Nearly anybody within proximity of a radio or TV in the last 30 years knows the hits by Los Angeles synth-pop band Berlin. In fact I just heard them in my local grocery store, no joke. Utterly shameless in their sincere pretentiousness and desire to appear European (hence the name, duh…) they nonetheless knew how to craft a hit song as well. I had never seen these pre-fame very home made looking promo clips before including what seems to be a practice run at their future mega hit, Metro. The first clip here, however, with its weathered VHS vibe, absurd attitude and solid analogue groove, could easily pass for a current ironic hipster chillwave band or something you’d see on Tim & Eric.
 

 
More early Berlin after the jump…

 
Dangerous Minds reader Antonio writes:

I’ve made a classical cover version of Rock Lobster, by B-52’s. The result of it all resembles a Bernard Herrmann OST for a suspense movie.

It sure does! Wunderbar!

By Randy Bish, Pittsburgh, PA—the Tribune-Review

(via Nerdcore)

An exclusive interview with Joyce Farmer, author of the extraordinarily powerful new graphic novel Special Exits (Fantagraphics). No less of an expert than Robert Crumb himself has said of Special Exits, “One of the best long-narrative comics I’ve ever read, up there with Maus. I actually found myself moved to tears.” High praise indeed!
 
Buy a copy of Special Exits.
 

 
The Jack Bell Gallery in London are currently exhibiting a small selection of sculpted coffins by the Ghanaian artist Paa Joe. The four works on display are all iconic symbols of Ghanaian life:

The golden African eagle, fish, Air Ghana jet, and Cocoa pod are testament to the vibrancy of West African culture and the ability and imagination of the local artists.

These works blur the line between art and craft. Reflecting the ambition or the trade of the person for whom they were made they are not dead things but are instead a manifestation of and indeed an affirmation of life. The works are wholly African and are a contemporary embodiment of traditional tribal burial rituals and art practice. They link back to pre-colonial West African sculpture but also recall the pomp and extravagance of ancient Egyptian royal tombs and perhaps – in contemporary Western art practice they recall Jeff Koons. They too are kitsch, Paa Joe, like Koons, plays with scale and with a work like the Jet, with material and commercial ostentation.

Paa Joe is the foremost coffin-maker of his generation, who was apprenticed by Kane Kwei – the man credited with beginning the 20th century tradition of figurative coffins. Paa Joe’s work is held in museum collections around the world including the British Museum in London. The exhbition Paa Joe: Taking It With You is at the Jack Bell Gallery until 15 January 2011.
 

 
With thanks to Douglas Steindorff
 
More of Paa Joe’s coffins after the jump…
 

For $69,500 all this could be yours
 

Own A Piece Of US History.
Home Of The Unabomber.
HUGE PRICE REDUCTION!

Reduced from $154,500 to $69,500.

This property doesn’t include the Unabomber’s cabin which is currently on display at a museum in Washington D.C. after spending years in an F.B.I. storage facility. Without the cabin, this “piece of US history” is gonna be a tough sell. 20,000 bucks in hard cash could probably seal the deal.
 

This 1.4 acre property located in Lincoln, Montana was once owned by the Unabomber. A lot of history goes with this location. Close to the Bob Marshall and Scape Goat Wilderness Areas, as well as the Blackfoot and Missouri Rivers where you can enjoy great fishing and hunting. This is a one of a kind property and is obviously very secluded. Power and water not on the property but are available. Don`t miss this one! Call John at 406-899-8723. $69,500.”

 
Cabin not included.

 
British TV show ‘Ready Steady Go!’ devoted an entire program to The Stones in 1966. I’ve seen this in bits and pieces on Youtube, but never in its entirety and never in such pristine quality.

As someone who preferred Brian Jones-era Stones to the later stuff, it’s delightful seeing Brian looking so healthy and beautiful.

LIVE!
 

 
Parts 2 and 3 after the jump…

 
This week: A rested and refreshed Richard Metzger returns to the ever lovin’ Dangerous Minds Radio Hour for a solo session. Won’t you join him in story and song?

This week, for you groovy little fuckers, it’s an ALL FEMALE SHOW!

The Liquidator—Shirley Bassey & Lalo Shiffren
Earthbeat—The Slits (from the incredibly awesome, must hear Return of the Giant Slits)
Uptown Top Ranking—Althea & Donna
Pizzicato Five (with Towa Tei)—Contact (from Romantique 96)
This Year’s Girl #2—Pizzicato Five (interviewer: Richard Metzger, from the Five By Five EP)
Fancy—Bobbie Gentry (from Chickasaw County Child: The Artistry of Bobbie Gentry)
Okolona River Bottom Band—Bobbie Gentry (from Chickasaw County Child: The Artistry of Bobbie Gentry)
The Devil Lives in My Husband’s Body—Pulsallama
Gotham Lullaby—Meredith Monk (from Dolmen Music)
You Don’t Love Me When I Cry—Laura Nyro (from New York Tendaberry)
Beware of Young Girls—Dory Previn (from On My Way to Where)
The Perfect Man—Dory Previn (from Mary C. Brown & The Hollywood Sign)
Witches Egg—Susan Tyrrell (from Forbidden Zone)
The Captain’s Fat Theresa Shoes—The GTOs (from Permanent Damage)
You Made Me The Thief of Your Heart—Sinead O’Conner (from the In The Name Of The Father OST)
 

 
Download this week’s episode
 
Subscribe to the Dangerous Minds Radio Hour podcast at Alterati

Below, Althea and Donna performing Uptown Top Ranking on Top of the Pops.
 

 
Dangerous Minds pal, Simon Wells, author of the excellent biography Charles Manson: Coming Down Fast, sent this rather bizarre link to the finale of Sharon Tate’s rarely seen last film The Thirteen Chairs (aka 12 + 1) - an Italian comedy about a hairdresser searching for a missing inheritance hidden inside a set of chairs. However, it’s not the film’s plot that is intriguing, but the eerie freeze frame at the finish, which as Simon points out:

...is just weird. Sharon Tate’s last film: The Thirteen Chairs- shot just six months before her diabolical end. The final credits sequence: I will say no more that just watch it. Talk about creepy prophesies over “The End”. I am amazed this hasn’t been highlighted before. So very odd.

It certainly is odd, especially as co-star, Italian actor Vittorio Gassman, who played the well-groomed hairdresser, is suddenly turned into a demented long-haired hippie, with an uncanny resemblance to Charles Manson.

Make of it what you will.
 

 
With thanks to Simon Wells
 
Previously on Dangerous Minds

 
Happy birthday Little Richard!

Here’s 26 red hot minutes of the High Priest of rock and roll performing at the Olympia Theater in Paris in 1966. And the crowd goes wild!

Play it loud.