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lists
Space Age Bachelor Pad Music among its Picks for the Best, the
Brightest, the Boldest, and the Most Beautiful Stuff in the
Cyberworld, writing, "Denizens of the Nouveau Cocktail Nation
swing through this parallel world ruled by smoking jackets and
horn-rimmed glasses." ("Hollywired" cover story, October 18,
1995)
ranks
SABPM #2 out of all leisure sites on the Web:
....Witty, irreverent, intelligent, and obsessive, it's everything a culture celebration should be.
There's a lot of hard information here, including a history of space-age pop, an extensive feature on Esquivel, and a variety of discographies, but the place to start is The American Gallery of Exotic Album Covers.... While this site focuses on relics of the past, it also includes a list of current resources, including radio shows, periodicals, and clubs. The only serious deficiency is a lack of information on CD reissues, of which there are many.
Lycos puts SABPM in the 
,
writing, "The site's Gallery of Exotic Album Jackets is reason enough
to swing by this pad, but visitors can also read up on quintessential
genre artist Juan Esquivel, or learn of revival releases like Music
for a Bachelor's Den in Hi-Fi. Just dreamy."
Select
Site!
top rating from
(August 1996):
The genre may be trendy, but one gets the distinct impression the producer of this site will maintain an appreciation for such ultra-suave icons as Esquivel and Martin Denny long after today's martini-swilling dilettantes have moved on to German martial music or nature movie soundtracks. Let's just say this site is stylish from start to finish. New favorites appear with regularity; the selection of classic record jacket from the '50s and '60s is stunning, and the overall presentation reeks of selfless devotion.
magazine
calls us
with
a top
rating:
What, pray tell, is Space Age Bachelor Pad Music? A short essay linked here attempts to define the movement. This site is the definitive starting point for lounge culture on the Web. Learn everything you need to know about Esquivel, the space age pop mastermind who started it all, then move on to Martin Denny and Ferrante and Teicher. You'll find sound files, an amazing gallery of exotic album covers (perfect candidates for background wallpaper), news on upcoming releases of interest, and tips on finding the original vinyl LPs. The pages aren't written in a snooty, exclusive style but rather with the flair of the zealot who welcomes you to the fold. We relished the pointers to radio shows and lounges of interest across the country and the top 20 discography for neophytes.
puts
Space Age Bachelor Pad Music among the 101 Must-See Sites on the
WWW, writing, "Remove the lounge lizard from the endangered
species list! This homage to Juan Esquivel and space-age pop
symbolizes a revival of '50s glamour that practically reeks of
smoking jackets and cheesy music. If you start craving cocktails, hot
links to various online lounges will have you sipping screwdrivers
and humming along with the Muzak in no time." (MacUser, March,
1995)
writes,
"As the revival of '50s lounge culture, embodied in the cheesily
seductive music of Juan Esquivel, continues to gain momentum, lest we
overlook the many other artists of this oft-neglected genre, Joseph
O. Holmes has created Space Age Bachelor Pad Music, the Web site
with the coolest smoking jacket - not to mention soothing sounds
for dining, drinking, or just doing it!" (HotWired Soundz/Surf, July
25, 1995)
gives
SABPM an A, writing: "This site knows cool."
says:
"It's a strange kick to see '50s and '60s seduction-music album
covers floating on the Web -- and that's only a small part of Joseph
Holmes's "Space Age Bachelor Pad Music" site. Linkage to Tikis,
smoking jackets, Theremins, and Muzak make this one of the most
content-intensive introductions to a musical sub(sub)genre
around. And with a flood of new releases attesting to its
subterranean appeal, it's a nifty multimedia intro to the music of
Esquivel, Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman, Les Baxter, and their oddball
ilk." (The Village Voice Open City Choices: Net World, November 14,
1995)Internet Site of the Week -- CMJ New Music Report for June 17, 1996:
Lounge Nation Unite! It's the ultimate one-stop for the insatiable Space Age Bachelor Pad music appetite. Up and running since March of 1995, this site boasts an impressive collection of text, contests, discographies, and even an extensive album cover photo gallery for fans of everything from the far out and exotic to Martin Denny and Esquivel. A brief visit to the gallery revealed an incredibly weird comic book/record combo Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and many other weird and cool covers from the late-'50s to early-60s. Best of all, this site's seeminly limitless wealth of information (updated regularly) and precise data tells us that this wasn't created by any weekend hacker -- this is indeed an impressive place. Pour the fine brandy and bust out your finest smoking jacket for this one.
In Artforum (Febuary 96 ) Mark van de Walle's Hot List says:
All the recent movies about Las Vegas -- America's own neon Xanadu -- focus on how seedy and horrible the place is, but you can still embrace lounge-lizard glam on the Web. Space Age Bachelor Pad features excellent information on stuff like the music of Esquivel (a complete discography! and sound clips!), cocktails, Theremin music, album art, and pink flamingos. It's proof positive that between 1958 and 1964 American culture really did reach its zenith.
Top
5% of all sites on the Internet by Point Survey.
Space Age Bachelor Pad Music
Here's a fecund pad for hipsters, inspired by that special sort of lounge popularized by early '60s cocktail music, mod styles, and martinis. The Godfather of this priceless genre is Esquivel, a Mexican-born instrumentalist whose triumphs include a host of albums and TV scores. The genre of Space Age Pop is defined with a gallery of the masters' kitschiest album art. Martin Denny, Arthur Lymann, and The Three Suns are also represented in discographies, liner notes, and the like. Everything here is Grade-A documentation and is well-authored. If you're looking to impress with your knowledge of mood music, stop here to pick up some pointers.
Gist magazine Pick of the Day for October 2, 1996:
Return with us now to those halcyon days of zebra-skin rugs, tumblers of martinis, and hi-fi stereos playing the hip, with-it sounds of Les Baxter, Si Zenter or Esquivel -- all the better for seducing your date while you show her your etchings. Whether you call it lounge music, cocktail music or (shudder) easy listening, this aqua-and-avocado-colored site celebrates the instrumental oeuvre every Playboy Man grooved to in the 1950s and '60s. Turn yourself on to a gallery of album covers for such classics as Martin Denny's Exotic Percussion and The Futuramic Sounds of Don Elliott. Then dig those crazy discographies, interviews and lounge-lizard listings of clubs and radio shows worldwide. Cool 'n' kooky musicology for all true cats and chicks.
DigiDay
Site of the Day! August 24, 1996.
November 8 to 15, 1995.
,
the ultimate arbiter of pop culture, writes, "The Space-Age Bachelor
Pad Music page is proof that sooner or later every cultural artifact,
regardless of quality, will be digitized and launched onto the
Net. The eerie music of Esquivel will probably be orbiting the far
reaches of the global data network long after the last swingin'
bachelor has shuffled off this mortal coil." (July 14, 1995)Return
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