Hippies Love Hamm’s Beer
Here’s a very stylized TV commercial for Hamm’s Beer from the late 60′s. Bring a bathtub, fill it with ice and beer, then break out the body paint! Now THAT’S a party! Hamm’s was a hippie favorite. A couple years after this commercial was made Hamm’s was featured in the 1972 film The Candidate. Before reaching out to some young long hairs, Robert... Read More
Historically Unsatisfied
“Unsatisfied” was an exhibit at the Hennepin County History Museum that featured the 1980s Minneapolis Music Scene. This is a news story about the exhibit. Roll 'em if you got 'em! Read More
The Minnesota Strip
In the 1970′s the “Minnesota Strip” was a term used by New Yorkers to describe Eighth Avenue . The term was coined by cops because it was rumored that many of the prostitutes who worked the stretch between 42nd and 50th Streets were teenage runaways from Minnesota. A November 28, 1977 Time article reported this: “The most sensational special link the committee found... Read More
PCC car, #322
This PCC car, #322, was built in 1946 by the St. Louis Car Company of Missouri. It was one of 140 built in three years for Twin City Rapid Transit of St. Paul and Minneapolis. In 1953, just before TCRT ended streetcar operations, the car was one of 30 sold to the operators of the City Subway in Newark, New Jersey. (The other PCCs in that Newark batch kept running until 2001!) In... Read More
The Metropolitan Building: Destroyed by Jazz
A 10-minute short film about the destruction of The Met produced by University of Minnesota graduate students in 1961. Courtesy of The University of Minnesota. Beautiful Jazz soundtrack! Read More
The Happenings On Lake Calhoun
The Happenings were a pop music group that originated in the 1960s. The group’s major hits were “See You In September” (1966), which was originally recorded by the Tempos in 1959; a cover version of the George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin song, “I Got Rhythm” (1967), updated for the nascent pop/rock era; and “Hare Krishna,” a cover version of... Read More
Friday Night with Farewell Milwaukee at the Fine Line
I caught Farewell Milwaukee at the Turf Club earlier this summer and if I could be in three places at once tonite, I’d go check them out at the Fine Line. I’m telling you, this band is guaranteed to chase your blues into a dark alley, give them a sound thrashing and sing them sweetly to sleep. They tend to play half of each song with their eyes closed, but chicks love... Read More
308 Second Avenue South Then and Now