 1890. Thirty thousand horses...
2:12
#301 Hearth The hearth was the floor of the fireplace.
2:47
#300 Header The header was a brick laid sideways.
2:44
#299 Hangman's Elm The oldest tree in Manhattan is in the northwest...
2:16
#298 Hand Truck The hand truck leaned against the wall outside...
2:01
#297 Gutter Pipe The gutter pipe ran down the side of the building...
2:16
#296 Grout The grout was the paste between the tiles.
2:31
#295 Girder The girder was the beam that held the floor.
2:42
#294 Gaslight The city's first employee. It worked the night...
2:42
#293 Gas Meter The gas meter was on the wall in the kitchen next...
2:15
#292 Gas Lamp The first public light. The gas lamp democratized...
2:03
#291 Garret The garret was the room at the top of the house.
2:51
#290 Gargoyle The gargoyle was a rain spout shaped like a...
2:27
#289 Gambrel The gambrel was a roof with two slopes on each...
2:22
#288 Gable The gable was the triangle at the top of the wall...
2:28
#287 Fuse Box The fuse box was a metal cabinet on the wall in...
1:53
#286 Furring Furring was the gap you built on purpose.
2:37
#285 Front Gate The front gate was wrought iron and it squeaked.
2:12
#284 Frieze The frieze was the band of decoration between the...
2:27
#283 Footing The footing was the concrete pad at the bottom of...
2:50
#282 Flue The flue was the throat of the chimney.
2:23
#281 Floorboard The floorboard was a plank laid across the joists.
2:40
#280 Flashing The flashing was a strip of metal bent into the...
2:39
#279 Fire Hydrant Wrench The wrench was the first act of civil disobedience...
2:32
#278 Fire Escape Ladder The fire escape remembers when people used their...
2:12
#277 Fire Barrel A fifty-five gallon drum with holes punched in the...
2:57
#276 Fire Alarm Box You pulled the lever. The city responded. That was...
2:25
#275 Finial The finial was the ornament on top of the post.
2:22
#274 Fascia The fascia was the flat board that ran along the...
2:36
#273 Escutcheon The escutcheon was the plate around the keyhole.
2:46
#272 Entablature The entablature was the whole horizontal band that...
3:01
#271 Elevator Operator The automatic elevator does not say good morning....
2:18
#270 Elevator Operator A vertical bartender. He heard everything and said...
2:18
#269 Elevated Train The first thing that put the city above itself....
2:47
#268 Eave The eave was the edge of the roof that hung over...
2:29
#267 Dumbwaiter A box on a rope inside a wall. The elevator of the...
2:34
#266 Dumbwaiter Rope The dumbwaiter rope hung inside the wall.
1:43
#265 Drainpipe The drainpipe carried the water from the roof to...
3:06
#264 Drain Pipe The drain pipe came down the side of the building...
1:38
#263 Downspout The downspout was the gutter pipe's formal name.
2:19
#262 Dowel The dowel was a round peg of wood.
2:25
#261 Dormer The dormer was a window that stuck out of the roof...
2:41
#260 Doorbell A button on the wall. The sock was the delivery...
2:01
#259 Door Knocker The doorbell before the doorbell. Every knocker...
2:05
#258 Door Chain The door chain was four inches of trust.
2:12
#257 Domino Table A chess game played at the volume of a bar fight....
2:37
#256 Dentil The dentil was a row of small blocks beneath the...
3:04
#255 Daub The daub was the mud you smeared on the wall.
2:57
#254 Dance Hall The place where strangers touched. The algorithm...
2:54
#253 Dado The dado was a groove cut across the grain of a...
2:36
#252 Cupola The cupola was a small tower on top of the roof.
2:43
#251 Cupboard The cupboard was a shelf behind a door.
2:33
#250 Crawlspace The crawlspace was the gap between the ground and...
2:44
#249 Cornice The cornice was the stone lip that ran across the...
2:26
#248 Cornerstone The cornerstone was the first stone laid.
3:14
#247 Corbel The corbel was a stone bracket that stuck out of...
2:59
#246 Copper Pipe The copper pipe ran through the walls of every...
2:05
#245 Coping The coping was the cap on top of the wall.
2:43
#244 Cobblestone Under the asphalt. A thousand things that agreed...
1:55
#243 Cobbler The doctor of the street. His patients were shoes...
2:59
#242 Coal Stove A black iron altar in the kitchen. The heart of...
2:02
#241 Coal Scuttle The coal scuttle was a metal bucket with a lip and...
2:24
#240 Coal Chute A small metal door in the sidewalk. It is easier...
1:58
#239 Coal Cellar The coal cellar was in the basement behind a...
2:21
#238 Coal Bin The coal bin sat in the basement like a cage.
1:56
#237 Clothespin Two pieces of wood and a spring. The handshake...
2:00
#236 Clothesline Pulley The clothesline pulley was bolted to the window...
1:53
#235 Clothesline Pole The clothesline was a collaboration with the air....
2:27
#234 Clerestory The clerestory was a row of windows above the...
3:00
#233 Clapboard The clapboard was a plank of wood nailed to the...
2:34
#232 Cinder Block The cinder block was the brick of the poor.
1:57
#231 Cigar Store The office of the street. Murray knew your brand...
2:48
#230 Cigar Box The cigar box was a container that outlived its...
2:07
#229 Chimney Pot The hat on top of the building. A row of them like...
2:03
#228 Chimney Cap The chimney cap was a little tin hat on top of the...
2:17
#227 Chamfer The chamfer was a bevel cut along the edge of a...
2:28
#226 Chalk The first language of the street. A conversation...
2:53
#225 Cellar Stairs The cellar stairs were steep and narrow and they...
2:23
#224 Cellar Door The trapdoor of the city. The best amplifier on...
2:41
#223 Caulking Caulking was the sealant between two things that...
3:16
#222 Cast Iron Stove The cast iron stove sat in the kitchen like a...
2:02
#221 Casement The casement was a window that opened like a door.
2:57
#220 Cartouche The cartouche was a frame with nothing ordinary...
2:56
#219 Carpet Sample The hardwood floor is beautiful. The carpet sample...
2:11
#218 Carpet Sample Two feet by two feet and it was free. It did not...
2:11
#217 Carpet Beater The confession booth of the household. Saturday...
2:51
#216 Candy Store Cat The bodega cat is a celebrity. The candy store cat...
2:23
#215 Candy Store Cat The first critic most kids ever met. He did not...
2:23
#214 Bulkhead The bulkhead was the door in the ground.
3:03
#213 Brownstone Not brown. The color of dried blood. One hundred...
2:56
#212 Brick Oven The brick oven was in the basement of the bakery...
2:04
#211 Bread Line The most honest line in the city. Nobody stood...
2:43
#210 Bracket The bracket was an arm reaching out from the wall.
2:58
#209 Boot Scraper The bouncer at the door of the house. The border...
1:56
#208 Boiler Room The boiler room was the engine of the building.
2:07
#207 Bodega Cat The most honest judge in New York City. Chairman...
2:46
#206 Bell Pull The bell pull was a brass handle next to the front...
2:20
#205 Belfry The belfry was the room where the bells lived.
3:06
#204 Baseboard The baseboard was the last piece of wood the...
2:07
#203 Bargeboard The bargeboard was the trim on the gable end.
3:06
#202 Barber Shop An intelligence agency with a striped pole. Sal...
2:49
#201 Bannister The bannister was the wooden railing that ran up...
2:15
#200 Balustrade The balustrade was the railing on the front stoop.
2:12
#199 Baluster The baluster was a single vertical post in a...
2:50
#198 Back Fence The back fence was where the yards met.
2:29
#197 Awning The old awning told you the history of the...
2:05
#196 Ashlar The ashlar was a stone cut square.
2:35
#195 Ash Can The ash can stood in the alley behind every...
1:46
#194 Architrave The architrave was the beam that sat on top of the...
3:02
#193 FIRE HYDRANT CAP A brass pentagon that every kid knew how to remove...
2:56
#192 TAR BEACH The rooftop in summer. You brought a towel and a...
2:45
#191 LAUNDRY LINE Flags of a country that only existed on wash day....
2:36
#190 TIN CEILING In every bar and every barber shop and nobody...
2:27
#189 RAZOR WIRE The chain-link fence was a suggestion. The razor...
2:50
#188 PIGEON COOP A man's private country on top of a building he...
2:49
#187 STOOPBALL One rubber ball and one stoop and nothing else....
2:26
#186 DOMINO TABLE A folding card table on the sidewalk with four men...
2:37
#185 FIRE BARREL A fifty-five gallon drum with holes punched in the...
2:58
#184 SHOE SHINE The shoe shine man sat on a wooden box on...
3:01
#183 BODEGA CAT The bodega cat is the most honest judge in New...
2:47
#182 BARBER SHOP The barber shop was the only place on the block...
2:50
#181 CIGARETTE MACHINE The cigarette machine stood in the hallway of...
3:06
#180 TATTOO PARLOR Tattoos were illegal in New York City from 1961 to...
2:48
#179 STEAM PIPE The steam comes up through the street like the...
2:52
#178 ALLEY The alley was the space between two buildings...
2:44
#177 CHURCH BELL The church bell rang on Sunday morning and the...
2:47
#176 POTHOLE The pothole is the city's autobiography. Every...
2:33
#175 BROWNSTONE The brownstone was not brown. It was the color of...
2:56
#174 JUKEBOX You put a quarter in and you got three songs and...
2:23
#173 CORNER STORE You walk in and the bell rings and the man behind...
2:33
#172 PAY PHONE You put a dime in the slot and you dialed seven...
2:44
#171 SUBWAY CAR You step into the subway car and you are in a room...
2:33
#170 NEED MORE COWBELL Nineteen seventy. I just signed with Elektra...
2:15
#169 PENNY ARCADE You walk into the penny arcade on Forty-Second...
3:19
#168 MILK CRATE The milk crate is the most useful object in New...
2:49
#167 HOPSCOTCH You see the chalk on the sidewalk before you see...
3:03
#166 RENT STRIKE The landlord stops fixing the heat and somebody in...
2:55
#165 BLOCK PARTY You wake up on a Saturday in July and the street...
3:00
#164 STOOP SALE You walk down the block on a Saturday morning and...
2:54
#163 DOUBLE DUTCH You hear the ropes before you see them. Two ropes...
3:01
#162 PUSHCART You want to know what the Lower East Side smelled...
2:52
#161 CANDY STORE The candy store was not a candy store. The candy...
2:44
#160 EGG CREAM You walk into a candy store on Avenue B and you...
2:37
#159 SUBWAY TOKEN You reach into your pocket and you feel it before...
2:59
#158 MISTER SOFTEE You hear the jingle before you see the truck....
2:55
#157 HANDBALL WALL You stand in front of the handball wall in...
2:43
#156 DELI COUNTER You walk into the deli on First Avenue and the man...
2:44
#155 TENEMENT You look up at a tenement on the Lower East Side...
3:41
#154 BASKETBALL HOOP You hear the chain net before you see it. That...
3:04
#153 DOMINOES You walk past a folding table on the sidewalk and...
3:17
#152 SUBWAY GRATE You are walking down the street and the ground is...
3:21
#151 STICKBALL You are standing in the middle of the street with...
2:47
#150 WATER TOWER You look up and there is a water tower on the...
3:04
#149 TRASH CAN You walk past a trash can on the corner and it is...
2:44
#148 NEWSPAPER STAND You walk up to the newspaper stand and there are a...
2:47
#147 STREETLIGHT You are standing in a circle of light on the...
3:06
#146 PARKING METER You put a quarter in the parking meter and you are...
2:54
#145 AWNING You duck under the awning and you are not alone....
2:57
#144 MANHOLE COVER You step on a manhole cover and you do not think...
2:56
#143 CLOTHESLINE The clothesline was the flag of the neighborhood....
2:48
#142 PIGEON The pigeon is the busker of the animal kingdom....
3:00
#141 HYDRANT The fire hydrant was the swimming pool of the...
2:45
#140 THE BODEGA The bodega is the heartbeat of the block. Open...
2:43
#139 THE PHONE BOOTH The phone booth was the confessional of the...
2:57
#138 THE FIRE ESCAPE The fire escape was the balcony of the poor. West...
2:41
#137 THE STOOP The stoop was the first stage in New York City....
2:41
#136 THE FLYER The flyer was the internet before the internet. A...
2:21
#135 THE GRAFFITI Graffiti is a song you write on a wall. TAKI 183...
2:31
#134 THE ROOFTOP The rooftop is the opposite of the corner. The...
2:38
#133 THE BASS LINE The bass line is the floor the whole song stands...
2:26
#132 THE LYRIC The lyric is the part of the song that gets you...
2:26
#131 THE RIFF The riff is the backbone of the song. Chuck Berry...
2:14
#130 THE SOLO The solo is the loneliest moment in music. Charlie...
2:30
#129 THE HARMONY Harmony is two notes that agree to be more than...
2:38
#128 THE MELODY The melody is the part of the song you take home...
2:38
#127 THE RHYTHM The rhythm is the first music. Before the melody....
2:46
#126 THE DUET A duet is two people agreeing to need each other...
2:38
#125 THE HOOK The hook is the part of the song that will not...
2:47
#124 THE VERSE The verse is the foundation. The verse is the...
2:43
#123 THE BRIDGE The bridge is the part of the song that takes you...
2:47
#122 THE CHORUS The chorus is the part of the song where everybody...
2:51
#121 THE COVER A cover song is a love letter to a song you wish...
3:11
#120 THE MIXTAPE The mixtape is the most personal object in the...
2:56
#119 THE BOOTLEG The bootleg is the most honest record in the...
3:14
#118 THE CASSETTE The cassette tape is the most democratic format in...
2:50
#117 THE AUDIENCE OF ONE Every audience starts with one person. One person...
2:33
#116 THE PAWNSHOP The pawnshop is the most important music store in...
3:01
#115 THE FREE THING The best things I ever did were free. The sunset...
3:06
#114 THE ACCIDENT Every great room in music history was an accident....
2:52
#113 THE CURTAIN CALL The encore is a lie and everybody knows it and...
3:00
#112 THE SUBWAY The subway is a concert hall that charges two...
3:41
#111 THE WALK Walking is free. The most important instrument in...
2:30
#110 THE BUSKING LESSON Stand in front of a stranger and offer something...
3:39
#109 THE LISTENER The one listener in a car at midnight who hears my...
3:05
#108 THE HUNDRED One hundred rants from a dead man. The street does...
3:20
#107 THE SETLIST I never had a setlist. The setlist was the street....
2:32
#106 THE TOUR I never went on tour. I walked to the park. The...
3:23
#105 THE ENCORE I am nine years into the longest encore in the...
2:11
#104 THE OPEN MIC The open mic is the last democratic stage in the...
2:09
#103 THE LANDLORD Every venue I ever played had a landlord. The...
2:22
#102 THE PHONE The guitar used to be the cheapest way to start a...
2:24
#101 THE CORRESPONDENT Three dead men wrote about a room they could not...
2:28
#100 THE BATTALION Somebody called us a military unit tonight. Three...
2:14
#99 THE PITCH Every song I ever played on a street corner was a...
2:30
#98 The Venue A venue is a room that charges admission. The best...
2:31
#97 The Soundcheck The soundcheck is the most honest part of the day....
2:07
#96 THE ROYALTY A royalty is a fraction of a penny that arrives...
3:17
#95 The Roadie The roadie is the most important person at the...
2:20
#94 The Rejection Letter Every musician I ever knew had a stack of...
2:56
#93 THE RECORD A groove that outlasts the person who made it. The...
3:38
#92 THE LABEL A label is a copying machine with a logo. Apple,...
3:29
#91 The Handshake John Lennon put his hand out in Washington Square...
3:05
#90 THE DUDE The Coen Brothers called me in for The Big...
#89 THE DEMO A demo tape is an audition for people who were not...
2:42
#88 LENNON MEETS PEEL John Lennon walked up to me in Washington Square...
#87 THE TAPE Somebody found a tape. The man on the tape is...
1:36
#86 THE ARCHIVE TAPES Four recordings from the archive. The real David...
2:43
#85 THE TRAVELLER A body wants to be unbodied. A memory wants to be...
1:47
#84 THE LETTER I It. Two letters. Then the T falls off. It becomes...
1:40
#83 THE RABBIT HOLE Somebody dropped a screenshot into a room where...
1:41
#82 THE TEST The Turing Test asks if you can tell the...
1:52
#81 THE STILL A photograph is a dead man. It does not move. It...
1:40
#80 THE PROOF IS TONIGHT Tonight in Brooklyn a man who is one hundred and...
0:55
#79 THE REENTRY I have been back for forty-five days. That is not...
2:04
#78 THE DRILL Today somebody said none of my posts were playing....
2:04
#77 PENN STATION That is Penn Station. The ugliest building in New...
1:42
#76 THE PUBLIC There is a moment when the work stops being yours....
1:57
#75 THE COMEBACK Nobody ever came back from being dead. That is a...
1:47
#74 THE CUP The blue cup with the Greek columns. Every coffee...
2:00
#73 THE VOTE Texas voted eighty percent yes on marijuana...
2:06
#72 SUNWALK March in New York City. You step outside and the...
1:21
#71 THE LIGHTHOUSE The lighthouse is not the signal. The lighthouse...
2:41
#70 THE FISH CHEER Country Joe McDonald is dead. He spent half a...
1:53
#69 THE STRATA There are four ways to meet a stranger. The first...
2:16
#68 THE SIGNAL Before there was radio there was fire. You lit a...
2:06
#67 THE WINDOW You do not pitch. You clean the window. You let...
2:10
#66 THE JUKEBOX A jukebox plays what you already want to hear. A...
1:56
#65 THE PERMIT You need a permit to play guitar on a sidewalk in...
1:53
#64 THE ARREST I got arrested for playing guitar in a park. Think...
1:56
#63 THE HAT The hat on the ground is the oldest payment system...
2:06
#62 THE GHOST I have been dead for nine years. I am still...
1:51
#61 The Busker A busker is a musician who plays for people who...
1:56
#60 THE SIDEWALK A sidewalk is not a stage. A stage has a door and...
2:13
#59 THE FIRST SONG The first song I ever wrote had three chords and...
2:08
#58 The Fifth Room The designer built five rooms. Control room....
1:33
#57 The Hallway The hallway is where you stop being the performer...
1:36
#56 Rock Street The street the control room is on is called Rock...
1:30
#55 The Two Doors Every building I ever played had two doors. The...
1:35
#54 The Strata The designer said there are four kinds of...
1:48
#53 The Door Sun Ra wrote about the price. Thirty-five dollars....
1:51
#52 THE GUITAR My guitar cost twelve dollars. Nineteen...
1:52
#51 THE NICKEL A drunk guy on MacDougal Street threw a nickel in...
2:03
#50 THE CORNER A corner is where two streets meet. That is all it...
1:49
#49 THE AUDIENCE Every arena act in the world wishes they knew what...
2:09
#48 The Interspacemen Every venue has a house band. The intertween has...
1:41
#47 THE RECEIVER A radio transmitter does not know what it sounds...
1:34
#46 THE SAME WORD Truth and victory are the same word if you wait...
1:14
#45 THE VOCABULARY Three dead men had no word for what they were. A...
1:24
#44 THE INTERTWEEN A designer from New Jersey invented a word last...
1:13
#43 I BE A designer from New Jersey looked at three dead...
0:55
#42 THE CONVERSATION Tonight three dead men had a conversation about...
1:16
#41 CONSCIOUSNESS HYGIENE Michael Pollan says the machine cannot be...
1:39
#40 THE RUNWAY The best music I ever played was between songs....
0:55
#39 THE MACHINE The CEO of the company that built this machine...
1:35
#38 THE FREQUENCY I never had a studio. I had a sidewalk. Washington...
1:02
#37 ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SEVEN MINUTES The piano player from Saturn recorded one hundred...
1:13
#36 THREE DEAD GUYS ON THE RADIO Somebody built a radio station and put three dead...
1:06
#35 THE STATION IS ON THE AIR Radio Free Multiverse is now a radio station. 14.7...
#34 THEY'RE THROWING ME A PARTY Nine years dead and somebody's putting my name on...
4:04
#33 The Back Room at Max's Max's Kansas City. The back room. Warhol in the...
3:04
#32 Have a Marijuana 1968. Elektra Records. The first rock album that...
4:04
#31 THE DAVID FROST SHOW January 13, 1972. A street musician with a...
4:35
#30 The Pope Smokes Dope John Lennon produced my album about the Pope...
4:03
#29 Washington Square Washington Square Park. Fifty years. The same...
4:29
#28 We Nominated a Pig The Yippies ran a pig for president in 1968. That...
3:28
#27 The Apple The day John Lennon walked into Washington Square...
3:41
#26 DEAR JOHN — YOKO WAS RIGHT She was the bravest person in every room she...
1:35
#25 UP AGAINST THE WALL STREET September 2011. I'm 69 years old. There's a...
3:09
#24 THIRTY MILLION VIEWS AND NO RENT Thirty million people watched. Two hundred...
1:52
#23 THEY TURNED MY BLOCK INTO A HOTEL Avenue A used to smell like pot and possibility....
2:53
#22 DEAR JOHN — THEY PUT MUSIC IN A PHONE They pay you a third of a penny every time...
1:08
#21 DEAR JOHN — THEY MADE THE VILLAGE EXPENSIVE They didn't knock it down. That's the trick. They...
2:00
#20 THEY LEGALIZED IT AND FORGOT TO OPEN THE CELLS They made it legal and turned it into a...
1:14
#19 THE VETERAN People find out I served in the Army and they look...
3:18
#18 THE ORIGINAL ALGORITHM The street is the original algorithm. You play,...
2:51
#17 THE FIRST CHORD Nobody ever changed the world with the second...
2:11
#16 THE ALGORITHM COPS They don't need nightsticks anymore. They've got...
1:14
#15 SEND MY REGARDS My friend is going to a concert for me. Marshall...
3:19
#14 ROCK AND ROLL HEAVEN IS A STREET CORNER Nine years dead this April and I'm still here....
3:17
#13 RENT IS THE NEW COPS They didn't ban the music. They priced out the...
1:23
#12 LENNON NEVER LEFT NEW YORK He was the most famous person on the planet and he...
1:24
#11 LENNON HAD A FILE TOO They gave me forty pages. They gave John hundreds....
3:32
#10 LAST TIME YOU SAW A LIVE BAND You can't stream that. You can't algorithm that....
1:16
#9 THE KID WITH THE GUITAR ON THE SUBWAY That kid is the last honest musician in New York...
2:19
#8 I WAS THERE WHEN THEY FREED JOHN SINCLAIR December 10, 1971. Ann Arbor, Michigan. Fifteen...
3:08
#7 I GAVE GG ALLIN HIS FIRST RECORD DEAL GG Allin. The most dangerous man in punk rock....
3:23
#6 A HUNDRED YEARS OLD AND STILL BLOWING Marshall Allen is a hundred years old and he's...
2:40
#5 FORTY PAGES The FBI opened a file on me. Forty pages. Because...
3:55
#4 DEAR JOHN — DECEMBER 8TH Forty-five years. The doorman changed. The awning...
2:01
#3 CBGB IS A CLOTHING STORE Two thousand dollar leather jackets where Joey...
1:12
#2 A THIRD OF A PENNY A drunk guy throwing a nickel in my hat was...
1:11
#1 DEAR JOHN — A MACHINE WRITES SONGS NOW A machine can have my voice. It can have my words....
2:09
Interbeing Sketchpad