Book Nerd

Well, I feel mighty slack having not posted anything this week… but even though it was a long weekend I didn’t really do anything worth noting. I literally went to the pub, slept, watched a movie, went to the pub, slept then watched movies again. Of the movies I did watch, a few I might do a post about shortly like “An Education” and “Revolutionary Road” but for now I going to let you all know what I have been reading over the past couple of months.

Around 4 or 5 months ago I was at the Fishermen’s Warf market rummaging through mountains of books when I came across a Marilyn Monroe biography called “Norma Jean: The Life of Marilyn Monroe” by Fred Lawrence Guiles. The copy I picked up was rather tatty but bonus that it had that old book smell, I love that smell. I really enjoyed the book and found it fascinating and heartbreaking to learn about her life. I think I could have read a book about anyone from that era and just been fascinated by there every day life but Marilyn’s was an interesting and intense one at that giving it a much greater appeal.

After reading this I craved more information but not wanting to re-read her whole life story book after book I decided on another 50’s famester. James Dean. This drool worthy fella would be worth reading about so I set out to the book shops to find me a biography. Considering Monroe and Dean are still such popular cultural icons I was shocked to find that there were no biographies in stock for either of them at the several book shops I visited. Rather disheartened I decided to google and find out which the best James Dean biography would be and then look for it specifically. This leads me to an older post “100 eBay Purchases” where I bought “The James Dean Story” by Robert Martinetti.
Again, the book was fascinating and I also bought the James Franco as James Dean bio pic “James Dean” which conveniently arrived the night before I started reading and was a good teaser. I buy these books to entertain me on the train, but with both of these I enjoyed them so much I was tucked up in bed early each night reading more… I wanted to keep reading (I honestly had to pace myself or I would have finished it in one sitting) but didn’t want the books to end. Especially considering the way they both conclude. I highly recommend “The James Dean Story” for any James Dean fan as I found it very in depth. And hey, after all from what I googled I am in the opinion that it is the best James Dean biography out there…

Image from BornBad.fr

Having devoured both of these books in such a short amount of time I had bought another one to read straight after. It was Dita Von Teese’s "Burlesque and the Art of the Teese/Fetish and the Art of the Teese". It is a beautiful hard cover book that could easily be a coffee table book with some of the wonderful photographs inside and half way through it flips from burlesque to fetish. But… being a large hard cover book I didn’t want to cart it on the train with me so I could only read it at home. This was last Monday. I had finished the Burlesque side of the book by the Wednesday and finished the last chapter of the Fetish side on Sunday. As interesting as this book was I didn’t have anything to read on the train or another book lined up for when I finished… I had found a biography on Bettie Page on eBay but they did not accept bank deposit so it was out of the question. I then promptly remembered the Harlequin Vintage Collection I had gotten for Christmas and began reading “Kiss Your Elbow” by Alan Handley.

Image from Harlequinblog.com

It was a good cheesy little novel with mystery and intrigue but didn’t capture my attention the way the previous two books had. I read it strictly on the train and didn’t really have to urge to tear away to bed early and read further. This kept me entertained for long enough, until my mother (bless her) informs me she had found a shop in Melbourne who stocked the Bettie Page biography I had found on eBay and that it was on its way. I had wanted this book since my “100 eBay Purchases” post! It arrived the same week she ordered it (last week) and I couldn’t wait to start it.

The “Kiss Your Elbow” book was bookmarked and put back on the shelf and “The Real Bettie Page” by Richard Foster was in my hot little hands. However as the book arrived on Friday and I was busy all weekend I had to wait until Sunday until I could finally get a start on it. So far it has more then lived up to my expectations and I only currently on chapter eight.

Image from StoweVintage.com

If you are even slightly interested in James Dean, Marilyn Monroe or Bettie page I highly recommend all of these books… you will have trouble putting them down. Or even if you are simply looking for something to read! For now I am still on my Bettie Page book and it is great, but I have my eye on a Clara Bow biography for when I finish. What is your favourite biography? And what are you reading? I’d love some recommendations…

Frankie love

Images from Frankie.com.au

Its my favourite day of every second month… the new Frankie magazine is out. Its issue 35 of what I can bet has been 35 amazing issues. I only started collecting it in its early 20’s but have not missed an issue since. I did even bid on some older issues on eBay but alas was not victorious (they went for a small fortune).

If you haven’t read an issue of Frankie before I suggest you immediately stop whatever it is you are doing, skip to your nearest newsagent or Borders and pick yourself up a copy. I can assure you you will be lining up in 2 months for the next one… and hey, for $8.95 it’s worth the gamble if you don’t believe me.

Although I have only just gotten back from my lunch break with Frankie in hand I did manage to get my sneak peek flick through before I read it on the train… and as usual it put a smile on my face.

This issue there is so much wonderful stuff… There’s 2 pages full of cute tea towels, a piece on cool old school caravans, a review of 8 different brands of red lipstick, a fashion shoot called “The Adventures of Rufus and Clara” (Rufus is a guy in a bear suit), a recipe for homemade fish pie and even a piece on vintage frocks by Nicole Jenkins of Circa Vintage and author of “Love Vintage”. And all that is just the things that caught my eye as I was flicking through… there is plenty more Frankie goodness filling its beautiful pages.

If you are not in Australia or New Zealand do not fret you can still check out the Frankie website or even try eBay.

Rock n Roll Rendezvous

Obviously the Rock n Roll Rendezvous is first and foremost a car show, with cars from the 70s and older all being slung together in one big mish mash time warp car park. Now I will preface this with the statement that I am not really a car person. I know what they are, I know what they do, I know some are prettier then others and I appreciate that, but beyond this I really don’t know my whatcha-ma-call-its from my do-hickeys. This might seem like a weird statement considering the photos that will follow but it’s true… The photos below are taken from a purely aesthetic point of view, and more importantly my point and click view. I do not know what year these were made and I probably couldn’t name them but I do appreciate that they are amazing to look at and I love that old world feel you get from just picturing what it would’ve been like when this was all that was available. That said, I hope you enjoy.

My outfit: Skirt - Valleygirl, Shoes - Wittner, Top - Revival by Dangerfield, Scarf - eBay.

This was my favourite one, I just LOVE this colour blue.

As much as I do enjoy checking out all the beautiful cars I mainly went to check out the bands and do some shopping. My mum bought a wonderful dress from a lovely Adelaide woman off eBay not long ago. Unfortunately the dress was a little on the big side so mum contacted her to see if it could be exchanged. Jane (the seller) happily exchanged the dress and in the post bag included a card with information about her website. Well that was it, the second I laid eyes on this website I knew my next few pay cheques may as well be void. There was so much nice stuff :) After drooling over a few things my mum then informed me that Betty Jane Boutique would be holding a stall at the Rock n Roll Rendezvous.

As soon I heard this I went through the site again with pen and paper in hand and wrote down the main items I would like to try on… I emailed the list to Betty Jane Boutique to see if she could possibly bring the items so I could try them on at the Rock n Roll Rendezvous. She was more then happy to oblige. When I arrived I tried on everything and did pretty well, with only 2 things being too big and 2 things she didn’t currently have in stock at the time (I will just have to order them from her website instead now). Here are some pictures of the things I did buy. Note, these pics are from the Betty Jane Boutique website. I have not taken any yet as I haven’t had a chance to wear any of it. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them in future posts though.

Sailor pants

Denim dungarees
Glamour dress

Spanish dancer skirt

Sugar skulls bag

This is only a taste of some of the wonderful stuff Betty Jane Boutique stocks, with new stock coming in all the time. Brands include: Stop Staring, Lux De Ville, Miss Hussy, etc. There is even some vintage finds too. She is based in South Australia, and from the looks of the Upcoming Events tab on her site, attends lots of different things where you can go and check out her stock.

Unfortunately I don’t have a single picture of any of the bands and did not even have a chance to get my dance on while I was there. After snapping photos of the cars and after my little shopping spree we headed over the dance floor only to find that it was almost impossible to make it through. There was so many people dancing and crowded around the outside of the dance floor, and over all the grassy space near the food stalls that it was difficult to even get close enough to take a picture. When I did finally manage to get close enough (which was miles away) to snap a half decent picture, I was right behind a big tree and couldn’t see a darn thing. Sorry guys, I will have to try harder next year.

Painful Shoes

As I mentioned briefly in my previous post the Rock n Roll Revdezvous was the Sunday just gone. I did make it there (after much confusion thanks to my Where Is directions that took us down 2 no through roads?!) and will upload the pics I managed to snap sometime tomorrow when I post about it. For now I thought I'd tell you how I spent the rest of my weekend… now, please don’t judge BUT I spent my weekend strutting around in my pjs, thick green soaks soaked in metho, and my leather work shoes…(No this is not some quirk I have where I like the smell of metho in the morning hehe) I can explain, I swear… :)

I bought a cute pair of shoes a while back that I had planned to wear to work. They were black shiny patent leather, with a big black heart on the toe which had an outline of white for contrast. Now normally I would not spend over $100 dollars on flat shoes as they generally are for work as I wear heels 95% of the time when I am going out. However after finding these I decided, that if bought one good pair of leather work flats I wouldn’t have to buy new pairs as often and these ones were so cute that I might wear them elsewhere. So I spent I think around $140 on a pair of flat leather shoes.

I went into Wittner, tried them on, bought them and took them home with a smile on face. Of course, being new I wore them to work the next day. To my despair, by the time I actually made it to work which is a 15 walk from the train station my beautiful new shoes were full of blood and the back of my heels were torn up beyond band-aid control. I had to hobble to the shops in my lunch break and buy a cheap pair of thongs (which I do no wear as a rule) so I was able to walk back to the train station that night to get home. I couldn’t get my feet into anything else as the slightest pressure on my now raw heels was too painful to walk. The shoes fit my feet fine in the store but since they were such stiff leather they really did a number on me when I wore them.

My feet often cop a bit of damage from some of the shoes I wear, but usually I can whack a band-aid where its rubbing and ta-da no pain until I get home and take the shoes off. Usually these problems only occur with new heels while I am wear them in or if I am standing/walking in them too long… but this time I was shattered to find that flats could do much worse damage.

These painful (but cute) shoes were banished from my room because it was to sad to look at them, they were so cute and I couldn’t even wear them. My mum kindly offered to wear them when she was around the house with thick socks to stretch them a bit so that I would be able to wear them. She had worn them every time she was home over the next couple of months and I decided to brave them again. I had tried them on (again) and they seemed a little stretched so I wore them to work. This time I had worn preventative band-aids and bought with me a spare pair of shoes just in case.

Well, lucky I did because the shoes cruely removed my band-aids and began to work at my finally healed heels. I was quick to change shoes to stop most of the damage but was shattered in the realization that perhaps these shoes just weren’t for me… and I would never be able to wear them.

After another couple of months of wearing some cheap work flats, the sole began to detach and I braved the Wittner store again. I decided on a plain pair of black points would be fine, and went through the whole process again.

I went in, picked them out, tried them on, asked the shop assistant if the size was correct, walked around the store in them, bought them and went home with a smile on my face. I had spent another $160 on flat shoes for work but was completely certain that these would not cause me such pain as the assistant had again assured me of the size. I wore them to work the next day…

Yep, you guessed it. Blood. Pain. Again, even in the presence of my powerful preventative band-aids. I put on my spare shoes and swore off ever spending that kind of money on flat work shoes ever again. Cursing my self for wasting money of those shoes when there was a pair of heels right next to them in the store that I loved…

This second pair I purchased was only around a month ago. They had since sat on in the spare room and my mum had kindly worn them a few times with thick socks in hopes that these ones might stretch better. They had stretched a little and upon telling this story to a friend who couldn’t believe I had done this twice now, I was told “you have to wear leather shoes in”. Well, thanks. I am aware that leather shoes have to be worn in, but apparently my feet do not agree with that statement. It seems that everyone else is able to wear leather shoes in by simply, well, wearing them while I must suffer and banish my shoes to never-never land.

Annoyed about this I set upon google with three words “stretching leather shoes”. I was met with 2 main solutions to stretching leather shoes, besides simple wearing them in.

1. The Ice Method – Fill two bags with water, sit them in the shoe and freeze. The water will expand when frozen and thus stretch the shoe.
2. The Alcohol Method – Spray a rubbing alcohol on the shoes, paying special attention to the seams. Wear the now wet shoes until dry.

Being a week day, I decided these shoes which were not being worn could do with a trip to the freezer so I tried the ice method first. This was unsuccessful but very entertaining to try and smash the ice out of the shoes. Disheartened but determined I then tried the alcohol method… Although mentholated spirits is far to strong to use a rubbing alcohol I again googled away and found that if you mix 1 part metho 3 parts water it’s close enough.

So, there I was in my parrot pjs, a pair of thick green socks and spray bottle in hand. I put a movie on, layed out a towel and sprayed away. The shoes were soaked. I repeated this process several times walking around a bit after my movie and hanging out washing etc. I did all Saturday, and all Sunday night. After some success with my plain black points my mum offered to wear the patent ones and try the miracle spray on them. Picture this, two grown women in pajamas, with thick socks and leather shoes sitting on the couch with a towel under their feet… needles to say we hoped no one turned up at our house. Lol.

After the many hours of stomping and walking funny trying to roll the heel on the shoes I tried both pairs on last night sans the thick socks and found that they BOTH now slide on and off my foot with ease! Finally, I was victorious over my leather shoe nemesis and I can now wear them with pride. They have been conquered and shall remain that way for many wears to come :)

Whats the point of all this I hear you ask? Well the moral of this story is 1 never give up and 2 google knows all.
The picture above was taken today, of the shoes which are currently on my feet. The same shoes that broke my heart months ago now grace the space under my desk blood free. I have no worn the other pair yet, but considering these were the most painful I can assume they will be fine. I will keep you updated.

Now, even if you are not a fan of these shoes everyone has worn painful shoes at one time or another and the majority of people have worn-in a pair of leather shoes…

Have you worn painful shoes? Did you stubbornly wear them again like I did? Got any tips or tricks for leather shoes?

MadMen - Season 3

Image from MadMen Official Site - AMC

This Monday I got Season 3 of MadMen in the mail… I now have 2 episodes left to watch. Living in Australia and not having pay TV can often mean lengthy waits for things to be released on DVD… however, when it comes to television shows I love I honestly can not wait until they are released in Australia and I end up buying them off eBay. I had to buy a multi region DVD specifically because the DVDs I buy from eBay are from the UK or USA but it is more then worth it to have them earlier :)

I have loved MadMen since the first time I saw it simply because the costumes and set are amazing but after watching even one episode I was hooked on the storyline too. Obviously being set in the early 1960’s it appealed to me immensely, but I also loved that it is about an advertising agency. Vintage adverts fascinate me and having completed my certificate 2 in graphic design I really love the creative focus. I wont go into any details about plot incase I spoil it for those of you who have not watched it. All I can say is that if you haven’t seen it, go and buy it on DVD… right now. You will not regret it. I recommend that you watch it from the beginning but have to say that, season 3 has blown me away and is by far my favourite at the moment. Looking forward to season 4 with great anticipation…

Image from MadMen Official Site - AMC

Outfit - Screams on Screen

This is my first outfit post… I’m not great at taking photos of myself, or sitting my camera in the right spot if I put it on timer so I asked my Mum to take some pics before I went out on Saturday. I will try to take more in the future but I usually just end up taking photos when I am out with friends and they aren’t usually full length. Anyhoo…here we go.

Dress – vintage. I bought this dress at the 2010 Way We Wear Vintage Fair in March.
Stockings – Myer
Shoes – Wittner

Screams on Screen & Lucky Seven

Well, as I mentioned yesterday I managed to make it to “Screams on Screen” on Saturday and enjoyed it immensely… however my sister who came with me does not share my passion for the 50’s or Sci-fi flicks and fell asleep during Forbidden Planet so I didn’t end up staying to see Robot Monster :(

The whole event was fantastic. There were usherettes to tear our tickets and there was even someone in a robot costume in the foyer (or more of a makeshift, gorilla costume with a helmet?). The usherettes were dressed by Moxie Minx and their hats were made by Ruby Mae Millinery and they looked incredible.

The usherettes - image from Smokin' Betty's Events Facebook.

The usherettes and one of the Smokin' Betty's Events founders (so I am told).

Miss Cherry Valens and Steve the owner of the I love Lucy cadillac (behind and pic above).

Forbidden Planet was surprisingly good, it had that “so bad, its good” quality but I was expecting it to me much worse. I thought the effects were really quite good and the story line actually had some thought behind it. It was fantastic to see it on the big screen.

In intermission we were entertained by Miss Cherry Valens who’s burlesque dance was very happily received by the young men sitting in front of me who were obviously unaware of this and upon seeing her their eyes lit up and one said “nice, did we pay this?” with a smirk on his face.
The only thing that I was actually disappointed about from the whole show was that there was no popcorn hehe. Call me old fashioned but if I hit the cinema I would like the option of popcorn… but it could have also been because I didn’t eat any dinner before attending. There was free mini pies, pasties and quiches though; which met my grumbling tummy just in time so as not to disturb the person next to me.

Upon walking into the foyer my mobile started ringing and I was reminded by a friend that Lucky Seven’s CD launch was happening at the same very moment. Having already watched one film and catching Miss Cherry Valens I thought it fair to let my sister off the hook and leave…on the condition that we went to the Lucky Seven show. We arrived at the Cavern and I could hear the swinging tunes from outside. After discussing with my sister we came to a compromise that I would just duck in and grab the CD and we would go the Smokin’ Betty’s after party. So I did just that… I ducked down the stairs, grab a CD, briefly soaked in the music and amazing atmosphere then dragged myself back outside. And I can tell you, I am so glad I did! The CD is fantastic and has been on repeat on my iPod since Sunday. I already have a favourite song called “three handed woman”. There are some tracks on their website if you want to have a listen.

Image from LuckySevenSwing.com

When I was looking up the Lucky Seven site to put the link in this post I noticed that they have another gig this Saturday night at the Gov with Melbourne swing band Frankie Wants Out. I think it would definitely be worth going, but unfortunately don’t think I will be able to make it… it seems to be that “when it rains, it pours” is the case again as this Sunday is the 2010 Rock & Roll Rendezvous. I have had this written in my diary for months and can not wait to go… the only problem is, I need to save my money for the Sunday so it is unlikely that I will be able to make it on the Saturday... I suppose you never know though, perhaps I will strike it lucky and make it to both...

Either way, I will be taking my camera along on Sunday and hope to get plenty of pics so stay tuned for a post sometime next week :)

Oh and also, while I was searching around the Gov's site I found this interesting tid bit... If you are a South Australian and like rockabilly you will be excited to know that Wanda Jackson is hitting town in June. For further details click here.

Lux & Ivy's Favourites

I’m pleased to say that I did manage to make it to Smokin’ Betty’s Events “Screams on Screen” on Saturday night… It was fantastic but unfortunately I wasn’t really able to take any pictures as it was in a cinema, but there are a few floating around facebook that I can borrow. I will make sure I get the post up tomorrow.

Image from Phawker.com

For now I would like to tell you all about an amazing compilation I have come across. A friend of mine gave me a heap of music I might like on a USB and there was a folder called Lux & Ivy’s Favorites which had a few different volumes in it. I copied it all onto my iPod and found that all the play lists were extraordinary. There are so many different songs and I couldn’t name one I didn’t like/appreciate.

At this stage I only had 4 Volumes and was craving more so I googled away and found there were 13 Volumes all up – which means over 300 songs…

I found this article on ArtRocker.com which describes how the volumes came about:

~=---------------♥---------------=~

Lux Interior and Poison Ivy were great collectors of rockabilly, surf music, 60’s garage, novelty songs and out-there esoteric weirdness. Lux & Ivy’s Favorites is a homebrew compilation put together by a fan of The Cramps (nimereht from Thee Monkey Butlers) based on their favourite records.
You can’t buy these compilations anywhere and that probably goes for nearly all the tracks on them. These are internet-only and emerged on the Soulseek network. There are eleven volumes so far that we know of… collect them all!
"It started as a way to keep track of some of the songs Lux, and or Ivy, mentioned in THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE MUSIC BOOK. It was never really intended as anything but a way for a friend of mine and me to have 2 really kick ass compilations.
So we went about the arduous process of finding all the songs mentioned in that interview. It took a loooong time. We used the file sharing program, Napster, as well as our own personal collections.
So, one thing leads to another and when word got around that these compilations were out there, they started being traded from fan to fan to fan. So at some point I decided to put them up on Napster and let anyone who wanted them have them.
As the years went buy, more interviews with Lux and Ivy kept popping up, and the list of songs they mentioned got longer and longer. This resulted in new volumes."

~=---------------♥---------------=~

As I had only heard of the Cramps and never listened to any of their music I can easily say that you don’t even have to know who they are to like these volumes. If you are a fan of rockabilly music you are sure to appreciate them.

I then found a link where you can download the first 11 volumes as zip files at WFMU’s Beware of the Blog . All you have to do is right click on the volume you want and “save as” and wait for the sweet downloaded goodness. Volume 12 is on a different link and can be found here and Volume 13 here.

There are only so many rock n roll compilations at JB that you can buy before you realize you have the same song by about 6 different artists and have few new tracks. So this was a god send when I’m doing data entry at work. And best of all, they are all FREE.

I managed to track down a track listing for all the volumes:

Lux & Ivy’s Favorites, Volume 1
1. Sheriff & The Ravels - Shombalor
2. Sid King & The Five Strings - Let ‘er Rip
3. Ersal Hickey - Bluebirds Over The Mountain
4. Ersal Hickey - Hangin’ Around
5. Ronnie Dawson - Action Packed
6. Ronnie Self - Date Bait
7. Vern Pullens - Bop Crazy Baby
8. Donald Woods And The Belairs - Death Of An Angel
9. Gene Maltais - Crazy Baby
10. Billy Ward and His Dominoes - The Bells
11. Bob McFadden and Dor - The Mummy
12. Forbidden Five - RFD Rangoon
13. Forbidden Five - Enchanted Farm
14. The Medallions - Behind The Door
15. Nervous Norvous - Transfusion
16. The Clovers - Crawlin’
17. The Penguins - Earth Angel
18. The Blenders - Don’t Fuck Around With Love
19. Sparkle Moore - Skull and Cross Bones
20. Versatones - Bila
21. Versatones - Tight Skirt Tight Sweater
22. The Tornados - Telstar
23. The Treniers - Poon-Tang!
24. The Clovers - Rotten Cocksuckers Ball
25. The Collins Kids - Whistle Bait
26. The Chips - Rubber Biscuits
27. Jan & Arnie - Jennie Lee

Lux & Ivy’s Favorites, Volume 2
1. 13th Floor Elevators - You’re Gonna Miss Me
2. Ric Cartey - Young Love
3. Slim Harpo - Strange Love
4. The Champs - Train To Nowhere
5. Cozy Cole - Topsy, Parts One and Two
6. Zacherley - Dinner With Drac
7. Randy Alvey and The Green Fuz - Green Fuz
8. Jackie Morningstar - Rockin’ In The Graveyard
9. John Buck and His Blazers - Forbidden City
10. Marvin Rainwater - Hot And Cold
11. Blues Rockers - Calling All Cows
12. The Five Blobs - The Blob
13. Ric Cartey - Oooh-Eeee
14. June Wilkinson and Mamie Van Doren - Bikini With No Top On Top
15. Wayne Williams - Red Hot Mama
16. Boss-Tones - Mope-itty Mope
17. Keith Courvale - Trapped Love
18. The Storey Sisters - Bad Motorcycle
19. Lightnin’ Slim - It’s Mighty Crazy
20. Bob McFadden and Dor - Noisy Village
21. The Crescents - Pink Dominoes
22. Marketettes - Out Of Limits
23. The Chimes - Zindy Lou
24. The Crystals - (Let’s Dance) The Screw - Pt. 1
25. The Invictas - The Hump
26. Earle Hagen & The New Interns - New Interns Watusi
27. Billy Ward & The Dominoes - Jennie Lee

Lux & Ivy’s Favorites, Volume 3
1. The Pretty Things - Come See Me
2. The Leather Boy - On the Go
3. Roy Brown - Butcher Pete, Pt. 1
4. Roy Brown - Butcher Pete, Pt. 2
5. The Carnations - Scorpion
6. The Imps - Uh-Oh
7. Doctor Ross - The Boogie Disease
8. Howlin’ Wolf - Smokestack Lightnin’
9. Polka Dot Slim - A Thing You Gotta Face
10. The Ventures - The Rat
11. Mohammed Rafi AKA Ted Lyons & His Cubs - Jaan Pehechaan Ho
12. Bo Diddley - Congo
13. Anton LaVey - Satan Takes a Holiday
14. The Symbols - Do the Zombie
15. The Scarlets - Stampede
16. Danny Dell & The Trends - Froggy Went A Courting
17. Johnny Kidd & The Pirates - Shakin’ All Over
18. The Kinks - You Really Got Me
19. The Strangers - Caterpillar Crawl
20. Porter Waggoner - Rubber Room
21. Robert Mitchum - The Ballad of Thunder Road
22. Duane Eddy - Ramrod
23. Dick Penner - Cindy Lou
24. The Ideals - Go Go Gorilla
25. Jack Nitzsche - The Lonely Surfer
26. The Johnny Burnette Trio - Honey Hush
27. Mickey & Sylvia - No Good Lover
28. Duane Eddy - Stalkin’
29. Bo Diddley - I’m A Man
30. Johnny Fortune - Dragster
31. The Gee Cees - Buzzsaw Twist

Lux & Ivy’s Favorites, Volume 4
1. Gene Summers - Taboo
2. Roland Janes - Guitarville
3. The Citations - Moon Race
4. Electro-Tones - Ghost Train
5. Hank Davis - Woman Train
6. Jack Nitzsche - Rumble
7. Gene Gray & The Stingrays - Surfer’s Mood
8. Charlie Feathers - In the Pines
9. Ric Cartey - My Babe
10. Reverend Charles Jackson - Wrapped Up and Tangled Up In Jesus
11. Les Baxter - Lust
12. Harley Hatcher - The Chase Is On [From the movie Satan’s Sadists]
13. Jan Davis - The Time Funnel
14. The Atlantics - War Of The Worlds
15. Clyde Stacey - Hoy Hoy
16. Electric Prunes - Dr. Do Good
17. The Five Jones Boys - Mr. Ghost Goes To Town
18. Jackie & The Starlighters - Valerie
19. Musical Linn Twins - Rockin’ Out the Blues
20. Hugh Barrett & The Victors - Fungus Among Us
21. Cannibal & the Headhunters - Zulu King
22. Charlie Feathers - She Set Me Free
23. Portuguese Joe - Teenage Riot
24. Gene Maltais - Gang War
25. The Musical Linn Twins - Indian Rock
26. Jimmie Rodgers - Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8)
27. Ron Thompson - Switchblade
28. The Legendary Stardust Cowboy - Paralyzed
29. Vernon Green & The Phantoms - Sweet Breeze
30. Davie Allan & the Arrows - Theme from the Unknown
31. The Stooges - 1970

Lux & Ivy’s Favorites, Volume 5
1. The Swamp Rats - Louie, Louie
2. The Trashmen - Bird ‘65
3. Link Wray & The Raymen - The Fuzz
4. Peanuts Wilson - Cast Iron Arm
5. Bo Diddley - The Story Of Bo Diddley
6. Homer Denison, Jr. - Chickie Run
7. Curley Griffin - Got Rockin’ On My Mind
8. The Isley Brothers - Nobody But Me
9. Ron Haydock & The Boppers - 99 Chicks
10. Bill Carter & The Rovin’ Gamblers - Baby Brother
11. Andre Williams - (M M M M Andre Williams Is) M-M-Movin’
12. The Quotations - Imagination
13. Carl Perkins - Let The Jukebox Keep On Playing
14. The Sparkles - Oh Girls, Girls
15. Julie London - Yummy, Yummy, Yummy
16. The Lifeguards - Everybody Out’ta The Pool
17. Ken Nordine - Strollin’ Spooks
18. Ken Nordine - Fliberty Jib
19. The Ramones - Beat On The Brat
20. Betty McQuade - Tongue Tied
21. Ronnie Ray & The Playboys - The Vulture
22. The Revels - Midnight Stroll
23. Ray Anthony - Dragnet
24. Link Wray - Genocide
25. Don Charles Presents The Singing Dogs - Oh! Susanna
26. The Deadly Ones! - It’s Monster Surfing Time
27. Edwin Bruce - Sweet Woman
28. Ted Weems & His Orchestra, with Elmo Tanner (whistle) - Heartaches
29. Vito & The Salutations - Unchained Melody
30. Jack Eely & The Courtmen - Louie, Louie ‘66

Lux & Ivy’s Favorites, Volume 6
1. Earl Wade - I Dig Rock ‘n’ Roll
2. The Ran-Dells - Martian Hop
3. The Saxons - Camel Walk (Part 1)
4. The Nitecats - Jungle
5. Charlie Gracie - Guitar Boogie
6. The Flamingos - I Only Have Eyes For You
7. Kenny Owen - I Got The Bug
8. The Phantom - Whisper Your Love
9. Moses Longpiece - Slide Her Under the Door
10. Ray Harris - Come On Little Mama
11. The Cables - Choo-Choo
12. The Charades - Flamingo
13. Ronnie Isle - Wicked
14. Andre Williams With The Gino Parks Quartet - Pass The Biscuits Please
15. Gene La Marr and His Blue Flames - That Crazy Little House On The Hill
16. The Innocents - I’m A Hog For You
17. Thee Midniters - Jump, Jive and Harmonize
18. Bob Taylor & The Counts - Thunder
19. Mad Magazine - (She Got a) Nose Job
20. The Five Sharps - Stormy Weather
21. Booker T. & the MG’s - Green Onions
22. Jack Nitzsche - The Last Race
23. Elvis Presley - Milkcow Blues Boogie
24. The Fleetwoods - Unchained Melody
25. Mad Magazine - When My Pimples Turned To Dimples
26. Grace Tennessee and The American Spirits - Pow Wow
27. Phil and the Frantics - Say That You Will
28. Pasquale & The Lunar-Tiks - Moon Madness
29. Arthur Lyman - Taboo

Lux & Ivy’s Favorites, Volume 7
1. Marvin & Johnny - Vip Vop
2. The Original Starfires - Fender Bender
3. Ronnie Kae - Drums Fell Off a Cliff
4. Young Jessie with The Flairs - Lonesome Desert
5. Andre Williams & The Don Juans - Pulling Time
6. Joe Clay - Did You Mean Jelly Bean (What You Said Cabbage Head)
7. T. Rex - Rip Off
8. Tony Allen and The Champs - Nite Owl
9. Betty McQuade - Blue Train
10. Sparkle Moore - Tiger
11. Stan Freberg - A Dear John and Marsha Letter
12. The Dynamic Dial Tones - Boss
13. The Vocaleers - Cootie Snap
14. The Tokens - B’wanina (Pretty Girl)
15. Mississippi Mud Mashers - Moonglow
16. John & Jackie - Little Girl
17. The Falcons - Now That It’s Over
18. Mr. Undertaker - Here Lies My Love
19. Andre Williams - The Greasy Chicken
20. Roky Erickson - Red Temple Prayer (Two-Headed Dog)
21. Kay Martin and Her Body Guards - Swamp Girl
22. The Grey Stokes - The Legend of Tarzan
23. Mac Rebennack - Storm Warning (Long Version)
24. Charlie Feathers - That Certain Female
25. Ronnie Self - Bop-A-Lena
26. Jaynetts - Sally Go ‘Round the Roses
27. The Sensational Nightingales - Standing in the Judgment
28. Stan Freberg - St. George And The Dragonet

Lux & Ivy’s Favorites, Volume 8
1. Richard Strauss [composer] - Also Sprach Zarathustra - Fanfare
2. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins - I Put A Spell On You
3. Love - My Flash On You
4. American Teens - Shake Shake Baby
5. The Gamblers - LSD-25
6. Unknown Artist - Unknown Song
7. Lee Chandler & The Blue Rhythms - Tree Top
8. The Strikes - If You Can’t Rock Me
9. Buddy Miller - Teen Twist
10. The Tides - Midnight Limbo
11. Homer Denison, Jr. - March Slav Boogie
12. Chaino - The Pigmy Song (Tikky Tikky Boom Boom)
13. Johnnie Honeycutt - Blue Song of Love
14. Kitty & Sheeny Lanier - Do The Whip
15. The Dirtbombs - I Can’t Stop Thinking About It
16. Betty Smith With Johnny Maxwell And The Rhythmmasters - Yeah, Baby
17. Rudy Thacker and The Stringbusters - Black Train
18. Stacy Bengal & His Six Outfielders - I Come To Demolish Cleveland
19. The Gamblers - Moon Dawg!
20. Unknown Artist - Unknown Song
21. The Viscounts - Harlem Nocturne
22. Billy Lee Riley - Flyin’ Saucers Rock & Roll
23. David Seville - Witch Doctor
24. Freddie Cannon - Palisades Park
25. Kay Martin and Her Body Guards - The Heel
26. Sheb Wooley - The Purple People Eater
27. The Pleasant Valley Boys with Herschell Gordon Lewis - “Rebel Yell (The South’s Gonna Rise Again)” [Theme from Two Thousand Maniacs]
28. Unknown Artist - Unknown Song
29. Mad Mike & The Maniacs - The Hunch
30. Sparkle Moore - Flower Of My Heart

Lux & Ivy’s Favorites, Volume 9
1. Jess Franco - Sex and Mystic of M. Sade (edit)
2. The Kinks - Until the End of the Day
3. The Vi-Kings - Desert Boots
4. Jimmy McConville - Scorpion
5. Bo Diddley - Mona
6. Wendell Smith - Nashville, Tennessee
7. The Crystals - He’s a Rebel
8. T. Rex - Baby Strange
9. All Women Are Bad [movie trailer audio]
10. The Wailers - Dirty Robber
11. Charlie Gracie - Butterfly
12. Chuck Ranado and The Electronaires - My Baby’s Gone
13. Lonnie Johnson - Tomorrow Night
14. Flamin’ Groovies - Teenage Head
15. Howlin’ Wolf - The Red Rooster
16. The Dantes - 80-96
17. The Chantays - Pipeline
18. Gene Gray & The Stingrays - Surfer’s Mood [repeated from volume 4]
19. The Deadly Ones! - Surfin’ Dockside
20. Gary & Larry - Garlic Bread
21. The Shangri-Las - Out in the Streets
22. The Tempests - Rockin’ Rochester USA
23. Spike Jones - Chloe
24. The Vampires’ Sound Incorporation - The Lions and the Cucumber
25. The Duals - Wait Up Baby
26. Rodger & The Tempests - Bad Bad Way
27. The Dixie Cups - Chapel of Love
28. Jimmy Scott - Unchained Melody
You’ll have to find the next two yourself…(ie two track names missing)

Lux & Ivy’s Favorites, Volume 10
1. bob and jerry - ghost satellite
2. fat daddy holmes - where yo is
3. don covay - switchen’ in the kitchen
4. Bob Lee - Wanted For Questioning
5. Tielman Brothers - Marabunta
6. the grass-hoppers - twin beat
7. the jet streams - who me-
8. dicky doo & the don’ts - flip top box
9. Sidney Jo Lewis - Boppin’ To Grandfather’s Clock
10. Albert Elias - King Kong
11. the charts - ooba gooba
12. the mogambos - Bi-Aza-Ku-Sasa
13. El-Capris - Safari
14. Wildmen - King Of The Jungle
15. The Enchanters - Cafe Bohemian
16. Ganim’s Asia Minors - Daddy Lolo
17. The Peels - Fun
18. Bernie Turner & The Armorettes-Ching Ching Wong
19. The Highlights - Ah So!
20. Dicky Doo & The Don’ts - Nee Nee Na Na Na Na
21. The Duals - Stick Shift
22. johnny parker - tv commercial
23. Jimmy Lloyd - You’re gone baby
24. paul peek - olds-mo-william
25. Lee Ross - The Mummy’s Bracelet
26. Ivan - Real Wild Child
27. The Impacs - Kool It
28. Senor Soul - The Mouse
Senor Soul - Soul Sermon
29. the peeks - juanita banana
30. Ganimian & His Orientals - My Funny Valentine

Lux & Ivy’s Favorites, Volume 11
1. jay jay imus and freddy ford - the boogala
2. saxie russel - el monkey
3. Merced Blue Notes - Do The Pig
4. the revels - Intoxica
5. The Premiers - Firewater
6. The Cherokees-Uprising
7. The Chiefs - Apache
8. Arondies - Class Of ‘69
9. Dragon Walk - The Noblemen
10. dynamos - woh! woh! yea! yea!
11. the Caps-Red Headed Flea
12. the corvettes - pick up
13. The Bangers - Baby Let Me Bang Your Box
14. screamin’ jay hawkins - moanin’
15. Mr. Clean - Mr. Clean
16. brook bond food - red rose tea
17. Noblemen - Dirty Robber
18. dicky doo & the don’ts - wild party
19. Sentinals - The Bee
20. jan davis - Watusi Zombie
21. bobby williams - tarzan
22. the pygmies - don’t monkey with tarzan
23. the individuals - Jungle Superman
24. the revels - it’s party time
25. silvertones - get it!
26. The Hong Kongs-Surfin’ In The China Sea
27. the torkays-karate
28. the fortune tellers - song of the nairobi trio
29. the trashmen - Bird Dance Beat
30. Revels - Dead Man’s Stroll
31. Dickie Goodman - The Touchables In Brooklyn
32. the myrogens - the dancing katydids
33. dynamos - manhunt

Lux & Ivy’s Favorites, Volume 12
1. The Ravens - A Simple Prayer
2. Jimmie haskell and his orchestra - blast off!
3. terry corin and her boyfriends - sick! sick! sick!
4. buddy starr and the starliners - hold it
5. the curios - chicken back part two
6. Dee Jays - Blackeyed Woman
7. jimmy hanna - leaving here
8. The Frantics - (do the) Jacknife
9. The Peridots - Hully Gully All Night Long
10. jivin jean - up up and away
11. baskerville hounds - space rock part 2
12. jimmie haskell and his orchestra - astrosonic
13. message from outer space and Jan Davis - Destination Love
14. Sebastien - Nobody Can Do The Dog Like I Do
15. The Singing Dogs - Hot Dog Boogie
16. Social Outcasts - mad
17. .jim wolfe and the t-towners - innersanctum
18. Larry Collins - T-Bone
19. the Monterays - turtle
20. Louis Jordan - Louisville Lodge Meeting
21. Ray Burden - A Hot-Rodders Dream
22. Ronnie Dawson - jump and run
23. andy griffith - silhouettes
24. Ronnie Kae - let there be drums
25. manny corchado - pow wow aka the mosquitos - the fly
26. Willie Joe & His Unitar - Unitar Rock
27. Jimmie haskell and his orchestra - rockin in the orbit
28. Little Jimmy Scott - Day by Day
29. dick hyman & mary mayo - for all we know

Lux & Ivy’s Favorites, Volume 13
1. Spellbound - Main Title; edit
2. Guitar Wolf - Planet of the Wolves
3. Richard Delvy - The Green Slime Theme
4. The One Way Streets - We All Love Peanut Butter
5. The Rolling Stones - Off The Hook
6. Bo Diddley - Diddy Wah Diddy
7. Hollywood Flames - Strollin' on the Beach
8. Vic Mizzy - Main Theme
9. The Del-Airs - Zombie Stomp
10. T. Rex - Mustang Ford
11. Emil Cadkin - The Devil on Wheels Theme
12. Demolition Doll Rods - Queen Bee Drag Racin
13. The Teen Rockers - Road Block
14. Freddie and the Hitch-Hikers - Mop Flop
15. The Four Winds with Their Teenage Friends - Short Shorts
16. The Apes - Tarzan's Monkey
17. The Gories - Hidden Charms
18. The Midnighters - Sexy Ways
19. Royal Teens - Leotards
20. The Camelots - Charge!
21. The Kinks - Dedicated Follower Of Fashion
22. The 5.6.7.8's - Pinball Party
23. Wanda Jackson - Riot in Cell Block #9
24. The Mummies - Shot Down
25. The Yardbirds - Happenings Ten Years Time Ago
26. Television - Psychotic Reaction
27. The Troggs - Night Of The Long Grass
28. Wortham Watts - Cotton Picker
29. Tony Burrello - There's A New Sound
30. The Oblivians - What Rock n Roll Is All About
31. Deek Watson & The Brown Dots - At Our Fireplace
32. The Velvet Illusions - Acid Head

Inspirational Blogger Award

Click on the image to make it bigger.

As I still consider myself rather a newbie to this whole blogging scene I’m very excited to follow in the footsteps of Kori from Blonde Episodes and create a blog award.

I wanted to create this award for the amazing bloggers who inspired me to create my own blog and who inspire me daily to strive to make my blog half as outstanding as theirs one day. I think these awards are a fantastic idea and I love that give you a chance to show your appreciation. There are so many blogs that I follow that I read on a daily basis, but the following are the top 5 originals that started my aspiration… in no particular order:

Blonde Episodes - Kori has plenty of lovely old photographs and old Hollywood facts. Loads of glitz and glamour. The woman who creates the awards who deserves so many herself :)

Welcome to DeluxeVille - Mary Deluxe posts some great old pics, makes/fixes up vintage bits and pieces and has a sass that really makes me smile. The blog about the “Bus Stop Goddess” is burned into my brain :)

It’ll take the snap out of your Garters! - Amy Jeane posts some beautiful old world photographs and makes some lovely vintage style dresses.

Andi B. Goode - Andi B. Goode is a South Australian vintage goddess, wonderful style and I could really relate to her blog…

YESTERDAY GIRL - Jeni is simply gorgeous and her outfit posts are enough to make you weak at the knees.

Please pass this blog on to those who inspired you too! All you have to do it post about it, link to the blog/s you awarded, and let the blogger know that you awarded them.