Frank151 has a lot of respect for other magazines out there. But with the massive amount of periodicals popping up every day, we rarely take the time out to praise any of them. However, there is one magazine that stands out above the rest and merits mentioning.
Aspen magazine was created by Phyllis Johnson in Colorado in 1965. Unlike any periodical before it, Aspen was a multimedia 'magazine' which came in a customized box that contained anything from vinyl records to 8mm film. While the first two issues stayed close to the goings on in Aspen, Colorado, future issues delved deeper into the arts.
Like the Frank Book, Aspen was a quarterly publication that featured guest curators for each issue. Contributors included Lou Reed, Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono, John Cage and Samuel Beckett. Though a great concept, Aspen only lasted until 1971.
"If Aspen was an art director's dream, it was also an advertiser's nightmare. The ads, stashed at the bottom of the box, were easily ignored. And although Aspen was supposed to publish quarterly, in reality the publication date of each issue was as much of a surprise as the contents. 'All the artists are such shadowy characters,' publisher Johnson said, 'that it takes months to track them down.' After issue 5+6, there were no more ads in the magazine."
Respect to Aspen for being a true originator. Unfortuantely, creativity does not always pay the bills.
In a detailed but brief history lesson that shakes its fist at the Establishment, the blogger of DrugWarRant.com tackles the absurd sequence of events that led to marijuana's criminalization in the home of the free. Pete Guither sheds light on the Frankenstein monster of lies, ignorance, greed and sensationalism that threw cannabis under the big ol' American bus of clean living. Trace its path from the humble hemp Jamestown colonists were required to grow in 1619 to what our nation's first Drug Czar claimed to be the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind.
Munchie for thought? "Marijuana has been illegal for less than 1% of the time that it's been in use."
Who would have thought a man who had produced some of the greatest music acts of the sixties through the nineties also had the chops for the canvas? David Anderle, monumental rock producer, who helped create the sound of Frank Zappa and the Mothers, Brian Wilson, The Doors, Arthur Lee and Love, Leon Russell, Nico, Soundgarden, Kris Kristofferson (?), and The Circle Jerks (to name a few), just informed the public that he has been painting since the sixties.
His new book, David Anderle: Better Late Than Never provides a collection of his many works, including a specter-like portrait of Brian Wilson, as well as a creepy depiction of Dylan among other music icons. Completely self-schooled, he combines many different ideas and styles calling to mind anyone from Munch or Matisse to Hockney or Modigliani (of whom he painted a portrait of). Beyond their value of providing an original iconography of our music culture, the paintings stand alone as often eerie, beautiful pieces of image.
Buy the book at: www.laluzdejesus.com
Frank151 presents the social club Phase3 to celebrate Eastpak Tokyo Store Opening.Many peeps celebrated the event with good music and alcohol.View the full photo album >here.
Frank151 presents the social club Phase3
Eastpak Tokyo Store Opening
Thursday March/08/2007 @ Club Camelot B1F
Door Open 21:00
Music by
Muro - KODP
Afra (Exclusive DJ set)
Uppercut
鎮座DOPENESS
CAK
Scott Melker - Guest DJ From Philly
Visual by
DADAKINGZ
Ladies free
2500yen 2drink
1500yen 1drink with Flyer
Zealous Records has got us covered, literally, with this "too good to be true" compilation of covered material. By track number three, a Beatles cover by Al Green, "Soul Sides Volume 2" has you reeled right in. It then progresses into the depths of Soul, literally. With the soppy slink of Marcia Griffiths cover of Al Green's "Here I am (Come and take me)", listeners get a doped up dose of liquid rhythm. By the time you get to the bonus track, Laura Lee's cover of "What a Man", if you have any soul, you will be soled completely. Other standouts include a cover of "Express Yourself" by Reggae pioneers Byron Lee & The Dragonaires, El Michaels Affair's cool cover of Issac Hayes "Walk on By", and Esther Phillips cover of "Home Is Where The Hatred Is". The many millions of horribly bad covers that plague society are just about all made up for with this one CD.
The internet domain suffix .tv is actually property of the country Tuvalu, just as .us belongs to the United States. Though Tuvalu's deal with inforamtion.ca never went through, this is the beginning of their negotiations as reported by the BBC in 1998. And brush up on all the country domain codes here.
It's money origami, Money. Who doesn't want a tiny shirt or a portrait of their favorite president (assuming your favorite president made it onto a bill)?
Thanks to the fellows over at Continuum Books, readers are able to explore the nethers of album lore. Individual whole albums as complete pieces of anthem seem to be something that people, nowadays, have forgotten. It seems ripe for someone to poke their head out and say, "hey, remember these?, these were great". Not just written by Fans, but enthusiasts, associators, fanatics and conspirators alike, this series comes with the vinyl-file stamp on each and every release. If you want to know who really took that bong hit in the middle of "Shake Your Rump" by the Beastie Boys, if you want to know why the songs on Sign 'O' The Times are actually made from three other entirely seperate Prince albums that never came out, now is your chance. Go out and find these, they're everywhere.
Happy pi day!