// Category Archive for: Retrovirus

Television Verité: Degrassi High

By Jesse Roth

A few years ago, I found myself home during a break from college happily engaging in my two of my favorite pastimes: grazing in the kitchen while watching way too much TV. I used this particular break to become re-acquainted with the television shows that I adored in my childhood; ones that had recently made their way into the lineup on a digital cable channel then known as Noggin. As part of their block of evening and late-night programming (known as “The N”), the channel showcased my personal favorites such as Clarissa Explains It All and The Adventures of Pete and Pete. Later hours were devoted to even older classics such as The Electric Company, a show that predated my childhood (and thus my nostalgia radar) by at least a decade. Nonetheless, I now had the chance to watch and find out what I had missed out on by being born too late.
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Must-See-TV: The Eighties

By Kaye Telle

Say what you will about the eighties, but the explosion of music videos and competition with new cable stations made for some good television. Growing up in the midwest (pre-alternative rock) one felt completely isolated if they didn’t take a Journey to the river Styx on the R.E.O. Speedwagon. Looking back I can only chuckle at my gumption in pointlessly arguing the merits of Devo’s cover of “Satisfaction.” But alone with the TV after school, there were these crazy kids in California who understood. I can remember looking at the clock while snapping my watermelon Bubble Yum during school, ticking down the minutes until I could go home and watch my compatriots on MV3. Late at night and into the early morning hours on weekends, strange short films and more music beamed over the wires via a show on the USA Network called Night Flight. And I thought: I am not alone. An awful lot of cool things happened in that decade—and many of them happened on the boob tube.
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Be Epic: The Glory of Power Metal

By Christian Lipski

Let us drink to the power, drink to the sound
Thunder and metal are shaking the ground
Drink to your brothers who are never to fall
We are brothers of metal here in the hall
Manowar, “Brothers of Metal Pt. 1”

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1970—1980: Ten Golden Years of Teen Films

By Noreen Sobczyk

In the 50s and 60s, the word “teenager” had long been part of the American lexicon, but it wasn’t until rock and roll came along that the generation gap began to widen exponentially. Music was a major delineating factor separating the generations, and as teenage culture began to blossom, a target marketing audience was born. Rock and roll was all the rage and some films caught a ride on the teen bandwagon via the medium of music. Who can forget Elvis cashing in on his fame with some of his similarly-plotted films?
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Bucking Trends: How I Learned to Love Buck Owens

By Melissa Bratcher

One of the earliest crushes I can remember having is smiling Buck Owens on Hee Haw with his red, white, and blue striped guitar; his charming smile; his cringeworthy humor; and his soothing voice. I wore a pair of Hee Haw overalls to show my devotion to Mr. Owens and often pretended that he was my dad (not that anything was wrong with my dad, just, well, he wasn’t Buck Owens). I loved him and his music always reminded me of home.

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Wounds Of Love: Ten Reasons I’ve Seen Tuff Turf Over 100 Times

By Less Lee Moore

Screencap by megacaps

If you’ve never seen Tuff Turf, the 1985 film starring James Spader and Kim Richards, then this list of reasons I’ve watched the movie over 100 times might pique your curiosity and prompt you to watch it. Maybe not over 100 times, but at least once. If you have seen the movie, this list will probably be at best, comical, and at worst, puzzling. Hopefully, however, this list will explain why I was thrilled when this movie was released on a (markedly bare bones) DVD a few years back. It meant that my original, recorded-from-HBO VHS tape could finally get a break.

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It’s Finally Here: Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains on DVD

By Noreen Sobczyk

Misfit youths who happened to catch a late night airing of Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains have been rubbing their magic lamps for years, fully willing to trade one wish for a good quality copy of this film. Now the wait is over, thanks to the folks at Rhino who’ve released it as the debut title in their Rock ‘N’ Roll Cinema Series.

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Fuck You, I Like Tin Machine

By Christian Lipski

“The Irish are the blacks of Europe,
and Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland,
and the Northside Dubliners are the blacks of Dublin.
So say it once, say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud!”
The Commitments

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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 me and my sister in the early ’90s.

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Tom Verlaine Is My White Rabbit

By Chelsea Spear

The last week of June 2008 found me in New York City. I’d been trying to escape the obligations and responsibilities that awaited me in my hometown: the whoosh I still heard in my ears as a birthday with a zero on the end passed me by, and the dozens of hours I suddenly had free. My life was about to change, and I had no idea what to do next. So far I’d attempted to distract myself with a free concert at which two of my favorite bands played, and a stage play written by a playwright and musician whose work I found intriguing, if not always successful. The poignancy and significance and melancholy of these works had not merely sated me, but left my brain feeling bloated and heavy and unable to even process the idealistic notes of hope they sounded.
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