While cataloging New York based organizations for the New York Musicians Index and Archive (or the NYMIA, a forthcoming resource for musicians in New York State), I found a really cool link on the New York Sheet Music Society’s web site to the “Hula Pages,” a website whose purpose (according to it’s “introduction” page) “is to document the cover art from vintage Hawaiian, tropical and exotic-themed sheet music.” We likey!
Lots and lots of great stuff over there. We have this one from 1915, which I sort of think is visually suggestive.
Isn’t there an old saying that goes, “exotica is just erotica with an x instead of an r?” If there isn’t, well, then there should be. Check out some of the other great covers:
There are literally hundreds of covers over there, so if you’re into old sheet music and exotica, you really, really can’t go wrong. Why, some of these titles there were even recorded on cylinder back in the day! Go have a listen!
AND SPEAKING OF CYLINDERS, be sure to check out the ARChive’s anti-iPhone contest, which I’m now calling the Plastic Cup Challenge! My cup-cutter should arrive this week (I’ve got confirmation that it’s shipped) and you can bet I’ll be blogging about it, so stay tuned!
dtn
BUSTED, Dan, your “old saying” is only about 20 minutes old!
The well established exotica/erotica link boils down to the Puritan fascination with those naughty natives and all the fun they get up to without an angry Christian God™ breathing down their necks.
Check this out, Dr. Freud, and tell me what the volcano at the end of the Puffa-Puffa Rice commercial means?
– Jonny
It means “Filthy HUMANS! YOU MUST APPEASE ME WITH MORE PUFFA-PUFFA VIRGINS!”