The Retro Mix Playlist For 2/26/10

7 pm hour

White Wedding- Billy Idol
Starseed- Our Lady Peace
A Girl Like You- The Smithereens
Boogie Oogie Oogie- A Taste of Honey
Right On- The Rascals
For the Love of Money- The O'jays
Wishing Well- Terence Trent D'Arby

On the Flip Side segment:
If I Can't Have You- The Bee Gees (The B-side to Stayin' Alive)

These Dreams- Heart
No Connection- Sophie B. Hawkins
Give It Away- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Walk This Way- Run DMC
Get Up and Boogie- Silver Convention
If I Ever Lose This Heaven- AWB

8 pm hour

Mickey- Toni Basil
Generals and Majors- XTC
Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll- Vaughan Mason and Crew
Get Da Funk Out Ma' Face- The Brothers Johnson
What Would You Say- The Dave Matthews Band
Light Skin Girl From London- Lenny Kravitz
Sister Christian- Night Ranger
Inside My Love- Minnie Riperton

With or Without You segment's feat. artist: Sting
Peanuts- The Police
If I Ever Lose My Faith In You- Sting

The Lay Away- The Isley Brothers
Groove Is In the Heart- Dee Lite
Aqua Boogie- Parliament
Highway To Hell- AC/DC

The Retro Mix Video of the Week: Sister Christian by Night Ranger


Night Ranger - Sister Christian
Uploaded by UniversalMusicGroup. - Explore more music videos.

Josh Andrew Koenig, 1968-2010

After being missing since February 14, actor/writer/director Josh Andrew Koenig was found dead on Thursday afternoon in Vancouver at the age of 41. The cause of death was suicide. Best known for his role as Mike Seaver's pal Richard "Boner" Stabone on the sitcom Growing Pains, Josh had reportedly been suffering from clinical depression at the time of disappearance. Josh is survived by his father Walter Koenig (Chekov on the original series Star Trek), his mother Judy Levitt, and his sister Danielle Koenig. Wherever Josh may be, I hope he's at peace.

The Honest Scrap Award/10 Things Readers May Not Know About Me

Earlier this month, I received the Honest Scrap award from Penny Lane (who to the best of my knowledge, does not have a barber inside her sharing photographs). In addition to my thanks to Penny, I also offer my apologies for taking so long to put up a post linking back to her.

Here are the rules: "The Honest Scrap award comes with a caveat or two. First, you have to tell your readers ten things about you they may not know, but that are true. Second, you have to tag 10 people with the award. Third, let all the people you've given the award to know that they've gotten it (comment on their blogs or something).

Sorry Penny... I'm a lover, not a tagger. :-)

One of the reasons I sat on this post for as long as I did is because I struggled to come up with 10 things about me that readers already didn't know. Without further ado, here are 10 things that you may not know about me:

1. In my early 20s, my girlfriend at the time bought me an electronic keyboard for Christmas. One of the songs I learned to play was Every Breath You Take by The Police.

2. The first concert I ever attended was the "Together Forever" tour featuring Rick Astley Run DMC and The Beastie Boys during the summer of 1987.

3. I was in the "Phone A Friend" pool for an acquaintance who was a contestant on WWTBAM back in 2000. While at work, I got a call from WWTBAM instructing me when they might be calling me, what to do if I was called, etc. Although I knew the answer, the acquaintance used her husband as her PAF. Thankfully, he knew the answer too. In case you are wondering, the question where she needed to use her PAF lifeline was this:

Which one of the following actresses won a Daytime Emmy for playing Erica Kane's daughter?

a. Jennifer Love Hewitt
b. Sarah Michelle Gellar
c. Liza Huber
d. Melissa Joan Hart

Feel free to take a crack at answering it.

4. When I was younger, I used to get misty eyed when I'd hear I'll Be There by The Jackson Five.

5. I often give my girlfriends nicknames based on a physical characteristic of theirs (for example, "Blaze" and "Sexy Specs")

6. When I put gas in my car, I always make sure that the amount ends in "0" or "5".

7. I have a life-size Star Wars Episode 1 Droideka that I'm looking to sell. Anyone? Anyone?

8. On two separate occasions during my days in retail, I rang up filmmaker Michael Moore

9. The last time I was clean shaven (which was sometime in the 1990s) was due to a mistake. I was trimming my moustache and kept going from the left side to the right because I couldn't get the sides even. You can probably guess the rest.

10. In early December, I was pulled over late at night and ticketed for speeding (I was going 83 in a 70 mph zone). I lucked out because the officer never filed the ticket. Since the ticket wasn't in the system, I didn't have to pay it!


Although I am not a tagger, feel free to take part in this meme on your own blog and if you would be so kind, link back to me. If you do make a list of 10 things that readers may not know about you, let me know because I'd love to read it!

Final Results of the Pizza Chain Poll

With over 40% of the vote, Pizza Hut was victorious in the recent poll asking you to select your favorite pizza chain. The best part of this poll for me was reading about people's favorite local pizza joints. As I said in the comments section of the poll post, the local pizza places often have a mix of charm and style that the big chains can't duplicate.

Here are the final results:

Pizza Hut- 43%
Papa John's - 28%
Other- 15%
Shakey's Pizza- 12%
Domino's- 9%
Chuck E. Cheese and Little Caesars- 6% each
Hungry Howie's- 3%

Note: I was taken aback by a disgruntled email I received over the weekend. It was from a man named Salvatore 'Sal' Fragione, who owns a Brooklyn pizzeria. He was a bit upset that his establishment didn't receive a single vote. Here is my response to him:

Dear Sal,

First, I am glad to hear that you were able to relaunch your pizza place after the original one was set ablaze during the summer of 1989. However, I think your anger about being slighted in the poll is misplaced. I did a little research and I found that you haven't changed at all. If you weren't so stingy with the extra moozzarella (sic), Sal's may have gotten some love in the poll.

Sincerely,

Malcolm

In the spirit of the pizza poll, please enjoy this spoof of the Marty Robbins tune El Paso:

The Retro Mix Playlist For 2/19/10

7 pm hour

Scream- Michael and Janet Jackson
Get Out of London- Intaferon

The Edge of Heaven- Wham!
One Monkey Don't Stop No Show- The Honey Cone
Virtual Insanity- Jamiriquai
Empty Pages- Traffic
Love Her Madly- The Doors

Now & Then segment's feat. artist: Sade
The Moon and the Sky (from their 2010 CD Solider of Love)
The Sweetest Taboo (1985)

Lessons In Love- Level 42
Gel- Collective Soul
Salvation- The Cranberries
Jungle Boogie- Kool & the Gang
For God's Sake (Give More Power To the People)- The Chi Lites
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah- Judson Spence

8 pm hour

Beds Are Burning- Midnight Oil
Love Is Alright Tonite- Rick Springfield
No Scrubs- TLC
Jack of Spades- Boogie Down Productions
Who's Your Baby- The Archies
December, 1963 (Oh What A Night)- The Four Seasons
Kisses On the Wind- Neneh Cherry

Tribute to Doug Fieger, the lead singer of The Knack, who died on 2/14/10 at the age of 57
My Sharona- The Knack
Good Girls Don't- The Knack

Adore- Prince

Set Adrift On Memory Bliss- P.M. Dawn
It's A Shame- The Spinners
Slaughter- Billy Preston
Man In the Box- Alice In Chains

The Retro Mix Video of the Week: Salvation by The Cranberries


The Cranberries - Salvation
Uploaded by UniversalMusicGroup. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

Please Take A Moment To Vote In the Current Pizza Poll... Thank You

The Retro Mix Playlist For 2/12/10

Tonight was a really fun show with listener requests (My Sharona and Summer Night City to name two) that fit in nicely with my playlist. In addition to the normal mix of tunes from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, I also sprinkled in some warm weather songs to help ease the winter blues.

Along with the listeners who regularly tune in, two of my blog buddies (Candy Minx and her husband Stagg) were kind enough to check out my show tonight. All in all, the show went quite well and that's saying something because I can often be my own worst critic. Not to worry, I won't pull any muscles patting myself on the back.

7 pm hour

Lady Marmalade- Labelle
Rockaway Beach- The Ramones
Having A Blast- Green Day
California Girls- David Lee Roth
Everybody Dance- Chic
All I Wanna Do- Sheryl Crow
Summer- War
My Sharona- The Knack

Double Retro segment's feat. artist: The Rolling Stones
Jumping Jack Flash (1968)
One Hit To the Body (1986)

I Can See Clearly Now- Johnny Nash
Master Blaster (Jammin')- Stevie Wonder
Down- 311
M.P.E.- Public Enemy
Funky Nassau- The Beginning of the End

8 pm hour

Don't You Want Me- The Human League
Circle In the Sand- Belinda Carlisle
Theme From Shaft- Isaac Hayes
Everybody Loves the Sunshine- Roy Ayers
Jump Around- House of Pain
Hey Ladies- The Beastie Boys
Summer Night City- ABBA
Thunder Island- Jay Ferguson
Just Got Paid- Johnny Kemp
Could You Be Loved- Bob Marley
American Dream- The Dirt Band
Wild Summer Nights- John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band
Hot Rod Hearts- Robbie Dupree
Barbie Girl- Aqua
School's Out- Alice Cooper

The Retro Mix Video of the Week: Hey Ladies by The Beastie Boys

Beastie Boys - Hey Ladies
Uploaded by bebepanda. - Explore more music videos.

Tuesday Tunes - Week 120

Tuesday Tunes - Week 120
From one frozen meme mistress to you...let's do something fun. You fill in songs that start with the first letter of this phrase: Snow Sucks

Summertime- Billy Stewart

No Rain- Blind Melon

One Summer Night- The Danleers

Warmth of the Sun- The Beach Boys

Summer Nights- John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John

Up, Up and Away- The Fifth Dimension

Come Sail Away- Styx

Key Largo- Bertie Higgins

Saturday In the Park- Chicago

Final Results of the Recent ManCrunch/Super Bowl Poll

With almost 2/3 of the vote, a majority of people said they did not disagree with CBS' decision to reject a commercial by the gay dating site ManCrunch during this year's Super Bowl. Although 4 people who disagreed with CBS shared their thoughts in the comments section, no one who sided with the "Eye network" chose to say why. I really wish that some of them had shared their thoughts because I'm interested to hear why they voted "Yes".

Here are the final results:

Poll question-

Do you agree with CBS' decision to reject a gay dating site's Super Bowl commercial?

No- 64%
Yes- 36%

The Super Bowl XLIV Rundown: Pop Culture Style

Here are my thoughts on this year's extravaganza:

The Super Bowl Ads:

This year's crop of commercials remind me of the ones for 2009. What I mean is that the commercials didn't seem to be trying to overshadow The Super Bowl. I don't know, maybe it has something to do with the economy and the reluctance of companies to shell out insane amounts of money for less than a minute of air time. Even with the seemingly scaled back strategy, there were some funny and memorable ads during the game:

The Cars.com commercial where the ultra knowledgeable Timothy Richman replaces the supremely confident David Abernathy from last year's spot.

The Snickers spot with gridiron greats Betty White & Abe Vigoda

The Doritos ad in which a kid smacks his mother's date

My two favorites were:

Teleflora.com commercial featuring the one and only Don Rickles as the talking flowers.

flowers - Valentine's Day flowers - flower delivery

and

The Megan Fox Motorola commercial:

Daltrey, Townshend, and company rock the Sun Life Stadium

When it was announced last year that The Who (or what's left of them) would be starring in the halftime show for Super Bowl XLIV, I wasn't exactly Happy Jack. It wasn't because I don't like The Who, because I do. However, selecting them was another safe and predictable choice for the halftime performance. Plus, I had read stories about Roger Daltrey's voice losing its edge. I was pleasantly surprised because Roger sounded just fine to me. Plus, it's always cool to see Mr. Townsend give his axe the windmill treatment. As the 65 yr old Roger ripped through such Who classics as Pinball Wizard and Won't Get Fooled Again, I said to myself, "How do you think he does it? (I don't know)". Here is part 2 of the halftime performance:

Oh wait, there was a game...

In the end, the most important thing about Super Bowl Sunday is the game itself and this year's battle between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints went down to the last minute. Because of my affinity for the underdog, I was hoping the Saints would prevail and they did with a 31-17 victory. My favorite moment of the post-game celebration is Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees holding his 1 year old son Baylen. As Capt. Louis Renault would say, I am a rank sentimentalist.


What are your thoughts on the game itself, the commercials, and/or the Who's halftime performance?

Please Take A Moment To Vote In the Current Super Bowl/ManCrunch Poll... Thank You

Late last month, CBS decided it would not air a commercial (see below) for the gay dating site Man Crunch during Super Bowl XLIV (which takes place on Sunday, February 7th). For more on the story, click here. As expected, CBS' decision is not without controversy. Regardless of whether you vote yes or no, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section of this post.

The Retro Mix Playlist For 2/5/10

7 pm hour

Rock and Roll Never Forgets- Bob Seger
Back and Forth- Cameo
Causing A Commotion- Madonna
Something Good- Utah Saints
Lean On Me- Bill Withers
Angel- Jimi Hendrix

Now & Then segment
Gimme Some Truth- Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs (of The Bangles)
Girlfriend- Matthew Sweet
I'll Set You Free- The Bangles

Kung Fu Fighting- Carl Douglas
The Humpty Dance- Digital Underground
He's My Star- The Poster Children

8 pm hour

The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades- Timbuk 3
Dynamite- Jermaine Jackson
Best of My Love- The Emotions
What Can I Say- Boz Scaggs
Name- The Goo Goo Dolls
I Think I'm Paranoid- Garbage
Atomic Dog- George Clinton

The Greatest Miss of the Week:
Blue- The Jayhawks (this single did not chart in the U.S.)

Indiana Wants Me- R. Dean Taylor
Call Me Up- Rick James
Cross My Broken Heart- The Jets
American Girl- Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Day by Day- The Hooters
Everything About You- Ugly Kid Joe

The Retro Mix Video of the Week: Atomic Dog by George Clinton


George Clinton - Atomic Dog
Uploaded by Master_System. - See the latest featured music videos.

The 1949 Movie Pinky Airs On TCM!

Jeanne Crain and Ethel Waters

On Wednesday February 3rd at 8 pm EST, Turner Classic Movies airs the 1949 classic Pinky. Starring Jeanne Crain in the title role, Pinky tells the story of a light-skinned black woman who returns to the Southern home of her grandmother after passing for white while living in the North as a nursing student. In addition to facing the everyday problems that came with being black in the South, Pinky also has to deal with such complications as the return of the man she loves (a white doctor she met while studying up North) and a nasty courtroom battle.

Although I would have liked it if Lena Horne (who campaigned for the role) was given the chance to play the lead, I understand why 20th Century Fox went with Jeanne Crain instead. Money talks and Crain was one of the studio's biggest stars at the time. Also, it was 1949 and a majority of moviegoers weren't ready for a film that featured love scenes between a black actress and a white actor. Having said that, Crain does a fine job as Pinky (earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress). Along with being believable, Crain also demonstrates fearlessness and dignity in the title role. Also earning Oscar noms were two Ethels (Waters as Pinky's wise grandmother and Barrymore as a sickly rich woman who is cared for by Pinky). In addition to these three, the cast is solid throughout. Some of the standouts include Frederick O'Neal as a shady character who lives near Pinky and her grandmother, Evelyn Varden as a racist relative of Barrymore's character, and Dan Riss as an attorney.

Although I've seen Pinky numerous times, I am really looking forward to checking it out again because it's been several years. If you've already seen Pinky or plan to watch it Wednesday night, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.

Below is the opening scene of Pinky.

Final Results of the A.I. Poll

By a very slim margin, "The Rocket Man" received the most votes in the poll asking who should fill Simon Cowell's seat once he splits from American Idol. My choice would be either him or Cher. Both are outspoken and have the credibility necessary to take Simon's place. Ironically, the man (Ryan Seacrest) rumored by some as a possible replacement for Simon tied with Diddy and Madonna for the least number of votes.

Here are the final results:

Elton John- 28%

"Other"- 26%... below are the names of those who received write-in votes:

Kristi Mantoni said... Quentin Tarantino!!!

A friend of mine picked Stevie Wonder. The reason she gave was that Stevie has the ears for music. She added that although a contestant's appearance is a huge thing, she doesn't think it should be. Stevie never occurred to me, but having him as a judge would lessen the chances of contestants getting by on style over substance.

Rich Meyer chose Dweezil Zappa.

Hugh Jee From Jersey selected Sarah Palin. I can hear it now...

Ryan: Who's your favorite contestant?

Sarah: Uh, all of them.

Ted Nugent- 16%

Cher- 14%

Sean "Diddy" Combs, Madonna, and Ryan Seacrest- 4% each

A couple of voters feel that Simon is irreplaceable and that AI will die once he walks away. Although there will likely be some viewer drop off after Simon departs, I think the show will survive. Without question, Mr. Cowell is a big part of the show's success. However, I don't think his departure will be a ratings killer like James Garner quitting Maverick or Tom Wopat &John Schneider leaving Hazzard County.

Thanks to everyone who took part in the poll. I look forward to hearing your opinions on the next one.

The WIRE: Week In REview, #3

After a month-plus hiatus due to my hectic schedule procrastination, the WIRE (my weekly recap of pop culture news) has returned! Here are some of the items that caught my eye:

Note to Rip Torn: This ain't Bonnie & Clyde &%$@*$#!

On January 29th, actor Rip Torn (The Larry Sanders Show, 30 Rock, etc.) was arrested after breaking into a closed Litchfield Bancorp branch office in Salisbury, CT (the city where he maintains a residence). Torn was charged with carrying a firearm without a permit, carrying a firearm while intoxicated, first-degree burglary, first-degree criminal trespassing and third-degree criminal mischief.

Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid Get Their Own Theme Park

ABBAWORLD, a new museum/theme park, opened in London last Wednesday. The exhibition tells the band's story in 25 rooms spread over 30,000 square feet. Visitors can see recreations of the studio where the Swedish quartet recorded, the seaside cabin near Stockholm where Benny and Björn composed their hits, glass cases containing the band's stage costumes and much more. There are plans to send the exhibition on tour after its London run — currently scheduled through March — and create new versions of it in Australia and New York by the end of the year.

Actor James Mitchell Dies At the Age of 89

James Mitchell, best known for his long-running portrayal of scheming tycoon Palmer Cortlandt (born Pete Cooney) on the ABC soap All My Children, died on January 22nd from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease complicated by pneumonia. Mitchell originated the role of Palmer in 1979 and received seven Daytime Emmy nominations (all in the Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series category) for his work on the show. Although he ceased being a major character on AMC in 2002, Mitchell did show up sporadically as Palmer in the ensuing years. His final appearance on AMC was on January 5th, 2010 for the series' 40th anniversary. Mitchell is survived by his longtime partner, the Oscar award-winning costume designer Albert Wolsky.

What some may not know is that in addition to his acting, Mitchell was an accomplished dancer and worked extensively with the legendary Agnes de Mille. Below is a clip from the 1955 movie musical Oklahoma! in which Mitchell appeared as "dream Curly". He shows up at the 2:52 mark.

The Hippest Trip In America Is Coming To DVD!

According to the website TV Shows On DVD, Time-Life will be releasing the iconic music series Soul Train to DVD within the next month. Although there aren't many details available (number of discs, price, content, etc.), Time-Life normally does a good job so as host Don Cornelius would say, the DVD set should be a "stone cold gas honey!"

To get you in the groove, here is the Soul Train line dance to Earth, Wind and Fire's 1974 hit Mighty, Mighty: