80 newyork| october12–25, 2020
record,zeroinginonthe
dancebreakandusing
twoturntablestorunit
backona continuous
loop.Hewaslooking
fortheperfect beat,
whittlingleaner, tighter
dance-floorroutinesout
ofhitrecords.Herc’s
isolationofthewhite-hot
instrumentalsections
ofJamesBrownand
IncredibleBongo Band
recordsis thebackbone
ofthesoundofrap
music.Thepractice
mademaestrosoutof
childrenwhocouldn’t
affordinstrumentsand/
ora musicaleducation.
Themusicmade
party plannersoutof
anyonewhocouldjack
enoughjuicetopower
turntables,microphones,
andspeakers.
Hipster
HomeSecuritySystem
I
IlluminatedAdvertising
Sign
Immigration
Incubator
Iron,Electric▼
“IvyLeague”
The CULTURE PAGES
J
Jaywalking
Jazz
Jeans,Designer▼
Theworkingman’s
denimpants,invented
in 1873 byJacobDavis
andLeviStrauss,varied
littlefora century until
GloriaVanderbilt—
designerandheiress
tooneofAmerica’s
greatfortunes—was
approachedin 1976
bytheIndiangarment
manufacturerMurjani.
Thejeansthey came
upwithwalkeda line
betweensexyand
accessible.Madeof
stretchdenim,they
“fitlike theskinona
grape!”asoneTVad
promised.Buttheywere
alsocomfortableand
wearablefortheaverage
woman.Vanderbilt
starredintheprintand
mediaadsandgrossed
$30millioninsalesin
thefirst year. As Gilda
Radnerputit,Vanderbilt
took“hergoodfamily
nameandputit onthe
assesofAmerica.”
Jell-O
JunkBondsK
Key-LimePie
Klieg Light
KnickerbockerL
LaborLaw
LapDance▼
In1973,AlKronish,an
enterprisingaccountant,
convincedFredCincotti,
anassistantD.A.forthe
StateofNewYork,and
StevenKatz,heirtoa
constructionempire,to
invest ina brand-new
stripclubinTimes
Square.TheMelody
Burleskwassupposed
tobeclassierthanthe
otherdivesinthearea,
andit bombed.Tosave
theclub,theystarted
hiringpornstarstoput
onshowsthere.In1978,
theclubintroduced
MardiGras,a raucous
weekendeventwhere,for
thefirst time,strippers
interacteddirectlywith
theaudience,grindingon
theirlapsforjust$1per
sitting.Wordspread,men
beganlininguptoget
oneofthesenewfangled
“lapdances,”andthings
devolvedfromthere.
Late-NightTalkShow
LeotardAs Streetwear
LindyHop
LoftLivingM
MagicMarker
Manhattan
Mayhem
Mr.PotatoHeadThe Mob
Mortgage-Backed
Securities
Muckraking
Musical TheaterN
NRA
Neoconservatism
News Blog
NightclubO
OccupyMovement
OreoP
Parking, AlternateSide
oftheStreet▼
TheNewYorkCity
DepartmentofTrafficwas
establishedinJune 1950
asthepostwarautoboom
threatenedtoswamp
New YorkCity with
cars.Withinweeksofits
creation,theDOTwas
beseechedbythecity’s
Sanitationcommissioner,
AndrewW. Mulrain,to
tryouta new planon
theLowerEast Side:a
schemetobanparkingon
eachsideofthestreet on
alternatingdays,allowing
theDOStocl eanat the
curbs.Fifteenhundredsigns went up that July,
and the law took effect
on August 1. The local
auto clubs howled,
but by the end of the
year, the arrangement
had been expanded to
the Upper West Side
and over the next few
months into Brooklyn,
Queens, and the Bronx.
Within two years, the
city was declaring the
plan a success because
of the substantial
parking-finerevenue
and(accordingto
Mulrain)cleanerstreets.
PastramiSandwich
Penthouse
PeriodUnderpants
Pickleback
Pilates
Pooper-ScooperLaw
PopArt
PowerLunch
PublicDefender▼
OnMarch8,1876,
a groupofGerman-
AmericansmetonWall
Streetwiththelawyer
andformerWisconsin
governorEdward
Salomon,aimingto
formanorganization
thatwouldprovidelegal
assistancetoGerman
immigrantswhocould
notafforda private
at torney.Outofthat
group,theGerman
LegalAidSocietywas
bornwiththepurposeof
defendingimmigrants
from,asitschiefattorney,
LeonardMcGee,putit,
“unscrupulouspeople,romantic comedy: You should, in fact,
have what she’s having. (Meg Ryan in
When Harry Met Sally ..., released in 1989.)loft living: Chuck Close working on Keith in his Greene Street loft, 1970.