April 28, 2022

TIKI OASIS AZ

Greetings, Spy Vibers! If you are in the Arizona area this weekend, check out the Tiki Oasis event being held at the Mid-Century Modern Hotel Valley Ho in Old Town Scottsdale. There are many fun activities planned, including a pop-up art show, dining and cocktails, and for you fellow historians and cultural adventurers, lots of seminars set up between Friday and Sunday. Author Sven Kirsten will be talking about how interest in tropical culture evolved in the pre-Tiki era. Another guest is running a seminar on Friday about one of my fave fashion designers, Rudi Gernreich (creator of the topless "Monokini"). Other lectures include the history of neon, Tiki makeovers, Mid-Century dance crazes, and Disney Tiki. Learn more about Arizona Tiki Oasis here. Spy Vibers traveling to San Diego during the summer can check out the main Tiki Oasis event scheduled in August! I hope some Spy Vibers can attend.  Someone has to be out there having fun! I'm currently getting through the marathon of the school year and helping my students get ready for their annual spring show. I do love seeing their work, and I can tell they're ready for summer, too! Once my upcoming book is finally finished, I hope to do some traveling once again. Maybe next year? It would be great to finally see friends again and get back to Liverpool and Portmeirion.

Selected Spy Vibe Posts: Classical Cold War, Spy Vibe Radio: Unknown Man of ShandigorDanger Man PodcastSpy Vibe Radio: Dr. MabuseBowie DayInterview: Girls Guns GadgetsShandigor BluShag Palm SpringsNew Bond NovelHi-Fi BookJudex Serial BluUFO ComicsInterview: John BussITC Magazine, Interview: Kaiser MarionettesBelmondo R.I.P.007 Corgi EventSpace 1999: The VaultShag Eames LoungeFirecracker ExoticaSpy Vibe Radio: Lola AlbrightTikyaki 5-0Godzilla ScoresMid-Century VillageSpy Vibe radio: Nicola ConteMen's Adventure QuarterlyBilly May FrenesiGary NumanSpy Vader SpyChris Barber LegacyPhantom RetrospectiveAstro-ManSpy Vibe Radio: BatmanJames Bond LexiconRay CathodeSpy Vibe Radio: Johnny StaccatoMatt Helm BluCold War AuctionAvengers Francavilla PrintsAvengers 60th EventIrma Vep BluAvengers Keel DesignRonnie Scott's DocThe Avengers 60th DesignArt of Pan BooksJohn Le Carre R.I.P.Sean Connery R.I.P.New 007 VinylBurke's Law SkaDieter Rams Complete2-Tone DocSpy Vibe Radio: Vendetta Part 2Diana Rigg R.I.P.Moog Micky DolenzBeetle Bailey 70thRSD Spies VinylIan Fleming TributeFellini Box SetSpy Vibe Radio: VendettaThe Saint Podcast BonusThe Saint PodcastBarber Lotus, Trad RootsMorricone R.I.P.Fleetway Spy DesignsJohn Steel CasebooksPaul at 78ITC Podcast: The PersuadersDazzle ShipsSpy Vibe Radio: RaumpatrouilleRemembering Richard SalaCrime & Spy Jazz booksNuman is FABBruce Lee Blu, RSD Vinyl SpiesJames Bond's DB5UFO CD SetSpy Vibe radio: Phantom AgentsSteranko is Revolutionary!Interview: The Saint I Ain'tDiabolik InterviewNew 007 SongDiabolik FiguresDiabolik SoundsDiabolik Set DesignDiabolik Park RideDanger Diabolik BluCount Arthur StrongHoney West Title CardsBowie DayNeil Innes R.I.P.Claudine Auger R.I.P.OHMSS at 50Italian Job 50th OSTCharles Schulz ModernPaul DesmondPython 50thRandall Hopkirk 50thThunderbirds DayLazenby Returns to MI6Dr. John R.I.P.Spy Vibe Radio: Lupin IIILupin SkaSpy Vibe PrimeZigomar TranslationThe Village: Part 1Monkey Punch R.I.P.Bubble Girl 63ITC SoundtracksSpy Vibe Radio: Public EyeUFO PrimeSpaceship to MarsModesty Blaise CompanionSpy Vibe Radio: FantomasGeorge DayFantomas BluDark Shadows DocBedazzled Blu-rayMary Quant ExhibitLaika CalypsoLost in Space JapanSpy Dust CalypsoAtomic CafeJohn Barry MonoInterview: John Barry BookLand of the Giants Score, Spy Vibe Radio: UppersevenMabuse PropagandaBond Beatles DaySpy Vibe Radio: LiquidatorDiabolik LPFab DressesEurospy Music CollectionBeetle Bailey in West BerlinWhy Mort Walker?Spy Vibe radio: The Beatles Help!Avengers Critical GuideThe SpotnicksBenny SpiesJames Pond 0017'Satire StonesAnnette Andre Book, Spy Vibe Radio: Get SmartCaine: My GenerationInterview: Ian OgilvyHorror of Party BeachSylvie Vartan RenownRingo At 78Dark Shadows StripsSpy Vibe Radio: FlintArchie Batman 66Beatles Pac-ManSpy Vibe Radio: Jerry CottonThe Invaders007 Horowitz Book TourThe Prisoner Interviews Vol 1British Underground PressInterview: Fab4 ManiaBond Cocktail Book, Spy SmasherSpy Vibe Radio: Peter GunnAgent Zero MNew Prisoner ComicDr. No Villains EditionSpy Vibe Radio: Danger DiabolikDr. No 60thOy-Oy-SevenSpy Vibe Radio (UFO)Cold War Comic Strips, Mission to IndiaMort Walker CelebrationPeter Wyngarde Celebration, Ian Fleming Publications 2017-2018Interview: Ed Hulse PulpAvengers Audio DramaInterview: Callan At 50Interview: Playboys, Spies, Private EyesTWA ReturnsSpy Vibe Radio 8Interview: Ryan HeshkaMid-Century Modern SchulzAgent WerewolfJohnny Sokko 50thInterview: Trina RobbinsEddie IzzardThe Prisoner Capt Scarlet 50thHugh Hefner R.I.P.Jack Good R.I.P.Interview: Shaken Not StirredCallan 50thSpy Vibe Radio 7Bo DiddleyCarnaby PopBilly Bragg SkiffleElvis 68Jack Kirby The Prisoner, Review: The Prisoner Vol 2Interview: The Prisoner Essential GuideMaud Russell MottisfontSpy Vibe Radio 4Batman GallantsAdam West R.I.P.Village TriangleRoger Moore R.I.P.Spy Vibe Radio 3Sgt Pepper 50thSatanik Kriminal OST60s OverdriveSpy Vibe Radio 2Spy Vibe Radio 1James Bond Strips, Interview: Police SurgeonXTC Avengers1966 Pep SpiesBatman Book InterviewExclusive Fleming InterviewAvengers Comic StripsRobert Vaughn RIPUNCLE FashionsThunderbirds Are Pop!, Interview: Spy Film GuideLost Avengers FoundThe Callan FileMission Impossible 50thGreen Hornet 50thStar Trek 50thPortmeirion Photography 1Filming the Prisoner, Ian Fleming GraveRevolver at 50Karen Romanko InterviewMod Tales 2Umbrella Man: Patrick MacneeNew Beatles FilmThe Curious CameraEsterel Fashion 1966Exclusive Ian Ogilvy Interview007 Tribute Covers, Argoman DesignSylvia Anderson R.I.P.Ken Adam R.I.P.George Martin R.I.P.The New Avengers Comics, 007 MangaAvengerworld BookDiana Rigg Auto ShowThe Prisoner Audio Drama Review. 

April 22, 2022

CLASSICAL COLD WAR

Greetings, Spy Vibers! One of the little corners of history that has interested me as I work on my upcoming book is how music intersected with the Cold War. My book will spotlight how styles and themes within art/design played key roles in many aspects of genre pop culture, from those archetypal evil villain lairs to the use of abstract painting. It was all secret codes from the culture! Music also entered into the mix, perhaps most famously with the state department's use of jazz as an instrument to promote American ideology abroad. American music was beamed via radio to listeners behind the Iron Curtain, while fictional heroes darted about in sleek sports cars and tight suits to the thrilling pulse of genre soundtracks -jazz/rock hybrids by composers like Henry Mancini, John Barry, and Jerry Goldsmith- that set the tone for adventure. Classical music, too, had an interesting relationship with politics during the era. Conductors and musicians in Germany, for example, experienced a complex fracturing in the Sixties when the Berlin Wall separated West German artists from their posts within a now-divided city. Those who were located in the East quickly found their jobs strictly controlled by a state commission that demanded an ideological formalism. Works by the old masters which had church affiliations were tolerated as canon -and as an effort to show some leniency to western eyes- but material was limited. That was one of the reasons Glenn Gould's 1957 tour of Russia was such a phenomenon, as the young genius ripped through Bach at mind-boggling speeds. For East German artists, opportunities to tour became increasingly regulated or impossible. Musicians were even called upon by the Stasi to watch their fellow colleagues for any signs they might intend to defect. Some did! Well, amidst this whole story is American pianist Van Cliburn. Like Canada's Glenn Gould, Cliburn was a young prodigy who raced onto the international scene after winning major competitions. In Cliburn's case, one of those key prizes was winning the Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia in 1958 -a prize he won with loud support from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Van Cliburn really wowed them all! He became a huge idol there, so much so that you can still find pinups and publications that were traded among his loyal Russian fans (see below). The whole phenomenon landed him on the cover of Time that year. As these stories played out among world-class musicians, fans of suave detectives and international spies in the west were seeing the themes echoed in genre fiction and TV entertainment. Ian Fleming even included a female orchestra musician in his cocktail of Bond, assassins, and Berlin escapes in "The Living Daylights" (first appearing in the Sunday Times in 1962). One of the most touching stories of defection appeared in Johnny Staccato with John Cassavetes, but more on that when my book finally comes together! If Spy Vibers are interested in learning more about Van Cliburn specifically, you might check out Moscow Nights: The Van Cliburn Story--How One Man and His Piano Transformed the Cold War by Nigel Cliff. You can find lots of Cliburn in Moscow DVDs (and more) at VAI Music. If you are interested in the Berlin scene, check out the DVD Classical Music and Cold War: Musicians in the GDR. More about Gould's Russian Journey. Enjoy! Below: books from USSR (50s-60s), Nigel Cliff book cover. Related posts: Notes Behind the Curtain 1Notes Behind the Curtain 2Notes Behind the Curtain 3Notes Behind the Curtain 4, and one post revised as the Goldfinger Variations



Selected Spy Vibe Posts: Spy Vibe Radio: Unknown Man of Shandigor, Danger Man PodcastSpy Vibe Radio: Dr. MabuseBowie DayInterview: Girls Guns GadgetsShandigor BluShag Palm SpringsNew Bond NovelHi-Fi BookJudex Serial BluUFO ComicsInterview: John BussITC Magazine, Interview: Kaiser MarionettesBelmondo R.I.P.007 Corgi EventSpace 1999: The VaultShag Eames LoungeFirecracker ExoticaSpy Vibe Radio: Lola AlbrightTikyaki 5-0Godzilla ScoresMid-Century VillageSpy Vibe radio: Nicola ConteMen's Adventure QuarterlyBilly May FrenesiGary NumanSpy Vader SpyChris Barber LegacyPhantom RetrospectiveAstro-ManSpy Vibe Radio: BatmanJames Bond LexiconRay CathodeSpy Vibe Radio: Johnny StaccatoMatt Helm BluCold War AuctionAvengers Francavilla PrintsAvengers 60th EventIrma Vep BluAvengers Keel DesignRonnie Scott's DocThe Avengers 60th DesignArt of Pan BooksJohn Le Carre R.I.P.Sean Connery R.I.P.New 007 VinylBurke's Law SkaDieter Rams Complete2-Tone DocSpy Vibe Radio: Vendetta Part 2Diana Rigg R.I.P.Moog Micky DolenzBeetle Bailey 70thRSD Spies VinylIan Fleming TributeFellini Box SetSpy Vibe Radio: VendettaThe Saint Podcast BonusThe Saint PodcastBarber Lotus, Trad RootsMorricone R.I.P.Fleetway Spy DesignsJohn Steel CasebooksPaul at 78ITC Podcast: The PersuadersDazzle ShipsSpy Vibe Radio: RaumpatrouilleRemembering Richard SalaCrime & Spy Jazz booksNuman is FABBruce Lee Blu, RSD Vinyl SpiesJames Bond's DB5UFO CD SetSpy Vibe radio: Phantom AgentsSteranko is Revolutionary!Interview: The Saint I Ain'tDiabolik InterviewNew 007 SongDiabolik FiguresDiabolik SoundsDiabolik Set DesignDiabolik Park RideDanger Diabolik BluCount Arthur StrongHoney West Title CardsBowie DayNeil Innes R.I.P.Claudine Auger R.I.P.OHMSS at 50Italian Job 50th OSTCharles Schulz ModernPaul DesmondPython 50thRandall Hopkirk 50thThunderbirds DayLazenby Returns to MI6Dr. John R.I.P.Spy Vibe Radio: Lupin IIILupin SkaSpy Vibe PrimeZigomar TranslationThe Village: Part 1Monkey Punch R.I.P.Bubble Girl 63ITC SoundtracksSpy Vibe Radio: Public EyeUFO PrimeSpaceship to MarsModesty Blaise CompanionSpy Vibe Radio: FantomasGeorge DayFantomas BluDark Shadows DocBedazzled Blu-rayMary Quant ExhibitLaika CalypsoLost in Space JapanSpy Dust CalypsoAtomic CafeJohn Barry MonoInterview: John Barry BookLand of the Giants Score, Spy Vibe Radio: UppersevenMabuse PropagandaBond Beatles DaySpy Vibe Radio: LiquidatorDiabolik LPFab DressesEurospy Music CollectionBeetle Bailey in West BerlinWhy Mort Walker?Spy Vibe radio: The Beatles Help!Avengers Critical GuideThe SpotnicksBenny SpiesJames Pond 0017'Satire StonesAnnette Andre Book, Spy Vibe Radio: Get SmartCaine: My GenerationInterview: Ian OgilvyHorror of Party BeachSylvie Vartan RenownRingo At 78Dark Shadows StripsSpy Vibe Radio: FlintArchie Batman 66Beatles Pac-ManSpy Vibe Radio: Jerry CottonThe Invaders007 Horowitz Book TourThe Prisoner Interviews Vol 1British Underground PressInterview: Fab4 ManiaBond Cocktail Book, Spy SmasherSpy Vibe Radio: Peter GunnAgent Zero MNew Prisoner ComicDr. No Villains EditionSpy Vibe Radio: Danger DiabolikDr. No 60thOy-Oy-SevenSpy Vibe Radio (UFO)Cold War Comic Strips, Mission to IndiaMort Walker CelebrationPeter Wyngarde Celebration, Ian Fleming Publications 2017-2018Interview: Ed Hulse PulpAvengers Audio DramaInterview: Callan At 50Interview: Playboys, Spies, Private EyesTWA ReturnsSpy Vibe Radio 8Interview: Ryan HeshkaMid-Century Modern SchulzAgent WerewolfJohnny Sokko 50thInterview: Trina RobbinsEddie IzzardThe Prisoner Capt Scarlet 50thHugh Hefner R.I.P.Jack Good R.I.P.Interview: Shaken Not StirredCallan 50thSpy Vibe Radio 7Bo DiddleyCarnaby PopBilly Bragg SkiffleElvis 68Jack Kirby The Prisoner, Review: The Prisoner Vol 2Interview: The Prisoner Essential GuideMaud Russell MottisfontSpy Vibe Radio 4Batman GallantsAdam West R.I.P.Village TriangleRoger Moore R.I.P.Spy Vibe Radio 3Sgt Pepper 50thSatanik Kriminal OST60s OverdriveSpy Vibe Radio 2Spy Vibe Radio 1James Bond Strips, Interview: Police SurgeonXTC Avengers1966 Pep SpiesBatman Book InterviewExclusive Fleming InterviewAvengers Comic StripsRobert Vaughn RIPUNCLE FashionsThunderbirds Are Pop!, Interview: Spy Film GuideLost Avengers FoundThe Callan FileMission Impossible 50thGreen Hornet 50thStar Trek 50thPortmeirion Photography 1Filming the Prisoner, Ian Fleming GraveRevolver at 50Karen Romanko InterviewMod Tales 2Umbrella Man: Patrick MacneeNew Beatles FilmThe Curious CameraEsterel Fashion 1966Exclusive Ian Ogilvy Interview007 Tribute Covers, Argoman DesignSylvia Anderson R.I.P.Ken Adam R.I.P.George Martin R.I.P.The New Avengers Comics, 007 MangaAvengerworld BookDiana Rigg Auto ShowThe Prisoner Audio Drama Review.