So, here we are. Kinda like a couple on a blind date looking at each other awkwardly across the little table in a coffee shop.
Okay, I'll go first. Let's see. The name's Toby. I'm a freelance advertising copywriter. You know, ads, brochures, TV commercials, web sites, stuff like that. I love (good) advertising and I love my work, but there are times it makes me feel slimy and gross. I'm like the guy that pumps out your septic tank--can't wait to take a shower after work.
I collect records, have since I was 12 or so. Started with The Beatles (like most folks) and James Bond soundtracks and went from there. Lots of Sixties surf and garage stuff. Fifties easy listening. Rockabilly. Sixties country. Punk. You get the picture. Favorite Beatles LP? Either "Help!" or "Rubber Soul." Favorite LP of all time? Right now, it's a tie between "Funhouse" by The Stooges, "Arthur" by the Kinks, "(The) Ventures In Space" and almost anything Tom Verlaine had anything to do with.
Favorite movie? That's an easy one: "Where Eagles Dare." Greatest movie ever made? Probably "The Searchers." My dad was collecting movies before I was born--long before home video--so I'm a bit of an expert on old movies, especially horror movies, crime pictures and westerns from the Fifties and Sixties. (Thanks to my dad's collection, I had the privilege of seeing them on film vs. TV.) You can't beat a really good cowboy movie from the Fifties. For proof, check out "7 Men From Now."
Married. Have a five-year-old daughter named Presley. My family is truly great--and very tolerant of all my crap: LPs, CDs, books and other junk.
Lately, I've developed a bit of a thing for Sixties stereo equipment (like Marantz amps). Not sure why, maybe because it sounds better than the new stuff. Or maybe simply because it's OLD.
So why the blog? Hell, I wouldn't know. But it seems like something to do. And it lets me stick cool pictures and stuff on here for the three people who happen upon it to look at.
This first one is the Paragon, a swanky speaker system from JBL in the Fifties and Sixties. This thing now goes for thousands of dollars and weighs almost half a ton. Cool, huh? No, I don't have one. Dammit.
1 comment:
Man, that thing is beautiful... yes, it seems we have much in common.
Let's make a list:
1. Our home is retro right now, because we couldn't afford to go true modern. The Paragon and other furniture look awesome.
2. I used to be a real audiophile, but couldn't keep up. However, I really like my NAD surround receiver and about a year ago, I sold a bunch of old audio gear I got for free or at garage sales. Old HK receivers, a Conrad-Johnson tube pre-amp... that sort of thing. The guy who introduced me to real good stereo gear built his own Dynaco kits and was totally into Class A Marantz, Sherwood, Macintosh, etc.. My most exotic and best sounding (in my memory, at least) was a pair of Powered Advent two-way speakers (80 watts tuned to each driver) with the Advent 300 receiver (FM only with a Vernier nob tuner) using the preamp out and a Technics turntable. It was outrageous, loud and simply would not clip or distort. However, I began to have problems with the boards in the speakers cracking the solder joints. To quote the tech, "cracking due to excess heat and vibration." Ooops.
3. I would love to be a writer, doing what you are doing. I have no qualms exploiting others' gullibility or laziness or whatever, as long as what I'm selling is legal and not harmful in a really obvious way (drugs, porn, etc.).
4. Gosh, we like the same kind of music... scary. There are only two kinds of music --- good music and bad music. I'm going through my "choral" period.
5. Yes, I love T-Bone Burnett and have followed his career since the Alpha Band. I also listen to his wife, Leslie "Sam" Phillips. The Kinks? The original punks, along with old Who. Have you listened to Bill Mallonee?
6. John Wayne is a great actor, in spite of the stereotypical elitist tongue-clicking. Sure, he often played the same character, but not always. Examples: Noir, anti-hero in The Searchers, psychopath in Red River and goofed up pilot in The High and the Mighty.
Peace out!
Bo
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