A Meta-List Of Halloween Songs and Music

In preparation for Halloween, fire up your favorite MP3 downloading program (legal, of course!) and check out...

A Meta-List Of Halloween Music!!!

• 14 Vampire Songs, via The Onion AV Club
• Top 10 Halloween Songs, from Electric Roulette
• Ten Halloween Songs That Aren't As Lame As "The Monster Mash", from BlogCritics (with lots in the comments)
• Guilty Pleasure: Halloween Edition, from 'Retarded Fantasy' blog
• Ten Metal Songs For Halloween, from The Metal Minute
• 10 Scariest Songs Ever, from 8Hands
• 20 Best Halloween Songs, from TheTikiOasis
• Songs for Halloween, from Frankenstein's Fun House
• The Scariest Songs Ever, as submitted by readers, via Entertainment Weekly
• The Best Halloween Songs, from Praise for Folly
• The S-s-scariest Songs Ever, via NME.com
• Top Ten Halloween Rap Songs, from The Rap Up
• A radio set from someone called synap, at "The Ongoing Takeover Plot"
• A Halloween Top 50 from Desdinova, Super-Villain of the Ozarks
• 5 Halloween Jazz songs, via NPR
• Top 13 Halloween songs (the only 13 list I saw, sadly), from Caffeinated Wombat Records
• Songs For One Night Of The Year, a mix-tape for Halloween (it seems to be more environmental and creepy than singing about vampires), from blush-response
• Another Halloween mixtape from Roy's Town
• A list of Halloween music, from The Stranger's "LineOut" Music Blogs
• 20 Songs To Get You Through Halloween, a slideshow from Gigwise

And, just in case your iPod is already full, you can play a whole bunch of vintage and kitschy halloween records right from your webrowser, thanks to Creative Techs.

Honoring Old Vegas Hotels

Art inspired by the vintage matchbook art from the 1950s and 1960s, by Cherry Capri.

Spiders Made From Stolen Scissors

Ever wonder what happens to all those pointy objects that are impounded at the airports? Some turn into....

HALLOWEEN NIGHTMARES!!!!!

If spiders made out of scissors doesn't make your skin quiver with horror, you're not doing it right...or something like that. Remember, those scissors were taken away from airline travelers, which means these scissors are terrorists. Turning them into spiders is only empowering their horrible, violent spirits. Run, run while you still can. (via)

"When He Thinks Of You..."

he'll think of nice things."

That's what this 1956 ad for Lees Carpets says. So I guess atomic husbands dug sleeping on the rug. It's a nice thing.



Huh. I always suspected those 1950's housewives dommed, but that the print mags would show the Mistress in her bed with her slave husband on the floor was surprising.

Then again, maybe they just couldn't show a husband & wife in the same bed.

"Once upon a time, America was a cocktail party throwing nation."

Spotting these grand album covers at Fabulon I was reminded to direct you to several of my favorite posts at Collectors' Quest:

Drunk On Collecting: Swizzle Sticks & Strange Ads

Drunk On Collecting Continues...

And what's drinking without smoking? Up In Smoke: The Vanishing Culture of Tobacco.

Sold At 13, Now On Ebay

I totally had this set of three begging pink spaghetti poodles when I was a kid! Now I know where they ended up. *wink*

How Beautiful Can You Get?

In August, 1956, Woman's Day was bold enough to ask the question -- and kind enough to give you the answer with three full pages of beauty tips.

How To Be A Girl, by Susan Bennett Holmes

On page 18 the three pages of instruction begins. Here's one of my favorite passages:

If only you could look like That! If only you had the $195 the small, elegant script says you need for the dress!

Actually, your thinking is on the wrong tack. The dress may be dreamy, but so is the model inside it. We venture to suggest that even the zoopiest creation by Dior would look dreary on a model who forgot her comb and whose stocking seams were awry. No one of us can honestly write off lack of care for our looks under dearth of clothes. In order to look like That, you have to achieve darn near faultless grooming.

"What follows is planned to be clipped out and tacked on the inside of your closet door." (Click to read each of the scans -- you can even print them out to place inside your closet door! Isn't that the zoopiest?!)





Psst, you can buy a print of the cover artwork here.

Get more goodies from Susan Bennett Holmes with How To Be a Girl: Part 1 and Part 2.

Just Another Kitschy Kitschy Coo Moment

By snailbooty.

What's This?

What's this? A blogger, unsure of what this heirloom's purpose was, turned to the wisdom of the masses and posted it in his blog.

People posted their suggestions, figuring something sewing-related, something craft- or carpentry-related, and all sorts of imaginitive and strange things, somwhat like a committee of the blind examining an elephant. What to know what it is? Eventually, the truth came out.

Plush Plant Faux-liage

The year was 1977, the magazine Better Homes And Gardens. And because we were too busy working to find the time to water the plants, we'd be better off making plush, as in stuffed, plants.



The examples here were made of corduroy. Which means when you'd dust them, you'd get that 'woosh-woosh' sound. And dust them you must because they are going to be pet hair magnets. But of course, if you can't keep a plant alive I don't suppose you have any pets... Don't worry, there are patterns for stuffed animals in lots of places.

Don't You Just Hate It When Everyone Shows Up In The Same Costume?

OK, OK. So it's a vintage circus clown caravan photo. But it could be a soccer mom with a Dodge Caravan of costumed kids.

Place Vomit Here

Drinking and gambling sure do mix, but, well, sometimes, you lose more than lady luck -- you lose your cookies. And so the fine hotels and casinos have plush carpeting to absorb it. Most of this carpeting is also quite loud, so if you think carpeting is used to absorb sound rather than bile and vomit I guess that's a matter of fighting fire with fire.



Above is the carpet from the Gold Coast. I'm partial to a bold floral pattern, but imagining acres of this is a bit deafening.



That there's the carpet from the Mirage, or it was the carpet when I was there. I guess because what happens in Vegas stays in the fibers, the carpeting was replaced in 2006.

Buckets, err, lots more to see at the Casino Carpet Gallery.

Granny Cross Dressed, And I'm So Proud

She is proud of her granny -- and she should be. My grandma & grandpa did it too, but I've just been too lazy to scan the photos.

But I love EVERYTHING at the thriftshop!

nataliedee.com

Polite Smiles Abound

The polite smile - Perfect response when receiving a lovely gift like this young lady has:

"No, really, thank you Mrs. Dating-Your-Son-Just-Six-Weeks! Oh, my...flowers trapped in a spider-web are my favorite vest motif. This, gosh, well, you're right, it does look great on me -- I'm certain your son and I will be the best-dressed at his law-firm's Christmas party tonight, you're absolutely right. No, really, your comments on the ease of estimating my bust size really make me feel good about myself. "

See, she learned on Week Four that she should always wear her own stocking cap to his family's house, lest his mom provide one from her crafting closet. The knitted choker necklace, well, she couldn't refuse that, no matter how beltless her mustard slacks were. The 1970s were stylish, you know: the more polyester and wool against your raw, chafing skin, the cooler you were.

(Don't) Just Eat It

Jason Huntley made Michael Jackson out of breakfast cereal, mostly "Oreo O's" because "it provided the darkest brown and the lightest white." He calls the piece Breakfast in Neverland, maybe because Just Eat It reminds us all more of Weird Al Yankovic.


Dig the use of what I (and Donte) presume to be Alpha Bits to spell King of Pop.

Go Ahead, Pull His Nut

This vintage celluloid squirrel is a tape measure dispenser -- just pull his nut and see how long he gets.

The New Digest Of Atomic Culture Is Here

Bachelor Pad Magazine, issue one, has been published.

Roly Poly Women Heads

That Sad Little Piece Of Folk Art

You've been dying to know, haven't you, about what I did bring to be appraised...

Well, (drum roll) here it is:



Officially known as a woolie, this charming art piece had a much higher appraisal than I could have imagined. Mine is definitely not as old, nor as 'clean' in short tight stitches, as most woolies -- and valued accordingly (mine at $150, most others over $4,000) -- but it was lots more than I had paid ($4). And lots more than the estate sale had it priced at ($40). I figured the $40 had to be too high because, as Daddy says (when I mention estate sale and antique shop prices), "Well, it's still there... It didn't sell because the price is too high."

While doing research on woolies (for this wild and woolie article, full of history and fact) I began to seriously ponder my woolwork.

It certainly makes sense, given what I now know, that this particular American made woolie would be made later than most British woolworks -- so the circa 1930s-50s decree makes sense. Americans made few woolies, and those they did were made later (which also matches the later trend towards larger stitches). And being painted, it likely was created by a retired sailor. Which accounts for both the larger size and again, the later time period.

But it still seemed rather more 'primitive' or 'naive' than the other woolies I was seeing in photos...

Upon closer inspection though, there are many charming details which impress upon me that my woolie is authentic -- and the sailor had great artistic flair.

The flames & smoke are consistent with a boiler fire, which shows at least some rudimentary ship knowledge. And the flames on the lines are also most precise. The iceberg is reflected in the waters -- waters which have a choppy impressionistic quality, rather like a Monet. Clearly this sailor-artist was workin' it in this piece.

So I'm most proud of it, and even more charmed than when I first purchased it. The appraisal value is cool to know, but secondary.

Then again, if I had not brought it in to the appraiser, how would I know what it is called? I needed to know the name 'woolie' in order to research it. And find more of them.

Which brings me to two points.

First of all, I apologize to my woolie for calling it a "sad little piece of folk art." It is grand and I love her.

Second, while I am not likely to over-estimate the monetary value of my stuff (it's just not in my nature to do math -- and round up -- where the main issue is charm), I don't think I will ever again be so anxious about attending such events like Trash or Treasure. Or even getting appraisals.

We originally planned to only bring one thing each, but after a fab first round, we brought several more items the second day.

The Macho Cold Remedy

From a 1970s Popular Mechanics -- The "Macho" Cold Remedy!

Sadly, this "cold remedy" doesn't involve passing out at the dinner table and falling into the throes of a psychedelic nightmare where my nose begins to melt. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. It's just not what THIS ad is for.

From a time in our history where our idea of "Macho" was embodied by the Village People (as opposed to macho, unquoted, which was embodied by the Marlboro Man who also graced these old magazines), these Working Man's Body Vests were the pinnacle of keeping everything but your head, arms, hands, hips, legs, feet, and neck toasty-warm. The kind of thing that looked like a life preserver to the 1950s would, a short time later, be considered manly enough to be worn, unironically, by ambiguously gay lumberjacks flashing a "F You" sign to the Brits in the audience. Oh, "Two" you say? "Protection the active outdoor man needs," "Whether you work hard or play hard," -- it's sounding more flamboyant as we go. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. It's just not what THIS ad is for. Popular Mechanics was a Men's Magazine without the wink-wink-nudge-nudge misogyny of its naughier cousins. Me, I'm from a more cynical, sexually-enlightened time, where this sort of display of raw masculinity is suspect. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.

Who Says Bloggers Have Big Heads?

"Some people play hard to get. I play hard to want."

Andrew Dice Clay, Wayne Newton, Priscilla Presley, Morris Day, Lauren Holly, Gilbert Gottfried, Ed O'Neill, Sheila E. & more!

It sounds rather like a Ronco commercial, and maybe it is just that cool... The kind of cool we here at Kitschy Kitschy Coo believe in anyway!

What am I talking about? Why the fab film, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, of course!

Just watched this flick on late night TV recently. I turned the tube on while this fine film was already in progress -- just as Fairlane (Dice Clay) is searching the boat residence of Johnny Crunch (Gottfried), a scene which includes a blow-up doll, a BDSM video tape with Crunch and Colleen Sutton (Presley), and a strange freak of a hit man (Robert Englund). (That alone could have sold me -- but wait! As I said, there's more!)

I turned to hubby and said, "What's this movie?" And he's all like, "It's Ford Fairlane, duh," like I'm some sort of pop culture retard. :snort: The film came out in 1990, and I was all up to my knees in baby poo, thank you very much. So I missed it then. But thanks to TV re-runs and DVD, you too can enjoy the adventures of Ford "Mr. Rock n' Roll Detective" Fairlane.

There's so much to like about this movie. Sure, seeing Morris Day as a Record Producer is cool. And the cameos by 'countless others' (use of air quotes to indicate that you can really count them, I'm just too lazy to do so) makes this fun for those of us who are of a certain age (and like fine wine, we don't breathe -- our actual age anyway). But the film is funny!

Hubby stared at me like I was nuts, telling me folks made fun of it when it came out.

"What, didn't they know camp when they saw it?! Wait a minute, this was 1990, behaviorally, very 1980's, so they had to know camp film..."

"Um, I don't think it was made to be camp -- maybe not even made to be funny..." he retorts.

"Bah, it's the Vin-Man," I say, poo-pooing him now.

"The Vinman?"

"The. Vin. Man."

The look on his face tells me he has no idea that Dice Clay was in Casual Sex, quite possibly one of my Fab-Fave-Films of All Time. (But that is another story, and likely for another place altogether too.)

So to get back to Ford Fairlane...

I adored the rest of the film, and kept an eye on for the next airing -- which I watched late at night, without hubby's snarky comments, thank-you-very-muchly.

Sure, the humor isn't politically correct -- I call that bonus points. Is it derogatory towards women? Err, how can you take a man who hides out a sorority where all the chicks are aerobicizing as anything other than a comment on stupid male fantasies?! If you're not sure that the movie is self-mocking, check out Andrew Dice Clay yelling, "My hair! My hair!" as he falls out a window.

Hey, the movie tag lines included, "Ford Fairlane, rock 'n roll detective. To clients he's the greatest. To everyone else, he's just a dick." And "Private Detective. Public Offender." Doesn't sound like it takes itself seriously to me.

It's a classic -- a cult classic (if not already, it will be) -- and on my gift list, should anyone who buys me gifts be reading here. I wouldn't throw the soundtrack (with Dice Clay singing I Ain't Got You) out of bed for eating crackers either, should a CD be able to do such things.

Oh, and in case anyone asks, my favorite line from the movie is, "Conversation with Zuzu Petals was like masturbating with a cheese grater: slightly amusing, but mostly painful."

Which is about how my husband feels about watching movies with me, I guess. *wink*

Hallocards at Zazzle

buy unique gifts at Zazzle

All of these products are produced using vintage Halloween illustrations. They are from our own cherished collection and we have lovingly restored them to be used on these products. We chose these images in particular because we feel they represent some of most stunning and beautiful Halloween art from the period. These beautiful Halloween images are from the early 20th century, mostly between 1905 and 1916. We have been collecting Halloween ephemera for years and love sharing this very unique era of history.
My husband's area of expertise is mostly antique Halloween postcards, while I enjoy collecting for all the holidays.

You can see his Antique Halloween website here.

OSHA Failures At The Knitting Factory

A few weeks ago, we bought a trailerfull of crafting magazines from the sixties and seventies, which you'll get to see a lot of fun scans from: Here's the first entry in Craft-Scan Fridays:


While yarn is, yes, quite inspiring, I don't think they should've centered the ad around an industrial accident that occurred during the production of the skeins. I don't know how a lady in her panties ended up in their giant washing machine, but I'll bet OSHA wrote up at least a 150-page report no this place's lack of safety features.

"Mabel! Mabel! Get outta there -- grab the railing, quick! We just added fabric softener, and the spin cycle is on the way. SPIN CYCLE -- do you understand, Mabel?! The. Spin. Cycle. You ain't gonna survive that!"

I even got out my magnifying glass to see if they had any disclaimers (but who used disclaimers in the sixties? If that toaster exploded, you figured it was your own fault for buying that new-fangled whole-wheat bread), something along the lines of "Simulation -- Do Not Attempt At Home", but I found nothing in the margins. The reason today's magazines are free from images of women in their skivvies swimming in a washing machine must be due to the number of fatalities at the time. Poor, poor, clothing-optional housewives.

Looking For A Silly Girl?

Cool kitschy pattern to make this Silly Girl -- and it's free!

See more photos of these dolls in the Flickr Group.

The Beauty Secrets of Russian Women

It's Sharms, make-up that's good enough to write on mirrors!

If that doesn't sell you, how about the electronic version of Peggy Sue which plays in this 1976 cosmetics ad from the Soviet Union?

Servin' Up Some Butterbeans & Susie

"Vaudeville stars Butterbeans & Susie made a good living in the 1920s through the 50s, singing light comedic songs about the war between the sexes and the pitfalls of domestic life," says Baikinange.

Amy Vanderbilt Success Program Ephemera

The Amy Vanderbilt Success Program For Women was a membership club, like the book of the month club, from Nelson Doubleday. According to this card from the Department Store Division (for the July Selection: Parties With A Theme), membership was run through department stores:

This card is not a bill. Charges for all purchases will be included in your regular statement from the Department Store through which you enrolled for membership.

Members were mailed the latest booklet along with Amy Vanderbilt's Newsletter -- which was several pages of ads.



This example is from 1971, and contains pitches for Pritt Glue Stick, Cutex lip colors, the Museum of Modern Art, and UNICEF Birthday Cards along with info on saving electricity, a recipe, and this interesting note on "Unusual Fabrics":

Whenever I go to Vermont, I try to stop at Putney to visit the home shop of Carol Brown which, for so many years, has featured Irish handwoven tweeds and other fascinating farbrics in materials by the yard, as well as clothing and furnishings. She also has Irish and Scottish shawls, throws, blankets, and stoles, including the delightful little blankets and throws from AVOCA in Ireland. I love the little knee rugs, 38'' x 54'', comfortable to throw over your legs if you're watching TV or to take to sit on at a picnic, or to keep you warm in an open car. Mrs. Brown has a little folder that tells about her shop and what she sells (she is very patient and understanding about selling by mail). Send her a postcard and ask for the folder, saying that you read about her in this newsletter. Her address is: Carol Brown, Putney, Vermont 05346.

This was all I could find on Carol Brown and her shop.

See also my CQ article on How To Be A More Interesting Woman.

Mechanical Recorder, via Edison and Dixie Cups

This cool little do-it-yourself machine takes cues from Edison's original designs, and takes a twist using modern materials. The kit lets you record and play back on essentially an Edison 'cylinder' -- but the medium isn't wax or lacquer: it's a plastic cup.

As a dad, I'm always a fan of anything that teaches, plus has the awe-causing "wow -- how does it DO that?!?" reaction, so this may go a long ways for inspiring some understanding in your kids...the $65 pricetag, however, is a bit high for a novelty project. The mechanics aren't particularly complex, so a industrious Instructables user will probably have something simpler, that can be made with stuff around the house. (via)

I'll Get You, And Your Pretty Pink Puppy Too

I promised Thom of Fabulon I'd steal his pretty pink poodle. He found it via Flickr, but it apparently followed him home. And now I have stolen it.

This Just In... Truck Stop Has Elvis' Family Jewels

Cheetah Velour reports that Sierra Sid's Casino & truck stop has the guns and jewels of Elvis.

Being Creative With Vintage Ads

Slip of a Girl has fun with vintage lingerie ads; no paste is required, just a wry sense of humor.

One Problem Solved

You'd think that in a house full of 'stuff' -- both from personal collecting and swallowing the inventory from our former booth (as seen in this photo) -- finding an object to bring to the appraisal this weekend would be easy. Or at least that the problem would be how to narrow down the pile to a short list, right? But no.

While I've finally decided what to bring to the appraisal, this object was a recent purchase -- discovered just this past Saturday. I'm not going to show it to you now. You'll have to wait. But for those who hang on my every word, now you know I've solved that problem.

Modern Retro Media

Via Advertising Lab, you can see a bunch of retro-styled modern technology, from MP3 players that look like tape cassettes, to celphone headsets that look like a 1940s Bakelite handset, to a CD player that looks like it'll be just as ungainly, impractical, and scratch-prone as it's 1980s vinyl-album-player ancestor. The Cassette MP3 Player is the most practical of them all -- our van has no CD player, and we'd love to have something like this in the dash.

Welcome to the KKC Relaunch!

Hi! On the outside, you might not notice much, but we've done some work under the hood of this hot rod. In the past 2 incarnations, we've used some home-brewed blogging software to meet our needs, but we've found that Blogger is more efficient and handy than what we've had in the past. So, watch for new content coming soon! If you're looking for the old content, all is not lost: it's still available, in its entirety, with the old URLs intact.