Monthly Archives: March 2011

Daily Trivia (Formerly Trivia Tuesday), Movies

Daily Trivia – 3/31/11

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Question: On Night Court, what singer did “Judge Harry Stone” adore?

 

Last Question: In Weird Science, who played older brother “Chet”?
 

Answer: Bill Paxton

Bill Paxton was great as Wyatt’s (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) older brother, who was a military school student that abused the crap out of him and Gary (Anthony Michael Hall). Chet gets payed back when Lisa (Kelly LeBrock) transformed him into a freaky “Jabba the Hutt” looking creature until he apologized.

Here are the clips of Chet from Weird Science:

Artists, Music

The Go-Go’s announce 30th Anniversary Tour

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The Go-Go’s have officially announced their LADIES GONE WILD TOUR celebrating the 30th anniversary of their debut album Beauty and the Beat.

Last year, the group was to begin their “Happily Ever After” summer farewell tour, which was scheduled to kick off July 7 at Lilith Fair San Diego, and conclude in Austin, TX on July 27. However, it was canceled due to Jane Wiedlin injuring her knee after a 20-foot fall while hiking near her home in Northern California.

Now, this tour will begin on May 29 in Hershey, PA, and end on August 28 in Austin, TX. Here is the official announcement from the band’s web site:

THE GO-GO’S ANNOUNCE:

LADIES GONE WILD TOUR

Commemorative Activities to Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Beauty and the Beat.

March 28, 2011 (LOS ANGELES, CA) – 30 years after the release of Beauty and the Beat, their double-platinum debut album that cemented in our hearts and our pop-vernacular such smash hits as “Our Lips Are Sealed” and “We Got the Beat”, the Go-Go’s and their fans prepare for a slew of 30th Anniversary activities for the 2011 summer and beyond.

Kicking off the festivities will be Ladies Gone Wild, a national U.S. tour with the legendary Go-Go’s Belinda Carlisle, Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock, Jane Wiedlin and Kathy Valentine. The tour will include a very special Los Angeles homecoming show at the Greek Theater on August 17, Belinda’s birthday. This summer will also see the release of a Deluxe Edition of Beauty and the Beat, available May 17 from EMI, including a limited edition on hot pink vinyl. The Deluxe Edition includes a special bonus audio CD that features previously unreleased music from a 1981 live show. In August, the Go-Go’s will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In further news, the Go-Go’s have joined with Girl Scouts of the USA and Roland Corporation to bring the beat to a new generation in a national campaign called Girl Scouts Rock! Powered by Roland, an initiative to empower girls ages 8-14 through interactive music education workshops. “We Got the Beat”, the Go-Go’s original mega-hit, will be added to the curriculum.

In 1981, the Go-Go’s delivered Beauty and the Beat hot on the heels of their debut U.S. single “Our Lips Are Sealed.” The album hit #1, and was the first to top the Billboard charts by an all-female band that wrote and performed their own songs. 1982’s Vacation and 1984’s Talk Show continued their chart and radio successes with “Vacation” and “Head Over Heels” and cemented the Go-Go’s as one of the most iconic and beloved groups of the 80s. The Go-Go’s released a much-celebrated anthology, Return to the Valley of The Go-Go’s in 1994, and 2001 marked the last studio album of new material, God Bless The Go-Go’s.

Last summer the Go-Go’s had scheduled a farewell tour which was subsequently canceled when guitarist Jane Wiedlin required surgery after suffering injury to her knees in a hiking fall. During the band’s time off, they decided they were not quite ready to hang up their instruments and set to work preparing for this summer’s 30th Anniversary spectacular, Ladies Gone Wild.

Their story truly is a punk version of the American Dream. They came, they saw and they conquered the charts and airwaves with their kicky kitsch and sparkling California appeal, five feisty role models for future generations of ready-to-rock girls. From their halcyon days as America’s sweethearts to their current status as superstars who pioneered a genre, the Go-Go’s preside over an amazing three-decade reign as high priestesses of pop.

Today, the Go-Go’s live show continues to deliver every bit of the raw energy of their now-legendary punk beginnings, tempered with the wisdom of three decades of pop perfection. Don’t miss the celebration and a chance to go wild with the ladies of the Go-Go’s.

Here is the list of dates:

5/29/11 Hershey, PA
6/01/11 Morristown, NJ
6/03/11 New York, NY
6/04/11 Atlantic City, NJ
6/05/11 Mashantucket, CT
6/07/11 Westbury, NY
6/09/11 Boston, MA
6/10/11 Vienna, VA
6/11/11 Orlando, FL
6/14/11 Apple Valley, MN
6/16/11 Clarkston, MI
6/17/11 Highland Park, IL
6/18/11 Kettering, OH
8/12/11 Vancouver, BC
8/13/11 Portland, OR
8/14/11 Seattle, WA
8/16/11 San Francisco
8/17/11 Los Angeles
8/20/11 Temecula, CA
8/24/11 Denver, CO
8/26/11 Dallas, TX
8/27/11 Houston, TX
8/28/11 Austin, TX

Daily Trivia (Formerly Trivia Tuesday)

Daily Trivia – 3/30/11

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Question: In Weird Science, who played older brother “Chet”?

 

Last Question: What McDonald’s product bore the slogan, “The hot stays hot and the cool stays cool.”?
 

Answer: McDLT

See, all McDonalds food isn’t bad for you! Look at all the veggies that you could have on your burger! I think one side of the Styrofoam container had a whole head of lettuce and a big tomato slice on top of the top bun. Then the other side had the burger on the bottom bun. And the hot side did stay hot and the cold side did stay cold. But, most of the lettuce would fall out when you tried eating this sandwich. So we all reverted back to the Quarter Pounders, Big Macs, and Chicken McNuggets, and the Mc DLT disappeared.

Here is the original commercial starring “before he was famous” Jason Alexander:

Artists, Daily Trivia (Formerly Trivia Tuesday), Music

Daily Trivia – 3/29/11

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Question: What McDonald’s product bore the slogan, “The hot stays hot and the cool stays cool.”?

 

Last Question: What artist had a #1 hit with the theme from the movie Ghostbusters?
 

Answer: Ray Parker Jr.

Ray Parker, Jr.’s smash hit “Ghostbusters”, from the film of the same name, hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 11 in 1984, and stayed there for three weeks. It also peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart on 16 September 1984, where it stayed for three weeks. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song, but lost to Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You”.

Producers of the Ghostbusters movie had first approached Huey Lewis & the News to develop the theme song for the movie. The band decided not to, so Ray Parker Jr. was selected.

According to The Mad Music Archive, later in 1984, Huey Lewis & the News sued Parker, citing the similarities between the Ghostbusters theme song and their earlier hit, “I Want a New Drug”. According to Huey Lewis and the News, this was especially damaging to them since the Ghostbusters theme song was so popular, rising to #1 on the charts for three weeks. Parker and Lewis later settled out of court. Huey Lewis has stated that his experiences with the producers of Ghostbusters may have been indirectly responsible for getting his band involved with the movie Back to the Future.

On his 2001 Behind the Music special, Huey Lewis stated: “The offensive part was not so much that Ray Parker Jr. had ripped this song off, it was kind of symbolic of an industry that wants something — they wanted our wave and they wanted to buy it. [I]t’s not for sale. …In the end, I suppose they were right. I suppose it was for sale, because basically, they bought it.”

As a result of this statement, Ray Parker Jr. has filed a suit against Huey Lewis, claiming he violated the lawsuit’s confidentiality agreement and seeking an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages as well as attorney fees. The lawsuit is ongoing.

I had never heard about the lawsuits, and I never had noticed the similarities before. I liked both songs anyway.

Here is the “Ghostbusters” music video:

And here is “I Want a New Drug” just in case you want to compare:

Daily Trivia (Formerly Trivia Tuesday), Family Ties, Television

Daily Trivia – 3/18/11

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Question: What artist had a #1 hit with the theme from the movie Ghostbusters?

 

Last Question: On Family Ties, who guest starred as Elyse Keaton’s alcoholic brother Ned?

 

Answer: Tom Hanks

In this “very special episode” of Family Ties (aired on January 26, 1984), Tom Hanks played Ned Donnelly, Elyse Keaton’s brother, who became an alcoholic. This was after Hanks’ Bosom Buddies years, but just before he made his “splash” in Splash and Bachelor Party later that year.

Alex (Michael J. Fox) idolized Ned. But his image came crashing down when at 2:00 AM, Alex did not want to make a beer run and Uncle Ned chugged a bottle of vanilla extract:

The episode started funny when Ned made his grand entrance carrying the Keaton’s trash bags claiming some guys in a truck were trying to take them away. But, but towards the end of the episode, there was a dark turn, peaking when Uncle Ned “pimp slapped” poor Alex across the room.

After realizing what he did, Ned finally admitted that he needed help. Tom Hanks’ career then took off, and we never heard from Uncle Ned again.

p.s. This will be my last post for a while. So feel free to look back at some of my other articles in the meantime. As “Ahnuld” said in The Terminator, “Ahhl be back”.

Daily Trivia (Formerly Trivia Tuesday)

Daily Trivia – 3/17/11

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Question: On Family Ties, who guest starred as Elyse Keaton’s alcoholic brother Ned?

 

Last Question: In Gremlins, what are the three rules of proper “Mogwai” care?

 

Answer: Never let them touch water; never feed them after midnight; never expose them to bright light.

If you get them wet, they multiply; if they get exposed to bright light they get burned; and most important, no matter how much they beg, never ever let them eat after midnight, because if they do, they change!

They change from this:                     to this:

Here is the movie trailer:

Music

The ‘Eyes’ Have (had) It

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Other than the trivia over the next two days, this will be my last post for at least a week. On Monday, I will be undergoing surgery on both of my eyes. This isn’t lasik surgery. I have to get muscles tightened in both eyes. Yuck! So I figured that I would have some fun with this situation. I got Elton John’s crappy song “Blue Eyes” in my head, then I thought of “Private Eyes” by Hall and Oates, and Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes”. So I found myself on a mission: Find as many 80s songs as possible that have “Eye” or “Eyes” in the song title. I couldn’t believe how many I had on my iPod alone! Here are some of my favorites:

“Bluest Eyes in Texas” – Restless Heart

In the early ’80s I loved Country music by Johnny Cash, Alabama, Kenny Rogers, and the Oak Ridge Boys. Then I got away from it for a while. Then, friends of mine told me that I should give Restless Heart a shot. They said that the band was similar to Alabama. I ended up loving this band, and got back into Country, and have not stopped. This song was a number 1 hit off of Restless Heart’s third album, Big Dreams in a Small Town:

“For Your Eyes Only” – Sheena Easton

This was from the James Bond movie of the same name during the great Roger Moore years:

“The Smile Has Left Your Eyes” – Asia

This song from the supergroup Asia gets stuck in my head for a while after I hear it:

“Close My Eyes Forever” – Lita Ford and Ozzy Osborne

A duet by two of the most bad-ass people at the time – former guitarist of The Runaways, Lita Ford, and the Legendary Ozzy:

“Private Eyes” – Hall & Oates

This was a number one song for Hall & Oates at the height of the career:

“Heaven In Your Eyes” – Loverboy

Great power ballad by Loverboy from the Top Gun soundtrack:

“When You Close Your Eyes” – Night Ranger

This is one of my favorite songs by Night Ranger. “Sister Christian” may have gotten all the attention from the Midnight Madness album, but “When You Close Your Eyes” more than holds its own:

“Lost In Your Eyes” – Debbie Gibson

I still love this song – Guilty pleasure or not.

“Eye of the Tiger” – Survivor

I could not get enough of this song when it came out. Would Rocky III have been as good without the association with this song? I have been a huge Survivor fan since I first heard this song:

“In Your Eyes” – Peter Gabriel

I’m not a Peter Gabriel fan at all. But this is one of my all time favorite songs. And who can forget that iconic scene with this song in the movie Say Anything… as John Cusak is holding the radio over his head:

Here is the song itself:

Here is a list of other songs that I did not include due to time constraints, and so this post would not be too long:

Angel Eyes – The Jeff Healey Band
Electric Eye – Judas Priest
Eyes of a Stranger – Queensrÿche
Eye in the Sky – The Alan Parsons Project
I Can See It in Your Eyes – Men At Work
Blue Eyes – Elton John
Hungry Eyes – Eric Carmen (from Dirty Dancing)
Bette Davis Eyes – Kim Carnes
Wild Eyed Southern Boys – .38 Special
Spanish Eyes – Tiffany
Somebody’s Eyes – Karla Bonoff (from Footloose)
Eyes Without a Face – Billy Idol
Don’t Close Your Eyes – Kix

Does anybody know of any songs I’m missing? Do you have a list of favorites?

Since I may not be able to see too well for a while, my entertainment may need to come in the form of music. What songs do you listen to when you want to feel better? Although this is an ’80s page, don’t feel limited to ’80s songs.

Daily Trivia (Formerly Trivia Tuesday), Movies

Daily Trivia – 3/16/11

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Question: In Gremlins, what are the three rules of proper “Mogwai” care?

Last Question: What 1984 sci-fi movie did David Lynch direct after turning down an offer to direct Return of the Jedi?

Answer: Dune

As Julia Roberts said in Pretty Woman: Big Mistake! Big! Huge!

Dune was based on the first of a series of novels by Frank Herbert. The first novel was published in 1965. For many years, different people tried to make the book into a movie. Finally, David Lynch was set to direct the movie.

When the film was released in 1984, it was a huge flop. It did not make much money, and it got horrible reviews. For example, on At The Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, Siskel began his review by saying “it’s physically ugly, it contains at least a dozen gory gross-out scenes, some of its special effects are cheap — surprisingly cheap because this film cost a reported $40-45 million — and its story is confusing beyond belief. In case I haven’t made myself clear, I hated watching this film.”

There were suppose to be sequels to the movie, but as a result of its poor commercial and critical reception, all initial plans for Dune sequels were canceled. It was reported that David Lynch was working on the screenplay for Dune Messiah and was hired to direct a second and a third Dune film. In retrospect, Lynch acknowledged he should never have directed Dune.

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan Centennial – 1984 Landslide Election

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In the 1984 presidential campaign, Ronald Reagan ran against Democrat Walter Mondale. Mondale did not stand much of a chance. The country doing better since Reagan became president. The economy was better, and the U.S. athletes had just dominated the 1984 Olympics that were held in Los Angeles. The country was in a much better mood than when the 1980 election took place.
Mondale did not help himself when he made his acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention and said, “Let’s tell the truth. Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won’t tell you. I just did.”
One interesting move was selecting Geraldine A. Ferraro of New York as his running mate, making her the first woman nominated for that position by a major party.
Reagan was the oldest president to have ever served (he was by this point 73), and there were many questions about him being able to serve another term. And he did not have a good first debate. He referred to having started going to church “here in Washington”, although the debate was in Louisville, Kentucky, referred to military uniforms as “wardrobe,” and admitted to being “confused,” among other mistakes. However, Reagan made an amazing recovery in the next debate, and had one of the greatest quotes in debate history – “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” Even Mondale found himslef laughing.

Reagan was re-elected on November 6, winning 49 states. Mondale was only able to win his own state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia. Even in Minnesota, he had only won by 3800, meaning Reagan came within 3800 votes of winning all fifty states.

As of 2011, the 1984 election was the last time that a Republican presidential candidate won the states of Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Daily Trivia (Formerly Trivia Tuesday), Movies

Daily Trivia – 3/15/11

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Question: What 1984 sci-fi movie did David Lynch direct after turning down an offer to direct Return of the Jedi?

Last Question: In Superman III, who played computer genius “Gus Gorman”?

Answer: Richard Pryor

Well, it was better than Superman IV. The late Richard Pryor played Gus Gorman, a bumbling computer genius. This Superman movie did not have Lex Luthor in it. Instead, it had Robert Vaughn as the multi-millionaire villain. I thought it was funny seeing Vaughn shilling for a local law office – d’Oliveira & Morgan. Then while watching TV in another state, he was in another law office commercial. What the hell?!

Superman III also starred Annette O’Toole as Lana Lang – Clark Kent’s first love. Now she has starred in Smallville as Clark Kent’s mother, Martha Kent. I haven’t seen Superman III since Smallville has been on the air, so I’m not sure if I would be freaked out or not.