Kurt B. profile picture

Kurt B.

Hell is a place where we call each other darling

About Me

As a small child, I was jealous that peers my own age - like Jodie Foster or that chubby girl who played Gavin McLeod's daughter on The Love Boat - were already leading exciting lives, starring in feature films and mingling with A-list celebrities like Charo and Sonny Bono, while I was stuck in the suburbs of Northern Virginia. After an awkward new wave adolescence (which some would argue I've never completely outgrown), and years of hard work in the trenches of New York and Seattle, I have successfully clawed my way into a tiny crevice of the mountain called show business, where I manage to stay warm, dry, well-fed, and mildly entertained, thanks to a steady diet of writing, DJ and entertaining gigs. And while I have yet to meet Charo, I did swap trousers with Robbie Williams.

My Interests

music, writing, knitting, snacks, 826 Seattle , making a spectacle of myself on stage

I'd like to meet:

Arthur Russell or Klaus Nomi or Derek Jarman. But they're all dead.

Music:

Marc Almond, Julie London, Antony + The Johnsons, Hercules & Love Affair, Radio Disney, Arthur Russell, '60s girl groups, Klaus Nomi, Kylie Minogue, Gavin Friday, Little Annie , Bananarama, Imperial Teen, Diamanda Galas, Neko Case, Kurt Weill, Carolyn Mark, Marlena Shaw, Soft Cell, Cristina , Kate Bush, Merry Clayton, vintage funk and soul, Eurovision entries, Frances Faye, and so many other things it makes my delicate little kopf ache.

Movies:

Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three, The Pillow Book, Gods & Monsters, Starstruck, Liquid Sky, Metropolis

Television:

Mostly TV bores, depresses, or alienates me, but I watch The Simpsons entirely too much, and enjoyed Seasons Two & Three of Project Runway. Law & Order: SVU and CI (esp. with Vincent). Old episodes of Dark Shadows on DVD.

Books:

My bookshelves are teeming with entirely too many music biographies and reference books, from Bubblegum Music Is The Naked Truth to Will Friedwald's flawed but essential Jazz Singing. I also enjoy Denton Welch, Oscar Levant, Gore Vidal, Truman Capote, and Philip Hoare. Currently on a Dawn Powell kick, thanks to Dave White's gut-bustingly funny Exile In Guyville .

Heroes:

Klaus Nomi, Arthur Russell, Derek Jarman, John Waters, Robert Penland, Antony Hegarty

My Blog

"Century Flower" is right

Wait... wait... wait... there is a new album by Shelleyan Orphan? I thought the pastoral art-folk duo disintegrated back in 1989 (about the same time my naivete crumbled). But sure enough, We Have Eve...
Posted by Kurt B. on Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:11:00 PST

The sigh of relief

I have just sent off a new book proposal to my agent. Pending his approval, it will be submitted to an editor at a big publisher tomorrow. Thursday at the latest. The proposal is 57 pages long. I have...
Posted by Kurt B. on Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:00:00 PST

el toro vs. the crankiest man in show business

My KEXP session with Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields is now up on NPR! Listen to the whole thing (rather than just the individual songs) and know the meaning of the word "uncomfortable."...
Posted by Kurt B. on Wed, 24 Sep 2008 02:32:00 PST

comme ci, comme ca

I am delighted to read that boutique label Cherry Pop will be reissuing Marilyn's 1985 album Despite Straight Lines. I am disappointed to learn that it will include neither "Pray For That Sunshine" (w...
Posted by Kurt B. on Wed, 24 Sep 2008 02:19:00 PST

This is only a test...

I bought a new laptop today. I can't afford one, but my 2002 model was moving slower and slower, and even the simplest pages took ages to load (hence my reluctance to blog of late), so I took the plun...
Posted by Kurt B. on Tue, 23 Sep 2008 06:39:00 PST

From the archives

While trawling through old files yesterday, searching a long-buried interview transcript, I found the following photo of (from right to left) Donovan, Mark and I at GMP Seattle's Spring Fling garden p...
Posted by Kurt B. on Sat, 20 Sep 2008 10:46:00 PST

Bumbershoot 2008 - a brief photo recap

Why do I brave the crowds at Seattle Center for Bumbershoot every year? Here are five star-studded (cough, cough) reasons... 1. Getting to spend time with friends and their families during grea...
Posted by Kurt B. on Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:34:00 PST

When in Austin, MN...

Be sure to visit the Spam Museum:That was on Day 3 - lots of adventures to report since then. More details when I'm back in Seattle on Tuesday! ...
Posted by Kurt B. on Sat, 16 Aug 2008 07:51:00 PST

Till dessert do us part

For all my complaining, there are some things I enjoy about weddings. Such as seeing my friends from the twilight world of rock in completely different contexts. Like Rachel Flotard of Visqueen, shown...
Posted by Kurt B. on Mon, 11 Aug 2008 06:46:00 PST

Dress Your Family in Navy Blue & Bow Ties

A dear friend of mine is getting married next weekend. I am serving as best man. At the insistence of the Warlord, I agreed to purchase a new suit for the event. So on Tuesday, we marched downtown. W...
Posted by Kurt B. on Fri, 01 Aug 2008 09:52:00 PST