Category Archives: Robert Brenner

Robert Stark talks to Robert Brenner about HBO’s The Deuce and 1970’s Time Square

1970's, aesthetics, Architecture, Cities, Culture, Historic Preservation, History, Neon, New York, Pornography, Prostitution, Robert Brenner, San Francisco, Sexuality, Taxi Driver, The Deuce, The Porn Industry, Time Square, Urbanism, Vice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Robert Brenner. Robert Brenner runs the Remnants of Gritty Times Square Tour hosted by Untapped Cities and has his own tour company Pig Feet Walking Tours.  Check out Robert Stark’s first and second interview with Robert Brenner about bout his Time Square Tours.

Topics:

HBO’s “The Deuce” Resurrects Gritty Times Square
NYC Film Locations for The Deuce about Gritty 1970’s Time Square on HBO
Robert Brenner’s upcoming tour on October 22nd which will incorporate locations from HBO’s “The Deuce”
How the locations for the show have been re-created from scratch in Washington Heights
42nd Street which was once known as “The Deuce” and was a hub for adult venues
Remaining adult venues on 8th Avenue including Show World and The Playpen
Theatres retrofitted into Broadway venues including the The Victory, The Empire, The Lyric, and The New Amsterdam
The Condor and Big Al’s being retrofitted from adult venues in San Francisco
Defunct theatres including The Pussycat Cinema, The World Theatre, The Rialto, and The Apollo
Adult Films Beyond the Green Door and Deep Throat
The history of Broadway

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Jack Ravenwood

1980's, 1990's, aesthetics, Anime, Architecture, Art, Asia, Asian Aryanism, Beatniks, capitalism, China, Cinema, Cities, Class, College, conformity, Conservatives, Consumerism, Culture, Cyberpunk, Deconstruction, Donald Trump, Economics, education, Film, Free Trade, Ghost in a Shell, Globalization, History, Hong Kong, Immigration, Jack Kerouac, Jack Ravenwood, Japan, Japanese Culture, Jean Baudrillard, Las Vegas, Literature, Martin Heidegger, Mid-Century Modern, Neoliberalism, Neon, New York, Paradise Theater, Philosophy, Pilleater, Robert Brenner, Ross Perot, Shenzhen, Skyscrapers, SWPL, Thomas Rinaldi, Time Square, Trans-Pacific Partnership, Urbanism, Wisconsin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to Jack Ravenwood. He is the author of Paradise Theater, a collection of short stories centered around the theme of the post-industrial American small city. He is also the main writer at Mean Street Cinema, a website dedicated to films from New York City in the 70’s and 80’s, as well as the co-founder of little ape press. He blogs at Foreigner Thoughts

Topics:

The setting of the book Paradise Theater in Jack’s home town West Allis, Wisconsin in the 1980’s and early 90’s
The Paradise Theatre movie house which the book was named for and featured on the cover
The Fairview Motors Sign which is featured on the back of the book; Mid-Century Road Signage
The cultural, political, and economic themes in the book
Allis-Chalmers closing in West Allis and the de-industrialization of the Midwest
Ross Perot’s campaign in 1992 against NAFTA, and Trump campaigning on trade issues
Jack’s Unz Review article Trump, JFK, and the Deep State
National Review Writer: Working-Class Communities ‘Deserve To Die
How the best case scenario for the US would be to carve out a niche in high end manufacturing that caters to China’s growing middle class
Jack’s new home Shenzhen, China which is a manufacturing power house, and new mega city built from scratch
Jack’s Mean Street Cinema site, his interest in Vintage New York City, and Robert Stark’s interviews with Thomas Rinaldi about New York Neon and Robert Brenner about his Time Square Tours
Jack’s observations about Hong Kong Neon and how Hong Kong Is Slowly Dimming Its Neon Glow
Jack’s future plan to document Neon in Hong Kong in either a book or blog
The culture of Hong Kong as a bridge between the east and west and it’s “relative autonomy”
Vertical living and how it is the norm for urban China for all classes
High density living isn’t inherently bad but it is necessary to have a high quality of culture to sustain it
Jack Kerouac’s The Town and the City
Conformity in Asian culture; authentic Asian culture vs. SWPL larping
Chinese Philosophy; the Tao Te Ching
The evolution of Western Philosophy; Deconstruction and selective deconstruction
Jean Baudrillard and the simulation


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Thomas Rinaldi returns to talk about Neon

1960's, 1980's, aesthetics, Architecture, Argentina, Art, Art Deco, Asia, Blade Runner, Buenos Aires, Cities, Consumerism, Corporations, Culture, Economics, Futurism, gentrification, Historic Preservation, History, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Mid-Century Modern, Neon, New York, Philadelphia, Pilleater, Retro Futurism, Robert Brenner, San Francisco, Thomas Rinaldi, Time Square, Travel, Urbanism, Wildwood New Jersey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to returning guest Thomas Rinaldi. He is the author of New York Neon and blogs at nyneon.blogspot.com

Topics:

Thomas’s Tours of West Village’s Vintage Neon Signs, his Greenwich Village Neon Walking Tour, and how those areas have the highest concentration of surviving Neon in New York City
Thomas’s observation that Neon has declined in both corporate chain dominated, as well as lower income communities
How ironically in the 60’s Neon was synonymous with commercialization(ex. Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence)
The association of Neon with 80’s Retro-Futurism(ex. Retrowave, Club NEON) and the irony that Neon hit rock bottom in the 80’s
The decline of Neon in Time Square, Robert Brenner’s Gritty Old Time Square Tours, and the few remnents including the West 43rd Garage and the McDonalds from the 80’s
Lights Out 2016: Signs We Lost That Year
The Colgate Clock in Jersey City, which has been LED’ed
Clock Towers Signs in New York including the Paramount Theatre, the Consolidated Edison Building, the Met Life Tower, and the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower
Soviet Neon Stars at the Kremlin and Neon in Communist Cuba
Williamsburg’s Domino Sugar Refinery redevelopment; the outlawing of waterfront signs in New York City
The C & H factory Sign in Crockett, California
Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco as one of the best examples of a renovated former industrial site
Georges Claude, the father of the commercialization of Neon
The popularity of Signs Inside
Fake Neon
Animated Neon Signs, the peak in the 50’s, and San Francisco’s “Coca~Cola” Sign
Bulb Signs which were proliferate in the 1920’s, and Robert’s observation that they were also popular with 90’s era Las Vegas Casinos
Wildwood, New Jersey Neon
Mid Century Road Signage; Route 66
Downtown LA; The LA Museum Of Neon Art
Neon in Buenos Aires, Argentina; The Art Deco Kavanagh building and Estadio Luna Park
Thomas’s observations from Stockholm and Amsterdam
How Neon is declining in both Mega Cities such as New York and London as well as the poorest cities in the developing world
Hong Kong Is Slowly Dimming Its Neon Glow


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Josh Alan Friedman

1960's, 1970's, 1980's, Adam Parfrey, Al Goldstein, Black Cracker, Black Culture, Blues, censorship, Cities, Class, counterculture, Crime, Culture, Dallas, Erotica, Feral House Books, Film, gentrification, History, Josh Alan Friedman, journalism, Literature, Long Island, Los Angeles, Luke Ford, Media, Music, New York, Pilleater, Political Correctness, Pornography, Race Relations, Robert Brenner, Sexuality, Texas, The American South, Time Square

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to writer and musician Josh Alan Friedman. He blogs at Black Cracker Online

Topics:

Intro Song: “Thanksgiving at McDonald’s in Times Square” by Josh Alan Friedman
Josh’s book Black Cracker about his experience going to the last segregated Black school in New York
Recovering lost memories from 1962 when Josh was in 1st Grade
The account of Josh being lynched in the book
The location of Glen Cove, Long Island, Black Shanty Towns, and the Gold Coast Era
Reactions to the book
Race relations in New York City in the 70’s, school busing, and the Bernie Goetz incident
Josh’s move to Dallas, Texas where his music career took off
Josh’s interest in Blues music, White adaptation of the Blues in the 60’s, the 80’s Blues Revival in Texas, and decline in interest among Blacks
Josh’s solo guitar act
Openings for bands including Huey Lewis and the News, War, Johnny Winter, and Bad Company
Josh’s book Tales of Times Square about Time Square in the 70’s; Robert Stark’s interview with Robert Brenner about his Gritty Old Time Square Tours
Josh’s observation that Broadway in Downtown LA reminds him of old Time Square
Josh’s interview with Luke Ford
Josh’s experience working for Al Goldstein’s Screw Magazine
Josh’s book I, Goldstein, which is a co-written autobiography about Al Goldstein
Josh’s book When Sex Was Dirty
Rules for Journalist; “never pay for an interview”
Book Publishing; the era of “the gate keeper,” independent publishing houses such as Feral House, and self-publishing today
The effects of the internet on musicians


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Brenner returns to talk about his Time Square Tours

1970's, 1980's, Akira, Anime, Architecture, Art Deco, Basic Income, Blade Runner, Blue Velvet, Cinema, Cities, Cuisine, Culture, David Lynch, Erotica, Film, Film Noire, gentrification, Historic Preservation, History, horror, horror films, Japan, Japanese Culture, Josh Alan Friedman, Midnight Cowboy, Mishima A Life in Four Chapters, Neon, New York, Pilleater, Pornography, Robert Brenner, Science Fiction, Sexuality, Skyscrapers, Taxi Driver, Time Square, Urbanism, Yukio Mishima

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to Robert Brenner. Robert Brenner is a writer, critic, satirist, futurist, urbanist, and porkatarian. His work has appeared in the Huffington Post, New York Magazine, Salon, the Barnes & Noble Review, Medium, Different Truths, Antiserious, and Theory In Action. He is a graduate of the Writers’ Institute at CUNY.

Topics:

Robert Brenner’s upcoming Gritty Old Times Square Tour on Sunday March 19th hosted by Untapped Cities
Midnight Cowboy locales including the defunct Hotel Claridge
Taxi Driver locales including the Lyric theatre, and the notorious now defunct Terminal Bar
Pilleater’s recent observations from Time Square
How to walk like a New Yorker
The Hotel Carter, the “dirtiest hotel in America,” which is currently under renovation, and the seedy Elk Hotel which recently closed
The Knickerbocker and the New Yorker Hotel
The closure of Bond 45
The Time Square Police Station
The Time Square Subway Station(not included in the tour)
Martin Hodas, the King of the Peep Shows
Chelly Wilson, who pioneered Homosexual S&M Porn in Time Square’s Grind House Theatres
East Harlem, the last remnants of gritty old New York where Robert Brenner is researching a future tour
Josh Allan Friedman’s Tales of Times Square, published by Feral House Books
NYC That Never Was: Alternate Plans for Times Square from 1984-MAS Competition
The 1982 Horror Film Basket Case set in Time Square
Robert Brenner’s review of David Lynch’s Blue Velvet
Robert Brenner’s Tour from the Empire State Building to Penn Station for the The Municipal Art Society
The Historic Tenderloin District, which predated Time Square and is now Korea Town
Robert Brenner’s Midtown Cheap Ethnic Eats Tour every saturday for Local Expeditions
Custom and conceptual Tours
Robert Brenner’s article Will Robots Take Our Jobs?
Sex Robots and Virtual Sex
Movie Review: Japanese Musicals, the Beyond Godzilla series about Japanese Science Fiction, and the manga Akira


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




 

Robert Stark interviews Robert Brenner about his Gritty Old Time Square Tours

1970's, aesthetics, Architecture, Art Deco, Blade Runner, Cities, Crime, Film, Film Noire, Futurism, gentrification, Historic Preservation, History, Jamie Gillis, John C. Portman Jr, Midnight Cowboy, Neon, New York, Peter Sotos, Pilleater, Pornography, Prostitution, Robert Brenner, San Francisco, Skyscrapers, Taxi Driver, The Porn Industry, Thomas Rinaldi, Time Square, Travel, Urbanism, Zoning

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater interview Robert Brenner. Robert is a writer, critic, satirist, futurist, urbanist, and porkatarian. His work has appeared in the Huffington Post, New York Magazine, Salon, the Barnes & Noble Review, Medium, Different Truths, Antiserious, and Theory In Action. He is a graduate of the Writers’ Institute at CUNY.

Topics:

Robert Brenner’s Gritty Old Times Square tours, which are offered on Saturday’s once a Month, hosted by Untapped Cities
Adult Entertainment is the focus of the tours, but they also cover the general history of Time Square
The remnants of seedy Time Square, including The Playpen, and the Show World Center on Eighth Avenue
Robert Brenner’s experience in Time Square as a youth in the 70’s
That era of Time Square portrayed in the Films Taxi Driver and Midnight Cowboy
The gentrification of Time Square in the 90’s, and how the area went from an interesting but dangerous area to a safe and boring one
The Deuce on 42nd Street, which was the center of adult entertainment in the 70’s
The Porn Industry in Time Square, and premier of 70’s porn films such as Behind the Green Door and Deep Throat that paved the way for the future of the pornographic industry, spawning many different adult sites, live cam sites, and even the Babestation blog.
Robert Brenner’s point that every city needs a Red Light District
Peter Sotos’s Pure Filth about the pornographer Jamie Gillis
San Francisco’s Tenderloin, where Robert Brenner lived in the early 80’s, and Robert Stark’s observations from his trip to the San Francisco Bay Area
The decline of neon signage in favor of LED, Robert Stark’s interview with Thomas Rinaldi of New York Neon, and the company LET THERE BE NEON! which restores old signs
The history of the Broadway Theater District, the New Amsterdam Theatre, and the defunct Paramount Theatre
The closing of Carnegie Deli and Maxie’s Delicatessen
The Bond Clothing Store Signs in Times Square
The John Portman designed Marriott Marquis in Time Square
The Tour of the Remnants of Penn Station, and plans for Moynihan Station inspired by the old Penn Station
New York Skyscrapers


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