I imagine that most of these are pretty tame by todays standards. Some do seem pretty steamy though, if the tag lines are any indication. Tons of publishers put out these in the 50′s – 70′s, none of which are still going today (I think). Men and women wrote these books under multiple pseudonyms at a per word price – the more books the more cash. The famous/infamous director Ed Wood wrote quite a few under his own name as well as Emil Moreau, Sheri Blue, Dick Trent (to name a few). Check out the tag lines on the covers, the sweet artwork and the sometime crazy type choices.
I gotta’ admit that I know next to nothing about these posters. My assumption is that they were created in the late 60′s in answer to the world space race (well really just the US and Russia). A sort of “Watch our Glorious Nation grow, sending it’s children to the stars” kind of thing. One thing I do know about these posters is that they are cool-as-hell. Bright colors, crazy subject matter and wonderfully detailed – and damn those babies look happy..
Tanbo art is a Japanese creation in which people plant various types and colors of rice and ‘grow’ a giant picture in rice paddy fields. It all started back in 1993 when the village of Inakadate, about 600 miles north of Tokyo, was looking to create a project that would ‘revitalize’ the local economy. They needed a way to attract tourists and Japanese rice field art was born.
Every April, the villagers meet and decide what to plant for the year. Prior to planting, farmers sketch out the designs on computers to figure out where and how to plant the rice. In 2007, over 700 people helped to plant the design. In Inakadate, the fields used are approximately 15,000 square meters (3.7 acres). The best time to view the rice field artworks is in September.
Four different types of heirloom and modern strains of rice are planted and cultivated to create the paddy art. For example, purple and yellow-leafed kodaimai rice is used along with local green-leafed tsugaru roman varieties.
Following Inakadate’s example, other villages such as Yonezawa in Yamagata prefecture, have started to create their own tanbo art. The growing attention and competition has made competing villages go bigger each year.
This would be easy to fill up if you were to include every bad Heavy Metal LP or half-assed Christian DYI record but the chore here is to award those with a bit of fame who should have known better. Also not included are those that were cool in their time but haven’t aged that well – *see almost every New Wave LP with special attention to the Duran Duran Patrick Nagel Albums. Apologies as this will probably be super cynical, bitchy and judgmental but there you are. Please send your nominations for this prestigious honor.
1. Kevin Rowland – My Beauty 1999
Kevin’s solo effort between Dexy’s Midnight Runners LPs (Come On Eileen). What in Christ’s name was Kevin thinkin with this slice of ugly drag. The LP sunk like a stone, selling only 20,000 copies worlwide and KR’s been living it down ever sense.
2. Rolling Stones – GRRRR! - 2013 When in doubt put out another greatest hits package, but a happy gorilla with Stone logo lips and fangs? 3. The Cranberries – Bury the Hatchet – 1999 Hey Cranberries Pink Floyd wants their album cover back.
4. Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon – 1973 A classic. A boring over used shitty classic 5. Nirvana – Nevermind – 1991 I just can’t get behind this cover, no matter how hard I try. Great LP, bad cover art.
6. Pearl Jam – 10 – 1991 Folds out to the awful “We’re in this together” pose. The ultimate high-five by a bunch of stand-up bros. 7. Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs – Mosquito – 2013 Ironic? Weird? Crazy? – Dumb!
8. The Strokes – Angles – 2011 – The Strokes are a bit dancier now – which is fine but this 80′s throwback cover is not. 9. Michael Jackson – Hits – Whatever
10. Black Sabbath – Paranoid – 1971
I guess Sabbath just couldn’t be bothered. The most evil band in the world uses a triple exposure of someone’s’ fat uncle with a toy sword and motorcycle helmet. Laughs instead of screams.
11. Frank Black – The Cult of Ray – 1996 After the breakup of the Pixies, Frank Black aka Black Francis nee Charles Thompson recorded 2 great LPs w/ equally great covers then along came this. Terrible cover, terrible album.
12. Iggy Pop – Beat Em Up – 2001 C’mon Igg, what were you thinkin’?
13. Joe Henry – Trampoline – 1996 Joe Henry is a great singer/song writer and producer. His LPs are all consistently good. I don’t know what this one sounds like because I refused to buy it because of this cover.
14. Neil Young – Fork in the Road – 2009 “Hey guys, just woke up from my nap, lets do an album.”
15. Ron Sexsmith – Blue Boy – 2001 Another great singer/songwriter. Loved by many, championed by Elvis Costello. So why the naïf drawing and scrawled type?
16 Snoop Doggy Dogg – Doggy Style – 1993 Jeez man, just look at this thing! Beware the Dogg!
17. Starship – Knee Deep in the Hoopla – 1985 Starship was the remaining dregs of the 70′s band Jefferson Airplane who became Jefferson Starship and then simply Starship. Even though this was the design wasteland of the 80′s there is no excuse for this.
18. The Who – by Numbers – 1975 Oh look, it was drawn by the bassist – nice work John.
22. Body Count – Body Count – 1990 Ice T’s heavy metal outfit. The cover says Cop Killer which coincidentally is the song T caved in on and took off the LP at Time-Warners request.
23. CS&N – Live it Up – 1990 Hot dogs on the moon means…?
26. Velvet Underground – 1969 Vol 2 – 1974 Not really offensive or bad, just kind of …unh?
27. Mike Watt – “Hyphenated-Man” – 2010 He of the Minuteman, respected session player and collector of unexplainable ‘art’. Oh and nice use of Comic Sans type face.
30. Millie Jackson - Back to the S@#t - 1989 Voted the worst album ever on many polls (I just made that up). Millie took a chance, not only w/ an LP full of swearing and dirty songs but an appropriate cover to match. There is no other way to think of Millie Jackson than her on this cover holding that one shoe and in pain(?).
33. T Rex – Futuristic Dragon – 1976 Marc Bolan and T Rex’s last LP, before he crashed into a tree and died. A great artist w/ a terrible swan song cover (the music however is Bolan back to form).
34. Ted Nugent – Love Grenade – 2007 Thanks Ted – You dick!
41. Rush – Hemispheres – 1978 God help us. Stupid Metal-Prog bullshit design that makes no sense. Did every Prog band in the 80′s see the same Dali painting or something.
44. Guns & Roses – The Spaghetti Incident – 1993 I really don’t understand the point of this cover. Is there a reference I’m missing or something? Plus it’s hard to read and the spaghetti looks awful
45. The Kinks – Low Budget – 1979 Low budget indeed. The once great Kinks take a taste break.
48. Hall & Oates – 1975 If you were to buy this LP because of the cover you’d expect a gay cabaret act – like Soft Cell or something. What you got was sweet boring MOR Philly soul.
50. Kenny Loggins – Return to Pooh Corner – 1994 Ok, this is a kids LP but c’mon. A unicorn! And why isn’t the child-like reflection Kenny Loggins wearing a serape. And why … oh never mind.
“Frankly as a social measure Allen Gilbert, who puts on shows for such topnotch burlesque houses as Manhattan’s Apollo and Philadelphia’s Shubert, is starting a School of Undressing in Manhattan this month. Three wives, anxious to improve their marital manners, will learn the correct way to take off their clothes. Mr. Gilbert feels that many a marriage ends in the divorce court because the wife grows sloppy and careless in the bedroom. “I am dedicating my school to the sanctity of the American home,” he says. The Gilbert faculty is recruited from the ranks of the burlesque performers from all over. Already 48 wives who suspect there is something wrong with their disrobing methodology have signed up for the $30 Gilbert course of six lessons. From these they will learn how to make going to bed appear a thing of charm and pleasure rather than a routine chore.”
Apparently the future is all plastic, shiny silver suits and, believe it or not, jet packs. That’s what Walt Disney thought anyway when he built Tomorrowland in 1955. The attraction was meant to represent what things would look like in that far, far away year of 1986. In 1957, the Monsanto Home of the Future – a house built entirely of plastic (the opposite of green) was installed. This was similar to many other ‘future’ exhibits at previous World’s Fairs, though those were homes furnished with modern conveniences meant simply to astonish housewives. This however was the whole house – from floor to ceiling, packed full of all mod and future cons. The attraction displayed conveniences such as picture phones , big screen TVs, self cleanable kitchens and TV remote controls, it also introduced many people to their first microwave oven. As you may know the plastic house never really caught on, but a lot of the other ideas did and are commonplace today. Tomorrowland still stands but no one really seems to care. It’s just a cool kitsch idea of what might have been….with jet packs.
To recap ( as this is the 4th installment of these beautifully weird posters) – these hand painted canvases are transported from village to village throughout Ghana to promote the film, in a drive-in like setting. Most of the others I’ve shown are popular Hollywood films but this new batch seems to have a few local titles such as I Hate My Village, Stolen Bible 2 and Mattress of Love. It would seem that the good people of Ghana go more for the horror or exploitation genre with an occasional family film thrown in for good measure, i.e. Chuck Norris’ Top Dog. It does however boggle the imagination thinking of a bunch of Ghanian villagers sitting around watching Kid and Play in House Party – they probably see it as some sort of crazy science fiction film.
It seems that you can’t find a good thrift store painting that someone hasn’t altered in someway. Wayne White has been doing it for years and has made a nice career out of it – and is truly great, but the current desire to put Star Trek characters or weird monsters in every cheap landscape has become a bit tedious (though some are pretty cool). For me the best of these kind of paintings is the naive stab at family portraits or pets – it seems the 60′s was the age of the home DYI artist. So, here are some truly disturbing, unaltered, paintings created by your mom, your aunt Loretta and your grandma’s crazy friend Pearl.
Françoise Madeleine Hardy ( born 17 January 1944) – Singer, actress and iconic fashion figure of 1960′s Paris. Françoise rode a wave of popularity with the French Ye-Ye style of singing, popularized by Serge Gainsbourgh, France Gall, Sylvie Vartan, et al. A rather naive pop-based confection sung, entirely in French. Ye-Ye gained some popularity throughout the world but mostly in it’s native country never breaking huge worldwide. Serge and Françoise however did have longer careers (separately) and she continues to sing and record today – and looks unbelievable nearing 70.
Snap Wyatt was a prolific painter of huge circus banners primarily in the 1940′s and 50′s. He was known for his bold, cartoon-like style. His banners were painted with quick caricatures, and only the essential details of the performer were outlined in black to make them stand out. He said he could finish one in a day for about $85. bucks. The bright and colorful banners drew in the crowd with the mystery of what was inside the tent. Wyatt is considered to be among the top in his field. His banners today sell for thousands.
Studebaker – Founded in 1852 under the name of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the company was originally a producer of wagons for farmers, miners, and the military.
Studebaker entered the automotive business in 1902 with electric vehicles and in 1904 with gasoline vehicles, all sold under the name “Studebaker Automobile Company”. Over the next 50 years, the company established an enviable reputation for quality, reliability and unique design. The South Bend plant ceased production on December 20, 1963, and the last Studebaker automobile rolled off the Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, assembly line on March 16, 1966.
Below are advertisements and production photos for many of the Studebaker models, starting in 1950 and ending with the 1963, Raymond Loewy designed Avanti. Beautiful cars, beautiful ads.
Apparently there were once people called travel agents, and the idea of traveling to another country by plane or ship was a romantic, exciting adventure – one you’d dress up for. As there was no internet in the 40′s and 50′s (really) people’s perceptions of foreign countries were what they may have read, some weird travelogue they’d seen at the movies or these posters. This was a new era when travel by air was becoming available to almost anyone. Great care went into these, even though they were considered to be simple throwaway advertising. Beautiful illustrations, great design and printed as stone lithographs – some real time went into their creation. The below are all for Italy, some printed for the European market, some for the American, all beautiful.
Well it’s that time again for some of us, or our families – so get ready. Have your mom buy those new school supplies, get a cool pair of Buster Browns, a nice pair of slacks, a fall jacket, socks and underwear and a carton of sweet Chesterfield Kings….hey, wait a minute – what?
Sean Leslie Flynn (born May 31, 1941; disappeared April 6, 1970, age 28; declared legally dead in 1984) Sean was the only child from the marriage of early Hollywoods’ biggest star Errol Flynn and French actress Lili Damita. Sean tried acting like his famous parents, appearing at the age of 15 in an episode of his Dad’s TV show – The Errol Flynn Theater. Acting never really stuck for Sean, though he’d do it off and on over the years whenever he was broke. Adventure was the life for Errol’s boy – leaving the US to become a Safari guide and then a game warden in Kenya. Flynn also tried his hand as a singer; recording two songs 1961. The songs were released regionally as a 45rpm single, “Stay in My Heart” b/w “Secret Love” – an exceptionally rare collectors item.
Sean finally found his calling, traveling to Vietnam in 1966 as a photojournalist for Paris-Match and later Time-Life. His photos were soon published around the world. He made a name for himself as one of that group of high-risk photojournalists who would do anything to get the best pictures, even going into combat.
On April 6, 1970, while traveling in Cambodia, Flynn and Dana Stone (on assignment for Time magazine and CBS News) were captured by communist guerrillas at a roadblock on Highway One. They were never heard from again and their remains have never been found. Although it is known that they were captured by Vietnamese Communists, it has been suggested that they died in the hands of “hostile” forces. There was suggestions of sightings for years, but the logical and accepted story was that he was killed by the Cambodian Khmer Rouge about a year after his capture.
Lili Damita spent all her time and money searching for her son, finally giving up in 1984, having him legally declared dead. In 2010 a mass grave of western bodies was found near were Sean went missing. Seans’ body was not among them
Sean’s apartment in Paris was left untouched for over 20 years, finally being opened after his mother’s death in 1994 (she didn’t want to change anything should he come home). When it was finally opened all sean’s possessions were perfectly in place, just as he’d left them.
All these come from about 1963-1966. It’s hard to believe that The Beatles even existed in the same time period as, say, Howlin’ Wolf or Etta James, and that the Stones were ever second on a bill to Brian Poole and the Tremelos, or that the opener for The Monkees could have been The Jimi Hendrix Experiance. Design-wise, they are beautiful. Usually cheaply produced, hand silk screened on heavy paper with minimal colors and tons of fonts. They would be sent to venues with a blank portion, usually the top, were the club could include their own name, dates and cost (Jesus Christ man – Howlin Wolf and Muddy Waters for $4.00).
Between 1975 and 1977, Michael Abramson hit Chicago’s South Side night clubs – Perv’s House, Pepper’s Hideout, The High Chaparral, The Patio Lounge, and The Showcase Lounge, not to capture the artists on stage, but to shoot the lively, mostly black, mostly youngish crowd. These were inner city, working mans clubs. Dancin’, drinkin’ and fightin’ was the weekend norm, and then back to work on Monday. These photos were first published in Abramsom’s thesis Black Night Clubs of Chicago’s South Side. Many of these were later published in a photography book / 2 LP record set entitled Light on the South Side (2009), The collection of music featured on the LPs are blues songs by mostly Chicago recording artists, and reflect what was actually playing on the jukeboxes in these clubs at the time.
1938 Gum Inc. Horrors of War is one of the most famous trading card sets of all-time. Equal parts gruesome and gorgeous, the historically based set remains widely sought after decades later. 1938 Gum Inc. Horrors of War is a large set — 288 cards divided into two series. The original set has 240 cards that focus on the Spanish Civil War, Ethiopian War and the Chinese-Japanese War. The final 48 cards came later as a supplemental release. Among these cards are three that show Adolf Hitler, who was now a threat to the world.
The images on the front are full of color and detail. Many of the images are shocking, even today. Nothing is held back. Scenes of torture, bloody battlefields and children under attack are all shown in the set. The colors are vibrant, further adding to the set’s distinct visuals. Backs offer detailed descriptions of what’s happening on the card. The writing is equally lively and colorful. A little smaller than today’s’ Bubblegum cards and about the size of a normal business card, the cards measure 3 1/8″ by 2 1/2″.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt allegedly used the cards to show people some of the horrific things that were happening overseas. At the time, America was still recovering from WWI and there was little support to get involved in the increasing unstable environment overseas. And while some politicians mocked Roosevelt, the attention helped push the set’s popularity to new levels.
These are somewhere between cute and completely frightening – the way Halloween should be. I’ve posted a bunch of these over the last couple of years so search those out. It may give you some inspiration to go as something other than a sexy cop, a sexy girl scout or a sexy kitten this year.
Stella Stevens – born Estelle Caro Eggleston in 1938 in Yazoo City Mississippi, raised in Hot Coffee Miss.
A beautiful blond in the Tuesday Weld, Kim Novak, Barbra Eden mold, Stella made a name for herself, mostly as the wide eyed ingenue character. Never really breaking huge she has however managed to have a busy and varied career into the 2000′s. If you recognize her at all it’s probably from her role as Miss Purdy in that boob, Jerry Lewis’ The Nutty Professor. She would star in a number of pictures and TV shows throughout the years, General Hospital, Sam Pekinpah’s The Ballad of Cable Houge, an Elvis movie, one of Dean Martin’s Matt Helm pictures and the 1972 version of The Posiedon Adventure, among many others. The late 70′s -2000′s as seen Stella appearing in various TV shows, from Newhart to Night Court to Magnum PI and on and on. She continues to act occasionally to this day and lives in Beverly Hills.
More creepy than gruesome, these were originally intended to be part of another Halloween post but that seemed slightly disrespectful somehow. These are, however, incredibly interesting, the doctors, the setting, the tools and the corpses themselves. These aren’t meant to show how to perform autopsy’s but more a class photo that happens to have a dead person in it. Slight warning – these are a bit disturbing so continue at your own risk.
Image may be NSFW.
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