Hawaii Five-O Scavenger Hunt Part 3

Yes, 'tis but another episode of The Hawaii Five-O Scavenger Hunt. As I impatiently await the release of season 7 on DVD (October 20th 2009) I have no problem rolling through 1-6 again (there are quite a few episodes worth more than a single viewing). My camera is bulging with photographs of items I have yet to locate (though, rest assured, while you are asleep: I am constantly searching). I have made a personal commitment to make Etsy.com the primary source of these featured items - it is a smashing good site with lots of fantastic sellers hosting a superb sampling of items from which to choose. To its solid credit, Etsy has a unique feel and flavor similar to that previously possessed by certain e commerce sites - say, oh, about ten years ago. Un-said site(s) will remain unnamed here, as I think we both know who "they" are, and deep down "they" probably know who "they" are anyway -- and perhaps are also none too happy about it. Maybe.

I think the phrase "avocado green ice bucket" really says it all. Come to think of it, when you use "avocado green" to describe anything aside from an actual avocado, you can generally assume that you are dealing with vintage - or retro at the very least. How the varying interior and exterior shades of a tropical fruit (yeah, it's a fruit - I looked it up) came to be the defining colors of a decade is totally beyond me, but I really like avocados so I guess you could say that I have come to terms with the whole ordeal.

This screen shot (above, on the right) is from "The One with the Gun" (original air date 1/28/70). The item of interest is located on top of the fridge on the left side of the photograph. Of course I could have gotten a better close up, but the picture would not be nearly as cool with Steve McGarrett cropped out!

I was actually surprised at how many matches/similar items I found:

And because no worthwhile cocktail serving set exclusively consists of a solitary ice bucket:

Stay tuned, there's more to come.

www.Thriftstore-Cowboy.com

Quad Gods of Prog Rock (and some vintage concert shirts)

Any discussion regarding Progressive Rock (especially as an art form) is bound for disaster, particularly if you happen to be a musician, speaking of the subject with another musician. In such instances, it is better to have the conversation in a private setting, away from family and friends. It is also strongly recommended that both participants remain unarmed (as well as a considerable distance from any object that could conceivably be used as a weapon) and in general each participant should be respectively positioned at a distance of no less than five feet. In addition, such a topic can get pretentious, snooty, abstract and at times downright insulting. So why would I pick such a topic? Because everyone loves controversy. Well, that and the fact that there is some prog rock that I can handle and some that I just -- you get the idea.

Perhaps the obvious first choice is Rush -- the Canadian trio that names songs after fictional literary characters. Rush didn't really start out as a progressive rock band, things just kind of fell together that way. The late seventies were strange times and perhaps prog rock was simply an extension of hard rock's violent recoil from the rising popularity of disco.

This shirt is an original from 1985's "Power Windows" tour. Granted, much of the 80's for Rush was defined by synthesizers as opposed to their guitar driven hard rock beginnings, but you can't really get mad at a band for evolving. People were genuinely upset by Bob Dylan's shift to electrified rock, moving away from the folky acoustic Woody Guthrie style social protest songs that had come to define his work. But in hindsight, such a move was absolutely wise because it not only showcases Dylan's versatility but has also made him more accessible to subsequent generations. Just about everyone knows who Bob Dylan is or at the very least has heard of him -- unless you happen to be a cop in New Jersey on a rainy day. To stay alive sharks constantly swim forward. Obviously, there are varying points of view on this -- and even though some folks truly want the same thing over and over again in terms of their entertainment consumption, you really should give a new album three listens (without distraction) and preferably with headphones before deleting it from your iPod playlist(s). If your initial opinion doesn't change by the third time around, put it away for a while and then give it another shot. Maybe it is my personal form of brainwashing, but I have come to love many albums using the "three listen" method -- which can also be applied to films, though in such cases headphones are optional.

This Jethro Tull concert shirt is actually from the band's folk rock era ("Bursting Out" tour 1978), but for the sake of continuity I shall remain on the prog rock topic. From 1972 - 1976 the band entered what many consider its progressive rock phase. I say "phase" because I don't totally agree with the notion that Jethro Tull is essentially a prog rock band. Like Rush, their beginnings are rooted in hard rock - a contained four year period of experimentation can hardly define the band's entire 40+ year career. This may, however, further prove my theory that progressive rock was indeed a violent recoil from disco.

Completely disregarding the early 1980's (COMPLETELY), Yes is one of my favorite prog rock bands. Yes started and will end as indispensable prog rock pioneers (again, completely disregarding the early 1980's).

Ironically, this raglan concert jersey is from the early 1980's, but it is currently the best Yes item in our store, so here it shall be presented. Totally embarrassed by the outright contradictions throughout my own carefully crafted blog post, I will move on to my favorite item.

This shirt is one of my absolute favorites, among the thousands of items we have had/sold in the past. It is original, from the "Works" tour in 1977 and utterly cool (pardon my regression to teenage parlance). The collective album cover art of "Brain Salad Surgery" (art work originally done by H. R. Gieger, who also did art design for the first Alien film), "Tarkus", and "Emmerson, Lake & Palmer" make this shirt both indespensible and more for the framing and hanging (and less for the wearing).

Emmerson, Lake & Palmer is probably the premier progressive rock band. Hands down, with no exception. Rush & Yes (completely disregarding the 1980's) fans may be upset and riled to the point of violence - and though I cannot honestly say who would win a bar room brawl amongst the three bands -- my comment still stands.

Two radio friendly singles "Lucky Man" & "From the Beginning" had 1970's record album consumers wondering why the music contained on the rest of ELP's albums sounded nothing like the singles. I guess it is kind of a mean surprise -- you think you are buying some sweet Alvin Lee's Ten Years After and actually get "Tubular Bells." But such is progressive rock.

On a side note, "From the Beginning" has a similar intro to "Roundabout" by Yes so that during call-in radio contests asking listeners to identify a song based on a short riff, the two are constantly confused.

www.Thriftstore-Cowboy.com

Hawaii Five-O Scavenger Hunt Part 2

Let's call this "variation on a theme." I am aware that this blog is touted as one involving itself with vintage clothing. But lets not be pompous and exclusive here. Housewares and furniture can be equally enticing and therefore deserve inclusion, even though such items really cannot be adorned practically for a night on the town. As a compulsive collector of small coffee cups, I rarely turn down any espresso cup worthy of a place in my cramped cabinet(s). I generally hold to the same standard across a spectrum of vintage goods that I chance across (I thought I had a problem until I met my wife!) so this standard is easily applied to the other items that populate our house with no real practical purpose at all. I, however, never claimed to be the least bit practical and therefore have an easy time justifying our pack rat status.

This week has been a blast searching for items to feature here. I have an entire host of pictures from season one that need matching items, but those will come in due time. I must admit that this has been more of a challenge than anticipated. The age of the items makes them more difficult to locate in these modern times and you can bet that if I owned any of them, they wouldn't be for sale. Some clothing related posts are on the way - I just can't stand to pass up the housewares.

Once upon a time, before Dunkin' Donuts was a coffee shop, before Starbucks and McCafe, the Bunn-o-matic was truly king - and paper coffee cup sleeves were an art form. Okay, maybe not an art form, but definitely craft-worthy. To the right is a screen shot from "A Thousand Pardons - You're Dead!" (Hawaii Five-O, season two, original air date 9/24/69) in which we have the "basket woven coffee cup holder" complete with handle. I am sure that isn't the official name, but if anyone wants to provide me with one, I will gladly edit this post at a later date. I couldn't find any basket woven cup holders, but I am not surprised. Such a delicate item would be hard pressed to survive 40 years of usage, up to and including the recent popularity of the de-cluttering movement; various garage sales in the name of down sizing; and grandchildren sneaking off with them to be used in conjunction with an inadequate tea set. But I am not one without resources:

This is my personal favorite, from the same episode. I once had a patio set with a similar floral print on vinyl cushions. The previous owner had kept it immaculate condition (probably indoors) - there wasn't a spot of rust on it and the paint was crisp and white. The original umbrella and table cloth matched the seat cushions and it looked fabulous in my kitchen. We lost it in a move, but trust me, if I had a picture of it, it would be posted here as well. The item below, while not an exact match, is still a worthy find. The floral print is similar enough to meet my personal standards for this scavenger hunt and if I lived in the same state, I would probably be knocking on their door.

Stay tuned - there's more to come!