Lady Gagas old friend and former DJ Brendan Jay Sullivan paints a vivid picture of the downtown scene from which she emerged.Brendan Jay Sullivan was an up-and-coming DJ in New York City when he met Stefani Germanotta; then a struggling artist; in 2006. She was a go-go dancer who sewed her own outfits but had bigger ambitionsmdash;she wanted nothing less than to take over the music world.In this intimate portrait of the budding star who would soon catapult to fame and fortune; the author describes afternoons sitting with Gaga on the floor of her bare Lower East Side apartment; drinking wine from pint glasses and plotting out the pop stardom that awaited her.Filled with stories of love and heartbreak among Gaga and Sullivan and their circle of aspiring musicians and performers; and set against the vibrant backdrop of the downtown bars and parties of the mid-aughts; Rivington Was Ours is both a love letter to New York and a glimpse behind the veil of one of the biggest musical icons of her generation.
#1476019 in eBooks 2013-09-10 2013-09-10File Name: B00BATG3AQ
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. If I was a film professor; this would be required readingBy Michael JollsAlthough Im personally not prone to sci-fi specifically; Andrew Gordon does a stellar job analyzing and debunking. The book is never too intelligent for the reader; while incorporating complicated themes such as Freudian views; literature subtext; and sociological concerns. Gordon pins "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"; "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial"; and "Poltergeist" as three versions of the same story. He correlates Indiana Jones and the original Star Wars trilogy perfectly; and horror of "Duel"; "Jaws"; and "Jurassic Park". Personally; my favorite element of Gordons excellent book was the attention given to "Hook"; which the film and its themes often gets neglected in Spielberg narratives. This is easily one of the best Spielberg books out on the market.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Try another book about Spielberg -- and let me know what it isBy ShopperThis book is a disappointment. It is a series of essays on each of Spielbergs movies; with the essays ranging in quality from OK to bad. There is a fair amount of Freudian analysis that really seems beside point. The fantatsic movie "Minority Report" gets only a short essay that summarizes the Dick short story on which the movie is based and then lobs in some parallels to the Oedipus story that that are strained and dont lead anywhere. In addition to the substantive shortcomings; the writing is pedestrian.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Spielberg Explained; with Brilliance and Cinema ScholarshipBy Tom MaremaaSteven Spielberg is; without doubt; one of the most gifted and imaginative filmmakers of his generation. To my mind; he has few; if any equals in making films that can profoundly move an audience; excite and enlighten anybody watching truth flicker by at the requisite 24 frames per second. You walk out of "Jaws;" as many of us did; knowing youve been frightened half to death; yet also knowing that youve seen great filmmaking at work; the best of the medium; a pure "movie movie;" as it was once called when I was kicking around Hollywood in my early days as a writer and journalist. It was all there; of course; early on; if you want to go back in film history and check out his first feature "Duel." And its been an amazing ride ever since; from "Jaws" and "ET" to "Indiana Jones" and "Schindlers List" and beyond to "Minority Report" and "War of the Worlds." Spielberg never ceases to amaze and dazzle the audience with his command of the medium. Now Andrew Gordon has explained; in great detail; why and how. In his masterful; brilliant study of Spielbergs career; Gordon provides an in-depth look at each of the several dozen or more films that comprise the masters work. The various of pieces of Spielbergs career and the critical responses to his movies are woven together in a rich tapestry of film scholarship. Gordon has done his homework in spades. His insights into the Spielberg canon are both illuminating and astute. This is no easy task; given the range of emotions that each Spielberg movie appears to evoke. Gordon steps both forward and back in assessing how he reacted to each picture; and how others reacted. In particular; I liked Gordons chapter on Spielbergs "A.I.;" the movie he finished for Stanley Kubrick. Although not a great commercial success; and one that certainly divided the critics; I still remember parts of the film with greater recall and emotional resonance than other Spielberg creations. Gordon; again; explains why; digging with psychological clarity into the various themes of the lost child expressed in the story. The beauty of Gordons book is that he is able to connect the various and complex themes that run through Spielbergs work from film to film; we see continuity; interrelationships; the struggle of the artist at work; the hits and misses; and ultimately; the ways in which we always; seemingly; happen to return to the world of Spielbergs boyhood home in suburbia; to all the hopes and promises of the American dream itself. If youre a film scholar; this book is must reading; if your interest in Spielberg is casual and curious; youll find the text to be highly informative; with penetrating insight into the artist and his remarkable style of filmmaking.