All posts tagged ties

New York’s best kept secret

January 1, 2009

…is allegedly Century 21 (the department store), and I buy it. Last week I stopped by the downtown location, and it was so good I started looking around for 72 white raisins.

I didn’t have time to peruse the whole store, but I will say this – the tie section is to die for. If you need ties and are close to NYC, go to Century 21. Practially everything is under $20 (some under $10), and the selection is not just better than a TJ Maxx or Marshalls (the official analogues), but better IMHO than most department stores.

(What did I buy? A sixties-looking orange/pink striped Prochownick, a navy check by the same, a blue and a pink glen plaid, and some multicolored awesome London rubbish)

A night at Lee’s Unleaded Blues

April 12, 2008

So when I was in Chicago last week I made the de rigueur blues club visit, at Lee’s Unleaded Blues.

Ironically it was a soul night, but a good time was had nonetheless.

I was mostly trying to listen, and talk to an interesting musicology student doing her thesis on Lee’s and another club called Rosa’s Lounge, but I did manage to take a few blurry photos, and a lousy “video” clip of the excellent house band, which nonetheless has a certain charm –

(Clearly I need to get some better recording equipment. For audio I’m leaning towards the Zoom H2 or a Roland, don’t know about video.)

Since it was an open mic, the aforementioned student later played some viola with the band(!), and in good time I got up to sing 2/3 of the lyrics to some Marvin Gaye. I wanted to sing Sam Cooke’s “Lost and Looking”, since I actually, you know, know the lyrics to that one, but the band didn’t know it :(

At the end I ask the MC how he tied his crazy tie, which had more knots than one would reasonably expect. He goes, “Oh, it’s a clip-on,” and reaching behind his head, “Do you want it?”