Retro Mixtape of Love - A Cassette Retrospective

Ever find yourself getting upset that your current mp3 player can only hold 1200 songs or that the battery is only good for about three days on a single charge? I can't say that I feel your pain. Reason is I grew up before we starting storing our songs on memory chips. Back in the 70s, 80s and better part of the 90s, society had to get by with the cassette tape.

This miracle that followed the 8-track and reel to reel concept allowed people to record their vinyl albums and put only the songs they really wanted all onto one handy, dandy portable medium just slightly larger than a cigarette pack. That was pretty tiny in those days. You could record up to 120 minutes of your favorite tunes on one single cassette. It allowed you to create the perfect blend of tunes to keep that party going or to offer up as a token of your love to that special someone with groovy titles like, "Midnight Love Mix Pt1" or "Fantasy Voyage of Love".

With the proliferation of audio cassettes came the boom box craze that saw all kinds of spikes in battery usage and weird sights like the one below. All you needed to be cool in the 80s was a big ass radio. Well.... it was a good start.

Eventually the good folks at Sony realized that a personal sized cassette player would use less batteries, be easier to carry and be less of an annoyance in your daily commute. The Sony Walkman was born and ushered in a whole new category in the electronics stores - the personal music player. Since then the quest to go smaller and pack more music per square inch has never stopped and it changed not only how we listen to music but how it's marketing, sold and distributed.

For a more detailed nostalgic look at the audio cassette in society, click the cool Walkman below:

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R.I.P. Sir Roger Moore (1927-2017)

It's a sad day for Bond fans with the news of the passing of Sir Roger Moore at age 89 after a short battle with cancer. The charismatic actor wore the 007 mantle for seven films playing the super suave British secret agent, James Bond from 1973 to 1985, replacing Sean Connery and went on to be the longest serving Bond to date. Roger had early success on television portraying Simon Templar in the "The Saint" and that role groomed him well for taking over the 007 franchise. He did have quite the television resume before taking on films including roles in "Ivanhoe", "The Alaskans" and "Maverick" and with Tony Curtis in "The Persuaders". His big break came in 1973's "Live and Left Die" that launched Moore's Bond. Roger brought a smoother more gentlemanly vibe to the role compared to Sean's rough and tumble Bond. The mix worked well and it brought a new standard to how Bond would be played in future films.

Earth, Wind and Ozzy !!

There is no doubt that the advent of technology has produced many amazing things that most of us never saw coming or would ever think was possible. Furthest from anyone's mind would be the mashing of two polar opposite musical styles of heavy metal and funk. Not possible you say? Check out the fine work by DJ Cummerbund as he seamlessly combines the heavy metal madness of Ozzy Osbourne with the super slick, funky rhythms of Earth, Wind and Fire to produce a mashup of Crazy Train and September. Ain't technology grand??

Candies You Grew Up With That May Gross You Out Now (Part 1)

Being a kid in the 70s and 80s allowed you to experience certain candies that may no longer be produced but some of the stuff you grew up with is still around and there are even some specialty stores and websites that cater to making available the treats of your youth. However, just because you can still get them, doesn't mean you should. Your adult palette is vastly different than your youthful taste of what was gross and what was really cool. While eating some of the stuff on this list today may remind you of your youth, it may also provide startling and sobering realizations that you may not have been firing on all cylinders when making choices while spending your hard earned allowance at the candy counter as a kid. Bazooka - Not only was this gum cheap, 2 for a penny back in the day although I may be seriously dating myself, but it also came with a small comic featuring Bazooka Joe, who wore an eye patch and a bunch of his freaky friends including Mort who wore his turtleneck

Before They Were Famous Part 2

Here's the second installment of a glimpse into famous celebrities early start in show business thanks to the retro miracle of VCRs. When you're first starting out, any role you land to try and pay the bills is a good one. In our first installment we featured the McDLT commercial with Jason Alexander. Here he is again in another commercial with Bruce Willis for Levis's Jeans. Before suffering Growing Pains or sinking on the Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio was just a cute kid who liked to chew gum and listen to really big boom boxes. The late Farrah Fawcett was one of the most beautiful women on television. Before her big break on Charlie's Angels, Farrah took really good care of her most second famous attribute besides her hair, her teeth.

TV Cops Before They Were Sexy

It seems most TV dramas these days are either legal or medical dramas. Regardless of whether it's a gritty, hard hitting drama or a cerebral enigma that unravels itself over an hour, one thing is consistent. Sexy people. Now I'm not saying that there weren't beautiful people on TV back in the day - after all it was called the boob tube for a reason however it seems that casting directors didn't have to worry about eye appeal when choosing actors for their TV dramas. Here's a few examples: Barnaby Jones (1973) - First of all, who the heck names their kid Barnaby? Your just begging for a school yard beating with a label like that. Uncle Jed Clampett, a.k.a Buddy Epsen (who the heck names their kid buddy either !?!?) was the title character in this show about a retired detective and his daughter-in-law solving crimes while searching for his son's murderer. Just look at those bedroom eyes. Damn son...... turn it down a notch, it's gettin' hot in here.

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