Wednesday, January 11, 2006

2005 Top Ten

Basquiat at the Brooklyn Museum of Art
I found the phrase "Heart As Arena" at this retrospective. I went to this show three times and probably walked through about 8 times. Early period, late period, whatever. It all killed. One of my favorite pieces was the mourning piece for Andy. A heartbreaker for sure. That piece. The show. Everything.

Candice Breitz at Sonnabend
I never laughed so hard in a gallery in Chelsea on a Saturday afternoon. It was the first time I've ever seen dancing break out in a gallery without a DJ. But that's not why this show kicked so hard. Breitz got to the heart of pop by displaying so clearly how great pop works it's way into us. Sure, a pop song is one of the purest forms of corruption, but that don't mean it ain't genius.

Richard Pettibone at the ICA in Philadelphia
What a charmer, this one. It felt like the fragile comfort of that LOW song, Closer, . . . "Hold me closer than that."

Jenny Holzer For The City
I was vaguely familiar with Holzer's work before this. I went to see her projections of recently released government documents regarding the war and torture onto the side of the Bobst Library at NYU. On my way home I was in such a state I forgot to swipe my metrocard and slammed my legs right into the turnstile. Yep. New rule to live by: If art makes you think you can walk through solid objects it's good.

Napalm Death The Code Is Red . . . Long Live The Code
Twenty-five years and these guys are still gettin' it done. Jello Biafra's guest spot on "The Great and the Good" is clutch. Not a note wasted on the entire record. Essential!

Bodies In The Gears Of The Apparatus/Despised Icon split
Whew. One of the Relapse guys turned me onto this. Daaaaaaamn. Grindcore took over my neighborhood with this furious split. Crunchtime for the kiddies. Death-defying. This is the stuff.

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