Erasure – Mitchell's thoughts, photos, etc.

Marc and Alana Regroup

Marc and Alana went to visit Jen. Their kids sat in their strollers, under Ben’s watchful eyes. He was getting bigger and smarter. Like his mom and dad, he was friendly. Probably not a mean bone in his body. He’d never develop superpowers. That’d destroy his sweetness. He’d have to be always on his guard.

Morrissey was blasting on Apple Music as they sat down to eat and sip Pinot Noir from City Winery. Their conversation flowed as smoothly as the wine and Morrissey’s voice. Some people hate the Moz. He speaks the truth and is a great man and entertainer.

Marc and Alana discussed the mess with Christy A. Jen was still a little shaken from her run-in with them. She was still pleased that Jerry was there to keep them safe. She was amazed at how a little boy could be so strong. But she knows he’s Jay’s kid and Anat adopted him when Jay left him for dead. That kid had to be strong.

Jen’s a decent cook. She served skirt steaks with cauliflower and other veggies. She even baked a peach cobbler. Meanwhile, Christy A. was near the Conference House. She rarely goes to Staten Island. No one was sure why she left Brooklyn. Who would ever?

A band was about to play. They opened with “Rescue” from Echo & the Bunnymen and played a medley of tunes from the Cure, the Smiths, R.E.M., Erasure and the Pet Shop Boys. I guess a cover band can mix the Cure in with the Smiths. Imagine Morrissey and Robert being civil to each other?

They just finished playing R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” and launched into the Cure’s “Boys Don’t Cry.” As soon as the vocalist got to the lyrics, “I try to laugh about it and hide all the tears in my eyes,” there were tears all over the Conference House.

Middle-aged adults, some with their young children, were getting smacked with semolina bread. The goths were hit harder than the others. None of the people who usually stopped Christy A. were anywhere near Staten Island.

Almost at the same time, Marc’s, Alana’s, Jen’s and Anat’s iPhones buzzed with an Apple News flash. It mentioned the NYPD was on the scene at the Conference House trying to stop an attack. They texted Dan to see what he knew. He wrote back that he was out in the park with Gili when he got the alert. His commander asked how fast he could get to the Conference House. He said he’d rush over.

Meanwhile, things were getting messier in Tottenville at the site of the Conference House. The emergency response unit was getting smashed. Dan dropped Gili off at his parents’ and jumped into his car and prayed that Anat and her Avenger-like friends were en route. He had no idea.

His Wi-Fi wasn’t working well. He was able to call Anat. She was home and said she’d do her best to get there. But the trip from the Upper East Side to the southernmost tip of Staten Island was not easy to make. She’s not Superman and couldn’t fly. She didn’t have a tie fighter. She would figure it out. She wondered where the others were.

100 Years or Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Does Music Make a Difference When Shooting and Editing Photos?

By Mitchell Slepian

Hello, readers. As my regulars are aware, ninety-nine percent of the time, the images in my stories have been shot and edited with my Nikon camera. As Paul Simon sings, I like to take photographs. My Kodachrome sits on a table next to an old Nikon that was a workhorse and is now out of commission.

Sheepshead Bay by Emmons Avenue – Edited to Sir Elton

When shooting and editing, I always have songs in my head. One of my all-time favorite songs is “100 Years,” the opening track on The Cure’s “Pornography” album. It might be the darkest, most goth album of all time. I listen to it nonstop. Here’s a taste of Robert Smith’s (The Cure’s founder, lead singer, and possibly the best songwriter ever) lyrics. “It doesn’t matter if we all die. Ambition in the back of a black car.” I listen to lots of other great artists. Some are happier than The Cure. Of course, some are just as dark. Here’s a partial mix: Bauhaus, David Bowie, Billy Joel, Depeche Mode, Erasure, Sir Elton John, Joy Division, John Lennon (probably the best musician of all time), Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, The Psychedelic Furs, The Smiths, Siouxsie and the Banshees, U2 and The Who. And the list goes on.

It’s not unusual for me to have some of these lyrics floating through my brain when I’m shooting. “Confusion in her eyes that says it all. She’s lost control. And she’s clinging to the nearest passerby.” – “She’s out of Control,” Joy Division “Girl of sixteen, whole life ahead of her. Slashed her wrists, bored with life. Didn’t succeed, thank the Lord.” – “Blasphemous Rumors” – Depeche Mode “Back to the howling old owls. Hunting the horny back toad” – “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” – Sir Elton and “Before you cross the street. Take my hand. Life is what happens to you. While you’re busy making other plans” – “Beautiful Boy” – John Lennon. He always nailed it. They all do.

One can be sure the songs in my head while I am shooting affect how they are taken. I might adjust the ISO and F-stop based on how I am feeling. In case you were wondering, I do not listen to music on my iPhone. I hate headphones. I used to wear my Walkman’s headphones slightly above or below my ears. Sometimes I still do that with headphones when I am Zooming or watching things on YouTube. Songs always go through my head. It gets me through the days. Or as Robert Smith says, “In Between Days.” That’s on the “Head on the Door” album.

Bees Fetching Honey – Edited to the Cure

The other day, I was editing some images from Emmons Avenue, Sheepshead Bay and the New York Botanical Garden while listening to Sir Elton. Then I switched to a mix of The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, Erasure, and Psychedelic Furs, Siouxie and the Banshees. Erasure brings back memories of camp. The Cure, Erasure, and the Furs bring back old memories of dating and driving around in my old Caddy with the girls I liked. We usually listened to those bands. My first date was to see The Cure with Love & Rockets and the Pixies as the openers. We were too young to buy beer. We shared M&M’s. I still think about all of this when certain songs play.

Look at the images and see if you can tell the difference. This was written and edited to Led Zep’s “How the West Was Won.” With final touches while listening The latest from The Cure: “Songs of a Lost World.”

101

Earlier today, I sat on the couch and watched my Depeche Mode 101 DVD. That’s the concert documentary that DM put out in ’89. It features the amazing tunes they played during the Music for the Masses tour.
As I heard Dave Gahan’s voice sing “Master & Servant,” I was blasted back to the day when life was simpler and in some ways more fun. In some ways, it was not. We still have our masters and servants.
Watching Martin L Gore’s solo of “Somebody” brings the same depression I had when he sang that tune, while I was wishing for somebody back in high school. It hasn’t changed.
Depeche Mode is one of the bands that will always remain honest and current. Their songs will always touch one’s heart and soul. Whether, you’re traveling down “Route 66”, worrying about “Blasphemous Rumors”, worried that “Everything Counts “ (I sure do) or “Just Can’t Get Enough”.
I remember listening to their cassettes nonstop and making Depeche Mode mixes for my car. In one of my autos, the tape deck was on its dying days. The only tape it played flawlessly was a Depeche Mode mix. The same thing happened years later in another vehicle’s CD player.
I remember wearing all black. Well, that hasn’t completely changed. I’ve seen them dozens of times. I once waited hours on a line at the now defunct Tower Records to meet them. That was in 2004. They signed one of their new releases.
I got about 90 seconds to talk to Andrew Fletcher, Martin and David. I remember begging Martin to play songs from Speak and Spell (even though) that was really a Vince Clarke album, a DM founder who left after their first release. He founded Yaz, ran and has thankfully found a home in Erasure. I discovered Erasure in the health lodge at Ten Mile River Scout Camps. I wasn’t the sick one. I was with one of my campers who needed to be in that awful place. We had some strange nurses.
Anyway, back to my conversations with DM. I continued to beg them to go back to around 1984. They just smiled and said we’ll think about it. I saw them a few days later at the Garden. They didn’t take my requests. But they dazzled us anyway.
While I was sitting outside of Tower Records, I chatted with a cute girl, who was at least 10 years younger than me. She was a 90s DM fan. I am an 80s DM fan. Well, I’m a fan of their music. But I gravitate to their 1980s tunes. This woman did the same for their 1990’s music. She was in love with Martin. She had a tattoo stating that. Her dream was for him to kiss her on it. Never happened. But she got to meet him and couldn’t have been happier.
Another thing that flashed into my mind was the great way we dressed back then. I already mentioned all black. But we cropped our hair as close to our heads as we could. I used to bring in pictures of them and O.M.D. to my haircutter. I called him Professor Joe. He tried his best to make me look like them.
Eventually, I made it up to New Paltz. Us New Wavers used to go Berties in Poughkeepsie. We all had to wear bracelets saying we were under 21. But we wore our black outfits and danced all night to Depeche Mode, the Cure, the Smiths, Echo and the Bunnymen, New Order and the other greats from the 80s. I wasn’t a good dancer. That hasn’t changed.
Man, I miss those days. If only we could all be “Stripped” down to the bone. In other words, speak just for me and make decisions without your television on.
So, “Now this is Fun”. “It is More than a Party”. As for me, I’m looking for a “Policy of Truth,” while doing my best to remember, “People are People”.
I cannot wait to see them at the Garden at the end of the summer. Funny, I just did the Facebook what 80s alt-pop band wrote the soundtrack of your life. I got Depeche Mode.