(Kim Gordon, l, and Julie Cafritz, r, moments before that mani-pedi and Stila visit)
If news of Lower East Side resident Tatum O’Neal living her Lou Reed dream threw Bad News Bears fans everywhere for a loop, another story sat me down and said Wake Up Call. Julie Cafritz, ex-Pussy Galore and current Free Kitten, did a Guest List interview on Pitchfork with Kim Gordon that was almost as shocking. Instead of living out that hardcore noise queen dream of my youth on said Lower East Side with Tatum, she sounds so normal I think I married her. I mean, her ringtone is Steely Dan’s “Hey Nineteen” for God’s sake. Thanks, Tatum, for keeping that teen dream alive. Tyler Grisham relates Cafritz’ less than sordid downfall here:
>> Favorite Record Shop
KG: I don’t go to record stores.
JC: I try to stay local, really local. So there’s this little record shop that actually delivers things to my home. It’s called Amazon. They recently brought me a record I quite fancy, the new Kevin Ayers, Unfairground, which sounds just like his old records, just not quite as good, which is still pretty damn good.
>> Best Purchase of the Past Year
KG: Earrings and necklace by Rebekah Brooks.
JC: You are asking this question of someone who shops to fill the black hole in her soul. It’s all a blur. Wait, I know: I shopped around for a new shrink, and he’s great.
>> Best Thing I Did This Year
KG: Played noise with my friend at her opening in Paris on her 50th birthday wearing a Rodarte dress.
JC: Skiing Steamboat Springs in April. Not only were the conditions epic, but I got to use my “western” voice the whole time and that was mighty fine.
(pictured: no longer Ms. Cafritz’ residence)
>> Favorite TV Show at the Moment
KG: “The Wire”, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”.
JC: A revolving lineup depending what month of the reality TV calendar we’re in: “Top Chef” and “America’s Next Top Model” at the moment.
>> Favorite Video Game at the Moment
KG: “Rock Band”.
JC: Umm, I’m not a pimply-faced, 15-year-old, masturbating loser, so I don’t have one. Instead of violent video games, I like to watch my kids beat the shit out of each other. If I wanna play, I hit one of them.
here’s a middle-aged male reply :
my tastes in tv are pretty close to Kim’s (and I think a buffy/wire crossover episode will only exist in my head). As i’ve grown older, my views on video games have become closer to those of Ms. Cafritz. It’s not that I dislike Madden, but it’s hard to top kids (someone else’s, naturally) beating the shit out of each other.
Our middle-aged Tivo runs much more on the Cafritzian model of reality tv — as long as the mrs is programming. top chef, project runway, america’s next top model — I watch hardball, baseball tonight, mad men — and then junior prefers the backyardigans (sndtrk by evan lurie!), hi-nao, and yo! gabba gabba, which features biz markie’s beat of the day. re the video games, Cafritz is only off on one stat — the pimply-faced masturbating loser is usually much older than 15.
With two out and none on in the bottom of the 10th inning of Game Six of the 1986 World Series, Ms. Cafritz was sweet enough to call me and yell, “hey, how about those Mets?”
Given how the inning turned out, I’ve never held a grudge. Ray Knight, however, would eventually sell his copy of ‘Groovy Hate Fuck’ on eBay.
I apologize for the name-droppy nature of this comment, but we’ve not heard from Don Smith in a while and I figured he wouldn’t mind if I filled in.
I’m not a huge fan of the reality TV genre, but anything that lends a sense of purpose to the lives of MC Serch, Wally Backman and every Baldwin brother than isn’t Alec, must be considered a force for healing.
On the other hand, it’s also kept Eric Bischoff in television.
You’ve got to be kidding me. (September 2009)