Category Archives: 80’s

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Times Of Yore: Repo Man

4 August, 2009 Brian Mc 2 Comments

Back in 1984 a certain movie came out focused around a group of men who ideally remove people’s cars from their property once the owners failed to pay the bank what was owed. The movie, Repo Man, of course was not just about stealing back cars for the bank and had a twist of sorts including aliens, drugs, and also offered one of the best punk rock movie soundtracks to date. The movie is a comedic sci-fi cult classic to many and still to this day one of my favorite movies to watch.

Starring a young brat pack Emilio Estevez (The Outsiders, St. Elmo’s Fire, Men At Work) as well as Harry Dean Stanton (Cool Hand Luke, Alien, Escape From New York) the movie focuses on Otto (played by Estevez), a young punk kid with hippie parents and no plans on life. Soon Otto meets up with Bud (played by Harry Dean Stanton) who takes him under his wing into the twisted world of booze, drugs, hi speed chases, and of course hot wiring cars. Soon Otto is part of the repo crew and he is slowly discovering a sense of maturity.

If the movie sounds boring to you then maybe I should also mention the hunt for a certain 1964 Chevrolet Malibu from New Mexico driven by crazed old man who has something hidden in the trunk. I am not going to ruin it for you but I can tell you the contents in the truck emit incredible heat and also vaporize anyone who opens the trunk door to see the actual contents. With a hefty reward for repossessing the car no one will stop at trying to get it.

Add a crew of druggie punk rockers raising hell in the city, a girl who wants to help the said aliens, and the lady with the tin foil hand this movie really goes all over the place. This crazy trip through the mean streets of L.A. is one hell of an adventure.

One of the highlights during the film for me is to see punk rockers The Circle Jerks playing as a lounge act at a bar that Otto visits. The song they play is a slowed down version of “When The Sh*t Hits The Fan”. I also loved all of the generic food products in the movie. Beer is labeled “Beer” and chips are labeled “Chips”. So generic yet so perfect for the movie especially when Otto eats of an open can of “Food”.

The soundtrack to the movie was one of the first of it’s kind as it was full of punk rock songs from major punk acts of the 80’s. Featuring Iggy Pop, The Plugz, Suicidal Tendencies, and Black Flag just to name a couple the soundtrack was like no other soundtrack of it’s time and remains a classic to this day.

I had actually purchased the soundtrack on cassette when I just was a young kid before I even saw the movie. Seeing a soundtrack featuring Iggy Pop and the Circle Jerks was good enough for me. I eventually grabbed a VHS copy of the move and watched that movie over and over. It was really one of the first movies I repeatedly would watch. Once DVDs came out a good friend of mine bought me the Repo Man collector’s DVD tin box that includes the movie and the soundtrack on CD. Score.

This movie is not going to ooh and aah people who are looking for something serious. It is a comedy action sci-fi punk rock movie with no structured plot other than a bunch of hoodlums trying to get the car to get the reward. Punk music backing up a movie about repo men, guns, drugs, violence, car chases, and a surprise ending. Can a movie get any better than this?

“Repo Man” performed by Iggy Pop:

00's, 70's, 80's, 90's, Death, Experimental, Music, Music Video, Pop

A Different Memory Of Michael Jackson

7 July, 2009 Brian Mc Leave a comment

We all know what happened today… The world paid tribute and said goodbye to one of the most important people in music history. Michael Jackson you will be missed.

A lot of people remembered Michael Jackson today. I chose to not watch the media circus that was the public viewing/memorial for the late singer. Instead I hung out at work all day and tried to keep up with all the memories going on in my head.

With all of the memories going on in my mind about Michael Jackson one seemed to stick out over the others. The memory is not even of a song that Michael Jackson created or a movie that he was in. The memory is a song by the experimental act Negativland.

The song is called “Michael Jackson”. I used to listen to it all the time…

00's, 70's, 80's, 90's, Bad Times, Death, Music, Music News, Music Video, Pop, R&B

The King Of Pop Passes (1958-2009)

26 June, 2009 Brian Mc 3 Comments

It’s no news that everyone has heard about the late pop-star Michael Jackson. The King of Pop is no longer with us.

I really was not going to blog about this instance because everyone already is and I was not quite sure what I really had to say about it.

Twitter was overloaded with updates and Facebook seemed to have endless comments but fans as well as people who thought it would be a good time to start with the jokes.

This morning I thought maybe I should just post something about the musician seeing on how he had a pretty big influence on me musically as I grew up.

I was getting a tattoo yesterday when I found out. I was just killing some time during the process and checked Twitter where I started seeing posts that Michael Jackson was taken to the hospital, then rumors of his death followed by statements of the artist falling into a coma. Finally it was confirmed, Michael Jackson died from cardiac arrest.

I did not know what to think at the exact moment it hit me that the pop star passed.

I can tell you one thing, Michael Jackson was the last person I would have ever expected to pass away on a summer day. The news was shocking and it took me a few visits to various websites to finally learn it was the truth. I realize sometimes things get blown out of proportion but this was real.

I was a Michael Jackson fan when I was a kid and I am not ashamed to say it. I am pretty sure everyone was and I do not believe you if you say you did not like any of his material. I rocked the parachute pants, did the moon walk, but never had a sparkling glove.

One of my favorite memories of when I went to Epcot Center at Walt Disney World in the late 80’s was when I saw the 3-D adventure Captain EO. Just a few weeks ago I was actually talking about it to some friends and watched the movie in two segments on YouTube. (Part 1 & Part 2 for those of you that have never seen it and are wondering what I am talking about…)

Then there was Moonwalker a movie/music video that I watched over and over on VHS. Sega actually even created a video game based on the movie that was easily one of my favorite Sega Genesis video games of all time.

I’ll never forget the first time I saw the video for “Thriller” on MTV. It was late at night and my Aunt warned me it was going to be scary. I loved every minute of it.

I still have Thriller on my iTunes and always will. It is easily one of my top 100 albums of all time.

Today Michael Jackson’s name is being said a lot. Good things and bad will be talked about him for days to come and just like many other music lovers out there I am saddened by his loss.

I really wish that Micheal Jackson could have toured just one more time not just for the millions of fans, but also for himself. The poor guy really went through lots of hell. Regardless if all those allocations were true or not, the guy changed the way people would listen to music forever. It would have been nice to see Michael Jackson back on the stage doing what he liked to do best…

Sony Comments on the Passing of Michael Jackson (on www.michaeljackson.com):

NEW YORK, NY – June 25, 2009 – Michael Jackson, one of the most widely beloved entertainers and profoundly influential artists of all-time, leaves an indelible imprint on popular music and culture.

Commenting on his passing, Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, CEO and President, Sony Corporation, said: “Michael Jackson was a brilliant troubadour for his generation, a genius whose music reflected the passion and creativity of an era. His artistry and magnetism changed the music landscape forever. We have been profoundly affected by his originality, creativity and amazing body of work. The entire Sony family extends our deepest condolences to his family and to the millions of fans around the world who loved him.”

Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, CEO, Sony Music Entertainment, said: “Michael Jackson’s unsurpassed artistry and beloved music brought joy to every corner of the world. We join today with his millions of fans in expressing our profound sadness and we offer our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. It was a true privilege for all of us in the Sony Music family to work with one of the most talented superstars in the history of music. We will miss him greatly.”

Martin Bandier, Chairman & CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, said: “Michael was the kind of amazing talent that comes along once in a lifetime. He was an incredible recording artist, an insightful businessman, an unmatched performer, and a true icon. To all of us at Sony/ATV Music Publishing, he was also a trusted and passionate partner, who was very proud of our accomplishments. He will be dearly missed. We wish his children and entire family our deepest condolences.”

Five of Jackson’s solo albums – “Off the Wall,” “Thriller,” “Bad,” “Dangerous” and “HIStory,” all with Epic Records, a Sony Music label – are among the top-sellers of all time. During his extraordinary career, he sold an estimated 750 million records worldwide, released 13 No.1 singles and became one of a handful of artists to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized Jackson as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time and “Thriller” as the Biggest Selling Album of All Time. Jackson won 13 Grammy Awards and received the American Music Award’s Artist of the Century Award.

Michael Jackson started in the music business at the age of 11 with his brothers as a member of the Jackson 5. In the early 1980s, he defined the art form of music video with such ground-breaking videos as “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and the epic “Thriller.” Jackson’s sound, style and dance moves inspired subsequent generations of pop, soul, R&B and hip-hop artists.

80's, 90's, Art, Music, Rock, Times Of Yore

Times Of Yore: Gift

9 April, 2009 Brian Mc 1 Comment

Bringing back my little Times Of Yore entires, I’ve decided to take a break from the music and focus on a film I used to love when I was in high school.

The movie was called Gift. Does anyone out there remember this movie?

It starred Perry Farrell, of Jane’s Addiction fame, and his girlfriend at the time Casey Niccoli as well as included some Jane’s Addiction songs. The film focused on a semi-autobiographical drug-addicted tragic love story that involved mainly heroin and does not necessarily have a happy ending.

Watching the movie I knew that Perry Farrell and Casey Niccoli were an item in the early nineties. While the movie surrounded their love there were also heavy doses of fiction making for a wild viewing. I remember a lot of my friends getting confused after viewing the movie. I do not want to ruin anything so I will not metion the scenes that caused the confusion.

I should note that this was not intended to be a Jane’s Addiction movie and the band was only featured in a few scenes. The film created by Perry Ferrell and Casey Niccoli was more of a vision between the two lovers.

One part of the film showed a live cover of Sly & The Family Stone‘s “Don’t Call Me N*****, Whitey” featuring Ice T and Body Count. Seeing them on stage with Jane’s Addiction was, to me at the time, amazing (still is).

I also remember one of the lines said by Perry Farrell in the movie that was chilling to my ears:

“What would you do if you came home and found the person you loved the most in the world lying dead on the floor?”

At a day and age where I was turning from a teenager into a young adult, this movie opened my eyes to things never before I had thought of. Hardcore drugs, overdose, depression… I watched it over and over with my friends and sometimes alone. I loved the performances by Jane’s Addiction even if they were brief but more so I loved the art aspect of it as well as the performance and execution of the idea by a musician.

The story itself was less than what I needed as a kid trying to learn what love was all about. At times it was sweet to see the two in love and happy but towards the latter end of the film tragedy strikes and scarred my young eyes.

Sadly the VHS I obtained from Half Price Books for a only $7.98 collected dust for years and I finally rid of it thinking I would never want to watch it again. Wrong.

As luck would have it though it is coming to DVD. The film is scheduled to be released on DVD as part of the Jane’s Addiction box set, A Cabinet of Curiosities in April 2009.