Whether you want to ogle Rolling Stones fans from a safe distance or you’re a rabid Blonde Redhead fan, it’s time for this week’s Word Up.
Tonight
“In the mid 1970s two of my high school students approached me and asked if I would like to see a Rolling Stones concert. They had the tickets and needed a friend with a car who would drive from Long Island to Pennsylvania,” says photographer Joe Szabo on his website. Nearly four decades later he’s published his long-awaited collection of photos he took of the 90,000 Rolling Stone fans at JFK stadium in Philadelphia; simply titled Rolling Stones Fans, the book complements his two other photographic odes to the “adolescent years of restless desire,” Almost Grown and Teenage.
Wednesday, July 8, at 7 p.m. Strand Bookstore, 828 Broadway (East Village).
Sure, it’s resurfaced as of late as the hipster drink du jour and Don Draper’s favorite road to oblivion, but evidentially the history of bourbon is a “tale of innovation, success, downfall and resurrection,” and author Reid Mitenbuler wants to tell you all about it. Mitenbuler’s writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Slate, Saveur and Whisky Advocate; he’ll read from his first book, Bourbon Empire, “an exploration of the spirit in all its unique forms, creating an indelible portrait of both bourbon and the people who make it,” tonight at cocktail bar Ramona.
Wednesday, June 3, at 6:30 p.m. Ramona, 113 Franklin Street (Greenpoint).
Thursday
Dennis Hopper’s daughter, Marin Hopper, will talk about her father’s photography collection Drugstore Camera, a 
clothbound collection showcasing photographs shot in Taos, Mexico, where Hopper was based after shooting the 1969 Academy Award-nominated film Easy Rider, which he directed and starred in. According to the book’s blurb, the photographs “feel like stumbled-upon treasures” and document the late actor’s friends and loved ones against the backdrop of the desert landscape. Marin will be in conversation with Vanity Fair Deputy Editor Mark Rozzo.
Thursday, June 4, at 7 p.m. Strand Bookstore, 828 Broadway (East Village).
Friday
If we’re to believe the multimillion dollar self-help industry, happiness has emerged as the most important achievement in today’s society; how else can we explain corporations and even the government devoting time and energy to measuring the way people feel? Have our emotions become a resource to be bought and sold? William Davies aims to answer these questions (knowledge that, let’s face it, stands a good chance of lowering the audiences’ “Gross National Happiness”) in a conversation with Siman Critchley about his new book The Happiness Industry.
Friday, June 5 at 7 p.m. PowerHouse Arena, 37 Main Street (DUMBO).
Get your mystery ticket to secret, undisclosed location now! HyperAllergic swears they won’t take you any further than a 40 minute train ride away from Union Square, where you’ll get to witness never-before-seen material from music legends Blonde Redhead, boundary-crossing Brooklyn-based artist Diana Al-Hadid, gonzo journalist Jon Ronson, one of America’s fastest rising filmmakers Josephine Decker, UK-based “post-internet” artist Ed Fornieles, and street musician turned activist Andrew Kalleen, all part of Lost Lectures-NY Number Two.
Friday, June 5 at 7 p.m. Location to be disclosed to ticket holders two days before the event.
Correction: The original version of this post was revised since the Joe Szabo event was rescheduled from June 3 to July 8.
