Good bridges (physical, musical, other) and underpasses

william_kent

Well-known member
Here's a clip of the 2011 Graffiti Jam held in the Mancunian Way underpass in Hulme, Manchester - this ties together some of the themes of this thread: bridge, rave, drugs, graffiti..


The following is a professionally shot video of the same event that fails to capture the atmosphere but might be interesting for the graffiti aspect

 

catalog

Well-known member
I'm afraid I didn't go to loose space. I've not seen a whale in the wild.

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william_kent

Well-known member
Flat Bridge, Jamaica

It's a bridge, steeped in history and mystery, but it's not a good one..

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One of the oldest bridges in Jamaica, said to be the home of River Mummas ( mermaids ) who live in a bottomless hole beneath the bridge, and also populated by the ghosts of the slaves who died during its construction. There is a legend that there is a table of gold that appears by the bridge when the noon heat is at its highest, although people who have tried to retrieve it have drowned in the attempt.

There are a few songs named after the bridge:


Ansell Collins - Flat Bridge
An instrumental to The Ethiopians' Gilda which is also known as Build A Bridge.


The Ethiopians - Build A Bridge ( aka Gilda )
Gilda was a storm which caused a lot of damage to Jamaica in 1973 - bridges needed to be repaired


Willi Williams - Flat Bridge
sounds like Augustus Pablo playing melodica on a Yabby You rhythm


Jah Ruby - Bridge Overflow
"Whole heap a bridges I & I haf to cross - true thing star!"

Jah Ruby chants a roll call of bridges in Jamaica, but it is Flat Bridge that catches his attention due to being flooded when he gets there

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Furnace - Flat Bridge
"Call Me Flat Bridge Dem Fraid Fi Cross Me"

Furnace uses Flat Bridge as a boast for how much of a badman he is

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catalog

Well-known member
Just after 5 minutes in


"Yes yes, as we take you into the part 2..."

Maybe more a short interlude rather than a bridge.

Englands greatest ever MC, hands down.

He had some issues but I think he's back on track now


And Dr Das still going strong as well with his Dhangsha dub project

 

catalog

Well-known member
i watched gummo again the other night. one of my top 5, i used to love it as a teenager and still think it's good. although "problematic" as well.

anyway, the intro credits sequence features a very good bridge


with bunny boy doing the whole lot of things that might wanna be done on such a bridge
 

william_kent

Well-known member

I was suddenly reminded of Jesco White, the "Dancing Outlaw" and this sequence where he clog dances on a dodgy bridge ( probably after huffing some glue, which seems to be a hobby of his )
 

william_kent

Well-known member
I remember watching the Vice film about that guy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Lightnin' but it wasn't very good. Don't think i've seen the docs, they are probably a lot better.

Dancing Outlaw is the original and best documentary on Jesco White. There's amazing stories about family feuds, relatives getting shotgunned over a pair of sunglasses, shots of Jesco lip-synching to Elvis tunes in his "studio", ...

Here's Jesco recounting one of his glue hallucinations:

 
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catalog

Well-known member
"this woman, a beautiful woman, just like a lady from heaven, like an angel's body, pretty blonde diamond shapes in her, and her tongue was just like a snake's tooth."

Yeah that looks really good actually - i'll track the full doc down
 

woops

is not like other people
who's the free jazz sax man who used to practice on the bridge in NYC, he's mentioned in the Miles autobiography
 

catalog

Well-known member
Rufus in "Another Country" by James Baldwin commits suicide off the George Washington Bridge:

OVERVIEW

Rufus Scott​

QUICK REFERENCE​

Arguably James Baldwin's most tortured protagonist, Rufus Scott of Another Country (1962) reflects the author's view of the artist as prophet. Baldwin based him on Eugene Worth, a friend who committed suicide; like Worth, Rufus jumps from the George Washington Bridge. Ironically, Rufus's premature suicide catalyzes the other characters' physical and spiritual journeys.
A fledgling Greenwich Village jazz drummer, Rufus symbolizes American and existential loneliness; we first encounter him “peddling his ass.” Psychologically and physically eviscerated, he is rescued temporarily by Vivaldo Moore, his Italian American best friend. Rufus also finds momentary solace with Leona, a white southerner. However, hegemonic oppression engenders an acute malaise in Rufus. Leona becomes the receptacle for his racial and self hatred and goes insane. We also learn of Rufus's former lover—another southerner, Eric Jones. Because of society's constricting definitions of manhood, Rufus repulsed Eric's affection. Ultimately, Rufus's multiple demons compel his suicide, which concludes the opening section.
Rufus's spiritual deformity is symptomatic of an American ethos that constructs racial and sexual barriers. Only when characters such as Vivaldo vitiate society's restrictions can they enter “another country,” a metaphorical haven where love can exist. Rufus remains a groundbreaking figure in African American literature as one of the few suicides. Baldwin's characterization also signifies upon the discursive treatment of black men as archetypal victims, for Baldwin makes Rufus “partly responsible for his doom” (Conversations with James Baldwin, 1989).
Therman B. O'Daniel, ed., James Baldwin: A Critical Evaluation, 1977.Trudier Harris, Exorcising Blackness: Historical and Literary Lynching and Burning Rituals, 1984. Fred L. Standley and Louis H. Pratt, eds., Conversations with James Baldwin, 1989.
Keith Clark Show Less
From: Rufus Scott in The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature »
 

catalog

Well-known member
yeah bridges are actually a huge part of the mythology of NYC - i've just been watching the godfather films and goodfellas and bridges feature a lot, as they do in abel ferrara as well. lotta deaths and chases under big bridges.
 
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