Redartz: Greetings once again, friends! Time for another quick quest back to our collective youths; today focusing on the 13th. of September in that memorable year 1982. The world faces turmoil in Lebanon, and we all followed the uprising of "Solidarity" in Poland. But at home, we were still talking about "E.T. the Extraterrestrial", and eating Reese's Pieces. And many of us were tuning in the radio to hear Chicago's big comeback hit:
Tops on the US Billboard Pop Chart : Chicago, " Hard to Say I'm Sorry"
Rounding out the top five:
2. Survivor- "Eye of the Tiger"
3. Steve Miller Band- "Abracadabra"
4. John Cougar Mellencamp- "Jack and Diane"
5. Air Supply- "Even the Nights are Better"
As always, I am religiously tuning in to Casey Kasem and "AT40", but this week most of my favorites are further down the chart. Most notable is a very cool song from a new wave group :A Flock of Seagulls "I Ran", everybody at our college is dancing to it. And of course we follow the Billboard UK chart to see what new acts are upcoming, as the "New Wave" crashes over American shores.
There's also a hilarious new tune from Frank Zappa puncturing the current 'valley girl' phenomenon, appropriately called "Valley Girl". His daughter joins him on the record, and does a fabulous job! And as comeback songs are big right now (Chicago and Steve Miller in the top 5), I'm loving the new single from America : "You Can Do Magic".
A Flock of Seagulls, "I Ran"
Tops in the UK: Survivor, "Eye of the Tiger"
Now that we've caught up on the latest music, let's check out tonight's entertainment offerings on the tube. There's some new options, as the Fall Season is just beginning...
U.S. Television Schedules:
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| ABC's Monday Night Football Crew |
ABC: That's Incredible!, ABC NFL Monday Night Football
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| Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly of Cagney & Lacey |
CBS: Square Pegs, Private Benjamin, M*A*S*H, Newhart, Cagney & Lacey
Square Pegs Opening
NBC: Little House: A New Beginning, NBC Monday Night at the Movies
BBC1: Angels, The Wonderful World of Disney, Panorama, The Monday Film: Lady Sings the Blues
BBC2: Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery, One Hundred Great Paintings, The Forest of Dean, The Two Ronnies, Kevin Turvey- The Man Behind the Green Door, Hypnosis, Cartoon Two
Not much of a football fan at this point, so I generally miss Howard Cosell and Don Meredith on ABC. It seems like just about everyone else in the US watches MNF regularly, though. Meanwhile, on CBS, Square Pegs is a new show I never want to miss. It casts a group of kids uncomfortably similar to me and my friends, and has a knockout theme song by the Waitresses. Newhart is also good viewing; Bob's perfectly deadpan delivery never disappoints.
Now here at college, tv viewing still takes a backseat to comics reading, so what say we see the goodies awaiting on the spinner racks (or on the shelf at our local comic shop):
I have to grab that "Smurfs" comic, it's one of the few Saturday morning shows I still get up for. The Teen Titans are still knocking it out of the park under the team of Marv Wolfman and George Perez. Also, that Marvel Graphic Novel introducing the "New Mutants" appears to be a solid pick. Plus another incredible John Byrne effort on "Fantastic Four" and a couple of Annuals make this a rewarding trip to the stands.
And now, before we turn from the 80's and toward the 20teens, take a moment to remember where you were, what you did, and what you enjoyed about the era. Take a turn at the wheel of the Retro Metro and tell us about your 1982...
