Category: Retro & Vintage

1919 Amusement Park Ride Allows You to Die in a Sitting Position

From Electrical Experimenter magazine, December 1919:

“In the circus we are used to seeing a person “loop-the-loop” or turn a somersault in mid-air while in an automobile, the vehicle and its passengers landing right side up on a properly inclined platform, down which it glides to earth. Our artillery experts can compute with extreme accuracy the trajectory of various projectiles, both large and small, and thus it should be quite possible, with the aid of modern mechanical engineering technique, to build one of these aerial passenger rocket amusements successfully. The gun out of which is the shell or rocket, with its human cargo is shot, may be operated by compressed air, by powder, or it may be an electromagnetic gun.”

[Found here. Click the link above for .pdf of the issue.]

Saturday Matinee – This Is Hormel (1964), The Rave-Ups, Tom Waits, Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood, and Freddie King

Everything you ever wanted to know about Hormel… up to 1964. [h/t SL]

The Rave-Ups got some traction for their work in the movie Pretty In Pink (1986). Their cover of the Byrds‘ You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere is pretty good, too.

Tom Waits does rockabilly his way, and the intro on his live version is pure awesome.

Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood tell the truth (2009).

Any Freddie KIng jam makes me smile, and Boogie Funk (ca. 1968) matches what’s been going on in my brain lately. (I’m not sure that’s the correct song title – it might be Feelin’ Good.)

Have a great weekend, we’ll see what happens tomorrow.

Low and Outside

[Found here.]

Elephant Seal with Snow Boobs

Roland, a 4,000 pound elephant seal, getting a snow bath from his handler at Berlin Zoo, c. 1930.

Saturday Matinee – The Corridor Crew, Mad Sin, Lara Hope & The Ark-Tones and Moon Hooch

“Disclaimer: This video is a comedic parody and is not owned, endorsed, created by, or associated with the Boston Dynamics company.”

Yeah, but it could happen. Video is by the Corridor Crew.

Quirky vid, catchy song, and an f-bomb, Mad Sin plays “a combination of rockabilly, punk, white-trash blues and tongue-in-cheek sarcasm.”

Lara Hope & The Ark-Tones do the roots rock retro nicely.

Too cool not to share. Moon Hooch got stuck in a traffic jam in France and decided to make the best of it. Most popular Utoob comment? This:

*marches all the way to front of traffic jam
*four car collision accident no survivors

So there you go. Have a great weekend, try out this Superbowl Chili and lemme know how fast it goes.

Saturday Matinee – Blender CG Compilation, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, Mountain Music & Joe Bonamassa

I’m on the Blender email list, and occasionally they link to video tutorials/demos. I don’t use the CG program, but its capabilities blow me away. The guy who compiled the animations ran out of audio at about 03:10 but dealt with it pretty well.

In 1965, David Hoffman filmed some genuine hill music from the mountains of North Carolina for a television documentary. Music starts at 04:28. (If you want to hear the four and a half minute lead in, start at 00:00.) Hoffman filmed those same musicians in the best clogging video you’ll find.

This animated cartoon music video of Richard Hell and the Voidoids‘ single “The Kid with the Replaceable Head” (Radar, 1979) was created by Washington D.C. kid’s show “Pancake Mountain.” The song was written by Richard Hell, and this recording was produced by Nick Lowe.

2009 Joe Bonamassa sounds a lot like 1974 Robin Trower. I like it.

Have a great weekend or something. More to come.

Gonna be a cold day in Hot Links

Wham! Lonnie Mack (1963) The Wham of That Memphis ManHit song from his first album was likely influenced by Bobby Blue Bland‘s Turn Your Love Light On (1961) and there are echoes of it in Clarence Gatemouth Brown‘s Pressure Cooker (1985).
Musical transcription of Wham! .pdf download here.

Cat Train.

Stairway to WTF.

Repurposed cats.

Repurposed hogs.

Ming “Hafrún” the Clam.

Hey you! Fossil Bug Penis!

“I don’t want to be President.”

Switzerland Mountain Coaster.

The Immigrant Song vs. Bali Hai.

Trichophagia can result in bezoars.

The note on the napkin read, “Can you help me?”

The note on the napkin read, “Do you need help?“

ElectroBoom (aka Mehdi Sadaghdar) is awesome.

From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago.

[Bernie Mitten Aquittin’ image found here.]

2 Up and 2 Back Double Cross Hot Links

The Madison Time Parts 1 & 2, Ray Bryant Combo (1960)The Madison Time was a party record (for its namesake line dance) featuring calls by Eddie Morrison.

DIY Madison instructions (free .pdf download).

Cambodia holds the Guinness World Record for largest Madison dance (2015).

Stoot.

Iguanas.

NOSE VIEW.

The Age of Scurvy.

QAnon and apophenia.

The Feldenkrais Method?

If I Were the Devil – Paul Harvey.

The Hoo-Hoo Degree Team ca. 1930.

Hard to believe, but this is NOT a zebra.

Huge amorphous blob eats oatmeal and learns.

China still operates coal-fired steam engines [via].

You must unify with us because we will not unify with you. Check out the comments for more fun.

From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago.

[Top image found in here.]

Bonus via Mme. Jujujive: Chinese Road Service.

 

Saturday Matinee – Boston Dynamics, The Contours, RT n’ The 44s, Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys & Roomful of Blues

Our whole crew got together to celebrate the start of what we hope will be a happier year: Happy New Year from all of us at Boston Dynamics. http://www.BostonDynamics.com.

Over 18M views and 97K comments since 29 December, and you’ve probably seen it already. I wonder what The Contours think of it.

The Contours‘ chart-topping 1962 hit Do You Love Me became a major hit again in 1988. I bet it scores a third time.

RT n’ the 44s has a laid back retro vibe with a large dollop of Johnny Cash. They’ve been described as “a vintage country band with dark obsessions.”

Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys have been jammin’ it since 1988, and here’s their cover of Colin James‘ Jumpin’ From Six to Six.

One of the best big brass blues bands in the land is Roomful of Blues. More than 50 musicians have played in the band since its inception in 1967, and I’m not sure of this 2013 lineup.

Have a great weekend, folks, because there’s more on the way. See you tomorrow.