Follow the Leader: Episode 82: The Four RRRRs!



Martinex1: We have had some great Tuesday conversations lately; let's keep the trend going!  As we do every week at this time...let's Follow the Leader!

Sound and the Fury: The Women of Rock

Redartz:  Growing up in the 70's, most of my peers in school were big fans of bands such as Kiss, Aerosmith, Boston, Styx, and singers like Alice Cooper, Bowie, and John Lennon. I also liked most of these performers, but there was just something missing...females. Unlike some of my friends, I really loved female singers and groups. From pop to soul to rock, 60's to 80's, these ladies filled my speakers with great sounds. 

Heart:  Ann and Nancy Wilson; their act was aptly named. Their music had heart, and loads of it. Heart, power, and emotion; and they produced some very catchy tunes as well. One of my favorites: 

 Heart, "Crazy on You"

 Carly Simon:  A great example of the 'singer songwriter' genre so prevalent in the 70's. Carole King was more influential, Joni Mitchell was edgier (and I loved both of those singers, of course); but Carly was tops in my eyes (and ears). Capable of poignant, sensitive lyrics, energetic rockers, dance tunes, and quirky bizarre-ness, Carly did it all. And with a wonderful, earthy, evocative voice. I collected her lp's as obsessively as I did Spider-man comics. 

Carly Simon, "Haven't Got Time for the Pain"

 Tina Turner:  Nobody, but nobody, can 'belt it out' better than Tina. From the swinging 60's onwards she swung with serious soul. This cut, with Ike, is jaw-dropping. George Harrison had high praise for this performance, and with good reason...

Tina (and Ike) Turner, "River Deep, Mountain High"

The Go-Go's:  Gina Schock, Kathy Valentine,  Charlotte Caffey, Jane Weidlin and Belinda Carlise. These ladies made some of the 'funnest' music of the 80's. Their debut album, "Beauty and the Beat", got worn out in our apartment building. And I got such a kick from them, I saw them live three separate times. Here's a great one:

The Go-Go's, "Skidmarks on my Heart"

 That's just scratching the surface. There are dozens more fab females I could name, but let's hear from you. Which ones rocked your turntable?

Riding the Retro Metro: Saturday July 14, 1984!

Redartz:  Come one, come all; it's time again for a quick quest back to the Bronze Age, courtesy of the Retro Metro!  On the docket today is that epochal year 1984, a true high point in 80's pop culture. In the news, everyone's talking about the US presidential campaign, specifically Democrat Walter Mondale's choice of Geraldine Ferraro as his Vice-Presidential running mate: the first woman on a major party ticket. And there's the Los Angeles Olympic Games, opening despite the boycott by the Soviets. 

There's big news on the music front, as well. The number one song on the US Billboard Chart:  Prince, "When Doves Cry"

The genius from Minnesota gives us this gem from the soundtrack to his current film "Purple Rain". The whole album is incredible, and this cut is one of the best.

Rounding out the top five: 
2.  Bruce Springsteen, "Dancing in the Dark"
3.  The Pointer Sisters, "Jump (For My Love)"
4.  Billy Idol, "Eyes Without a Face"
5.  Duran Duran, "The Reflex"

This is one of those rare occasions when the top five all score high on my personal favorite list. Springsteen's hit is danceable, and infectiously melodic. Billy Idol's "Eyes" is a moody,masterpiece. And Duran Duran score another very catchy hit. 

Some other current hits of note:  Laura Branagan, "Self Control"; just a great song. Ray Parker Jr., "Ghostbusters"; impossible to get out of your head; the theme (obviously) to the current smash hit summer blockbuster film . Eddy Grant, "Romancing the Stone", another excellent movie song; from the man who took us to "Electric Avenue". Thompson Twins, "Doctor! Doctor!"- perfect pop from a fine new group (containing no twins, incidentally).

Tops in the UK:  Frankie Goes to Hollywood, "Two Tribes"

Great song and a cool video; and speaking of video, thanks to MTV and the various video music programs for exposing such acts to those of us in the US starving for the latest sounds from 'across the pond'. And one of these days I might just be seen wearing one of those "Frankie Say" t-shirts.



Ah, before we forget: being Saturday, there may be some benefit to checking out the Saturday morning cartoon highlights:   


Charlie Brown and Snoopy, Bill Melendez brings Charles Shultz' characters to Saturday mornings. It's one of the highlights, well worth a look. 
 



Dungeons and Dragons, based upon the immensely popular role playing game. Our D&D group enjoys catching this show. 

Bugs Bunny, Smurfs, Thundarr the Barbarian, The Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man- all veteran shows by now, but still worth watching. Especially Bugs; you can never go wrong with Warner Bros. cartoons!














As far as prime time is concerned, for tonight's televised offerings, let's check out the TV Guide...

US Television Schedule: 

William Shatner

ABC:  T.J. Hooker, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island

 These days I'm usually busy on Saturday nights. I've missed seeing William Shatner as T.J. Hooker , but I still catch Fantasy Island from time to time. Tattoo never gets old...

CBS:  Whiz Kids, Airwolf, Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer


NBC:  Diff'rent Strokes, Silver Spoons, Mama's Family, People are Funny, The Rousters

 




 NBC relies pretty obviously on it's comedy schedule on Saturday nights. I do have to give a nod to "Mama's Family": Vicki Lawrence is a hoot. Loved that whole shtick since it originated on the incomparable "Carol Burnett Show". A fine comic cast, as well...



 





BBC1:  The Saturday Film: Rio Bravo, Dynasty, Bird of Prey

BBC2:  Primal, Countdown to the Moon, Mick Burke Award 1984, Saturday Review, Cricket: Third Test, Newsnight International: Iran


You know, Saturdays are a perfect time to hit the comic shop (if you're fortunate enough to have one nearby) or the newsstand . Therefore, let's see what's new on the spinner racks:

There's still plenty of excellent reading in comics today! John Byrne continues his epic run on the Fantastic Four, and his Alpha Flight displays some of his finest writing (the terrific artwork needs no explanation). Walt Simonson's Thor is quickly becoming the subject of much attention. Beta Ray Bill is a new character with loads of potential..

There are a couple big anniversary issues out this month, Hulk 300 and Superman 400 (one of those spectaculars with a veritable "Who's Who" of creators involved; buy it for the pinups if for no other reason). 

Then there's "Secret Wars"; Marvel's big company wide project from Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck. Some love it, some hate it; I find it fairly entertaining. 

Away from the Big Two, the indies have loads to offer. Bill Messner-Loebs' "Journey" is one of the most unique, most engaging epics in comics. And "Love and Rockets", by Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, is truly wonderful. Graphically beautiful; not really for kids but perfect for a college art student!
So perfect, in fact, I'm off to read an issue. Thus, we say goodbye to 1984, and return to whenever/wherever we find ourselves now. Hope we triggered a few fond memories; if so, be sure to share!

Chew the Fat: When The "Camp" Kept You Away From Comics!





Martinex1: Has there ever been a portrayal of your favorite heroes that did not live up to your standards of  "seriousness"?  As you know I loved comic books and I still do, but when younger I always felt that there had to be an earnestness to the heroes.  And I was always a little underwhelmed when they were treated with less gravity than I expected.  I am not saying I was right - certainly I was probably too dedicated to their standard portrayal in my youth.  For me, characters had to be on model in both depiction and characterization. That is partially why I admire Jim Shooter; he generally seemed to keep the artists on point and on model when handling the Marvel cast of characters (although below I do include some examples from his era of leadership that may seem counter to that thought).  When the character's portrayal was simplified or humorous it turned me off.  For me that is true for the protagonists, villains, and even various supporting casts.  Camp had to be handled very carefully in my eyes.


So even though Spidey Super Stories was designed for children and for easy reading, I couldn't stomach the silliness.  How about you?

 

 

And even though I can laugh at Silver Age antics and appreciate it within the context of the time, when I first ran across issues like these I had a hard time.  How about you?

I enjoyed whenever my favorite heroes made it to the television screen, but even at a young age I wanted the characters to be respected, so goofy portrayals left a bad taste in my mouth (even if I would never miss an episode no matter what).   How about you?

I had nearly complete runs of The Avengers and Marvel Team-Up, but these examples left me cold and I left them on the spinner rack for a long time.   This would have seemed appropriate to me in Mad Magazine (and I would have been perfectly fine with that), but to have such silly portrayals and antics in the main books never sat well with me.  It is odd I know, but did anybody else feel the same way?

 

 Did anybody see this TV version of the JLA?  What did you think?  Did it make you cringe?

 

 

Or how about Garrett Morris as Ant-Man and John Belushi as the Hulk?  This I liked - it was funny but it was in the right context. And it was strangely spot-on.   Why do I consider this differently?



And how about Spider-Man on The Electric Company?  Good or bad for you? I am not certain how I feel.

On the other hand, I know exactly what I feel about The Thing from Hanna-Barbera! "Ring thing, do your thing!"  This did no-Thing for me!

I loved the Super Friends every Saturday morning, and yet I had mixed feelings about them on occasion. Were they too dumbed down?  What do you think?

 

 

Whatever you feel and whatever you think, please let us know.  Chew the Fat today about the level of gravitas acceptable for your favorite heroes!  Share your own examples!  Where do you draw the line or do you have no line at all to draw?  Let's get the BitBA conversation going!  Cheers!

Follow the Leader: Episode 81: Rockstar - The Second Time!

Martinex1: Books, novels, authors, movies, directors,auteurs, actors, genres, music, albums, bands, singers, comic books, characters, powers, story lines, food, culture, collectibles, television... what's it going to be today?  Let's Follow the Leader and find out!  Somebody get us started!

Pulled from the Pack: Marvel and DC Trading Cards!

Martinex1: I have a very simple question for you all today... did you collect comic book trading cards? And if so, which did you collect and what were your favorites?  Honestly, I only dabbled in it and never kept the cards.   One series I did enjoy was from Marvel (~1990) and it featured the first issue covers from many titles. Before the internet and access to any detail necessary about the genre, that series was very cool for a collector. But I just never kept them in order or in a neat fashion like my actual comics.  I am curious why you did or did not collect trading cards; share your memories and thoughts with us here at BitBA! Here are some examples that may jog your memories.