Welcome, welcome, to the place the 80s never ended. Walk on our spotless silver carpenting, sit in a big comfy vinyl chair, pop open a diet soda, and enjoy your choice of 80 cartoons or 80s music videos. Or you may prefer to visit our arcade with every video game of the 80s. We also have a library of every comic from the 80s, including the entire outputs of cool indies like First and Eclipse (none of that horrible black-and-white negative nihilistic stuff, though.) Optional but highly recommended are our rock-and-roll makeover rooms -- new wave to the left, hair metal to the right.
[ May 22, 2010, 05:46 PM: Message edited by: Fanfic Lass ]
Posted by Kent Shakespeare on :
Anyone else besides me (and Cleome) remember/miss those great 80s indies like Dalgoda?
I'm glad the B&W Zot! run is getting its due these days.
Posted by Stealth on :
My indie poisons included Grimjack, Scout, American Flagg, Crossfire, Starslayer (though only the Ostrander/Truman issues,) and Warp (though only the Brunner issues.)
Posted by Kent Shakespeare on :
never got into Grimjack. Had the 1st issue or two of Scout. A little too Reaganistic for me, although I liked Truman's art.
AF, Crossfire (esp the B&W run) were favorites.I've only read the Grell Starslayer, and even then the 90s 'director's cut' from Acclaim. It's hard to imagine anyone but Grell doing those characters. Never read Warp.
Elfquest, Jon Sable, Miracleman (okay, Marvelman), Masked Man, Mage, Grendel and A Distant Soil were other faves of the era.
Posted by Caliente on :
Ooh, the eighties!! I'm here, I'm queer... wait a second... >.>
Whatevs! *parties like it's 1989*
Posted by cleome on :
Mars (Wheatley & Hempel)
Damn near anything by Roberta Gregory, Bernard Mireault, and Scott Saavedra.
After everyone goes to bed, I will get out Marshall Crenshaw's Field Day, Joan Armatrading's The Key and T-Bone Burnett's Proof Through The Night and play them over and over again until somebody gets up to either placate me with Uno's pizza or eject me from the premises. Or both, in no particular order.
Vinyl only. Damnit.
Posted by Kent Shakespeare on :
didn't realize W&H did Mars, or that Roberta Gregory was doing stuff in the 80s.
I still listen to Springsteen's live 75-85 boxed set from time to time. Other 80s music I frequent once in a while: Kate Bush, Alison Moyet, Kirsty MacCall, and Blondie.
I sometimes miss vinyl.
Posted by cleome on :
Gregory's work in Gay Comix was amazing. It would have been a surprise to a lot of people who only knew her later from Naughty Bits. Actually Gay Comix in general had amazing contributors. I was really sad to let my copies go, finally, about three years back. But they found good homes, mostly in Europe.
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
Sweet! The "Take on Me" video could be playing at all times!
Posted by Arm Fall Off Boy on :
I loved Galaga. A friend of mine showed me a trick in the 10th grade. On stage 2, I believe, if you avoided the bombs the bugs were dropping for about 15 minutes, and never fired back, eventually they just quit firing, and never fired another shot the entire game. We racked up a million points more than once. *sigh*
BTW, I loved "Take on Me."
Posted by Tamper Lad on :
Judging from what the young'uns have been wearing the last couple times I've gone out I'd say the 80s are back.
Bring on the blue eye shadow and huge honking shoulder pads on women's clothing.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
I fondly remember Dalgoda, Zot!, and American Flagg! I wanted to like DNAgents--the characters were cool, but I just never got into Mark Evanier's writing.
For music/music videos, the early '80s belonged to Rainbow, particularly "Can't Happen Here" and "All Night Long" (a bit sexist in retrospect), J. Geils Band ("Come Back" and "Love Stinks"--before "Centerfold" took them too far in the pop direction), and my perennial favorite, Jefferson Starship ("Find Your Way Back" and "Layin' It on the Line").
Of course, newer bands such as Def Leppard, A Flock of Seagulls, Men at Work, and Duran Duran were fun to watch and listen to, as well.
Posted by Kent Shakespeare on :
I tried to like DNAgents. couldn't (still have the Dave Stevens cover issue of Rainbow). But the spinoff series Crossfire was magnifique!
80s pop can still be fun to listen to, but the stuff from the 80s that really stands the test of time is the Alternative stuff that didn't get much radio play the 1st time around.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
Radio was my only source of music in those days. There were a lot of songs that got some airplay yet didn't become hits (but should have), such as
*"This Beat Goes On/Switching to Glide" by the Kings *"You Got What I Need" and "Last Chance" by Shooting Star (a Kansas City band!) *"Into the Night" by the Sherbs
Don't know if any of these qualify as alternative, but back then it seemed like anything that wasn't Lionel Richie was alternative!
I just realized that we mentioned two different Rainbows in back-to-back posts. That got to be some kind of rare LW coincidence.
Posted by cleome on :
(snip)
quote:Originally posted by Tamper Lad: ...and huge honking shoulder pads on women's clothing.
Shoulder pads... bah. I've always had broad shoulders, despite being not tall. I spent that entire decade and a good chunk of the next one cutting shoulder pads out of every damn shirt, blouse and dress I purchased. I used to give them to a roommate's aunt. She was a very tiny, small-boned woman and liked to wear them in everything. However, she ascended to the next plane several years ago, so I don't know what the blazes I'd do with a new torrent of homeless shoulder pads. Bleah.
Posted by Yellow Kid on :
quote:Originally posted by Stealth: (none of that horrible black-and-white negative nihilistic stuff, though.)
Some of those were pretty good though. I got all the Marshall Law I could find, very twisted and kind of hard to follow but hugely entertaining.
Did anybody besides me read Fashion In Action? Fantastic! Hot chick super-spy fems in extremely cool clothing. There was even an issue with paper dolls.
let's see..Omaha cat Dancer, Fat Freddy's Cat (although those were reprints), Justice Machine, The Elementals, GrimJack (believe it or not for the backup features), Concrete, American Flagg (awesome), Cerebus, Badger and even Elf Quest (because I had a girlfriend that liked it and all I needed was a flimsy excuse).
There was a short lived company called Silver Wolf Comics that I tried really hard to support. There was a book called Grips by Tim Vigil that I loved. Gawd it was good. The rest of the line was abominable though so once Vigil's book was cancelled I quit throwing my money away.
I'm even going to throw in a gratuitous plug for the best indie b&w ever Wordsmith!
Posted by Caliente on :
Ooh!! Oooh!! There's a back to back feature of 9 to 5 and Working Girl at the drive in theater!! I'm THERE!! Posted by Stealth on :
Glad to see the party still going strong. And I'm especially happy to see Caliente and Tamper Lad . It's been so long.
Cali, after the show, will you be up to karaoke-ing the theme song to those movies?
Keep it up, folks. Remember our motto here at Stealth Soothing Synthetic Sanctuary: "Everybody have fun tonight...and every night that follows."
Posted by Kent Shakespeare on :
quote:Originally posted by Yellow Kid: Some of those were pretty good though. I got all the Marshall Law I could find, very twisted and kind of hard to follow but hugely entertaining.
wasn't that a British book? I followed a lot of Brit stuff, at least the stuff we could find over here (not Dredd, tho). Loved the Titan oversized GN reprint format. DR & Quinch, Halo Jones, all the Alan Moore stuff.
quote:Originally posted by Yellow Kid: Did anybody besides me read Fashion In Action? Fantastic! Hot chick super-spy fems in extremely cool clothing. There was even an issue with paper dolls.
Not a fan. I think it was a backup in something I was getting? I could have done without it.
quote:Originally posted by Yellow Kid: let's see..Omaha cat Dancer, Fat Freddy's Cat (although those were reprints), Justice Machine, The Elementals, GrimJack (believe it or not for the backup features), Concrete, American Flagg (awesome), Cerebus, Badger and even Elf Quest (because I had a girlfriend that liked it and all I needed was a flimsy excuse).
Omaha was great! never read FFC. JM hasd an interesting premise but seemed a bit hit-or-miss, as I vaguely recall.
Elementals started with a bang (and a lot of buzz and warranted-hype), but it just took so long to come out, I drifted away... saw one post-Willingham issue; seemed like it had been drained of all potential.
thumbs-up to the rest (except Grimjack; never read).
quote:Originally posted by Yellow Kid: There was a short lived company called Silver Wolf Comics that I tried really hard to support. There was a book called Grips by Tim Vigil that I loved. Gawd it was good. The rest of the line was abominable though so once Vigil's book was cancelled I quit throwing my money away.
There were a lot of companies like that.
quote:Originally posted by Yellow Kid: I'm even going to throw in a gratuitous plug for the best indie b&w ever Wordsmith!
only read one issue. It was OK.
How about... Ms. Tree? Posted by cleome on :
Wordsmith wasn't bad. The Renegade book I miss the most is Neil The Horse, though.
Posted by Yellow Kid on :
I'm the only person I know that was enthusiastic about it but I loved it.
Back to Grips, I actually ran across Tim Vigil at WW Dallas and took a little bit to chat with him about it and the comics company he started out with. I swear that's the best convention I've ever been to.
I'd have to go back and dig through the boxes but wasn't Marshall Law written by Denny O'Neil? and drawn by the artist that did League of Extra Ordinary Gentlemen (I'm pretty sure)?
Yes, Ms. Tree was pretty cool. Decent detective stories and solid artwork, it wasn't "dynamic" but it was very well constructed and a decent read.
How about Beanworld? Mr. Spook, the Hoi-Paloi and Gran'ma'pa. That was a very weird comic book but my little girl liked it when she was first learning to read so I have 20 some issues of it buried away in the boxes.
I liked Alien Legion a lot too. Straight up army stories in a sci-fi setting. It was a lot like reading Sgt.Rock or The Howling Commandos in outer space. Totally cool.
Posted by Stealth on :
Today is my birthday. I share a birthday with Keren Woodward of Bananarama, so tonight is BANANARAMA NIGHT at the Sanctuary!!
WOOOOOOOOW!!
And take an occassional break from dancing to sample the 80s cake, courtesy of Fat Cramer -- chocolate with dark chocolate icing and a big slash of neon pink icing!
Posted by Kent Shakespeare on :
It ain't a Cruel Summer yet, so you'll have to be our Venus.
Posted by Kent Shakespeare on :
gee... we really need a Chick Band graemlin...
Posted by Stealth on :
Yes, we do.
In the meantime, we'll pretend that they're the 'Nanas in male drag.
From left to right: Sarah, Keren, and (maybe?) Siobhan.
Posted by cleome on :
I'm just gonna' park the gift here and then run out for some pre-Unilever Ben & Jerry's. Y'know, just in case.
Carry on. I'll be back with plenty for everyone.
Posted by Stealth on :
Ooooo. Ben & Jerry's!
I don't know if Phish Food was pre-Unilever. If not, I'll have Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
Posted by Kent Shakespeare on :
I'll throw some shrimps, ribs and artichokes on the barbie!
Posted by Stealth on :
Thank you, Mr. Hogan. Posted by Kent Shakespeare on :
That's nawt a knoyfe!
Posted by cleome on :
quote:Originally posted by Stealth: Ooooo. Ben & Jerry's!
I don't know if Phish Food was pre-Unilever. If not, I'll have Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
It was for sure.
Anyone else for Rainforest Crunch ? I miss that one the most...
Posted by Kent Shakespeare on :
mmmm.... Rainforest Crunch....
Years ago, when they came out with Cherry Garcia, I decided they should come up with a US flavor, too.... Sundae, Bloody Sundae.
Posted by Stealth on :
"Bone" creator Jeff Smith's favorite B&J flavor was Wavy Gravy.
Just one of a trillion comics-biz bits of trivia I know.
Posted by Stealth on :
Look! Sarah and Keren themselves have joined us!
Posted by cleome on :
Ooooh....
White gowns... pretttttyyy...
Posted by cleome on :
Incidentally, does anything say "Eighties" more than a song from XTC's English Settlement ??
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
All the world is football shaped.
Posted by Stealth on :
Mandy Moore did a surprisingly good cover of that song on her surprsingly good all-covers album "Coverage." Other 80s songs she covered were Joe Jackson's "Breaking Us In Two" and The Waterboys' "The Whole of the Moon." I wish that album had been a hit, because I would have loved it if she'd done a sequel where she covered Julian Cope's "World Shut Your Mouth."
Posted by cleome on :
The only XTC cover I remember is... uh, somebody I don't remember singing "Dear God." Also, I remember my old roomie the year that song was big on college radio loftily informing me that the band was "too mellow." My roomie was a total [bleep], but that was only one amongst several billion reasons why.
Posted by Stealth on :
According to Wikipedia, Dear God has been covered by Sarah McLachlan, Tricky, and Shootyz Groove. McLachlan's version was on a 1995 XTC tribute album which sounds mildly intriguing (mainly because of McLachlan and Ruben Blades.)
Posted by Abin Quank on :
Got any seventies stuff Stealth?
Posted by Stealth on :
Absolutely, Abin. Thanks to the Decade Divider Door over there, you can do so many things: gain access to the Hall of the Hanna-Barberians, see an ABBA tribute band even better than Bjorn Again, get a makeover set to glam-rock music at Genuinely Glam, enjoy the solitude of the Soft-Rock Sensory Over-Stimulation Tank, or take a heavy-rocking ride in the Aero-Zeppelin. And there's so much more!
Posted by Abin Quank on :
Kewl! I'll be in there rockin' to some Steppenwolf and CCR...
Posted by Stealth on :
For no additional charge, we'll even throw in Slade's scorching cover of Born To Be Wild.
Posted by Abin Quank on :
Fan-Freaking-Tastic!
This is one Kewl pad you got here Stealth!
Is that a lava lamp next to the hookah?
Posted by Stealth on :
It sure is. And you have a choice of regular bed or water bed.
Posted by Abin Quank on :
This being the seventies room a mattress in the corner should do...
But with clean sheets... some memories aren't very fond.
Posted by Stealth on :
Yes, here at the Synthetic Sanctuary, I endeavor to keep everything spotless, so as to overcompensate for my filthy mind.
Posted by LardLad on :
Wow! This place smells like casual sex!!! Posted by Stealth on :
Yes, and the ambience is furthered by piping in cheeseball disco instrumentals.
Posted by Kent Shakespeare on :
quote:Originally posted by Stealth: For no additional charge, we'll even throw in Slade's scorching cover of Born To Be Wild.
Ah, Slade! Hard rock meets English folk meets 15 pints before going into the studio...
Posted by Stealth on :
Nowhere moreso than their power chords plus fiddles plus drum machine early 80s comeback single Run Runaway
Everybody sing along now,
"I love black and white Dreamy black and white You love black and white, run runaway SEE CHAMELEON LYING THERE IN THE SUN All things to everyone, run runaway"
Posted by Kent Shakespeare on :
I love that song!
If you're in the swing Money ain't ev'rything If you're in the swing Run Runaway. See chameleon lying there in the sun All things to everyone, run runaway
Great Big Sea does a great cover of that.
Posted by Stealth on :
And the album that Run Runaway is on, Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply (a double entendre worthy of AC/DC in their prime), is one of my favorite 80s rock albums.
Posted by cleome on :
Well, this really belongs on another thread, but...
All these years, I thought that line was,
"SeekAmelia, lying there in the sun..." etc.
I figured Amelia was Slade's, uh, Band-Aid girl or something.
(sigh)
And they said that the internet couldn't be an edjamacational tool. Thanks, SSSS !
Posted by Stealth on :
You're very welcome. Just one of the many public services we provide.
Posted by Kent Shakespeare on :
quote:Originally posted by Stealth: And the album that Run Runaway is on, Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply (a double entendre worthy of AC/DC in their prime), is one of my favorite 80s rock albums.
that was a great one... I love all three (?) 80s Slade albums.
Posted by cleome on :
I've been in decline all week because I can't locate the T-Bone Burnett Cold-War-Noir-with-a-perm video aka "The Murder Weapon" from Proof Through The Night.
Life just seems so meaningless without it, somehow... Posted by cleome on :
It's Friday!
O, Stealth Stealth, wherefore art thou, Stealth!
Quick, somebody post on this thread in praise of grunge. That'll bring her out, for sure.
Posted by Arm Fall Off Boy on :
Yes, I nargle bawdle zouss all the time.
Posted by Stealth on :
Oh, grunge, the bete noire of my life since I refused to buy into the record industry's swindle as a teenager.
Thank God for Weird Al, one of the few souls brave enough to parody that aural abomination.
The reason I wasn't here last night was because I went to see the new Star Trek movie.
And keeping this thread 80s-relevant -- a couple weeks ago, I watched Dario Argento's last good movie, 1987's "Opera", for the first time in 12 years; although it remains a feast of technique in exquisite golds and reds, it should have ended 10 or 15 minutes earlier than it did, because the double-twist at the end is both stupid and depressing.
Posted by cleome on :
Some say that the true test of a good parody is to see if it angers the source. In that case, Weird Al didn't do so well, because Kurt Cobain thought the parody was hysterical. Though Al said that Cobain expressed surprise when it turned out to not be about food.
Posted by Stealth on :
God, I love me some 80s hair metal, even from the second-rate bands like Great White. I bought a Great White album the other day, and I've been playing the hell out of it.
Fun fact: Great White and Guns N Roses shared management during the 80s, and GNR might never have even had a music video made for "Welcome to the Jungle" if the manager hadn't taken advantage of having an available crew and a bit of extra time left after a Great White video shoot.
And since this thread also doubles as a sort of All-Stealth Thread, I decided this was the place to make this announcement:
I hate travelling, but I love my family, and I haven't seen them for two years. So, on the first Monday in July, I'm biting the bullet and hitting the road from Florida to Pennsylvania, where I'll stay for about three weeks. Driving is the least frustrating (if slowest) way to travel, and I'm going with a couple of friends, so it should end up being okay. I still get nervous from time to time, though.
I'll miss you all, but I'll definitely drop in at least a couple times on a relative's computer.
Posted by Blockade Boy on :
ROADTRIP!!!!
Fl-Penn, not a difficult drive, about 10 hours maybe? Five to get through Atlanta.
Have a fun safe visit.
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
Hopefully the travel will go nice and smoothly and you'll have a great trip!
Road Trips at least give you an excuse to over indulge on snacks, magazines, bad/fast food and other fun little things you can buy at the gas station!
Posted by Stealth on :
Thanks, guys.
Posted by Fat Cramer on :
Driving with a few friends should make it a lot more enjoyable. I hate long-distance driving (anything over an hour for me!). Do you bring music along or do the flip-through-the-radio thing?
Your family should spoil you rotten while you're there.
Posted by Stealth on :
Thanks, FC. I hope they do.
We'll be bringing music along. Haven't narrowed down most of the choices yet, but one that we'll definitely bring along is Elton John's Greatest Hits, so we can play "Philadelphia Freedom" as we pull into said city, which just happens to be our final destination.
Posted by cleome on :
Have a good time, Stealth.
(I might be in PA later this Summer, but that's about two months from now.)
Posted by Stealth on :
Thanks, Cleome.
I'd rather go in the early Fall when the weather's nicer, but by going in the Summer I get to spend time with my cousin's kids.
Posted by Stealth on :
Well, the next time I post I'll be on a relative's computer, stopping by here for a minute to say hello.
See you all back here at the end of July.
Posted by Stealth on :
Greetings from my aunt's computer. Hope all is well. See you in a couple weeks.
Posted by Quislet, Esq. on :
Glad to see you arrived in Philadelphia OK. Have fun visiting with the relatives.
Posted by Abin Quank on :
Say Hi to Liberty Bell(e) for me...
Posted by Stealth on :
Ahhh...home, sweet home.
Abin, I wasn't sure if you meant Libby or Jessie, so I said Hi to both of them. Posted by cleome on :
[waves to Stealth]
Turns out I didn't make it to PA, but mr_cleome's there right now. Probably trying to consume his own weight in Iron City beer, or something. :/
Posted by Arachne on :
Welcome back. Posted by Stealth on :
Thank you, ladies.
Posted by Stealth on :
Even though Julian Cope achieved his greatest fame in the 90s, it's his 1983 solo debut, "World Shut Your Mouth" that I spin most often. It was recorded during a particularly bittersweet time in his life -- debt-ridden, isolated, and stoned full-time, yet also revelling in his freedom from the prison the The Teardrop Explodes had turned into and in his new relationship with future second wife Dorian Beslity (they're still together today).
Posted by Stealth on :
Even though I generally defend the 80s, I'm not blind that there were terrible things about the 80s, and they're often the ones that most stubbornly refuse to go away.
Case in point: Bon Jovi has their latest single and music video in rotation right now.
Nineties apologists will probably cringe at what I'm about to say, but I'll say it anyway: Jon Bon Jovi was to hair metal what Kurt Cobain was to alternative rock. They were both greedy, cold-blooded bastards who piggybacked onto a music scene that was vital and thriving just outside the mainstream, and ruined it with their bland, safe-as-milk, toothless music and whiny voices. Sure, it sold like hotcakes, but the effect on the scene and on music in general was catastrophic.
Posted by Zardi, the Eternal Man on :
This song is one of many reasons why the music of the eighties can never hope to be favorably compared to the music of the sixties...
Get your motor runnin' Head out on the highway Lookin' for adventure And whatever comes our way Yeah Darlin' go make it happen Take the world in a love embrace Fire all of your guns at once And explode into space
I like smoke and lightning Heavy metal thunder Racin' with the wind And the feelin' that I'm under Yeah Darlin' go make it happen Take the world in a love embrace Fire all of your guns at once And explode into space
Like a true nature's child We were born, born to be wild We can climb so high I never wanna die
Born to be wild Born to be wild
Posted by Stealth on :
Yes, you have a point, because, as it happens, the Cult did a horrendous cover of that song...in the eighties.
Posted by Zardi, the Eternal Man on :
The original Steppenwolf version from the Sixties remains an all time classic.
Posted by Stealth on :
Yeah. Of course, for down-and-dirty biker rock, nothing beats Motorhead.
Posted by Zardi, the Eternal Man on :
Bah!
This is what Steppenwolf would say to Motorhead;
You, comin' here Tellin' me how proud you are Some clown just handed you A shiny little silver star You say, over there, the men are brave While the chickens stay away 'Cause they're all too much afraid To fight for somthin' they should believe in I'm sorry friend, you've got it backwards
They won't follow when your whistle blows Won't come runnin' when your rooster crows Don't eat the same old corn until their minds have gone They don't fear the squawk of the little silly chicken hawk Uh, uh huh, help us clean our own backyard Before you go to preach abroad Believe me, it won't be easy
As you well know, not ever bird can roam the sky I see your wings, man, but can you fly? All I see when I look down, something jumpin' on the ground, scratchin' dirt Cluckin' in the barnyard, tell me, could that be you? In that case, lay another egg Try to save yourself from the barbecue
Posted by Stealth on :
That song is for the birds. Posted by Stealth on :
In the Forgotten Ear Candy Gems of the 80s category is Karla Bonoff's "Somebody's Eyes", from the "Footloose" soundtrack album. As re-inventions for singer/songwriters of the 70s go, this synth-pop bauble is hard to beat. IMO it should have been a much bigger hit, but then, if it had been, a lot of people would have gotten sick of it years ago.
Posted by cleome on :
(snip)
quote:Originally posted by Stealth:
Nineties apologists will probably cringe at what I'm about to say, but I'll say it anyway: Jon Bon Jovi was to hair metal what Kurt Cobain was to alternative rock. They were both greedy, cold-blooded bastards who piggybacked onto a music scene that was vital and thriving just outside the mainstream, and ruined it with their bland, safe-as-milk, toothless music and whiny voices. Sure, it sold like hotcakes, but the effect on the scene and on music in general was catastrophic.
I'm reminded of the old Terry Laban comic where the artist meets with a board of directors at an entertainment conglom. (Fictional, of course.) He's trying to pitch his work as being something special and new. One exec bursts out, "Is it Grunge?! If it's grunge, you're hired!" Another exec explains, "Well, we don't really like to create anything special and new. We let others do that. Then we buy them."
So, regardless of what Cobain's/Bon Jovi's characters might be on a personal level, blaming either of them for ruining a certain "school" of music is like blaming a worker in a factory where they make those Wolfgang Puck frozen pizzas for ruining gourmet food.
[ November 05, 2009, 11:55 AM: Message edited by: cleome ]
Posted by Stealth on :
Point taken. I just enjoy any excuse to badmouth Cobain. "Punk rock martyr" -- HA! That's a laugh!
Plus, his suicide left his daughter fatherless, and that's unforgivable. I haven't forgiven Michael Hutchence, either, and him I did like when he was alive.
Posted by cleome on :
I don't know much about Hutchence's mental state at the time of his death. In Cobain's case, though, I suspect there was considerable captial-d depression involved. I knew somebody IRL who, er, dusted themselves after prolonged depression. It was awful, but eventually I grokked that they weren't the person I knew when they did it. That made it a little easier to deal with.
I also give Cobain a few points for doing a concert in Portland at the height of (one of our all-too-frequent bouts of) ballot-measure-fight-induced homophobia and kissing one of the other band members onstage. Posted by Stealth on :
I'm sorry about your friend.
My goodness, the sanctuary has been less than soothing lately, has it not?
I'll remedy that by playing The Teardrop Explodes' fantastic debut album, "Kilimanjaro", which was the turning point (appropriately enough, at the turn of the decade where the 70s became the 80s) where grim post-punk transformed into gleeful pure-pop.
Posted by cleome on :
Sorry for contributing to the lack of sooth.
I retaliate by playing Marshall Crenshaw's Field Day really loud, just as I was instructed to in the liner notes.
Though I'll grant you that it's not terribly synthetic. Still, it's Eighties.
Oh, and all the whiny-butt critics who said that it wasn't as good as his debut record can eat my skinny ties. Posted by Stealth on :
No need to apologize. After all, I was the one who took the thread on a negative tangent. Although if anyone's at fault, it's the millions of Bon Jovi fans who have kept the band on a major label after all these years.
Has anyone seen the video? Jonny Boy looks like a soccer mom on a crash diet.
Posted by Stealth on :
Okay, so the other night I dreamed that I met the guys from Def Leppard to negotiate the possibility of me writing a comic book starring them as futuristic freedom fighters. The weird thing is that Joe Elliot (for non-Lepheads, he's the lead singer) was absent, even though he's my favorite member. Sometimes my dreams have sequels, so hopefully this one will.
Anyway, it just reaffirms that I love Def Leppard as much as I hate Bon Jovi. Even with his range diminished, Joe can still do vocal acrobatics that Jon could never pull off.
I'm not going to pretend that everything they recorded is a must-listen, but their first four albums -- "On Through the Night", "High and Dry", "Pyromania", and "Hysteria," are all sterling examples of the very best of hair metal. The B-sides/rarities compilation "Retro Active" isn't really an album, but it's still awesome, as is their 2006 all-covers album, "YEAH!", where they take more chances than most veteran bands doing all-covers albums, and more often than not, they pay off, Roxy Music's "Street Life" and Blondie's "Hanging On the Telephone" being the best examples.
Def Leppard diverged from the other British metal bands of their generation by drawing inspiration from glam rock instead of proto-metal and progressive rock. And they did the glam thing much better than their American cousins, which makes them the best hair metal band, which makes them one of the best bands of their time.
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
From my perspective, Def Leppard saved heavy metal. (OK, they were not alone: Quiet Riot and Ratt and Whitesnake and a number of other bands also contributed.) But in 1983, Def Leppard combined the youthful good looks of the Duran Duran-era bands of MTV with the hard rock sound of a bygone era and gave me (and other likeminded fans) something worth listening to.
(OK, that's kinda harsh: there were a lot of good things to listen to before this. But DL reminded us of how good power chords and vocal harmonies could sound. They re-energized a style of music that had been left for dead by mainstream radio.)
Posted by He Who Wanders on :
Incidentally, I happened to hear an NPR interview with Jon Bon Jovi earlier today. I've never been a fan of Bon Jovi, but I have to admire a band that's been around for more than 25 years with four out of the original five members intact. They're clearly doing something right, and when Jon said that he'd watched boy bands and girl singers come and go in cycles yet he was always confident about the "truth" he and his band were singing, it hit home.
I'm still not a fan of Bon Jovi, but I can admire and respect someone who knows his musical identity and has stuck to it for more than 25 years.
Posted by Outdoor Miner on :
Bon Jovi have always seen themselves as closer to the likes of Bruce Springsteen than the pop-metal crowd, so statements like that are no surprise.
I appreciate Def Leppard more now than I did at the time, though I can't say I'm a major fan. Their one-time producer, Robert "Mutt" Lange, deserves a good chunk of credit for essentially steering them towards a metal version of _Thriller_, where most of an album's tracks had real singles potential.
Posted by Stealth on :
Re: Mutt Lange, it is true that he deserves a lot of the credit, much the same way that Dieter Dierks deserves a lot of the credit for the best of Scorpions' more commercial fare. But "On Through the Night" (pre-Lange) and "YEAH!" (post-Lange) prove that the Leps could do just fine on their own (though I won't deny that when they went back to doing original material, with their most recent album, they went back to the mediocre levels that "YEAH!" seemed to signal they had risen above.)
Re: Bruce Springsteen, I'm not a fan but I do appreciate his sincerity, something which I've never seen Jonny Boy as embodying. Bon Jovi's career feels like a very cynical grafting of hair metal elements onto re-heated Springsteen-ana (who IMO is not particularly inspired to begin with.) The more I think about it, it's not Bon Jovi the band I object to so much as Jonny Boy himself, who, like a male version of Madonna, is not in it for the music but for the showbiz (is it REALLY a coincidence that Jonny Boy had the most successful acting career of any male pop star of that generation?) I can hardly blame Richie Sambora, who does seem to be in it for the music, for drowning himself in booze and drugs just do deal with the reality of playing second banana to a putz like Jonny Boy.
Back to the Leps: "YEAH!" is a great album, and I think it has the potential to become at the very least a cult classic, and I recommend people giving it a chance, as its ecelectic cover choices may even appeal to non-hair metal fans. For those whose curiosity has been piqued, here's a rundown of it:
1. "20th Century Boy", originally by T. Rex 2. "Rock On", orig. David Essex 3. "Hanging On the Telephone", orig. Blondie 4. "Waterloo Sunset", orig. the Kinks 5. "Hell Raiser", orig. the Sweet 6. "10538 Overture", orig. ELO 7. "Street Life", orig. Roxy Music 8. "Drive-In Saturday", orig. David Bowie 9. "A Little Bit of Love", orig. Free 10. "The Golden Age of Rock and Roll", orig. Mott the Hoople 11. "Not Matter What", orig. Badfinger 12. "He's Gonna Step On You Again", orig. John Kongos 13. "Don't Believe a Word", orig. Thin Lizzy 14. "Stay With Me", orig. the Faces
Posted by Outdoor Miner on :
I've felt the same sort of cynicism in regards to Bon Jovi, but I'm not certain he doesn't believe what he says about his music. Much in the same way that Billy Joel thought he was a rocker instead of an MOR entertainer.
But then I thought hair metal was a pox on music in the '80s, and time for the most part has not changed that.
That's an inspired set of tunes for a covers disc. And only because I am a music obsessive must I mention that "Hanging On The Telephone" was originally by late '70s power-pop outfit The Nerves. That's to take nothing away from Blondie's excellent version of same.
Posted by Stealth on :
Aha! Thanks for the correction on "Hanging On the Telephone"'s origins, OM. Any such obscure pop culture information is always welcome at the Synthetic Sanctuary.
Glad you think the covers choices are inspired. If you do end up listening to "YEAH!", please share your thoughts in this thread.
Posted by Stealth on :
Here we are, Deirdre, home sweet home!
Posted by Deirdre on :
Oh, my.
Well, it certainly is...colourful.
Posted by Stealth on :
You don't like it? Posted by Deirdre on :
Well, keep in mind that I'm ten years younger than you, so I had just begun grade school when the 80s ended. What few memories I do have are nice, but...it's all a bit garish for my personal taste.
Posted by Deirdre on :
I'm having an extra wing added to the sanctuary, dedicated to the stuff I'm nostalgic for: the boy bands and girl groups of the late 90s. Stealth was horrified at first, but she came around. She did, however, beg me to not include anything about W*** O*****, the girl group whose members included one who metamorphosed into what Stealth calls "The Evil That Is Fergie."
I can't figure out what Stealth hates about her. Sure, she's annoying, but she's not evil.
And, of course, fans of boy bands and girl groups (except W*** O*****) are welcome to contribute posts on the subject to this thread.
Posted by cleome on :
Sometimes the line between evil and annoying is very difficult to discern, especially at the end of a long work day.
I hope you don't forget the Aquanettas, Carmina Pirahna, Sleater-Kinney, and Two Nice Girls. Chronological fudging aside, I still miss all of them.
Posted by cleome on :
(snip)
quote:Originally posted by Outdoor Miner: ...But then I thought hair metal was a pox on music in the '80s, and time for the most part has not changed that...
My best buddy in my High School years used to drive us to the mall, and we'd do things like stand outside the Record World or Sam Goody store and have loud mock-arguments about which hair-metal god on the window posters had the prettiest hair and lips.
I had a college buddy who always referred to those kinds of bands as "precious" Metal.
Posted by dedman on :
Man Alive!! I haven't even heard of any of those groups with the exception of Sleater-Kinney (Good group).
Oh Deirdre, If you need heating, electrical, air conditioning, plumbing or anything of that ilk for the new wing, let me know....i know some people Posted by Deirdre on :
Cleome, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not into indie rock. When I said "boy bands and girl groups from the late 90s", I meant groups like the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys. That was the soundtrack of my tweens, just like hair metal was the soundtrack to Stealth's tweens.
Deddy, I hope your offer still stands after the above revelation. Posted by Deirdre on :
Wow, that cleared the room fast.
Never underestimate the power of prefabricated pop to either delight or irritate, with no middle ground.
Posted by dedman on :
lol, I'm back....and yup the offer stands Posted by cleome on :
quote:Originally posted by Deirdre: Wow, that cleared the room fast.
Never underestimate the power of prefabricated pop to either delight or irritate, with no middle ground.
Au contraire, My Pretty. Groups like Betty or the Lascivious Biddies are parked right on the border between "indie rock" and "girl pop." Luscious Jackson might qualify, as well.
deddy, let's buy a used trailer or two and set up our own museum in the neighboring county. We can pass out flyers to the unwary as they're exiting Deirdre's fine establishment. Maybe lure them with free tacos and beer. Y'know, something classy.
Posted by Deirdre on :
Thanks, Deddy. I'll definitely need a good crew. I'm visualizing something like a Mini-Disneyland.
Cleome, I agree there is good pop in the indie margins, it's just that I rarely seem to uncover it. Guess I have to try harder. A word of warning, though: it's best not to mention Luscious Jackson when Stealth's around. Anything with connections to the Beastie Boys makes her apoplectic. Ha ha.
Posted by cleome on :
She'll be livid when I finally get around to starting my "Defending the Nineties" thread then.
[cranks up Beth Orton's Trailer Park. If Orton had never waxed anything but "Galaxy of Emptiness" or "Thinking About Tomorrow," she'd still be a goddess to me]
Posted by Deirdre on :
quote:Originally posted by cleome: She'll be livid when I finally get around to starting my "Defending the Nineties" thread then.
Posted by cleome on :
Posted by Stealth on :
So where's your "Defending the Nineties" thread, Cleome? I'm waiting... Posted by cleome on :
I need to finish the Crack Fic That Won't Die first. It's already a year behind schedule.
Hey, I heard an all-acoustic version of "Love My Way" on YouTube yesterday. I hugged my monitor. I think the nice weather is making me extra-sappy or something.
Posted by Stealth on :
I love that song. I love everything on the Psychedelic Furs' "Forever Now" album. Todd Rundgren doesn't get nearly enough credit for his production.
And while we're on the subject of the Furs, am I a heretic for liking the 1986 "Pretty in Pink" better than the 1981 "Pretty in Pink"?
Posted by cleome on :
I don't think I've heard any but the original version. I'll have to look it up.
I think it's funny that my spouse the ex-jock has Depeche Mode and the Furs on his playlist. I'm always ragging him about it. Posted by Stealth on :
Have you or your spouse ever listened to the Teardrop Explodes' great 1980 album "Kilimanjaro"?
Posted by cleome on :
Doesn't ring a bell, but The Negro Problem has a song called "The Teardrop Explodes."
...Mister Mellencamp, find me a hip small town that's free Of them serial rednecks and all With a righteous deli, arty bookstore, with Chomsky Speaking down at the Veterans' Mall...
Posted by Stealth on :
Cleome bumping this thread reminded me that I was thinking just the other night about one post I made:
quote:Originally posted by Stealth: Mandy Moore did a surprisingly good cover of that song on her surprsingly good all-covers album "Coverage." Other 80s songs she covered were Joe Jackson's "Breaking Us In Two" and The Waterboys' "The Whole of the Moon." I wish that album had been a hit, because I would have loved it if she'd done a sequel where she covered Julian Cope's "World Shut Your Mouth."
I neglected to mention that besides "Senses Working Overtime", "Breaking Us In Two", and "The Whole of the Moon", she covered a fourth 80s song, Joan Armatriding's "Drop the Pilot."
Posted by cleome on :
D'awww...
Joan Armatrading was so awesome back then. I wasn't too impressed with what I heard of her last "Blues LP," but it's nice that she can still get out the crowds, right?
Posted by Stealth on :
Yeah, anyone who can make a living doing what they like for almost 40 years deserves respect.
"Drop the Pilot" producer Val Garay also produced the Motels. I love Martha Davis, I think she has (had?) a great voice.
Posted by cleome on :
The Eighties did have some good female belters. Laurie Sargent from Face 2 Face (?), for instance? They tried to recast her in the Lilith Fair soloist mode in the Nineties, but it didn't suit her personality as well. (Though I have nothing against solo female singers.)
Posted by Stealth on :
I have nothing against solo female singers, either, but I could never get behind Lilith Fair with its faux-crusty/faux-folkie/male-hating/transgender-hating vibe. That's also why I ended up exiling myself from the lesbian community as a whole, BTW.
Posted by cleome on :
I thought it was MWF that had an issue with transgendered women, not Lilith.
At any rate, I'll worry about their "man-hating" (???) when the industry proper gets over its misogyny-- but I'm not holding my breath.
Wiki says that one of the LF co-founders commented that you couldn't even get a radio station ten years ago to play two woman artists back to back. I remember from my stint listening to "hit" and "alternative" radio all day while temping in '09/'10 that nothing's changed in that regard.
The local "alternative" station played three songs by women during an eight-hour workday... if you were lucky. The "classic" rock station played maybe that many every two days. New decade, same old sh*t.
Posted by Dev Em on :
I hate general radio...and honestly from what I've heard on Sat. Radio, it's not much better.
Posted by Stealth on :
Wow. I can be really bitter sometimes, can't I? Sometimes I'll look back at something I posted and cringe. This is one of those times.
Let's get the thread back on track. Before I took us on a bitterness tangent, I believe we were talking about 80s female singers with belting voices.
How can we forget Patty Smyth? Sure, she ended up in the middle of the road all too quickly, but "Goodbye To You" and "The Warrior" are classics.
Posted by Dev Em on :
Aimee Mann (Til Tuesday) singing Voices Carry. Awesome Voice.
Posted by cleome on :
I still like Wendy MaHarry a lot. I had "Fountain of Youth" as my sig line/link for a while there.
Posted by Stealth on :
I bought The Best of Altered Images CD for a dollar, and I got a lot more than my money's worth.
Clare Grogan was the original childlike frontwoman, paving the way for Liz Fraser and Harriet Wheeler.
I definitely remember hearing the delightful pop confections "I Could Be Happy" and "Don't Talk to Me About Love" when I was in grade school.
They also had the good taste to record T. Rex's "Jeepster" as a B-side, long before T. Rex became retro-hip.
The only duds on the album are the third-to-last and second-to-last singles, which hurt them so badly that their final single, a return to form titled "Change of Heart", didn't even chart in the UK.
Posted by Stealth on :
I LOVE "Don't Talk to Me About Love"!
Posted by Dev Em on :
I'd say so, since you've posted it in about 5 threads.
Posted by Stealth on :
One Track Mind Lass, that's me. Posted by Dev Em on :
Now, if we can just get it on the "right" track. Posted by Stealth on :
What 80s music, if any, do you like, Dev?
Posted by Dev Em on :
I was, and am a huge Police fan (blame my Uncle. He got me into them, comics and Stephen King)
I love a lot of '80's stuff. Art of Noise was great. Tears for Fears. Metallica, when they good. I loved Ah Ha, and actually bought about 5 Cassettes of their stuff.
I have no one style of music I like, but I like what I like no matter what.
Posted by Dev Em on :
I'm an 80's boy. My teen years were during that time...so there you go.
Posted by Stealth on :
I love A-Ha (have their complete singles CD) and Tears For Fears' first two albums, especially the artier first one.
Posted by Dev Em on :
Songs from the big chair. Love that album. Mostly overlooked by the populace at large.
Ah Ha was huge overseas for a long time...they still might be.
Posted by Stealth on :
Actually, Songs From the Big Chair was the multiplatinum album, and the culty one was called The Hurting.
But I love SFtBC almost as much as TH. After 25 years, I can still listen to Everybody Wants to Rule the World and get chills.
Posted by Dev Em on :
That's right. Sorry. Which one had Mother talks? Mine are buried behind a mound of toys or else I'd look.
Posted by Stealth on :
SFtBC had Mothers Talk.
Posted by dedman on :
In my opinion, the ultimate 80's band is Platinum Blonde. I loved that band back then, even saw them in concert twice
Posted by Stealth on :
I just wikied Platinum Blonde.
I'm definitely intrigued.
Thanks, Deddy.
Posted by Stealth on :
Another earlier post that got lost in the shuffle:
quote:Originally posted by Stealth: In the Forgotten Ear Candy Gems of the 80s category is Karla Bonoff's "Somebody's Eyes", from the "Footloose" soundtrack album. As re-inventions for singer/songwriters of the 70s go, this synth-pop bauble is hard to beat. IMO it should have been a much bigger hit, but then, if it had been, a lot of people would have gotten sick of it years ago.
It also occured to me in the interim that she was probably envious of Kim Carnes' success with "Bette Davis Eyes" and wanted a synth-pop hit of her own.
Posted by Kent Shakespeare on :
quote:Originally posted by dedman: In my opinion, the ultimate 80's band is Platinum Blonde. I loved that band back then, even saw them in concert twice
good band! whether or not they were ultimate.
Posted by dedman on :
lol, I still listen to their old stuff to this day, despite my tendancies towards metal
Posted by Stealth on :
Bumping this post especially for Dev:
quote:Originally posted by Stealth: Def Leppard's "YEAH!" is a great album, and I think it has the potential to become at the very least a cult classic, and I recommend people giving it a chance, as its ecelectic cover choices may even appeal to non-hair metal fans. For those whose curiosity has been piqued, here's a rundown of it:
1. "20th Century Boy", originally by T. Rex 2. "Rock On", orig. David Essex 3. "Hanging On the Telephone", orig. Blondie 4. "Waterloo Sunset", orig. the Kinks 5. "Hell Raiser", orig. the Sweet 6. "10538 Overture", orig. ELO 7. "Street Life", orig. Roxy Music 8. "Drive-In Saturday", orig. David Bowie 9. "A Little Bit of Love", orig. Free 10. "The Golden Age of Rock and Roll", orig. Mott the Hoople 11. "Not Matter What", orig. Badfinger 12. "He's Gonna Step On You Again", orig. John Kongos 13. "Don't Believe a Word", orig. Thin Lizzy 14. "Stay With Me", orig. the Faces
Posted by Dev Em on :
I'm definitely going to have to check that out.
Posted by Stealth on :
(Frantic activity as the sexy, scantily clad Sanctuary staff makes preparations for Ram Boy and Lash's arrival tonight.)
Posted by Stealth on :
(Stealth and Deirdre emerge.)
(Deirdre is classically elegant in a simple black dress.)
(Stealth is far more "out there" in a Lady Gaga inspired ensemble.)
(Both sit down to await the arrival of their guests, LMBP Leader Ram Boy and LMBP Deputy Leader MLLASH.)
Posted by Stealth on :
If they don't show up in the next two hours, the dinner is off.
Posted by Ram Boy on :
(as an eighties tribute band strikes up "Hail to the Chief", Ram Boy arrives wearing tails and a sash)
Greetings!
This is exciting! My first function (aside from bodily, that is) as leader of the LMBP!
Posted by Stealth on :
Yay!
Welcome, Ram Boy!
The scantily clad staff will bring out the appetizers right away!
Posted by Deirdre on :
While Stealth busies herself supervising the serving of the food, I'll take over the entertaining.
Nice to meet you, Ram Boy. And if there's anything else you want, the staff will get it for you immediately.
So, what will be your first major project as leader?
Posted by Ram Boy on :
The pleasures all mine, Deidre. And Stealth, you look lovely this evening.
I'm hoping that my cleaninglady/secretary/landlady, Mildred, called and informed you that I'm a herbivore. Other than that, I'm not really picky.
(looks around for Lash)
Posted by Deirdre on :
Mildred did indeed call. Here comes your many choices of succulent salads and vegetable soups.
Posted by Deirdre on :
And now, here comes the decadent dessert cart. And I do mean decadent!
Posted by Ram Boy on :
Nom!
Now, I've been reading the LMB Leader's Manual and it states that I should probably give some sort of toast. So -
Ladies and Gentlefriends, I would like to thank our delightful hostesses, Stealth and Deidre, for arranging tonight's Gala Event here at the Sanctuary. Everything looks amazing including the two of them.
(checks phone to see if Lash has left a message)
In the Firmament of Legion World, the SSS Sanctuary stands out not only for it's soothing and synthetic qualities, but also because it pays tribute to some of the best music ever made.
To Stealth and Deidre!
Posted by Deirdre on :
Posted by Deirdre on :
Stealth is still on the dancefloor, so on behalf of both of us, I thank you for your presence here tonight, Ram Boy, and we wish you a joyful and prosperous term as leader.
Posted by Stealth on :
Well, this was truly delightful. I only wish Lash could have joined us. Thanks again, Ram Boy.
Posted by MLLASH on :
***Lash Lad stumbles into Stealth's sanctuary, beaten and bloodied... He is distraught to find it empty!
Before he can exit to seek help, he collapses, unconscious. Were anyone around to hear, one might have heard these words escaping his lips before the darkness took him: "Boy of 1000 Feces!"
(Or possibly FACES. It's hard to tell since his mouth has been so severly damaged! ANYhoo, what's important is that this might be the prelude to "Revolt of the Light Brigade", the latest MMB tag-team thread, if anyone's interested...)
Posted by Dingleberry Damsel on :
While Lash and many other Legion Worlders are involved in the tag team, Dingleberry Damsel and Deirdre have been having a non-stop marathon of sex, sweets, and rock & roll.
Posted by Kent Shakespeare on :
wow! you go, girls!
Posted by Dev Em on :
And Dev changed into the coat rack in the corner.
Posted by Officer Taylor on :
quote:Originally posted by Dev Em: And Dev changed into the coat rack in the corner.
Is Dev actually Quagmire in disguise? Posted by Dev Em on :
Giggity!
Posted by Exnihil on :
quote:Originally posted by Dingleberry Damsel: While Lash and many other Legion Worlders are involved in the tag team, Dingleberry Damsel and Deirdre have been having a non-stop marathon of sex, sweets, and rock & roll.
DD & D & S & S & R & R ?!?!
Now this is a birthday party!
Posted by Dingleberry Damsel on :
Oh, Deirdre, you're my Little Red Corvette!
Posted by Dev Em on :
Giggity!!!!
Posted by Dingleberry Damsel on :
Deirdre and I are wallpapering the Sanctuary with classic Italian Disney comic book pages. These are all drawn by Giorgio Cavazzano.
Posted by Dingleberry Damsel on :
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
<enters with a bottle of absinthe>
Who's in the mood to party?
Posted by Dingleberry Damsel on :
Welcome, Cobie.
I don't drink, but Deirdre can certainly hold her booze and would gladly partake of your absinthe.
Posted by Dingleberry Damsel on :
Posted by Dingleberry Damsel on :
Posted by Dingleberry Damsel on :
Doesn't anybody have anything to say about Giorgio Cavazzano's beautiful artwork?
Posted by Dev Em on :
Just saw this stuff. wish we had more artists like this here. Very beautiful work.
There is a lot of subtlety to his work, lots of minor character things that you can draw on to round out the characters, whether you can read the thing or not.
Posted by Dingleberry Damsel on :
Thanks, Dev.
I sort of said this before in the All Funny Animals Thread in Gymll's, but when I first saw Walt Simonson's work, it reminded me of Cavazzano (or, as I didn't know his name at the time, The Disney Artist With the Hyperactive Linework).
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
I like how the pages have a lot of energy in them, even in the conversations. Too many talking head comics these days lack that big time.
Posted by MLLASH on :
quote:Originally posted by Dingleberry Damsel: While Lash and many other Legion Worlders are involved in the tag team, Dingleberry Damsel and Deirdre have been having a non-stop marathon of sex, sweets, and rock & roll.
WHOA!!!!!
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
^Why do you think I brought the absinthe? This place is hopping! Posted by Dingleberry Damsel on :
Thanks, Cobie. Yes, the energy of Cavazzano's 70s art was especially breathtaking to a 7-year-old DD.
quote:Originally posted by MLLASH:
quote:Originally posted by Dingleberry Damsel: While Lash and many other Legion Worlders are involved in the tag team, Dingleberry Damsel and Deirdre have been having a non-stop marathon of sex, sweets, and rock & roll.
WHOA!!!!!
Tee hee.
Posted by Ram Boy on :
Cool wallpaper! I sincerely hope you used a primer, DD.
Posted by Dingleberry Damsel on :
Oh, absolutely. Thanks to Deddy, we got the best people to do this stuff for us.
Posted by MLLASH on :
I like trying to read the language.
Posted by Dingleberry Damsel on :
Me too, especially since it's so similar to Spanish.
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
I wonder what's in that barrel. Whiskey?
Posted by Dingleberry Damsel on :
Molasses, I think.
Posted by dedman on :
Molasses, a newfoundlander's honey!
Posted by Dingleberry Damsel on :
Manjar Blanco is an Ecuadorian's honey.
Posted by Dingleberry Damsel on :
And Deirdre is THIS Ecuadorian's honey.
(Still wearing their cheerleader uniforms -- see the Thomas Fatsi thread on the LLL board -- DD and Deirdre jump into bed together, sweet loving to undoubtedly follow.)
Posted by Deirdre on :
Come on, DD, the night is young, let's do the cheer again.
Fatsi, Fatsi, he's nobody's patsy.
Don't fall asleep on me, we've gotta WORK! IT! OUT!
Posted by Deirdre on :
DD, you've been lethargic for two nights in a row. Maybe it's time to spice things up a bit? Posted by Officer Taylor on :
quote:Originally posted by Deirdre: DD, you've been lethargic for two nights in a row. Maybe it's time to spice things up a bit?
Helloooo, Nurse!!! Posted by Dev Em on :
clapclapclapclapclapclap
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
Gentleman, please, give the ladies some space. They'll call you if you're needed.
Instead, let me leave this little alcoholic concoction here if a little 'boost' is needed. I call it the "Lady Gaga".
Posted by Deirdre on :
Of course, it brings up the question: how do we spice things up, yet still keep this thread family-friendly? Posted by Officer Taylor on :
Spoiler boxes? Posted by Dev Em on :
yesyes...spoil us!
Posted by Deirdre on :
Good idea! Thanks.
Click Here For A SpoilerWHIPS! CHAINS! LEATHERS! SEX TOYS! Posted by Officer Taylor on :
Click Here For A SpoilerGIGGITY! Posted by cleome on :
Newlyweds are so adorable.
[makes pot of Chamomile tea for two and gets out the Scrabble board]
Posted by Dev Em on :
oooh scrabble...I wanna play!
Posted by Dingleberry Damsel on :
Ahhh...I feel refreshed, renewed! And more in love than ever.
A perfect note on which to end this LW session, methinks. Nite, nite, everybody.
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
G'nite ladies!
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
On this page of the Anywhere Machine forum's "Smexy" thread, I made an anti-grunge comment that I didn't expect to set off a snowball reaction. I don't want to throw the "Smexy" thread off-topic, so I'm going to re-activate my personal thread, get on my soapbox, and give what I hope is my last word on Why I Hate Grunge.
When I was a teenager, I didn't like my peers at all. I was a friendless loner. I had all sorts of issues with religion and sexuality and other things.
But despite my alienation, my tastes in popular culture were surprisingly conventional at the time, especially where music was concerned. Music, to me, was escapist ear candy. The only "angry" band that I liked was Guns n Roses, because they felt cathartic, they seemed defiant, and Axl Rose seemed (at first) like neither man nor woman but a feral omnisexual mutant, which was how I felt at that age. Of course, he went on to reveal his homophobia and grow a beard and stop washing his hair, but the impact of their first album and of the "Welcome to the Jungle" music video was something that could not be negated by sad reality.
Unlike my peers, I was perfectly happy with music the way it was and I didn't want some bunch of whining smackheads to pollute the airwaves with their lame "teen anthems" while pretending that they really didn't want to be rock stars and laying on the "tortured artiste" schtick way too thick.
Grunge was nothing but a swindle, and a swindle done with none of the flair of a Malcolm McLaren. It told teenagers, "be cynical, be resigned, be flippant, be a zombie." My response then was a resounding "F*** YOU" and a lingering skepticism on the very concept of "alternative" culture. Sorry, but when the peers who made my life a living hell started getting tattoos and piercings and wearing flannel and gathering like lemmings at Lollapalooza so that they could sing along to music that was every bit as "corporate" as what it claimed to oppose, you could count me out. And when my now middle-aged peers look at the 90s at the best of times, I laugh contemptuously.
I have since become a lot more open-minded about music, and have developed eclectic tastes. But grunge is, and will always be, my musical bete noire.
I'm not trying to start any arguments. If you're reading this and you like that stuff, have a ball with it. Despite my venom and bitterness in the above paragraphs, I do respect your opinion. I'm just getting something off my chest. We all have to sometimes.
Posted by cleome on :
I posted the "Steve Albini" song in the lyrics thread just for you, Babe.
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
Thank you. I was worried about what kind of reaction that post might get. I was afraid maybe I had gone too far. Glad to see that I didn't.
I won't deny that it was very cathartic.
Oh, and Albini's a twerp and a sellout. Posted by Rockhopper Lad on :
So, Fanfie, now that you have a new name, are you going to rename this thread, too?
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
Possibly.
I keep thinking something like "Fanfic Lass' Fantabulous..." and then I can't think of how to finish it.
I'm open to any suggestions.
Posted by Rockhopper Lad on :
"Fanfic Lass' Fantabulous Land of Festivity?" That sounded so much better in my head.
Posted by cleome on :
Kix & Trix With Fanfix?
Oh, forget it.
[skulks away]
Posted by Kent on :
Fanfic Lass' Funky Fantasia
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
Awww, your suggestion was cute, Cleome.
Rocky, I think you've got something there. "Fanfic Lass' Fantabulous Land of..."
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
Kent, that's a good one, too.
But I think I've finally got it:
"Fanfic Lass' Fantabulous Land of Eighties Enchantment"
How's that?
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
Thread's name changed.
My thanks to Rocky, Cleome, and Kent for helping out.
Posted by MLLASH on :
80s? I **LOVE** that decade!!
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
Feel free to indulge your nostalgia to the fullest, Lash.
Posted by Kent on :
Julie looks jazzed. Must have been all those Conga lines.
Posted by MLLASH on :
Aaah, the 80s. Decade of many Lash firsts.
But not ALL Lash firsts.
Posted by lil'rhino on :
March 16, 1981- 15 year old rhino goes to his first rock concert- XTC, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Jools Holland & his Millionaires. I went with my father, my cousin Jackie, and my best friend Roger. My father bought me a Bush Tetras tee-shirt. I told him that there were guys smoking pot in the men's room and he said, "So what?" By the end of that year, I had gone to at least a dozen concerts: B-52s, the Ramones, the Pretenders, the Plasmatics, Talking Heads, Nina Hagen Band, the Violent Femmes, BowWowWow, Squeeze, the Specials-most of them with my dad!!
Posted by Caliente on :
THE DECADE OF CALIENTE'S BIRTH! Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
Wow! The joint was really jumping late last night!
Truly outrageous!
Y'all come back now, y'hear?
Posted by cleome on :
Hey, FL, if you do find any Black Watch clips, let me know if you like them. They're still active, even though I thought they kinda' lost something when J'Ana Jacoby (who sang "Steve Albini") left the band.
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
Ha ha ha ha.
Believe it or not, I actually did go to a Pearl Jam concert around 2002-2003, because they're a guy friend of mine's second favorite band after U2. It was supposed to be a double date, but my @#$@#% of a partner at the time decided at the last minute not to go. Anyway, they were surprisingly okay and they covered the Who's "Baba O'Riley" as the encore.
Posted by cleome on :
I saw Pearl Jam on... uh, I think it was 7/4 sometime in the early Nineties, with an old college buddy who couldn't take his girlfriend to the show because she was out of town.
Mostly I remember that it was hot and dry, and that there were a couple of decent Neil Young covers. The rest is lost to memory.
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
My favorite Neil Young song is from the 80s, marking the end of his decade-long identity crisis: 1989's "Rockin' in the Free World." I've got his memorable Saturday Night Live performance of said song on a VHS tape.
Posted by cleome on :
I have a secret weakness for some of This Note's For You.
Ain't singin' for Miller Ain't singin' for Spuds...
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
Gotta love ol' Neil.
Have you read the Neil biography from a few years ago, "Shakey" by Jimmy McDonnough? I thought it was excellent.
Posted by Outdoor Miner on :
It was.
Pretty even-handed too, considering Young and McDonnough had a falling out during the writing.
Posted by cleome on :
I've learned the hard way not to read bios of people I admire. The admiration never survives.
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
Outdoor Miner, I remember hearing about the falling out. And I agree, McDonnough deserves a lot of credit for not using that as an excuse to try to tear Young down.
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
So...80s...
Ever since Eryk informed me that the 80s TV cartoon Visionaries, which I never saw (due to living in Ecuador at the time) but which is universally beloved, is avaiable on YouTube, I've put getting a new computer at the top of my list of Things to Do When I Save Some Cash.
In the meantime, I'm enjoying my now-out-of-print DVDs of another 80s cartoon, Defenders of Earth, where Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and Mandrake head a multi-generational, multi-racial team of heroes.
It's not the best 80s cartoon, mainly because unlike most other Marvel Productions cartoons, which were mostly animated in Japan with the occassional farm-out to Korea, DOTE was mostly animated in Korea, whose animation industry was very young at the time and not of the best quality.
Still, there are plenty of gems, especially among the later episodes. And it has sentimental value because, in the 80s, I advidly followed all three of the newspaper comics that inspired this show, especially the Phantom, which at the time was beautifully drawn by Sy Barry. That's why it's so cool that the team's token girl is the Phantom's daughter!
Trivia: Mandrake was voiced by Peter Reneday (Master Splinter from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Lothar was voiced by Buster Jones (Blaster from Transformers, Doc from G.I. Joe, and Arsenio Hall's replacement as Winston from The Real Ghostbusters), and Flash was voiced by Lou Richards (Leader-1 from GoBots)
Posted by Eryk Davis Ester on :
I'm actually shocked at the amount of 80s cartoons available on Youtube. Except for GI Joe (which seems to have only sporadic episodes), I've been able to pretty much revisit everything I remember watching as a kid.
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
I actually have a soft spot for ONJ from childhood.
Posted by Chief Taylor on :
Ahhh! Just posting in this thread is giving me phantom mullet pains...
Posted by cleome on :
I can't decide whether I hate mullets or Spears midriffs more. At any rate, both will be summarily banned when I take over the comics industry.
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
They call him Kwicky Koala Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
Last night, I had a vivid dream about Julian Cope.
Rather odd, considering that I cooled off on him a while ago and that when I recently narrowed down my CD collection to the top fifty so I could put the rest in storage, only four of his CDs made the cut.
They all date from the 80s, even though his "official" best work is from the 90s.
Anyhow, I thought if I had a dream about him, I should share them, even though I've mentioned some of them in this thread before:
1. "World Shut Your Mouth" (1983) - His wistful solo debut, a big rebound from the feckless final recordings by The Teardrop Explodes. Guitar pop with hooks AND brains AND heart. NOTE: Does not contain the title song, which he didn't record until three years later.
2. "Fried" (1984) - Weirder and darker than its older sister album "WSYM", it still has a pop gem in "Sunspots", which I consider a psychedelic masterpiece on the order of the Beatles' "I Am the Walrus," but even "Sunspots" has dark undertones.
3. "The Followers of Saint Julian" (rec. 1985-1987) - Remixes, live cuts and outtakes from the era which resulted in his flawed attempt to meet the mainstream halfway via his third album, "Saint Julian." This is more consistently listenable than "Saint Julian" in my opinion.
4. "Leperskin" (rec. 1986-1992) - A compliation of highlights from his albums for the Island label, including the original studio versions of most of the best "Saint Julian" songs, but a big BOO for leaving off "Eve's Volcano" in favor of the Peter Gabriel parody "Planet Ride." Thank goodness for the "Eve's Volcano" remix on "Followers."
Posted by Ram Boy on :
Fanfic Lass, I first heard Julian Cope on a collage radio station back in the early nineties. The station was big into Brit Pop (as was I), and for the longest time I lumped Julian in with acts like Blur, Ride, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and the rest. I didn't realize till years later that he actually predated these groups by a more than a decade.
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
Brit Pop had some stuff I learned to like years after the fact: Elastica, Suede, Pulp...I may badmouth the 90s a lot, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of stuff from that era that I do like.
Just not gr*ng*.
Or g*ngst* r*p.
Posted by Ram Boy on :
I don't look at you as badmouthing the decade. I see you more as a keeper of all that was really good about the Eighties music scene.
For my part, I love how music genres flow into each other and progress. Julian, for instance, may not have been a part of the BritPop scene, but he (and other acts) definitely set the stage for them. You can even hear his influence in the Rock Revival of the early 00's.
(Suede! Now I'm listening to Animal Nitrate)
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
quote:Originally posted by Ram Boy: I don't look at you as badmouthing the decade. I see you more as a keeper of all that was really good about the Eighties music scene.
Thank you, Ram Boy. You've just made my night. Posted by cleome on :
quote:Originally posted by Fanfic Lass: Especially for Cleome.
The Princes Diana Mullet look is probably coming back in style even as I type this.
Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
Eh, bad hair, big deal. It's the almighty hook and the lovely melody which matter to me.
I am an unironic fan of hers. Sure, she seems kinda cheesy in hindsight, but to a kindergarten-through-grade-school Fanfic Lass, she seemed awesome at the time.
Posted by cleome on :
Well, I admit that I was wrong about the "Physical" era being unsurpassable so far as ear fromage goes, but it's not my fault! How could I have known that someday we'd end up with the freakin' Black-Eyed Peas?!
Click Here For A SpoilerDear Mods,
We don't have a bang-one's-head-against-the-wall smilie, do we? Well, we need one.
Warmest Regards,
cleome Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
Ha ha ha ha.
We do agree on the Black-Eyed Cheese (my unaffectionate nickname for them.)
It's criminal that the white girls who really do have soul end up playing second or third fiddle to a gargoyle like Fergie.
Posted by cleome on :
Beware! Gargoyles fans the world over will end up picketing this thread! Not to mention fans of Gargoyle from Defenders.
Seriously. How does every hit song BAP puts out manage to be ten times as annoying as the last hit song they put out? It's almost like a super-power... Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
LOL
Gargoyles was a good show, but I have the likes and dislikes for it that I have for the DC cartoons from Batman on -- those damn celebrity voices that can't hold a candle to the seasoned voice-over artists who keep getting more marginalized every day.
If I could ever get it together, I'd start a site spotlighting the great cartoon voice-over artists from Mel Blanc to Frank Welker.
Posted by cleome on :
Do it!
I still remember wasting hours when I first got on the net, geeking out at the Voicechasers site. Even though we had dial-up and I'd end up crashing the computer half the time. Posted by Fanfic Lass on :
You're right. I must do it, and I will do it.
Posted by Ramble Damsel on :
Fanfic Lass says that until she actually has a new fanfic ready to go, she wants me to post in her place.
Posted by Ramble Damsel on :
How am I doing so far?
Posted by Kent on :
two - no, three - thumbs up!
Posted by Ramble Damsel on :
Wow. Thank you, Kent.
It's fun.
Posted by Ramble Damsel on :
Continuing with the theme of stuff from the 90s that I do like:
In my personal pantheon of rock goddesses, Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson is at the top.
I saw Garbage play a small festival in Albany before they were big.
Posted by Ramble Damsel on :
Cool! I haven't seen them live yet, but they're reportedly back from hiatus and working on a new album, so I still might get a chance. My best friend saw them live several years before I met her, when they opened for Sm*sh*ng P*mpk*ns; unfortunately, she and her friends got really drunk before the show and today she doesn't remember a thing about either performance.
Posted by Ramble Damsel on :
More Garbage...actually my favorite of their music videos:
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Hug]](graemlins/hug.gif)
and Tamper Lad ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Band]](graemlins/band.gif)
![[Love]](graemlins/love.gif)
![[Chameleon Boy]](graemlins/ChameleonBoy.gif)
![[Sun Boy]](graemlins/SunBoy.gif)
![[sigh]](graemlins/sigh.gif)
![[ROTFLMAO]](graemlins/rotflmao.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[LOL]](graemlins/lol.gif)
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Evil]](graemlins/devil.gif)
![[Bump]](graemlins/bump.gif)
![[Embarrassed]](redface.gif)
![[Tyroc]](graemlins/Tyroc.gif)
![[Cheers]](graemlins/cheers.gif)
![[Hmmm?]](graemlins/hmmm.gif)
![[Poke Joke]](graemlins/poke.gif)
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![[tease]](graemlins/tease.gif)
![[Yes]](graemlins/nod.gif)