In the early 1970s, Princeton University physicist Gerard O’Neill became a space activist touting plans to build human colonies in outer space. He argued that humans could escape (while helping alleviate) the environmental damage we are causing on Earth by migrating to space habitats housed in cylinders that would be suspended 250,000 miles from Earth at LaGrange Point 5, a spot where the gravitational forces enable objects to just hang there. O'Neill's ideas, while controversial, were mostly sound from a scientific and engineering perspective.
After the New York Times published a front page article about O'Neill, he became a media sensation and quickly developed a very vocal following of space geeks, (some) environmentalists, heads, and future-minded scientists. NASA even jumped in, supporting studies based on O'Neill's research and commissioning the incredible illustrations seen here. O'Neill's specific concepts influenced countless science fiction books and movies and were the seed of bOING bOING patron saint Timothy Leary's plan for humanity's future, SMI2LE (Space Migration, Intelligence Increase, Life Extension.)
His book The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space is still in-print and captures the wonder and sense of possibility that permeated our culture after the first moon landing and into the 1970s. It's my hope that today's myriad private efforts to make space accessible will re-ignite that desire in everyone to explore and experience what lies beyond our home planet.
The fantastic podcast 99% Invisible told O'Neill's story in an episode titled "Home on Lagrange":
Today i was up at the Rizzoli books International offices to see how the re-issue of the JAY-BOY / Kent Sherwood book was coming along (out next spring) and it's looking good! This is more than a reprint of the super rare incredible book of photos taken by Jay's Stepfather Kent, of Jay, before most anyone else had photographed him. Great book I designed and help get published back almost 10 years ago. It's got a complete overhaul and few new photos too.
I also spent some time in the conference room comparing the third printing (just released last month) to the first two printings ... All look great but inevitably the latest always seems to get a little better - unfortunately I found a few more typos too, been there all along... If you find any lemme know for the next printing update... Yeah, that's my phone.
here's some photos of the three printings being compared to each other on friday . . .
See the photographs as they are meant to be seen! This book is huge, 324 pages, 13wide x 11.5tall, weighs in at almost 8lbs. The best of my books FUCK YOU HEROES and FUCK YOU TOO + about 30% more you've never seen, all bigger and better than ever!
Ink on paper is a better product, at least for now, and it's showing at British tills. Sky UK's Lucy Cotter reports the first better year for print since 2007, and the worst one for ebooks since 2011.
Last year saw the first rise in sales since 2007, while digital book sales dropped for the first time since 2011.
Betsy Tobin, who runs the independent bookshop Ink@84 in Highbury, London, offers her customers a personalised service.
The bookshop offers coffee and alcohol and runs events and special author evenings.
Diversifying is part of her success but she says her customers also like buying in person rather than online.
They take pleasure from handling and owning books, she said.
I wonder if this has something to do with how well-run major UK bookstore chains are (small stores in high-traffic areas) compared to American ones (strip-mall big boxes, full of trashy ancillary merch and empty of foot traffic.) The literary retail culture there makes people want to drop in and fuss around with books, while the one here just means no-one is ever in a bookstore in the first place, so they just order stuff on Kindle.
The Washington, D.C., record label Dischord, co-owned by Jeff Nelson and Fugazi’s Ian MacKaye, is routinely held up as the shining example of an independent record company that maintains its integrity in the face of unrelenting corporate pressures.
It seems that Dischord is still seeking to forge its own path—rather than sign contracts with Spotify, it has recently made a relationship with Bandcamp, a website popular among D.I.Y. musicians that makes self-distribution of music much easier. A healthy chunk of the Dischord catalog has just surfaced on Bandcamp.com, which means the fans of Government Issue, Void, Rites of Spring, Dag Nasty, and Nation of Ulysses can now stream their albums without paying Spotify for the privilege.
Furthermore, it’s easy to purchase digital copies of many Dischord albums at a pretty reasonable price (usually $8). I’ve seen it said that “every” Dischord album is now on Bandcamp, but I couldn’t find any albums by Jawbox or Lungfish or Shudder to Think or the Make-Up. In any case it’s a lot of albums, more than 100 albums for sure.
For those seeking information on commitment and back-breaking work that went into the creation of Dischord, Michael Azerrad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life is an excellent resource.
Here are two albums worth looking into that are available on Bandcamp:
Nation of Ulysses, 13 Point Program to Destroy America:
Every piece of music from the original 1967 series, talking parts and sound effects removed as much as possible, pieced back together into complete form. All the Ray Ellis music from season one is here and there's a lot from seasons 2 and 3 as well.
The 18th century Jean-Jacques Rousseau made the bold claim that modernity and civilisation are not improvements; they’ve dragged us from a primitive state of innocence and happiness.
Funai Electric Company, maker of VHS video cassette recorders for its brands like Magnavox, Emerson, and Sanyo, has announced that they will stop production on new VHS video cassette records this month.
According to the newspaper Nikkei, it's difficult to source the parts and, surprise, sales of new units have continued to plummet.
Expect a VHS-only store to appear in a hipster neighborhood near you soon. Y'now, the image just looks... warmer.
This is the continuing series I will post every other day while i'm out of town, thanks to Jonathan Toubin DJ of New York Night Train
Like a lot of the best tracks ever, I learned this Detroit destroyer from Norton Records. I was initially drawn to the cover of Norton's rerelease - picturing what I can only describe as the absolute coolest looking band I've ever seen. Three turbaned young hip black men with matching patterned shirts, white pants, black socks, and white shoes. One holds a tambourine, one a microphone, and the other a guitar. I've never been able to learn anything about these super-heroes other than that they come from the Motor City and look and sound like this. What else do you need to know? Listen to that! This copy of the best rock'n'roll instrumental there is came cheap from my first trip to Peoples' Records when I took the NYNT Happening to the Old Miami in 2009. The other side "Inkster Boogie" is also about as party as it gets and will probably find its way up here in due time!
Feel free to look at their picture, or even order the reissue while you listen http://www.nortonrecords.com/140-the-...
graphics by AVI SPIVAK (http://www.avispivak.com)!
You're listening to my daily addition to the New York Night Train Party Platter playlist. Each track here is recorded directly from my original 45s (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly at my dance parties, this channel is an attempt to stop and focus on one record at a time in hopes to personally learn more about each one and at the same time turn you on to the artists, tracks, labels, etc. I'm just hipping myself to a lot of these records for the first time as well - so you can view this as our journey to learning more about cool old records together! But mostly I hope this music moves you as much as it moves me.
Get your enjoys,
Jonathan Toubin
Soul Proprietor, New York Night Train
This is the continuing series I will post every other day while i'm out of town, thanks to Jonathan Toubin DJ of New York Night Train
Today we have another all-time classic by Mel Smith and the fabulous Night Riders - who you may remember from “Chicken Backs” a few months ago. In the early 1950s Atlanta’s Melvin Smith had a huge teenage r&b hit with ”Looped" and by 1954 wound up in Philadelphia fronting bassist James "Doc" Starkes hard rockin' Nite Riders. This overlooked territory band stuck together for nearly a decade - settlng in Hartford and made a living tearing up the east coast.
graphics by AVI SPIVAK (http://www.avispivak.com)!
You're listening to my daily addition to the New York Night Train Party Platter playlist. Each track here is recorded directly from my original 45s (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly at my dance parties, this channel is an attempt to stop and focus on one record at a time in hopes to personally learn more about each one and at the same time turn you on to the artists, tracks, labels, etc. I'm just hipping myself to a lot of these records for the first time as well - so you can view this as our journey to learning more about cool old records together! But mostly I hope this music moves you as much as it moves me.
Get your enjoys,
Jonathan Toubin
Soul Proprietor, New York Night Train
This is the continuing series I will post every other day while i'm out of town, thanks to Jonathan Toubin DJ of New York Night Train
Hot stuff! Comin through...
One would think that this is the Joe Cooke of Little Joe and the Thrillers fame. But the voice isn't similar.. Also there's not much out there that indicates this platter exists. It doesn't appear in the Apollo Records discographies - except one that inaccurately lists it as 1953. I'm thinking maybe this is more like 1963? It references the Mashed Potato - which was big in 1962 and "Deputy Dawg" - which also didn't appear on TV until 1962.
If you've been to thee Clap the last couple of years you've probably done the "Dish Rag" to this platter or if you went years back, you may have done the dance to King Coleman's different "Dish Rag" floor destroyer! If you don't know how to do it, Little Joe gives you step-by-step instructions!
graphics by AVI SPIVAK (http://www.avispivak.com)!
You're listening to my daily addition to the New York Night Train Party Platter playlist. Each track here is recorded directly from my original 45s (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly at my dance parties, this channel is an attempt to stop and focus on one record at a time in hopes to personally learn more about each one and at the same time turn you on to the artists, tracks, labels, etc. I'm just hipping myself to a lot of these records for the first time as well - so you can view this as our journey to learning more about cool old records together! But mostly I hope this music moves you as much as it moves me.
Get your enjoys,
Jonathan Toubin
Soul Proprietor, New York Night Train
This is the continuing series I will post every other day while i'm out of town, thanks to Jonathan Toubin DJ of New York Night Train
Originally a Solomon Burke / Bert Berns 1964 Atlantic soul hit, and further popularized by The Rolling Stones in 1965 and Wilson Pickett in 1966, and made even more famous by The Blues Brothers in 1980, Thee Midniters’ “Everybody Needs Somebody” is by far the most rocking version - all decked out in fuzz and urgency and Thee Midnite Feeling!
This playlist anticipates the June 18 Los Angeles New York Night Train SOUL CLAP AND DANCE-OFF at the REGENT THEATER with THEE MIDNITERS with Greg Esparza, THE PREMIERS, and THEE COMMONS with a list of my ten favorite o.g. Midniters sides for the LA RECORD!
graphics by AVI SPIVAK (http://www.avispivak.com)!
You're listening to my daily addition to the New York Night Train Party Platter playlist. Each track here is recorded directly from my original 45s (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly at my dance parties, this channel is an attempt to stop and focus on one record at a time in hopes to personally learn more about each one and at the same time turn you on to the artists, tracks, labels, etc. I'm just hipping myself to a lot of these records for the first time as well - so you can view this as our journey to learning more about cool old records together! But mostly I hope this music moves you as much as it moves me.
Get your enjoys,
Jonathan Toubin
Soul Proprietor, New York Night Train
This is the continuing series I will post every other day while i'm out of town, thanks to Jonathan Toubin DJ of New York Night Train.
Of all of Thee Midniters’ recordings, this is their most straightforward garage rock and the band proves that they can effortlessly deliver a snarly fuzzbox pounder with the best of ‘em.
You're listening to my daily addition to the New York Night Train Party Platter playlist. Each track here is recorded directly from my original 45s (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly at my dance parties, this channel is an attempt to stop and focus on one record at a time in hopes to personally learn more about each one and at the same time turn you on to the artists, tracks, labels, etc. I'm just hipping myself to a lot of these records for the first time as well - so you can view this as our journey to learning more about cool old records together! But mostly I hope this music moves you as much as it moves me.
Get your enjoys,
Jonathan Toubin
Soul Proprietor, New York Night Train
This is the continuing series I will post every other day while i'm out of town, thanks to Jonathan Toubin DJ of New York Night Train.
Lee Rogers was one of the finest and most prolific vocalists of the soul era in Detroit and was a big influence on Marvin Gaye and the Detroit sound in general. While Rogers is underrated and virtually unknown in the outside world, you'd be hard pressed to find a soul 45 collector that doesn't have at least a few of his jams.
Mississippi-born Lee Rogers appeared on the Detroit recording scene with a vocal group called The Peppermints, but really made his mark in the early 1960s singing with The Barons whose amazing early soul/post-doo wop group 45s "Dog Eat Dog"/"Money Don't Grow On Trees Who's In The Shack"/"While The Cats Away" are still goodtime dance party classics! In 1962 Rogers went solo with "Walk On By" but DJs flipped it for the side you're hearing, the very swinging and dynamic "Troubles." Next Morris Levy's Roulette Records saw enough potential here to pick the platter up for national distribution.
And why not? "Troubles" has everything! Check out that piano intro! And the way the up-high guitar figure slides in over a banging beat! And Rogers' stunning falsetto! Gliding and vibrating all over the top and eventually howling by the end! And all the stops and the sax that comes in outta nowhere! And its got so much fluidity and emotion that you don't even notice how much is happening! A bonafide early rockin' soul classic!
After "Troubles," Rogers moved away from the rock'n'roll/rhythm and blues influence in favor of a mid-1960s Motown soul approach and went on to record countless canonical sides for D-Town, Wheelsville, Premium Stuff, Diamond Jim, and Loadstone.
Soulful Detroit on Lee Rogers
http://soulfuldetroit.com/web11-mike%...
graphics by AVI SPIVAK (http://www.avispivak.com)!
You're listening to my daily addition to the New York Night Train Party Platter playlist. Each track here is recorded directly from my original 45s (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly at my dance parties, this channel is an attempt to stop and focus on one record at a time in hopes to personally learn more about each one and at the same time turn you on to the artists, tracks, labels, etc. I'm just hipping myself to a lot of these records for the first time as well - so you can view this as our journey to learning more about cool old records together! But mostly I hope this music moves you as much as it moves me.
Get your enjoys,
Jonathan Toubin
Soul Proprietor, New York Night Train
The Renaissance is a historical period with some important lessons to teach us about how to improve the world today. We need to study it not for its own sake, but for the sake of our collective futures.
This is the continuing series I will post every other day while i'm out of town, thanks to Jonathan Toubin DJ of New York Night Train
Thee Midniters blow thee summer of love open with this cool and crazy surrealist cartoonish instrumental masterpiece that is beyond category and description. Their Dragon-Fly is of the “Flight of the Bumble Bee” and “Green Hornet" species, buzzing around the cut-and-paste aesthetic of Love’s “Revelation” and briefly landing a couple of times on a bizarro early Sun Ra horn arrangement before flying off into the smoggy dayglow horizon. Weird, wild, and wonderful!
You're listening to my daily addition to the New York Night Train Party Platter playlist. Each track here is recorded directly from my original 45s (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly at my dance parties, this channel is an attempt to stop and focus on one record at a time in hopes to personally learn more about each one and at the same time turn you on to the artists, tracks, labels, etc. I'm just hipping myself to a lot of these records for the first time as well - so you can view this as our journey to learning more about cool old records together! But mostly I hope this music moves you as much as it moves me.
Get your enjoys,
Jonathan Toubin
Soul Proprietor, New York Night Train
This is the continuing series I will post every other day while i'm out of town, thanks to Jonathan Toubin DJ of New York Night Train
This week I'm throwing all Detroit platters up here in anticipation of Saturday's Soul Clap and Dance-Off at U.F.O. Factory!
While "So Good" can definitely be categorized as popcorn soul, like a lot of the rockin' minor key Detroit destroyers, this one's minimal arrangement, lack of orchestration, strong dynamics, ripping guitar work, handclapping break, and rock'n'roll bridge drives this jam smack dab in the middle my neighborhood. Also while the intro warns that the backing vocals may send this track into cheeseville, the singers instead hold back until the choruses and add a little touch of Detroit group doo wop harmony to the mix. And of course Fort's soaring soulfullness is the star of this show!
Of all of the early Motor City recording stars, its particularly difficult to find any information about Ruben Fort. And this is too bad because he possesses some serious pipes and can really push 'em way up into Willie Little John-ville with the greatest of ease.
What little is known about Fort is that his career got lost in the Anna/Harvey/Check-mate soap opera from which Motown was born. "So Good" was cut for Billy Davis and Gwen Gordy's Anna Records imprint one month after Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)" put the label on the map. Motown mogul Berry Gordy's sister Gwen was in a long heavy romantic relationship his writing collaborator Billy Davis (the co-writer here! The team of Gordy and Davis pinned Jackie Wilson's "Lonely Teardrops," Marv Johnson's "You Got What It Takes," etc) and Gwen and Billy started Anna Records together. The Moonglow's Harvey Fuqua, the arranger here, a huge Chess Records recording star, and at the time Etta James' boyfriend and collaborator, helped Anna get the Chess distribution that enabled "Money (That's What I Want)" to become a hit. Harvey also fell in love with Gwen and the two ran off together to build the excellent Harvey and Tri-Phi imprints. The dejected Davis split with the acts he signed to start the quality but unsuccessful Chess subsidiary Check-Mate. And Berry Gordy absorbed the remainder of the Anna roster to help build the foundation of Motown Records.
As luck would have it, Ruben Fort was assigned to Check-Mate instead of Motown. Despite getting lost in the shuffle of history, Fort's Check-Mate platter, "I'll Do The Best I Can"/"Nobody" also illustrates what a badass Ruben Fort is. I'm gonna go in my stacks and dig that one up for you as well. If you're somewhere out there Ruben Fort, you've got fans!
graphics by AVI SPIVAK (http://www.avispivak.com)!
You're listening to my daily addition to the New York Night Train Party Platter playlist. Each track here is recorded directly from my original 45s (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly at my dance parties, this channel is an attempt to stop and focus on one record at a time in hopes to personally learn more about each one and at the same time turn you on to the artists, tracks, labels, etc. I'm just hipping myself to a lot of these records for the first time as well - so you can view this as our journey to learning more about cool old records together! But mostly I hope this music moves you as much as it moves me.
Get your enjoys,
Jonathan Toubin
Soul Proprietor, New York Night Train
