What I’m Watching: As I told my teams this week, I went deep down a Milli Vanilli wormhole recently, and the highlight of it was this interview that Fab Morvan did a couple of years ago with VladTV. I distinctly remember this as a kid, I mean this story was HUGE. I feel like it was the biggest story between the Challenger exploding and OJ going on the run, that’s how big it was. And Fab and Rob got completely dumped on, and were totally unfairly scapegoated, and the people behind the scenes got away scot free. Rob sadly never recovered. He spiraled into a full blown drug addict and died in 1998. Fab seems like a really chill dude. I’m damn impressed with how he overcame becoming a joke and emerged with his dignity intact. You can follow Fab on Instagram here.
What I’m Listening to: I started listening to some German pop this past week (why not?) and really ended up digging this German rapper/singer named Julian Philipp David, better known as JPD. Reminds me of a German Mac Miller. Check out his song Elena and his song Kapital. I have NO CLUE what he’s saying but that’s the magic of music: good tunes are good tunes. Period. And these sound great.
What Else I’m Listening To: We travel from Germany to Camden, and had the honor of chatting with local trumpeter Arnetta Johnson. She talked to us about going from Camden to Berklee, about performing at halftime of the Super Bowl with Beyonce (!), and how the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement have influenced her playing. As for her music, she calls what she does “disruptive jazz”. You can hear some of it here. And if you’re reading this on Friday, you can see and her tonight at the Philly Music Festival.
Awesome Place I Apparently Helped “Burglarize” This Week: As you guys know, we’ve raised a lot of money for the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign since March. Cheri Honkala is an absolute boss, and she keeps hundreds of people from starving, and keeps a roof over the heads of so many of the city’s families. She’s also a royal pain in City Hall’s ass. This is from a 1997 article in City Limits:
After the city spent millions to build a new convention center next door to a soup kitchen, Cheri led a group of homeless welfare recipients who bedded down for the night on the center’s polished marble floors, Later, she and a gang of homeless people camped out a city housing official’s front lawn. That same year, Cheri issued an arrest warrant for the governor, saying he had committed crimes against the poor. And just recently Cheri had been seen chasing the mayor down a City Hall corridor, engaging him in a rousing shouting match as press photographers snapped away.
Needless to say, the Powers That Be hate her. They proved that once again last Sunday. A small gathering at St Edward’s Church, owned by a shell corp that owes over $89k in back taxes, resulted in Cheri being arrested and charged with two felonies, including “Burglary” which is of course laughable. It’s an abandoned church. What was she going to steal? Pews? You can read about this nonsense here. Great piece by Max Marin. Speaking of which, Billy Penn does a great daily newsletter that I highly suggest everyone read (unlike the pitiful joke that the Inky newsletter is).
Where I’m Shopping: Went for a run one day and stumbled across this amazing thrift/art store in Brewerytown, Search and Rescue Dry Goods. There are few things I like better than thrift stores that follow no rhyme or reason, just an owner who has an eye for…cool shit. And this is one of them. Highly recommend checking it out. 3101 West Glenwood.