This cheesy 1979 promo film from the group,
Blackjack, offers a glimpse into the hard rock past of balladeer Michael Bolton, which also includes a co-writing credit for a
Top 40 hit by Kiss. Similarly, Bill Joel disavows the days when he
posed in medieval armor next to slabs of raw beef on the cover of the self-titled album by Joel's heavy metal duo,
Attila, although
Julian Cope is a fan of the album and its Deep Purplish vibes (check out
Holy Moses and
Wonder Woman). To round out the trifecta, we have Tori Amos who got marketed as the metal-chick frontwoman of
Y Kant Tori Read (check out the video for
The Big Picture). On the other hand, metalheads have the opposite problem of hiding their pop past. Examples include the industrial metal band Ministry's early days as a
new wave synth act and Tommy Iommi's brief tenure as a
member of Jethro Tull before becoming lead guitarist of Black Sabbath. Meanwhile,
Bon Scott, the late lead singer of AC/DC, is probably spinning in his grave over the YouTube footage of him as an
Australian teen idol and a
bearded hippie with a recorder.
posted by jonp72
on Nov 26, 2007 -
70 comments
A very brief history of conservatories,
and another.
And little more on
orangeries.
More than just a place to keep plants warm, conservatories peaked in popularity (and size) in the second half of the 19th century. They popped up all
over Europe, wherever
elites wanted to show off their 'exotic' plunders.
Made from more than a million feet of glass, the
Crystal Palace may have been the awesomest of them all: it was initially built to showcase the wonders of Victorian England, and its exhibits included the latest technological innovations, the largest organ in the world, a circus, objects from Australia, India, and other colonial lands, along with the many tropical plant species we usually associate with big glass buildings. The whole thing was later moved to South London and eventually housed a television station and became associated with
a well-known football club. Finally, it burned to the ground in 1936. Coincidentally, Munich's copycat, the
Glaspalast was destroyed by arson as well. (But each year's
catalog of exhibits has been digitized!)
Conservatories flourish in
North America as well.
San Francisco's Conservatory of Flowers was assembled from a kit, survived the '06 earthquake, but had to be rebuilt after successive explosions, fires, rotten wood, and a massive wind-storm. (Don't miss their
cooking tips, but watch out – their site may be
NSFW.)
And although they certainly aren't as popular as they used to be, contemporary conservatories
can be found.
Before you leave the world of glass houses, take a quick look at some
photos of Detroit's hidden treasure.
posted by serazin
on Mar 12, 2007 -
14 comments
