Hey - anyone know anything about this new book coming out in April?

"Mondo Exotica: Sounds, Visions, Obsessions of the Cocktail Generation"

Holy crap!

I just stumbled on it while browsing Amazon. There will be cloth-bound and paperback versions, but there were not many other details though...

http://www.amazon.com/Mondo-Exotica-Obsessions-Cocktail-Generation/dp/0822341565/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200589768&sr=8-4

Here is a link to the publisher's website with a descrition of the book (below) that really got my mouth watering!

http://www.dukeupress.edu/cgibin/forwardsql/search.cgi?template0=nomatch.htm&template2=books/book_detail_page.htm&user_id=1171208806&Bmain.Btitle_option=1&Bmain.Btitle=Mondo+Exotica&Bmain.Subtitle=%3A+Sounds%2C+Visions%2C+Obsessions+of+the+Cocktail+Generation

"Tiki torches, cocktails, la dolce vita, and the music that popularized them—Mondo Exotica offers a behind-the-scenes look at the sounds and obsessions of the Space Age/Cold War period as well as the renewed interest in them evident in contemporary music and design. The music journalist and radio host Francesco Adinolfi provides extraordinary detail about artists, songs, albums, and soundtracks, while also presenting an incisive analysis of the ethnic and cultural stereotypes embodied in exotica and related genres. In this encyclopedic account of films, books, TV programs, mixed drinks, and, above all, music, he balances a respect for exotica’s artistic innovations with a critical assessment of what its popularity says about postwar society in the United States and Europe, and what its revival implies today."

Wow, I added it to my wish list! Sounds great, thanks for the heads up!

Jeez, what's with the $85 hardcover price?! Yet you can pre-order the paperback version for $16. Wery vierd.

On 2008-01-17 11:02, GatorRob wrote:
Jeez, what's with the $85 hardcover price?! Yet you can pre-order the paperback version for $16. Wery vierd.

makes me wonder if the hard cover includes something extra, like an actual vinyl album compilation of some songs or other gimmick like we've seen in some deluxe releases of other books....maybe it comes with an actual 18" tall tiki or set of martini glasses!!

"I may not always be right...but i'm never wrong"

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2008-01-17 11:07 ]

I'm hoping the book provides some unique theories and interpretations, given that the author (Francesco Adinolfi) is Italian and might provide some viewpoints that differ from those here on TC. The description says he will discuss the relationship of exotica to spaghetti westerns and soft-core porn, which should be fun. I wonder if he mentions I Belli di Waikiki in his book?

Oooooh...thanks. Got mine pre-ordered. :)

That publisher is not known for visually elaborate books. I am not saying it will all be text, like David Toop's "Exotica", or mostly Black and White, like the REsearch books,...or BAD, small reproductions, like "Exotiquarium", but I want my next Exotica book to be a luscious compendium representing the great cover art of that genre. If I cannot hear them, I wanna at least see them.

I was just told by a friend who already owns this book, that it was originally released in 2000, but in Italian only.

On 2008-01-18 07:12, tabuzak wrote:

I was just told by a friend who already owns this book, that it was originally released in 2000, but in Italian only.

Does your friend like the book?

Welllllll...? What does he say? Does it have lots of large full color reproductions of the covers in it, or is yet another text-heavy intellectual's treatise on the genre? I am not knocking that, like Vern said it is bound to be interesting, but I am wondering if it is finally THE book on Exotica. I personally long for eye candy (obviously!), not only mind food, to match my enjoyment of Exotica ear candy. A lot has been WRITTEN about Exotica already.

That guy is incredibly prolific it seems, and 360 pages promises a lot of info, but the format does not look "coffee table"

http://www.unilibro.it/find_buy/Scheda/libreria/autore-adinolfi_francesco/sku-496061/mondo_exotica_suoni_visioni_e_manie_della_generazione_cocktail_.htm

The original bool cost around $12.00 and contained no photos or illustrations so maybe the hardcover contains new material?

Brother Cleve (the aforementioned friend) is friends with the author, Francesco Aldinolfi, but cannot read Italian so he can't vouch for the book. He is looking forward to finally being able to read it in English.

Looks interesting.

At least this should raise the awareness of Exotica music in general.

Exotica seems to be on another upswing lately.

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

On 2008-01-18 07:49, tabuzak wrote:
The original book cost around $12.00 and contained no photos or illustrations...

Just as I thought. Too bad. "Sounds, Visions, Obsessions of the Cocktail Generation" VISIONS?

......so maybe the hardcover contains new material?

That would make sense, for that price! Or its hardcover is covered with VERY EXPENSIVE cloth! :)

I was just handed an advanced copy of this book - the paperback edition unfortunately. The release date syays May 2008. Here's the table of contents:

The Tiki Hour
Mondo Exotica
Exotic Fragments
The Laboratory of Dr. Les Baxter
Martin Denny: The Frog and the Prince
The Age of the Grand Expositions
Cocktails All Around
The Tribes of Exotica
A Venus in the Lounge
Destination: Space Age Pop
The Moon in Stereo
Crime Jazz
Shaken and Stirred
Italian Style From Spies to Exotica-Erotica
Italy's Exotic Adventures
Lounge Italia
La Dolce Vita
Hangovers?

Any pictures Jack?

How about an Exotica Discography?

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

On 2008-01-30 11:34, Jeff Central wrote:
Any pictures Jack?

None, I'm afraid. And the cover - well, let's not judge a book by it's cover? A photo of a gibson (well,from my point of view, they got that one right!) with bands of faux leopard stripe at the top and bottom. I wouldn't blame the author for that! "Marketing!" How I long for those bygone years...

How about an Exotica Discography?
Yes, it's there, but a rough review reveals only, if not mostly, re-issues from the '90s on. Not a resource for collectors of vinyl. Contemporary artists like Combustible Edison, all the Schema label artists, Ursula 1000, the Blow Up artists, Pizzacato Five, Gentle People, Don Tiki, et al, are listed under the heading "Music of the Cocktail Generation." There is some hip stuff included, but not exhaustive. Tony Wild's site is still essential. As is the TikiCentral Music forum.

As a devotee, of course I must read this book. Will I learn something? Hopefully...

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

Mahalo and Cheers!

Jaak

P. S. They persist in listing a "library cloth" edition for $84.95. What does one get for the extra bucks? One can only wonder at this point.

And I apologize for all the typo/spellcheck errors I perpetuate. I sneak some of these messages off at the office under duress.