COLLEGE GIRLS. Stephen C. Apostolof, 1968

Friday! A calm weekend is coming (for me) after a hard-working and boring week. I feel lazy and I think I should watch a film with a easy argument. So it’s a perfect night to watch “College Girls”, directed and produced by Stephen C. Apostolof.

The Bulgarian-American filmmaker has a long filmography and he worked in many films doing another kind of jobs. He was specializing in low-budget exploitation and erotic films (now you can imagine what you can find in “College Girls”). Maybe you know his name because he directed “Orgy of the Dead” (although he is accredited as A. C. Stephen here), a film in which the infamous Ed Wood was responsible for the screenplay.

“College Girls” happened without any important response. It’s not a famous film in the sexploitaton genre. But if you like black and white erotic films, 60s stuff and psychedelia, this is for you!! 

¡Viernes! Se avecina un fin de semana tranquilo (para mí), después de una larga semana de trabajo. Así que qué mejor que enchufarse una película de esas en las que no hace falta pensar mucho. Por eso es una noche perfecta para ver “College Girls”, dirigida y producida por Stephen C. Apostolof en 1968.

Éste director búlgaro-americano cuenta con una amplia filmografía y varias colaboraciones en trabajos cinematográficos. Su especialidad fue el rollo barato y sexplotation (así que ya os podéis imaginar qué podéis encontrar en “College Girls”). Su nombre tal vez os pueda sonar, ya que fue el responsable de dirigir también “Orgy of the Dead” (acreditado como A. C. Stephen), película en la que también trabajó el infame Ed Wood como guionista.

En cuanto a “College Girls” pasó sin pena ni gloria, pero si te gusta el cine erótico en blanco y negro, el rollo 60s y la psicodelia, es una absoluta recomendación. 

SCRAPS - S/T (No Front Teeth Records, 2014)

The Scraps debut 7'' is here! The three piece punk combo are introducing an EP with four energetic and raw songs in which punk '77 is the main influence for them. Just add a bit of Buzzcocks, Ramones and modern bands like The Briefs or The Vicious and you get the sound of The Scraps. Each song is easily enjoyable from the beginning to the end. They have a very good taste playing melodic and catchy riff guitars. "Waste my time" is an absolutely hit!!

And not just that. They have a special care with the aesthetic and design of their records. There are 3 variations of this 7”: the regular version is the printed collage cover (there are 10 different designs for this), the limited edition (100 only) are hand made from vintage Vogue magazines from the 1970’s and 1980’s. And the third and super-limited version (just 50) is an actual collaged cover. All different and were hand made by Marco NFT. Real art. Real "Do It Yourself" style!! 

They have announced many gig dates for the next months. They will play supporting bands as The Vibrators or Giuda. So if you belong to the class of punk'77 and fancy attend to a gig of punk made in London, don't miss The Scraps!!!

THE BIKERIDERS by DANNY LYON

This summer, ATLAS Gallery, in London, exhibited a few modern prints that the young photographer Danny Lyon took between 1963 y 1967, when he immersed himself completely into the lives and culture of the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club. 

Lyon, born in New York in 1942, spent four years with the Club's members on long distance rides, at meets, races and gathering across the USA. From Milwaukee to New York, crossing New Orleans and Detroit. 

"The Bikeriders" was first published in 1968. This journal-size book has been reissue a few years later. Here you have a sample of some pictures he took during that time. 

Este verano, la ATLAS Gallery de Londres presentaba una exposición de algunos de los trabajos que el fotógrafo Danny Lyon realizó entre 1963 y 1967. 

El autor, nacido en 1942, formó parte de los Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club, lo que le brindó la oportunidad de seguir a la banda durante sus encuentros, carreras y paseos en carretera a lo largo de los Estados Unidos. Desde Milwaukee hasta New York, pasando por New Orleans y Detroit. 

En 1968 publicaba "The Bikeriders", libro que ha sido reeditado años más tarde. Aquí tenéis una pequeña selección de aquellos momentos que Lyon capturó por entonces. 

London Underground in the 1970s-1980s by BOB MAZZER

While working as a projectionist in a porn cinema in Central London during the 1980s, photograpger Bob Mazzer began photographing on the tube during his way from King's Cross to Manor House.

He habitually snapped characters he met on his way, capturing the hijinks of London’s pissed up late night revellers as they made their way home.

Here is a small collection of my favorite pictures of his work. 

 

LOS PEPES - Tonight (Wanda Records, 2014)

Possibly the loudest power-pop band on Earth? Definitely... yes!! You can check it either in their shows or in this EP with four songs released by Wanda Records (a label about we talked a time ago).

Although they tag themselves as a power-pop band, Los Pepes play punk music… with lots of pop melodies. I’ve been listening this record and I even remembered the sound of some bands were playing in the 1990s. So “Tonight” gives the name to this EP and it has all of that: punk energy and melody, which means you fancy have good vibes and have fun! It has become a hit for the band.

I can’t help remembering to the four New Yorkers from Queens when I listen to the beginning of “Too Late”. This is another ‘power’ tune with killer guitar. So it is easy to think the people go crazy when they play this song in the gigs!

On the flip we have “Unknown”. We could say this is the most power-pop tune in the record, with a very Exploding Hearts style. And the last song is “Somebody Else”. This is one of my favourite songs of Los Pepes. The early singles of The Hard-Ons come to my head. They have a really good taste!

So I have added another color record to my collection and I will use this review for the vinilocolor section of this blog. It has been released on red color, yellow color… My copy is like the picture above. Honestly, I’m not really sure if it is fuchsia, magenta, purple… Anyway, I think Elvis would have loved it. If you don’t know about this, it’s because you don’t know about the story of the grapes and the 1956 Eldorado cadillac. At least, I see that color…

Enjoy it!

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¿Posiblemente la banda de power-pop más ruidosa del planeta? Definitivamente, ¡sí! Y, si no, a juzgar por sus conciertos o por este EP de cuatro canciones que nos trae Wanda Records (sello del que ya hicimos mención hace algún tiempo).

Aunque se empeñen en etiquetarse como una banda power-pop, Los Pepes son ante todo una banda punk... con mucha melodía pop, claro. Escuchando el EP, incluso llega a recordarme al sonido que tenían algunas bandas en los 90. Y es ésto lo que tiene el tema "Tonight" que da nombre al disco. ¡El buen rollo y las ganas de pasarlo bien que transmite es lo que le ha convertido en un éxito para el grupo!

No puedo evitar que los cuatro neoyorkinos del barrio de Queens se me vengan a la cabeza cuando escucho los primeros segundos de "Too Late". Otro tema "power" y guitarrero que hace vibrar al público en los conciertos.

En la cara B nos encontramos con "Unknown". Con él sí podrían pasar por grupo de power-pop en la onda de Exploding Hearts. Por último, cierran con el brillante "Somebody Else". Una de mis temas favoritos de la banda y con el que se me vienen a la cabeza las canciones de los primeros singles de los Hard-Ons. ¡Pero qué buen gusto tienen!

Sirva ésta reseña, de paso, para añadir otro disco de color a mi colección y a la sección vinilocolor de este blog. Se editó en rojo, amarillo... y el mío es el que véis en la foto de arriba. La verdad es que todavía no tengo  muy claro si es color fucsia, magenta, morado... pero creo que a Elvis le hubiera encantado. Y si no tenéis ni idea de qué va ésto, es porque no sabéis la historia de las uvas y su cadillac Eldorado de 1956. Al menos, yo lo veo de ése color.

¡Que ustedes lo disfruten!