Rock On!

So I was gonna do a post with just a scan of this incredibly hep button featuring buckskinned rockers the Stampeders, outlining their refreshingly direct two-step plan for global hegemony. The button itself is such a thing of garish crowd-parting beauty, it seemed to be a story unto itself.



However, upon removing the relic from the scanner, I noticed a faint etching on its back. Just in case you can't decipher my weak photographic skills (and the etching was faint), it reads: "June 13/73 Ontario Place Forum".



I guess the original owner thoughtfully decided to commemorate the button-purchasing moment, which happened to be the night these guys recorded their live "Backstage Pass" LP. Which you can sample at their official site. I recommend the tune "In The Shadows". Not only that, but according to the site they're still at it, 30-plus years later!

As for where I picked up the pin, god knows...

Fall and Winter 1959

Here's a cool item found in an old Elektra record.



This beautiful tri-fold 1959 catalogue illustrates the folk- and blues-oriented origins of this label.

I like the separate section for "Stereo" recordings.



I believe some of these LPs are still in print.



I kinda like the cheesy stylized seasonal graphics on these pages.



There's an excellent overview of the Jac Holzman and Elektra records story here, and an awesome discography here.

Why I Collect Records #4583

Dschinghis Khan. I haven't researched them. I don't really want to know. It's enough that this fantastic on every level picture sleeve exists. I made a pathetic audible-intake-of-breath sound when I found it. The inscription "MADE IN GERMANY" is crossed out and replaced with "MANUFACTURED IN GERMANY" in the run-off groove of the wax. And the music? Like a poor man's Boney M. That is to say: Outstanding.

Update - I caved.

Records of Achievement

New year, new resolve to update this on a regular (or semi-regular) basis.

Here are a few nice examples of recorded political swag.

John Robarts was the Premier of Ontario from 1961 to 1971. From the cut-away corner, I'd deduce this cardboard record was included in a pamphlet, or perhaps a magazine.

I like this next one, courtesy of John Yaremko. The flexi is held onto the backing with some sturdy eyelets, which have allowed it to survive intact for 40 years. The content of the record is a song, making this a pretty good-natured shill. And the little Canadian Centennial symbol is cool.



The last example comes courtesy of MP Bill Graham. This looks to be from the 1980s.

All told, this stuff seems to be from a more innocent, or at least less cynical, era.