Bob Geldof: From Serf to Sir
Born in Ireland on October 5, 1951, Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof KBE (aka Bob Geldof) is a man who wears many hats, a singer-songwriter, author, political activist, even occasional actor, and also, a devoted father. Geldof first achieved fame as the lead singer of the Irish rock band, the Boomtown Rats, in the late 1970s, …
Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In
Rowan & Martins Laugh-In (often referred to as Laugh-In) was an American sketch comedy TV program that ran from January, 1968 to March, 1973 on NBC, hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin. The show was characterized by a rapid-fire series of gags and sketches, many of which conveyed sexual innuendo, or were politically …
Ric Ocasek: Just What We Needed
The recent passing of Ric Ocasek left all of us reeling. Especially since it happened just days after we lost Eddie Money. Their respective music was the soundtrack of our youth for many of us. Ric showed us he had so many more facets than we ever dreamed possible. He was a singer, songwriter, musician, …
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 …
HELP! The Beatles Movie
From the start, The Beatles second movie, Help!, is wildly different from their initial offering, A Hard Day’s Night. It’s from the same director, Richard Lester, and John, Paul, George, and Ringo star in this full-color, wild and crazy farce. The basic plot of Help! is the group struggling to record their new album while …
Let It Be: The Beatles 1970 Documentary
Let It Be is a 1970 British documentary film directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. featuring the Beatles as themselves. The film memorializes the rehearsing and recording of songs for the album Let It Be, in January 1969. Released just after the album dropped in May 1970, Let It Be is the final original Beatles release. The …
KISStory: Shout It Out Loud
Even for those who aren’t the biggest rock ‘n roll fans, there is a certain curiosity about the band KISS and about their fans, known as the KISS Army. This two-part documentary gives up some of their deepest secrets, and the obstacles they overcame to become “the hottest band in the world/land.” Originally named Wicked …
Roxette: Truly a Joyride
Roxette was formed in 1986 as a Swedish pop rock duo, consisting of Marie Fredriksson (vocals and keyboards) and Per Gessle (vocals and guitar). Both artists had very successful solo careers in Sweden but joining forces as a combined unit made them international stars. They first met in 1981, when Fredriksson performed as a background …
The Monkees (Not Your) Steppin’ Stone
The Monkees was conceived in 1965 by television producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneide as a situation comedy series about a pop/rock band. Their original line-up consisted of actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and British actor/singer Davy Jones. Their music was initially supervised by record producer, Don Kirshner, and backed by the songwriting …
The Beatles: Get Back
After watching “Get Back” with the Beatles for 468 minutes, my first thought is I’m not entirely sure this couldn’t have been just a tad bit shorter. Not that I totally didn’t enjoy it and get fully immersed in the entire 3-part documentary, but some of it became a little redundant and tedious. Right around …