Retro Video of the Day

Retro Video of the Day - No Promises

If you've been following my retro videos of the day, you'll notice I tend to steer towards some of the more obscure and not overplayed tracks. Today is no exception. Australian synth-pop group Icehouse's first single from their 1986 Measure to Measure album was a sleeper hit called "No Promises". It reached #9 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts. This album featured the help of Brian Eno which was very evident on many of the songs on this album.

Comments

The History of a Clown

No other fast food mascot comes to mind quicker or is more recognizable than Ronald McDonald. Other than Santa Claus, no other character is more recognized around the world than the hamburger loving spokesman for the McDonalds Corporation. Ronald McDonald was actually an altered version of Bozo the Clown created by an ad executive and a clown from the Ringling Brothers Circus. One of the early actors to portray Ronald was a part time Bozo performer and NBC Today Show weatherman, Willard Scott. Not only did he give the clown a name, Ronald, he also took a stab at creating the look of Ronald by creating a costume out of a paper cup for a nose and a cardboard tray as a hat. Pathetic? Yes..... yes it was. Bozo the Clown (R.I.P) Willard and his recycled Costume However, although crude, he was responsible for giving the character a personality and help promote the local franchises. Willard was dumped in 1966 when the corporation took Ronald national citing the reason for dumping Willard as ...

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...

Vintage Ads From A Simpler Time - That Creep You Out!

You often hear of people talk about the good ol' days because those were pure and innocent times. These days, we seem bombarded with TV and magazine ads that push the boundaries of good taste or obscenity. Here's a collection of ads from simpler times that used the innocent images of suicide, murder, wife beating and pedophilia to sell their wares. We've certainly come a long way - suddenly a half naked woman strutting her stuff doesn't seem so bad! Click the politically correct ad below to go to the article :

Retroguy Is Back Baby - Bigger, Better, Groovier

Hey there Retrofans ! Sorry for the temporary hiatus but fear not, we're back with more of the posts you love so please ease up on the love/hate mail. I hear you, I miss you too, it's not you - it's me. I'm glad we settled that. Feel free to drop me line if you have any suggestions or questions at realretroguy@gmail.com Peace, Love, Retro !

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...

Retroguy's Wonderland

Search This Blog