Finally, a museum devoted to the 8 Track

I couldn't make this up if I tried. And no this isn't something from The Onion.

Yep, a museum devoted to the 8 Track tape is opening next month in Dallas. As the museum motto says, "No track left behind."

Admit it: You've been waiting for this day for decades. I mean, who wouldn't want to celebrate a technology that, by design, interrupted music midsong to change tracks?

Museum "formatician" Bucks Burnett is proud to have a whole bunch of 500 shrinkwrapped copies of "The Rutles." I like The Rutles but am not sure it's something to brag about as a centerpiece of one's museum. I mean, I could imagine getting all giddy about a cache of 3 Dog Night tapes, something more befitting what actually got played on 8 Track players.

Click.

Wonderful gallery of board track photos

 

Famed racer Jimmy Murphy won a 1920 race at the Fresno board track.A Photobucket user who goes by the handle carl44s has posted a wonderful gallery of photos documenting the board racetracks that popped up throughout the United States in the early 1900s.

If you've never heard of board tracks, they were just that: racetracks constructed entirely of wood. The picture above shows how the tracks were constructed, and others at the carl44s gallery show steep banking (such as this one from Beverly Hills and this one at Atlantic City). Some were more than one mile long. Just think of the wood involved in the construction.

Check out the steep banking on the board track at Charlotte that opened in 1924.High maintanenance costs and fire were the big reasons these super-fast tracks didn't last very long. I recall seeing some footage in which a carpenter was trying to repair a section of track during a race, sticking his head above the track, then ducking back underneath as cars passed.

If you have a bit of money, I highly recommend Dick Wallen's book "Board Track Guts Gold & Glory." It's now out of print, so used copies cost more than the original price but it's the best racing book I've ever read, and on a subject most people know little or nothing about.

RIP, Don Kirschner

Here's a nice "Soundcheck" tribute to the legacy of the late Don Kirschner, the music impresario best known for his weekly late-night "Rock Concert" TV program. Kirschner also was the brains behind The Monkees, whose mammoth success no doubt funded "Rock Concert," which was a one-of-a-kind experience at the time.

For many teens growing up in the 1970s, "Rock Concert" was the only program to air real live rock performances, as opposed to the lip syncing on "American Bandstand" or afternoon talk shows. As "Soundcheck," notes, "Rock Concert's" decadelong run came to an end just as MTV was debuting.

My favorite "Rock Concert" was an experimental show with so-called new wave bands The Cars, The Records, Suicide and another act or two I can't remember. The show was also memorable for having no Kirschner introductions at all; not sure if that was a contractual requirement of the bands or Kirschner stepping aside because he had no clue about this "new wave."

I've searched periodically for a recording of that concert but have come up empty. Anyone know of a copy available for sale?