Retroguy's Wonderland

Herbie Hancock is an accomplished Jazz keyboard player who in 1983 released a real groundbreaking track that changed a few things. "Rockit" from his Futureshock album was a very unique sounding song but what took it over the top was the futuristic and slightly disturbing video and the use of a technique that would eventually be better known as "scratching" as well as other turntable techniques. Many scratch DJs that made it big in the 90s and today cite Rockit as the record that turned them on to the turntable as an instrument. The video was directed by Godley & Creme who were two of the creative minds behind the group 10cc and had a number of hits of their own during that time. The video won numerous awards including five MTV video music awards in 1984. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play for three weeks until it was knocked of by a song by a new artist you may have heard of - "Holiday" by Madonna. Retro Bonus !

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...

You know you used to watch a lot of TV as a kid when you catch yourself mumbling a certain part of an advertising jingle from time to time even though the commercial hasn't played on air in over 30 years. Case in point - the Kohner Brothers "Pop-O-Matic" Trouble. Originally made by Irwin in 1965, it eventually was made by Milton Bradley which is now part of Hasbro. This probably explains why the board games of today aren't as good as back then with all the major brands are buying each other up - so much for competition. But I digress. Although the game was actually called Trouble, you probably knew it more as "Pop-O-Matic Trouble" thanks to the popular commercial from around 1970 that showcased the plastic domed dice container that when pushed down would "pop" the dice ensuring a fair roll of the dice, faster game play and guaranteed annoyance to parents everywhere due to the constant popping sound.

If you grew up in the 60s and 70s, and you wanted to build furniture inspired by you're favorite games, chances are you'd have to settle for a Scrabble couch with a matching love seat. If you grew up in the 80s and 90s, you'd have a whole new set of games to get inspiration from because chances are, you were a gamer. So when you finally had enough to build your dream house, you considered your options and looked at different plans and eventually settled on a design you could really relate to - a house shaped like an NES gaming console. So now you move in and arrange all your nic-naks neatly on your Tetris shelves but still it's not enough. Sure, you have Atari coat hangers but honesty, you'll never be comfortable without more furniture. Lucky for you, there are many more pieces of furniture that will fit well in your decor and match the shelves and hangers. Click the hanger below to see more video game inspired furniture. You know you want them.

We've all seen them. Every magazine in the '70s and '80s used to feature the cheesy body building ads in the back of the magazine promising a new body in virtually no time at all in as little as 15 minutes a day. You see similar ads today promising the same thing only there are few difference. For one thing, the ads today do not feature a weakling that gets constantly bullied only to send away for the program, bulk up and then go back and beat the living crap out of the bully. Today the ads usually show someone who is overweight and has trouble zipping up their pants or just pear shaped in the worst way. They send for the program and instantly they have rock hard abs and killer buns of graphite (steel is so '80s). When I was younger I actually sent away for Charles Atlas's program and surprise surprise it was simply working out with weights. Nothing fancy, no expensive machines or gizmos - honest to goodness hard work and training was and is the only way to a more...

The Chicago House scene spawned many new artists, most of them former DJs, and forged a new sound that evolved into different house music variations over the years. A classic example of the classic Chicago House sound was one of my personal favorites - "Jack Your Body" by Steve "Silk" Hurley. Though the jury is out on what exactly it means to "jack" your body, you can't ignore the addictive nature of the 1987 classic to make you move your body.

Sad to see that even in college our yellow cheese wheel shaped buddy was tormented by the ghost like meanies. It was tough but eventually the meanies were expelled and he did meet his better half there so everybody wins.

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...

I remember first spinning the original West End Girls track on a white label and thinking that this was completely fresh (how long has it been since you used that word in that context?) and probably the start of a new and prominent trend in dance music. Whether you called it Electro-Pop, Electronica, EuroBeats, or crap, it was undeniable that pop music was moving away from strictly guitars and experimenting with new electronic sounds that ushered and defined what '80s music was all about. The Pet Shop Boys have always been on the forefront of that movement and have continually put out new music over three decades. Domino Dancing, released in 1988, really helped them cross over to a wide range of audiences. It reached #5 on the U.S. Billboard Club Play listing and cracked the Top 10 of almost all the countries it was released in. Extra Retro Bonus !

If you're going to make it in show business you need to have a good name. You also may want to use a different name to allow yourself a little anonymity when you want to get away from it all. You also may need a new name to help bolster the image your trying to portray. Let's face it, John Wayne would never have commanded the respect in those Westerns if he went by his real name, Marian Morrison. Here's a list of some famous people and their not so famous real names. Demi Moore - Demetria Guynes (named her kids Rumer Glenn, Scout Larue, Tallulah Belle) Tom Cruise - Thomas Cruise Mapother IV Shania Twain - Eileen Twain (married a guy named Mutt Lange) Bono - Paul Hewson Prince - Prince Rogers Nelsen Eddie Money - Eddie Mahoney Winona Ryder - Winona Laura Horowitz Meg Ryan - Margaret Hyra Seal - Sealhenry Samuel Meatloaf - Marvin Lee Adair Martin Sheen - Ramonón Estevez Joan Rivers - Joan Sandra Molinsky Jackie Chan - Chan Kong Sung (means Born in Hong Kong) Alice Cooper - Vi...

One of the first games to suck the quarters out of my pocket at an alarming rate was the classic Asteroids game. It was one of the first games that let you continue where you left off which usually meant you'd be dead alot quicker the further up the levels you went. Here now for your entertainment and gaming pleasure is the original classic Asteroids. Use the mouse to press START, the arrow keys to move around and SPACE bar to shoot. Keep the quarters in your pocket. arcade games

This post could have actually had another title since it serves as a small history of women's panties as well. I love dual purpose posts - two messages in the same amount of time. Seeing the trend portrayed in the image, all I can say is I look forward to the future (nudge nudge, wink wink).

I've been in a alternative kind of mood lately. Now when I say alternative, I mean late '80s and early '90s as opposed to what alternative came to mean in the late '90s and beyond. I got a fever and the only cure is more cowbell...... okay, this song doesn't have cowbells but it has some very cool percussion and inspiration from Indian Bhagra style music. The production on this track is simply sublime. If you've never heard of Siouxsie and the Banshees then your in for a treat. If you have heard of them then you'll probably send me a list of better songs they've done and maybe you'd be right however this song has a great vibe to it which is perfect for chasing the mid-morning blahs as you toil away waiting for the noon hour lunch break. Enjoy!

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 ...

If your looking for a prototypical '80s sounding song with a prototypical looking '80s video to go with it then you need not look any further than Peter Godwin's "Images of Heaven". Peter was part of the band called Metro in the late '70s and went solo in the early '80s producing his most memorable track, "Images in Heaven" in 1982. His other hit that got some Alternative radio play was "Baby's in the Mountain" but in my opinion Images was a much stronger song. Enjoy!

Fix What Ain’t Broken Jennifer Grey was riding high in the ‘80s with a few hit movies under her belt including Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and the huge hit with Patrick Swayze, Dirty Dancing. She was fast tracking as a Hollywood “A” lister when she suddenly was struck with the urge to be prettier. A quick trip to a plastic surgeon gave her the nose of her dreams however there was a slight problem – nobody recognized her anymore and the roles dried up almost instantly. Who's that girl? Nobody puts Baby in a corner but nobody was giving her any roles either. She did a few minor things after the surgery and even had an appearance on Friends but her career was pretty much done. Vanity Kills. Imprison and Beat Up a Male Prostitute Boy George was the lead singer of one of the bands that really put a mark on the ‘80s. Whether you liked them or not, Culture Club really created a stir not only with the quirky pop sounds they produced but Boy George’s style and controversial image. The band bro...

There was a time when smoking wasn't the social taboo it is today. Smoking was something people did on planes, in doctor's waiting rooms, in theatres, in their cars and pretty much everywhere else until we came to the shocking realization that smoking is actually bad for you ! Who knew !?!? You'd think that sucking carcinogenic smoke directly into your lungs would actually be beneficial and something to be encouraged. Well at least that's what they thought in the '60s and '70s as witnessed in the following classic cigarette ads. Marlboro This ad is wrong on so many levels. Using an innocent baby to sell cigarettes is one thing but to try and make you feel guilty that you don't have the best of everything like this kid's dad since you don't smoke Marlboros is really a shot below the smoke filled lungs. At least it's never too late to experience the "Miracle of Marlboro" and never feel over-smoked (as opposed to under smoked I guess). ...

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...

On a recent post, we discussed some live action kid's shows that may have been ill conceived, badly produced or just plain sucked and likely got someone fired (or promoted -go figure). For every live action show produced in the '70s and '80s there were dozens of animated ones that tried to compete for a time slot in the lucrative Saturday morning cartoon market. Here's a look at some that were produced based on the popularity of certain trends or other shows that basically sucked. Gilligan's Planet Based on one of the all time Retro TV classics, Gilligan's Island, the ill conceived animated version had our ship wrecked crew flying through the cosmos dealing with all sorts of aliens and nutty situations. So to recap, seven castaways can't get off a desert island, only have a radio with an awesome set of batteries, need an exercise bike made out of bamboo to wash their clothes but somehow can build a rocket and careen through hyper space on space adventures. A...

You may have never heard of Kraftwerk unless you are a true Retro lover however you most certainly heard their music or their musical influences on other artists. Artists like Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Ultravox, Devo and David Bowie all owe their sound to the ground breaking efforts of these four German electronic originals. Founded in 1968, Kraftwerk tried to carve a sound that was uniquely German. They experimented with new technologies and relied on the industrial world around them for inspiration. Album after album their innovative approach to creating new sounds attracted the attention of young musicians and by the early '80s, pretty much every new wave / synth group credited Kraftwerk as a major influence. This made Kraftwerk's Euro sound a dance floor staple. "Funky Futuristic White Boys" Th0ugh Trans Europe Express was released in 1977, it eventually caught the attention of an American DJ who went on to release a little ditty you may have heard of - "Planet Ro...