Re/Search #14: Incredibly Strange Music, Volume I (Re/Search ; 14) (Paperback)

by V. Vale (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Skip the editors' gee-whiz introduction that justifies their mania for kitschy LP records of the '50s, '60s and '70s, and go right into the 14 amusing interviews with collectors and practitioners of the music. Many of the sounds talked about here really aren't "incredibly strange" but simply of their time: Martin Denny's faux-Hawaiian exotica, Gershon Kingsley's Moog synthesizer hits, and surf and stripper music. It's not the artistry (a suspect word to the Re/Search people) that went into making these records but rather the collector's enthusiasm for the object and its meaning that is the leitmotif here. No matter whether it's Mickey McGowan, proprietor of the Unknown Museum in Mill Valley, Calif., getting hot about bird recordings or women's studies academic Lynn Peril speaking with cautious avidity about her sexploitation-music collection, these people transmit heat and light about a hunk of American ephemera which nonetheless retains cosmic significance for them. It's hard to guess why Eartha Kitt is one of the 14, but otherwise Re/Search editors Vale and Juno pick the perfect cross-section representatives of the dying vinyl culture. Volume 2 available in early 1994.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Re/Search publishers/editors Vale and Juno here add the finishing touches for anyone attempting to document the dangers and foreboding symbolism attendant in the replacement of records with CDs. In a series of entertaining, informative, and sometimes moving interviews, the volume's various contributors lead collectors of strange recordings from quaint musings about various recording acts to deeper speculations about society and what we can learn about it by examining "strange music." Certainly, one can say that the collection seems to capture our fascination with putting on a record just about anything--from seashore sounds to Muhammad Ali speaking out against tooth decay to cab drivers talking about New York City. Perhaps the book's deeper message hints at the landscape of ever-slipping innocence of our culture, reflected here in its recording art. Libraries will do well to carry this valuable study, since it not only lists odd music but any and everything producers saw fit to record.
- Michael Tierno, New York
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Re/Search Publications; First Edition edition (September 3, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940642220
• ISBN-13: 978-0940642225
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #700,296 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strange book for strange collectors!, May 20, 2000

By A Customer

This book was good therapy- it was reasuring to find that there were many people out there like me that spent a great deal of their spare time combing thriftstores and yardsales to find Martin Deny albums or twisted versions of Beatles tunes sung by washed up celebrities.

Here's a simple test to see if you'd like this book: you're at the local thrift store when from the corner of your eye you see a record of Buddy Hacket singing favorite Yiddish songs. Do you...

A)keep looking for your Partrige Family lunchpail that your mother gave away 18 years ago.

B)Break into a cold sweat and lunge for the record with trembling hands.

If your answer is B maybe you should check out this book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The In Sounds From Way Out, August 2, 2000

By	Michael Sean (Seattle, WA - US) - See all my reviews

After their popular "Incredibly Strange Films" book, the Re/Search team shifts their focus to music, specifically to fringe genres represented primarily by forgotten vinyl releases of the past. Interviewing assorted individuals, both music lovers and cult stars alike, V.Vale and Andrea Juno explore their record collections and gather anecdotes about beloved artists, treasured finds, and favorite album covers. In the first volume, Ivy and Lux of The Cramps recall their discovery of rockabilly and garage rock through thrift store scavenging, and members of the Phantom Surfers discuss surf and hot rod music, monster party albums, and Beatles knockoffs. Brian and Stuart of San Francisco's Amok Books talk about lounge and exotica music (Les Baxter, Arthur Lymann, Korla Pandit), and the founders of Norton Records detail the strange careers of Hasil Adkins and Esquerita. There's also chats with Eartha Kitt, exotica legend Martin Denny, and Jean Jacques Perrey and Gershon Kingsley on their work both together and solo. Throughout the pages are hundreds of B&W photos and images of classic retro album covers. A companion CD was released featuring selections from some of the records covered. These books are an excellent read for those drawn to the bizarre, the shameless, and the ridiculous in music history. These are the unsung artists who never get mentioned in traditional music guides. Definitely recommended.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ESSENTIAL!, October 16, 2002

By	Elvis-from-Hell (Fort Lauderdale, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This is the definitive book on thrift store music finds. Of course, because of its publication it's become increasingly difficult to make good thrift scores since it's opened up the field to many more collectors. But at least we've still got ebay! If the Velvet Underground can lay claim to launching 1000 bands, then the "Incredibly Strange Music" series is responsible for launching thousands of record collections.