Toys Mechanical

Electronic Toys, A Retrospective of '70s Synthesizer Music Review by Matt Collar
Anyone in the mood for retro video game music chic? Replete with a nudie cover photo by Bunny Yeager, Electronic Toys: A Retrospective of '70s Synthesizer Music is pure fun. But don't expect avant-garde explorations into atonal bursts of Moog and analog squelch. This is straightforward songwriting in a pop vein on rudimentary synthesizers. Many of the compositions sound like they could have introduced any number of '70s television programs dealing with medicine, kid detectives, and science discoveries. The songs range in style from the Spike Jones-ish "Keystone Capers 2" (with simulated "raspberry" sounds) to the Rod Stewart-worthy "Movin' Along" (which begins with guitar and ends with an electronic horn section). Echoes of these songs can be heard in the sampling of Daft Punk and the 2001 alienation of Radiohead's OK Computer and Kid A. So there's obvious value in making these recordings available to a kitsch-friendly new millennium: a band called Claude Larson & His Computer Controlled Oscillators might be enough to wet some hipster's interest. But, frankly, more information on exactly what instruments were used for each composition – not to mention some historical perspective – in the liner notes would have made this a more informative package.

This beautiful book draws on Robert Race's extensive collection of traditional moving toys, looking at the ways the makers have achieved remarkable and varied results, often with very limited resources. Each chapter begins by looking at the mechanisms and materials used in some of these traditional moving toys, goes on to consider possible variations, and describes how to make a related moving toy.

"Orrery" appeals to almost anyone interested in popular astronomy, astronomical mechanical devices, scientific instruments, the history of clocks - and even the history of aristocratic and prestigious families! Many people these days - not only astronomers - have a good idea of the main components of the Solar System.

“Orrery” appeals to almost anyone interested in popular astronomy, astronomical mechanical devices, scientific instruments, the history of clocks - and even the history of aristocratic and prestigious families! Many people these days – not only astronomers – have a good idea of the main components of the Solar System. They might also know about the orrery, a mechanical model that shows the movements of the Moon and planets.