C Train Blur I and II

See the oldest subway car in revenue operation, coming into that station where Michael Jackson shot his “Bad” music video.  Living in the past today, and whenever possible.  For those not familiar, this is an R32 subway car at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station in downtown Brooklyn.

Waiting for my Man

The Velvet Underground song seems to fit the mood of this shot; it should be noted however, that this shot was taken on the opposite side of the city of the place that is indicated (125th and Lexington) in the song.  This shot was taken near the corner of 2nd and Houston on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.  This shot contains quite a bit of detail and is best if viewed large, you may do so by clicking the image…

I'm waiting for my man
Twenty-six dollars in my hand
Up to Lexington, 125
Feel sick and dirty, more dead than alive
I'm waiting for my man

Hey, white boy, what you doin' uptown?
Hey, white boy, you chasin' our women around?
Oh pardon me sir, it's the furthest from my mind
I'm just lookin' for a dear, dear friend of mine
I'm waiting for my man

Here he comes, he's all dressed in black
PR shoes and a big straw hat
He's never early, he's always late
First thing you learn is you always gotta wait
I'm waiting for my man

Up to a Brownstone, up three flights of stairs
Everybody's pinned you, but nobody cares
He's got the works, gives you sweet taste
Ah then you gotta split because you got no time to waste
I'm waiting for my man

Baby don't you holler, darlin' don't you bawl and shout
I'm feeling good, you know I'm gonna work it on out
I'm feeling good, I'm feeling oh so fine
Until tomorrow, but that's just some other time
I'm waiting for my man

Song: Waiting for my Man, from the album Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)

Purple Haze

Just heard the Jimmy Hendrix song not too long ago and now everything I see that's purple reminds me of the song; songs have a tendency to get stuck in my mind. Taken Atlantic Avenue, near Bond in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Boerum Hill, which is on the outer fringes of downtown.

Roxanne, Red, and Raw

Does Roxanne go wandering about the Bowery? Is this the proverbial red light to be put out? Or maybe I'm just shamelessly trying to interject 1970's pop culture into this post? Well anyway, here's a grainy, gritty, and retro shot featuring a red neon sign. Taken in the Bowery, Manhattan.

Slightly Haunted

Anyone that personally knows me would tell you that I'm not the type of person that's subscribes to the supernatural. They would be correct, I don't; that doesn't mean however, that I can't portray these themes in my work. Urban hauntings will be the theme of this post.

The Gas Light Inn is a working class pub on the south side of Indianapolis, near the corner of Meridian and Pleasant Run. They make a gigantic pork tenderloin sandwich and is rumored to be haunted.

Tank-o-graffiti, what makes you appear so ominous? Achieving an ominous feel in photographs taken in underground places such as in this subway station (86th and Lexington) is not difficult, I just wish I would have caught some photos of ectoplasmic rats floating about.

Have you ever experienced the phenomon of an ice cream truck equipped with less than optimal speakers that make the music it plays sound slow and out of pitch? Its sounds like haunted clown music from IT. You expect to be served by Pennywise, but it turns out to be an amputee, who has fewer teeth than limbs. The most frightening aspect of this image however, is the use of the improper homophone, SUNDAYS. This shot was taken on the west side of Indianapolis.

I ain't superstitious, but a black cat just crossed my trail...wha wha. Jeff Beck walks with me through the 5 Pointz area of Long Island City, Queens.

This shot was also taken in Long Island City, ghostly light and tree shadows haunt Queens Plaza. The clang, clang, clang sound of the elevated train adds to the mood.

How many things are more frightening than street signs making shadow puppets? Not many, except maybe the haunted pathogens stagnating in the nearby Gowanus Canal. Taken in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Gotham City lives through dead industrial buildings. On this chilly night, a cloudy, moon lit sky overshadows abandoned art deco industrial buildings along the New York Navy yard in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. This area is rapidly changing, and its only a matter of time before variances are made and apartment/condos are available at inflated costs (insert scary, sinister laugh here)...

Damn! Haunted garbage, but sill an unmistakable lack of an ectoplasmic rodent presence; only the occasional hipster rapidly passing through this rougher stretch of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This photo was taken under the old BMT Jamaica Line spanning Broadway.

Can't really explain why I find this place a little eerie, but I do; maybe its the gas meter... Taken near the corner of Virginia and College in the Fletcher Place neighborhood of Indianapolis.

Throw in some lousy graffiti, ivy, and a little fog, and you have one bona fide haunted photograph. I'm not sure what role this structure was assigned at one point, but there are several signs stating "government property, keep out". This shot was also taken near the Navy Yard near Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.

"You Know When I Drink Alone, I Prefer to be by Myself"

Poor Georgie; I guess even his dear old granddad has forsaken him. Mr. Thorogood was seen hanging solo on Smith Street in Boerum Hill, a neighborhood in Downtown Brooklyn.

Best if viewed large.

Hole on the Wall

I didn't know Hole was still around, but then again, I have a tendency to live in a cave when it comes to many facets of pop culture... This was taken on Halsted Street, near Fullerton in the heart of Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago...

Looks Like 9th and Hennepin

Taken at the corner of Market and Pennsylvania...

This is best if viewed large...

This shot reminds me much of the Tom Waits song 9th and Hennepin:

Well it's Ninth and Hennepin

All the doughnuts have names that sound like prostitutes

And the moon's teeth marks are on the sky

Like a tarp thrown all over this

And the broken umbrellas like dead birds

And the steam comes out of the grill

Like the whole goddamn town's ready to blow...

And the bricks are all scarred with jailhouse tattoos

And everyone is behaving like dogs

And the horses are coming down Violin Road

And Dutch is dead on his feet

And all the rooms they smell like diesel

And you take on the dreams of the ones who have slept here

And I'm lost in the window, and I hide in the stairway

And I hang in the curtain, and I sleep in your hat...

And no one brings anything small into a bar around here

They all started out with bad directions

And the girl behind the counter has a tattooed tear

One for every year he's away, she said

Such a crumbling beauty, ah

There's nothing wrong with her that a hundred dollars won't fix

She has that razor sadness that only gets worse

With the clang and the thunder of the Southern Pacific going by

And the clock ticks out like a dripping faucet

til you're full of rag water and bitters and blue ruin

And you spill out over the side to anyone who will listen...

And I've seen it all, I've seen it all

Through the yellow windows of the evening train...

Crappy Graffiti

I love looking at and photographing good street art and graffiti, but these are neither. These both on the south side, and provide me a chance to pawn off some of my useless pop culture prowess ;)

"He's never early, he's never late...The one thing you know is you always gotta wait"...Bonus points to who can identify that song.

Taken near the corner of Union and Morris.

OMG, they stimulated Kenny!!!

Taken along the Pleasant Run Trail, near Shelby Street.

Desolation Row

This is looking north on Keystone Avenue; taken from the Minnesota Street bridge that is in close proximity of where it intersects with Bethel Avenue...

On Oliver Avenue

And his hunger burns so he starts to roam the streets at night
and he learns how to steal
and he learns how to fight in:


Taken on the bridge over the White River...