The sweet spot for home turntable enthusiasts on a budget seems to be the $200 mark. This might be the best of the bunch.
One can only imagine the sake-fueled club hopping that led to the development of the Seiko Frequency drum machine watch.
Scopitone - 1960s Movie Jukeboxing
By James Grahame
The Scopitone was a refrigerator-sized movie jukebox that let you choose one of 36 hip and groovy 16 mm film clips to display on a 26-inch 'high resolution' projection screen. The device was a runaway success in its native France before arriving in the USA in 1964. Hundreds soon graced bars and clubs across America. The August 21, 1964 issue of Time Magazine reported:
"Scopitone's "musies" are descended from U.S. Soundies, which during World War II filled bus terminals and B-girl grottoes with grainy, black-and-white productions of The Flat Foot Floogee with the Floy Floy and A Boy in Khaki, a Girl in Lace. Television and Lucky Strike's Hit Parade put a merciful end to Soundies, but it looks as if Scopitone will be here to stay awhile."
The novelty wore off by the late 1960s, although new films were produced until 1978. Luckily -- or not -- depending on your tolerance for Sixties kitsch, the Scopitones site offers quite a few classic tunes (check out Procol Harum performing Whiter Shade of Pale). In case you can't get enough, a 14 disc DVD collection is available for $240 -- perfect food for your video iPod (shudder). [thanks, Alex!]
The Scopitone movie jukebox
NPR: The Rise and Fall of the Scopitone Jukebox
Watch Scopitone music clips
