The Queen of Pin-up: Bettie Page

picture courtesy of wikicommons

I've been checking this blog's stats and have found that my post featuring a Betty Paige lighter has started to pick up popularity.

So why not a post all about her?!Honestly, I really didn't know much about her until recently. I randomly looked her up and found a video that just made me giggle.
Coquettish, coy, sensual, but never crass, she had an air about her of complete subtlety and acceptance over sexuality in an age where the opposite was supreme.

And get this, (I am imprrrressed) she was a straight-A student and got her Bachelors of Arts at Peabody college. A post from an anonymous source on IMDB, states she started modeling while looking for a secretary job in New York. Her official page doesn't mention it but it does confirm that she started modeling in New York.

She lost her fame upon religious groups and the government investigating her for exposing nudity to the public and basically accusing her of being too sexual for her own good (as I am sure those who hounded her may have thought).

She eventually evaded the eye of fame and stayed in the background until she was found and questioned before her death in 2008 (crazy).

Few documentaries were made regarding her life before, during, and after being a pin-up model. Two years ago, the documentary Bettie Page Reveals All was released featuring celebrities such as Naomi Campbell, Dita Von Teese, and Hugh Hefner. Definitely will check that out.

Her fame has stood 5 decades and counting; replicated in burlesque shows by fans who admire her work. Watching her videos, many in the modeling business and even our sisters can learn: you are beautiful, sexy, hot in any way you dress just by loving yourself, having confidence, and being brave in not giving a rat's ass about what anybody thinks. All of the legends we have lost so far are evidence such things exist.

Til Next blogpost,

Miss Bobo

Tally Ho! Discoveries and Other Finds pt.1

Tiger! Tiger! (photo courtesy of tigertigerrocks.com)

Hello Hello. Long time no talk. Hope those who are celebrating are having a happy Thanksgiving day and those who aren't celebrating: I still wish you a good day.

So now at the matter at hand:
Lately I have been music cruising. Listening to some new rockin' sounds and determining which ones to actually put my two cents about. So far I found four to recommend and I'll be breaking 2 of them down in this post.

The first one is a band from Atlanta named Tiger! Tiger! This year they have released a new album with a hot cover titled "Cut Them Where They Bleed" that blend retro 60-ish rock elements with garage sounds and punk riff/drums combo. They've been around since 2005 and have made a name for themselves in Atlanta, Georgia. They are currently signed with a record company called Chicken Ranch Records that have signed other good underground artists. I find this band unique in that not only do they have different play in vocals with different albums (male and female), but they also use instrumental elements that were used in the 1960's such as the organ and saxophone. For those of you who are into garage, punk, and retro melodies that remind you of music such done by artists like The Doors, I definitely recommend listening to this band. You can check their website (tigertigerrocks.com) or preview their stuff on bandcamp. If you dig their album I also recommend purchasing on their bandcamp page or on their Ranch Records page since searching them on iTunes can be a bit too hectic AND you save a $1.

picture of Peelander-Z from their official site

The second awesome band I found is called Peelander-Z. Peelander-Z started in NYC in 1998 and since their first U.S. National tour in 2002, have been continuously performing with their crazy antics and dressing in expression of inspiration of the Power Rangers & other Japanese and American pop Sci-Fi culture icons. Although, they started in NYC, their band members are straight from Japan and have never lost their spunk on stage. Listening to their music, I enjoyed the vivaciousness and strong spirit that have been put in songs such as "Star Bowling" from their most recent album. Their sound kinda reminds me of the Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi show that appeared in Cartoon Network for a short time (if you remember I quantumly high five you). Point: For those of you who loved Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi or love Japanese pop rock (no not J-pop) then I recommend checking this band out. You can look them up on iTunes with no mess (as long as you type it correctly) or you can check their Chicken Ranch Records page that provides links to their different pages.

(Note: all highlighted underlined words are links to pages of aforementioned artists, guarantee of no fake pages.And all aforementioned information has been taken from the Chicken Ranch Records pages along with iTunes bio. Information provided is not owned by Rockinglicious but by the respected aformentioned parties (i.e bands and their pages)