10/31/10
Viewer Mail: The Cast of Eerie Publications Performs the Johnson-Smith Horror Record
Just in time for Halloween, Jason of Scar Command found me through my Eerie Publications post to refer this video he made: a mashup of Eerie's cover illustrations and their contemporary, the 1973 Johnson-Smith horror record.
It's fantastic. I'm reminded of the Crazy Mixed-Up Dr. Evil spook show promo of the 60's, and it's pretty much what the inside of my brain looked like when I was pre-pubescent. Now I'll have to buy a pair of those LCD television glasses so this can soak into my retinas at all times. Again, fantastic.
As previously posted, these magazines were a little before my time, but I've been acquiring old copies of them since my teens. They're disturbing, to be sure, but I'm fascinated by kiddie culture during the Johnson and Nixon administrations; it was so grim and perverse. Remember, these magazines were sold in grocery stores and read by kids of all ages.
And I've forgotten how cool the Johnson-Smith record is. This 7" was only available through mail order from the company. This is one side. The other side is separate tracks of the same sound effects, as was common with cheap Halloween records of the era.
Read more about it at the resurrected Scar Stuff blog.
Glad you liked it sir! And I agree RE: kid-marketed products & culture during this era.
ReplyDeleteThough certainly it was a myriad of influences that coalesced to create the crazy media that was rampant during that time period, I have to imagine that seeing body bags & war footage regularly on the nightly news played at least some part in the tone of the general psyche.
...and check out that Chic Stone "double-headed hippie dismembers a vampire peacenik protester" art from the May 1969 cover of "Weird" (http://www.comicmonsters.com/article_images/Errie_Pub_Covers_Countdown/1.jpg) -- there are so many elements at play here that it makes my head spin!