nprmusic: Think you know movies and classical music? Take our quiz.
obitoftheday: Obit of the Day: Designer of the Raleigh “Chopper” The Schwinn Stingray was a popular, maybe the most popular, bicycle for kids in the the U.S. in the early 1960s. Like many competitors, the Raleigh Bicycle Company tried to copy the success of the Stingray, literally. But they could not seem to gain traction in the market. Then Alan Oakley drew the design for a new model on the back of an envelope as he flew home to England, where Raleigh was based, from a trip to the West Coast of the United States. Seeing how children in California were attempting to recreate the look of low-slung, high handle-barred, motorcycles (aka “choppers”), Oakley simply created a bicycle that was already built to look that way. The Raleigh Chopper was released in 1968 and sales were flat. Upon the release Dennis Hopper’s classic, Easy Rider, kids wanted to emulate the look of the bikes from the film and headed straight for Raleigh’s Chopper model. The bikes flew off the racks. There were few design glitches, though. For instance, the bike often flip over when doing wheelies. The gear shift (available in 3-, 5-, and 10-speed models) was placed in such a way that groin injuries were inevitable. Attach a luggage rack to the back and your friend could ride behind you - smashing his or her teeth on the “sissy bar” over the black seat in an accident. But where parents saw danger, kids saw “cool.” (Raleigh did make some changes based on safety concerns, including the addition of a warning sticker on the seat.) Between 1968 and the early 1980’s over 1.5 million Choppers were sold - and that doesn’t include other variations of the model built by Raleigh. Random note: According to the Telegraph, the downfall of the Chopper, and similar bicycles, was due to an increased interest in BMX bikes. And once again Hollywood had an impact. As Elliot and his friends raced through suburban streets on BMX-style bicycles in order to save their alien friend, E.T., moviegoers fell for the speedy, stylish two-wheelers. Alan Oakley began working for Raleigh when he was 15 years old and remained with the company for forty years. During his career he designed not only the Chopper but also worked on the Raleigh Small Wheels and the Raleigh Grifter, one of the company’s early entries into the BMX market which killed the Chopper. Oakley resigned from the company in 1982, the same year the last Raleigh Chopper was manufactured. Mr. Oakley died at the age of 85. (1970 Raleigh Chopper advertisement from the U.S. is courtesy of www.retroist.com)
fer1972: Rudy Jan Faber: The House of Usher  Artist on tumblr!
because-evil-is-fun: i want these!
arirockabilly: Nossa Nossa
popculturebrain: samspratt: “Dan Harmon is Community” -Portrait Illustration by Sam Spratt A quick tribute to Community’s lost showrunner. Brilliant mind. Can’t wait to see what he makes next. This is a cool tribute and all, but he’s not dead.
→