Bowie Blackstar Album Art Jonathan Barnbrook’s give away of the David Bowie Blackstar album art work is probably the coolest tribute yet to the late legend’s legacy. And there’s been a lot of them. I, admittedly, am very late to the party…ahh, to pass on my condolences. …
With the arrival of 2016, punk rock turns 40. So expect to see plenty of unruly reissues and collabs spit onto your feed. Proof positive, Converse, long known for having ties to the world of punk, has just announced its first collaboration of the year …
It’s not an overstatement to say the Technics SL-1200 turntable has shaken more bootie than any other instrument out there.
If you DJed, knew a DJ or shook your thang in a club anywhere from 1972 to 2010-ish, you are familiar with the Technics SL-1200 turntable. Or at least your ears are. The SL-1200 was the instrument of choice for many a selector. ASIDE: Anyone questioning as to whether a turntable can be considered an instrument needs to press play on Jazzy Jeff.
From the dawn of hip hop the Tech 12s were unrivalled, aside from a little competition from the Numark Pro TT-2 in the late 90s. What made the SL-1200s the perfect tool for DJs was a direct drive high-torque motor design, which gave them the ability to start and stop on a James Brown rim shot. Coupled the beefy direct drive with felt slip-mats and DJs were able to cut, rewind and scratch their way into creating a new genre of music.
With the rise of digital music, the plug was pulled on the 1200s in 2010. Six years later, vinyl is the cool old school and it just happens to be the One & Twos 50th anniversary. So Panasonic is resurrecting the SL line with two sweet decks: the SL-1200G and the Limited Anniversary Edition SL-1200GAE. Continue reading Limited edition bootie shaker
Fans of The Clash will recognise the London Calling colors used in the featured print. But before you scream rip off know that the piece is part a Clash limited edition series based on sketches by Ray Lowry. Ray Lowry was the designer behind the …
Forty-years ago this week Bruce Springsteen pulled the 1970s equivalent of breaking the Internet. In 1975, Time and Newsweek were two leading sources of where people found stuff out. In the hype surrounding Born To Run, Springsteen landed on the cover of both magazines on …
So you’re 23 in a band on their first visit to America. For you the US is a mystical place. Hell it’s the birthplace of the music that makes your band relevant. Your band, BTW, is causing quit the commotion in the US. The media have described it as mania. Beatlemania.
First US Visit ’64 gives a peak at what it must have been like being Ringo in 1964.
You’ve probably heard about Ringo Starr’s new book Photograph, which features shots snapped by the Beatle along with PR pics and memorabilia that he found in both his and his mother’s collection. The signed Limited Editions of Photograph sold out fast, which is a bummer if you are one of the many fans who believes rare Beatles merch will turn in to the most valuable of all rock and roll memories. An open or unlimited edition of Ringo’s Photograph is available if you are a fan and not so concerned about eventually cashing in on your Beatlemania. Continue reading The mania from the other side of the lens.
The above beast is a 2015 recreation of Gibson’s first SG. You’ll find sweet pics of the original in Tony Bacon’s SG Guitar Book: 50 Years of Gibson’s Stylish Solid Body Guitar. While not as famous as the Stratocaster, Telecaster or brand mate Les Paul, …
Sotheby’s Rock & Pop Auction On September 29, 2015, Sotheby’s is putting years of rock and roll memorabilia up for grabs with its Rock & Pop Auction. The item receiving most of the hype is the Beatles’ original contract with manager Brian Epstein. Along side …
The Rise of David Bowie, 1972-1973 by Mick Rock
In 1972 a 25 year-old David Bowie was about to launch Ziggy Stardust on the world. More than an album and tour, Ziggy Stardust was an alter ego created by the young singer songwriter. With Ziggy, Bowie became a rock star worthy of the single name moniker. He helped launch glam rock and sent musicians everywhere shopping for sequins and eyeliner. Fathers were forced to question their son’s sexuality as poster of the androgynous alien were hung in teen bedroom’s across middle America.
Mick Rock, with his frightingly appropriate name, was the photographer Bowie trusted to capture the performance, both on and off stage. As Bowie’s official photographer during 1972 and 73, Rock was there to capture the rise and fall of it all. Continue reading Alien sightings
The Dick Dale Signature Stratocaster is part of a long standing relationship between the man and the brand. As a young virtuoso, The King of The Surf Guitar was identified by Leo Fender as someone he wanted seen holding his guitars. Even if Dale played …
I am going to go out on a banana tree limb here and say that no other album artist comes close to the epicness of Andy Warhol. The covers you know are The Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers and The Velvet Underground and Nico. Both bulging …
Anarchy In The UK Gig Poster
More legendary for what it wasn’t than what it was, this 1976 Anarchy In The UK tour poster is on auction at lelands.com
There are a lot of things that make this punk artifact interesting. The bill alone is cause for a punk rock boner. Imagine The Sex Pistols, The Dammed, Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers and The Clash at the same gig. But this was no super band tour. UK punk was just getting started, or erupting is more like it. This tour was the first chance many a disgruntled youth outside of London were given the opportunity to see The Sex Pistols. At the time most of them had never even heard of The Dammed or The Clash. The tour was historic not so much because of who was on the bill, but because punk was changing the game. Topping the charts in 1976 was Elton John and Kiki Dee’s smash ‘Don’t go breaking my heart’. No disrespect to Elton, but this #1 is no Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters.
Most noteworthy about this gig poster is that the show never happened. Like most of the shows on the tour, the Glasgow gig was cancelled by filth fearing city concealers, who were reacting to an overzealous British media and a foul-mouth television appearance by the Pistols on the eve the tour. Continue reading So filthy it wasn’t.
The Jam: About the Young Idea Exhibit One would think that with just three members it would be easier to keep a band together. Oh sure there’s Rush, but they are Canadian, they probably spend more time apologizing to each than anything else. Two of …
The Rolling Stones Exhibitionsim Charlie Watts is a man of very few words, but his candor makes each syllable gold. Take this quote describing Exhibitionism, the band’s first major memorabilia exhibition. Charlie: We’ve got an awful lot of stuff…and it was offered to us. We …
Limited Edition U2 Achtung Baby Lithographs by Anton Corbijn
U2 have always been an ambitious band. The kind of band that would invite themselves into your i-tunes account. A truly first world crime that hipsters everywhere still cry themselves to sleep over. In 1991, the band’s ambitions lead them to a newly reunited Berlin. U2 was attempting to pull off its first reinvention. After The Joshua Tree turned them into a stadium draw, the rockumentary and semi-live album documenting the album’s tour took the vibe about as far as it could go. So the band pulled a Bowie and went to eastern Europe to record. The result was Achtung Baby. The process was difficult and nearly ripped the Irishmen apart, but the results gave U2 a reinvigorated sound and look. The Limited Edition U2 Achtung Baby Lithograph Series captures a band who pushed themselves out of their comfort zone and re-emerged a stronger creative force. Continue reading U2s first redo