Comments on: SWINGING MODERN SOUNDS #30: What Is and Is Not Masculine

By: Christian Puffer

Christian Puffer — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:33:59 +0000

Huh. I wasn’t aware of any of this. Just recently I started following Lurie on Twitter, a medium at which he is really entertaining, quickly becoming one of my feed favorites. He posts pictures of his paintings, oddball and wry observations and jokes, random comments to famous people, and, just, well, Lurie coolness.

I did not come by Lurie recently. I was in my late teens and 20s during the era of which Lurie was such a important player. I was a post punk kid who worshipped indie film and underground art, a college DJ who liked outré music (tho’ honestly, a lot jazz at that time rather mystified me). And I was (am) an amateur artist, writer, musician. And John Lurie was (is) the real deal. And he is funny. He exudes good humor.

So finding him on Twitter is leading me to go back through his work. Watched DOWN BY LAW, the doc BLANK CITY, tons of YouTube clips. Found the LP LIVE IN JAPAN on vinyl.

The question as to whether he was still making music, or acting, had crossed my mind. But frankly I’ve just been enjoying my rediscovery of what I dug about his work initially. So this is kind of disheartening, more because of Lyme Disease than anything else. The New Yorker hit job seems the worst kind of wannabe rockstar journalism. Frankly I’m glad I didn’t read it.

(Interestingly, I found this piece, so far after the fact, via something he retweeted. I wonder how long I would have remained blissfully aware.)

Friend will only ever be ever known as a hack writer and forgotten by most who read him. Lurie has contributed to our culture in many positive and exciting ways. I’m happy that he has found in painting a vital and expressive medium for is humor and eye for the absurd.

By: Staci Gabrielli

Staci Gabrielli — Wed, 15 May 2013 00:51:37 +0000

you are a truely good person. i respect and admire this article beyond words. he is king among men and you have shed some serious light on how amazing of a human he really is. i have always been a fan of his music since i purchased voice of chunk on casette from a later night infomerchial in the 80′s and love the films he’s been in as well as was lucky enough to see the lounge lizards play live in los angeles, once. got to meet him @ book soup when he released his book of art and found him to be such a nice man with a whole lot to say and share about life. he’s the man alright and Tad Friend could take some lessons from him for sure on how to be exactly that. you too are a king. good on ya for the rebuttal, it rules and so do you.

By: stephen Torton

stephen Torton — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 00:50:00 +0000

I wish I had written this, bless you<. Good writing, well researched…. You know John and capture him beautifully

By: Laura

Laura — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 22:51:06 +0000

I read your essay with great interest and found it to be a fascinating and thoughtful piece. I can absolutely understand your need to set the record straight in the name of a friend.
However, I cannot understand why the article in the New Yorker was not generally received with more outrage, even by people who don’t know Lurie personally or are longtime fans (I consider myself neither, I have only recently started to take more interest in his music and art). P-, however which way you look at him, is clearly a very ill man and no amount of euphemism can can cover up that what’s described in the article are actions that quite clearly meant to threaten and hurt Lurie, who was understandable scared and concerned for his safety.
I was shocked at the tone of Friend’s writing, both in regards to Lurie’s illness, as well as almost ridiculing his art, which is then positively neglected in favour of giving a platform to his stalker.
I was appalled. And while I think yours is a great and important essay, I would hope that anyone in their right mind would read the New Yorker article critically and with a great deal of suspicion. One can only wonder what went wrong in the process of Friend’s research and writing.
All the best,
Laura

By: kb

kb — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:58:32 +0000

“it’s precisely what Lurie has, loyalty, generosity, sentimentality, the love of children, that makes him more admirable, most estimable, as a man than the other two men who orbit around him in the piece.” thank you rick moody. truer words were never spoken.

By: racoono

racoono — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 06:07:29 +0000

two customer reviews on amazon from 2001 of Tad’s book ‘Lost in Mongolia’: “This book is poorly written and superficially researched with almost no basis in reality and overhyped and over-juiced.” and “There is a self important smugness to Friend’s writing that suggests a certain barrenness of Spirit, no matter how fertile the terrain he visits.”

By: Greg Guro

Greg Guro — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 02:27:15 +0000

Just as an indicator, Friend quotes a facetious comment by Mr. Lurie on his FISHING WITH JOHN about TOM WAITS. . . .which is idiotic. He might of well have said that the episode he did with Willem Dafoe where he died was “true.”

By: mel bernstine

mel bernstine — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 21:29:59 +0000

i dont know why John even got involved with this New Yorker thing in the first place. he knew that he couldnt trust a magazine to get the story straight. they never do. even the most honestly written news story is part fiction.

By: susan berton

susan berton — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 18:47:06 +0000

This is shocking I have never heard anyone talk about JOhn Lurie like this . He is a brilliant guy and humble.
Amy Tan had lymes disease and wrote about how horrible it was .i hope he will read it she only found some help by chance on the internet . she was told she was going to dei. I can not beieve they attacked his health sexuality and all . Every girl downtown that i knew wanted to sleep with JOhn. i know one of his ex girlfriends who lived with him she looked like marylyn monroe and she had nothing bad to say about him.

By: Megan Whilden

Megan Whilden — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 14:46:15 +0000

Thank you for taking the time to write this thoughtful and moving response to the sensationalistic New Yorker profile. The cult of celebrity and sensationalism must not overtake appreciation for creativity and beauty in all its forms. Thank you John Lurie for all you bring to our world.