Recent Spy Vibe posts: The Goldfinger Variations, Mod Tales Interview, Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, HMV returns to Oxford st w Beatles promo, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.
1960s STYLE IN ACTION
December 5, 2013
PETER SELLERS BLOOPERS
Peter Sellers made a number of hilarious recordings of Beatles songs, including an infamous rendition of She Loves You as Dr. Strangelove. In 1965, he adapted the lyrics of A Hard Day's Night into a Shakespearian satire. Although I've seen his live performance many times, I never knew there were outtakes! Here is his performance, with bloopers at the end. Enjoy! Spy Vibe posts about the satire boom in England in the 1960s: UK Satire Boom, UK Satire/Surrealism Peter Sellers to John Lennon, The Prisoner Fallout.
Recent Spy Vibe posts: The Goldfinger Variations, Mod Tales Interview, Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, HMV returns to Oxford st w Beatles promo, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.
Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.
Recent Spy Vibe posts: The Goldfinger Variations, Mod Tales Interview, Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, HMV returns to Oxford st w Beatles promo, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.
December 4, 2013
SINATRA LAIR
Looking for a luxury lair to rent for your next secret rendezvous? If Ian Fleming's GoldenEye estate is already booked in Jamaica, consider lounging at Frank Sinatra's Twin Palms in California. Designed in 1947 by E. Stewart Williams, this Mid-Century Modern estate sports a swanky living room area with Sinatra's original home recording outfit by Valentino Electronics of Hollywood, a piano-shaped pool, and four luxury master and guest rooms for your agents and minions. The house has been restored with vintage designer furnishings and memorabilia and has been featured in Architectural Digest, Town and Country, The Travel Channel, and many other media outlets. The Sinatra House is situated in the Movie Colony neighborhood of Palm Springs, where Sinatra lived for ten years. Living it up like Ol' Blue Eyes doesn't come cheap, however, so consider booking after world domination. Rental info here. Below are contemporary images from the official site, where you can compare with vintage photos from Sinatra's time. More about Twin Palms here. Learn more with Palm Springs Mid-Century Modern and Julius Shulman: Palm Springs.
Related Spy Vibe posts: Dieter Rams Braun exhibit, Schulz Modern, Futuro Cool, Cold War Lairs, Julius Shulman, Modern Architecture LP, Erno Goldfinger, Fortunato vs. Panton, Set For Adventure.
Recent Spy Vibe posts: The Goldfinger Variations, Mod Tales Interview, Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, HMV returns to Oxford st w Beatles promo, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.
Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.
Related Spy Vibe posts: Dieter Rams Braun exhibit, Schulz Modern, Futuro Cool, Cold War Lairs, Julius Shulman, Modern Architecture LP, Erno Goldfinger, Fortunato vs. Panton, Set For Adventure.
December 2, 2013
MISSION DEBRIEF
Mission Debrief: If you were away on assignment during Thanksgiving, you may have missed two major missions here on Spy Vibe. At our Mod Tales post here, artist Katharine Boyd gave a groovy interview about her new spy comic (see image below) and about her experiences as a Mod, artist, and teacher. And at The Goldfinger Variations post here, Spy Vibe looked at three major Pop-Culture icons of the Cold War and the pivotal year 1964. Enjoy!
Recent Spy Vibe posts: Mod Tales Interview, Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, HMV returns to Oxford st w Beatles promo, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, Elio Petri on Blu-ray, Sophia Loren, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Beatles fall 2013 releases, A Hard Days Night cinematographer dies, Magic Christian on Blu-ray, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.
Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.
Recent Spy Vibe posts: Mod Tales Interview, Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, HMV returns to Oxford st w Beatles promo, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, Elio Petri on Blu-ray, Sophia Loren, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Beatles fall 2013 releases, A Hard Days Night cinematographer dies, Magic Christian on Blu-ray, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.
December 1, 2013
THE GOLDFINGER VARIATIONS
The Goldfinger Variations: Goldfinger was adapted for the third 007 film starring Sean Connery in 1964. It was the movie that established the template of espionage-movie conventions and ignited the Spy Boom. The perceived demands of the audience would pressure the series to make the films bigger and bigger, but for many, Goldfinger perfectly balanced artistic integrity with commercial appeal. That year would prove to be an interesting converging point for two other pop-culture icons of the Cold War struggling with the same balancing act. Story continues below.
In the early 1960s The Beatles were on a rigorous gigging schedule, hungry for success and hungry to land that ever-elusive recording contract. With their natural charisma and talent, they became the biggest band in Liverpool, then London, until Beatlemania swept the world. The youthful momentum of live performance was exciting at first, but the band soon tired of the road. It wasn’t the act of playing live, but the anxiety around and mania that surrounded them. And, more importantly, it was the fact that the spectacle of their appearance overshadowed them as artists. Indeed, neither the band nor the audience could hear the music over the din of the crowd. Fans and the Press were not leaning forward in their seats to examine new song structures, they were fascinated by The Beatles’ haircuts, how they shook their heads on stage, and other idiosyncrasies. Within three years of making their first major record in 1963, The Beatles would retire completely from live performance to focus on the artistic process of studio recording.
As I explored in Notes Behind the Curtain 2 and Notes Behind the Curtain 1, Beatles music also found its way behind the Iron Curtain and inspired generations of black-market listeners to find new freedoms of attitude and expression. [Elicit albums were traditionally cut on used X-ray sheets, dubbed Jazz on Bones, and traded on the black market in Russia]. You can learn more about Russian underground music in Paul McCartney in Red Square and in How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin.
The year 1964 was pivotal for The Beatles. A Number-One hit on the US charts paved the way for their first voyage across the Atlantic. This was the era of Beatlemania: Ed Sullivan, the press conferences, the airport receptions, all captured in press footage and re-lived by The Beatles themselves in A Hard Days Night. By April of 1966, they were engaged in making tape-loop based Pop with Tomorrow Never Knows, and by Aug 1966, they left the stage behind forever.
1964 was also a pivotal year for another music sensation. Imagine fans mobbing the payphones during intermission, desperate to get their friends to rush down to the theater to see this fantastic act. Tickets sold out. Additional seats were added to the sides of the stage! Over one thousand people stood at the back of the hall. Yes, it does sound like Beatlemania. But this act was not a quartet of rockers this time, but an eccentric young pianist and musical genius from Canada named Glenn Gould.
Peter Taussig said of Gould, “Suddenly you get a sound that no one has heard before…it’s boney, it’s tout…it is very rhythmical, it’s clean, it’s transparent. Here is a skinny scrawny guy from Canada who looks as if he’s about to die by the time he comes on stage- so pale… he sits almost on the floor, he sings while he’s playing. We’ve never heard anything like this. It’s like, “Where did this guy come from?”
The focus of the press on Gould's physical idiosyncrasies would, like The Beatles, become a tiresome burden for the musician. Gould was as fascinating to watch as he was to hear. Constantly in fear of illness and complaining of circulation problems, Gould kept himself bundled up in coats, scarves, and mittens, and he soaked his hands in scalding hot water before playing. He sang and conducted while he played (one can hear his voice in the background of many of his recordings). Gould also had the quirky habit of speaking to the press in the voices of various alter-egos he created. Similar to John Lennon's satirical mock-German accent, Gould created pedantic personas like Karlheinz Klopweisser, Nigel Twitt-Thornwaite, and Theodore Slutz as a way to cope with the relentless and mundane questions from journalists.
The stress of performing and the constant focus on his behavioral affects drove Gould to retire completely from the stage after a concert in Los Angeles in 1964. Like The Beatles, he found a purer form of creative expression through studio recording. Gould’s experimentation with the Classical Masters now extended to using multiple tape loops, splicing alternate takes to craft his pieces, and creating sound collages and audio documentaries.
The documentary film, The Russian Journey, chronicles Gould’s tour of the Soviet Union in 1957. Very much like Paul McCartney in Red Square, it features interviews with musicians, teachers, and scholars who tell a fascinating story of discovering Gould behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. The pianist is most known for his interpretations of Bach- he recorded two versions of The Goldberg Variations, which book-end his recording career. It was interesting to learn his Russian audience saw the music as subversive because of its connection to the church. Like the black market for Beatles records, Gould’s Soviet audience recalls how the pianist broke open whole areas of music that had been banned. Suddenly copies of sheet music were being passed among music students. Young musicians were inspired by new freedoms of expression. Gouldmania followed him from Moscow to Leningrad and continues to echo throughout Russian conservatories today.
After Gould’s return to Canada, he spoke out and lectured in support of artistic freedom behind the Iron Curtain. The Party publicly denounced Gould and proclaimed his visit had been a kind of spy-like maneuver to create a platform to subvert the Soviet Union. Who knew that Bach and Beatles music could be so terrifying to the state! I encourage Spy Vibers who are interested in music and the Cold War to check out How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin, Paul McCartney in Red Square and Glenn Gould: The Russian Journey. The parallels between Gould and The Beatles are quite interesting!
Learn more about Glenn Gould:
Bach- The Goldberg Variations
Bach- The 2 and 3 Part Inventions
Glenn Gould: A Life in Pictures (foreword by Yo-Yo Ma)
Glenn Gould: Hereafter (documentary film)
Gould on Television
Related Spy Vibe posts about Cold War culture: Official Secrets Act, Atomic Art, Mods to Moongirls.
Recent Spy Vibe posts: Mod Tales Interview, Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, HMV returns to Oxford st w Beatles promo, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, Elio Petri on Blu-ray, Sophia Loren, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Beatles fall 2013 releases, A Hard Days Night cinematographer dies, Magic Christian on Blu-ray, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.
Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.
As I explored in Notes Behind the Curtain 2 and Notes Behind the Curtain 1, Beatles music also found its way behind the Iron Curtain and inspired generations of black-market listeners to find new freedoms of attitude and expression. [Elicit albums were traditionally cut on used X-ray sheets, dubbed Jazz on Bones, and traded on the black market in Russia]. You can learn more about Russian underground music in Paul McCartney in Red Square and in How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin.The year 1964 was pivotal for The Beatles. A Number-One hit on the US charts paved the way for their first voyage across the Atlantic. This was the era of Beatlemania: Ed Sullivan, the press conferences, the airport receptions, all captured in press footage and re-lived by The Beatles themselves in A Hard Days Night. By April of 1966, they were engaged in making tape-loop based Pop with Tomorrow Never Knows, and by Aug 1966, they left the stage behind forever.
1964 was also a pivotal year for another music sensation. Imagine fans mobbing the payphones during intermission, desperate to get their friends to rush down to the theater to see this fantastic act. Tickets sold out. Additional seats were added to the sides of the stage! Over one thousand people stood at the back of the hall. Yes, it does sound like Beatlemania. But this act was not a quartet of rockers this time, but an eccentric young pianist and musical genius from Canada named Glenn Gould.
Peter Taussig said of Gould, “Suddenly you get a sound that no one has heard before…it’s boney, it’s tout…it is very rhythmical, it’s clean, it’s transparent. Here is a skinny scrawny guy from Canada who looks as if he’s about to die by the time he comes on stage- so pale… he sits almost on the floor, he sings while he’s playing. We’ve never heard anything like this. It’s like, “Where did this guy come from?” The focus of the press on Gould's physical idiosyncrasies would, like The Beatles, become a tiresome burden for the musician. Gould was as fascinating to watch as he was to hear. Constantly in fear of illness and complaining of circulation problems, Gould kept himself bundled up in coats, scarves, and mittens, and he soaked his hands in scalding hot water before playing. He sang and conducted while he played (one can hear his voice in the background of many of his recordings). Gould also had the quirky habit of speaking to the press in the voices of various alter-egos he created. Similar to John Lennon's satirical mock-German accent, Gould created pedantic personas like Karlheinz Klopweisser, Nigel Twitt-Thornwaite, and Theodore Slutz as a way to cope with the relentless and mundane questions from journalists.
The stress of performing and the constant focus on his behavioral affects drove Gould to retire completely from the stage after a concert in Los Angeles in 1964. Like The Beatles, he found a purer form of creative expression through studio recording. Gould’s experimentation with the Classical Masters now extended to using multiple tape loops, splicing alternate takes to craft his pieces, and creating sound collages and audio documentaries.
The documentary film, The Russian Journey, chronicles Gould’s tour of the Soviet Union in 1957. Very much like Paul McCartney in Red Square, it features interviews with musicians, teachers, and scholars who tell a fascinating story of discovering Gould behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. The pianist is most known for his interpretations of Bach- he recorded two versions of The Goldberg Variations, which book-end his recording career. It was interesting to learn his Russian audience saw the music as subversive because of its connection to the church. Like the black market for Beatles records, Gould’s Soviet audience recalls how the pianist broke open whole areas of music that had been banned. Suddenly copies of sheet music were being passed among music students. Young musicians were inspired by new freedoms of expression. Gouldmania followed him from Moscow to Leningrad and continues to echo throughout Russian conservatories today.
After Gould’s return to Canada, he spoke out and lectured in support of artistic freedom behind the Iron Curtain. The Party publicly denounced Gould and proclaimed his visit had been a kind of spy-like maneuver to create a platform to subvert the Soviet Union. Who knew that Bach and Beatles music could be so terrifying to the state! I encourage Spy Vibers who are interested in music and the Cold War to check out How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin, Paul McCartney in Red Square and Glenn Gould: The Russian Journey. The parallels between Gould and The Beatles are quite interesting!
Learn more about Glenn Gould:Bach- The Goldberg Variations
Bach- The 2 and 3 Part Inventions
Glenn Gould: A Life in Pictures (foreword by Yo-Yo Ma)
Glenn Gould: Hereafter (documentary film)
Gould on Television
Related Spy Vibe posts about Cold War culture: Official Secrets Act, Atomic Art, Mods to Moongirls.
Recent Spy Vibe posts: Mod Tales Interview, Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, HMV returns to Oxford st w Beatles promo, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, Elio Petri on Blu-ray, Sophia Loren, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Beatles fall 2013 releases, A Hard Days Night cinematographer dies, Magic Christian on Blu-ray, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.
November 30, 2013
DEAL ALERT: 007 BOX
Deal Alert [ended]: The complete James Bond Blu-ray box set is Amazon's deal of the day for only $99.99. Details here.
007 ART
French artist Alain Bossuyt has designed a beautiful collection of Bond-themed tribute posters. The images are based on essential elements from each film and use clean bold shapes and colors with a nod toward Saul Bass. Spy Vibers can order prints from Society 6 here. You can also find Bossuyt on Deviant Art here. Here are some of my favorites from the series. Enjoy!
Recent Spy Vibe posts: Mod Tales Interview, Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, HMV returns to Oxford st w Beatles promo, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, Elio Petri on Blu-ray, Sophia Loren, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Beatles fall 2013 releases, A Hard Days Night cinematographer dies, Magic Christian on Blu-ray, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.
Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.
Recent Spy Vibe posts: Mod Tales Interview, Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, HMV returns to Oxford st w Beatles promo, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, Elio Petri on Blu-ray, Sophia Loren, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Beatles fall 2013 releases, A Hard Days Night cinematographer dies, Magic Christian on Blu-ray, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.
November 29, 2013
DEAL ALERT: JAMES BOND
Deal Alert[Updated]: The 23 Bond Blu-ray box set is Amazon's deal of the day for $99.99. Info here. Spy Vibers in the US can pick up individual James Bond titles on Blu-ray at Best Buy for $3.99 each. I just scouted out my local shop and spied this bargain, as well as good in-store deals on Star Trek, Mad Men and other cool titles. I've also noticed the complete Mission Impossible series in Amazon's sales, so keep an eye out. Happy Hunting! Image below from the MI6 Community.
Recent Spy Vibe posts: Mod Tales Interview, Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, HMV returns to Oxford st w Beatles promo, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, Elio Petri on Blu-ray, Sophia Loren, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Beatles fall 2013 releases, A Hard Days Night cinematographer dies, Magic Christian on Blu-ray, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.
Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.
OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT
Pop Friday: Featured in Spy Vibe's listening booth today are songs connected with the Official Secrets Act. Passed into law to protect sensitive state information, the OSA inspired an interesting album by Robin Scott's project M (Pop Muzik) in 1980. The Official Secrets Act LP captured the Cold War climate in tunes like Transmission, Join the Party, Working For the Corporation, Keep it to Yourself, Your Counry Needs You, and The Official Secrets Act. The inner sleeve even sported a parody of the Crown seal, now dubbed "For Your Ears."
The album is currently out of print, but Spy Vibers can track down copies on the used market. Robin Scott also released a collection in 2004 called History: Pop Muzik 25th Anniversary, which featured most of the songs from the original record. Scott studied art with Malcolm MacLaren at Croydon Art College. He followed M with a series of recordings by African artists and digital art projects in the early 2000s. Spy Vibers might enjoy his collaborations with Ryuichi Sakamoto (YMO) Left Handed Dream and The Arrangement.
Samples from M's Official Secrets Act below, followed by a bonus song from the 2006-2009 UK indie band Official Secrets Act (OSA) and their catchy Girl From the BBC. Spy Vibe's recent post about Atomic Art, Devo, and Kraftwerk here. Enjoy!
Recent Spy Vibe posts: Mod Tales Interview, Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, HMV returns to Oxford st w Beatles promo, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, Elio Petri on Blu-ray, Sophia Loren, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Beatles fall 2013 releases, A Hard Days Night cinematographer dies, Magic Christian on Blu-ray, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.
Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.
The album is currently out of print, but Spy Vibers can track down copies on the used market. Robin Scott also released a collection in 2004 called History: Pop Muzik 25th Anniversary, which featured most of the songs from the original record. Scott studied art with Malcolm MacLaren at Croydon Art College. He followed M with a series of recordings by African artists and digital art projects in the early 2000s. Spy Vibers might enjoy his collaborations with Ryuichi Sakamoto (YMO) Left Handed Dream and The Arrangement.
Samples from M's Official Secrets Act below, followed by a bonus song from the 2006-2009 UK indie band Official Secrets Act (OSA) and their catchy Girl From the BBC. Spy Vibe's recent post about Atomic Art, Devo, and Kraftwerk here. Enjoy!
Recent Spy Vibe posts: Mod Tales Interview, Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, HMV returns to Oxford st w Beatles promo, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, Elio Petri on Blu-ray, Sophia Loren, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Beatles fall 2013 releases, A Hard Days Night cinematographer dies, Magic Christian on Blu-ray, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.
November 28, 2013
SEAN LENNON RELEASE
If your vibe is psychedelic free-jazz grooves set to experimental live movie projections, Sean Ono Lennon has your ticket to boogie with a limited-edition record from his new project called Mystical Weapons. Teaming up with fellow multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily, drummer Greg Saunier (Deerhoof), and projection artist Martha Colburn, Mystical Weapons will release their new record on November 29th for Record Store Day. Entitled Crotesque, the 20-min one-sided album includes a live broadcast on WNYC's Spinning On Air from last January, with Side Two sporting an original screen-printed illustration by Sean Lennon. The record is a one-time pressing by Northern Spy Records and is limited to 1,500 units. Spy Music Festival here.
WNYC's Garland wrote "Both Sean and Shahzad share electric guitars, basses, and keyboards. Martha Colburn handles her films the way a performing DJ handles records: using the projectors like turntables, the images are mixed and manipulated live, with visuals forming an essential component of the Mystical Weapons experience.” The band will hold a release party on December 5th at Union Pool in Brooklyn. Check out their self-titled debut album here. Image above from their experimental video Mechanical Mammoth. Video links on Chimera Music here. In related news, I was one of the winners of a remix competition held by Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band a couple of years back, which evolved into one of my experimental films on the festival circuit, The Sun is Down. Spy Vibers can also check out the soundtrack to my award-winning film I Was a Dancer and a collage I made as a gift for Ono called Lennon70. More info at my website. Image of Mystical Weapons below from Chimera Music. Enjoy!
Recent Spy Vibe posts: Mod Tales Interview, Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, HMV returns to Oxford st w Beatles promo, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, Elio Petri on Blu-ray, Sophia Loren, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Beatles fall 2013 releases, A Hard Days Night cinematographer dies, Magic Christian on Blu-ray, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.
Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.
WNYC's Garland wrote "Both Sean and Shahzad share electric guitars, basses, and keyboards. Martha Colburn handles her films the way a performing DJ handles records: using the projectors like turntables, the images are mixed and manipulated live, with visuals forming an essential component of the Mystical Weapons experience.” The band will hold a release party on December 5th at Union Pool in Brooklyn. Check out their self-titled debut album here. Image above from their experimental video Mechanical Mammoth. Video links on Chimera Music here. In related news, I was one of the winners of a remix competition held by Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band a couple of years back, which evolved into one of my experimental films on the festival circuit, The Sun is Down. Spy Vibers can also check out the soundtrack to my award-winning film I Was a Dancer and a collage I made as a gift for Ono called Lennon70. More info at my website. Image of Mystical Weapons below from Chimera Music. Enjoy!
Recent Spy Vibe posts: Mod Tales Interview, Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, HMV returns to Oxford st w Beatles promo, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, Elio Petri on Blu-ray, Sophia Loren, new Beatles BBC album, new Hercule Poirot novel, Beatles fall 2013 releases, A Hard Days Night cinematographer dies, Magic Christian on Blu-ray, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.
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