1. Pier Platters (RIP) It was the best record store ever, the first place I drove to when I got my driver's licence in high school, and was last record store job I ever had. I am very saddened that there isn't some sort of memorial site to this legendary indie record store. There really should be)
2. Maxwell's - My favorite venue and my favorite place to play shows - ever.
3. Yo La Tengo (Though once upon a time I think both Sonic Youth and Pavement had practice spaces there.
4. Piccolos steak sandwiches - take that Philly.
5. The gold medal parallel parking skills I now have as an adult is thanks to the nearly impossible task of finding street parking in this mile by mile, very compact and crowded city. You think that space is too small for my car? Wrong! And I will park it with no more than three turns of the wheel. I am that good.
6. Benny Tudino's / 7 Star - Pizza - slices the size of your friggin' arm. Two slices fit into a to go box.
7. The view of Manhatten.
8. My friends who call this city home.
9. Louise & Jerry's - for drinky drinks.
10. Jon Chang who has a new recording project called Hayaino Daisuki out on Hydra Head right now. He is the vocal Speed Racer of grind.
I would like to do a best/worst of Hoboken. As much as I love the place, it has its downsides. First my fave five:
Reply1. Maxwell's, Steve Fallon era (I pretty much lived there, at the door, for over 10 years)
2. Maxwell's, Todd A/Dave Post era (they are doing a great job of keeping the spirit)
3. train/path station (Clifton to Hoboken to NYC took less than 30 minutes. I started taking that trip when I was 13 and my drivers license seemed a distant fantasy)
4. Pier Platters (Best store/stores, best employees)
5. Benny Tudino's / 7 Star (giant pizza slices on the cheap)
Now the worst:
1. White Hats (specifically the guys who wear them, with the brim bent and frayed just so)
2. Maxwell's, Brew Pub era (it wasn't all bad, but it broke my heart)
3. Parking (the progressive decline there of)
4. Bar Cards (everyone who works ina bar in Hoboken has to pay the police dept. $100 every 2 years for this I.D. and send thier fingerprints to the FBI)
5. New Condos (cheesy, no history, eyesores)
I also have something that fits a best and worst category:
The view of Manhattan. This was always the BEST. Walking down by the water and looking out to the city across the river. It is so beautiful and poetic. However, looking across the river on the evening of September 12th, 2001 and seeing the brightly lit dust cloud rising and the buildings missing makes my stomach turn even today as I write this. I grew up with a view of NYC and I don't think I will ever get used to the skyline now.
Current worst things about Hobokens
Reply01. White Hat invasion of Maxwells. Sure they still have shows in the back room but the front room has been lost to the college tools.
02. no parking anywhere.
03. The town is one big fing frat party on the weekends.
04. A condo costs $600,000.
05. There is not 1 good record store in town. Tunes sucks and is barely a record store.
06. Darin (my brother)lives there so I have to visit, otherwise I would never leave JC.
Only good things at this point are Louise and Jerry's (bar), Karma Cafe (yummy Indian food)
and giant slices of pizza.
Hoboken...
Replythe good
1.The Skate Park - skating a mini ramp while you gaze across at the Empire State Building, this is my heaven.
2.The projects - Hobokens last thread of street cred
3.Great Drummers - Darin, Bob Bert, Steve Shelley, Pat Longo, Tim Barnes, nuff said.
4.Maxwell's - a ton of great shows, cool staff, good food.
5.Pier Platters - my fave record store ever too, and favorite job ever working there, I still get mad when I think about it closing.
6.The Loosest Slots in Jersey, besides Atlantic City
7.Playing music - playing music with friends,playing shows and writing songs here was meaningful. (birthplace of indie rock?)
8.Friends - met a lot of great people there, some lifelong friends.
9.Ali Baba - great falafels, nice owners
10.Sketchy people - a lot of interesting oddball townies that add to the local flavor
11. Outdoor movies in the summer along the Hudson
12. Cute waitresses at Maxwell's - another year, another crush - decades deep
(honorary mention - Tasti De-lite shakes at the Frozen Monkey)
(honorary mention II - Ira Kaplan - you lived around the block from me and gave me inummerable dirty looks over the years and you are still one of my favorite guitar players ever - Respect)
the bad
1.Guidos - they may be on the endangered species list, but they're still thriving in Hoboken, play Bon Jovi and they will start to gather
2.Guidettes - teased hair, long nails, high heels, and low morals. Instant date, just add alcohol
3.Bed bugs - I had em and I'm like OCD clean ( microbes and insects pretty much run the world, reality check )
4.Expensive - If I'm going to pay $1,600 for rent, I'll pony up the $1,800 to live in Manhattan
5.No more prostitutes on Monroe street - not my thing, but entertaining to watch from the window
6.The pre-St.Patricks day party weekend -I don't mind dogs shitting on the sidewalk, but sorority girls is another story.
7.The Madonna on Jackson Street - no people it wasn't crying, there is no God, accept it.
8.Ground Effects - wow your car is floating...not!
9.Hats from Frats - if Dave Matthews speaks to your inner drama, please, please choke to death on your Zima
10.Babies - I love kids, but not yours, esp. when I'm nursing a hangover and have to squeeze between strollers to get my coffee.
11.Enitled Moms - no it's not all about you. I don't want to hear you and your girlfirends talk about how stupid your husbands are, your new Jimmy Choos, or how great the last John Mayer record was (and yes I would date you)
12. Late night limited Path train service from NYC to Hoboken. Waiting for an hour and a half at 3 in the morning and then riding with drunk white trash suuuuucks!
( honorary mention - Dropping my $299 T-mobile Sidekick into the Hudson! )