Onban Kikou - Vol. 1 Ch. 6 - Ashlee's Diner

[MangaDex]

 

[zothique]

Didn't realize it was Wednesday already. Maybe I should have let this one cook a little longer. Hopefully no glaring typos or anything. I'll have the afterword this weekend, it's only like two pages. And afterwards, a break, but mainly so I can work on volume 2 in bulk to then have the chapters ready on a regular schedule like this again.

Some look familiar, but I don't actually know what any of the covers are this time. I thought it was Sgt. Pepper's on page 7 (213), but no, I'm not sure.

 

[ErikTheRed]

The diner is a capsule of memories gone by. Preserving what once was.

 

[Angry_Panda]

Huzzah, a diner! We have a '50's style diner in my Midwestern US city (about four blocks from where I live), but it doesn't have a jukebox (good burgers and shakes, though). That style of 'railcar diners' goes back a bit further into the early 20th Century, and in many cases was a matter of convenience - many of the early diners were near train stations (so travelers could jump off during a stop and grab a quick lunch if they didn't want to pay for train food), and some of the early pre-fab builders had their roots in railcar building, so using that layout as a starting point made sense. Gradually they got detached from that railway association some and became a bit of a trope. The 'Baxter's' name may be a reference to the Jefferson Airplane album 'After Bathing At Baxter's', which was their first full blown psychedelic album ('Surrealistic Pillow' was their prior release, which had 'Somebody To Love' and 'White Rabbit' on it, but also still had a fair number of songs from their folk background. I was going to say the album on page 7 could be 'Crown of Creation', their next album, but I don't think it is after looking at the cover of that one.)

Vintage jukeboxes are terrible for serious playback. Most of them use comparatively high tracking force (the amount of downforce on the stylus/needle to keep it on the record), and the combination of that and usually not changing the stylus often enough results in the records being worn very heavily, particularly since in the 50's and 60's the operators would be changing out the discs to keep the popular records in the machines so they would get played (and make money a dime at a time). There is a small community of folks who collect, repair, and use them, but no one puts their best 45's in them - you want a copy that you don't mind getting worn out. This particular model looks to be a Rock-ola 1448. (Hitting the jukebox was a way of dealing with several different faults, including a record that was skipping, and was popularized by the character Fonzie from the 70's throwback sit-com 'Happy Days.')

Home cutting lathes were a stop-gap - most serious recordists moved to reel-to-reel tape by the early '50's, but if you wanted to have something that could be played more widely, a disc was the way to go for many years, so many bands that were trying to break into the business walked out of demo sessions with a few of these to shop around. Unfortunately, because the blanks used to record onto were softer than normal record vinyl, they tended to wear badly (like the X-ray records mentioned along the way a few chapters back). Trying to use one in a jukebox is poetic license, at best, but makes for a nice story. Kind of like trying to use a diamond earring as a cutting stylus, or trying to make your own blanks from scrap plastic.

Rocket 88 was a model of the Oldsmobile 88. (Lots of good rock & roll songs about cars.) The Route 66 similarity is coincidental, though humans do tend to like doubled numbers for some reason.

Thanks very much for the chapter - this series is so much fun, and the end notes are great! Keep up the fantastic work!

 

[KitRagnell]

It's a shame none of my local diners have their jukeboxes still working.

 

[zothique]

This particular model looks to be a Rock-ola 1448. (Hitting the jukebox was a way of dealing with several different faults, including a record that was skipping, and was popularized by the character Fonzie from the 70's throwback sit-com 'Happy Days.')

Ah that's the Jukebox! That really makes sense. For some reason all the 50-60s jukeboxes I saw were either like the classic Wurlitzer ones; or the part where the titles are listed was a lot bigger. So the "closest" thing I saw this sound leisure one. But certain things just didn't line up. It's the CD model for one, but also the exterior is completely different too. They didn't match, so at best I considered it a mix-up of various ones. Plus these are not even from back then. Well I edited the notes, though this mistake will remain in aggregator sites...

The 'Baxter's' name may be a reference to the Jefferson Airplane album 'After Bathing At Baxter's', which was their first full blown psychedelic album ('Surrealistic Pillow' was their prior release, which had 'Somebody To Love' and 'White Rabbit' on it, but also still had a fair number of songs from their folk background. I was going to say the album on page 7 could be 'Crown of Creation', their next album, but I don't think it is after looking at the cover of that one.)

And yes, the Baxter's thing is most likely after Jefferson Airplane! I can't believe I forgot to put it in, but yeah. The author even made a tweet last month showing that he owns two versions, the regular one and one with the cover drawn by Keiichi Tanaami.

 

[Angry_Panda]

For some reason all the 50-60s jukeboxes I saw were either like the classic Wurlitzer ones; or the part where the titles are listed was a lot bigger.

Yeah, that 'rainbow bubbler' design (the Wurlitzer 1015, and numerous knockoffs - catalog PDF here) are what most people think of, but those are somewhat lighter built than the more 'commercial looking' samples, and in some cases predate the 45 era (the original 1015 used 78's). If you've got a grill/soda counter full of teenagers, you probably want something a bit more sturdy. Site here with lots of information, if you need a rabbit hole to fall down.

Also worth noting that in many cases the jukebox was placed by an outside group that would handle rotating the discs and maintenance, and split the proceeds from the play money with the establishment. The tracking of what discs were getting played is how those top-40 charts got assembled.

The author even made a tweet last month showing that he has owns versions, the regular one and one with the cover drawn by Keiichi Tanaami.

Hadn't ever seen the Japanese cover before - looks like that was only used on the original issue in Japan; the first reissue in the early 70's had the same cover as the US version (the drawing of the 'painted lady' house with wings). That's the sort of thing that winds up being very collectible, particularly outside the original market (I know a Beatles fan who has spent a fair bit on getting both the US and UK releases in both mono and stereo, but that's another story...).

Well I edited the notes, though this mistake will remain in aggregator sites...

SUCKS FOR THEM, I GUESS.

 

[Kushikime]

Thanks for the chapter and the detailed notes as usual

 

[Suben]

I kind of wonder if the title chapter is a vague riff on the song Tom's Diner? Might seem like a leap but in a series heavily based around music it's a possibility.

 

[Suben]

Hopefully no glaring typos or anything.

Pretty sure on page 19 that it should be "profess" instead of "process."

 

[DjAlexDubCheck]

And yes, the Baxter's thing is most likely after Jefferson Airplane! I can't believe I forgot to put it in, but yeah. The author even made a tweet last month showing that he owns two versions, the regular one and one with the cover drawn by Keiichi Tanaami.

It looks great indeed

 

[DjAlexDubCheck]

I kind of wonder if the title chapter is a vague riff on the song Tom's Diner? Might seem like a leap but in a series heavily based around music it's a possibility.

Highly likely

 

[DjAlexDubCheck]

Rocket 88 was a model of the Oldsmobile 88. (Lots of good rock & roll songs about cars.) The Route 66 similarity is coincidental, though humans do tend to like doubled numbers for some reason.

They are easier to remember

 

[DjAlexDubCheck]

https://mangadex.org/chapter/165c8400-4255-41cb-8de6-c0249b389b7d/15
Talk shit like that in my pub and the next thing you see is the sidewalk