Will Hermes – “Love Goes to Buildings on Fire” Panel

Major cultural shifts are not always easy to recognize, particularly when it comes to music. This is likely because there’s a natural evolution to music – trends sort of blend into each other seamlessly. Every now and then something really new comes along and shifts paradigms. I remember when Grunge music hit. Something was new and different and awesome and I could feel things changing. I was about 12, but still… I could feel it.

In the mid-70s, NYC experienced a cultural boom. Yes, that’s right. In the midst of a shitty economy and rising crime rates, multiple music genres bloomed out of the muck and the mire. And Will Hermes remembers it. The Rolling Stone critic’s new book, “Love Goes to Buildings on Fire,” discusses how punk, disco, hip hop and other genres were cultivated all over the city during a time that many considered to be a cultural vacuum.

Tonight, Hermes will be joined by experimental musician and Lou Reed paramour, Laurie Anderson; Patti Smith Group member, Lenny Kaye; and the originator of hip hop, DJ Kool Herc (among others) at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe to discuss this important time period in music and NYC history. Expect some incredible anecdotes and unlikely sources of inspiration. And, of course, it’s FREE.

Will Hermes – “Love Goes to Buildings on Fire”
Wednesday, 11/30, 7:00pm
FREE
at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe (126 Crosby St.)
[SoHo]