Woodstock Redux
It’s Woodstock, fifty years later—the convergence of 60, 70 and some 80 year-olds onto an iconic bowl-shaped venue as they try to buck themselves out of skin that’s liver spotted and crepey in order to make the wry prick of time not feel so poignant or so permanent. It rains. Cold rain and hot earth …
How Some of the Iconic 80s Sitcom Families Got it Right
Many a Gen Xer grew up on a steady diet of heavily laugh-tracked sitcoms. Flashback to 1987, I am in my room surrounded by pinups torn from sundry teen magazines featuring the likes of Michael J. Fox and Kirk Cameron. How could you not fall for the devilish and still kind-hearted Mike Seaver. The Seavers, …
Peter Frampton: Do You Feel Like We Do?
Peter Frampton knew he wanted to be a musician very early on in life. At the young age of 7, discovered his grandmother’s banjolele in the attic, and taught himself to play it. Not satisfied with just that, he also taught himself to play guitar, piano, and organ as well. By the time he was …
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 …
The Carpenters: For All We Know
Karen and Richard Carpenter, also known as The Carpenters, were the soundtrack of most of our lives throughout the ‘70s. They produced a distinctive, soft musical style, combining Karen’s beautiful alto vocals with Richard’s harmonizing, arranging and composition skills. During their 14-year career, the Carpenters recorded ten albums, along with numerous singles and several television …
Batman (1989): Retro Review
“Millionaire Bruce Wayne by day, avenging Batman by night, the caped crusader encounters a grinning face from his past when a madman known as the Joker threatens Gotham city.” This is the best description I’ve ever seen of this movie. We all know the story. Bruce Wayne’s parents were killed in front of him as …
The Goonies: Never Say Die!
What do you get when kids are left to their own devices, and decide to go on a treasure hunt, using a map they found while rummaging around in the attic? You get The Goonies, a rambunctious, noisy, pirate-themed treasure-hunt action-fantasy that almost everyone seems to love. This is a delightful tale by Steven Spielberg, …
The Tragic Rise and Fall of Badfinger
Badfinger has always been a baffling mystery to many music aficionados. Often called “The Original Power Pop Band,” the band was mega-talented and very connected, but for some reason, they never were able to achieve the level of stardom they once appeared to be headed for. This band had all the necessary components to be …
Fleetwood Mac Rumours: A Retro Review
It’s often said that the best music comes from deep inside, or from a broken heart. Never is that adage more apparent than when listening to Fleetwood Mac’s iconic album, Rumours. The studio sessions were heavily marked by cocaine use, as well as the strife among band members, and the relationship breakups that shaped most …
Denny Laine: On His Own
When you look up the definition of the phrase “Versatile Enigma,” a picture of Denny Laine will surely be near it. Born Brian Frederick Hines in Tyseley, Birmingham, England, the name change occurred very early on with the formation of his first band, The Diplomats. Laine felt that Brian Frederick Hines and the Diplomats sounded …