RD80s Guest Appearance on Movie Podcast

The (Title Pending) Movie Podcast

Recently I had the opportunity to sit in as a guest host with Dan Fogarty aka "Fogs" for episode 11 of the Title Pending Movie Podcast. Regular host Chris Tanski aka "Tank" was on vacation and I was asked to fill in. A few months earlier, Fogs and I schemed about doing a movie music themed show about movie scores, themes, and soundtracks. With Tank out of town, he decided it would be a great time to have me on the podcast. I've been a fan of their show for awhile and have listened to them since the beginning. All three of us are part of the UnderScoopFIRE.Com family and have contributed to the site through columns or podcasts. 

The basic concept of the show was simple...the Movie/Music Relationship. We talk about the history of movie soundtracks, some of the top selling soundtracks of all time, and also our favorites. We also discuss what we call the "Finger In Throat Trifecta" of movie soundtrack songs that have tested our gag reflexes over the years. We do discuss some 80s greatness, but we did not confine ourselves to the decade. I hope you will enjoy listening and continue to listen to this awesome movie podcast in the future.

Click here for the Title Pending Movie Podcast website on BuzzSprout

Follow Fogs on Twitter @FogsMovieReview

Follow Tank on Twitter @P0lishPhen0m

Check out Fogs' blog FogsMovieReviews.Com

The Best Superbowl Commercials of the 80s

The Best Superbowl Commercials of the 80s

The Superbowl has always been known for having some of the best and craziest commercials. Blue chip companies across the globe spend millions for a 30 second ad during the most widely watched sporting event. You are sure to always get a laugh or a "what in the world?" moment with these ads that try to create something you won't soon forget. I've been known to take my bathroom breaks during the actual football game, just so I won't miss any of the outrageous commercials! The 80s brought us both good and bad Superbowl ads. First, let's rediscover the some of the best ones and the stories behind them.

Coca-Cola "Hey Kid, Catch!" (1980)

In 1979, Coca-Cola filmed this ad as a part of their "Have a Coke and a Smile" ad campaign. It was actually released in Oct 1979, but became widely popular during the 1980 Superbowl. "Mean" Joe Greene of the Pittsburgh Steelers changes from a hard-nosed football player to a smiling teddy bear, thanks to a young fan and his bottle of Coke. We've seen the iconic ad replicated many times since 1980, when it won the Clio award for best ad of the year. Current Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu, former Steeler Jerome Bettis, and even House actor Hugh Laurie have all portrayed the "Mean" Joe Greene part in recent ads.

80s First: "I'm Going To Disney World!"

Hey, you've just won the Superbowl!! 

What are you gonna do next??

I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!

Those words were heard for the first time on Jan 25, 1987. The idea for the ad campaign came weeks earlier from the wife of Disney CEO Michael Eisner. According to his 1988 memoir, the phrase was spoken   by a dinner guest during the Start Tours grand opening in early January 1987. Jane Eisner later told her husband that the phrase would make a good advertising slogan. The rest is history as they say.

The stage was then set for the first commercial to air after Superbowl XXI. Disney approached quarterbacks Phil Simms of the New York Giants and John Elway of the Denver Broncos before the big game to prepare each to utter those now famous words.

 

So the big question is, what did Disney pay them? $75,000....each. Yes that's right, losing quarterback John Elway got paid the same amount as Simms just for being prepared. Disney would go on to make other arraignments with major sports champions in 1987 including Earvin "Magic" Johnson of the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers and Frank Viola of World Series champion Minnesota Twins.

Since 1987, Disney has produced a "I'm Going To Disney World!" commercial for every Superbowl except one. The going price nowadays has dropped to a reported $30,000 per person, but the trend still continues. And the use of the phrase (and variations) in pop culture has been widespread including TV shows like the Full House and The Simpsons plus films such as Con Air, Balls of Fury, Zombieland, Aladdin, and my favorite...Charlie Sheen in Hot Shots.

Ultimate 80s Superbowl Kickoff Playlist

Are you ready for some football????!!!!

NFL football. Six long months of preseason games, a grueling regular season, a disappointing showing in your fantasy football league (if you're like me,) and then the conference playoffs. And then the game of all games...THE SUPERBOWL!! The drama builds for two weeks leading up to the big day. And then Superbowl day comes with countless hours of pregame coverage, Superbowl commercial specials and then finally....the starting lineups and the seemingly traditional slaughtering of our national anthem. It's here...moments away from kickoff. Snacks are huddled close-by with the anticipation of some great football, a concert halftime show, and those hilarious ads you simply can't miss. The teams are on the field, the kicker is setting up the football on the tee...TIME OUT!!...what song is playing over the p.a. system to get the thousands of fans on their feet?? Here is a playlist of 80s songs that are very worthy of a Superbowl kickoff!!

Rolling Stones "Start Me Up" (1981)
I dare say there is a better song to kickoff an NFL football game (or this list.) This is a great track that almost never made to an album. Recorded originally in 1975, it would stay vaulted for three album releases until Tattoo You in 1981. The Stones performed this song during the Superbowl XL halftime show in 2006. 

Football on Atari 2600

AC/DC "Hells Bells" (1980)
Hearing AC/DC at a football game is like eating a hot dog at a baseball game. I could make a case for about a half dozen tracks from the 1970s-1990s that are excellent kickoff songs. I've seen many a fan stand on their feet at the first chime of the bells at the beginning of this song.

AC/DC "You Shook Me All Night Long" (1980)
Definitely worthy of a second appearance on this list, AC/DC gave us another song on the Back in Black album (the title track is good too) that is an awesome for a Superbowl kickoff. As with most songs on this list, a few chords of the iconic intro immediately gets the "walls shaking" and "earth quaking" in football stadiums everywhere.

Misheard 80s Lyrics: "I Guess The Rain's..."

Okay, this one is on me. Up until probably sometime last year, I was singing the wrong lyrics to Toto's "Africa." Seems pretty funny now that I would misinterpret the lyrics as I guess the rain's down in Africa. It's not like Africa is known for its torrential rain or its long spring seasons. I mean think about it. Can you picture two farmers during the middle of summer drought saying to each other: 

Where is all the rain, Joe? My crops are all gonna dry up! 

Not sure, Sam. I've heard its been over a month now since we've seen a drop. Matter of fact, the whole southern United States is in a drought. 

(Shrugging shoulders) Hmm, I guess the rain's down in Africa, Joe. 

I might come across as an 80s expert sometimes, but even I have taken advantage of "rediscovering the 80s"  from time to time. Seems to make much more sense now to sing...

I bless the rains down in Africa! 

80s Timeworn Twelves: "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)"

"I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" 
by Hall & Oates (1981)

Hall & Oates were a hit making machine throughout the 80s. By the time their Private Eyes album was released in 1981, they had already achieve two #1 singles and a few other top ten hits. The first two singles released, the title track and "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" would both peak at the top spot on the charts. The latter would also top the R&B charts, which was a rarity for a non-African American group. The 12" single would feature a remixed version by Robert Wright that would add over 2 minutes to the album version. Side B was "Unguarded Minute," a Private Eyes album track.

Garbage Pail Kids Fan Art

Garbage Pail Kids Fan Art

It's no secret that I love artists who create their own originals using 80s pop culture. We've showcased some great ones on this site including last week's post of 80s Pixels Art and others like Christopher Tupa and Some One. Recently, through a tweet by Pepsi Throwback, I came across some original Garbage Pail Kids art. Most of you might remember the column I did called "The Rise and Fall of the Garbage Pail Kids" that was posted on this site and on UnderScoopFire.Com about the gross-out trading card franchise. GPK remains a big part of 80s pop culture and I thought it was a radical idea to mesh GPK art with 80s properties!

Luis Diaz
Thanks to a timely tweet by Pepsi Throwback (which I highly recommend you follow,) I came across these first GPK creations. A couple clicks later and I found Luis Diaz's Flickr page, which is full of great art. Here are a few examples:

Mario 8-Bit Creations

MARIO LIVES!!

Last week I gathered some 80s pixel art that I found while surfing the net. While I was compiling, I found many artistic 8-bit versions of the Nintendo icon Mario. Most of these creations use real objects that piece together our favorite plumber of the 80s.

The first Mario creation is why you need variety when choose your favorite carbonated beverages. To make a good Mario, the worlds of Pepsi and Coke must come together.

80s Exam: Name That Movie Line 4

Can you quote the movie line from these 80s movie scenes?

Leave a comment with your answers!

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Mike Post & TV Themes We Grew Up With

Mike Post & TV Themes We Grew Up With

(Article Note: I typical add content that is exclusive to the 80s, but Mike Post has made an impact over such a long period of time that I decided to write this article as a celebration of his entire career. Enjoy!)

Who is Mike Post? Does his name look a little familiar? Maybe you’ve seen it somewhere before…if you’ve owned a television set in the last 40 years, I guarantee you’ve seen it hundreds of times! Mike Post has produced some of the most recognizable theme songs in television history. The Rockford Files, Magnum P.I., The A Team, Law & Order, Quantum Leap, and NYPD Blue have all used theme songs produced by Mike Post. (And that’s just scratching the surface!!) What composer John Williams is to movies, Mike Post is to television. We’ve grown up with his music, maybe with some of us not even knowing all these great themes could be attributed back to one man. Who is Mike Post? If you know or perhaps think you know, I’m privileged to take you on the Mike Post backlot tour of television history.

Leland Michael Postil was born in Berkeley, California in 1944. The piano was his instrument of choice at the age of six. By the time he was in the tenth grade, he was playing football and then playing music at clubs after games. He reluctantly graduated Ulysses S. Grant High School in 1962 in Valley Glen, Ca, and kept music as the main focus of his life. (Ironically, his graduating class would include actor Tom Selleck, for whose TV show he would compose the theme for eighteen years later!) He would hit the road after high school, touring with the “live versions” of studio acts. With the long touring schedule and an unsuccessful attempt at being a musical artist himself, Post found himself working as a session musician for recording artists. Early artists he played for included Rat Pack members Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. But playing guitar in a 1965 session for Sonny and Cher which included their biggest hit “I Got You Babe”, would give him a vision for arranging and producing music. He began offering to help produce records for his friends’ bands, just to get his feet wet. That experience then would help him form and produce a band called First Edition (which included Kenny Rogers on bass guitar) from 1967-69. He would produce a record for guitarist Mason Williams in 1968, which would earn him industry recognition. Williams’ instrumental hit “Classical Gas” would earn Post his first Grammy Award as a producer at just 23 years old. The very next year in response to his work with Williams, Post would be offered the position of musical director of the Andy Williams Show and begin his professional career in television. Through the show, he would arrange music for the best and most popular music artists on the planet.

2005 interview with Stephen J. Cannell & Mike Post

Post’s television theme production career can be attributed to two relationships. The first was with composer Pete Carpenter, who Post met on the golf course in 1968. Carpenter, an accomplished trumpeter and TV musical arranger, would form a working relationship with Post that would last 18 years and over 1800 hours of TV music. Writer/producer Stephen J. Cannell would be the second piece in Post’s career. A chance introduction to Cannell while on vacation would create another friendship that would transition Post from a “rock and roll” producer in his mind to conducting and writing for television dramas.

80s First: Platinum Rap Album

A rap group from Hollis, NY would make music industry history in 1986. Run D.M.C. released their 3rd album Raisin' Hell in May 1986. In just two short months, the album would be certified platinum (one million in sales) by the RIAA, the first time in history a rap/hip hop album would reach that level. It would signify that the rap genres was not a fad as some music critics had viewed. In Sept 1986,  Raisin' Hell would reach the 2X platinum level and then 3X platinum in March 1987. Building on the tremendous success of Raisin' Hell, Run D.M.C.'s previous album The King of Rock and their follow up album Tougher Than Leather would also reach the platinum level. Other firsts by Run D.M.C. include:

• The first rap act to chart in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 more than once
• The first rap artist with a Top 10 pop charting rap album
• The first rap artist with gold, platinum, and multi-platinum albums
• The first rap act to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine
• One of the first rap acts to receive a Grammy Award nomination
• The first rap act to make a video appearance on MTV
• The first rap act to perform at a major arena

80s Pixel Art

E.T. on ExciteBike

Children of the 80s all remember the pixelated characters of the Atari, NES, and Sega video game era. Graphics have come along way since square bullets and basketballs that existed in the 8-bit gaming world. But thanks to some inventive artists, pixel art is making a comeback using all kinds of 80s properties and pop culture.

Carl Jagt
Carl Jagt is the artist behind the following 8-bit movie posters. Here are his comments:

I still remember the 70s and 80s with wide-eyed, take-a-step-back wonder: high-tops, Sony Walkmans, feathered hair, home computers and The Boss. And the movies: arguably not a golden age of cinema, the 80s were the birthplace of many of my all-time favourite flicks. Here are a few 8bit pixel posters of some of my favourite 80s movies (ok, one of them is from the late 70s) – enjoy!

Carl also has some original portraits that available to purchase on ImageKind, including these pixelated sidearms of some famous Sci-Fi characters. See if you can recognize them...

Visit CarlJagt.Com for his portfolio

80s Timeworn Twelves: "Too Shy"

"Too Shy (Midnight Mix)" by Kajagoogoo (1982)

Kajagoogoo's "Too Shy" is widely known as a one hit wonder in the US, ranking 9th on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s. In 1983, the debut single reached #5 in the US and #1 in the UK for two weeks, benefiting from heavy airplay on MTV. EMI released a 12" Midnight Mix single, a remixed version adding almost 2 minutes compared to the White Feathers album version. The B side featured an unreleased track "Take Another View" which was often included in live sets. Kajagoogoo would reach the top 15 in the UK with their next three singles, but would have no further success in the US.

80s Exam: Name That Catch Phrase 3

Can you name the "catch phrase" of these 80s movie, TV, and cartoon characters?

Leave a comment with your answers!

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Things We Learned In 1981...

...you can sing a song using only the word "La."

The Smurfs cartoon would air 256 episodes from 1981-1989...

...and then 22 years later in 2011, they would make a reappearance on the big screen.
The film grossed over $560 million at the box office and a sequel is scheduled for 2013.

African American History in the 80s

African American History in the 80s

As is appropriate this day each year, we honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his sacrifice for the equality of every person in America. I can't think of a better way to celebrate on this website than taking a look back at the breakthrough accomplishments of African Americans in the 1980s. These people honored the sacrifice of many before them by climbing to the top of their profession and proved that Dr King's vision was the right  one for America.

1980

• Janie L. Mines becomes the first African American woman to graduate from the Naval Academy. 
• Robert L. Johnson launches the Black Entertainment Television (BET) channel out of Washington, D.C.

1981

• Val James of the Buffalo Sabres becomes the first professional African American player in the NHL.

1982

• Bryant Gumbel becomes the anchor of The Today Show, the first African American to do hold the morning anchor post on a major television network.
• Michael Jackson releases Thriller, which would become the best selling music album of all time.
• Louis Gossett, Jr. becomes the first African American to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film An Officer and a Gentleman.
• Roscoe Robinson Jr. becomes the first African American four star general in the United States Army.

The 80s Arcade: Rampage

George, Lizzie, and Ralph are unleashed and headed for your town!!

I absolutely loved watching the old Japanese Godzilla movies as a kid growing up in the 80s. I also had a fascination with King Kong, mainly from the 1976 film. So it was love at first site when I saw Rampage in the 80s arcade. Climbing buildings, smashing cars, leveling skyscrapers, eating people...it was like being in a King Kong or Godzilla movie!

And with the ability to have up to three players join the game, it made a great game to play with friends. Rampage's history is not one that involves many arcade sequels, but it's concept and simplistic gameplay has stood the test of time, to the point of a rumored film adaptation. Let's rediscover those creatures that came from Scumlab laboratories and relive the mayhem that North America and the world has suffered over the past 26 years.

Bally Midway released Rampage in 1986. The game story consisted of three characters that had mutated into large creatures. Who new that eating some mega vitamins, taking a dip in a radioactive lake, or eating some bad food could turn you into a monster? But that's what happened to these ordinary people. Experimenting on them at the Scumlabs facilities did not help and when they escaped, it was time for some payback. The objective was to destroy any and all buildings, vehicles, and people in your path. Varies elements within the game could help regain your health, like eating people and food found in buildings. There was also one human that each character could hold for awhile, increasing your score. If your your health was totally lost, your character would transform back into a naked human and carefully walk off screen.

Friday the 13th: A Lucky Day for the 80s

In May 1980, Friday the 13th became more than just a superstition...it became one of the most successful and iconic horror films of all time. Friday the 13th would spawn a franchise that would continue to slash movie critics over the course of 29 years and 12 films, making over $465 million total at the box office. Novels, comic books, video games, and a television series would also further entrench the franchise into movie history. Although it was the 1978 film Halloween that really initiated the popularity of the slasher-type horror movie genre in the 80s, Friday the 13th created what most believe to be the formula for other successful horror franchises to come. Let's explore the history of the franchise and how Jason Voorhees has become one of the most recognizable names in movie history.

On the heels of Halloween's success ($47M box office sales on a $325K budget), Paramont Pictures set out to achieve similar success with the release of Friday the 13th in May 1980. Paramont would become the first major production company to release a slasher film. Friday the 13th is a story about a serial killer who terrorizes and murders teenagers at Camp Crystal Lake. The film starred Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, and Kevin Bacon in one of his earliest film roles. It was a huge box office success bringing in $60M worldwide on a $550K budget, despite being dismissed heavily by film critics. Gene Siskel of Siskel & Ebert at the Movies was quoted as calling director Sean Cunningham as "one of the most despicable creatures ever to infest the movie business." The reason for the backlash on Friday the 13th and other slasher movies at the time was that critics felt it made the audience as fans of the serial killers that were portrayed on screen.

80s First: The Million Dollar Game Show

If somebody asked you..."what was the first game show to give away one million dollars?"...you might guess Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, but you'd be incorrect! About 13 years before Regis Philbin was asking trivia questions was the game show $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime...

The show ran for two seasons from 1986-87 and was hosted by game show veteran Jim Lange. It consisted of two couples solving puzzles, much like Wheel of Fortune, but with a stack of cash worthy of a World Series of Poker tournament, an over-sized computer screen & keyboard, and a sound-proof isolation booth for the bonus round.

Things We Learned In 1983...

...the Coyote X was one totally rad ride!

Of course I'm talking about the real "star" of the TV show Hardcastle & McCormick!

80s Timeworn Twelves: "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight"

"Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" by Genesis (1987)

From the 1986 album Invisible Touch, "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" was one of five singles to make it to the top 4 on the US charts. There are two common versions of the song, the album version (8:53) and the radio-friendly remix. (4:32) The 12" record single include the remix and an extended mix that added almost 3 minutes to the album version. (11:44) Two other tracks were included on the 12" record single. "In The Glow of the Night (Part One)" was taken from the same Invisible Touch album. The other track "Paperlate" was a previous released single from the 3X3 EP album, which featured the horn section from the band Earth, Wind, and Fire. Before it was released as a single in March 1987, "Tonight" was used in an episode of Magnum, P.I. in February.

Silver Anniversaries of 2012

We had great reception to our 30 year anniversaries last week. Let's continue the tributes this week with a look at 1987 and the silver anniversaries in 2012!

25 Year Anniversaries in 2012

EVENTS

• Jan 8, 1987: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 2,000 for the first time, gaining 8.30 to close at 2,002.25. 
• Jan 25, 1987:  New York Giants win 39-20 over the Denver Broncos in Superbowl XXI.
• Mar 4, 1987: U.S. President Ronald Reagan addresses the American people on the Iran-Contra Affair, acknowledging that his overtures to Iran had 'deteriorated' into an arms-for-hostages deal. 
• Mar 24, 1987: Michael Eisner, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, and French Prime Minister and future President of France, Jacques Chirac, sign the agreement to construct the 4,800 acre Euro Disney Resort (now called Disneyland Paris.)
• May 11, 1987: Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II. He is sentenced on July 4 to life inprisonment.
• May 17, 1987: U.S.S. Stark is hit by two Iraqi-owned Exocet AM39 air-to-surface missiles killing 37 sailors.
• June 12, 1987: During a visit to Berlin, Germany, U.S. President Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.
• June 14, 1987: Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers defeat their long time rivals Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA finals 106-93, winning the NBA title.
• July 11, 1987: World population is estmated to reach five billion people, estimated according to the United Nations.
• Aug 14, 1987: The first Aeropostale clothing store, a mall-based, specialty retailer of casual apparel and accessories, opens in New York City, New York.
• Nov 25, 1987: Category 5 Typhoon Nina smashes the Philippines with 165 miles per hour winds and a devastating storm surge, causing destruction and 1,036 deaths.
• Dec 20, 1987: In history's worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry MV Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker Vector 1 in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).

Lite-Brite in the 80s

Did you have a Lite-Brite in the 80s??

Lite-Brite was a very popular toy in the 80s, although it was created in 1967 and is still sold today. Now in flatscreens and cubes, those of us that had Lite-Brite in the 80s remember the large white box and black peg board front. The sky was the limit for really creative kids or if you were like me, those clumsy black paper patterns were needed to do create something halfway decent.
My Lite-Brite always seemed to have one peg that was impossible to pry from the board. Here's a board you shouldn't have any trouble with...have a little creative fun on us.

80s Exam: Name That Catch Phrase 2

Can you name the "catch phrase" of these 80s movie, TV, and cartoon characters?

Leave a comment with your answers!

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