Kitsch The definitive Populuxe film on 1950s automotive, industrial, interior and architectural design. A tribute to the American designer presented by Chevrolet. The fist half of this film is a collage of 1950′s American design from appliances to architecture, the second half follows the design process of a new Chevrolet automobile from the early sketches to a full sized model and finally the finish product. A Tribute to Men and Women who Design. ( continue reading... )

The Cocktail Nation - Queens Of Vintage

Episode 266    May 12th 2013

This week we talk to the publisher of an online magazine called Queens Of Vintage, her name is Lena Weber and recently she interviewed me in her kings of vintage portion of the website so I thought we should have her on to talk vintage culture and the English scene. Plus the best exotica and lounge music from across the globe.

Kitsch The magazine rack at the local drugstore. Memories from my childhood in the late 50′s and early 60′s. Illustrated covers on the lower shelves. Screaming titles in bold, bawdy, blazing headlines. MALE… MAN’S LIFE… SAGA!!! Were these a kind of grown-up comic book? But this was much better! Silly, costumed caricatures talking in word balloons was little kid stuff. This was about real life. These covers were Art. Actual paintings of epic poportion and theme. Dizzying amounts of detail sucking me into a world of  terrible, bullet whizzing, danger and heroism. Was this the truth about the world out there? ( continue reading... )


Kitsch Our re-runs of an Ultra Swank world are interrupted by a shrill tone from the television. ‘Howdy Dooty’ and Mom’s favorite soap opera are suddenly replaced by a Civil Defense symbol and gravely intoned warnings of the END OF THE WORLD! High above the utopian suburbs of plenty, an ever present overcast of death and despair loomed. The Cold War was a monstrous chess game ( read more... )

Kitsch Science Fiction movies and the 1960′s. Shorter distances between the science and the fiction. Bigger budgets and better scripts. New actors who have not spent their entire careers fighting giant, mutant bugs. Special effects that are almost believable. After MGM’s breakthrough experiment of ‘Forbidden Planet‘ in 1956 and mainstream Disney’s ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea‘ of 1954. Hollywood begins to sense that Sci-Fi can be ( read more... )

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Kitsch Very kitschy and retro futuristic video explaining some of the features and benefits of using home computers (consoles) in the home. With this fantastic setup that would make William Shatner of Star Trek fame envious, you can do amazing things such as online clothes shopping and monitor the home using a CCTV system. Apparently the only thing the husband can do on his console is ( read more... )

Kitsch Our journey through space travel science fiction has our coordinates locked onto the 1950′s The most Ultra of the Ultra-Swank decades. Receding in our aft view screen is the pulp pre-war period of the 1930′s and 1940′s – the times of cowboys in space. They rode rockets instead of horses and blasted bad guys with ray guns instead of six-shooters. Our mid-century destination is where ( read more... )