MYSTERY 666 Don E. Stanton (1977); Paperback
Religious Fanaticism/Conspiracy Theory/Insanity 168 pages, Paperback
"The ultimate conspiracy is rapidly working today, through internationalism, ecumenism & satanism to enthrone the prophesied antichrist" (from cover) Takes a bizarre literal approach to the book of Revelation and the apocalypse in Daniel. Yeah right - of course the writer of the Apocalypse was writing about the twentieth century Ecumenical movement to the seven churches of Asia Minor! I am sure that message would have brought them a lot of comfort. Hehehehehehe.......
SUPERFLY Issue #2 (1994) Mike Diana; Comic
Rare 1994 first print. Superfly #2 Mike Diana (Mike Hunt Comix) 32pages
Nasty/Underground/Banned/Obscene Comic, Used
Mike Diana's work, which is largely self-published, deals with themes including sexuality, violence, and religion. He is the first person to receive a criminal conviction in the USA for artistic obscenity. In this issue: Gator Bait, I Cum In Peace, Jailed Just For Drawing Comics, Bill & Jill Meet Emma ... and more!
SUPERFLY Issue #1 (1993) Mike Diana; Comic
Mike Diana - Published by Michael Hunt Publications (Mike Hunt Comix). 36 pages, Used
Adult/Offensive/Underground/Banned Comic, Used
Mike Diana is the first cartoonist ever to be convicted of obscenity in the United States. Superfly # 1 was his first comic after being jailed on the obscenity charge.
THE GREAT SHARK HUNT Hunter S Thompson (1979); Paperback
635 page collection of Thompson's essays from 1956 to the end of the 1970s Paperback, Used
The book is broken into four parts, not strictly chronological, starting with a collection of his more famous Gonzo-style articles, including those about the Kentucky Derby, his Chicano lawyer friend Oscar Zeta Acosta, and the 1973 Super Bowl; then a section on politics, including excerpts from his "Fear and Loathing on the campaign trail 72" and a group of articles from 1973 and 1974 documenting the last months of Nixon's presidency; a selection of Thompson's earliest writing including for National Observer and the U.S. Air Force; ending up with later cultural commentary and other items. Sections from the author's two original Fear and Loathing serials (...in Las Vegas and ...on the Campaign trail 72) are excerpted. Thompson worked for several different publications throughout his career, and The Great Shark Hunt covers articles from the National Observer, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Playboy, and others.
DECENTRALISATION 3 Jacques Villeglé (Frac Corse); Paperback
French exhibition book from Jacques Villeglé's 2001 exhibition at Frac Corse (Corsica), Used (Some cover damage)
It has been fifty years now that Jacques Villeglé has chosen his gesture, his expression: fifty years of exploration in a practice that is still alive and which nonetheless belongs to the history of 20th century art, through the group New Realists coordinated by Pierre Restany in 1960, alongside the Arman, the Hain, the Tinguely: a gesture of a collector who chooses and collects on the walls of cities the accumulated and lacerated posters, fragments of images and signs of time. This appropriation of fragments of reality touches both abstract painting and Lettrist poetry; she holds up a mirror to the way in which society constructs its own representation and how the "anonymous lacerator" comes to mark its reaction on the skin of the walls to the world around it. The artist is simply the one who takes these fragments of reality by framing significant details and transforming these rough moments into a painting, thus testifying to contemporary history. Today of international reputation and represented in the largest European and American museums, Jacques Villeglé pays the same attention to the world around him, by taking an interest in and grouping by series his samples of political, advertising posters or even those of electronic music concerts. Villeglé is always a tireless surveyor sensitive to all the significant encounters produced by the uprooting gesture. He is tirelessly enthusiastic to go in search of these riches of everyday culture: also, when he saw photographs of the display columns taken in Bastia by Anne Deleporte, an artist invited by the FRAC for another project, he was ready to come and do his work of sampling ("uncrusting" he says) and preparing a painting in Corsica, sure to find in this memory through the skin of the walls, striking signs of Corsican reality. (French Language Only 48 pages, 100's of colour photos)
JIM MORRISON AND THE DOORS Mike Jahn (1969); Paperback (Rare!)
96 pages Rock/Music/Biography/The Doors 1969; Paperback (Rare book, completely intact but rough condition)
This is among the first books written about The Doors. Morrison himself seemed very different from other rock luminaries at the time, as he came off more like a poet and intellectual. The New Haven arrest is mentioned. The incident at the Whisky is given the nod. All of the important early beats are covered. There is Morrison's time in the wilderness, so to speak. Notably, Morrison's intellectual pursuits elevate him above the status quo. The author stated that to understand The Doors, you should read THE BIRTH OF TRAGEDY, by Friedrich Nietzsche. (Rare!)
THE SEAMY SIDE OF HISTORY Honore de Balzac; Paperback
"The Seamy Side of History" (1840-1847) founded on a conception the obverse of the famous "Thirteen," in which a Brotherhood of Consolation, a secret society of men, joined together for the purpose of remedying the evils which society neglects. Madame de la Chanterie, persecuted and outraged, yet never failing in faith and fortitude, is the most sublime figure in the Comedie Humaine. Balzac is always a pleasure to read even if you do not appreciate the story.
Bret Easton Ellis's Controversial Fiction: Writing Between High and Low Culture (2013); Paperback
238 pages (Literary Studies), Used
Both literary author and celebrity, Bret Easton Ellis represents a type of contemporary writer who draws from both high and the low culture, using popular culture references, styles and subject matters in a literary fiction that goes beyond mere entertainment. His fiction, arousing the interest of the academia, mass media and general public, has fuelled heated controversy over his work. This controversy has often prevented serious analysis of his fiction, and this book is the first monograph to fill in this gap by offering a comprehensive textual and contextual analysis of his most important works up to the latest novel Imperial Bedrooms. Offering a study of the reception of each novel, the influence of popular, mass and consumer culture in them, and the analysis of their literary style, it takes into account the controversies surrounding the novels and the changes produced in the shifty terrain of the literary marketplace. It offers anyone studying contemporary American fiction a thorough and unique analysis of Ellis's work and his own place in the literary and cultural panorama.
PARADISE LOST John Milton; Paperback
512 pages (2003 reprint)
“This magnificent edition gives us everything we need to read Milton intelligently and with fresh perception.”
"Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven."
CONFUSION IS NEXT: The Sonic Youth Story (1994) Paperback
Music/Punk/Sonic Youth/Experimental 274 pages, Used
The unconventional history and experimental music of Sonic Youth, a seminal, New York-based post-punk band, should make a compelling story. Emerging from the punk-rock culture and avant-garde New York art scene of the 1970s, Sonic Youth has produced a myriad of records and side projects, and inspired scores of other bands with its glamorous bohemian poses, dedication to the underground art world and a noisy punk sound marked by unorthodox guitar tunings and screeching feedback. An unabashed admirer, Spin contributing editor Foege's solemn panegyric fails to pierce the band's cool veneer, throwing little light on its enigmatic members and aesthetic inconsistencies. Through interviews with the band's friends and collaborators, Foege meticulously charts its links to New York's "no wave" music scene of the late '70s, the grass-roots punk culture of the early '80s and the widespread assimilation of "indie" rock by the mainstream music industry in the early '90s. By contrast, he gives short shrift to the band's private lives (sorely absent are details of the marriage and recent parenthood of vocalists Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon). This will be of significance mainly to record collectors and fans
ALL KNOWN METAL BANDS (2008); Hardcover
300 pages Dan Nelson, Used
This volume contains the names of over 50,000 metal bands. Presuming that each of these bands had an average of four members, and multipling that by the number of bands, one might figure that at least a quarter of a million humans have pledged allegiance to one of them at some point is his or her lifetime. Never has a genre of music relegated to the underground of a civilization had so many devotees; no radio needs to transmit the power of this music, for it is sought out fiercely and freely by the doomed and the dispossessed, whose ears are never soiled by songs of love and weakness. These names are invisible tokens to be spoken aloud, each representing a human quest for superhuman spectacle: shaking floorboards and quivering walls, split ears leaking blood, with faces painted and ornaments pointy, voices uttering eternal truths shunned by woman and man alike.
TYPE PLAYER (2009); Paperback
256 pages Art/Design/Font/Graphic, New
Type can be commonly seen in our everyday lives, from covers of books, contents of commercial posters, to prints on T-shirts. Despite its commonness, it is still one of the most favoured elements that designers love to play with. The talented type players always inject life and sprit into the letters and characters, making type more appealing and fascinating. Type Player collects the world's latest and creative typographic design and their applications and presents them in their full glory. This book is expected to be an indispensable resource to any designer who looks forward to original and high quality work in typography, regardless of the medium.
