Crossed Combs - retro stuff, rhythm and blues, tiki and all that jazz.

Surf Graphics book

Catch a wave and get some rays with this retina-searing collection of surf art. Over 250 pages of cover-to-cover visual action and inspiration featuring such genre giants as Phil Roberts, Damian Fulton and Rick Rietveld and of course Jim Phillips, together with, to name only a few, Shawn Dickinson, Jimbo Phillips and Thorsten Hasenkamm. Stunning cover and introduction by — yup you guessed it — the legendary Jim Phillips.

Read more at Korero Books

The Domestic Burlesque book

Over a period of 2 years, Elsa Quarsell has travelled around the world photographing burlesque performers in their homes. This collection of photos captures the humorous and beautiful world of burlesque.

The book contains over 100 portraits of performers as well as an intimate glimpse into their homes, complete with trinkets and memorabilia. Each portrait is accompanied by an interview with the performer, making 'The Domestic Burlesque' an important insight into the creative motivation and emotion behind the burlesque scene of the early 21st century.

Continue reading about The Domestic Burlesque after the jump.

Tiki Magazine fall 2011

New issue out now! Outstanding Tiki art and photography, information on events, history and pop culture, new styles of tropical clothing and decor, Tiki carvings and mugs, tasty cocktail recipes, music, Tiki bars and restaurants, Tiki pioneers and much, much more. Get your copy from Sivletto!

In this issue, among other things:
Robb Hammel
HodadHank Adelson
Tiki in Comics
Kirby and Polly's Rumpus Room
The Hula Girls
Portland's Northwest Tiki Kon
The Purple Orchid

Coast to Coast Album Covers: Classic Record Art from New York to Los Angeles

Soon to be released, Coast to Coast Album Covers: Classic Record Art from New York to Los Angeles, is yet another coffee table book about record covers. And we're not complaining, au contraire. Along with Blue Note records, the Prestige, Atlantic, Contemporary and Pacific and Riverside Labels were the chief providers of America's East and West Coast sounds on vinyl. The hard-edged, straight ahead playing of New York's jazz musicians was perfectly reflected in the moody, monochromatic photography, quirky graphics and bold typography of the record covers: the look, like the sound, was intelligent, disciplined and sophisticated. On the West, the bright colours and playful themes expressed the funky sounds of the US's cool, california cool. For the first time ever, Coast to Coast Album Covers brings the two together under one very cool roof.

Pre-order Coast to Coast Album Covers: Classic Record Art from New York to Los Angeles

Case Study Houses from Taschen

Case Study Houses is an intensive retrospective of post-war home design in California. The project, which took place between 1945 and 1966, saw the design of 36 prototype homes, conceived by such luminaries as Charles and Ray Eames, Richard Neutra and Eero Saarinen, that have defined what we now think of as the mid-century modern home. The book is a mammoth tome, packed with photographs from then and now, as well as original documents, extensive floor plans and intricate sketches of each of these iconic buildings. A fascinating insight into one of the most exciting periods in modernist architecture. If you're into these things, don't miss this huge book!

via www.retrotogo.com

Full Bleed - New York City skateboarding

A knife, a fork, two trucks, four wheels
That's the way we spell New York

 

Skateboarding in New York City is a singular experience. It is impossible not to feel the magnitude of the landscape and with the city in constant motion, skateboarding is both exhilarating and extremely dangerous. There is no right or wrong way to navigate this vast terrain. Only one thing is certain: the skaters and images produced in New York City are wholly unique. Spanning 30 years, with contributions from over 40 photographers, Full Bleed is a comprehensive overview of one of the most diverse skating locations in the world.

Get a copy of Full Bleed from Amazon via this link:
Full Bleed

Pop Surf Culture: Music, Design, Film, and Fashion from the Bohemian Surf Boom

A book we can really recommend! An insightful chronicle tracing the roots of the surf boom and its connection to the Beat Generation and 1960s pop culture. Featuring examinations of original beachcomber personalities like the Waikiki Beachboys to the rise of Venice Beach as a creative centre for music, art, and film, this text illustrates why surf culture is a vital art movement of the 20th century. Key figures, both obscure and popular, as well as the full spectrum of the pop culture world, are discussed, from beach movies to the Moon Dawg! 45 by The Gamblers.

Get your copy from Amazon via the link below!

Pop Surf Culture: Music, Design, Film, and Fashion from the Bohemian Surf Boom

New book: Rockin' - the rockabilly scene

For enthusiasts, rockabilly isn’t just a kind of music; it’s a way of life. A raw fusion of rhythm and blues with country and western, rockabilly heralded the start of teenage rebellion in America in the early 1950s. The stripped-down sound witnessed a revival in the 1970s that has continued until today, with modern rockabillies embracing not only the music, but also the clothes, cars and lifestyle of the 1950s youth counterculture. Rockin’ is photographer Andrew Shaylor’s unique portrayal of the contemporary rockabilly scene. Granted exclusive access at events on both sides of the Atlantic, Shaylor captures the raw energy of the music and the commitment of the rockabilly community to authenticity. Featuring the history of the subculture by rockabilly legend Jerry Chatabox, this striking book evokes the passion and intensity of a scene that is as exciting today as it was more than 50 years ago.

Over 250 stunning images capture the bands, dancing, fashion and cars that define the rockabilly subculture of today.

Features rockabilly events in both the United States and Britain

With a specially commissioned foreword by Jerry Chatabox, stalwart of the contemporary rockabilly scene.

Get your copy of Rockin' - the rockabilly scene from Sivletto

On the Road Penguin thermos

Inspiring beatnik teenagers everywhere to set off and explore, escaping the restrictions of authority, this thermo-flask is a handy travelling companion Jack Kerouac himself would have been proud of. You can get yours from Urban Outfitters.

 

Via RetroToGo

A Rocket in My Pocket: The Hipster's Guide to Rockabilly Music

A Rocket in my Pocket is the story of rockabilly music, the primal 50s howl of rockin' rage that helped start it all. Rockabilly had its roots in country, blues, folk, hillbilly, R&B, boogie-woogie and most other indigenous Deep South forms of popular song that you could strum three chords along to or howl down a cheap microphone. It was young people's music, made almost entirely by the first wave of teenagers, despised by adults in general and the country music establishment in particular. Its pioneer exponent, Elvis, eventually become respectable in the eyes of straight society but he was the exception. 1950s rockabilly was a spontaneous outburst of spirited three-chord songs, tiny record labels, primitive studios, fiercely partisan audiences and wild-eyed, driven performers who weren't even sure that their musical careers would last the week. The book charts the rise (and fall) of the original 50s wave of rockabillies. It will also follow the progress of the music, in clubs, on radio, TV and film, pinpointing the key record labels and important regional centres, showing how fashions eventually changed and left rockabilly high and dry, far too wild and primitive in an era of smoother sounds. Décharné traces the music to its Memphis roots.

Max Décharné has previously written "Straight from the fridge, Dad" and other books.

Pre-order the book A Rocket in My Pocket: The Hipster's Guide to Rockabilly Music from Amazon