October 2008 - Vintage Culture

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Vintage Culture - October 2008

The Andrews Sisters

October 24th 2008 06:17

Vintage Harmony Never Equalled

The Andrews Sisters rally the troops

In an age where empty lyrics lip synched by socialite pop singers reign supreme it's revealing to reflect on icons who rose to the top of the charts without saturation marketing. In the days before celebrity was a prepackaged commodity popularity was gauged on musical talent. It seems that today anyone whose face makes it onto TV or magazines can achieve a level of notoriety, but back in the 1930's audiences were far harsher critics. If you couldn't carry a tune or entertain then the booing and fruit throwing began instantly. The public didn't want to waste its time on sub standard distractions.

The cultural phenomenon that became the Andrews Sisters is a perfect example. A family of exceptional harmonised voices that consisted of Laverne, Maxine and Patricia Andrews. Laverne was the contralto, Maxene the Soprano and Patricia a mezzo-soprano.

Led by Patty the group formed in 1925 when she was only seven years old and by their early teens the trio of siblings were garnering attention. Beginning their careers as a clone of the already established Boswell Sisters, by 1940 the girls were world renouned.

Life is going their way

As WWII raged the girls were at the height of their fame, dominating the world of Film (appearing in 15 movies), Radio, stage and recording. Teaming up with the biggest names in the bussiness like Bing Crosby.

According to wikipedia:
The Andrews Sisters became the best-selling female vocal group in the history of popular music, setting records that remain unsurpassed to this day:

- Between 75-100 million records sold from a little over 600 recorded tunes
- 113 charted Billboard hits, 46 reaching Top 10 status (more than Elvis Presley or the Beatles)
- 17 Hollywood films (more than any other singing group in motion picture history)

In 1953 The Andrews Sisters disbanded when Patty decided to go solo. Laverne and Maxene were not happy but by within 3 years the girls were reunited. Continuing to perform and record into the 60's they dabbled in the rock fad and even went into the semi-folk arena with a rendition of "Puff's The Magic Dragon".

The Andrews Sisters on Vinyl

Despite the longevity it is their boogie woogie swing numbers that will forever be remembered fondly. Staple classic Tunes. Again from Wikipedia, here is a list of some of their most popular numbers:
"Bei Mir Bist Du Schön"
"Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out the Barrel)",
"Hold Tight-Hold Tight (Want Some Seafood, Mama?)",
"Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar",
"I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time",
"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (Of Company B)",
"Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me)",
"Pistol Packin' Mama" (w/ Bing Crosby),
"Jingle Bells" (w/ Bing Crosby),
"Rum and Coca-Cola"
"Don't Fence Me In" (w/ Bing Crosby),
"Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" (w/ Bing Crosby),
"South America, Take It Away" (w/ Bing Crosby)",
"Cuanto La Gusta" (w/ Carmen Miranda),
"Blue Tail Fly (Jimmy Crack Corn)" (w/ Burl Ives),
"Christmas Island" & "Winter Wonderland" (both with Guy Lombardo's Royal Canadians),
"Near You",
"Civilization (Bongo, Bongo, Bongo)" (w/ Danny Kaye),
"Rumors Are Flying" (w/ Les Paul),
"I Can Dream, Can't I?" and "I Wanna Be Loved" (both w/Gordon Jenkins' orchestra & chorus, and both featuring extended solos by Patty).

The Andrew Sisters and that famous Bugle Boy of Company B

The Andrew Sisters "Under the Apple Tree"

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Posted By: Tyronne - Category: No Category

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West Side Story Screening New 70mm Print

October 21st 2008 22:23

LOS ANGELES DENIZENS!!! WEST SIDE STORY FANS!!!
SCREENING IN SANTA MONICA AT THE AERO THEATRE!
Saturday, October 25 – 7:30 PM
CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE: americancinematheque.com

Brand New 70mm Print!

WEST SIDE STORY, 1961, MGM Repertory, 151 min. The ultra-classic Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins-helmed musical with Natalie Wood as the lovely Maria and Richard Beymer as her star-crossed lover Tony, surrounded by switchblade-carrying gangs led by Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno and George Chakiris. Leonard Bernstein’s soaring, instantly memorable score, with lyrics by a young Stephen Sondheim, stands as one of the finest ever written for the American musical theater. Winner of 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Chakiris) and Actress (Moreno), Cinematography and Art Direction.

Anyone interested in the legacy of West SIde Story should check out the entry on Wikipedia which details allusions to WSS in Film, Television, Literature, and Pop Culture.

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Posted By: CinemathequeFille - Category: No Category

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Marilyn Monroe looks at a flower

October 21st 2008 01:59

There's little point in extolling the virtues of Marilyn Monroe... she'll always be remembered as a sex symbol, a push towards hedonism and existential bliss.

Part of that is because she died young, leaving nothing but pinup pictures behind. When our stars grow old, especially female actresses, we cast them aside, or watch them spin out of control.

Monroe would have likely suffered with drug addiction, and I believe that she would have gained a lot of weight as she aged. Her full, voluptuous figure hinted at a bigger body, but youth and narcotics kept the weight off.

One of my favourite American comedies is "Some Like It Hot", an outrageous screwball flick, with Monroe playing a singer named Sugar. Director Billy Wilder had a tough time with the actresses, screaming that she was too stupid for the movies, always forgetting her lines.

Later, though, he reflected fondly on working with her - and with good cause. Watch this legendary scene of Monroe singing in a lounge club, perfectly comfortable working the center of the frame, conveying a sense of innocence, of frailty, even as her body, barely contained by the fabric of her costume, begs to be ravished.

On If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger, I found this touching photo of Monroe, in colour, looking at a flower.

It's hard to tell what she was thinking - most likely, a photographer asked her to pose, and merely captured her in this moment. The beauty of the art of photography is that she appears to be lost in nostalgia, as if she could remember what it was like to be a little girl. A simpler time, when there were no affairs with Presidents, no jumping out of cakes, no flashes of lights and big posters.

Perhaps she remembers a time when a single flower would have been enough to make her smile, but now, it only has the power to make her remember a time that's been lost.

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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: No Category

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Vintage Telephones

October 5th 2008 00:18

The Phones of The Past

Vintage tech

Living in a digital age where even analogue mobile phones have become history. A generation grows up with touch type dialling and SMS messaging has made quaint treasures like the walky-talky absent from Christmas lists.

I don’t consider myself old but for a large portion of my childhood our phone required you to actually dial a number as a verb not an adjective. Absurd to today’s teens, the finger went in the appropriate loop and manually you cranked the round to enter the number in you were calling.

A model of the times

It wasn’t so long ago that telecommunication meant you had to go through a central switchboard where operators directed your calls. Predominantly staffed by females these hives of activity allowed for mass communication to firmly ingrain itself in the culture.

The Vintage Mobile

Back in 1844 Innocenzo Manzetti came up with idea of a speaking telegraph. Over the next 3 decades several inventors developed and worked individually on components to the make it a reality.

As with many revolutionary inventions of this age it is Alexander Graham Bell that managed to get a U.S patent despite claims that he had little to do with its actual design and development.

The voice on the wall

In 1876 the first successful phone call was made where the receiver could hear speech clearly. Shortly after that the telephones was put into commercial use without a universal mode of transmission and power.

000 Emergency

Evolving slowly over the next century to finally arrive at the birth of the mobile generation, I wonder which of the many forms phones of the future will take…maybe a chip in the brain is inevitable?