Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Believing In Lost Treasure

The further away we drift from the 80s the more we leave behind. This is even more true for the 60s.

In the mid 60s, there was an adorable made-for-TV-rock-band called The Monkees made up of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Their episodes played out in the style of The Beatles movies with silly plots, dumb-but-cute jokes, and their music woven in.

They reunited in the mid 80s, making some new music while MTV played reruns of their 60s TV show. MTV is how I became aware of these living dolls.

Today we lost Davy Jones, aged 66, to a heart attack. I find it interesting that he should leave us on a leap year. Perhaps it was because he was so full of life and love that he wants his fans to mourn for him only once every four years and then spend the rest of our time remembering him Monkee around.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Ah........SOOOOOOOOOOME!

One of my favorite films from the 80s is Flash Gordon. I LOVE it! All of it!

I saw it for the first time on HBO when I was in the third grade. My brothers tuned in to it and I thought, "Another dumb guy movie," but decided to watch anyway. I'm glad that I did.

My eyes feasted on the sci-fi adventure with the erotic costumes while my ears were equally aroused by the soundtrack made generously by Queen.

Okay, a couple of years later, I was able to see that the acting was bad, the special effects cheap, and the dialogue cheesy, but that was still all small potatoes compared to the overall awesomeness from beginning to end! It's still a definite high point in 80s films for me and worthy of the label of a "cult classic."

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Always Forgetting It's Not New

Yes, another post about remakes. All too often, a remake comes out, causing the latest generation to think it's a brand new song.

I remember in the early 9os, DC Talk remade the 1970s hit from The Doobie Brothers, "Jesus Is Just Alright." While I was listening to the Doobie version, a young teen friend lamented that "the original from DC Talk" was better than this. Yes, he was serious. Yes, you bet I set him straight!

"Always On My Mind," originally a country music song from the early 1970s, is a beautiful song that has graced the airwaves over the years by several different artists.

My favorite to date is by The Pet Shop Boys. Call me stuck in the 80s, but I love the trademark synthesizer sound that dominated the decade and the way it carried the song along with it.

I also thought it was funny how many of my friends at the time believed it to be a brand new song. Apparently, they had forgotten that Willie Nelson remade it famous only five years previous to the PSB release. Ironic, considering the name of the song...