Hallmarks In British Ingenuity Presents: The Mellotron

July 28th, 2009 · 6 comments or link to (permalink)

The Mellotron M400 in lucite. Gorgeous….

With the possible exception of a Gibson Les Paul or SG running riot through an overdriven Leslie speaker, there is no more glorious sound than that of a Mellotron being put through it’s paces.
The invention that dates back to the late 40’s was perhaps the first “sampler” that utilized a keyboard and tape loops with pre-recorded tones. Although the intent was to mimic a string section, the result was a lush, uniquely ethereal, unmistakable tone. The design also allowed practically any tone to be recorded and installed for application. Eventually, it became a vestige of 60’s and 70’s rock.
In case you can’t quite place what a Mellotron sounds like, let’s have a look at the wide spectrum of applications that Harry Chamberlain’s invention brought us, shall we?

But when the Mellotron was in the hands of a true master, say Mr. John Paul Jones, the result was pure magic. The Mellotron and Mr. Jones make an appearance at the 1:45 mark, of this live rendition of ‘The Rain Song’ performed at Earl’s Court, London in 1975.

6 comments » (report dead embeds in comments) tags: music science technology

Paris is Burning

July 28th, 2009 · 20 comments or link to (permalink)

This is a documentary about vogueing, and the extremely refined and detailed aesthetic sensibilities it reflects, shot in New York City around Chelsea, the Meatpacking District, and Harlem in the mid- to late-80s. The city has changed in dramatic ways since then, to say the least.

The characters of the film are complete outsiders with, at the same time, a deep understanding of the world they are outside of. As Terrence Rafferty wrote in The New Yorker, “the material is almost too rich, too suggestive. Everything about the ball culture signifies so blatantly and so promiscuously that the movie induces a kind of semiotic daze.”

It is certainly hard to view human behavior the same way after watching this film. I hope this low-quality version will be interesting enough to inspire you to rent the real thing.

(The video player embed here should allow you to watch all 11 segments of the film.)

20 comments » (report dead embeds in comments) tags: New York City history society

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)

July 26th, 2009 · 18 comments or link to (permalink)

The Crystal’s “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)“, caused a storm of protest when it was released in 1962, and its ambiguous sentiment underlies ‘It Felt Like a Kiss’, Adam Curtis’ new film. It is a portrait of America between 1958 and 1965, a period when radical individualism emerged with superficial freedom and underlying entrapment. The film has been conceived of as much as a multi-media art piece, as a TV documentary, the BBC having given Curtis an unusual degree of freedom, possibly because they are not quite sure what to do with him.

Curtis is like the Malcolm Gladwell of film making, there is a nagging doubt that what is being argued isn’t science but the delivery is so masterful and thorough that its utterly compelling. It Felt Like a Kiss looks stunning from the trailer (look out for the full version), but perhaps its rhetoric will elicit similar mixed feelings as inspired the subject. Regardless, Curtis, who creates movies that are like the conspiracy theory films that clog Youtube (except that they produced with intelligence), will no doubt become a web celebrity when his next film, which deals with the Internet itself is released combining the meme like qualities of his format with a self-referential subject.

The BBC, in their infinite wisdom, have regionally restricted everything including trailers of It Felt Like A Kiss, so I am linking to the Guardian. A full version of the film is on Curtis’ web site, but is also UK only (I cannot watch it, because I’m in France).

It Felt Like A Kiss (Trailer).

18 comments » (report dead embeds in comments) tags: history society

Cyclists Special

July 22nd, 2009 · 9 comments or link to (permalink)

This film is from 1955. It depicts, or appears to (I have no idea if it’s all a fantasy), a cycling idyll, during a postwar period in England when the bicycle was a working man’s (and woman’s?) transportation, without intended symbolism or activism.

Sport clothing certainly has changed a great deal.

Avid cyclists will also notice the well-executed double paceline, at the start of the second clip. The announcer mentions that a “hard riding” sport cyclist of the time might be expected to cover 100 miles in a day. That figure hasn’t changed much, and I’m not too surprised. Aside from a major reduction in weight, the addition of more gears, and the removal of fenders the bicycles closely resemble modern ones (in fact, I suspect these bicycles might be a bit more comfortable, if heavier, than their modern equivalents). Then as now, a hard-riding cyclist might well cover 100 miles on a weekend club ride. These bicycles would have been all-steel, made relatively locally, in Birmingham rather than China. Many here are three-speeds; all have fenders.

My one hesitation in posting this film is that probably most of its irony is probably going right over my head. I’m sure David can provide some insight into the accents, the places, and other British detail that is, typically, lost on me.

9 comments » (report dead embeds in comments) tags: accents history nostalgia

Smashing Telly welcomes Jim Nachlin and Hunter Gatherer NYC

July 22nd, 2009 · 1 comment or link to (permalink)

Two new people will be helping me stoke Smashing Telly as editors. Their qualification? Both are great, independent minded, pickers and collectors and have something interesting to say. These seem to be paramount skills in this here Internet age. Both are living in New York, but that is co-incidence.

Jim Nachlin was brought up in a mini commune in a Soho Loft in the 70’s and learned to ride a bike in it because the streets weren’t safe. I like him because he is genuinely eccentric and insightful in a way that people who try to be never are – and because he only likes second hand things.

Hunter Gatherer is from Detroit and now also lives in New York. At first I though he was a brit because when he blogged about the UK it had insight that could only come from someone who had been brought up there. Now I realize that his perceptions came from watching TV. Anyone who has powers of observation like that would be a great contributor here.

1 comment » (report dead embeds in comments) tags: news