Living in a Material World
Madonna had it right. We are indeed living in a material world. It is damn near impossible to watch TV today without hearing your favorite 80s songs as the backdrop to one commercial or another selling everything from candy bars (see PayDay’s use of “Bust a Move”) to insurance (see Liberty Mutual Insurance’s use of “Human” by Human League). How I feel about this trend varies with its use. I don’t have a global position on the issue as...
Mary Lou Retton
By Julie Anderson Okay, eighties kids, close your eyes and picture Mary Lou Retton’s face. Go ahead. Do it. Photo credit: Newsweek Archivist I bet you a gazillion bucks that you pictured her with a big, enthusiastic smile, right? Mary Lou Retton was the embodiment of the happy, healthy, bouncy female athlete in the 80s. Totally. Mary Lou Retton just radiated sweetness and energy, didn’t she? Dude – she STILL does: Retton was born on...
Live Aid (1985)
Live Aid was a two-part fundraising concert that took place on July 13, 1985. Bob Geldolf (who starred in the 1982 movie “Pink Floyd The Wall” and was lead singer of The Boomtown Rats) and Midge Ure (of Thin Lizzy and Ultravox) organized the mega-event to raise money for the Ethiopian famine. They billed it as a “global jukebox.” 72,000 fans in the United Kingdom attended a concert at Wembley Stadium in London, while 100,000 fans went...
Manhunter (1986)
By Michael Nazarewycz FBI-man Jack Crawford (Dennis Farina) has a problem. Two Georgia families in two Georgia cities have been brutally murdered. He knows that the two crimes are connected, based on the killer’s modus operandi, and the clincher is that the killings are happening based on the lunar cycle, which leaves Jack only three weeks before the next full moon and before the killer, dubbed “The Tooth Fairy” because of his...
Q&A with Heart
June 2012 On the 5th of this month, Heart released a 3 CD, 1 DVD career-spanning box set, “Strange Euphoria.” And what a career it has been—one stretching over 4 decades. And, they are not done. For Heart fans craving new music, they’ve got an album coming out this fall, “Fanatic,” which they are supporting with an active tour schedule (we are disappointed they won’t be playing anywhere near us). Clearly, these are some very busy...
