Skip to main content

Director John Hughes Dies (1950-2009)

Retro lovers around the world will be sad to hear the passing of one of the most prolific write and director of '80s teen movies along with other great comedies. John Hughes passed away yesterday of a heart attack while walking in Manhattan.

His credits as a director include such classics as The Breakfast Club, 16 Candles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Weird Science, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Uncle Buck and Curly Sue.

As a writer and producer, the list includes some of the above along with Pretty in Pink, Home Alone, Maid in Manhattan, National Lampoon's Vacation, Some Kind of Wonderful, 101 Dalmatians and much much more.

Before his career in film, he began as a joke writer for people like Rodney Dangerfield and Joan Rivers. His impact on our pop culture is undeniable thanks to his strong emphasis on using pop music in all his films creating not only a great mood for the film but amazing soundtracks as well.

He will be missed. Here are a few memorable examples of his work.











Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Must Have Retro Car Accessories

We've always had a love affair with our cars. Especially if it's your first car, no attention to detail is too great to try and make this symbol of freedom your very own. We spend countless hours washing and detailing them and hard earned money on accessories to try and put our mark on them and make them not only unique, but the envy of the neighbourhood. Back in the day, these accessories had to include: Foxtail What better symbol of machismo could you possibly hang off the rearview mirror (other than a garter belt you caught at your cousin's wedding) to show you were a virile, hot stud on the prowl than a genuine foxtail? The bushier the better. Even though it impeded your view of the street and the dangers that lurked just beyond your dash, it showed you were an animal and an easy target for PETA. Fuzzy Dice If you were more of the gambling risk taker sort, you could always opt for a neat set of fuzzy dice. It would impede your view just as well as a foxtail but these ca...

Remixes Make the World Go Round

If you grew up in the 70s and 80s, lots of today's music may sound kind of familiar. Big reason for that is the abundant use of samples in contemporary music. Whether it's lifting a few beats and choice riffs or a complete ripoff of the tune with new lyrics rapped over the music, much of the music you listen to today probably wouldn't exist or be popular if it wasn't for the art of the remix. Remixing is the art of combining or editing existing music to create something new. Not to be confused with the term rip off which requires far less talent and vision. I never really gave much thought about the whole thing other than to wax on about how some of today's "artists" lack the same kind of talent that earlier artists had and with the use of technology, many people are getting pretty famous that don't really deserve to be. What will become of music twenty years from now ? Where will new samples come from if much of today's music is already sample ri...

The Way They Was (Part 1)

It's always cool to see what celebrities looked like when they were younger and what they look like now for a couple of reasons. Not only does it "humanize" them in terms of making them look more like everyday people you come across in daily life, but you see that often times they were very average looking in their younger years but are now quite attractive. It's kind of inspiring and makes you think that one day, you too may be better looking and more attractive as well. Especially if you invest thousands of dollars in plastic surgery, workout for the better part of the day, have a personal trainer, a personal dietician, and personal assistants that can take care of things for you while you workout - like take your kids to soccer practice. Angelina Jolie Looking like a little cutie in 1988 - no sign that she'd grow up to be the homewrecker that she is although since she bagged Brad Pitt, somehow she gets a pass from scorn. Hmmmmmm. Brad Pitt Just as good looking...

Retro Music Producer of the Day - Arthur Baker

One of the driving forces in early hip hop and Electrofunk was DJ / producer Arther Baker. Starting as a club DJ in the early 70s, he began experimenting with the new electronic sounds of the day and began producing remixes on analog tape. Long before digital took over, to create a quality mix required skill and patience since most of what you were doing was pretty much live. You needed mad skillz back in the day not like these days were software downloaded for free can create a remix on a whim. Though you may not have heard of him, you certainly have heard his work since his collaborations include artists like Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force, Pet Shop Boys, Cyndi Lauper, Hall and Oats, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, ABC, Nenah Cherry and New Order to name a few. He was actually responsible for taking an obscure, instrumental piece from a 1984 New Order album "Lies, Power and Corruption" and churning it into the now classic Blue Monday.   His style was easil...

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...