Check out our new Etsy Shop. We've got Scopitone T-Shirts for guys and gals and tote bags too! (You can fit about 20 LPs into one). We've also got some other interesting music and vinyl related designs and many more to come.
Check out our new Etsy Shop. We've got Scopitone T-Shirts for guys and gals and tote bags too! (You can fit about 20 LPs into one). We've also got some other interesting music and vinyl related designs and many more to come.
Spike Priggen (AKA "Cookie" of Bedazzled.tv and Scopitones.com) will be DeeJaying at Sidecar on 5th Avenue in Brooklyn every other Thursday starting January 10th. I'll be "spinning" everything from Freakbeat to Dub, up to and including Glam, Bubblegum, Pop-Psych, Sunshine Pop, Garage Rock, Girl Groups, British Invasion, Punk, New Wave, Northern Soul, Ska, Funk, Soundtracks & other great musics of the 60's, 70's, 80's and beyond. Also expect to see some obscure Mod Retro Video & Scopitone action, courtesy of Scopitones.com, on the monitors. Link to FaceBook Event page.
I just found out that MOMA in NYC has been screening some Arab and North African Scopitones in connection with the exhibition "Mapping Subjectivity: Experimentation in Arab Cinema from the 1960s to Now" through Sunday the 25th of this month.
They're showing in a continuous loop on a set of double TV monitors in the lobby/gallery outside the Titus Theatre. There are two Titus Theatre lobby galleries, and the Scopitones are in the smaller of the two, in a room with three Quay Brothers film sets. You don't need a ticket to a film screening to see them, anyone who is in the museum can go there.
A Scopitone filled with 36 videos by Third Man artists! The only Scopitone machine in the world showing modern videos. Scopitone Section at approx. 2:30 in. Lots of other cool toys too! Third Man Records
"Have you been looking for that Survivor Scopitone Video Jukebox? This is a super clean original survivor that is on consignment from a local distributor. We have been doing this a very long time and this is the first we have ever seen."
"Note that this machine is in really superb shape but is in need of a mechanism belt and probably some other tweaks. It started to work until the belt broke, and we know nothing about these units other than what we have stated. It is also missing the upper back panel when we believe is a mirror."
"For those who do not know, the Scopitone is a type of jukebox featuring a 16 mm film component. Scopitone films were a forerunner of music videos. Based on technology developed during World War II, color 16 mm film clips with a magnetic soundtrack were designed to be shown in a specially designed jukebox. The first Scopitones were made in France, by a company called Cameca on Blvd Saint Denis in Courbevoie near Paris. The best part of this machine are the films are intact and there are some superb examples as you can see."
"It appears to be complete and a survivor. It came out of a location years ago and was used in a rec room setting. The chrome is really nice it appears all original, the sides are original, the glass is nice and it would not take much to make this a great machine."
"You would be hard pressed to find another one. Best of all, there is NO RESERVE. We will let the market determine the value on this RARE piece. Best of luck in the auction."
via www.ebay.com
I'll be in St. Louis this Friday and Saturday presenting some programs of Scopitones & other Rare Music Videos.
On Friday Night September 30th, I'll be presenting "Rarely Seen Music Video 1962-1970" at The Webster University Film Series:
Winifred Moore Auditorium
470 E. Lockwood
Webster Groves, MO 63119
Then on Saturday, I'll be screening more rare stuff after the Euclid Records Sponsored Gazebo-A-Go-Go (Old Orchard Gazebo - Big Bend and Old Orchard - across from Weber's Front Row).
Despite the fact that the descriptions for both events are identical, both programs will be completely different. Hope to see some of you there.
Great blog post by noted Scopitone expert Dennis Nyback about how he and (also noted Scopitoner) Jack Stevenson (he wrote an amazing Scopitone essay "The Jukebox That Ate The Cocktail Lounge") first discovered the wonderful world of Scopitones via www.dennisnybackfilms.com
On Sunday, July 19th, the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood will be presenting “Scopitone: Carousel of Stars” -- a festival of the best I.B. Technicolor 16mm Scopitones produced. It’s a rare chance to catch these films on the BIG SCREEN, presented in 16mm dye transfer Technicolor!
For the uninitiated, Scopitones were pop music short films produced in the 1960’s and were designed to be played in "film jukeboxes." These machines were primarily located in bars, lounges and casinos. The campy quality and overt sexuality of these films provide an early view into what the music television industry would later become in the 80's and 90's. They also provide a glimpse of the influence of the sexual revolution in the mainstream culture. It’s the perfect way to spend a Sunday evening….in Tecnicolor no less!
If you missed us at the 2007 AMIA Conference in Rochester NY, or at the Echo Park Film Center last year, please join us on Sunday, July 19th, at 7:30 p.m. for “Scopitone: Carousel of Stars”.
Please see the American Cinematheque’s website for more info. (Though their mention of a panel discussion is incorrect; The evening will be simply a screening plus a Q/A with the curator of the collection.)
UPDATE: I think i fixed the problem that people were reporting where the videos would not work on their iPods. They're looking great on mine, anyway. Let me know if you're having any problems.
You can now subscribe to Scopitones.com as a Podcast at the iTunes store. I'm not exactly sure how this happened (or even how I discovered that it had happened), but thanks to whoever made it happen. The 2 commenters both complain of not being able to get them to work on their iPods, so I'll try and figure out why that is, please let me know if anybody has some hints. Click on the little button to subscribe.
You can now subscribe to Scopitones.com as a Podcast at the iTunes store. I'm not exactly sure how this happened (or even how I discovered that it had happened), but thanks to whoever made it happen. The 2 commenters both complain of not being able to get them to work on their iPods, so I'll try and figure out why that is, please let me know if anybody has some hints. Click on the little button to subscribe.
8:00 pm
Admission: $7.00
Moore College of Art & Design
20th & Race Streets, Philadelphia
(215) 965-4099
On Friday, February 27, The Secret Cinema will present Scopitone Party, a unique collection of music films from the early and mid 1960s. They were originally made for a French film jukebox called Scopitone, which entertained patrons in bars, cafes and bus stations in both Europe and America. The film clips, which feature performers both famous and obscure -- and are considered to be among the more important of the many predecessors to the modern rock video -- are today quite scarce, and difficult to see in their original form. Link.
Okay, that wasn't the actual headline, but that's how I think of her. R.I.P. Link.
Italian Cinebox and Scopitone expert Michele Bovi has an amazing new book out on the history of the film jukebox. It's written in Italian with an English translation (the photo captions are just in Italian, though).
It's a very thorough history of the invention and marketing of the competing "film jukeboxes" with interviews of inventors, executives, producers, directors, and the artists who appeared in the films.
There's a bunch of interesting tidbits about folks such as Debbie Reynolds (her production company made many of the US Scopitones), Francis Ford Coppola (who lost a small fortune he invested in the new technology), Robert Altman (who directed at least one Scopitone film), as well as details about the US Scopitones business's extensive ties to the mafia.
There are hundreds of great photos,
film stills and reproductions of Cinebox and Scopitone ephemera along
with lists of films produced etc. Bob Orlowsky of The Scopitone Archive has an extended section detailing the history of the machines in the US. It's a must have for any serious Cinebox and Scopitone fan. Buy "Da Carosone a Cosa Nostra. Gli antenati del videoclip-From Carosone to Cosa Nostra. Ancestors of the music video"
What's A Scopitone?
Watch Scopitones
Scopitones On DVD
Bob Orlowsky's invaluable resource, the Scopitone Archive, has an awesome new site to go with it's brand new domain name. Check out Scopitonearchive.com.
NPR Story: The Rise And Fall Of The Scopitone Jukebox By Jennifer Sharpe. Jennifer did a great job on this, even tracking down Dee Dee of Dick and Dee (!). Check it out.
What's A Scopitone?
Watch Scopitones
Scopitones On DVD
This is an Italian Television documentary about Cinebox and Scopitone put together by Italy's #1 Juke Box Movie expert Michele Bovi, and featuring America's #1 Scopitone guy, Bob Orlowsky (of the Scopitone Archive). It's in Italian but it's still a fun watch if you don't speak it. Go to this page and click on "Videoclip Story"
It's WFMU Record Fair time again. Bedazzled! and Scopitones.com will both be presenting video programs in the AV Lounge (they haven't released the exact schedule yet). We'll also be selling some stuff so look for our table. Here are the blurbs for our video presentations:
The Bedazzled Video Hour (and a half) 2005
90 minutes of rare music video clips from TV & Movies. Featuring
Tropicalia. Soul. Bubblegum. 60's. 70's. 80's. Punk. Post-punk. Pop.
Rock. Pop/Rock. Soft Rock and other genres I can't think of right now.
Scott Walker. Roy Wood. Dwight Twilley, TV commercials, movie trailers &
much much more.
http://bedazzled.blogs.com/
The Scopitones.com Jukebox Movie Hour 2005
60 minutes of choice American, British, French, German & Italian
Scopitone and Cinebox rarities.
http://scopitones.blogs.com/
No, I haven't unearthed some unknown Scopitone,or even figured out who that guy is that sang "High Boots" (and if you tell me "Mr. Eraserhead", I'll hit you). But while I was watching the 1st season of "Lost" on dvd last night and the "Hurley"
character is flipping around on the TV in a flashback, I noticed some
funny stock footage, and when I rewound and looked at it again I
realized, "it's a Scopitone!". I immediately recognized it as "For You" by Freddie Bell and Roberta Linn.
Dunno who snuck that in there, but it's pretty cool. It's just the
video, not the music, the music is just a square dance call (guess they
probably don't have to pay royalties for that).
Lost, by the
way, is a really great show. Genuinely original plot twists, great
scripting, acting and casting. The music is exceptionally good. I was
sceptical about it at 1st (as much as I love TV I realize that most of
it sucks), but I'm not any more. It's definitely worth renting the 1st
season (we got it from Netflix) and getting caught up.
Here's the clip from Lost and the Freddie Bell and Roberta Linn Scopitone.
Lost Scopitone.mov
For You-Freddie Bell & Roberta Linn (Scopitone).mov
Buy "Scopitone Guys, Scopitone Gals"
"Hi Spike, Thanks for answering my e-mail. The pix attached are of the shoot early Sixties taken from a slide. You're welcome to use them if you like.
The cast was Smokey Warren on fence, Dottie Mae, Shorty Benjamin on Drums, Harvey Reynolds on Steel Guitar, And me, Jerry Hatton on Bass.I only saw the film on a Scopitone once after we did the shoot in NJ in PA. I found info about Scopitones when searching the net. Once again, Thanks For your help Jerry Hatton"
If anyone has Jerry's Scopitones: Smokey Warren "Where the Old Red River Flows" (#K 242) & "Out Behind The Barn" (#K243) email me for his contact info,
Thanks Jerry!
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