Glam Rock Etsy Treasury

This one was really fun to make - enjoy!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4ca690e963448eefe20d96c7/ziggy-stardust

Dusty

My husband and I have a term that encompasses all things earthy, western, brown, and 70’s – “dusty”.  The term “dusty” covers quite a bit and can be applied as a descriptor for people, styles, and elements of pop culture from the 70’s, as well as, the rebirth of the western-DIY-wilderness-pioneer -chic  which has surfaced in places like Portland, Seattle, and New York in recent years.


Dusty in the 70’s

There was a weird obsession with “country” in the 70’s.  The sphere of country was vast in that it included all things western, southern, pioneer, and the back-to-the-land.  In addition, pop culture at the time did not seem to make distinctions between the different factions of country as seen in TV shows like the Duke’s of Hazzard  or movies like Smokey and the Bandit– you have Southern friend hicks styled as western cowboys. 

This certainly qualifies as "dusty”.  

Dukes of Hazzard



Smokey and the Bandit



Allman Brothers



John Denver

In addition, you had the Earth Shoe-wearing, sprout eating, pure country types like John Denver which was almost a hippie-western crossover.  Throw in the popularity of spaghetti westerns (which border on psychedelic), shows like Little House on the Prairie, and the rise of Southern Rock via Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers, and we are literally covered in dust.


Dusty in the 10's
Over the last few years, in urban communities like Brooklyn, Portland, and Seattle, interest in all things made by or with your hands has dominated the style scene.  This sensibility has lead to a hearkening for a simpler time, a more analog time, a time when craftsmanship was valued above mass production.  We see this reflected in places like artisan food movements, boutique brewing and distilling operations, the DIY and vintage fashion movement, gardening and food-raising, the new wave of folk rock bands, etc.  Low and behold, we have a new era of ”dusty” . 

Bands like Spindrift, Fleetfoxes, and the Moondoggies pull from the 70’s folk and southern rock sensibility. 


Moondoggies



Spindrift



Fleet Foxes






Beardos are everywhere and the men’s fashion in particular has a beatnik-meets hippie- meets southern rocker mix.  People are driving 70’s “super-vans”, if not their bikes.  Almost everyone I know is raising their own chickens and trying to move off of the energy grid.  No, the dust has not settled, but instead, it has reformed itself in a new era.





Super Van



Dusty Hipsters



Phosephene Dream

We have been wearing out this CD in my house lately.  I have loved the Black Angels for a long time and am looking forward to seeing them for the third time in Seattle on Nov. 29 at the Showbox at the Market.  The lead singer, Alex Mass, is the brother of our beautiful and talented friend Jennifer Mass who produced an excellent documentary on Seattle's 70 funk music scene called Wheedle's Groove: http://www.wheedlesgroovemovie.com/  That will be a separate post later...

Click link for video:
http://www.theblackangels.com/

The Swimmer

This is one of my favorite movies from the late 1960's.  I remember watching this movie as a kid on Dialing for Dollars while I was home sick from school.  It was as eerie to me then as it is now.  Based off of the 1964 short story by writer John Cheever, it follows the trials of suburbanite Neddy Merrill as he tries to traverse a Westchester County valley by swimming across it via all of the neighbors' swimming pools.  Along the way, the story deals with issues of aging, privilege, the generation gap, alcoholism, excess, mental illness, loss, and basic unconsciousness  Neddy is expertly portrayed by Burt Lancaster and one of the scenes includes the beautiful late actress Janice Rule.  I highly recommend it.  Also, you get such a great glimpse into upscale mid-century architecture and interior design - not to be missed!

 

Janice Rule

The GTO's

I love reading Pamela Des Barre's books about being a rock groupie in the 60's and 70's.  Her stories are so much fun and you always learn something new about the rock gods of the time.  She and some other groupies started their own girl-group in the late 60's called the GTO's (Girls Together Outrageously ), under the watchful tutelage of Frank Zappa.  A mix of theatrics, singing, and dance were staples of their act. Their only album, Permanent Damage (Straight Records), was produced in 1969 

Their collective talent didn't result to much, but they sure were fun to look at.  I love their crazy get-ups - lace and chiffon, Victorian details, outrageous make-up.  Fashion is so boring these days.

Havana Nights

My mom and her family used to vacation in Cuba pre-Castro.  It was a relatively easy journey from the East Coast and fun place for both parents and kids.  She was too little to take in the nightlife, but I bet my grandparents had a hell of a time.  Check out the wild club scenes from the 30's and 40's.

Honky Tonk Wig Out

I have been obsessed with listening to my Loretta Lynn inspired station on Pandora lately.  The late 60's and early 70's was such a wild years for country music - the ladies reigned supreme and were enjoying their new found freedoms through the women's liberation movement.  Part of this was reflected in the more sexulaized images these singers manifested.  And, there were wigs - very, very big wigs - with curls, and bumps, and falls.  God, those were the days - where you could wear a wig, everyone knew it was a wig, and you were all the more glamorous for doing so.  Here are a few of my favorites:





Tammy Wynette