Revisit an essay written by the late Anthony Bourdain.
Last week, on 8 June, the acclaimed television host, chef and writer passed away at age 61. The cause of death was suicide, and Bourdain was found at Le Chambard hotel in Kaysersberg, a village in France’s Alsace region.
In commemoration, Spin has republished an essay penned by Bourdain for the publication’s October 2007 issue. In the piece, Bourdain looks back upon the year 1977, during which he lived in New York – “a shameful, embarrassing time”. From Saturday Night Fever to the emergence of punk, Bourdain traces the music and memories from the era.
“The music and the musicians who started playing and hanging out with each other at CBGB were an appropriate reaction to the general feelings of hopelessness, absurdity, futility, and disgust of living in New York at the time,” he wrote.
“At CBGB, the Voidoids’ incredible guitarist, Robert Quine, shredded his Fender over symbolist-inspired lyrics, making sounds never heard before or since. Talking Heads, Television, Dead Boys, the Heartbreakers, Patti Smith – for a brief moment, it looked like things might change for the better. New York was the centre of the world.”
“Since most of our favourite musicians had no money, we fed them for free in our restaurants in exchange for tickets,” he added.
“In the end, as influential as these bands were to eventually become, no one bought the records. Richard Hell’s Blank Generation did not become the defining rock anthem it should have. The Ramones went out on tour and pretty much stayed on tour. The bands that broke out, such as Blondie, only did so by morphing (Heart of Glass was a disco hit).”
“When I think back on those years, I remember, of course, all the great music – a true embarrassment of riches.”
Earlier this week, CNN aired the first episode of Bourdain’s show Parts Unknown since his death. Currently in its 11th season, the sixth episode focuses on Ellen Allien, Berlin’s clubbing scene and its creative spirit. Read Bourdain’s essay via Spin.
