Annals of Americus

The Hi-Riser On The Hill

Matthew Newton — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:29:53 +0000

Each day I drive past this hi-riser on my daily commute through Western Pennsylvania's Monongahela Valley. In three years, it's never moved, yet somehow it retains a shine -- like the owner still regularly washes and waxes it even though he stopped driving it long ago.

Read or Regret, Vol. I: Hard Truths and Unshakable Horrors

Matthew Newton — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:48:38 +0000

A month or so back, for example, I unearthed a copy of The Soul of America (1986) -- Esquire's state-by-state look at life in 1980s America. A Ken Kesey essay on rodeo culture in Kansas is what prompted me to buy the book, but after paging through the table of contents some more, I discovered a story written by Lynn Darling titled "True Blue."

Postcards from America: Rochester, New York

Matthew Newton — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:41:40 +0000

A year ago we did a project called Postcards From America. It was a groundbreaking experiment. Rather than waiting to be commissioned, we just made a decision to do something and hit the road. We drove from San Antonio to Oakland. It was really thrilling. But it was also pretty chaotic.

Scene From The Suburban Slums: ‘This Is All Gone Now’

Matthew Newton — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:42:52 +0000

For the last several months, I’ve been researching the topic of suburban decline for a series of nonfiction stories I’m working on. I’m looking at what is traditionally viewed as first-ring suburbs, or the first wave of planned communities beyond the city limits. My focus is on the eastern suburbs outside of Pittsburgh, an area I’ve lived nearly all my life.

New York City’s Faded Ethos in Colson Whitehead’s ‘Zone One’

Roshan Abraham — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:22:31 +0000

I was not surprised when the “occupation” of Zucotti Park was cleared out last November by the NYPD. What surprised me was that it could persist for nearly two months in a place as spatially constricted as Manhattan. New York City is not particularly hospitable to those who wish to live off-the-grid or create autonomous spaces for themselves — artistic,…

The Last Night Of The Year

Matthew Newton — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:38:38 +0000

My uncle used to refer to New Year's Eve as amateur night. That was because, well, he was a high-functioning alcoholic, and most social drinkers are not as well-versed in the dubious art of driving under the influence.

The Brilliance and Racism of Soul Man

Douglas Haddow — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:02:28 +0000

Can we start a serious discussion on how inadvertently brilliant and terribly racist this film is?

In the Tunnels Beneath Las Vegas

Matthew Newton — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 04:10:10 +0000

Back in November 2010, Austin Hargrave wrote about his experience photographing the homeless who live in the tunnels beneath Las Vegas. His photographs appeared in Matthew O'Brien's book, Beneath the Neon, which documents the people who live (for a variety of reasons) in the drainage tunnels beneath the city. With homelessness numbers in Las Vegas tripling since 2009, it makes you wonder if the tunnels have seen an influx of residents in the last year.

David Lyle: This Ends Here

Matthew Newton — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:32:38 +0000

Last year I kept seeing this image (pictured) pop up all over Tumblr, but never with any attribution. Somewhere along the line, though I don't remember when or how, I learned that photographer turned painter David Lyle was responsible.

Alice Cooper and the ‘Chicken Incident’ of 1969

Matthew Newton — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 20:38:16 +0000

After an unrehearsed stage routine involving Cooper and a live chicken garnered attention from the press, the band decided to capitalize on tabloid sensationalism, creating in the process a new subgenre, shock rock. Cooper claims that the infamous 'Chicken Incident', which took place at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival concert in September 1969, was in fact an accident.