Turn On The Video: Cheap Trick On YouTube
Published on July 30th, 2009 in: Issues, Music, Reviews, Video |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
Published on May 30th, 2009 in: Issues, Music, Retrovirus, Video |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)
Published on May 30th, 2009 in: Issues, Listicles, Music, Retrovirus, Top Five Lists, Video |By Hanna
1. In the future, David Bowie will flirt with black men and we will do experimental dance. ALL DAY.
The Sepia Tint of Doom: Worst Ideas for Rock Photography
Published on March 30th, 2009 in: Issues, Music, Top Five Lists, Video |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
Published on November 29th, 2008 in: Issues, Movies, Music, Retrovirus, Top Five Lists, Video |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
Published on November 29th, 2008 in: Comedy, Issues, Retrovirus, TV, Video |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!
Published on November 29th, 2008 in: Issues, Music, Retrovirus, Video |
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.
Nobody Takes Me Seriously, Anyway: Split Enz
Published on November 29th, 2008 in: Issues, Music, Retrovirus, Video, We Miss The Nineties |[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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Teach Yourself Stevie Riks: Q & A
Published on November 29th, 2008 in: Comedy, Issues, Music, Q&A, Retrovirus, Video |By Hanna
Wikipedia calls Stevie Riks a “British comedian and musical impressionist,” but that hardly does him justice. Since he seems to believe that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I’ve put together a short guide to Stevie Riks fandom.
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Rue Morgue’s Festival of Fear: Toronto FanExpo 2008
Published on September 29th, 2008 in: Art, Canadian Content, Conventions/Expos, Halloween, Horror, Issues, Movies, Radio, Video |By Less Lee Moore
Being a tremendous fan of things Halloween- and horror-related, I look forward to the Rue Morgue Festival of Fear each year at the Toronto FanExpo. It’s a genuine thrill for me to look at original artwork, drool over horror movie posters, create my ongoing DVD wish list at the Anchor Bay store, and watch people wander around in costume.
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