CBGB: Birthplace of the American Punk Movement
In 1973, when the punk rock movement was just barely beginning to coalesce from the garage rock movement into something much more extreme, a man named Hilly Kristal took possession of a restaurant and bar that had been a 19th century saloon, a biker bar and finally a dive bar. He had opened an earlier …
Laurel Canyon: A Bird’s Eye View of the Epix Documentary
Every so often, a film or documentary arrives at just the right time to soothe the feelings that the daily stress of life can create. That’s the case with Alison Ellwood’s “Laurel Canyon,” a feature-length documentary about the Los Angeles folk/rock scene of the ‘60s and ‘70s that’s currently airing in two-parts on Epix. I’ll be honest …
Breaking the Law: Police Procedurals in the 80s
When we think about the 80s, one of our entertainment favorites are the police procedural shows of that era. Today we fondly remember things like European styling, “teenage” cops, male and female detective pairs, and a crime-solving mystery writer. These were the shows that bring the 80s back to life for us. Remington Steele Remington …
Gerry Rafferty: The Songsmith of Alienation
Baker Street and Me When you ask me who my favorite artist is, I normally respond with which of a thousand ones? However, we all those artists who not only are favorites but who we also feel speak to us. Then, there are those few, those very few, who speak for us. It was early …
Behind The Lens: Director Jim Yukich
It’s safe to say that with 250-300+ (more like 500) music videos to his credit, saying Jim Yukich is a great director is wildly understated. He’s accomplished a lot more as well, directing 1500+ episodes of “Chelsea Lately” over 7.5 years, over 60 episodes of ET over 6 months, plus 2 feature films. Add in …
How Madonna Became “the Queen of Pop.”
Madonna, the artist often referred to as the “Queen of Pop,” was born Madonna Louise Ciccone (see she came by her stage name legitimately!) on August 16, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan. From relatively humble beginnings, Madonna approached the music industry on her own terms and ended up, well… “The Queen of Pop!” To a …
Banned Song Lyrics: The Nonsense of it All
I was scrolling through various sites earlier today, looking for interesting articles to post on Facebook, as I do daily. As always, I looked to “This Day in Music,” as I always find great content there. I came across a post in their “on this day” section about an Everly Brothers song from the 50s …
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: The Peg Entwistle Story
Hollywood and films are both synonymous and iconic, and truly a collection of tall tales and urban legends as well. Some are myths – purely conjecture, and it’s always astonishing to hear the rumors – Stallone once did porn, footage of Brandon Lee’s fatal shooting can be seen in the final cut of The Crow, …
The Lost Boys: A Retro Review
As The Lost Boys begins, the Emerson family has just moved to fictional Santa Carla, California (really Santa Cruz, CA), the self-titled “murder capital of the world” after a bitter divorce. Mom Lucy, and sons Michael and Sam move in with Grandpa, hoping for a new start, and it doesn’t take long to see just …
Beatles “Overrated?”
It explains 80% of the reason I venture into the Wild West-Meets-Idiocracy world that is Twitter: @Super70sSports. Featuring a hilarious mix of sports clips, ads and a mélange of pop-culture references from the 1960s-to roughly the mid-1990s, the account, started by Moraine Valley Community College, sociology professor Ricky Cobb, is simply the best follow on …