The Retro Mix Playlist For 7/31/09

7 pm hour

Sir Duke- Stevie Wonder
Seal My Fate- Belly
Shattered Dreams- Johnny Hates Jazz
Full of Fire- Al Green
Hit Me With Your Best Shot- Pat Benatar
Hey Baby- Henry Lee Summer
Radio Song- R.E.M.

Double Retro segment's featured song: Tainted Love
Soft Cell (released in 1981)
Gloria Jones (original version, released in 1964)

Ball of Confusion- The Temptations
Romeo's Tune- Steve Forbert
See A Little Light- Bob Mould
Mixed Emotions- The Rolling Stones
For the Love of Money- The Ojays
One In A Million- The Romantics

8 pm hour

No Excuses- Alice In Chains
Love Removal Machine- The Cult
I'll Take You There- The Staple Singers
Lovely Day- Bill Withers
She Blinded Me With Science- Thomas Dolby
He's So Dull- Vanity 6
Send Me On My Way- Rusted Root

The Guilty Pleasure of the Week:
Alone Again (Naturally)- Gilbert O'Sullivan

Let It Be- The Beatles
Ladies First- Queen Latifah
London Calling- The Clash
What Difference Does It Make- The Smiths
I Missed the Bus- Kriss Kross
Until It Sleeps- Metallica

The Retro Mix Video of the Week: Mixed Emotions by The Rolling Stones

Rolling Stones Mixed Emotions
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Thursday Thirteen #75: Movie Quotes Trivia, 80s Style

Below are 13 quotes from movies made during the decade of Pac-Man and Parachute Pants. How many of these do you recognize? You can leave your responses in the comments section. On Friday, I will reveal the answers.

Also, please take a moment to vote in the current Michael Vick poll to your left. If you'd like to share your thoughts about your vote, you can do so in the comments section of the post directly below this one.

1. I loves Harpo, God knows I do. But I'll kill him dead 'fo I let him beat me.

2. Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

3. Is this turnout weak or what? I had at least 70 more people at my funeral.

4. God got Wendy's periods reversed. About every 28 days she starts acting nice. Lasts about a weekend.

5. Oh, this your wife, huh? A lovely lady. Hey baby, you must've been something before electricity.

6. Winky Dinky Dog - isn't that beautiful? C'mon, say it with me: Winky... Dinky... DOG! Oh, yes. Oh, oh oh...

7. No more yankie my wankie. The Donger need food.

8. Can somebody tell me what kind of a world we live in, where a man dressed up as a *bat* gets all of my press? This town needs an enema!

9. Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues.

10. And I want the rest of you cowboys to know something, there's a new sheriff in town. And his name is Reggie Hammond. So y’all be cool. Right on.

11. All you have to do is follow three simple rules. One, never underestimate your opponent. Expect the unexpected. Two, take it outside. Never start anything inside the bar unless it's absolutely necessary. And three, be nice.

12. I got a question. If you guys know so much about women, how come you're here at like the Gas 'n' Sip on a Saturday night completely alone drinking beers with no women anywhere?

13. No, I don't hate Balboa. I pity the fool, and I will destroy any man who tries to take what I got!

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Final Results of the Recent T.R. Knight Poll

I decided to pull a Jimi Hendrix and abruptly end the recent poll in which I asked readers to say whether or not they would have walked away from Grey's Anatomy (and $14 million) if they were T. R. Knight. The reasons I chose to pull the plug is because there is another current event that I believe will make a much more interesting poll. Plus, I seriously doubt if there would have been a sizable amount of people who'd say that they would have quit Grey's Anatomy too.

Here are the final results:

Poll question:

If you were T.R. Knight, would you have quit Grey's Anatomy?

Yes- 0%
Hell no!- 100%

Please Take A Moment To Vote In the Current T.R. Knight/Grey's Anatomy Poll... Thank You

As many of you know, actor T.R. Knight will not be on Grey's Anatomy when it returns for the 2009-2010 season. Knight has cited trust issues with series creator/executive producer Shonda Rhimes and the diminished screen time of his character (George O'Malley) as the reasons he decided to walk away from Grey's. In the process of leaving the hit show, Knight forfeits $14 million! Some would say that Knight is a man of principle. Others might counter that they'd suck it up and deal with any issues they had with their boss before they'd walk away from $14 mil.

For more on T.R. Knight's exit from Grey's Anatomy, click here.

Final Results of the Recent Reader's Choice Poll

In the recent poll where I asked readers to select the movie that I should watch next, Christian Bale's second outing as Batman (The Dark Knight) dusted the competition. This poll was scheduled to close on August 2nd, but I called it early because I didn't see any of the other 4 movies surpassing The Dark Knight in votes.

Here are the final results:

The Dark Knight- 50%
The Lion King- 20%
Men In Black- 11%
The Passion of the Christ and Spiderman- 9% each

Although I enjoy all the polls, this one was especially fun because the outcome will actually lead to something. Look for me to periodically post similar polls in the future.

Within the next week or so, I plan to watch The Dark Knight; I will post my review shortly thereafter.

The Retro Mix Playlist For 7/24/09

7 pm hour

Groove Thang- Zhané
The Black Eyed Boys- Paper Lace
Will It Go 'Round In Circles- Billy Preston
Somebody's Baby- Jackson Browne
Let's Do It- Joan Jett & Paul Westerberg
Push It- Salt & Pepa
Funky Stuff- Kool & the Gang

Now & Then segment's feat. artist: Green Day
Peacemaker (from their 2009 CD 21st Century Breakdown)
She (from their 1994 CD Dookie)

Let's Go- The Cars
I Don't Know If It's Right- Evelyn "Champagne" King
Walk This Way- Run DMC
Informer- Snow
The Boy In the Box- Corey Hart

8 pm hour

Pick Up the Pieces- AWB
Fopp- The Ohio Players
Lovin' Every Minute of It- Loverboy
Flamethrower- The J. Geils Band
Have You Seen Her- M.C. Hammer
Rub You the Right Way- Johnny Gill
Cryin'- Vixen

The Greatest Miss of the Week:
You Keep Tightening Up On Me- The Box Tops (song peaked at #92 in 1970)

Tell Me Something Good- Rufus
Summer- Buffalo Tom
Kid- The Pretenders
Opportunites (Let's Make Lots of Money)- Pet Shop Boys
Oh L'amour- Erasure
Panama- Van Halen

The Retro Mix Video of the Week: Lovin' Every Minute of It by Loverboy

1980s Teen Movie Triple Feature On TCM Friday Night

Turner Classic Movies, best known as the home of films by such icons as Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis, has done an excellent job over the last few years of adding quality movies made post-1980 to its lineup. On Friday July 24th starting at 8 pm EST, TCM screens a trio of teen films from the era when it was practically standard for Kenny Loggins to have a song on a soundtrack and C. Thomas Howell looked to have a promising career.

First up is 1984's The Karate Kid. Even though I've seen this movie countless times, when Daniel LaRusso goes into his "Crane kick" stance in the climactic scene, I can't help but do a fist pump and let out a "hell yeah!"















The 2nd film in the triple feature is the 1983 computer thriller WarGames. I haven't seen this one in years so I'm glad that TCM is showing it. In addition to featuring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy early in their careers, WarGames is also notable because Dabney Coleman is in it and doesn't play a detestable bastard.
















The 1980s teen triple feature closes with the 1986 coming-of-age comedy-drama Stand By Me. My experience has been that most (not all) movies with titles inspired by famous songs suck (something I call "The Pretty Woman Rule"). However, Stand By Me is one of the exceptions. In case you haven't seen it, let me warn you... when Gordie launches into his campfire story, make sure you aren't eating anything.















The air times for the three films (all EST) are as follows:

The Karate Kid- 8:00 PM
WarGames- 10:15 PM
Stand By Me- 12:15 PM

Director of "Banned Sprite Ad" Sets the Record Straight

Film maker Max Isaacson is making a name for himself with a fake Sprite ad that he wrote, directed and produced. The fake spot connects the pleasures of oral sex with the thirst quenching taste of Sprite. A lot of people thought the banned "commercial" was real, which is understandable if you've seen some of the spots that do air in Europe. Isaacson has issued a press statement explaining that the Coca-Cola company (the makers of Sprite) is in no way connected to his fake commercial.

I think the "spot" is genius for a couple of reasons. It does a brilliant job of satirizing the sexualization of commercials and it also exposes people to the work of Isaacson. I fully expect that the fake ad will lead to more work for Max. Also, I think it's cool that Sprite hasn't threatened Max with any litigation over the fake ad.

The video player below contains the fake Sprite ad and interview with Max Isaacson on the internet series The Young Turks in which he explains why he made the "ad". If you are offended by overt sexuality, be forewarned. Of course you probably won't be able to resist clicking "play" now will you?

Please Take A Moment To Vote In the Current "What Movie Should Malcolm Watch Next?" Poll... Thank You

As do most of you, I watch my fair share of movies. However, for various reasons, some of the big movies have slipped through the cracks for me. This is where you come in for the current poll. I've selected five movies that I'm interested in seeing, but haven't yet. Whichever movie receives the most votes is the one that I will watch next. Once I watch it, I will post a review. Feel free to post in the comments section why you feel that I should watch the movie that you chose.

Before you say "I can't believe you haven't seen (fill in the blank)", stop and consider that unless you're a movie critic, there probably are holes in your film watching experience too. :-)

The Retro Mix Playlist For 7/17/09

7 pm hour

The Warrior- Scandal feat. Patty Smyth
Do Your Thing- Isaac Hayes
Ohio- Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young
Word Up- Cameo
Long Way Down- The Goo Goo Dolls
If It Makes You Happy- Sheryl Crow
The Gigolo- O'Bryan

Double Retro segment's feat. artist: Jerry Lee Lewis
Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On (1957)
Chantilly Lace (1972)

Crazy Little Thing Called Love- Queen
Chain Reaction- Diana Ross
Mr. Big Stuff- Heavy D. & the Boyz
Jump Around- House of Pain
(Fallin' Like) Dominoes- Donald Byrd

8 pm hour

Rebel Yell- Billy Idol
That's Entertainment- The Jam
Brother Louie- Stories
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road- Elton John
Cruel Summer- Bananarama
Good- Better Than Ezra
Poison- Bell Biv Devoe
I Got Ants In My Pants- James Brown

The Guilty Pleasure of the Week:
Electric Youth- Debbie Gibson

Motownphilly- Boyz II Men
Rebels Are We- Chic
Go All the Way- The Raspberries
Good Girls Don't- The Knack
Epic- Faith No More

The Retro Mix Video of the Week: Chain Reaction by Diana Ross

Diana Ross - Chain Reaction
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Conan's Humorous "Exposé" of The Fox News Channel

During his Wednesday night monologue on The Tonight Show, Conan O'Brien took a jab at the Fox News Channel's well-deserved reputation as a right-wing station. He showed a clip of President Barack Obama's ceremonial first pitch at Tuesday's MLB All-Star Game as it actually happened and then showed footage of how it was "portrayed" by The Fox News Channel. I hope that even those who take as gospel everything they hear and see on the "fair and balanced" network can laugh at this clip too.

Final Results of the Recent Oscar Poll

In the recent poll in which I asked you your thoughts on the Academy Award's decision to increase the number of Best Picture nominees from 5 to 10, just over half of you said that it's a bad idea. Those who gave their thoughts in the comments section of the post provided sound theories as to why they felt the way they did.

I think it's too soon to tell whether or not it's a good or bad idea. Hopefully, with those 5 extra slots, the Academy will do what Emily suggested (nominate deserving foreign films, cartoons, and comedies). One aspect that I hope the 10-nominee system brings back is the element of suspense. In the last 20 years, I've only been surprised twice by the Academy's choice for Best Picture:

In 1998 when Shakespeare In Love upset Saving Private Ryan and when Crash took home the award over Brokeback Mountain in 2005.

Here are the final results:

Bad idea- 53%
Good idea- 29%
Too soon to tell- 17%

The Retro Mix Playlist For 7/10/09

7 pm hour

Show Me the Way- Peter Frampton
Birthday Suit- Johnny Kemp
Party Train- The Gap Band
Tighter and Tighter- Alive & Kicking
Julianne- Ben Folds Five
Serve the Servants- Nirvana
Genius of Love- The Tom Tom Club

The Greatest Miss of the Week:
Should I See- Frozen Ghost (song peaked at #69 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987)

Breakfast In America- Supertramp
Let's Get It On- Marvin Gaye
I Shoulda Loved Ya- Narada Michael Walden
Good Vibrations- Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch
Baggy Trousers- Madness
I'm Coming Home- The Spinners

8 pm hour

Heat of the Moment- Asia
American Storm- Bob Seger
People Get Ready- Brand New Heavies
No Scrubs- TLC
Kings of the Party- Brownsville Station
The Boys Are Back In Town- The Bus Boys
Rock the Boat- The Hues Corporation
What Am I Gonna Do- Rod Stewart

With or Without You segment's feat. artist: Debbie Harry
Dreaming- Blondie
The Jam Was Moving (solo)

Slam- Onyx
I Go To Work- Kool Moe Dee
Island Girl- Elton John
We Got the Beat- The Go Gos
We're Not Gonna Take It- Twisted Sister

The Retro Mix Video of the Week: I Go To Work by Kool Moe Dee

Kool moe dee / i go to work
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Thursday Thirteen #74: Shows That Never Jumped the Shark

In November of 2007, I wrote a Thursday Thirteen in which I listed TV shows that "jumped the shark". As you may know, the term "jump the shark" refers to the point in a series' run when it begins its slide into mediocrity or worse. For this week's T13, I'm flipping the script and listing TV series that I think never jumped. I can watch the following 13 shows at any point in their run and be fairly confident that I'll be rewarded with a quality episode. For my list, I decided not to include shows that are either short-lived or still in production.

Are there any TV shows that you feel never "jumped the shark"? When you list your TV shows in the comments section, feel free to pick short-lived series or those that are still on the air.

Also, if you haven't yet, please take a moment to vote in the Academy Awards poll to the left... thank you!

1. Cheers (1982-1993)

2. Degrassi Junior High/High (1987-1991)

3. The Fugitive (1963-1967)

4. The Golden Girls (1985-1992)

5. The Odd Couple (1970-1975)

6. Picket Fences (1992-1996)

7. Roc (1991-1994)

8. The Rockford Files (1974-1980)

9. St. Elsewhere (1982-1988)

10. Seinfeld (1990-1998)

11. Soap (1977-1981)

12. thirtysomething (1987-1991)

13. WKRP In Cincinnati

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun!

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Mount Rushmore: Rock Guitarists

For the 2nd installment of my periodic series in which I select who/what I think are the 4 ultimate in a given category, I'm focusing on rock guitarists. To me, the four guitarists listed below are hard to top when it comes to style and influence. After each artist are just some of their songs that I feel are essential listening.

1. Jimi Hendrix-Purple Haze, All Along the Watchtower, Crosstown Traffic, Manic Depression, and Fire





















2. Chuck Berry- Sweet Little Sixteen, Johnny B. Goode, Oh Baby Doll, Back In the U.S.A., and Too Much Monkey Business





















3. Eric Clapton- Sunshine of Your Love (as a member of Cream), Sea of Joy (as a member of Blind Faith), Bad Love, Layla and Bell Bottom Blues (the latter two as the leader of Derek and the Dominoes)





















4. Eddie Van Halen- Runnin' With the Devil, Panama, Everybody Wants Some, Finish What Ya Started, and his work on Michael Jackson's Beat It




















Which four musicians would you put on your "Mount Rushmore" of rock guitarists?

The Retro Mix Playlist For 7/3/09

7 pm hour

Synchronicity II- The Police

Help Yourself- The Undisputed Truth

Lido Shuffle- Boz Scaggs

Girlfriend- Matthew Sweet

Controversy- Prince

Pleasure and Pain- Divinyls

Pass the Mic- The Beastie Boys

The Guilty Pleasure of the Week:

I Was Made For Dancing- Leif Garrett

Give It To Me Baby- Rick James

Yo Mister- Patti Labelle

If You Could Only See- Tonic

The Ghost In You- The Psychedelic Furs
I Eat Cannibals- Total Coelo
The More I Get the More I Want- Teddy Pendergrass

8 pm hour

Surrender- Cheap Trick
Left of Center- Suzanne Vega
Humpin' Around- Bobby Brown
Lucky Charm- The Boys
Diamond Girl- Seals & Crofts
Everything You Did- Steely Dan
A Girl In Trouble (Is A Temporary Thing)- Romeo Void
I Missed the Bus- Kriss Kross
Funky Cold Medina- Tone Loc
Sho Bizness- Gil Scott-Heron
Low Rider- War
Violet- Hole
Antmusic- Adam & the Ants
(You Can Still) Rock In America- Night Ranger

The Retro Mix Video of the Week: I Missed the Bus by Kriss Kross

Kriss Kross - I missed the bus
Uploaded by kiki_75 - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Please Take A Moment To Vote In the Best Picture Oscar Poll... Thank You

Old School Friday: From Band To Solo

For this week's OSF, I chose two artists who took the solo route after they had group success. The first is Len Barry. As the frontman of the Dovells, Barry sang lead on a string of dance craze hits in the early 1960s. Their first and biggest hit (The Bristol Stomp) is clip #1 in the player below. In 1965, Barry had a huge hit with the song 1, 2, 3. However, I decided to go with his 1966 follow-up (Like A Baby) for clip #2.



For artist #2, I selected a guy that I feel is underrated when it comes to vocalists: Philip Bailey. Clip #3 is a 1978 performance of Fantasy, one of the best songs he did as one of the co-lead singers of Earth, Wind & Fire. The last clip is the video to Walking On the Chinese Wall, from his 1984 solo debut album.

R.I.P. Gale Storm and Karl Malden

The Grim Reaper continues to take its toll on the entertainment world. On Saturday, actress and singer Gale Storm died at the age of 87. In the "out of sight, out of mind" world of pop culture, Storm is somewhat obscure today. However, in the 1950s, she was one of the biggest stars around. From 1952-1955, Gale starred in the sitcom My Little Margie. I discovered this show as a kid one summer via Detroit independent station WKBD Channel 50. Storm played the title character, who was always involved in the personal life of her widower father Vern. Margie even had her own Ethel Mertz in the form of elderly neighbor Mrs. Odetts. Although critics weren't kind to the show, I thought it was pretty funny. A year after My Little Margie ended, Gale began a 4-year run as the star of her own self-titled sitcom. As Susanna Pomeroy, social director aboard the S.S. Ocean Queen, you could say that Storm's character was a precursor to Julie McCoy of The Love Boat. After The Gale Storm Show ended in 1960, she appeared in several stage productions and did guest shots on such series as Murder, She Wrote and the aforementioned The Love Boat.

In addition to her acting successes, Gale Storm was also a recording star. From 1955-1957, she made the Billboard chart 12 times (including six top 10 hits). If you'd like to learn more about the life and career of Gale Storm, please visit her Official Site.

Below is a recording of her final chart hit, Dark Moon (which peaked at #4 in 1957).




On Wednesday, Oscar-winning actor Karl Malden died at the age of 97. My introduction to Karl was through watching his hit series The Streets of San Francisco (1972-1977) in which he starred as Det. Lt. Mike Stone. In addition to its memorable theme song (which you can hear in the You Tube Player below), I enjoyed the chemistry between Malden and a young Michael Douglas (who played his partner, Inspector Steve Keller, for the first 4 years of the series).


Years before The Streets of San Francisco, Karl had a long and successful career on the big screen. Among his notable films are A Streetcar Named Desire (earning him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor), On the Waterfront, Baby Doll, Gypsy, Birdman of Alcatraz, The Cincinnati Kid, and Patton. His last acting role was in a 2000 episode of The West Wing.

Beginning during the run of The Streets of San Francisco, Malden solidified his status as a pop culture icon through his role as spokesman for American Exprerss Traveler's Cheques. His catchphrase in the commercials ("Don't leave home without them") is one that I occasionally use to this day. The items that I "don't leave home without" are my cell phone, a bottle of lotion, and Vaseline Lip Therapy. You can watch one of Karl's AMEX spots in the player below.