Category Archives: Rock ‘n’ Roll

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RIP OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN | GREASE THE MOVIE WAS A BIG DAMN DEAL IN 1978, AND STILL IS!

With a cigarette held between her scarlet red lips, Olivia Newton-John electrified John Travolta in the legendary movie musical of 1978. Throwback to the most scandalous rock’n’roll look of cinema.

In 2019 Julien’s Auctions organized a ‘Grease’ auction. Among the 500 items offered-up for auction were the hot black leather jacket, and skin tight leather pants worn by ‘Sandy,’ in the legendary finale scene. Much of the proceeds were donated to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, created by the actress herself as she has battled breast cancer since 1992.  The total sale of those two pieces alone fetched $405,700 dollars, or about 360,000 euros. Spanx founder Sara Blakely bought the pants.

GREASE was the highest-grossing movie of 1978. For a while, GREASE was the third highest-grossing movie of all time, behind Jaws (1975) and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977).
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DAVID BOWIE IS WORTH IDOLIZING | SUSAN SARANDON SPEAKS ABOUT THEIR HUNGER

David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, Catherine Deneuve who starred together in the 1983 movie, The Hunger.

“He’s worth idolizing. He’s extraordinary. That was a really interesting period. I wasn’t supposed to have kids, and I’m the oldest of nine and had mothered all of them, so I wasn’t ever in a mode where I was looking to settle down and raise a family, so that definitely changes the gene pool you’re dipping into.”

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ZAPPA KRAPPA | ROBERT DAVIDSON’S CULT FAVORITE PHOTO NEGATIVES RESURRECTED

The photographer Robert Davidson will soon be officially releasing these famous images of Frank Zappa on the crapper, affectionately known to fans as “ZAPPA KRAPPA” or “PHI ZAPPA KRAPPA”, for the first time since they were originally shot back in 1967. The image below of Zappa on the toilet has gained cult status over the years, and is being admitted into the permanent collection at the National portrait gallery in London. The bizarre story behind the 50 year search for the lost negatives has now finally come to light…

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THE SELVEDGE YARD X TRIUMPH & DISASTER GREASER GETDOWN RECAP

TSY THE SELVEDGE YARD TRIUMPH AND DISASTER POMADE GREASER GETDOWN NEW HOPE PA SHOP

Our new friends at Triumph & Disaster descended upon The Selvedge Yard in New Hope, PA and did exactly what they threatened to do– throw one helluva party with us and giveaway a free trip for 2 to Waiheke Island, New Zealand. TSY was extremely honored that T&D founder himself, Dion Nash (along with Holly Walker & Caz Little), traveled to join-in on the festivities and to meet our crew of incredible supporters, locals & friends.

TSY THE SELVEDGE YARD NEW HOPE TRIUMPH AND DISASTER GREASER GETDOWN

Lovely Linda Missal @citygirlmotorbike (above left) was the winner of our TSY x Triumph & Disaster Greaser Getdown trip giveaway! It came down to 3 awesome finalists, which made for a tough decision. Linda, a member of women’s motorcycle club The Miss-Fires was joined by her boyfriend John James Linsley who was also dressed for the event. The good-looking couple was a one-two punch that sealed the deal– along with the fact that Linda showed true grit by riding her bike in the pouring rain all the way from Brooklyn! Well deserved!

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THE SELVEDGE YARD SHOP X FREE PEOPLE “VINTAGE LOVES” PHOTO SHOOT

TSY THE SELVEDGE YARD SHOP NEW HOPE PA 1

We are stoked and honored that the fine folks at Free People profiled The Selvedge Yard shop in New Hope, PA a few weeks ago. It was a blast working with the creative crew as they highlighted their FP Vintage Loves. Ali, their vintage buyer, has a great eye- and Carrie Yotter is such a gracious soul and wonderful Free People ambassador. Thank you to David & Ginger at America Designs for being our friends and vintage & interior collaborators. Thank you Michael Persico for the amazing photography, and the entire Free People team for making it an awesome day. Click thru to check out his shots…

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ROBERT PLANT’S POOCH & TOLKIEN | THE INSPIRATION BEHIND LED ZEPPELIN’S LYRICS

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Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin and his beloved ‘Strider’, named after J. R. R. Tolkien’s character ‘Aragorn’ from ‘The Lord of the Rings.’ 

Bron-Y-Aur Stomp was penned by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page back in 1970, and named after the tiny cottage in Gwynedd, Wales where the band holed-up after coming off their North American tour. The rustic, old home (with no power or running water) was a welcome escape to refresh the road-worn band and inspired several epic songs for Led Zeppelin III, including Bron-Y-Aur Stomp. “There ain’t no companion like a blue-eyed Merle,” was Robert Plant’s tender, lyrical nod to his sweet lil’ pooch, Strider in this song. Tolkien references can also be heard in a few other Led Zeppelin songs– Ramble On, The Battle of Evermore, and Misty Mountain Hop. 

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LAUREL CANYON DAZE | CSN, JONI MITCHELL, JACKSON BROWNE, MAMA CASS, THE EAGLES

The epic tales of Laurel Canyon’s heyday continues to linger like the warm smell of colitas rising up through the air… It’s here that the SoCal sound was born out of an era of relaxed morals (fucking sex), folks expanding their mental horizons (drugs), and a wave of eclectic misfits coming from all over to launch, reinvent, or escape their musical careers (rock ‘n’ roll) in this sleepy, smoky, winding hippy enclave. And the women, Mama Cass & Joni Mitchell, were the (wise and worldly beyond their years) matriarchs watching over over this peaceful, easy-feeling, community headquartered on Lookout Mountain. Henry Diltz was a friend and photographer to many in the scene those days, and his visual record and memories of these times is priceless.

“When I first came out to L.A. [in 1968], my friend Joel Bernstein found an old book in a flea market that said, ‘Ask anyone in America where the craziest people live and they’ll tell you California. Ask anyone in California where the craziest people live and they’ll say Los Angeles. Ask anyone in Los Angeles where the craziest people live and they’ll tell you Hollywood. Ask anyone in Hollywood where the craziest people live and they’ll say Laurel Canyon. And ask anyone in Laurel Canyon where the craziest people live and they’ll say Lookout Mountain.’ So I bought a house on Lookout Mountain.” —Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell home Lookout Mountain Avenue Laurel Canyon 1970 © Henry Dilitz

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ELVIS PRESLEY KING OF HOLIDAY ROCK | THE “WHITE CHRISTMAS” COVER CONTROVERSY

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1957 – Elvis Presley poses beside a Christmas tree in his home in Memphis, Tennesee. When Elvis recorded a cover of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas, it made him livid, and he launched a campaign to have it banned from radio airplay. Berlin despised Elvis, and felt that he was degrading the song, which held a very personal and painful meaning for him, long kept secret.

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CRY BABY | JOHNNY DEPP IN JOHN WATERS’ ’50S HIGH SCHOOL HELLCATS CULT CLASSIC

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“John Waters’ musical ode to the teen rebel genre is infectious and gleefully camp, providing star Johnny Depp with the perfect vehicle in which to lampoon his pin-up image.” –Roger Ebert. Well said. Depp has always deftly embraced ironic roles to deflect the trappings of his undeniable handsome-as-hell looks. 21 Jump Street definitely had the potential to pigeon-hole his career, had he been a lesser actor.

Cry Baby would go on to become a cult classic, due largely to the pouty lipped, chiseled face of a young Johnny Depp in his physical prime, and on a Harley to boot. (They used a Sportster and K model, both red, that they swapped a few times in the film apparently with the thought that it would go mostly unnoticed.) For me the enduring 1950s aesthetic is always a draw, and Waters’ witty one-liners are priceless. And let’s not forget the interest that was stirred up back then by the young and sultry Traci Lords. It was her first non-nude screen role following her controversial (not to mention highly illegal) underage porn career that was still hot on everyone’s tongues and minds.

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