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Pop Culture

A Brief Guide to Pop Culture in 1968

By Alison Nastasi on

The sixth season of Mad Men premieres April 7. Mod styles and Jon Hamm’s (controversial) slim-fitting suit reflect the late 1960′s period the show is entering, estimated to be 1968. “[There is] anxiety that is created by all of these characters wondering why they are the way they are,” creator Matthew Weiner said of the upcoming episodes. “Maybe you’re a fraud. Maybe you’re facing all the bad things you’ve ever done in your life. But you are back in a place where you are the issue. In the first episode when someone says, ‘People will do anything to alleviate their anxiety,’ that’s what this season is about.” The theme is befitting of the buzzing time period. … Read More

Photography

Groovy Crowd Photos from 1970′s Atlanta Pop Festival

By Judy Berman on

We’ve all seen photos of historic ’60s events like Woodstock, Monterey Pop, and Altamont, but we rarely encounter images like the ones below, from the era’s less iconic regional festivals. Shot by a Mississippi State University student who turned 21 that weekend, these snaps don’t spotlight the performers at 1970′s Second Annual Atlanta Pop Festival, who included everyone from Jimi Hendrix and The Allman Brothers to Mott the Hoople and B.B. King. In our opinion, they do something far more historically valuable: they give us a glimpse of post-Woodstock youth culture in a part of the country that wasn’t known for welcoming hippies. Click through to see some of our favorite photos from the series, which we discovered via Retronaut, and visit ejmc’s Flickr page for the entire set. … Read More

Photography

Nostalgia-Inducing Photos of an Arcade in 1968

By Marina Galperina on

Put down your high-tech gaming gadgets and take a gander at these amazing photographs of an arcade in Kansas City, Missouri, ca. 1968. Oh, Wonderland, “The World’s Finest Arcade.” Skip through skee ball tables, animatronic fortune tellers, the photo booth, Voice-o-Graph, and the many themed pinball machines — for 16-year-olds or older only, oh boy! Yes, in the olden days of 40-cent cheeseburgers and shooting consoles that creepily resembled rifles, people came here for entertainment. Looks like fun. But wait, what in the world is a ”Fresh Hat” dispenser? Better ask Mom and Dad. Or maybe Grandpa? … Read More

Web

What’s On at Flavorpill: The Links That Made the Rounds In Our Office

By Alison Nastasi on

Today at Flavorpill, we found out that 33-years-old is a magical, happy place. We got noisy with chemistry and jelly. We watched a book being born, the old fashioned way. We wanted to buy this glassware that — depending on the amount of liquid within —  shows different … Read More

Celebrity

Watch a Charming Home Video of David Bowie in 1965

By Judy Berman on

In 1965, David Bowie was not famous. In fact, he wasn’t even David Bowie yet — he was the 18-year-old frontman of Davie Jones and the Lower Third, one of many bands the soon-to-be-superstar performed with in the mid-’60s. But, as a newly discovered home video attests, he was already the stylish and charismatic presence who broke through four years later with “Space Oddity.” Dangerous Minds points us to the short clip below, shot by YouTube poster Joe Salama’s father during a visit to London’s West End. Although Salama identifies the video as dating to 1968, a particularly observant Tumblr blogger has made a strong case that it actually comes from ’65. The most fascinating bit of the story, as far as we’re concerned, is that Salama’s dad had no idea who Bowie was and doesn’t remember what caught his eye about the singer. That, and the fact that mid-’60s, mod-era Bowie already knew just how to affably mug for the camera — a skill that would certainly come in handy later in his career. … Read More

Photography

Fashionable Stripper Audition Polaroids from the ’60s and ’70s

By Judy Berman on

Those looking for some retro fashion inspiration could do worse than perusing the stripper_polaroids Flickr account. No, we’re not cheekily suggesting that you clothe yourselves in G-strings and feather boas. The archive, which we discovered via Dangerous Minds, belongs to someone who apparently bought a box of 400 Polaroid stripper audition photos from the ’60s and ’70s for just $10 — and while there are some underwear and bikini shots, we were taken with the ones that show ladies dressed in the height of period fashion. There are mod print sheath dresses from the ’60s, sparkly disco frocks from the ’70s, and many truly enviable pairs of high-waisted, wide-legged pants. Travel back to a more innocent time — especially, it seems, for exotic dancers — with the gallery of our favorite shots, after the jump. … Read More

Photography

Photo Gallery: The Wild and Crazy Barflies of 1960s Germany

By Judy Berman on

We may read about the French cabarets of the Belle Époque or the acid tests of ’60s San Francisco, but how often do we get to see photos of how regular people partied in the past? That (along with the beautiful, black-and-white composition and mid-century, Central European fashion) is what’s so fascinating about Anders Petersen’s Café Lehmitz series, which we discovered via How to Be a Retronaut. Taken in a Hamburg bar between 1967 and 1970, the photographs show regulars behaving naughtily — lovebirds making out in public, drunkards passing out at their tables, middle-aged gals flashing bra, elderly gentlemen removing their shirts to either fight or dance (we can’t tell). Witness the debauchery after the jump. … Read More

Photography

Beautiful Black and White Photos of New York in the 1960s

By Nicole Rallis on

If you’re anything like us, then you’ve imagined what it would be like to inhabit New York in the 1960s, amid the thriving Greenwich Village music and art scene, the fantastic fashion, and the era’s inspiring political movements. Lucky for us, a gorgeous collection of photos by James Jowers have surfaced to further indulge our nostalgia for a decade we never knew. The black-and-white series cuts across several neighborhoods, highlighting New Yorkers of all sorts — fancily dressed girls moping around, casual city dwellers dancing through the crowded streets, players engaged in what looks to be an epic game of chess, and couples kissing on benches. Travel back in time with the lovely images after the jump. … Read More

Photography

Cinematic Color Photos of 1960s Paris

By Nicole Rallis on

If you’ve ever wondered what it was like to stroll through the cobblestone streets of Paris in the 1960s, Charles W. Cushman’s collection of vintage photographs will transport you to that era. How to Be a Retronaut unearthed the images, which honor the City of Lights with candid shots whose vivid hues remind us of classic French films like The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Gorgeous buildings and mid-century automobiles fill the pictures, while fashionable passersby don suits and tea-length dresses, oblivious to the lens that was immortalizing them. Step into a time warp as you flip through the photo gallery after the jump. … Read More

Photography

What Record Stores Looked Like in the 1960s

By Emily Temple on

Just think: kids being born today will probably never see the inside of a record store. And why would they? Buying music used to involve wandering around a store browsing, picking things up based on cover art, putting them down based on scornful glares from record store employees, and generally being outside your house. Now, buying music usually amounts to nothing more than a click of the mouse from the safety of your couch. So we were filled with nostalgia and warm feelings when we saw this series of vintage photographs of British record store HMV in the 1960s over at Vice. The rows of records! The milling consumers! The record players! That was the life. Click through to see how much things have changed, and then head over to Voices of East Anglia to see even more photographs from the series. … Read More