The Specials' "Ghost Town" (exerpt)
This town, is coming like a ghost town
Why must the youth fight against themselves?
Government leaving the youth on the shelf
--Jerry Dammers

Ghost Town | The Specials


Ghost Town | Thesis or Anti-Thesis?


Ghost Town | Being Labeled is a Vicious Circle...


The Specials' "Ghost Town" lyrics (1981)
This town, is coming like a ghost town
All the clubs have been closed down
This place, is coming like a ghost town
Bands won't play no more
Too much fighting on the dance floor

Do you remember the good old days before the ghost town?
We danced and sang, and the music played in a de boomtown

This town, is coming like a ghost town
Why must the youth fight against themselves?
Government leaving the youth on the shelf
This place, is coming like a ghost town
No job to be found in this country
Can't go on no more
The people getting angry

This town, is coming like a ghost town
This town, is coming like a ghost town
This town, is coming like a ghost town
This town, is coming like a ghost town

History of a Ghost Town
Britain in the summer of 1981 quivered on the verge of meltdown. Unemployment rocketed, as the Tory Government waged war on industry and the trade unions, while oppressive policing and fascist gangs fuelled race hatred. At a time when Prince Charles and Lady Diana were about to marry and inner city riots swept Britain, the single summed up perfectly the irony of the whole period. Against this backdrop, The Specials released 'Ghost Town', a chilling commentary upon the unravelling social fabric. "Why must the youth fight against themselves?" No answers were forthcoming. The structure of the song Ghost Town has also been a topic of conversation. The typical format of verse-chorus-verse was set aside in favour of what was indeed a very unusual sounding record. Given the fact that it was recorded on 8 track it makes it even more remarkable... the band's last single, it went straight to Number One.

With a number one single on their hands Chrysalis Records pushed the boat out and produced a video to accompany the song. In usual 2 Tone fashion it was a very simple video which involved the band squeezed into one car driving around what appear to be empty roads. More interesting are the 2 Top Of The Pops appearances the band made to promote the single. Both performances saw the band expanded to a 11 piece which included Rico, Dick Cuthell, Rhoda Dakar and ex-Swinging Cat, Paul Heskett on flute. It was obvious from these appearances that the band had dropped the trademark tonic suits and crops in favour of more 80s casual look. A few months later 3 band members dropped the band all altogether and that was the end of The Specials but not 2 Tone.

What Ever Happened to LA? (Zellner seminar description)
Given the celebrated emergence of Los Angeles (in particular Downtown) as a bona fide urban and cultural center, and the entrenchment of LA as a center for contemporary architectural experimentation it seems vitally important to re-examine a future imagined for LA yesterday as a way to sharpen our ideas about Los Angeles today. This seminar will examine the genesis of Los Angeles as a physical and ideological site for architectural and urban experimentation between 1970 and 1990. Zellner and Inaba's gallery exhibit of the same title is great. Go see it!

LA School (Where are they now?)
How will our theories, our instructors theories, be chronicled in 10 to 30 years? Doing preliminary research for the vertical lottery has been consuming me. Which instructors? Which trajectory? Which strategy? Of course there are instructors you want to take--I'd like to take them all--but, there are only 2 more semesters left before thesis. This semester will be pivotal in my relationship to the "labotomy of complexity" I received in the M.Arch2 program... thesis or anti-thesis? As an individual, I consider myself very balanced: family, school, work, etc. In talking with close friends and mentors, I've decided to explore the real world--hopefully with Wes or Eric. More importantly, will these theories and techniques from core be useful? It remains to be seen, but I'm extremely excited about pushing myself harder than either of the last two semesters. With maturation comes responsibililty. In the end, I expect to find my niche, my massie, my own path from and to... a ghost town.

Two Surprises in One :)
Also, just wanted to let everyone know Nicole and I had our 3rd child, Sydnie Rae Fuchs. She was born last Friday evening @ 5:50 PM (6.9 lbs & 19 inches). Everything went really smooth; we are home now getting settled in and ready for next semester.

On a professional / student level, the 2005 Internship Conference selected me as 1 of 25 'emerging professionals'. The all expense paid trip will require me to represent my views on the problems with architectural internship. Besides my winning essay topic, I'm very interested in other opinions, too. Now is a good time to get those 'pet peeves' off your chest after this last summer 'go round'. Please comment if you have specific topics you'd like brought up at the conference. The announcement and essay can be found here: http://www.sciarc.edu/v5/about/article.php?id=272