Redartz: Greetings once again; your ride is ready for another trip aboard the Retro Metro! This time, we aim for the year 1979. Times were tough , as the headlines were filled with stories about the aftermath of the regime of dictator Pol Pot in Cambodia. Then there's the ongoing revolutionary turmoil in Iran. In the US, the economy is still struggling; Chrysler has asked the government for a billion dollar bailout to stay afloat. During such times, it helps to seek some diversion in the form of popular culture. Therefore, let's hear the top song on the US Billboard Hot 100: Donna Summer, "Bad Girls"...
Donna's had a lock on the top spot since mid-July. A mammoth follow-up to her previous hit "Hot Stuff", another chart topper for disco's reigning diva.
Rounding out the top five:
2. Chic, "Good Times"
3. Barbara Streisand, "The Main Event/ Fight"
4. The Knack, "My Sharona"
5. John Stewart, "Gold"
To be honest,most of the top five this week leave me cold. I'm more tuned into the emerging New wave rather than the disco scene. But "My Sharona" seems to be garnering a lot of press for the Knack; some calling them the new Beatles (of course, we've heard that one before). And that John Stewart song is pretty good.
Further down the chart, some other tunes deserve mention: ELO, "Don't Bring Me Down"; a good solid rocker from Jeff Lynne and co. Charlie Daniels Band, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" : a story song, with some cool fiddle work. I love a good story song. The Cars, "Let's Go": Off their new lp "Candy-O", the Cars give us a fine bit of New wave-tinged rock. ABBA, "Does Your Mother Know": The foursome from Sweden just keep putting out phenomenal pop songs, one after another. Supertramp, "Goodbye Stranger": Supertramp's album "Breakfast in America" is amazing, loaded with good songs. And this is a great one (although you want to hear the full version, not the trimmed single version).
The Cars, "Let's Go"
Tops in the UK: The Boomtown Rats, "I Don't Like Mondays"
Having checked out the music world, let's see what's in store on the small screen tonight:
US Television Schedule:
ABC: Monday Night Baseball
Baseball fan that I am, I don't watch this very often. Generally because of the appeal of the strong CBS lineup.
CBS: WKRP in Cincinnati, Flatbush, M*A*S*H, One Day at a Time, Lou Grant
Yes, this is quite a schedule. M*A*S*H remains great, One Day at a Time is entertaining, but WKRP is a blast! A brilliant comic cast; among them are Gary Sandy, Howard Hesseman, Gordon Jump, Loni Anderson and (my current crush) Jan Smithers. The show features embedded pop music, likeable characters and plenty of craziness.
And at the end of the evening, Lou Grant is a great finish. Ed Asner is always a pleasure to watch. It's intriguing to see the turn from the comedic Grant of "Mary Tyler Moore" to the dramatic newsroom version we see here.
WKRP in Cincinnati Intro
NBC: Little House on the Prairie, NBC Monday Night at the Movies
NBC Monday Night at the Movies Intro
BBC1: Explorers of the Deep, Raintree County, World of Panorama
BBC2: For Valour, The Waltons, T.J. Thorpe Sings Country, Inside Story, Best of Brass
That "Explorers of the Deep" sounds good; on this side of the pond we often see Jacques Cousteau featured on National Geographic specials.
Now then, we always love some good reading material. With that in mind, shall we investigate the offerings out now on the spinner racks?
As usual, there are plenty of temptations available. As summer is winding down, the Annuals still keep coming, and here's two good ones. The Avengers annual features a Bill Mantlo story with Don Newton artwork; a bit of a departure from the norm. Then there's the Amazing Spider-Man annual; a great Dr. Octopus tale with art by John Byrne! A favorite villain and a favorite penciller; that adds up to a must-buy.
On the other hand, the new Howard the Duck magazine seems to have lost something. That something would be Steve Gerber, unfortunately...
Daredevil looks like another winner; Bullseye by Frank Miller. Can't beat that.
DC has a big anniversary spectacular for Action Comics, telling Superman's life story as presented by Martin Pasko and Curt Swan. With a cool infinity cover, to boot.
Also from DC, a new anthology called "Time Warp". Science fiction tales make up the content, appropriately enough, for this book. I'll definitely give this a try.
Speaking of time warps, it's time we wrap up this visit to the Bronze age. Thanks for joining us; and keep your eyes peeled for the next journey on the Retro; coming soon!
9 comments:
You can pick any month in 1979 and it will really push all of my warm-and-fuzzy nostalgia buttons as far as comics are concerned. Like the last time 1979 came, I can say that I had most (8) of the titles you have pictured, and a look over at Mike's Newsstand confirms that I had a bunch more besides that. I agree totally about the two annuals, Avengers and Spider-man, which have long been personal favorites. The Iron Man and Daredevil issues were definitely highlights of the month, as well as Marvel 2-in-1, as the Project Pegasus saga headed toward its conclusion. Also notable that month for me: X-men (of course - right in the middle of the Proteus story), Avengers #189 (the Hawkeye solo story, art by Byrne), Fantastic Four #212 (Wolfman's epic Xander/Skrull/Galactus nearing its conclusion, again with Byrne doing the pencils), and Micronauts #11 (the conclusion to the initial story arc in that series).
On the music of the time, I don't recall really liking any of those top 5 hits (I think I like "My Sharona" now more than I did then), but I was at that point becoming a big fan of ELO (my older brother had two of their albums, and I loved listening to them) and also Supertramp (same thing, my brother had Breakfast in America, which, as you noted, is packed with awesome songs). And I loved "Let's Go," and became a Cars fan as a result.
The standout for the TV listings you mentioned is WKRP - I *loved* that show.
This would be nearing the wrap-up of the summer between graduating high school and starting college for me personally. If telenovellas were written about doofy/geeky, behind-the-maturity-curve Medwestern American teenage boys, this summer would have been a ratings-tsunami. . . Today the letter "C" is brought to you by the words Clueless, Crass, and Cringe-worthy!
I know I'd stopped watching TV at this point. . . mostly 'cause I was too flippin' busy. And at this point it was getting to the dregs of the re-run schedule anyhow-- or the wrap-ups of failed summer-replacement series'. (Were those still around in '79-?). Of the shows noted, MASH was probably the only one I still tried to catch. ONE DAY AT A TIME started to grate on my nerves early on w/ the relentless fighting between the sisters and their mother (PAINFULLY like one aspect of our own unpleasant household at the time); plus I didn't care for the fluidity in the "outside friend" role (really like Richard Masur a lot); PLUS, geeze, I simply could not abide how an utterly detestable, creepy, don't-leave-him-with-your-daughters! sickazoid like Schneider could not only be abided. . . but eventually warmly embraced as part of the "family". Perfect example of the "Dr Smith-ization" of a malevolent character. (Hmm-- maybe that's a future discussion topic down the road. . . ?)
I was in the car a LOT during that summer (WLS again-- yeah, man!), and despite the chart, here, I'm thinking we were looking at the just about the end of the brief but nova-like Reign of Disco, yes? 'Cause I'm remembering a LOT of Supertramp, Blondie, the Knack, the Cars, Neil Young, Pat Benetar(I think?), etc, etc blaring out of the dorm windows into the inner courtyard barely three weeks after this. . . and already disco was seeming sooooooo totally previous-lifetime. . . and it had exactly zero presence on our campus in the late summer/early fall of '79.
Biggest comic regret? For some inexplicable reason, I'd stopped buying X-Men at this point. It was SO GOOD. . . and I even knew it! And I still just let it go. . . and had to go back and later re-acquire all of the brilliance that was about to transpire. . .
Say, what were our big movie blockbusters that summer? I haven't looked it up. . . anybody remember purely off the top of their heads?
HB
There wasn't anything on the BBC that day that would be of any interest to me, although it is oddly pleasing to see that Judi Dench was doing a stint reading out stories on early morning children's television.
When it comes to the UK singles chart, I have high expectations because I always see 1979 as my favourite year for music. Taking a look at that week's chart, I approve of:
1. I Don't Like Mondays - The Boomtown Rats.
2. We Don't Talk Anymore - Cliff Richard.
9. Girls' Talk - Dave Edmunds' Rockpile.
11. Beat the Clock - Sparks.
13. Breakfast in America - Supertramp.
19. Are Friends Electric? - Gary Numan.
24. Gangsters - The Specials.
30. Is She Really Going Out With Him? - Joe Jackson.
35. Kid - The Pretenders.
47. Money - The Flying Lizards.
60. Up the Junction - Squeeze.
67. Living on the Front Line - Eddie Grant.
75. Playground Twist - Siouxsie and the Banshees.
I was seven at the time, so I remember a lot of this stuff. I played My Sharona to death on our record player and drove my parents crazy.
WKRP, MASH, and One Day at a Time would've been the big shows for me. My parents watched the Waltons, but I always found it boring.
Some great comics, as already mentioned. Miller on DD, that cool Spidey annual with Doc Ock, Iron Man by Michelinie/Layton and JR Jr. I was a bit disappointed by the Spider-Man/Spider Woman x-over, as they didn't really interact much if I recall. I've reviewed some of these DCs on my blog: Batman, Action, DC Presents, and JLA (which I think is the concluding chapter of the "Who Killed Mr. Terrific" story).
Three thoughts music-wise this week in 1979.
1) Half the Rolling Stones, in the form of the New Barbarians, were leading off for Led Zeppelin.
2) The Sugar Hill Gang recorded Rapper’s Delight I’ve met people world wide who know that song and break out into “I said a hip hop, hippie to the hippie, the hip, hip a hop, and don’t stop!” LOL. That thing was a cultural phenom and wore out many a needle on the turn table!
3) Michael Jackson's Off the Wall is erupting, bringing him back from nowhere-ville, and commencing a 10-year run as the King of Pop!
As an aside has anyone caught Ronnie Woods talk show on AXS TV? (It’s a cable station.) It is a cool show… loose format… great guests from the world of music… great anecdotes... really laisse faire. Last night I’m watching and Woodie breaks out his guitar and a cig and just starts jamming with some 50s rock song he and his guest are discussing as it is being played aloud. It’s a hell of a trip down Memory Lane. I do recommend it. Next episode this Weds night!
Hotel, Motel, Holiday Inn... Say WHAT???
This was on the cusp of my comics hiatus. I had the Annuals pictured, and bought Action Comics 500 based on the infinity cover alone. What a great cover! And you're right about that CBS line-up, Redartz - what a juggernaut.
Charlie, often I think I like Off the Wall more than I like Thriller.
Also, the Knack's debut album really is solid. Bawdy at times, but the guys could play. I guess egos got the best of them?
Doug
Thanks for chiming in today, everyone!
Edo- Mike's Newsstand is invaluable. And yes, it sure exposes 1979 for the treasure trove of comicdom that it was.
HB- good point about the Summer rerun period. Nowadays shows seem to start and end at various times throughout the calendar year, although there is still a definite 'Fall Season' for tv debuts. But back then, the warm months were pretty barren, unless there was one of the Summer replacement shows such as you mentioned.
Steve D.C.- the year in music for the UK was much stronger than the year in the US, imho. Glad you mentioned Rockpile! My college roommate introduced me to Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds, and from there it was a short leap to try that Rockpile LP. One of the best albums that many folks 'over here' probably never heard.
Charlie and Doug- good call on "Off the Wall". A fantastic 'return' to the top for the future King of Pop.
Loved that issue of Justice League of America with its Earth One Earth Two gathering.
The Wolfman Xandar Skrull story in Fantastic Four was a great read.
Big fan of WKRP
That was a great time and year for me. I can pinpoint exactly where I was on that date - traveling to the Grand Tetons with my family and reading the Avengers Annual 9 in the back of the van. Good times.
That is a better annual than people may know. I thought it was very well done - though not typical in art or story.
Cheers.
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