Jeffrey Lewis

Jeffrey Lewis (born November 20, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and comic book artist. Lewis was born in New York City and grew up on the Lower East Side. He attended State University of New York at Purchase, graduating in 1997 with a degree in Literature. His Senior Literary Thesis was on the comic book Watchmen. Several of his musical influences have been acknowledged in his songs such as "Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror", "The History of The Fall" and "The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song", concerning the song by Leonard Cohen. Lewis' lyrics are complex and literate, often combining a nihilistic world-view with a hopeful message and sharp wit. Growing up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, his songs are also highly informed by his home surroundings, with songs name-dropping places such as Williamsburg, the FDR Drive and the East River. Lewis is often regarded as part of the antifolk movement.

Links to Peel
In an interview with Louder Than War in 2015, Lewis mentioned meeting Peel briefly when he was doing a live session at Maida Vale for his show in 2002 and also claimed that he only ever encountered people who love John Peel, but did recently for the first time saw a dissenting opinion:

"'I’ve only ever encountered people who love John Peel. Just recently was the first time I ever saw a dissenting opinion. In the book ‘The Story Of Crass’ the guy who originally put Crass’s albums out on the Small Wonder record label said something interesting. He reckons that the first interest in punk was dampened down because Peel was given such prominence. For a brief time it was such a creative free for all but somehow it turned into one guys opinion of what was cool. Because what happened was whatever Peel thought was cool got exposure and what Peel thought was uncool didn’t. And power became so centralized that this happened. Bands thought it was better to have one album than none at all.'"

Festive Fifty Entries

 * Peel's Era
 * 2002 Festive Fifty: The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song #23
 * Post-Peel
 * 2013 Festive Fifty: WWPRD #27
 * 2017 Festive Fifty: Dictator Seeks Reichstag Fire #07

Live

 * Jeffrey Lewis - Live at Maida Vale 2002ded live at Maida Vale: 2002-07-31. Broadcast: 31 July 2002
 * 1) Heavy Heart
 * 2) Seattle
 * 3) Back When I Was Four
 * 4) The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane
 * 5) The Murder Mystery
 * 6) This Is Madness
 * 7) Texas
 * 8) Another Girl
 * 9) Arrow
 * 10) The Man With The Golden Arm
 * 11) The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song
 * 12) Taxi Cab Punx
 * 13) The Modern Age
 * 14) We Don't Want No LSD Tonight
 * 15) Springtime

Other Shows Played

 * Jeffrey Lewis - Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song
 * 23 April 2002: The East River (LP – The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane) Rough Trade
 * 25 April 2002: Another Girl (LP – The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane) Rough Trade
 * 30 April 2002: The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song (LP – The Last Time I Took Acid I Went Insane) Rough Trade
 * 02 May 2002: Seattle (album - The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane) Rough Trade
 * 19 December 2002: 'Assassinations On Xmas Eve (LP - Get Thee Behind Me Santa)' (Puppy Dog)
 * 26 December 2002: 'The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song' (LP-The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane) (Rough Trade) FF #23
 * 2003
 * 06 May 2003: 'Don't Let the Record Label Take You Out to Lunch (LP- It's The Ones Who've Cracked That the Light Shines Through)' (Rough Trade)
 * 2004
 * 27 April 2004: The Story Of The Fall (CD - Perverted By Mark E: A Tribute To The Fall) ZickZack
 * 05 May 2004: The Story Of The Fall (Various CD - Perverted By Mark E: A Tribute To The Fall) ZickZack
 * 11 May 2004: Beach Party (Rock & Rollin' On The Beach) (2 x 7" box set) White Label
 * June 2004 (FSK): The Story Of The Fall (v/a 2xCD - Perverted By Mark E. / A Tribute To The Fall) Zickzack