Gawker would have you believe that Vanessa Grigoriadis's New York magazine feature on Peter Braunstein "doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know." But a chill ran down this reader's spine upon encountering the following description of the Fire Fiend's fashion foibles: "In this environment it was normal for people to be working a persona, but no one quite got Braunstein�s�the Jheri-curl mullet, Huckapoo shirts, velvet blazers, an unironic briefcase (for shame!), and the daily parade of leather pants."
Now, it would not be a shock if Braunstein wore Huk-A-Poo shirts, but Huckapoo shirts? Who knew he was a fan?
And yet, reading the next sentence, I realized that this should not have been such a surprise after all: "To Braunstein, though, this was a carefully crafted exterior born of a deep engagement with sexual politics. Taken in graduate school with the concept of theatrical alter egos and 'role play' as the defining social experience of the mod era�the wigs, the charadelike dances, the ever-changing looks of Twiggy and Brigitte Bardot..." The puzzle pieces fall into place.
Which is why I urge police to search for Braunstein in Connecticut, where he is evidently writing for Westport magazine under the name Sherri Daley. A cover story no less � maybe he really is the finest journalist of his generation.
In a typically diabolical taunting of Grigoriadis, Braunstein, in his "Daley" persona (as opposed to his "nightly" one? Memo to self: too late for that semiotics degree?), actually lifts every bit of information in his Huckapoo article from an earlier one in Grigoriadis's own magazine. The alleged Swahili origins of the band's name, the cold "choice" the girls are offered about the name, the "this is not a democracy" soundbite. While only a short excerpt from the article is available online, I can safely state that it doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know.
Further proof that Daley is really Braunstein: "her" article definitely includes one of those "nice grace notes" that Grigoriadis identifies as a Braunstein hallmark, to wit: "Brooke looks and acts years older than she is." Confidential to B.L.: Hahahahaha!
