Marshall McLuhan would have turned 99 years old today, and his status as the god-daddy of media studies still seems pretty rock-solid. I wasn’t previously aware of how often the Canadian theorist appeared on TV, and was especially unaware of his November 1967 duet with New York novelist Norman Mailer on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation show The Summer Way, bravely moderated by Ken Lefolii.

Recovered from recent treatment for a benign brain tumor he suffered while teaching in New York, McLuhan gamely tugs at a few of Mailer’s pretensions. Mailer is recently back from levitating the Pentagon with the Yippies, with the siege of Chicago during the 1968 Democratic Convention in his future.

McLuhan pops off a bunch of gems, including:

The planet is no longer nature, it’s now the content of an artwork.
…
Nature has ceased to exist…it needs to be programmed.
…
The environment is not visible, it’s information—it’s electronic.
…
The present is only faced by any generation by the artist.

Communications maven Michael Hinton goes speculative on his hero’s televised meeting with the Jersey-raised boxer-novelist, but of course it’s best to just check the thing out yourself.
 

 
More after the jump…
 

 
Electronic music pioneer Alvin McBurney, known by his stage name Alvino Rey, created the first electric guitar in 1927 when he attached electrical wiring to his banjo and played it through a radio speaker. In 1935 Rey produced the very first electronic pickup for Gibson’s ES-150.

In this video, Rey, using his steel guitar, appears to be creating the singing voice for bizarro “Stringy The Talking Guitar.” In fact, it was Rey’s wife Louise, in tandem with Rey’s guitar sounds, that created the effect. Louise was backstage with a carbon throat microphone attached to a piece of plastic tube running to Rey’s amplifier. She would provide the words and Rey would alter them by sliding the steel bar along his guitar strings. Rey and Louise were able to create some otherworldly sounds using this technique, including the weird voice of Stringy. Rey’s invention eventually evolved into the talk box, appearing to mindnumbing effect on the Frampton Comes Alive album.

Rey recorded with Esquivel, Martin Denny, The Surfmen and played on many “exotica” albums as well as film soundtracks, including Elvis’s Blue Hawaii. He died in 2004 at the age of 95.
 

 
Self described “NYC underground blues legend” Gblue is so underground I’ve never heard of him. But, this video is real good and Gblue does have an authentically down and dirty sound. Not much info on the man, just a bare bones page on reverbnation.

Gblue, if you see this, send me a message or post a comment.

David Olson did a terrific job on the video mix.

thankyou Binky Philips

 
Dangerous Minds is thrilled to introduce our new sponsor I Be-Weave Hair Salon and the delightful Shocantelle Brown.

 
Seriously, what in the name of boogie-board-hell is going on here?
 
(via Unique Daily)

 
Cori Dials, looking a bit like Tura Satana, stars as nicotine addicted Cigarette Girl. Set in the near future, when cigarettes sell for $65 a pack, Cigarette Girl is a small time hustler in the black market distribution of cancer sticks. When she runs afoul of the major players in the tobacco world, all shit breaks loose.

Based on the trailer, this grade Z action flick looks inspired by the films of Roger Corman, Russ Meyer and John Carpenter. It’s the sixth film directed by Memphis-based film maker Mike McCarthy. Currently making the film festival circuit, I suspect Cigarette Girl will probably be a direct to DVD release. If it’s as trashy fun as this trailer, count me in.

In the above photo, Jody Stephens and Andy Hummel (on the right) at the Alex Chilton memorial this past March during SXSW.
 
Big Star bass player Andy Hummel has died at the age of 59. Cause of death was cancer. Hummel formed the band with Alex Chilton, Chris Bell and Jody Stephens. It’s been a rough year for Big Star - Chilton died in March.

Chris Bell died in 1978. Stephens is the only surviving member of one of rock’s most influential bands.

While recording Big Star’s debut album, guitarist Bell and Andy shot this 16mm footage.

 
See more of them here.

Via Lady Bunny Blog

 
Attention people of Earth and Southern California!

This Thursday marks the opening of How We Roll, a six-month exhibition on African-America’s contribution to surfing, skateboarding and rollerskating culture at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles.

Starting with the history of black surfing from the 17th and 18th century in Polynesia and Africa and on into the US, the exhibit rolls through the African-American surf-skateboard-rollerskate continuum featuring photos by Glen E. Friedman, Grant Brittain, Jim Goodrich, Lance Dawes, Atiba Jefferson, Neftalie and more. Spotlights include the legacy of pioneering black female pro skateboarder Stephanie Person and the way that skateboarding has cross-pollinated with black music formats like Afropunk, hip-hop, jazz and reggae.

Get a preview of what the exhibit looks like here.

Here’s a piece of the black skateboarding story on the East Coast from Jeremiah Alexis via Current TV
 

 
Bonus clip after the jump: a tribute to the irrepressible black skater & actor Harold Hunter, R.I.P.
 

Love ‘Forever Changes’ lemon buttermilk custard cake
 

Chocolate cake with vanilla butter. Chocolate image from the back of the Shakara LP
 
Holy awesomeness of cakes! These friggin’ amazing cakes are made by Los Angeles resident straightouttachocolate. I highly suggest visiting her Flickr page to view more unique and tasty treats.

straightouttachocolate

Thanks a-rock!