Hardcore bands, porn stars, vampires, zombies, and vandals
By BOSTON PHOENIX STAFF | December 28, 2009
Interview: Shepard Fairey
Fairey was all over the news in 2009. His famous "HOPE" poster of Barack Obama became the subject of a copyright-infringement lawsuit by the AP. He was also arrested in Boston on vandalism charges the same night as a party to celebrate the opening of his exhibit, "Supply and Demand" at the ICA. Before any of that, though, he stopped by our offices for an interview and a posterizing.
Related:
A cut above, Vegas and Jungleland, Fast and loose, More 
- A cut above
From out of blearily luminous pools of spiraling orange fractals, the disembodied head of a stately-looking man emerged, coaxing us to attention with little more than his calming gaze and an invitation to “a new beginning.”
- Vegas and Jungleland
Paul Shaffer is a happenin’ cat. Pick an It Moment from pop culture over the past 30 years and Shaffer was there. He was an original band member on Saturday Night Live . He played hapless promo guy Artie Fufkin in This Is Spinal Tap . Disco? He co-wrote “It’s Raining Men.” And he helped David Letterman break ground as his glittery, ironic bandleader/sidekick.
- Fast and loose
You're a cocky film-school grad with a drawer full of socko screenplays and Hollywood ambitions. But it's all California dreamin', as you're shivering in New England, cutting public-service announcements and digitizing educational videos, your only brush with the studios those Netflix rentals.
- Coffeenomics
In 50 states and 49 countries, the experience is the same: a placid sense of place, air suffused with the rich aromatics of fresh-brewed espresso. Customers dollop cream and sprinkle brown sugar into their drinks. Behind the counter, green-clad baristas grind beans and steam milk, smiling as they take orders in a made-up language.
- Reading is fundamentalist
In 2009, liberals held firm control of the presidency, the US Senate, and the US House of Representatives. But there was one realm where conservatives dominated: the New York Times bestseller list.
- Booked solid
The holidays are over — time to hit the books.
- Interview: Raj Patel
"The opposite of consumption is not thrift but generosity; if you look at happiness studies, we are happiest when we give things away rather than when we accumulate or when we don't spend."
- Searching for Stephen King
In 1983, Doubleday published yet another book from the increasingly renowned Stephen King, whose Carrie and The Shining (to name just two) were already popular books and movies.
- Heart keeps beating
Storytelling is largely about character, and writer Thomas Cobb came up with a doozy when he conceived Bad Blake.
- Interview: Ozzy Osbourne
Long before he bit the heads off bats and doves, Ozzy Osbourne worked in a cheerless abattoir in the hardscrabble Aston section of Birmingham, England, where for 18 months he held such titles as "cow killer," "tripe hanger," "hoof puller," and "pig stunner."
- Excerpt: Evening’s Empire by BIll Flanagan
In this chapter, "The Drugs Don't Work," aging rock star Emerson Cutler and his manager, Jack Flynn, are seeking inspiration — and desperately trying to jumpstart his career.
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