Crossing Lines is a short film that documents Irish artist Conor Harrington trip to Tel Aviv, Israel and Bethleham, Palestine in May 2010.
Effortless coolness, that the way they swung it back then in the 1960s
C’est cool, eh!
Jumping straight into roller skates of late 1970s, feeling “High on Heels”. A bit surreal Studio 54 atmosphere.. It almost feels like being an out-of-breath experience..
If only, If only I could follow his great moves..
Push forward to Detroit in 1980s, to legendary Detroit dance scene: The Scene. KING!
I have always had a fascination with the relationship between the dog and their owner and their often striking resemblance! Guess I’m not the only one….
Spotify Playlist: Man’s Best Friend [MarpLondon]
From hip disobedience to aimless skinny jeans. A Journey through Hipster hood
BEBOPPERS – One of a kind
Experimentation and improvisation lay at the heart of Bebop music and dress style. It was a new, experimental, strangely, innovative music form that emerged in the smaller jazz clubs in Manhattan in the 1940s. To the untrained ear, the bebop sounds were challenging. It was like the Jazz musicians had divorced themselves from the swinging jives, which had previously dominated the dance floors.
Swing had been about being ‘out-there’, but the new school of musicians did not connect with being a bunch of jive-ass entertainers. They were to become the new breed of dead serious musicians, and to them, this shift in style, was sweet music to their ears. Jazz had finally broken free from the mainstream chains. The new rules were about daring to be different – to function outside the system, to stand out from the crowd and state: “I am one of a kind”.
I’M ONE HELL OF A HIP CAT
Dizzy Gillespie and Monk Thelonious, with their eccentricity and obscure use of accessories, quickly became widely known as The Hip Cats. The followers, who liked hot jazz, were usually white middle-class youths mirroring the lifestyle of their black jazzy musicians peers and they were named ‘Hipsters’.
Whereas the original Black hipster had been closed out from society, just because of his colour, the white hipster had a real wish to separate himself from society. The white hipster rejected the ‘straight’ lifestyle, and wanted out, but ironically wanted to be in, and were very concerned with getting it just right.
Norman Mailer, the man who baptised this Hipster movement “The American Existentialists”, in his essay“The White Negro” in 1957, and subsequently defined the movement with the similar need to break free from society as The Bikers, The Beboppers, The Beats etc.
The extract below, by Frank Tirro in his book “Jazz”, he gives a description of the 1940s hipster:
“…The hipster is an underground man. He is to the WW2 what the Dadaist was to the first. He is amoral, anarchistic, gentle, and over-civilized to the point of decadence. He is always ten steps ahead of the game because of his awareness, an example of which might be meeting a girl and rejecting her, because he knows they will date, hold hands, kiss, neck, pet, fornicate, perhaps marry, divorce—so why start the whole thing? He knows the hypocrisy of bureaucracy, the hatred implicit in religions—so what values are left for him?—except to go through life avoiding pain, keep his emotions in check, and after that, “be cool,” and look for kicks. He is looking for something that transcends all this bullshit and finds it in jazz.
STYLE: Goatees, shades, exceptional wide and eclectic range of headgear.
MUSICIANS: Max Roach, Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie.
HIPSTERS OF TODAY
“Hipsters manage to attract a loathing unique in its intensity. Critics have described the loosely defined group as smug, full of contradictions and, ultimately, the dead end of Western civilization.” Dan Fletcher, Time Magazine
“Instead of “doing art” the cool kids are “doing products”.
Trendsetting capitals like London and New York saw the rise of the self-acclaimed modern Hipster in areas like Shoreditch in East London, Lower East Side in Manhattan and Williamsburg in Brooklyn towards the end of the 1990s. They still thrives, even though Hipster hood has been proclaimed to be dead. (So very post-modern.)
“What is meaningful about the hipster moment, 1999 and after, is that it seems to be an effort to live a life that retains the coolness in believing that you belong to a counter-culture, where the substance of the rebellion has become pro-commerce.”
Many critics argue that the modern Hipster never was a real movement, hence they did not manage to form a culture, nor to release music that would define this era. The Hipsters are accused of merely being good at copying and pasting from other style movements as fit. And as an unfortunate result of this style over substance attitude, instantly they discard everything that style stood for. A contradiction in itself.
Horning from PopMatters argues, that problem with hipsters is “the way in which they reduce the particularity of anything you might be curious about or invested in into the same dreary common denominator of how ‘cool’ it is perceived to be” as just another signifier of personal identity.
Hipsters also come across as NOT believing in any specific philosophy, being fans of one particular genre of music. Some argue that the whole ‘point’ of hipster is that they avoid the mainstream, labels and being labeled. However, they look identical, they dress the same, act the same and conform in their non-conformity to a point where it becomes ironic.
“In today’s hipster culture the people at that centre aren’t necessarily producing art, they’re actually working in advertising, marketing and product placement. These were once embarrassing jobs. Now it’s meaningful in this world to say that you sell sneakers, at a high level.”
Key pointers: Ray Bans, sockless loafers, taches, skinny jeans, deep-cut v-neck t-shirts, facial hair, asymmetric haircuts, fixed-wheel bikes, thrift stores, bright colours, ironic t-shirts, over-sized glasses, vintage clothes and furniture, DIY, old musical instruments, fair-trade tote bags, nostalgia, toys, Pitchfork, anti-top 40 hits and organic food, miles and fuel.
London nicknames: Shoreditch Twats, Hoxtonites, Dalston Trendies
LINKS:
Hipsters – A Subculture Ripe for Parody
The White Negro and the Negro White
More in the same serie:
FACES: Teddy Boys
FACES: Ton-Up Boys & Rockers
NB! This article was first published on ArtRebels.com by MarpLondon
In the early 1950s in the outskirt of London, a transport cafe called ‘The Ace Cafe’, became the hang out for a newly emergent British youth subculture, better known as the Ton-Up Boys, Cafe Racers, Leather Boys or Coffee Bar Cowboys – and latterly Rockers.
Simultaneous in a post-war America, many young people, especially servicemen of the American Army found it difficult adapting to a life of standards. These men had still adrenalin in their fresh memories of experienced ‘life and death’ situations during the war, and blandness as such as standards, was hard to accept; A standard suit, a standard haircut, a standard home full of the standard appliances, a standard car, kids and dog. One way of escaping this ‘standardised society’ was powers of motorbikes and the identity of the black leather jacket, as they were a close resemblance to planes/pilot jackets, that could take these servicemen with a speed away from standardisation.
THE OUTSIDERS
They were outsiders. They became known as the Bikers; The outlaws. They were living beyond social convention. These bikers of the late 40s and early 50s America represented a radical departure from mainstream society, and had absolutely no interest in becoming ‘insiders’. You could say, that they were the kick-starters of “alternativeness” and “badness”, which nowadays are keys elements of street styles and in pop and rock music.
LIVE FAST, DIE YOUNG
At the same time in the UK the British motorcyclists were patiently forced to wait for petrol rationing to end, which first happened in 1950 and therefore would take a few more years before a British counterpart emerged. The Ton-Ups boys emerged alongside the Teddy Boys with a shared taste for American Rock’n’Roll and the Biker’s nihilistic rebellion. However, this is also were the comparison ends, both with the Teddy Boys and the American Bikers.
The British ‘bikers’ focus was racing. They modified standard motorcycles and made them into racing bikes. They would race on public roads and as a result of their passion for speed. Hence their name. A term taken from ‘doing the ton’, slang for driving at a speed of 100mph (160km/h). The Ton Up Boys were not exactly welcomed by venues such as pubs and dance halls, largely due to their clothing styles and dirtiness, so they would instead hang out at transport cafes and listen to Rock’n’Roll whilst drinking sweet beige teas at places like ‘The Ace Cafe’, Chelsea Bridges tea stall, Ace of Spaces, Busy Bee and Johnson’s, hence the term ‘caff racer’.
STYLE
The their style was primarily born out of necessity and practicality, though still heavily influenced by the style of Marlon Brandon in “The Wild One” and the uniforms of Royal Air Force pilots during the WW2.
They wore: a black leather jacket, a pair of jeans, chunky boots, (often made by Lewis Leather) or Brothel Creepers. Jet helmets and aviator goggles for night riding. The look was accentuated with a silk scarf and long wool socks pulled over the top of the boots, both of these looks were borrowed from the Royal Air Force. Other common items were: T-shirts, leather caps and leather trousers.
The few Ton-Up Girls that there were, would wear leather jacket, jeans and boots, just like their male counterparts during the day, but at night they wore pencil skirt, a bullet bra and a pair of spike heels.
Their relaxed view around unisex equality outlook was a shocker to society then. It was an outlook that found inspiration in the future, rather than in the past. It was not competing with the upper class; it was more interesting in moving forward, which was in sharp contrast to the outlook of the Teddy Boys and Girls. Their style (The Teds) was about showing both emphasis on visual differentiation between the sexes, but also an eagerness to mirror an old-fashioned upper class style with alterations.
MUSIC
Ton Up Boys and Rockers would listen to Elvis, Bo Diddley, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Billy Fury, Johnny Burnette, Wanda Jackson and Link Wray.
THE 1960s:
ROCKERS’ THE-DEVIL-MAY-CARE ATTITUDE
The Ton-Up Boys of 1950s were indeed forward thinking and very modern. Therefore ironically their successors Rockers in the 1960s would form the opposition to the Mods. Rockers were at first out there on their own, a very pre-Swinging Sixties phenomenon. During the early sixties many Teddy Boys turned into Ton-Up Boys, which by then had evolved into Rockers.
The main difference between Ton-Up Boys of the 1950s and the rockers of the 1960s was the legendary leather jacket.
The preferred leather jacket of the Ton-Up Boys was clean, sometimes seen with a painted motifs on the back (adopted from World War II pilots), whereas the Rockers liked their leather jacket heavily studded, patched and pinned. The chunky creepers were replace with razor sharp Winkle-pickers leaving no doubt about the Rockers were all about Rock’n’Roll, every aspects of it as defined by the likes of Eddie Cochran, Billy Fury, Gene Vincent, VInce Taylor and Johnny Kidd.
Whereas the original Ton-Up Boys had been about burn-ups (races) and their devil machines with rather plain and practical style, The Rockers wanted to be singled out as a tribal identity, whose religion was Rock’n’Roll. They were on a mission to safe the Rock’n’Roll authenticity as the last savior. Elvis had become mainstream ‘pop’ or as the rockers saw it: pap! (dead)
CULTURAL LEGACY
The Rockers‘ look and attitude influenced pop groups from The Beatles in 1960 to punk rock bands and their fans in the late 1970s.
The look of the Ton Up boys and Rockers were accurately portrayed in the 1964 film The Leather Boys by Sidney Furie.
In the mid-1960s Rockers began to crumble as their beloved bike became hijacked by hippies who liked motorbikes, e.g. Hell’s Angels. Released in 1969, Easy Rider was anathema to Rockers and a 90 minutes praise of bearded Hippies.
After 2000, the rocker sub-culture became an influence on the Rockabilly revival and Psychobilly scenes.
Many Rockers still wear engineer boots or full-length motorcycle boots, but Winkle-pickers (sharp pointed shoes) are no longer common. Some Rockers in the 2000s wear Dr. Martens boots, brothel creepers (originally worn by Teddy Boys) or military combat boots.
Rockers have continued to wear motorcycle jackets, leather trousers and white silk scarves while riding their bikes. Leather caps adorned with metal studs and chains, common among Rockers in the 1950s and 1960s, are rarely seen any more. Instead, some contemporary rockers wear a classic wool English driving cap.
LINKS:
More in the same serie:
FACES: Teddy Boys
FACES: Hipsters – From Bebop To Twats
NB! This article was first published at ArtRebels.com by MarpLondon
THE FIRST FACE OF BRITISH YOUTH CULTURE
Teddy Boys date back to the late forties when a generation of youngsters with money to burn appropriated Edwardian (Teddy) clothing style currently in fashion on Savile Row and made it into their own style by mixing it with eclectic features of American origin: Zootie styling and the cowboy’s maverick tie.
THE TERM ‘LIFESTYLE’ WAS BORN
The consumer boom of the 1950s America did not reach Britain until the 1960s but nevertheless working class teenagers could for the first time afford good clothes, a bicycle or motorcycle and entertainment. The 50′s was the first decade to produce teenage fashions, before this they were expected to dress similar to their parents. The clothing that the Teddy boys wore was designed to shock their parents’ generation.
FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER GAVE BIRTH AND GAVE US: THE TEENAGER
They were the first real high profile rebel teenagers, who flaunted their clothes and attitude like a badge. Behind the dapper facade Teddy Boys were hard as nails, carrying flick knives and switchblades, cycle chains and razors.
These new ‘Edwardians’ were not the respectable working class, and as a result the middle class who had pioneered the style, felt that their wardrobe had now become unwearable. Those who now wore the style were described as ‘delinquents’, ‘zoot- suiters’ and ‘spivs’. The look was so synonymous with coldhearted violence it was used as a basis for the costumes of the thugs in the 1971 film of Anthony Burgess‘s novel: ‘A Clockwork Orange’. When a teenager was murdered in 1953 by Teddy Boys, the Daily Mirror’s headline ‘Flick Knives, Dance Music and Edwardian Suits’ linked criminality to clothes.
FASHION
The Teddy Boys were the first modern youth cult. Even though the Teds are associated with Rock’n'Roll, the style came before the music.
In the beginning there were drapes and drainpipe trousers. Then that look was customised. It consisted of an Edwardian style drape jacket, cuff and pocket trimmings, even narrower trousers, a smart shirt and thin, bootlace or Slim Jim tie, suede Gibson shoes with thick crepe soles, which were originally regarded as ‘gay men’s shoes’ or ‘Nancy boy shoes’. An essential accessory, along with the cycle chain was the comb.
The Teddy girls wore velvet-collared jackets and black stockings. They also adopted American fashions such as toreador pants and circle skirts, although they tended to wear low cut tops to make themselves look less stuck up.
HAIR
The overblown greased quiff with a ducks arse (DA) was the most favourite style although there were many variations such as ‘the bop’, ‘the Tony Curtis’, ‘the be-bop’, ‘the tevee’, ‘the panama’ or the ‘back sweep and crest’. It was greased and usually accompanied by sideboards.
Girls wore ponytails or cut their hair into a DA.
MUSIC – The Sound of Freedom
The Daily Express was the first newspaper to use the term Teddy Boy in 1953, at a time when Elvis was just a truck-driver!
But when Rock’n’Roll finally arrived, it was immediately embraced by the Teds. It was the beginning of something new. Bill Haley, Elvis, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and British artists like Tommy Steele, Cliff Richard and The Drifters (then the Shadows), Billy Fury, Marty Wilde.
1960s
In the early 60s the Teds saw themselves going into military service as a teenage rebellion and returned as a family man. It was sort of the end of the first era of Teddy Boys, which had been taken over by a new sub-cultural movement: the Mods.
In saying that the 50s Rock’n’Roll still had many fans in the UK. Many of them could be found among the Rockers (Ton-up boys), who were all about the American bad boy Rock’n’Roll look: Black leather jackets, t-shirts, jeans and motorcycle boots.
ROCK’N'ROLL REVIVAL
Towards the end of the 60′s some of the bands that played authentic Rock’n'Roll, saw themselves played for a new generation of Teds. It was bands like the Wild Angels, The Houseshakers, The Rock’n'Roll Gang, Shakin’ Stevens & The Sunsets and The Rock’n'Roll Allstars that had re-created the true spirit of Rock’n'Roll, by rendering the big success of the 50′s (Johnny B. Goode, Tutti Frutti, Peggy Sue, Be Bop A Lula, C’mon Everybody, Great Balls Of Fire.)
This return to the traditional R’N'R was then called for the Rock’n'Roll Revival.
1970s
In the 70s hair lacquer replaced grease while the drapes became brighter. A new generation of Teds were born and their musical preferences were at the roots of Rock’n’Roll: Rockabilly and Country Music. Artists like: Carl Perkins, Johnny & Dorsey Burnette, Charlie Feathers, Hank Mizell, Warren Smith, Billy Lee Riley, Charlie Rich, George Jones, Carl Mann, Hayden Thompson, Janis Martin, Wanda Jackson, Sleepy Labeef, Ray Campi, Mac Curtis and many other artists.
BRITISH ROCKABILLY
This interest for Rockabilly coincided with the internationalisation of the Teddy Boy’s tradition. With new bands like: Crazy Cavan & The Rhythm Rockers, The Flying Saucers and The Riot Rockers. They created a new sound: The British Rockabilly. British Rockabilly can be played with an electric bass. Teds purists despise this. They prefer the double-bass (“slap bass”).
TODAY
Nowadays the Teds in the UK are largely associated with the sounds of the 50s Rock’n'Roll.
LINKS (London)
Rock-a-Billy-Rebels Club Night
More in the same serie:
FACES: Ton-Up Boys & Rockers
FACES: Hipsters – From Bebop To Twats
NB! This article was first published on ArtRebels.com by MarpLondon
In 2009 BBC confirmed that it would no longer broadcast ‘Crufts’, for the first time in almost 50 years. There was an outcry from dogs lover all over Britain.
‘Crufts’ is the largest dog breed show in the world and after a BBC investigation found out that dogs on show suffered from genetic diseases following years of inbreeding, they decided to call it.
The first dog breed show was held in 1886. There was 57 classes and 600 entries. Since then the show continued annually and gained great popularity from royal patronage from various European countries and Russia.
By 1991 “Crufts” was officially recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest dog show with more than 28,000 dogs taking part in Crufts, while 160,000 human visitors attending the show, each year.
In the media we hear that Bolivian as the first country in the world has banned use of all animals in circuses. Wild as domestic animals. Because it is nowadays being seen as the animals’ quality of life is greatly diminished by being forced to perform tricks for human entertainment.
Circus and carnival are in close relation to Freak shows, which were very popular form of human entertainment in the period from 1840 to 1970s. Some freak shows exhibited deformed animals, others showed human ‘freaks’.
Due to changes in popular culture and entertainment led to the decline of the freak shows as a form of entertainment. Displaying human oddities had become a shameful business.
Even though TV and the internet forceful took over, and provided us our need for ‘freak’ entertainment.
WHO ARE THE FREAKS?
In Beijing the latest celebrity is a dog, named Kung Fu. He looks like a panda, but in fact he is a victim of the latest trend in pet fashion: Pet Dye. Dogs now come in all shapes and fantasies; from pandas and tigers to ninja turtles. Kung Fu’s owner claims that he is loving all the attention that his make-over has increased his self-esteem.
Across the pond in America, we find the first PET-ONLY airline company. It is an airline totally dedicated to pet-friendly travel. As stated on their website: “your pet will be safe and comfortable flying in the main cabin, not in cargo. Give your pet a first-class travel experience.” Aint’ that lucky for us, cause we are going to California, baby!
THE BEST A PET CAN GET
First stop is at Paradise Ranch, America’s first luxury hotel resort for pets only, It is a palace for dogs. Long gone are the grim and horrible days of kennel homes. Hurrah for five star dog hotels, this place has got everything you ever want for your pet. It has got fountains, a simulated beach, swimming pool, facility to learn how to swim, supported with big red buoyancy vests. Your dog can even learn how to surf on a foam boogie board.
The crown jewel is the saltwater pool where instructors teach the furry four-legged visitors how to dive.
If you as owner cannot make the trip to the ranch, you can make use of “Mutt Cab” to transport your love ones between home and the ranch. You can also book a room for the night, your pet will spend its day lying on a sheepskin rug while watching telly on a flat-screen. The ranch got 25 members of staff to work around the clock only to make sure your pet is happy. As added bonus if you can log onto the Ranch’s webcam to blow kiss your doggy, as close you can get to be a guilt-free dog-parent.
When you are in a hurry going out of town and have very little time to spare… or too tired coming home from your trip, simply call the Mutt Cab and we will be on the way. Unique to Austin boarding services! Our air conditioned Mutt Cab will pick up and deliver your precious pet in style.. Mutt Cab
Next stop en route is the Dioji Signature Spa in Los Angeles. Here you can check your dog in for a bit of luxury pet indulgence. Best treatment in town for furry guests. It is said to be the ultimate canine opulence. They give your dog a Swedish massage, some aromatherapy and hypoallergenic treatments, only to be followed by the freshly prepared gourmet meals.
Your dog will leave the spa, feeling totally relaxed and look like a million. Now you dog only need an invitation to a dog wedding. Yes, that’s is correct. Pets get married too. Yes, your pet can marry its favourite pet, isn’t cute! They can even marry same-sex at civil ceremonies. How adorable sick!
While you are in town why not also drop by ‘Oephebia’ from London for a telepathy consultation between you, her and your pet. It will only set you back around £60. And if during the session some weight issues surface, look no further. It has been proved that not only is high-protein, low-carb good for humans, but also quite popular with dogs who are willing to cut out carbs. The Barf diet (bones and raw food) is easy to follow. A regime not dissimilar to Atkins’ diet for humans.
To help shedding those stubborn extra pounds off, and to ensure a stable and healthy body and mind, the latest fitness regime adopted by canine trendsetters is Doga. Yoga classes for dogs and their owners. ‘nothing comes closer than creating this special bond between you and your furry special friend, balancing your doggy on your belly as you both stretch, is very close to Nirvana.
Well, set-aside Harrods Pet-a-Porter fashion shows in London, and New York Pet fashion Week. It is all about fashion for our beloved four-legged fashionistas. Heaven comes early this year.
PETWEAR IS BANG ON TREND
Dog clothing is big business. Big Huge. Dog$ and high fa$hion is a match made-in-heaven. YSL loved his French bulldogs, Valentino has got five pugs. Pet fashion has expanded by 30 per cent over the past decade, and has proven to be recession-proof. Fashion Houses and designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Ben de Lisi, Roberto Cavalli and Mulberry made clothes and accessories for our best friend. Even Stella McCarthy is soon to finish her first Doga outfit collection.
On the CATwalks dog models are triumphing. Looking dandy and princess-like as they stroll down the runways with pride in sparkling Swarovski studded gowns, glittery tuxedos, ‘all-in-one’ trouser suits, knitted jumpers and down with the gang ‘hoodies’, Elvis Presley-style jumpsuits and fancy dress costumes. It made you wonder if the brands own these super model dogs or if they are just hired-guns?
Pet Fashion Trends 2010/2011
• Vintage
• Leopardprint
• Shearling coats
• Mulberry’s knitted jumpers
If you think, this is barking mad, then you better arm yourself for Pup Idols – to be broadcast on a TV channel near you.
Dog Loving Links
Inside Harrods Pet department store
Pet Fashion Week in New York & Tokyo
Paradise Ranch Mutt Cab Serivce
NB! This article was first published on Artrebels.com by MarpLondon
