Retroguy's Wonderland

After a hard week of school or navigating through cubicle hell, it's nice to know you can reach back to the classics of a simpler time to get you into the right mood for the coming weekend. Allow me to create that mood for you right now. First up, Rene & Angela's "I'll Be Good" which is the embodiment of all things good about 80's R&B. Released in 1985 by this former husband and wife duo, it peaked and number 4 on the U.S. R&B charts but remains one of my prized possessions on pristine 12" vinyl. Next up is a classic from 1979 by the Brothers Johnson. This band was made up of a bunch of brothers and a cousin who had originally played for the likes of Billy Preston, The Supremes and were Quincy Jones main go to guys for a time. "Stomp" was released in 1979 and shot to number 1 on both the U.S. Dance and R&B charts. The group had an on again off again relationship over the years and still perform from time to time and recently team...

Many modern video games today center around blasting the bajeezus out of some poor soul, be it human or zombie. Back in 1984, Nintendo released Duck Hunt that had players blasting the bajeezus out of ducks. Same bajeezus, different targets. Duck Hunt was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and players used a NES Zapper which was basically a light rifle. Ducks appeared one or two at a time and players shot them for points and the admiration of their faithful canine which for some reason was officially nameless. They name plumbers, hedgehogs, ghosts, goblins and countless other mind numbingly dumb characters but a cute dog with an annoying laugh..........nada. Can't think of a thing. I'm sure nobody noticed. Players also had the option of shooting clay pigeons in another mode that got increasingly difficult as you moved up the levels. Today's retro arcade classic won't be a popular one amongst PETA pals though I can say no video ducks were actually hurt d...

If you've ever argued with a friend about what gaming console came out first, the Atari 2600, the Odyssey 200 or the Intellivision, you're either a true hardcore gamer or have waaaaaaaaay too much time on your hands. Either way, no need to argue any longer. Click the pic of the bitchin' PacMan ring to see the definitive collection of all gaming consoles from the original Odyssey to the Nintendo Wii. Click the console of your choice for a quick overview and details. Amazing how far we've come. Hard to believe there was a time when you had to tape color foils over your black and white TV to get a color burst to add more excitement while you played your games leaving gummy residue all over the screen which all parents loved. Now, all you have to do is reach for your phone to play in full color with people from around the world. You young'uns have all the neat toys.

Man the news is full of depressing stuff and the weather (in most parts of the world - at least my part of the world) currently blows. This makes it tough to inspire yourself to get out of bed in the morning rather than curl up in a corner sobbing in the fetal position. With that in mind, here's a way back track that always puts a smile on my face and was (and is) a sure fire crowd pleaser to all the retro lovers and even the non-believers. How can you go wrong with the late, great Barry White? Even his worst track was pretty damn good! This gem is from 1974 and still holds up well. Happy Friday everyone - spring is just around the corner!

If you grew up in the late 60s, 70s and 80s you probably had SpaghettiOs. As you got older you probably made the switch to something more adult like Chunky soup. Both of these were developed by Donald Goerke while working for Franco American that eventually was bought by Campbells Soup. You can't help noticing that SpaghettiOs sound eerily similar to Cheerios. (Can you say ripoff?) I wish they'd carry this theme over to other food. Still waiting for BaconO's or even PizzaO's.......mmmmmm. I digress. Sadly, Donald passed away last week and left behind a legacy of retro goodness in the form of two classic advertising catch phrases or slogans: "Uh - oh SpaghettiOs" and "Soup that eats like a meal!"

Happy New Year (albeit 14 days late!) to all the faithful Retro followers. I hope 2010 brings you nothing but good things, fuzzy retro feelings and all the joy the world has to offer.........or a cell phone with decent reception at the very least. (Another story for another time) Let's start off the 2010 posts with a glimpse into a movie coming to theatres in near future that combines all the things that make movies great - Jedis, Hobbits, Nazi Killers, light sabres, Brad Pitt and Samuel L. Motherf%#$*# Jackson. If only it were true, Avatar would be eating it's smoke as it blazed past them in the box office.

In 1984, a very selfless thing happened in London that profoundly changed how music is used for good. Bob Geldof recruited a bunch of his industry friends and along with Midge Ure wrote a song to be used to raise money for starving people of Africa. The song was recorded under the name Band-Aid and was made up of a collection of the biggest pop talent of that time. Along with Bob and Midge, some other artists who lent their talents included, Paul Young, Duran Duran, U2, Phil Collins, Paul Weller, Heaven 17, Banarama, Culture Club, Kool and the Gang, Sting, Spandou Ballet, George Michael, Jodie Watley, some dudes from Big Country and a freak called Marilyn ripping off Boy George's shtick. Even David Bowie left a personal message on the extended remix of the song. The video, as expected, got massive air play and did raise a lot of money for the cause that led to a multi-country Live-Aid concert and American artists to do their own song under the name U.S.A. for Africa and Canadia art...

Need a break from all the sappy Christmas music that is no doubt following you around everywhere you go these days as you prepare for the magic of Christmas while draining your savings account? Search no further - Max Headroom is back to bring you some retro joy. Remember him? If your a retro fan then you are aware of the odd phenomenon from the mid 80s that spawned a bit of a craze. With technology becoming a bigger part of our lives and video technology pushing new boundaries, the timing was perfect for the emergence of a fictional artificial intelligence doing his thing on a video screen. Max Headroom got his start as British TV series but became better known thanks to a video by Art of Noise that featured him performing for "Paranoimia". That led to a gig as a spokesman (spokesgraphic ? spokesimage ? spokesthingy ?) or talking head for New Coke that helped propel Max into the public conscienceness. Due to his popularity, Chrysalis released a Christmas song featuring Max...

One thing that has changed since the retro days of old are the television ads around Christmas time. Sure even back then, advertisers were trying their hardest to get you to spend your hard earned dollars on bigger and better gifts for little Timmy or that special someone but they weren't smacking you upside the head with the message or trying to make you feel like less of a human for not spending more for a bigger, better gift than you bought last year. There was always a beautiful Christmas scene with snow and a happy family sharing a magical Christmas moment with tender looks and gentle hugs. Then while sipping on hot cocoa, mom would present a beautifully wrapped gift to little Cindy who opened it and beamed like the little cherub she was to the delight of the whole family. Of course nowawdays they show little Cindy freaking out because she didn't get a 3g iPhone or a new car with a big bow waiting for her in the driveway. Meanwhile dad is sleeping on the couch because he t...

In keeping with the whole Tiger's Wood theme (I mean Tiger Woods), let's go back and visit a Canadian tiger from back in the 80s. Glass Tiger's breakout hit from 1986, "Don't Forget Me When I'm Gone" featured Bryan Adams doing some backup work many classic hallmarks of cheesy 80's videos. Big hair - check, pastels and shoulder pads - check, gimmicky sets - check, children pretending to play instruments - check, loose story line featuring other children - check?!?! Not sure what the connection with the kids would be but.... there you go. The song went number one in Canada (naturally) and number 2 in the U.S. (surprisingly) and also charted pretty good in many other countries as well. The band originally called themselves Tokyo which confused some so they changed their name to Glass Tiger and succeeded in confusing everyone else. This song is pretty much Elin Woods anthem at the moment. For an unrelated Tiger experience, click the picture below to play t...

Truly one of the most iconic American artistic images is American Gothic painted by Grant Wood from 1930. The pitch fork represented hard labour while the flowers over the right shoulder of the woman symbolised domesticity. That image will soon be replaced by the image below. The iron symbolises one man's path to greatness, fame and fortune and the implement that also brought him the beating of his life. The beaten Tiger symbolizes the wrath of a woman scorned. Q: What's the difference between a car and a golf ball? A: Tiger Woods can drive a golf ball 400 yards. (Sorry - couldn't resist!)

A while back in a previous post, we showed what happens when retro and politics collide - click here to see that post. Here's another installment featuring a likely response from the anointed one if he doesn't get the economy rolling again in the next little while. Getting the economy back on track will be the only way to avoid magazine covers like the one below. We all pretty much have hit our own personal rock bottoms so let's hope the man knows what he's doing. Hey - don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against him and certainly hope for the best for all of us but it's almost been a year now and I hope the wave of goodwill he rode in on doesn't get eroded with some of the decisions he's made so far and lack of action in some cases on other issues. I've got my fingers crossed for all of us. On a lighter note - here's a Carlton Banks and Steve Erkel danceoff.

In keeping with the space invaders theme from the previous post, I thought I'd jog your retro memories with a vintage one hit wonder from 1984 by the Earons. Their hit "Land of Hunger" was an interesting fusion of the electronic Euro sound from the era similar to Kraftwerk and Visage mixed with a bit of a reggae beat and vocal style - or stylie. The Earons describe themselves as an Astro Funk band (not too many bands in that category I assure you) from Earon Earth and get their inspiration from the cosmic mythology teachings of Sun Ra, an eccentric Jazz musician who claimed to be from Saturn and part of the Angel race that preached peace and love above all. I shit you not. You can't make this stuff up. He also happened to be one of the first musicians to extensively use electric keyboards and synthesizers in his music. The Earons themselves all went by numerical stage names which included .28 (vocals), .33 (keyboards), .22 (guitar), .69 (bass) and .18 (drums) which if...

How much cooler would playing Space Invaders have been if the alien hordes looked more like the little guys below? From the creative mind of designer Logan Walters comes a new take on an old foe. Now, how cool would it have been to wear the sweater below while playing Space Invaders back in the day? Probably not so much..........

In an earlier post , we saw how advertisers in the 50s dealt with the delicate subject of feminine hygiene. The fact that the product used for achieving the ultimate in feminine squeaky cleanliness was Lysol disinfectant, proved to be more disturbing than the ad itself. In a similar ad, we now see how modern mothers of the 50s and 60s handled this delicate subject with their daughters. Kind of rude I admit but that ad had nothing on the ad below that kind of illustrates what our 50s era modern mother was eluding to. Subtle like a brick to the side of the face. Yet another example of an ad designed and written by a man, sold by a man and bought by a man. Keep in mind - these are both real ads from back in the day.

Before Wii Sports became the best selling console game in the history of video games, there was Super Mario Brothers that was released by Nintendo in 1985. This game was the sequel to the very popular Mario Bros. game and has sold over 40 million copies worldwide. This game helped put Nintendo's gaming console on the map and was a major factor in the recovery of the video game industry after the crash of 1983. It's inspired many clones, sequels, cartoons and spin offs but Mario remains one of the most popular and recognizable video game characters ever created. Many non gamers also know who Mario is - not too many characters can make that claim. Italian plumbers everywhere burst with pride on that thought. Check out the flash version below! arcade

Being Thursday and oh so close to Friday, I thought I'd treat you all to a double shot of some classic retro Disco that is a little left of the usual Disco standards you normally hear during a Disco radio show or one of those retro nights at a club. The first is Michael Zager Band's "Let's All Chant" from 1978 that reached #1 on the Disco singles chart and also crossed over to the Soul singles chart and made it to #15 and #36 in the Top 100 chart. The classic chant refrain of "ooah ooah" became a popular staple in many clubs during the 90's and can still be heard today during many a retro set. The second track is Kano's "I'm Ready" from 1979. It's one of those tracks you've heard samples of in other tunes but could never quite put your finger on it. The most recognizable track the melody was sampled for was Tag Team's "Whooomp! (There It Is)" from 1993. The Kano classic was the brainchild of a couple of Italian...

Every once in a while you come across a video that really makes you marvel at the dedication a person can have towards their craft. In this case, it's a clip titled "Golden Age of Video" which is made up of bits and pieces of classic movies and some retro gem TV shows. I posted the version with sub-titles because it is amazing how the creator, Ricardo Autobahn managed to find and splice (is that even a proper term for editing anymore? Am I dating myself? Do I care?) together all these relevant bits of dialog so seamlessly that it proves he's either really good at editing or has unbelievable amounts of time on his hands. Either way, I look forward to more! Enjoy.

I've been in a bit of a football kick these last few days probably a reaction to my five week winning streak in fantasy football but it got me thinking of some classic commercials featuring football. Obviously the Superbowls have given us some classics in recent years but in my retro world only one sticks out as a true feel good classic. Coca Cola did an ad in 1979 featuring all-Pro Pittsburgh Steeler defensive back "Mean" Joe Greene which became an instant classic. They actually remade the commercial for Super Bowl XLIII featuring current Pittsburgh Steeler defensive back Troy Polomalu that had a bit of a twist from the original. Here they are together - see if you spot the subtle differences.

There are some bands that the minute you hear their music takes you straight back to the 80s and yet their music still holds up well in this era. Echo and the Bunnymen are one of those bands. They formed in Liverpool in 1978 and the original lineup included three members and a drum machine until 1980 when they recruited a real drummer. They chose the name because they wanted something that sounded kind of stupid - mission accomplished. They released a number of great albums all with decent critical acclaim and a few classic hits per disc but the biggest and most memorable tracks have been The Cutter, The Killing Moon, Silver, Seven Seas and Bring on the Dancing Horses which was used on the soundtrack for John Hughes' "Pretty in Pick" which is one killer soundtrack and a must for all retro lovers. Retro Video Bonus !!