Thursday Thirteen #16: Musical Guilty Pleasures

Thirteen of my musical guilty pleasures

On my Saturday afternoon radio show, I play music from the 70s and 80s. One of the features that I do periodically is "The Guilty Pleasure of the Week". Below are 13 songs that I've featured in this segment of my show. It's easy to say that you like artists such as Prince, Steely Dan, Joan Jett, and Public Enemy. However, it takes guts to admit one's admiration for the cheese that I'm about to share with you. You can click on the song title/artist links to listen to the songs. Go ahead, I won't tell.

1. All Out of Love- Air Supply: This is one of my favorite songs by the group that I call the Patron Saints of Musical Guilty Pleasures. I know there are many people who would like to cut off this group's air supply, but you have to admit this is a helluva pop tune! The soft guitar intro, the soaring vocals of Russell Hitchcock (the short dude with the white man's fro) and Graham Russell (the tall blonde guy), the majestic production...

2. Alone Again (Naturally)- Gilbert O'Sullivan: If you ever think your life sucks, put on this #1 hit from 1972. After hearing the suicidal singer's tale of woe (he gets stood up at the altar and both of his parents are dead), you may come to the realization that things in your world aren't so bad after all.

3. Arthur'sTheme (Best That You Can Do)- Christopher Cross: I was once caught between the moon and New York City... it wasn't pretty.

4. Baby I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley (Free Baby)- Will To Power: Frampton meets Skynyrd. If you ever wanna piss off a Lynyrd Skynyrd fan, tell them that Will To Power's version of "Free Bird" smokes the original by the "Sweet Home Alabama" boys.

5. Cover Girl- New Kids On the Block: It has always been easy to cap on a group like New Kids (esp. those flaky dance moves they did in the video for "The Right Stuff"). But "Cover Girl" to me is a catchy ass song.

6. Dance With Me- Orleans: This is one of those songs that associate with going to the doctor's office as a kid. Even though my voice is too deep, that doesn't stop me from trying to hit those high notes on the line that goes "I can take you where you want to go".

7. Eres Tu (Touch the Wind)- Mocedades: I first discovered this song back in the early 90s when I heard it on the 70s Super Hits channel on Music Choice. If you saw the movie "Tommy Boy" with Chris Farley and David Spade, you may remember this song. The two of them sang it in the car during their road trip.

8. Electric Youth- Debbie Gibson: The first song I ever featured in the "Guilty Pleasure of the Week" segment, this is one of those tunes that always puts me in a good mood. It really comes in handy during rush hour traffic. "Don't underestimate the power. Of a lifetime ahead."

9. I Was Made For Dancin'- Leif Garrett: Before he became a "Behind the Music" punchline, Tiger Beat cover boy Leif gave us this strobe light hit. Yes, he was made for dancin'... all-all-all, all night long.

10. Julie, Do Ya Love Me- Bobby Sherman: Here's a blast from the past for all you teenyboppers who used to swoon as you watched Bobby in his role as Jeremy Bolt on "Here Come the Brides". Even those people who think they are too cool for the room can't resist singing along to the chorus of this 1970 hit.

11. Magic- Olivia Newton John: Whenever I hear this song, it takes me back to when I got my first radio back in 1980. Although I might regret it, I wish some cable channel would air the movie it came from (the 1980 mega flop Xanadu) because I've never seen it.

12. My Love- Lionel Richie: When it came to cheesy pop songs, Lionel was the man. I guess you could say he was a Cheese Whiz. When listening to this song, it's hard to believe this is the same guy who sang lead on such funky Commodores' tunes as "Too Hot To Trot" and "Slippery When Wet".

13. Top of the World- The Carpenters: Although I am not a big fan of this duo's music, the steel guitar and Karen's singing on this tune get me every time.

Now that I've burned myself at the musical stake, it's your turn. What songs are you almost ashamed to admit you like?

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Final Results of Recent Poll

Picture it, the blogosphere 2007... in the recent Golden Girls poll, the mother/daughter team of Sophia Petrillo and Dorothy Zbornak were voted as your favorite characters on the series. Both each received 28% of the vote. In a two-way tie for 2nd place, Blanche Devereaux and Rose Nylund each received 21% of the vote. Blanche surprisingly didn't receive a lot of voter love early on, but then made a push about midway through.

Below is a clip from the 1986 episode "Isn't It Romantic". This is the one where Dorothy's lesbian friend Jean (played by Lois Nettleton) develops a crush on Rose.

Veronica Mars- The Complete First Season

A friend who works in the same building as I do loaned me her copy of "Veronica Mars- The Complete First Season". Although I heard and read many positive things about the series, for various reasons I never watched it during its original run.

On Saturday, I watched the pilot episode. I am happy to say that it exceeded my expectations. On the back of the DVD set's coverbox, "Veronica Mars" is described as a little bit Buffy... a little bit Bogart... with a dash of Nancy Drew. With an underlying theme of teen alienation and featuring a heroine who is both sarcastic and resourceful, the description on the coverbox was right on the money.

Most shows take at least a few episodes to hit their stride. However, "Veronica Mars" gripped me right from the beginning. Through Veronica's narration and the use of flashbacks, we learn in the pilot how Veronica was once a member of her high school's in crowd. This all changed when someone close to her is murdered. In addition to the loss of her status at school, the ensuing events surrounding the murder also have negative repercussions on Veronica's home life and the career of her father.

Moonlighting as a private investigator, Veronica's life is anything but boring. In the pilot episode alone, Veronica (played by Kristen Bell) helps and eventually befriends new kid Wallace (Percy Daggs III), gets payback against the town sheriff, and faces down the local motorcycle gang. Early in the pilot, Veronica's private investigator father Keith (Enrico Colantoni) cautions her to take backup when she does surveillance work on the town's richest citizen. In the scene where Veronica runs into the motorcycle gang (who she encounters while on surveillance), we learn exactly what her father meant by backup.

Because we are in the midst of football season and the MLB playoffs, I have only been able to watch just the pilot episode of "Veronica Mars" so far. However, I cannot wait to finish the remaining episodes of the DVD set to see how the murder mystery gets resolved.

John Mellencamp Turns 56 Years Old

Sunday, October 7th is John Mellencamp's 56th birthday. Because of his rebellious personality, John doesn't seem like the type to whom you would wish a happy birthday. I could be way off base, but I just don't picture friends and family standing around with party favors waiting for John to make a wish as he blows out his birthday cake candles.

My first exposure to John was when he was still performing under the "John Cougar" moniker. Even after all these years, I still sometimes slip and either refer to him by that name or the "John Cougar Mellencamp" handle. I'm old school, what can I say? Anyways, I first saw him when he performed "Ain't Even Done With the Night" on The American Music Awards back in 1980 or 1981. Along with the song itself, the thing that struck me was John's choice of 50s styled attire. Since I was really into the oldies of the 50s and early 60s at the time, I thought this was pretty cool.

The prominence in John's music of instruments not normally not associated with rock and roll (the accordion and fiddle, for example) and his refusal to follow trends has allowed his songs to attain a timelessness. For example, songs like "Paper In Fire", "The Authority Song", and "Check It Out" sound as fresh today as when he first recorded them back in the 80s. Although I still enjoy the music of artists like The Human League and ABC, much of their work from that decade hasn't aged as well as John's.

Along with John's music, I have always respected his willingness to stick his neck out on controversial issues... regardless of any negative effects it might have on his career. You may have heard the flack that his new song "Jena" has caused (the mayor of Louisiana called the tune inflammatory). You can hear the song and see its accompanying video by clicking here. Whether or not you agree with his politics, I think you still have to respect that (to paraphrase the title of one of his songs) John "stands for something".

Below is the link to the video for one of my favorite songs by John, his 1987 hit "Cherry Bomb". The most notable thing about the clip is its depiction of an interracial couple slow dancing together. I remember that during a 1991 appearance on "Later With Bob Costas", John told the story of how he received threats from the KKK because of the video.

Cherry Bomb

Retro Commercial: Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

The commercial below is from the "Messy Marvin" series of ads for Hershey's Chocolate Syrup. As you may know, Peter Billingsley (Ralphie from "A Christmas Story") played Marvin in these commercials from the early 1980s. While trying to dig up info for this post, I Googled "Messy Marvin" (damn, that sounds kinda dirty... let me rephrase that)... when I entered the words "Messy Marvin" in a Google search, I learned that the term has a totally different meaning (sexually related) according to the urban dictionary. Who knew??

One thing that's fun about watching old commercials is spotting performers who went on to star in other roles. See if you recognize the pair of actresses who play two of Marvin's classmates. Both were cast members of two long-running series. The one on the left is semi-easy, but the one on the right is pretty tough. If you aren't in a guessing mood, click here for the identity of the actress on the left and here for the one on the right.

Former Price Is Right Employee Files Lawsuit

Say it ain't so Bob! Whether it's true or not, his plans for a peaceful retirement are shot to hell.

From the Associated Press:

LOS ANGELES - A woman who worked on "The Price Is Right" for two decades has sued Bob Barker and the game show's producers, alleging they retaliated against her and forced her to quit after she testified against Barker.

Deborah Curling claimed she was in a "pleasant working environment" for many years screening contestants for the show, but that changed after she testified in a wrongful termination lawsuit brought against Barker by a former production assistant, according to her lawsuit filed Thursday in Superior Court.

Curling claimed she was demoted to working in an "intolerable" working environment in the back stage, forcing her to leave the show last fall.

Curling, who is black, also claimed a hostile work environment in which black employees and black contestants were discriminated against.

"Barker created an atmosphere of terror on the show, as a result of which any employee who complained about the working environment or contradicted Barker was fired," the lawsuit said.

Besides Barker, the lawsuit also names production company FreemantleMedia North America and CBS as defendants.

A CBS spokesman declined to comment, and an after-hours call to FreemantleMedia was not immediately returned.

Curling's lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages.

Barker, 83, retired earlier this year after hosting "The Price Is Right" for 35 years.

Thursday Thirteen # 15: TV Shows That I Own On DVD

Thirteen TV Shows That I Own On DVD
I love the idea of TV shows on DVD. The format gives life to many series that are rarely rerun. I also love that you get the series uncut, commercial free, and without annoying split screen or sped up credits. Sorry, but if I am watching "The Golden Girls" on Lifetime, I don't need to be reminded about the woman in peril/all men are scum movie that they'll will be showing later on in the day. If the set has special features, that makes it all the better. Below are some of the series that are in my collection.

1. Degrassi Junior High: Season 2: The original Degrassi is arguably the best school-based TV series ever. I first discovered this show back on PBS in the 1980s. I liked that they used kids who were actually school-aged and didn’t look like they were aspiring models. Plus, the acting and the storylines were realistic as well.

2. Eerie, Indiana - The Complete Series: I used to watch this series when it orig. aired Sunday nights on NBC in the early 90s. The best way for me to describe it is what would happen if you crossed The Wonder Years with The Twilight Zone.

3. Family - The Complete First and Second Seasons: I was too young to catch this series during its orig. 1976-80 run. However, I watched it religiously when it was briefly rerun while I was in high school. Although the set doesn’t have any special features, it is still worthwhile. Some of the guest stars in the first and second seasons include: James Woods, Tommy Lee Jones, and Genie Francis.

4. Freaks and Geeks- The Complete Series: Set in suburban Detroit in 1980, "Freaks and Geeks" is one of those series that belongs in the "brilliant, but cancelled" category. Although I did catch it a couple of times when it aired on NBC, I didn’t really get into it until I checked out the complete DVD set from a local library. Some of the special features include: multiple commentaries by several cast members, audition footage, and deleted scenes.

5. Good Morning World: This sitcom ran for 26 episodes during the 1967-1968 season. It starred Ronnie Schell (Duke Slater from Gomer Pyle) and Joby Baker as the hosts of a morning radio show. One of the supporting players on the show was a pre-Laugh In Goldie Hawn. The set also includes a new interview by Ronnie Schell.

6. The Greatest American Hero- Season One: I used to watch this superhero spoof all the time on ABC back in the early 80s. No matter how many times it happened, I never got tired of watching Ralph (played by William Katt) crash into wall, bushes, etc. because he didn’t know how to use his superhero suit properly (he misplaced the manual when the aliens delivered it to him... don’t ask). The DVD set also includes new interviews and the unsold pilot for a spinoff called “The Greatest American Heroine”.

7. In Living Color: Season 1: It’s fun to go back and watch such skits as the “Homeboy Shopping Network”, “Lean On Me Beautiful”, and the classic Star Trek spoof “The Wrath of Farrakhan”. Although the set includes a featurette on The Fly Girls, Jennifer Lopez is nowhere to be found (she didn’t become a member until the 2nd season).

8. The Monkees: Season 1: Along with the antics of Mike, Micky, Davy, and Peter, this set has some really cool features, including: some of their commercials that they did for Kelloggs’ and Yardley Black Label after shave, audition call sheets, and the original pilot (which features songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart handling the vocals instead of The Monkees). Another cool feature is that if you don't want to watch the complete episodes, you have the option of viewing just the song "romps".

9. Picket Fences- Season 1: I had been waiting for this to hit DVD for quite some time. Although I didn’t watch it this when it first aired, I gave it a try when TNN started showing reruns a few years ago. This is one of those rare series that can be laugh out loud funny, thought provoking, and touching all in one episode. The lone special feature on the set is a documentary short that includes current interviews by cast members.

10. Police Squad! The Complete Series: Although only 6 episodes were produced, this to me is still one of the funniest shows to ever air on TV. If you are a fan of “Airplane” style humor, you will love this show. If not, don’t even bother. Some of the features on the set include a new interview with Leslie Nielsen, a gag reel, and selected commentary.

11. Scrubs- The Complete First Season: Another one of my all-time favorite shows. It can make you laugh and make you cry all in the span of 22 minutes. I also love the unexpected pop culture references that the show throws at you: the 1st season has people like Jimmie Walker, Carrot Top, and Louie Anderson appearing as themselves in some of J.D.’s fantasy sequences. Also guest-starring in episodes from the 1st season are John Ritter (as J.D.’s dad), Markie Post (as Elliot’s mother), and cast members from “St. Elsewhere”.

12. What's Happening- The Complete First Season: I used to watch this one all the time with my family back in the late 70s. Although the DVD set contains no special features, it’s still cool to catch such episodes as “The Burger Queen” (where Dee is chosen to star in a fast food commercial), “My Three Tons” (which features the dance troupe The Lockers), and “The Hospital Stay” (where Dee befriends an embittered ex-Negro League baseball player).

13. Wonderfalls- The Complete Series: In case you aren’t familiar with the show (which briefly aired on FOX in 2004), it’s about a Brown University grad who gets a job working at a tourist shop on Niagara Falls. In each episode, she hears the voices of inanimate objects (a wax lion, a brass monkey, a wind-up penguin toy, etc.) --which instruct her to help out total strangers. Of course, no one else can hear them. It’s sort of like an acid-drenched version of “Touched by An Angel”. I read somewhere that the show was originally titled “Touched by A Crazy Person”. One of the co-creators of "Wonderfalls" also produced the Showtime series "Dead Like Me".

What TV series do you have in your DVD collection?

Don't forget to vote in this week's poll (located in the upper left hand corner of the page)

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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! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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The CD Player Turns 25

Although I am a day late (not to mention being woefully short in the $ department), I still wanted to make note of the CD player's 25th anniversary. Can you believe it's been that long? According to the book "Chase's 2006 Calendar of Events", the first compact disc player was developed jointly by Sony, Philips, and Polygram. It went on sale on Oct 1st, 1982 and sold for $625. When you make adjustments for inflation, that CD player would cost you almost $1,500 today! If the CD player went on sale for the first time today, it would pose quite a dilemma for me. Do I want to listen to music in pristine sound or should I keep both of my kidneys?

Having a CD player back in the 80s was something of a status symbol. I remember back in college when a friend told me and another friend about a guy he knew who had "The Joshua Tree" on compact disc... ooh!...aah! You would have thought that Vanna White was displaying a prize showcase or something.

In addition to the price of CD players back then, the fact that I wasn't looking forward to replacing my extensive tape collection prevented me from joining the CD revolution right away. In the early 90s, I finally broke down and bought my first CD player. I think the last straw for me was when I was working as a manager at Hot 'n' Now (damn I hated that job). One night we were listening to music after closing time. I put in a tape from Prince's "The Hits and the B-Sides" and the boombox at work chewed it up... it didn't even have the courtesy to spit it back out! Man was I pissed!

Surprisingly, I still have the CD player I bought back then and it works just fine... although I don't use it much anymore. Ironically, I mainly use it when I critique my radio shows (which are recorded on cassette). Like many others, I have been gradually downsizing by ripping CDs to my computer and selling the ones I no longer want. Did you ever think we would get to a point where we thought that CDs took up too much space? Just think... in about 5 years (or less) people will be complaining about getting rid of their bulky iPods.

What are some of your favorite CD memories?

Final Results of Recent Poll

In a final outcome that the Anonymous Idiot would love, Seal and Heidi Klum received the majority of votes as the couple most likely to still be together 5 years from now. Surprisingly, the couple that has been together the longest (Jay-Z and Beyonce, who've been dating for approximately 5 years) received no votes. Here are the final results:

Seal & Heidi Klum- 50%
Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie- 35%
Mark Anthony & Jennifer Lopez- 15%
Jay Z & Beyonce'- 0%
Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes- 0%

The Spice Girls Sell Out London Show In 38 Seconds

The organizers for the Spice Girls' reunion tour announced on Monday that tickets for their London show sold out in 38 seconds! 38 seconds?! As my mind tends to go off in odd directions at times, I started to think about other things that could happen in 38 seconds or less:

1. Get served at a fast food drive-thru. Whether this happens or not, always check your order because in the immortal words of Leo Getz, "They fuck you at the drive thru!"
2. Read a novel from cover to cover (provided you are a disciple of Evelyn Wood)
3. Go to the top of the pyramid in the "Winner's Circle" ... that is if you were lucky enough to be paired with a celebrity like Billy Crystal.

Back to the Spice Girls. Since they were always more popular in Europe, I figured that their reunion tour would do well there... but I never expected anything like them selling out in 38 seconds. As a result of them selling out the December 15th show so fast, organizers added more London dates to the tour. It'll be interesting to see if "Girl Power" still resonates in the States once tickets go on sell for their U.S. concerts.