Arthur Russell released only one album under his own name
And plenty of others under different names
Like Dinosaur L
He came from West bumblefuck Iowa
Went to NY
And became a legend in the downtown art “avant-garde” scene
He was notoriously perfectionist
And extremely insecure
This is from 1982
It should be the quarantine anthem
Or perhaps the Hangout/Zoom anthem
“I want to see all my friends at once!”
A Paradise Garage classic
He ran with Ginsberg
Larry Levan
And was responsible for turning The Kitchen into the modern spot it became
While championing art and music that others derided
This is a seminal disco track
With beautiful keys (Rhodes, I presume)
He founded sleeping bag records
Which also went on to put out my favorite mid 80s hip hop
He died of AIDS in 1992
