HALBSTARKE

In keeping with yesterday's Swiss confectionery theme, check out the sweet belt buckles on these Alpine Elvis aficionados from the 1950s.  While in Miami last week, I had the good fortune to come across a booth of vintage photographs by Karlheinz Weinberger, a Swiss artist who lived in Zurich and documented the "halbstarker" culture of the era.  Karlheinz began his career taking photos for an Italian gay magazine under the pseudonym "Jim".  "Halbstarke" (literally "half strongs") were early forebears of DIY hipster culture, with hair and homemade belt buckles unmatched in size and scope even by Texas standards.  Weinberger continued photographing local subcultures the rest of his life, moving from Halbstarke to Switzerland's version of Hell's Angels (pictured above), though professionally he worked in a Zurich warehouse for most of his life and never gained much income from the sale of his photographs.

The exhibition of Weinberger's work in Miami included several photos of early rock-a-billy-wannabes with raging boners.  Unfortunately, "Fair glare" (that unruly mix of overhead lighting and protective glass) kept me from capturing very many usable images.  I searched for the set online but couldn't find any visual references to his x-rated collection.

Here is a sample of Weinberger's better known (and bigger buckled) work:

MI AMI, ME ET MOI

If it's anything more coherent than a humid, penis-insula full of theme parks, Jersey-bred co-eds, old folks in old-folks-homes and oranges, Florida is certainly the place for a certain type of improvisational American positivism.  Prevailing East Coast norms find death at it's door: Spring Break. Warmth in the Winter.  Castles in the swamp.  Sea cows.  South Beach.

In that same spirit of improvisation, I threw together a "Miami Mix" with an hour to spare before my flight.  If I could, I'd give you 33 covers of Will Smith's "Miami", but sadly those covers don't exist. . . yet.  This time it's just the tip:

 

Florida -- Wiregrass Sacred Harp Singers
Sweaty (Shazam Remix) -- Muscles
Pour Moi -- Box Codax
Room of Rum -- Hug
Is This The Best Spot? -- Ariel Pink
Money -- Balkan Beat Box
We Do Parties -- Deerhoof
Headcage -- Matthew Dear
noon day sun -- bruce haack
Anchor Made Of Gold (Sara Wilson Remix) -- Jenny Wilson
Don't Walk Away -- Chromeo
We Don't Need No (Miami Horror Remix) -- Codebreaker
sunshine rmx -- DJ Javier Estrada
Drop CAge -- Nguzunguzu
Backseat Becomes a Zone While We Glide -- Jam City
The Sun -- Portugal The Man
Kamarad (Comrades) -- from the album "Haiti: Ki Sa Pou-N Fe?
No Limites -- Alliance Ethnik
Danzón -- Control Machete
Miami -- Randy Newman
Holiday Feat. Alan Palomo -- Miami Horror
The Wompom -- Flanders & Swann
Buckle Of The Bible Belt -- The Florida Boys
Miami Spider (Ponciau Edit) --Gallops
Everglade -- Antony and the Johnsons
Hey Muscles I Love You -- Muscles
Con Los Ojos De Engaña -- Mala Rodríguez
Running From The Sun -- Chromatics
Sunshine -- Lijadu Sisters
Miami -- Saez
A Little Bit of Sunshine (Coca-Cola) -- The New Seekers
The Sun Is An Old Friend -- El Perro Del Mar
Miami -- Will Smith