2011 March Archive - Sci-Fi-O-Rama

Spotify Playlist #03 – Alternate 80′s Synth

Here’s my 3rd Spotify playlist and this time I thought I’d go for something of a theme, that being “Alternate 80′s”. Therefore then all tracks I’ve featured hark from that era. Ok so maybe there not all alternate, and actually one isn’t from the 80′s at all (although in spirit is) but once again there all pretty much synth driven.So a couple of notes on this selection:

We kick off with an obscure Eurythmics B-Side from 1982 before moving into several familiar cuts from some of the UK’s seminal acts of the time. Then moving uptempo swoop into a more club oritentated angle with offerings from Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks) & Depeche Mode before swerving southbound into Italo Disco mode with Aeroplane’s ( They’re better than Daft Punk) recent remix of Sebastian Tellier and then Peter Richards “Walking in the Neon”. The last segment moves to electro-pop with Tim Simenon’s Bomb The Bass Project, followed by some early Moroder-esque-euro-disco from Belgium. The selection ends with, for me, one of the greatest pieces of electronic music ever produced, the totally timeless and therefore completely amazing “Dead Eyes Opened” composed by Aussie industrialists and synth pioneers, Severed Heads.

Here’s the full tracklist:

1. Eurythmics – Monkey Monkey (1982)
2. Talk Talk – Such a Shame (1984)
3. Brian Ferry – Don’t stop the Dance (Special 12″ Mix -1985*)
4. Japan – Quite Life (1979/1980)
5. Sharpe & Numan – Change Your Mind (1984)
6. Pete Shelley – I don’t know what it is (1981)
7. Depeche Mode – Get the Balance Right (Combination Mix – 1983)
8. Sébastien Tellier – Kilometer (Aeroplane “Italo 84″ Remix – 2009)
9. Peter Richard – Walking in the Neon (Dub Version – 1986)
10. Bomb the Bass – Don’t Make Me Wait (7″ Mix – 1988)
11: Sue Ann – My Baby My (1981)
12: Severed Heads – Dead Eyes Opened (1984)

Here then is the link for the playlist: http://bit.ly/h9rZFX hope you enjoy!

*Note that you must have the Spotify App installed, and of course be signed up to the premium service to dodge the Adverts. Artwork once again – as is custom – from Eric Carl’s fabulous Flickr Photostream: http://bit.ly/e18NTx

*Quick note on “Don’t stop the Dance” – John Daly (fave producer of mine) has done an excellent re-edit that’s not too hard to find …

European Starwars Posters

Italian Star Wars Poster

The Empire Strikes Back

Empire Strikes Back

Here’s an expansion on something I tweeted last week, apologies to those who’ve already seen this set. If you didn’t see the thread and in particular are a Starwars fan, then your in for a bit of treat!

Now then, here’s a selection of three posters lifted from a larger crop over at a www.chelloveck.sfblogs.net. Chelloveck is an Hungarian Sci-Fi website, so if your a backward monolingual speaker like me and/or your Hungarian’s somewhat limited then try viewing the site in Chrome, as it’ll attempt auto-translation for you. Before I start with some ramblings on my selection be sure to check out the full post over at Chelloveck http://bit.ly/gfN5fz. Onto the notes:

Top: “Guerre Stellari” – This is a rendering for the Italian market, as with the others presumably used to promote the cinema release of the film. A slick, pretty camp graphic style that wouldn’t look out of place splashed over a pinball table or retro arcade machine. Art by Michelangelo Papuzza.

Middle: Moving on from the light ‘disco-esque’ Italian offering we have this slightly freaky example from Hungary. This is actually part of a set of three, check the other two here: http://bit.ly/eORlW2 I don’t remember the winged lizards either, but love the style. Artist responsible is Tibor Helényi (thanks Chelloveck).

Bottom: The final part of my selection hails from Poland, a real design gem this one with a wonderful diffused look, similar in vain to this Roman Cieslewicz piece I posted back in 2008. This piece dates from 1983 and is the work of Miroslaw Lakomski, see more of his work, and other far out design here: http://www.eatbrie.com/Polish.htm no one does Movie posters quite like the Poles – superb!

Bob Peak – Camelot

Bob Peak - Camelot

Still in movie poster mode and continuing on from Mondo here’s short but sweet entry focusing on another of my personal favorites that I’d filed for posting and then – as is often the case – completely forgotten about.

The art in question is this Bob Peak example of fantastical, illustrative master craftsmanship, produced for the 1966 big screen musical adaption of Arthurian myth and legend. Despite starring possibly one of Ireland’s finest ever exports, the late, great Richard Harris and Vanessa Redgrave I’m not sure the movies really regarded as a classic, however the promotional artwork with it’s strong Gustav Klimt overtones almost certainly is!

Renowned American Illustrator Bob Peak (May 30, 1927 – August 1, 1992) made a name for himself after working on the poster for the classic 1961 musical West Side Story and upon this initial success Peak’s career took flight eventually spanning 25 years and more… Within this time frame Peak became pretty much the Hollywood’s default first choice, responsible for creating iconic artwork for classics like Rollerball and Apocalypse Now, so then it’s pretty much fair to say he also redefined the genre along the way.

Star Trek fans will also be familiar with Peak’s work for it was he that created all promotional art for the first 6 Star Trek Movies, James White AKA signalnoise.com ran a post on those over on his always excellent blog, check that post out here: http://blog.signalnoise.com/2009/12/10/star-trek-movie-poster-artwork/

I’ll run a further posts on Bob soon, as I’m very much of fan of his Excalibur Artwork, in the meantime you can read a little more about his career here on Wikipedia or for a much broader selection of art and info check out his official site http://bobpeak.net/

A final note – the Image comes via the art and design blog BurningSettlersCabin.com curated by by Sean Adams. There’s another great article here on the Camelot Poster Artwork and Leo & Diane Dillon’s “The Fox” which I’ve also featured… Anyway do check out the full article: http://www.burningsettlerscabin.com/?p=5081