Hungry For Love & Hard Boiled Eggs: Eleven Obscure Yet Hilarious Videos

By Jim R. Clark

“Can you just turn the thermostat down, please?!”

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We’re Still Watching: Pierre Trudeau in the 1970s

By Emily C.

When I was a kid, we had these volumes and volumes of World Book Encyclopedia “Year Books” in the house; they came as subscription updates with our set, and were a summation of the events of the previous year (this was obviously way before the Internet).

In my house, we had the entire set from the 1970s, and when I was bored (which was often) I would make my way through these books. I kept noticing that a guy named Pierre Trudeau would frequently pop up, especially in the “Canada” section, usually looking glamorous, distinguished, yet slightly disheveled, and frequently with his gorgeous wife Margaret. They looked exactly like film stars, but weren’t. Being American, I had no clue who Trudeau was, so I assumed he was simply just some nameless, faceless personality from the 1970s who didn’t make much of a dent here in the US or internationally.

Damn, how wrong I was!
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Turn On The Video: Cheap Trick On YouTube

By Less Lee Moore

When I initially became a YouTube addict, Cheap Trick was one of the first bands I searched for there. As fellow addicts know all too well by now, it was quite frustrating being unable to find some of the videos I wanted, and it became more frustrating when the ones I did find disappeared the next day.

But Cheap Trick is one smart band.
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These Are My Salad Days: Spandau Ballet On YouTube

By Less Lee Moore

You can’t step twice into the same YouTube river. The channel has undergone enormous transformations since its debut. In just the last few years, there have been heated disputes over copyright in the US and the UK, embarrassing incidents of corporate confusion, and irate fans who rejoice in finding long-loved-and-lost videos only to be crushed when those videos are removed for various reasons.

Thankfully, many bands have stepped up (with apparent legal muscle as well as capital) and created their own Official YouTube channels. This issue we’ll be profiling the Official Spandau Ballet YouTube channel.
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Top Five Ideas For Life After The Swineflu Apocalypse (As Gleaned From 80s Music Videos)

By Hanna

1. In the future, David Bowie will flirt with black men and we will do experimental dance. ALL DAY.

David Bowie, “Time Will Crawl” (1987)

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The Sepia Tint of Doom: Worst Ideas for Rock Photography

By Emily C.

5. The band wearing way too much leather

Whenever a vulnerable, slightly introverted band wants you to KNOW that they, in fact, mean business and are hardcore as all hell, they are encouraged to bust out the leather jackets and surly looks. The worst offender of this trend is one of my favorite bands, Depeche Mode. In the early 1980s they wore a little bit of leather, but generally their image was that of sensitive synth-poppers who did sweet songs like “See You” and “Just Can’t Get Enough.” Around 1984, their music took a darker turn into the world of bondage and domination (while still remaining its optimistic poppiness—see “Master and Servant”), and all this leather began to appear in their press photographs. By 1990, when Violator exploded into mass popularity, the band really wanted people to know that yes, they were actually total badasses, and would cut you up with a switchblade outside of whatever local Goth club you were hanging out at. Above is one example of Depeche Mode’s leather-induced surliness.

Notice the one member who is not wearing leather, and who therefore was NOT a team player.
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Divas In Disguise: Top Five Most Misguided Phases of Musicians

By Emily C.

5. Spinal Tap does jazz fusion (from This is Spinal Tap)
“On the bass. . . Derek Smalls. . . he wrote this. . . “
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Entirely a Matter for You: Peter Cook

By Emily C.

Forget the distressing manner of his death, and his sometimes shambolic, disheveled appearances on 1980s and early 1990s British television: for me, Peter Cook is the pinnacle of elegance and style in the English comedy canon. I was reminded of this upon finding 1970s interviews of Peter from the TV chat show, Parkinson, on YouTube.
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Antics In The Forbidden Zone: Adam Ant On VHS!

By Less Lee Moore

The Four Rules Of Loving Adam Ant:

1. Love Adam.
2. Love Adam some more.
3. Love Adam as much as you can.
4. Marry Adam.

As composed by my sister and me in the early 90s.

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Nobody Takes Me Seriously, Anyway: Split Enz

By Less Lee Moore

[This piece was originally published in Smack Dab Fanzine #5, April 1996. With the exception of typos I may have corrected, all of the original text and formatting remain the same. I have also scanned the original artwork.—Ed.]

The first pop star I had a crush on was Barry Manilow. Looks aside, I was dazzled by his rhinestone-studded costumes and silly medleys. I cherished my monthly fan club letters for years until I turned on MTV in 1981. Then I discovered New Wave and the weirdest, most endearing brothers next to Jeff and Steve McDonald. Neil and Tim Finn from Split Enz.
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