Children of Despair

In the 50’s or 60’s, Marshall McLuhan coined the term “class transvestism” to describe the then-recent trend of leisure-class youth wearing jeans, which previously had been worn mostly by people who actually worked for a living.  I think the term also applies to some current well-heeled parents who expensively dress their children like storybook orphans or 18th C. French peasants.  It’s just not cool to look rich, but you need to be rich to look poor in a non-Walmart way.  Throw in some kids who are very good at looking grim, and you’ve got something that looks straight out of the rollicking Werner Herzog.

There are more videos about clothes.  They’re all hilarious.

But wait!  There are toys too.

I Want One!

Seriously, how cool is this?

We go hands-on with an exclusive first test of Hasbro’s upcoming Selfie Series that allows you to put your own face on a 6-inch action figure! Here’s how the app works to create a 3D scan of your head, and the customization options for hair, color, and your figure body of choice. We take a close look at the resin 3D print quality of these made-to-order portraits and discuss the technology that makes these custom figures possible.

Get on the mailing list here and download the app while you’re at it.

An Instrument Of The People

All I could think about while watching this was how much these guitars must be worth now.

In the fall of 2020, Gibson unearthed an unmarked reel while digging through vault archives. Intrigued by the discovery, Gibson TV producers took that reel and had it digitally remastered. The footage you are about to see was shot at Gibson’s Factory in 1967. It has never been seen until now.

Pedal Pusher

I think my meager collection includes a RAT, a chorus, and a wah-wah, and I have no idea where they are. It’s about all I deserve. This guy, though:

“The merits of a geezer with my inconsiderable musical skills owning even one Big Muff are debatable; more than one is indefensible. See, I have a problem. I quit drinking 35 years ago and began spending beer money on guitars and related toys, like amps and speakers and, worst of all, effects.

My guitarsenal now takes up so much space in my house that I “joke” that at this point I would have been better off had I just kept drinking. Pedal addiction is particularly evil because so-called stomp boxes take up so much less space than instruments or amps or speakers, and also because there’s so damn many different ones out there! I realized long ago that I have too many pedals, and also that I’ll never own enough. Now I’ve got suitcases and drawers and cardboard boxes full of them. I’ve also got a rack effects problem, a close cousin of pedal addiction. I spent last weekend in the basement wiring up a ridiculous arsenal of decades-old tube overdrives and multi-effect units in one big shelf. Push a few buttons, and this assemblage of rock electronics can turn “Kumbaya” into “Eruption.”

Effects aren’t for everybody. The Beatles, it should be noted, weren’t pedal pushers. Gearheads took to message boards to marvel about how in the new documentary about the band, Get Back, pedals get next to no play. Eagle-eyed nerds claim to have spotted a Fuzz Face, a box also stomped on in that era by Jimi Hendrix. But little else in the way of tone-enhancing implements could be spotted. (I haven’t watched much of Get Back yet, but of the scenes I’ve seen so far, nothing hit me harder than seeing John Lennon playing through an Ampeg B15 amplifier. I have two Ampeg B15s.) Then again, there weren’t that many pedals being sold in their day, and as the new doc shows these guys had sound technicians in lab coats walking around Abbey Road Studios, inventing sounds for them on request.

It has been reported, but not confirmed, that there are bassists and keyboardians amongst us. Do you people use effects pedals? Do you need a Rick Nielsen secret storage location to manage them?

Rick Nielsen’s Guitar Collection

Here’s something to pass the time while you wait on those COVID test results.

When it comes to guitar collections, some are so large, so special, and so rare, that even the best collectors can’t help but do a double-take. This is how you would define Rick Nielsen’s collection – a total head-turner.

In the latest episode of “The Collection,” host Mark Agnesi heads to Rockford, IL, to visit the godfather of guitar hoarding. Rick Nielsen, the lead guitarist for Cheap Trick, takes us through his cavern of guitars. Ranging from quirky and strange to the ultimate rare and last of its kind. And in a “The Collection” first, Rick shows off three original 1958 Explorers out of only nineteen in existence.

While Rick’s guitar bevy is superior to most, what’s striking is his irreverence for ‘value’ in a world full of collectors and purists. In Rick’s eyes, the guitar belongs to him, and how pristine the guitar is doesn’t really matter. His passion for guitars and the guitar world is apparent as he is still adding to the vault. Follow along as Rick takes us through his fantastic collection.

Very Metal, And Lots Of Other Stuff

This guy Mike Strick seems to be pretty talented at making cool figurines. He’s made the Young Ones, the monsters from Where the Wild Things Are, a Voight Kampff machine, and all kinds of other cool stuff that would look nice on your mantle.

Go check out his site and buy something for Bastard HQ.