Author Archives: William Sundwick

Who Killed the Anger?

Published November 8, 2018 in Warp & Woof Who Killed the Anger? Noise/Experimental Rock in the Digital Era William Sundwick I didn’t realize, until doing some research, that today’s popular music streaming services are at least partially owned by the traditional major record labels – Sony, Universal, Warner.  While Internet streaming can, theoretically, be aContinue reading “Who Killed the Anger?”

Community Organizing

Published November 1, 2018 in Warp & Woof Community Organizing VOICE, the IAF in Northern Virginia William Sundwick Saul Alinsky and Bishop Bernard James Shell founded the Industrial Areas Foundation in Chicago in 1940. Their idea was to mobilize diverse faith communities of urban poor and working-class people lacking in political power. It was aContinue reading “Community Organizing”

Who Killed the Anger?

Published October 25, 2018 in Warp & Woof Who Killed the Anger? Noise and Experimental Rock, 1980s – 2010s William Sundwick Punk Rock began in the 1970s as an attempt to strip away the artifice and commercial compromises of art in popular music. It was seen by bands on both sides of the Atlantic —Continue reading “Who Killed the Anger?”

Vanishing City or Phoenix from the Ashes?

Published October 18, 2018 in Warp & Woof Vanishing City or Phoenix from the Ashes? Flint Series, Chapter 6 William Sundwick Gordon Young published Tear-Down in 2013. It’s his memoir of returning to Flint as an adult after presumably leaving the city forever to pursue a journalism career in San Francisco. It was written beforeContinue reading “Vanishing City or Phoenix from the Ashes?”

Exit Strategy

Published October 11, 2018 in Warp & Woof Exit Strategy Was Getting Out Inevitable? Flint Series, Chapter 5 William Sundwick Sometimes I think that friendships are simply a matter of convenience. While many people seem to make life-long friendships with kids they grew up with, my experience has been different. I lost contact with myContinue reading “Exit Strategy”

Wasteland vs. Intellectual Ferment

Published October 4, 2018 in Warp & Woof Wasteland vs. Intellectual Ferment Or, My Parents’ World vs. My World, High School Years Flint Series, Chapter 4 William Sundwick Flint Central High School was a new adventure. High school then comprised three years: grades ten, eleven, and twelve. That meant one of my early high schoolContinue reading “Wasteland vs. Intellectual Ferment”

Arrival and Insertion, 1953-62

Published September 27, 2018 in Warp & Woof Arrival and Insertion, 1953-62 The Flint Series, Chapter 3 William Sundwick Flint grew rapidly in the early fifties. The 1950 Census pegged its population at about 163-thousand, but by 1960 it was 197-thousand. We all noticed it. New neighborhoods, like our Ballenger Highway neighborhood, were adding singleContinue reading “Arrival and Insertion, 1953-62”

Disaster Strikes: The Beecher Tornado, 1953

Published September 21, 2018 in Warp & Woof Disaster Strikes: The Beecher Tornado, 1953 We Move to Flint in Its Wake The Flint Series, Chapter 2 William Sundwick F5 tornadoes are rare in Michigan. The most destructive category of storm on the Fujita Scale hit Flint in 1953, one of the ten worst on recordContinue reading “Disaster Strikes: The Beecher Tornado, 1953”

Flint: Lumber to Carriages to Cars

Published September 13, 2018 in Warp & Woof Flint: Lumber to Carriages to Cars The Flint Series, Chapter 1 William Sundwick  When I arrived in Flint, Michiganat age six, the city, incorporated in 1855, had already established itself: first as a hub for the central Michigan lumber industry, then earning the appellation “Vehicle City,” thenContinue reading “Flint: Lumber to Carriages to Cars”