If the New York art scene from the eighties had to choose an MC, it would probably be the legendary downtown figure Glenn O'Brien. With his spontaneous, chaotic, pot-fueled live television party/talk show, TV party (1978-1982), he created an arena of ultimate cool whose frequent guests included The Clash, Basquiat, Fab 5 Freddy, Blondie, David Byrne, and Robert Fripp.
A regular at Warhol's Factory, O'Brien launched his writing career with a music column for Interview magazine, with Warhol as his mentor. He'd eventually become the publication's director. Later on, his innumerable creative projects would include editing Madonna's infamous Sex book and writing and producing the Basquiat film Downtown 81. O'Brien was a seminal member of the anarchic set of 80s New York cultural icons whose aristocratic tastes met bold rebellion, and to whom style, rage, and imagination mattered the most. Jeremy and I had the chance to sit down for coffee at his Bond Street apartment crammed with books and Basquiats.
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Alexandre Stipanovich: How did you come to live in New York?
Glenn O'Brien: I grew up in Ohio, but I lived in the New Jersey suburbs of New York for awhile when I was a kid. I always was dying to get back to New York. I went to college in Washington, and then I came here in 1970 to go to Columbia grad school. It was a good school but at the time, the film department didn’t have any money, so we never got to shoot very much film. It was before video. I wanted to make movies. I wanted to be a screenwriter, basically.
AS: Were you rebellious, angry, or both?
GO: I was rebellious but not angry.
AS: Because there's a lot of energy on TV Party.
GO: Yeah, but it’s not anger. It’s comic rage.
AS: Where was the show shot?
GO: It was shot at a public access studio on 23rd Street that had a live feed to Manhattan cable TV. We used to rent it. You’d go in and give them money, and they had the camera, the lights, the switchboard, and all that stuff––but everything was broken. I mean, it was all really cheap. And the guy who owned it was real eccentric.
There were all these other ridiculous shows filmed there. Do you know The Robin Byrd Show? It’s like, porn actors doing exotic dancing. And it’s still on. There was also Tele-Psychic. And there was a cocktail piano show where you could call up and ask the guy––John Wallowitch––to play Broadway showtunes, and he would play them. He was actually a friend of Andy's.
AS: You have a fascination with oral history. Do you see yourself as an anthropologist of the city?
GO: No. I see myself as an essayist. "Anthropologist" makes it seem very academic, you know?
AS: What's keeping you busy these days?
GO: I’m writing a book of political essays and a memoir, and I’m editing a book for Library of America––this collection of “hipster writing.” Then I’m working on some commercial projects. The best one is a film I just did with Steven Meisel for Dior jewelry that turned out really well. And I work on advertising with Jean-Baptiste Mondino. I also have a column in GQ every month.
AS: What do you think about the creative scene today versus that of the 80s?
GO: It’s hard to say. Every time is creative, but back then it was a reflection of the economics of the
A regular at Warhol's Factory, O'Brien launched his writing career with a music column for Interview magazine, with Warhol as his mentor. He'd eventually become the publication's director. Later on, his innumerable creative projects would include editing Madonna's infamous Sex book and writing and producing the Basquiat film Downtown 81. O'Brien was a seminal member of the anarchic set of 80s New York cultural icons whose aristocratic tastes met bold rebellion, and to whom style, rage, and imagination mattered the most. Jeremy and I had the chance to sit down for coffee at his Bond Street apartment crammed with books and Basquiats.
_________________________________________________
Alexandre Stipanovich: How did you come to live in New York?
Glenn O'Brien: I grew up in Ohio, but I lived in the New Jersey suburbs of New York for awhile when I was a kid. I always was dying to get back to New York. I went to college in Washington, and then I came here in 1970 to go to Columbia grad school. It was a good school but at the time, the film department didn’t have any money, so we never got to shoot very much film. It was before video. I wanted to make movies. I wanted to be a screenwriter, basically.
AS: Were you rebellious, angry, or both?
GO: I was rebellious but not angry.
AS: Because there's a lot of energy on TV Party.
GO: Yeah, but it’s not anger. It’s comic rage.
AS: Where was the show shot?
GO: It was shot at a public access studio on 23rd Street that had a live feed to Manhattan cable TV. We used to rent it. You’d go in and give them money, and they had the camera, the lights, the switchboard, and all that stuff––but everything was broken. I mean, it was all really cheap. And the guy who owned it was real eccentric.
There were all these other ridiculous shows filmed there. Do you know The Robin Byrd Show? It’s like, porn actors doing exotic dancing. And it’s still on. There was also Tele-Psychic. And there was a cocktail piano show where you could call up and ask the guy––John Wallowitch––to play Broadway showtunes, and he would play them. He was actually a friend of Andy's.
AS: You have a fascination with oral history. Do you see yourself as an anthropologist of the city?
GO: No. I see myself as an essayist. "Anthropologist" makes it seem very academic, you know?
AS: What's keeping you busy these days?
GO: I’m writing a book of political essays and a memoir, and I’m editing a book for Library of America––this collection of “hipster writing.” Then I’m working on some commercial projects. The best one is a film I just did with Steven Meisel for Dior jewelry that turned out really well. And I work on advertising with Jean-Baptiste Mondino. I also have a column in GQ every month.
AS: What do you think about the creative scene today versus that of the 80s?
GO: It’s hard to say. Every time is creative, but back then it was a reflection of the economics of the