Allee Willis Blog » 2009 September

18Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Outdoor Transistor Radio-Mania

18Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Outdoor Transistor Radio-Mania

owl,-ladybug-transistor-radio__3548

I love actual owls and ladybugs but none so much as these transistorized versions. I have entire zoos and forests of these things but these are two of my favorites – a ladybug who, when you twist her left eyeball, opens her wing to expose a still working speaker and an owl who, when you twist her right pink rhinestone eyeball, chirps the sound of AM radio as clear as the day she was hatched. I bought the owl in the early ’80s and she still works perfectly despite the fact that I’ve never changed her batteries.

The ladybug, all plastic and made in Hong Kong by Sonnet, British Design, is 5 inches long and an inch and a half tall and counting. She comes with a convenient wrist strap and two rubber antennae.

The owl, made in Japan, is 8 inches tall and fat with a plastic body and gold medal wings, eyes, legs and speaker holes in the crotch.

I love actual owls and ladybugs but none so much as these transistorized versions. I have entire zoos and forests of these things but these are two of my favorites – a ladybug who, when you twist her left eyeball, opens her wing to expose a still working speaker and an owl who, when you twist her right pink rhinestone eyeball, chirps the sound of AM radio as clear as the day she was hatched. I bought the owl in the early ’80s and she still works perfectly despite the fact that I’ve never changed her batteries.

The ladybug’s all plastic and made in Hong Kong by Sonnet, British Design. Five inches long by an inch and a half tall, she comes with a convenient wrist strap and two rubber antennae which serve no apparent purpose.

The owl, made in Japan, is 8 inches tall and fat with a plastic body and gold medal wings, eyes, legs and speaker holes in the crotch.

Close ups of the species:

17Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – “What’s Wrong With This Kitschture?”

17Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – “What’s Wrong With This Kitschture?”

What was the marketing guy thinking when he hooked up The Supremes with a bread brand deal? Pumpernickel maybe, but white bread?!

I own the plastic sleeve the bread came in. Made in 1966 by Schafer Bakeries, Inc. of Lansing, Michigan, in partnership with Hitsville Merchandising, where someone should have caught the irony of the bread match.

Please play the film for optimum Kitsch pleasure!

16Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – “The Kitsch And Famous”

16Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – “The Kitsch And Famous”

Nothing better than celebrity Kitsch! They have enough money and should know better but that’s when some of the biggest Kitsch gets committed. The killers happen with products that have nothing to do with the person’s name that adorns them like Mohammed Ali shoe polish, products that have all too much to do with the celebrity like a Brigitte Bardot bra, or products that shouldn’t have anything to do with the celebrity like Lucille Ball cigarettes. It’s all here in Film #4 in my “What Is Kitsch?” film fest commemorating the opening of the Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch.

15Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Aftermath, Grand Opening Party #1

15Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Aftermath, Grand Opening Party #1

awmok-party_3326

Today’s post should have been the big ol’ blowout post of ’em all detailing the spectacular party last night celebrating the Grand Opening of the Allee Willis Museum Of Kitsch at awmok.com and the physical display at Ghettogloss. If my only problem was that after months of no sleep because of the enormous amount of prep all this demanded I feel like I’m inhabiting the body of a 90-year-old I could deal with it. But here’s what my wake-up hours have been consumed with so far: A) I won’t have party photos taken by the pro photog until Thursday. I thought no big deal as I had someone following me around snapping photos of significant moments anyway. But upon dumping them into my computer 30 seconds ago I see that most of these are almost pitch black because the camera was on the wrong setting. So, no party photos until late Thurs. And re video, there’s 15 hours of footage from three cameras. Perhaps by the time I actually am 90 this will be edited. But for now I must live with the fact I have no physical proof of the frivolity and mayhem that ensued for a medium that demands immediacy.

I could deal with the reality of this were it not for the torture YouTube has heaping upon me for the last 12 hours. The centerpiece of this Grand Opening week was to be the “What Is Kitsch” YouTube film festival, one new short film I made on the subject released every day through next Monday when the second party occurs. However, unbeknownst to the unsuspecting patrons of YouTube, the interface had a hysterectomy last night, the side effects of which continue, preventing anything from being uploaded. Although something seems to have changed in the last five minutes and today’s film finally uploaded it still doesn’t appear that you can leave comments, rate or favorite anything. Not good news for someone whose entire promo strategy depends on the cumulative effect of these films. Is now the time to pop the Valiums?

On top of this, today is a massive day of press which means me, my house and studio need to be spotless for photos. Not an easy feat after all the party prep that happened here and all the boxes that had to come home and be stored here before the next party on Monday. Also, the aforementioned 90-year-old body I am inhabiting today isn’t much for housework.

I also need to attend to my duties in the Kitschenette at awmok.com as many submissions have started to come in. I’m beyond excited at the prospect of seeing so many people’s Kitsch and moderating the conversations that start up around all of it. It’s the beginning of the party I’ve always wanted to throw online. I just wish I had another 24 hours before today starts.

It’s going to be a most interesting day and the kitschiest thing about it is going to be me.

Today’s post should have been the big ol’ blowout post of ’em all detailing the spectacular party last night celebrating the Grand Opening of the Allee Willis Museum Of Kitsch at awmok.com and the physical display at Ghettogloss. If my only problem was that after months of no sleep because of the enormous amount of prep all this demanded I feel like I’m inhabiting the body of a 90-year-old I could deal with it. But here’s what my wake-up hours have been consumed with so far: A) I won’t have party photos taken by the pro photog until Thursday. I thought no big deal as I had someone following me around snapping photos of significant moments anyway. But upon dumping them into my computer 30 seconds ago I see that most of these are almost pitch black because the camera was on the wrong setting. So, no party photos until late Thurs. And re video, there’s 15 hours of footage from three cameras. Perhaps by the time I actually am 90 this will be edited. So I must live with no physical proof of the frivolity and mayhem that ensued for a medium that demands immediacy.

I could deal with the reality of this were it not for the torture YouTube his heaping upon me for the last 12 hours. The centerpiece of this Grand Opening week was to be the “What Is Kitsch” YouTube film festival, one new short film I made on the subject released every day through next Monday when the second party occurs. However, unbeknownst to the unsuspecting patrons of YouTube, the interface had a hysterectomy last night, the side effects of which continue, preventing anything from being uploaded. Although something seems to have changed in the last five minutes and today’s film finally uploaded it still doesn’t appear that you can leave comments, rate or favorite anything. Not good news for someone whose entire promo strategy depends on the cumulative effect of these films. Is now the time to pop the Valiums?

On top of this, today is a massive day of press which means me, my house and studio need to be spotless for photos. Not an easy feat after all the party prep that happened here and all the boxes that had to come home and be stored here before the next party on Monday. Also, the aforementioned 90-year-old body I am inhabiting today those much better at its normal age.

I also need to attend to my duties in the Kitschenette at awmok.com as many submissions have started to come in. I’m beyond excited at the prospect of seeing so many people’s Kitsch and moderating the conversations that start up around all of it. It’s the beginning of the party I’ve always wanted to throw online. I just wish I had another 24 hours before today starts.

It’s going to be a most interesting day and the kitschiest thing about it is going to be me.

14Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – The Allee Willis Museum Of Kitsch and “What Is Kitsch?” YouTube Film Festival coming today!

14Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – The Allee Willis Museum Of Kitsch and “What Is Kitsch?” YouTube Film Festival coming today!

Running around all day today on about a second of sleep doing final tweaks on the first party celebrating the Grand Opening of The Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch tonight as well as coding my tootsies off on the virtual Museum, the heart of the experience, at AWMoK.com. I hope to open the floodgates online at noon LA time. (Until then, the ‘Coming September 14th’ page with the trailer, press and a few other goodies is still there.) Not sure I’ll make the noon door opening but once it flies open there’s some magnificently supreme kitsch to browse through in The Museum itself and in the Kitschenette wing there are incredibly easy instructions, customized for dummies and people like me who get confused reading directions of any sort, for how to submit your own prize Kitsch.

AWMoK.com is a mini social network, built to scale up and incorporate more interactivity as more Kitsch is injected into it. Please visit later today or tomorrow and register to become an aKitscionado, another process that I’ve slaved over so it’s pathetically quick and easy. You can browse both The Museum and The Kitschenette but you need to register in order to submit anything or make comments.

Party photos will go up sometime tomorrow and video will follow though not sure when. The parties, tonight and next Monday night, were supposed to be webcast but the DSL at the gallery can’t handle the upload speeds so now it means digitizing six hours of footage from each of the three cameras and editing everything, a far more gruesome process than just letting it stream as it happens. But photos will be up as soon as I wake up tomorrow, which could be God knows what time as I haven’t slept in a week and have to do a lot of press tomorrow.

Today is also the beginning of a weeklong “What Is Kitsch?” Film Festival on YouTube, eight short films I made on the subject of Kitsch. I’ll be posting the links to these when I upload them. There are two going up today, the introductory film, “What Is Kitsch?”, as well as one that’s about submitting items to The Museum. (When I say submitting items I mean images and descriptions. As much as I’d love to own all the stuff you guys tell me about, The Museum is virtual so photos and not the actual item is what you’ll be contributing.)

I’ve worked on putting The Allee Willis Museum Of Kitsch together online ever since I started my Kitsch O’ The Day blog seven months ago. Integrating virtual and physical spaces is what I’ve dreamed about doing since I stumbled on the Internet in 1991. I hope you enjoy The Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch, The Kitschenette and the eight short films as much as I’ve enjoyed – though sometimes been tortured by! – making them.

Nice story in the LA Times today too.

Running around all day today on about a second of sleep doing final tweaks on the first party celebrating the Grand Opening of The Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch tonight as well as coding my tootsies off on the virtual Museum, the heart of the experience, at AWMoK.com. I hope to open the floodgates online at noon LA time. (Until then, the ‘Coming September 14th’ page with the trailer, press and a few other goodies is still there.) Not sure I’ll make the noon door opening but once it flies open there’s some magnificently supreme kitsch to browse through in The Museum itself and in the Kitschenette wing there are incredibly easy instructions, customized for dummies and people like me who get confused reading directions of any sort, for how to submit your own prize Kitsch.

AWMoK.com is a mini social network, built to scale up and incorporate more interactivity as more Kitsch is injected into it. Please visit later today or tomorrow and register to become an aKitscionado, another process that I’ve slaved over so it’s pathetically quick and easy. You can browse both The Museum and The Kitschenette but you need to register in order to submit anything or make comments.

Party photos will go up sometime tomorrow and video will follow though not sure when. The parties, tonight and next Monday night, were supposed to be webcast but the DSL at the gallery can’t handle the upload speeds so now it means digitizing six hours of footage from each of the three cameras and editing everything, a far more gruesome process than just letting it stream as it happens. But photos will be up as soon as I wake up tomorrow, which could be God knows what time as I haven’t slept in a week and have to do a lot of press tomorrow. a

Today is also the beginning of a weeklong “What Is Kitsch?” Film Festival on YouTube, eight short films I made on the subject of Kitsch. I’ll be posting the links to these when I upload them. There are two going up today, the introductory film, “What Is Kitsch?”, as well as one that’s about submitting items to The Museum. (When I say submitting items I mean images and descriptions. As much as I’d love to own all the stuff you guys tell me about, The Museum is virtual so photos and not the actual item is what you’ll be contributing.)

I’ve worked on putting The Allee Willis Museum Of Kitsch together online ever since I started my Kitsch O’ The Day blog seven months ago. Integrating virtual and physical spaces is what I’ve dreamed about doing since I stumbled on the Internet in 1991. I hope you enjoy The Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch, The Kitschenette and the eight short films as much as I’ve enjoyed – though sometimes been tortured by! – making them.

13Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Me

13Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Me

I had always thought that the day before the Grand opening of the virtual Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch I would have one of the most spectacular pieces of kKitsch in my collection to feature on Kitsch O’ The Day. But I’m going completely insane on massive overload trying to get the online interface/mini social network at awmok.com scotch-taped together enough to open tomorrow – sometime between noon and 5 PM West Coast time – not to mention building physical displays, handmaking souvenirs and getting auction items ready for the first of two grand opening parties tomorrow night at Ghettogloss on Melrose.

I have no hands left, my brain has been reduced to the size of a pea and the thought of photographing one more piece of my Kitsch and writing a description is enough to throw me into a deep coma after mounting an exhibition of every object featured in Kitsch O’ The Day since I began the blog in early March, building customized bubble display cases for everything, tweaking the descriptions, filling four foot wide bowls almost big enough to take baths in with junk food, and doing the 175 other things on my list for what I’m sure will be another 20 hour day of tweaks. So no Beatles sneakers, bedazzled Snuggies or motorized go-go boots that move on their own to “These Boots Were Made For Walking” today and, instead, an amazing 4′ x 4′ three-dimensional-made-from-all-my-junk “Allee Is Kitsch” portrait of me done by my very talented friend, Jason Mecier. The portrait is featured at the opening parties along with the other 150 aforementioned Kitschifyingly spectacular objects.

If you haven’t seen the trailer yet or don’t know much about The Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch please proceed to awmok.com. Otherwise, see ya tomorrow!

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2009-09-10-kitsch-museum_N.htm

http://www.examiner.com/x-8310-Trendy-Living-Examiner~y2009m9d7-Allee-Willis-Museum-of-Kitsch-opening

http://flavorpill.com/losangeles/events/2009/9/14/allee-willis-museum-of-kitsch

http://eccentricroadside.blogspot.com/2009/09/whole-kitsch-and-caboodle-allee-willis.html

http://bitchmagazine.org/post/bitch-popaganda-superwomen-or-lack-thereof-edition

I had always thought that the day before the Grand opening of the virtual Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch I would have one of the most spectacular pieces of Kitsch in my collection to feature on Kitsch O’ The Day. But I’m going completely insane on massive overload trying to get the online interface/mini social network at awmok.com scotch-taped together enough to open tomorrow – sometime between noon and 5 PM West Coast time – not to mention building physical displays, handmaking souvenirs and getting auction items ready for the first of two grand opening parties tomorrow night at Ghettogloss on Melrose.

I have no hands left, my brain has been reduced to the size of a pea and the thought of photographing one more piece of my Kitsch and writing a description is enough to throw me into a deep coma after mounting an exhibition of every object featured in Kitsch O’ The Day since I began the blog in early March, building customized bubble display cases for everything, tweaking the descriptions, filling four foot wide bowls almost big enough to take baths in with junk food, and doing the 175 other things on my list for what I’m sure will be another 20 hour day of tweaks. So no Beatles sneakers, bedazzled Snuggies or motorized go-go boots that move on their own to “These Boots Were Made For Walking” today and, instead, an amazing 4′ x 4′ three-dimensional-made-from-all-my-junk “Allee Is Kitsch” portrait of me done by my very talented friend, Jason Mecier. The portrait is featured at the opening parties along with the other 150 aforementioned Kitschifyingly spectacular objects.

If you haven’t seen the trailer yet or don’t know much about The Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch please proceed to awmok.com. Otherwise, see ya there tomorrow!

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2009-09-10-kitsch-museum_N.htm

http://www.examiner.com/x-8310-Trendy-Living-Examiner~y2009m9d7-Allee-Willis-Museum-of-Kitsch-opening

http://flavorpill.com/losangeles/events/2009/9/14/allee-willis-museum-of-kitsch

http://eccentricroadside.blogspot.com/2009/09/whole-kitsch-and-caboodle-allee-willis.html

http://bitchmagazine.org/post/bitch-popaganda-superwomen-or-lack-thereof-edition

10Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Box of Fake Whitman’s Sampler Chocolates

10Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Box of Fake Whitman’s Sampler Chocolates

whitmans-chocolates2_3236

This 1950’s one pound drugstore display box of the premiere brand of boxed chocolate sold everywhere but actual candy stores is the best replica of candy I’ve ever seen in my life. The gold foil wrap is still in pristine condition. The pink, yellow and green sugar coated almonds look as fresh as the day they were dipped. The chocolate hugs the peanuts and caramel so realistically it’s hard not to pop one of these in my mouth every time I open the box.

I grew up with a box of the real Whitman’s always in our cupboard. The chocolate covered caramels and nuts were my most favorite with the brittle a close second. I used to save the molded plastic inserts that the candies fit into and build housing complexes for my marbles.

This particular box is the Whitman’s cross stitch sampler, a theme that’s carried through on the box with its textured embroidery look but as far as I can tell that’s the only thing that differed this box of Whitman’s from any other one. This is also one of the first things I found in a thrift shop when I started collecting.

This 1950’s one pound drugstore display box of the premiere brand of boxed chocolate sold everywhere but actual candy stores is the best replica of candy I’ve ever seen in my life. The gold foil wrap is still in pristine condition. The pink, yellow and green sugar coated almonds look as fresh as the day they were dipped. The chocolate hugs the peanuts and caramel so realistically it’s hard not to pop one of these in my mouth every time I open the box.

I grew up with this box in our living room. I used to save the molded plastic inserts that the candies fit into and build housing complexes for my marbles. The chocolate covered caramels and nuts were my most favorite with the brittle a close second.

This particular box is the Whitman’s cross stitch sampler, a theme that’s carried through on the box with its textured embroidery look but as far as I can tell that’s the only thing that differed this box of Whitman’s from any other one. This is also one of the first things I found in a thrift shop when I started collecting.

10Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Vintage Concrete Pink Flamingos

10Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Vintage Concrete Pink Flamingos

flamingos_3230

These three beauties are the real deal, the kind that used to bake in the sun in Florida in the 1950’s glory days of pink flamingos, not the hideous shocking pink plastic repros that proliferate in catalogs today. These gals are made of solid concrete and weigh a ton; even the baby is a 10 pounder.

The super baby pink is faded to perfection and the thin metal legs are rusted as if they’ve been wading in an Okeefenokee swamp for decades. These three flamingos stand as proud today as when they were hatched back in 1950.

09Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – TV Salt & Pepper Shakers/Photo Holder

09Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – TV Salt & Pepper Shakers/Photo Holder

tv-s&ps_0098

This is one of the first things I found when I started collecting vintage accessories. I also collected matching TVs, real ones like Predictas, Halo-Visions, hanging spheres and the like. I LOVE television and televisions. So this ‘Tiny-TV’ S&P set has been the main condiment carrier at my place for years.

The S&P containers raise up and down by turning the gold ‘on/off’ knob. It’s also theoretically a photo holder. You’re supposed to be able to push the screen in and slide in a photo. But this part of the TV is completely ill-conceived as the plastic, as I’m sure it was even back in its day, is unbelievably brittle so the slightest bit of pressure shatters the screen. And even if you could get the photo in there to be a real TV it ought to be behind the screen and not in front of it where grease and everything else going into your body can spatter it. Despite its shortcomings, this, one of five I’ve collected over the years, is still one of my favorite S&Ps.

This is one of the first things I found when I started collecting vintage accessories. I also collected matching TVs, real ones like Predictas, Halo-Visions, hanging spheres and the like. I LOVE television and televisions. So this ‘Tiny-TV’ S&P set has been the main condiment carrier at my place for years. The S&P containers raise up and down by turning the gold ‘on/off knob. It’s also theoretically a photo holder. You’re supposed to be able to push the screen in and slide in a photo. But this part of the TV is completely ill-conceived as the plastic, as I’m sure it was even back in its day, is unbelievably brittle so the slightest bit of pressure shatters the screen. And even if you could get the photo in there to be a real TV it ought to be behind the screen and not in front of it where grease and everything else going into your body can spatter it. Despite its shortcomings, this, one of five I’ve collected over the years, is still one of my favorite S&Ps.

08Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Abilene High’s Pure Gold 2006 Performance of “September”

08Sep 2009

Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Abilene High’s Pure Gold 2006 Performance of “September”

This starts out looking like a performance in a dinner theater and quickly spirals into something out of “Hair”. Between ‘costumes’ from much earlier in the ’70s than when my song came out and the exceedingly Caucasian phrasing of the lyrics and choreography this is, in a Kitsch lovers universe, a stupendous rendition of “September”.

If you live in Los Angeles, come to Ghettogloss on Monday night, September 21 (“Do you remember the 21st night of September?”) for a party commemorating the opening of The Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch featuring karaoke versions of this song that changed the course of my career. Hopefully, you’re as skilled as the folks who took the stage at Abilene High.

This starts out looking like a performance in a dinner theater and quickly spirals into something that out of “Hair”. Between ‘costumes’ from much earlier in the 70s then when my song came out and the exceedingly Caucasian phrasing of the lyrics and choreography this is, in a Kitsch lovers universe, a stupendous rendition of September.

If you live in Los Angeles, come to Ghettogloss on Monday night, September 21 (“Do you remember the 21st night of September?”) for a party commemorating the opening of the Allee Willis Museum of Kitsch featuring karaoke versions of this song that changed the course of my career. Hopefully, you’re as skilled as the folks who took the stage at Abilene High.