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2006, Feb 20; 22:05 ::: The Rise of the New York Intellectuals: Partisan Review and Its Circle, 1934-1945 (1986) - Terry A. Cooney
The Rise of the New York Intellectuals: Partisan Review and Its Circle, 1934-1945 (1986) - Terry A. Cooney [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Image shown is not cover of book, but of 1938 issue of Partisan ReviewBook Description
Terry A. Cooney traces the evolution of the Partisan Review—often considered to be the most influential little magazine ever published in America—during its formative years, giving a lucid and dispassionate view of the magazine and its luminaries who played a leading role in shaping the public discourse of American intellectuals. Included are Lionel Trilling, Philip Rahv, William Phillips, Dwight Macdonald, F. W. Dupee, Mary McCarthy, Sidney Hook, Harold Rosenberg, Delmore Schwartz, among others. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.See also: Partisan Review - USA - intellectuals - 1934 - 1938
2006, Feb 20; 21:05 ::: Culture theory (1972) - Dave KaplanIn search of industrial society
Culture theory (1972) - Dave Kaplan [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Sociocultural evolution(ism) is an umbrella term for theories of cultural evolution and social evolution, describing how cultures and societies have developed over time. Although such theories typically provide models for understanding the relationship between technologies, social structure, the values of a society, and how and why they change with time, they vary as to the extent to which they describe specific mechanisms of variation and social change.
Most 19th-century and some 20th-century approaches aimed to provide models for the evolution of humankind as a whole, arguing that different societies are at different stages of social development. Many of the more recent 20th-century approaches focus on changes specific to individual societies and reject the idea of directional change, or social progress. Most archaeologists and cultural anthropologists work within the framework of modern theories of sociocultural evolution. Modern approaches to sociocultural evolution include neoevolutionism, sociobiology, theory of modernisation and theory of postindustrial society. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_evolution [Feb 2006]
See also: 1972 - culture theory
2006, Feb 20; 18:05 ::: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904 - 1905) - Max WeberIn search of industrial society
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904 - 1905) - Max Weber [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Book Description
Max Weber's best-known and most controversial work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, first published in 1904, remains to this day a powerful and fascinating read. Weber's highly accessible style is just one of many reasons for his continuing popularity. The book contends that the Protestant ethic made possible and encouraged the development of capitalism in the West.Maximilian Weber (April 21, 1864 – June 14, 1920) was a German political economist and sociologist who is considered one of the founders of the modern, antipositivistic study of sociology and public administration. His major works deal with rationalisation in sociology of religion and government, but he also wrote much in the field of economics. His most popular work is his essay The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, which began his work in the sociology of religion. Weber argued that religion was one of the primary reasons for the different ways the cultures of the Occident and the Orient have developed. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Weber [Feb 2006]
See also: 1904 - 1905 - capitalism - protestantism - politics - sociology
2006, Feb 20; 18:05 ::: Capitalism and Modern Social Theory : An Analysis of the Writings of Marx, Durkheim and Max Weber (1971) - Anthony GiddensIn search of industrial society
Capitalism and Modern Social Theory : An Analysis of the Writings of Marx, Durkheim and Max Weber (1971) - Anthony Giddens [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Book Description
Giddens's analysis of the writings of Marx, Durkheim and Weber has become the classic text for any student seeking to understand the three thinkers who established the basic framework of contemporary sociology. The first three sections of the book, based on close textual examination of the original sources, contain separate treatments of each writer. The author demonstrates the internal coherence of their respective contributions to social theory. The concluding section discusses the principal ways in which Marx can be compared with the other two authors, and discusses misconceptions of some conventional views on the subject.Many sociologists had wrestled with the question of what is the nature of sociology: Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, Georg Simmel just to name a few. Giddens took a stance against the functionalists (like Talcott Parsons in Capitalism and Modern Social Theory (1971), where he examined works of Weber, Durkheim and Marx, arguing that despite their different approaches each was concerned with the link between capitalism and social life. Giddens emphasised the social constructs of power, modernity and institutions, defining sociology as "the study of social institutions brought into being by the industrial transformation of the past two or three centuries." --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Giddens#The_nature_of_sociology [Feb 2006]
The Right Honourable Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens (b. Edmonton, London, January 18, 1938) is a British sociologist who is renowned for his theory of structuration and his holistic view of modern societies. He is considered to be one of the most prominent modern contributors in the field of sociology, the author of at least 34 books, published in at least 29 languages, issuing on average more then one book every year. Giddens' ambition is both to recast social theory and to re-examine our understanding of the development and trajectory of modernity. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Giddens [Feb 2006]
Also by Anthony Giddens
Giddens, A. (1986) `The politics of taste: review of "Distinction"' [by Pierre Bourdieu], Partisan Review 53(2), 300-305.See also: Émile Durkheim - Karl Marx - politics - sociology
2006, Feb 19; 20:05 ::: A Short History of Cultural Studies (2003) - John Hartley
A Short History of Cultural Studies (2003) - John Hartley [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Book Description
This is the first volume to capture the essence of the burgeoning field of cultural studies in a concise and accessible manner. Other books have explored the British and North American traditions, but this is the first guide to the ideas, purposes and controversies that have shaped the subject. The author sheds new light on neglected pioneers and a clear route map through the terrain. He provides lively critical narratives on a dazzling array of key figures including, Arnold, Barrell, Bennett, Carey, Fiske, Foucault, Grossberg, Hall, Hawkes, hooks, Hoggart, Leadbeater, Lissistzky, Malevich, Marx, McLuhan, McRobbie, D Miller, T Miller, Morris, Quiller-Couch, Ross, Shaw, Urry, Williams, Wilson, Wolfe and Woolf. Hartley also examines a host of central themes in the subject including literary and political writing, publishing, civic humanism, political economy and Marxism, sociology, feminism, anthropology and the pedagogy of cultural studies.See also: cultural studies - culture theory
2006, Feb 19; 20:05 ::: What Good Are the Arts? (2005) - John Carey
What Good Are the Arts? (2005) - John Carey [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
From Publishers Weekly
"People in the West have been saying extravagant things about the arts for two and a half centuries," sighs Carey, Professor of English at Oxford and eminent critic, at the outset of this witty and irreverent dismissal of cultural elitism, his second (The Intellectuals and the Masses). A work of art is whatever the experts agree on? Not so, says Carey, declaring instead that a work of art is "anything that anyone has ever considered a work of art." Well surely some art is "superior" to others? But again Carey demurs, finding so-called high art to be "culturally constructed" at best, and "spectacularly wrong," "self-deluding" and "catastrophic" at worst. To illustrate, Carey finds parallels between terrorists and those who defend high art on grounds of its purity and depth (both pit themselves against Western popular culture). In another passage, Carey cripples the argument that art appreciation creates emphatic and thoughtful people by remembering Hitler's "intense" love of opera and architecture. In Part Two, Carey argues the "supremacy" of literature in the same extravagant terms he just debunked (reading "has the power to change people"). Regrettably, despite clever logic and inexhaustible imagination, Carey fails to recover artistic merit from "the abyss of relativism." Perhaps, as Carey suggests, relativism is all we can hope for in world perceived by over 6 billion minds a day. --Copyright © Reed Business Information via Amazon.comSee also: artistic merit - relativism - art - good - John Carey
2006, Feb 19; 20:05 ::: Mondo Morricone (1996) - Ennio Morricone
Mondo Morricone (1996) - Ennio Morricone [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
More Mondo Morricone (1996) - Ennio Morricone [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Original music by Ennio Morricone taken from cult Italian movies (1968-72).
CD covers designed by Stefan Kassel.
See also: Italian cinema - Ennio Morricone - soundtrack
2006, Feb 19; 20:05 ::: So Fine (1981) - Andrew Bergman
So Fine (1981) - Andrew Bergman [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Original music by Ennio Morricone
Andrew Bergman is an American screenwriter, film director, and novelist born in 1945. He wrote the original screenplay for Mel Brooks' classic Blazing Saddles, and was among the co-writers who adapted it into its final state. Since then, he has written or co-written the cult classics The In-Laws, Fletch, and Soapdish, and written and directed The Freshman, Honeymoon in Vegas, and It Could Happen to You. He lives in New York City with his wife and has two grown sons. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Bergman [Feb 2006]
See also: American cinema - comedy - 1981
2006, Feb 19; 20:05 ::: White Dog (1982) - Samuel Fuller
White Dog (1982) - Samuel Fuller
White Dog is a 1982 movie directed by Samuel Fuller. It stars Paul Winfield, Kristy McNichol, Jameson Parker, and Burl Ives. Due to controversy surrounding the movie it was shelved for several years before finally receiving a limited release.
The plot of the film revolved around a man's attempt to retrain a group of dogs who had been trained to attack African-Americans on sight. Many people feared that the movie would be a celebration of the attacks, and it was very controversial. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Dog [Feb 2006]
Original music by Ennio Morricone
See also: Samuel Fuller - racism - African Americans - white - dog
2006, Feb 19; 16:05 ::: Independent Group : Postwar Britain and the Aesthetics of Plenty (1990) - David RobbinsIn search of counter-modernism
Independent Group : Postwar Britain and the Aesthetics of Plenty (1990) - David Robbins [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Poster for the 1971 This is tomorrow exhibition
Image sourced here.The Independent Group, or the IG, as it was called, is best known for having launched Pop Art. But the young artists, architects, and critics who met informally at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts in the early 1950s were actually embarked on a far more subversive and constructive mission than the founding of an art movement. Street-smart, anti-academic, and iconoclastic, they embraced Hollywood and Madison Avenue and rejected the traditional dichotomies between high and low culture, British and American values. They used their meetings and exhibitions to challenge the official modernist assumptions of British aesthetics and to advocate instead a media-based, consumer-based aesthetics of change and inclusiveness - an aesthetics of plenty. In doing so they drew upon Dadaist, Futurist, and Surrealist strategies to invigorate their alternative version of modernism - a version that today can be said to have insinuated the terms of postmodernism
This book provides the first comprehensive view of the IG's aims and significance. The texts and illustrations fully represent the achievements of its leaders, including artists Richard Hamilton and Eduardo Paolozzi, architects Alison and Peter Smithson, and critics Lawrence Alloway and Reyner Banham. The historic exhibitions that publicized the ideas of IG members are also documented - "Parallel of Life and Art," "Man, Machine and Motions," "This Is Tomorrow," and "An Exhibit." Above all, the book emphasizes the interaction between the exhibitions, discussions, art and writings of IG members, showing the ways in which they established a new aesthetic horizon.
David Robbins is a freelance writer and editor in Berkeley, California. Distributed for the University Art Museum, University of California at Berkeley.
Essays by: Lawrence Alloway, Theo Crosby, Barry Curtis, Diane Kirkpatrick, David Mellor, David Robbins, Denise Scott Brown, Alison and Peter Smithson, David Thistlewood
Retrospective Statements by: Lawrence Alloway, Mary Banham, Richard Hamilton, Geoffrey Holroyd, Magda Cordell McHale, Dorothy Morland, Eduardo Paolozzi, Toni del Renzio, Alison and Peter Smithson, James Stirling, William Turnbull, Colin St. John Wilson. --via Amazon.com
See also: The Independent Group - modernism - pop art - UK - 1950s
2006, Feb 19; 16:05 ::: Incredibly Strange Music (Re/Search ; 14) (1992) - Vale, Andrea JunoIn search of space age pop
Incredibly Strange Music (Re/Search ; 14) (1992) - Vale, Andrea Juno [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Introduced explicitly as the title of two 1993 volumes by Re/Search, an avant-garde publication based in San Francisco. As covered in these books, this label includes everything from Exotica as described above to sound effects, serious and comic and unintentionally comic spoken word, and stag party records, to Moog synthesizers, to outrageous foreign covers of U.S. pop hits. The two ISM volumes helped spark current interest in exotica, though, with interviews that brought the names of Martin Denny, Korla Pandit, and Yma Sumac to a new generation, and led to release of two CD compilations of music mentioned in the book. --http://www.spaceagepop.com/whatis.htm#ism [Feb 2006]
See also: space age pop - RE/SEARCH publications - incredible - strange - music
2006, Feb 19; 12:05 ::: Lialeh [SOUNDTRACK] (1973) - Bernard "Pretty" Purdie
Lialeh [SOUNDTRACK] (1973) - Bernard "Pretty" Purdie [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Forget foreplay, baby, the main event is here! Light In The Attic proudly presents the soundtrack to LIALEH, the first major black porn movie and final word in soulful shagging music. Bryan Records released this Shaft-era classic in 1974, and since then it's been harder to find than a honky in Harlem. Legendary drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie composed, produced and performed LIALEH's score, while between projects with Curtis Mayfield, Aretha, The Last Poets, The Rolling Stones, James Brown...
Music fans have long looked to LIALEH for seven original Purdie tracks, his first as writer/composer, untempered by the A&R's who guided his records for Flying Dutchman, Date, Prestige and Mega. To snag a copy of LIALEH, you could spend more than $600 on eBay or a mere $12.99 at Light In The Attic. Same great music, and mo' money to spend on your honey. --http://www.lightintheattic.net/releases/lialeh/index.php [Feb 2006]
Bernard Purdie
Bernard Purdie was born June 11, 1939 in Elkton, Maryland as the eleventh of fifteen children. Purdie began already as a six-year-old to bang out rhythms on improvised equipment. At 14 years of age he purchased his first real drum set and became the most important provider for the family - earning his pay with country and carnival bands. This "schooling" enabled Purdie to "feel my way into nearly every kind of music, 'cause I had to know all styles and was never afraid to try something new."Purdie moved to New York in 1960 after finishing high school and played with (among others), Lonnie Youngblood before landing his first hit with King Curtis. This led to his engagement with Aretha Franklin in 1970 - the beginning of an unparalleled career. Since then, Purdie has been a regular guest in the studios of the stars of Jazz, Soul, and Rock, working together with Paul Butterfield as well as Larry Coryell, Miles Davis, Hall & Oates, Al Kooper, Herbie Mann, Todd Rundgren and Cat Stevens, as well as regularly producing his own solo albums under his own name. --http://www.bernardpurdie.com/profile.htm [Feb 2006]
Lialeh (film)
Lialeh is a well made cheap adult film that recently got a major hype due to the soundtrack done by Bernard Purdie. It was legit released by Arrow videos with a mention it is THE BLACK DEEPTHROAT (since Arrow released DEEP THROAT on video), but the film has nothing to do with deepthroat nor even shares the plotline. The film stands on it's own, with multiple locations which was uncommon in early 70's adult films. It was also uncommon to have a film mostly black cast for a adult film in that era. The film director Barron Borcovichy does a wonderful job making this cheap film look professional, especially the soundtrack. --William via http://207.171.166.140/title/tt0143378/ [Feb 2006]Certification: USA:X (self applied)
See also: 1973 - black music - blaxploitation - porn film - soundtrack
2006, Feb 19; 12:05 ::: Walter Van Beirendonck and Piet Hein Eek
Ensemble, spring/summer 2003
Aestheticterrorists by Walter van Beirendonck (Belgian, b. 1957)
Photograph by Donald Graham
Styling by Timoth Reukauf for Paper Magazine
Image sourced here.
Unidentified photograph of Piet Hein Eek furniture.
Walter Van Beirendonck and Dirk Van Saene's shop/gallery at the St.Antoniusstraat 12, Antwerpen is currently showcasing furniture by Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek.
Piet Hein Eek
We are loving this gorgeously tactile range of furniture from Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek. Made from reclaimed scrap wood they are made in short series in his small factory in the Netherlands. The furniture has a beautiful worn in aesthetic, like driftwood found on the beach, but this is matched with excellent craftsmanship so that the carpentry lifts the quality up several notches to make each piece a wonderful one off. He fully embraces the textures of recycled materials, but turns them into something decorative rather than scrappy. His approach is shown particularly well in a large scrap wood table where all the different bits of wood combine together create a patchwork quilt effect. Eek says of his work "Everyone is trying to make perfect furniture so I did the opposite, I made furniture that is imperfect. I like using materials that are worthless and acting as though they are precious." We must say however that while well crafted scrap wood furniture definitely becomes precious in the hands of Piet Hein Eek, it does not come cheaply and these pieces make particularly hefty investments. There are though some more affordable smaller pieces on offer such as bowls and mirrors. --http://www.treehugger.com/files/tables/ [Feb 2006]See also: furniture - Walter Van Beirendonck
2006, Feb 19; 12:05 ::: Cal TjaderIn search of space age pop
Cal Tjader (July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) has been called the greatest Anglo Latin jazz musician of all-time. Unlike other American jazz musicians who experimented with the music from Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America, he never abandoned it, performing it until his death.
Tjader (pronounced "chay-der") primarily played the vibraphone (also called the vibraharp). He was also accomplished with the drums, bongos, congas, timpani, and the piano. He worked with numerous musicians from several cultures. He's often linked to the development of Latin rock and acid jazz. Although fusing jazz with Latin music is often categorized as "Latin jazz" (or, earlier, "Afro-Cuban"), Tjader's output swung freely between both styles.
He won a Grammy in 1980 for his album La Onda Va Bien, capping off a career that spanned over forty years. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal_Tjader [Feb 2006]
See also: space age pop - Latin music - sleeve art
2006, Feb 18; 12:05 ::: Space Age Bachelor Pad Music (1994) - EsquivelIn search of space age pop
Space Age Bachelor Pad Music (1994) - Esquivel [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Juan García Esquivel (January 20, 1918 – January 3, 2002) often known as simply Esquivel, was a Mexican band leader, pianist, and film composer. He's known today mostly for creating unique lounge jazz music. Esquivel is sometimes called "The King of Space Age Pop."
He was born in Tampico, Mexico, and his family moved to Mexico City in 1928.
Esquivel's musical style is difficult to pin down precisely, as so little else sounds like him. There are many jazz-like elements, but no improvisation. His orchestration tends toward the very lush; he combines an orchestra, his own heavily-ornamented piano stylings, a mixed chorus, and a long list of novel instruments. The chorus was often called upon to sing only nonsense syllables, most famously "zu-zu" and "pow!" A survey of Esquivel's recordings reveals a fondness for glissandos, sometimes on a half-valved trumpet, sometimes on a kettle drum, but most frequently on pitched percussion instruments and slide guitars.
Esquivel's use of stereo recording is legendary, occasionally using two bands to recording simultaneously in separate studios. The song "Mucha Muchacha" makes particularly mind-bending use of the separation, with the chorus and brass rapidly alternating sides.
His concerts also featured elaborate light shows, years before effect like that became popular in live music.
Several compilation albums of Esquivel's music were issued starting with Space Age Bachelor Pad Music in 1994. The apparent success of these releases led to reissues of several of Esquivel's albums.
Kronos Quartet recorded a string quartet arrangement of Esquivel's song "Mini Skirt" for their album Nuevo. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Garc%C3%ADa_Esquivel [Feb 2006]
See also: space age pop - lounge
2006, Feb 18; 11:05 ::: Two strains of "disco" musicTo better understand the evolution of disco into the 1980's, we can look at the division between what can be called "white disco" and "black disco", for both for the most part went into different directions. While all disco had some common features (like the beat), white disco was the more mainstream sound, which can be distinguished by among other things, horns and strings that are often performed in a style that resembles a Broadway production. Examples of this mainstream disco sound are the Bee Gees, the Village People, The Ritchie Family, ABBA, Vicki Sue Robinson's "Turn the Beat Around" and the disco ventures by such pop stars as Barry Manilow and Barbara Streisand. The black disco sound remained more true to its funk and R & B roots and was heavier on the bass and electric guitar. Horns and strings were used a bit less, and when they were used, were performed in a style that more resembled the older "Motown" and "Philly soul" sounds. The musical scales were usually more "funky" as well. The top "black" disco sound acts were Chic, Sister Sledge, A Taste Of Honey, Evelyn "Champagne" King, smaller acts like Kleeer and Peter Brown, and hits like McFadden & Whitehead's Gamble and Huff (Philly) produced "Ain't No Stopping Us Now", hits by The Emotions, Thelma Houston, Cheryl Lynn, The Trammps, and the disco ventures of Motown and former Motown acts such as The Jacksons and Diana Ross. Acts like KC and the Sunshine Band and Donna Summer were mainstream in their popularity (The definitive "mainstream" disco album being the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack both performed on), but nevertheless more "funk"-oriented in sound (Summers' "Last Dance" was definitely the more "mainstream" sound). --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disco#Two_strains_of_.22disco.22_music [Feb 2006]
See also: disco - "white music" - "black music"
2006, Feb 18; 10:05 ::: Bongo Rock () - Incredible Bongo Band
Bongo Rock () - Incredible Bongo Band [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
The Incredible Bongo Band, also known as Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band, was a project started by Michael Viner, a record artist manager and executive at MGM Records. The band's output consisted of instrumental music in the funk genre, characterised by the prominence of bongo drums and also conga drums.
Although the band released two albums, 1973's Bongo Rock and 1974's Return of the Incredible Bongo Band, the band is best known for its cover of "Apache", a song originally made popular by The Shadows. This record languished in relative obscurity until the late 1970s, when it was adopted by early hip-hop artists, including pioneering DJs Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash, for the uncommonly long percussion break in the middle of the song. Subsequently, many of the Incredible Bongo Band's other releases were sampled by hip-hop producers, and the "Apache" break remains a staple of many producers in drum and bass. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incredible_Bongo_Band [Feb 2006]
See also: 1973 - percussion - breaks
2006, Feb 18; 10:05 ::: Music to Moog By (1969) - Gershon KingsleyIn search of space age pop
Music to Moog By (1969) - Gershon Kingsley [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Product Description
Originally released in 1969 by Audio Fidelity Records, Gershon Kingsley's Music To Moog By was a masterpiece of electronic pop, featuring the first appearance of Kingsley's international dance hit 'Pop Corn' (which shot to number 1 on the German charts, selling over 1 million copies in Germany alone). In an attempt to prove that the Moog was not just an unwieldy electronic toy, Kinglsey also took songs like the Beatles 'Nowhere Man' & 'Paperback Writer', & Paul Simon's 'Scarborough Fair', & classical pieces like 'For Alisse Beethoven' & the children's lullaby 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' & transformed them into 100% Moog rockers, proving that the synthesizer was the instrument of the future that would change music forever. Original Artwork. Features 10 tracks Packaged in digipak format. Dagored.See also: Perry and Kingsley - 1969 - synth - space age pop - Moog
2006, Feb 17; 23:05 ::: Brass (2004) - Helen Walsh
Brass (2004) - Helen Walsh [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Along with recent noteworthy debuts from Bella Bathurst (Special) and Jardine Libaire (Here Kitty Kitty), this novel is part of an emerging subgenre that might be called chick-lit noir. Its antiheroines are motivated—if you can call it that—by a creeping anomie and low-grade nihilism. If these girls have any ambitions at all, they are emotional abnegation, deranged sexual pleasures and/or chemical obliteration. Walsh's 19-year-old Millie could be the poster child for the subgenre as she bombs around her native Liverpool, lusting after barely adolescent girls and packing her head with booze and blow. Precocious, petulant, middle-class Millie has been "thick as thieves" with a posse of thuggish working-class guys since she was barely a teenager. But her best friend Jamie's increasing commitment to his fiancée has created a "big dilating chasm" between them and has exacerbated Millie's tendency toward self-destructive behavior. Haunted by her perceived loss of Jamie and the painful memory of her estranged mother, "the savage and gradual build-up of [years of] filth and deceit" finally catches up with her and sends her spiraling into depravity. Millie's caustic commentary on the electro-charged sexual and intellectual power of postadolescent women heralds the arrival of a promising new voice from the darker fringes of antigirlhood. --via Amazon.com
2006, Feb 17; 23:05 ::: Moog Indigo (1970) - Jean-Jacques PerreyIn search of space age pop
Moog Indigo (1970) - Jean-Jacques Perrey [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Though Perrey and Kingsley never enjoyed tremendous commercial success, their music inspired a generation of musicians and was used (and still is used) extensively in advertising. Moog Indigo, a Jean-Jacques Perrey solo album from 1970 featured a cut called "E.V.A." This slow, funky track is one of the most sampled in hip hop and rap music history. In the U.S., it is currently being used in a TV ad for Zelnorm, a prescription medication for, of all things, female irritable bowel syndrome. The same album produced "The Elephant Never Forgets" which is still being used as the theme of the Spanish Televisa comedy, "El Chavo Del Ocho." Even the Beastie Boys (who asked permission from Perrey and Kingsley) used both the title and cover art of P & K's first album for their own In Sound From Way Out! album in 1996, while Smash Mouth borrowed the opening riff from "Swan's Splashdown" for their 1997 hit, "Walking On The Sun," (who *didn't* ask for permission.) Gershon Kingsley's biggest contribution to mainstream pop music came in the early 1970s as the composer of "Popcorn," the single biggest hit of the German phantom-band "Hot Butter" led by American Stan Free. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perrey_and_Kingsley#Their_impact_today [Feb 2006]
See also: Perry and Kingsley - 1975 - synth - space age - Moog
2006, Feb 17; 22:05 ::: Wrestling in art
1899 French print of holds
Image sourced here.
2006, Feb 17; 22:05 ::: Moog (2004) - Hans Fjellestad
Moog (2004) - Hans Fjellestad [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
See also: documentary film - synth - space age - Moog
2006, Feb 17; 22:05 ::: The Essential Perrey & Kingsley (1975) - Perrey & KingsleyIn search of space age pop
The Essential Perrey & Kingsley (1975) - Perrey & Kingsley [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
26 space-age tunes and covers from these two Moog synth pioneers.
(P) & (C) 1975 Vanguard Records.
See also: Perry and Kingsley - 1975 - synth - space age - Moog
2006, Feb 17; 22:05 ::: "Mood Indigo"
"Mood Indigo"
See also: jazz
2006, Feb 17; 22:05 ::: Sex (1992) - Madonna, Steven Meisel
Sex (1992) - Madonna, Steven Meisel [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
"Sex" front coverSex is the title of a 1992 coffee table-size book written by Madonna with photographs by Steven Meisel which accompanied the release of her fifth studio album Erotica. The book (ISBN 0-446-51732-1) featured strong adult content and graphic photographs depicting simulations of sexual acts and BDSM.
The book caused huge publicity at the time of release, primarily leading to bad press and negative attitude toward the star. Many critics considered it another calculated controversy timed to boost sales of her new album; Spy magazine called it "a fuck book that contained no actual fucking," adding Madonna to its annual "100 Worst" list. Now long out of print, the book is extremely valuable, selling for well over $400 on Ebay and Amazon.com.
Some of the pages vary in type of paper, texture, and size. The text varies from handwritten to printed, with eyebending typefaces and colors, to a plain, and a bit out-of-place, copyright page. The images are collages of ripped and pasted prints, proof sheets, and entire pages in monochromes and full color. Depicted are acts of lesbianism, sadomasochism, anilingus, rape. None of these acts are literally depicted, instead only hinted at or simulated.
Also featured in the book are model Naomi Campbell, actress Isabella Rossellini, rappers Big Daddy Kane and Vanilla Ice, as well as gay porn star Joey Stefano.
Included with the book is the CD single titled "Erotic". It contains the original version of the song "Erotica", titled "Erotic" - not available elsewhere.
With numbers in the hundreds of thousands there may be too many of them to really be collectors items. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_%28book%29 [Feb 2006]
See also: sex - 1992 - Madonna - erotic photography
2006, Feb 17; 21:05 ::: Faction (literature)In search of interactive faction
In literature, faction is a neologism used to describe literature based on real historical figures and actual events, woven together with fictional writing. An example of faction is the book According to Queeney by Beryl Bainbridge. This book describes the last few years of Samuel Johnson's life as seen through the eyes of Queeney Thrale, eldest daughter of Henry Thrale and Hester Thrale. Here, the word "faction" is a portmanteau of "fact" and "fiction". Faction is often disliked as confusing to people who are trying to find facts.
See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faction_%28literature%29
Autofiction
Other contemporary writers during the last decade have consciously used the process of "Autofiction" (similar to the notion of "faction") to renew the novel (Christine Angot for example). "Autofiction" is a term invented by Serge Dubrovsky in 1977. It is a new sort of romanticised autobiography that resembles the writing of the romantics of the nineteenth century. A few other authors may be perceived as vaguely belonging to this group: Alice Ferney, Annie Ernaux, Olivia Rosenthal, Anne Wiazemsky. In a related vein, Catherine Millet's 2002 memoir The Sexual Life of Catherine M. gained much press for its frank exploration of the author's sexual experiences. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_French_literature [Feb 2006]See also: fact - fiction - interactive
2006, Feb 17; 11:54 ::: Sexuality and ModernismIn search of the sexual component of Modernism
First strain: asexual modernism, sexless modernism.
- Pablo Picasso
- Le Corbusier
- International Style
- Serial music
- John Cage
Second strain: sexual modernism, sexy modernism.
- Gustave Courbet
- Marcel Duchamp
- Hans Bellmer
- Sigmund Freud
- Surrealism
- Félicien Rops
A lot of the sexualness in the first strain of Modernism was unerotic. There was nakedness, but no nudity. There was sex, but no desire, mind but no body and no sensuality.