Ultra-Lounge Presents: Space Capades

     Around 1954, Hi-Fi was invented.  And with that came a musical genre just as weird and mysterious as Exotica...Space-Age Pop.  The Atomic Age was underway.  Suddenly outer space was the ultimate in the exotic-talk about far away lands!  Of course, we needed the perfect soundtrack for this new, sophisticated lifestyle.

     Music was instantly recorded to convey our fascination with outer space.  With the Hi-Fi LP now a staple, the first true concept albums were recorded. We are in the dawn of new technologies here- think "The Jetsons", think NASA. Throw in Jerry Lewis from "The Nutty Professor"and you get the picture. It's music that was cold, moody, and usually employing the theremin,which gave the music a slightly queasy sci/fi-horror feel to it.

     Now the term Space-Age Pop didn't actually exist back in the 50's and 60's, but it's a great description of what this music is.  Les Baxter and Billy May of course appear on "Space Capades", but the album offers up many hidden gems. It's one of the campiest of all the Ultra-Lounge albums, and there's not a damn thing wrong with that.  So suit up- we're preparing for blast off!  Dim the lights and take a swig of your Tom Collins.  We're boldly going into the future... and beyond.

Die! Die! My Darling!

   

     Thanks to Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, hag horror became a popular genre of horror movies in the crazy 60's.  Formerly graceful and glamorous, these Hollywood legends made a huge comeback in the early 60's, starring in a bunch of cheap and exploitative but thoroughly watchable suspense thrillers. The success of WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? and HUSH, HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE unleashed a torrent of knock-offs, some bad, others quite good. Besides Crawford and Davis, stars such as Olivia DeHavilland and thankfully Tallulah Bankhead hopped on board the train, and DIE! DIE! MY DARLING! is a downright delicious entry in the genre.

     Tallulah Bankhead rips into the role of thoroughly batty Mrs. Trefoile, a former carefree party girl who's now devoutly religious. She's mourning the death of her son, who was engaged to a young and sassy Patricia, played by Stefanie Powers.  Patricia wants to pay her respects to her dead fiance's mother, and arrives at her estate. She intends to stay one night, and be on her way. But Mrs. Trefoile, already seriously imbalanced, is drawn to Patricia, and wants to "cleanse her soul" so she can meet up with her precious son again in Heaven. As a matter of fact, Mrs. Trefoile has no intentions whatsoever of Patricia ever leaving her house. Slowly Patricia starts to realize she should never have made this trip, but of course by then it's too darn late. Before you know it, Mrs. Trefoile has locked Patricia in an upstairs bedroom at gunpoint, and that's where the fun begins.

     Actually, all you really need to know about this movie is crazed Tallulah Bankhead toting a bible and a gun!...  Throw in a very butch housekeeper and a mentally challenged Donald Sutherland, and you've got yourself a steaming plate of 150% hysterical camp.  Rumor has it that Tallulah was dying during the filming of this film, and she most certainly gives it her all. She is truly something to behold. She comes across as both amusing and terrifying all at the same time, and equally holds her own with the likes of Joan Crawford brandishing an axe or Bette Davis serving dead rats. She is a hoot.  

      DIE! DIE! MY DARLING! is a truly memorable suspense thriller and camp classic from the 60's.  Being a Hammer production, and with a script by Richard Matheson to boot, you simply can't go wrong with this groovy and hysterical flick. Solid direction, acting, and claustrophobic settings all make for a wonderfully old-fashioned good time. It's absolutely fascinating watching Stephanie Powers going head to head with the great Tallulah Bankhead.

Late Night Snack...

You gotta love a late night snack...

Ultra-Lounge Presents: Mambo Fever

     "Mambo Fever" is the second installment in Capitol Records fabulous lounge music anthology.  Imagine the Coconut Grove on a Saturday night... shaking maracas and bongo beats.  Mambo, samba, and cha cha are all thrown deliciously into this spicy Latin cocktail, and the result is irresistible.  This music was white-hot in the 50's and early 60's, and it's never sounded better than on this compilation.  The sound quality is truly out of this world.  After a highball or two, it's downright impossible to sit still with tunes like "Hooray For Hollywood (Cha Cha)" and "Manana (Is Soon Enough For Me)".  And when the breathtaking and somewhat alarming Yma Sumac unleashes her shattering voice, it's something you will never forget.

     You can practically feel the hot Latin wind with this album- that's part of the reason why these compilations are so special.  Besides the fantastic music, it's also a fantastic state of mind.   You are instantly transported back to a specific time and vibe with these CD's.  I never tire of them.  Yes, this is the place where bright flourescent neon mixes with the white jackets of the mariachi band.  It's smoky, sweaty, and passionate...  This is "Mambo Fever", and boy is it spicy!  Hey, I think the conga line is forming...

Moon dance.....

Sweet Happy Life by Peggy Lee

     One of my favorite Peggy Lee tunes was from her 1966 album Guitars a la Lee.  "Sweet Happy Life" is nothing short of sublime- but then again, anything Lee recorded could be described as much.  Don't you agree?

 

Refreshing!

Rich in dextrose!

Ultra-Lounge Presents: Mondo Exotica

     Imagine sitting in a tiki-themed bar on some exotic beach.  The palm trees sway intoxicatingly in the warm, balmy breeze.  You order a cocktail and light the palm oil candle at your table.  Somewhere close, an exotic bird answers the call of the wild...  It's called "Exotica", and it arrived with the soldiers returning home from WWII.  Suddenly in the 50's everyone everywhere had a taste for the exotic, the mysterious.  Themed restaurants like Trader Vic's and Don the Beachcomber's started popping up everywhere, and a musical genre was born consisting primarily of music that we sophisticated Americans thought music from Polynesia, Southeast Asia, and Hawaii would or should sound like, although in reality it was complete and total fantasy.  Still, it caught on like wildfire, and with artists like Martin Denny and Les Baxter releasing classic albums like "Exotica" and "Ritual of the Savage", by 1960 the exotica craze was in full swing.  The genre would last until the late 60s and  the Vietnam War, and then would become a forgotten part of musical history.

     Exotica, like swing, experienced a white-hot comeback in the 1990's.  Re-surfacing as "lounge" music, suddenly this long forgotten musical genre was discovered again.  In 1996, along with the Swing Revival, Capitol Records put out the definitive (in my opinion) collection of "lounge" music- "Ultra-Lounge".  Starting with "Mondo Exotica", the collection would brilliantly cover not only exotica, but swing, jazz, space-age pop, mambo... you name it.  Packed with fantastically fun information on the origins of each genre and fabulous photos, the CD sets are amazing time capsules- it's music so original and weird that you can't help but gasp in delight.  I was immediately hooked and within 3 months had the first 22 in the series.

     "Mondo Exotica" is pure mood and atmoshphere.  It's music that requires candlelight and imagination.  This is coolness at its coolest.  You're immediately transported to a dark, smoky Polynesian lounge, or possibly some other faraway land.  Throw in a dash of adventure, romance, and intrigue and what!  Instant action.  These CD's even come with at least 2 different cocktail recipes in each booklet!  Full of classic exotica, it's an extra-ordinary album for the times when Top 40 just won't do.  And the sound quality is nothing short of astonishing.  Mysterious, evocative, sultry, and campy, it's simply some of the coolest music ever recorded.  I know I keep saying "cool" alot, but after listening to this CD you'll understand.  No luau is complete without this playing in the background, so light the tiki torches and pour yourself a Zombie.  You are in for a trip...

RETRO PULP ART GALLERY #1

     There's just something fascinating about the classic pulp magazines and stories. Pulp ran the gamut of many different genres- detective/mystery, gangster, sci-fi, western, even horror.  I love the lurid art featured on the covers, which usually ranged from erotic and exploitative to sensational.  The artwork usually featured half-dressed women in danger and distress, usually being held at gunpoint by some psycho thug on a dark street corner.  In these wonderful images, the city is always dark, dangerous, and exciting.  It's seedy and grimy.  It's alive- full of tough talking broads and hard knocking thugs, hardass detectives and molls on the run.  Danger lurks around every corner...

 

Sway by Julie London

     And it's always time for some Julie London...