THIS GIRL'S PERSONAL JOURNEY

I have to admit my all-time least favorite band during the 1980s was - hands down - Journey, and Steve, my podcast co-pilot, knows this.

But, something happened back in 2001 when I was housesitting for my best friend and, totally bored, I watched the VH1 "Behind The Music" about the band. I got SO WRAPPED UP in Steve Perry's personal story, all the stuff about his mother, his relationship. By the time "Faithfully" came on, I was crying. Seriously. My friend even called me at her house and asked how it was going.

"I'm watching the Journey "Behind the Music" and I'm totally bawling."

-silence-

Yeah, I'm into Journey now. When the band comes on the jukebox at Mastry's, my friend Patty (a Times photo editor) and I sing along. We're usually pretty drunk. Who can resist those choruses with all the gerunds ("lovin' touchin' squeezin' also, crying, and believin',)

And, though I've done karoake to a wide, wide, array of tunes, to this day my very favorite:

"Any Way You Want It"

Try it. You will never be the same.

My five fave Journey tunes, in order:
"Don't Stop Believin'
"Any Way You Want It"
"Wheels In the Sky"
"Faithfully"
"Lights"

Those crazy nights, I do remember, from my youth...

"...I do recall, those were the best times, most of all In the heat with a blue jean girl Burnin' love comes once in a lifetime She found me singing by the rail road track Took me home, we danced by moonlight" ("Stone in Love" - lyrics)

Yes, gentle 80s fans, it's Journey week on "Stuck on the 80s". We'll be discussing the band on this week's podcast. Don't even PRETEND you didn't listen to them. I have tons of Journey stories to share, and Times pop critic Sean Daly will join Gina and me. AND YES, I'm wearing the concert shirt to work Thursday.

Here's my top 5 list of Journey songs:
5) Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
4) Lights
3) Only The Young
2) Anyway You Want It
1) Stone in Love

Least favorite one: Who's Crying Now.

OUR '80s ICONS R.I.P.

Because I have issues, and it was a Thursday and I really only wanted to see ONE band on the bill at the Bank in downtown St. Pete tonight, I spent an ungodly amount of time with my well-perused copy of THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ROCK OBITUARIES (Thank you Nick Talevski, you sick, sick man!)

I found the following musical people from our beloved era DEAD AS A DOORNAIL:

* D. Boon, guitarist, the Minutemen, (van accident while on tour, 1985)
* Darby Crash, singer, the Germs, (heroin overdose, 1980)
* Ian Curtis, singer, Joy Division, (suicide by hanging, 1980)
* Pete DeFreitas, drummer, Echo & the Bunymen, (motorcycle accident, 1989)
* Divine (heart attack, 1988)
* Patti Donahue, singer, the Waitresses "I Know What Boys Like" (cancer, 1996)
* Pete Farndon, bassist, the Pretenders (drowned in his bathtub as a result of taking too much heroin - the needle was still in his arm, 1983)
* James Honeyman-Scott, guitarist, the Pretenders (cocaine and heroin overdose, 1982)
* Michael Hutchence, singer, INXS (found dead in his hotel room after apparently having hung himself. He was found naked by the maid. There was alcohol and cocaine in his system, 1997))
* Klaus Nomi, singer (complications from AIDS, 1983)
* Rob Pilatus, "singer," Milli Vanilli (heart failure as a result of a lethal combination of drugs and alcohol. He had previously attempted suicide several years before, 1998)
* Razzle, drummer, Hanoi Rocks (automobile accident - Vince Neil, singer of Motley Crue was driving the car, drunk, 1984)
* Randy Rhoads, guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne (airplane crash, 1984)
* Hillel Slovak, guitarist, Red Hot Chili Peppers (heroin overdose, 1988)
* Jermaine Stewart, singer/dancer, Shalamar and solo artist "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off" (liver cancer, 1996)
* Bob Stinson, the Replacements (drug overdose, 1995)
* Chuck Wagon, keyboardist, the Dickies (suicide, 1981)
* Patrick Waite, bassist, Musical Youth "Pass the Dutchie" (suffering from an undiagnosed viral infection and resulting enlarged heart and lung congestion, he collapsed, hit the floor, and died instantly at age 24, 1993)
* Jeff Ward, drummer (briefly) in Nine Inch Nails, Ministry and Low Pop Suicide (suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning, 1993)
* Rozz Williams, singer, Christian Death (suicide by hanging, 1998)
* Wendy O. Williams, singer, the Plasmatics (suicide by gunshot, 1998)
* Ricky Wilson, guitarist, the B-52s (complications from AIDS, 1985)

JOE LIES - AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT!

And, please, after you listen to our podcast, feel free to shop around on www80stees.com - and check out this brilliant blouse:

http://www.80stees.com/products/Say-Anything-shirt-Joe-lies.asp

Dare I say? A classic

The latest "Stuck in the 80s" podcast is online! Whoo-hoo. Click here to download and listen now

Let us know what you think....

BOW WOW WOW RAISES EYEBROWS

The band Bow Wow Wow caused a scandal in August 1981 because the album cover for its debut restaged the classic 1863 Manet painting "Le Dejeuner Sur L'herbe," ("Lunch On The Grass") featuring the band - with lead singer Annabella Lwin as the erotic "nude".

However, mohawked Lwin was only 15 years old at the time and some critics, including Lwin's mother, were not pleased.

And so began a legal battle between Lwin's mum and the band's manager- the connniving and brilliant Malcolm McLaren, the same fella behind the Sex Pistols, who discovered lil' Lwin working behind the counter at a dry cleaners when a year before.

The album, "See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah. City All Over! Go Ape Crazy!,'' was released in England a month later with a different cover.

However, I got a copy Of a Bow Wow Wow EP in America with the Manet mimic cover. Did you?

Remember those fantastic Bow Wow Wow singles from all throughout the bands' career?

"I Want Candy?" "Do You Want To Hold Me?"

"Louis Quartoze" & "Cowboy"?

with all the fun, frantic tribal beats?

Lloyd Dobbler, all right...

Remember "Say Anything"? Of course you do. John Cusack plays Lloyd Dobbler, a character by which every girl would measure their boyfriends against. Ione Sky is "golden girl" Diane Court, the impossibly unobtainable object of his affection. But does that stop our boy Lloyd? Not as long as he has Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" on his boom box!

It's the first movie directed by genius film god Cameron Crowe, and it's -- dare I say -- a CLASSIC 80s flick. And it's the subject of our "Stuck in the 80s" podcast this week.

This might be the first time Gina and I actually agree on a topic, so don't miss it.

In the meantime, a question: Best male character in an 80s movie -- Lloyd Dobbler (Say Anything), Ferris Bueller (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) or Ducky Dale (Pretty in Pink)?

No, not this song again!

Those who listen to radio in the Tampa Bay area ought to be familiar with 101.5-FM The Point, which plays only 80s music. At first, this is a blessing of course. God bless the music of the 80s. We haven't had decent music since. And I can say it's probably the only radio station I listen to, when I'm not listening to CDs. But a little can go a long way.

And thus, I present my list of MOST OVERPLAYED SONGS OF THE 80s:
5) Everybody Have Fun Tonight (Wang Chung)
4) Tainted Love (Soft Cell)
3) Love Shack (B-52s)
2) Pour Some Sugar on Me (Def Leppard)
1) I Melt with You (Modern English)

It's not that I don't like these songs. I'm quite partial to the top song on the list actually. Give me your list if you don't like mine.

STRAY CATS BEGIN THEIR STRUT

On August 20, 1980, the Stray Cats, an American rockabilly band stuck in a sea of New Wave, got their first review in the British music magazine NME ---and it's a rave!

The trio's members, Brian Setzer (photo right), Slim Jim Phantom and and Lee Rocker, are all under 20, but manage to intrigue the fussy British press with a stripped down 1950s sound of slapping upright bass, snappy snare drums and Setzer's twangy Gretsch guitar and moony vocals.

The review is of a live show, which includes a ditty called "Rock This Town," which would go on to become a hit for the band, as well as a cover of the Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love."

Rockabilly? Who ever heard of such a thing!

I remember thinking: those guys are freaks. Where's the keyboards? Where's the foo foo dance music? Give me make-up on a guy THAT MAKES SENSE! (i.e. Adam Ant's tribal war paint?) Brian Setzer freaked me out with his skinny arms, tattoos and '50s "hood" pompadour.

Man, was I square. It took me several more years to learn about Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, fast cars, and the roots of rock 'n' roll.

I just wanna be a Ramone!

Stuck in the 80s Podcast #5 -- Gabba, Gabba Hey! -- is online, and it rocks, baby. It rocks. Especially the music clip "I Wanna Be a Ramone" by Tampa Bay punk band Car Bomb Driver. Say hi to our podcast special guest, Dave Reeder (photo right).

Listen to our podcast and let us know if you know the answers to the various questions we pose during the broadcast. For example, in "Do You Remember Rock and Rock Radio?", who is "OI Moulty"? We're clueless.

Download and rock out now!

All hail the punk rock gods

It's Thursday, and over at the luxury penthouse that we like call the St. Pete Times Website Spa & Resort, that means it's podcast recording day. Today, Gina's bringing a special guest with her to discuss the Ramones. (Hopefully it's nobody from the cast of either Rock 'n' Roll High School movie.) Stay tuned for a link to the broadcast. Or even better, just subscribe to the podcast. It's free, and Gina will send you an autographed picture of herself from the 80s.

In the meantime, some Ramones trivia: The Ramones once released a Christmas song. What was its title?

Online 80s karaoke

Ready to annoy your family and coworkers?

Online karaoke

Personally, I like doing "We Built This City on Rock and Roll," which was named worst song of the decade by VH1, I believe. There is absolutely no way that was the worst song of the 80s. That would go to "Mickey" by Toni Basil or Wham's "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go".

Any blitzkrieg boppers out there?

The first-ever box set by the Ramones goes on sale Aug. 16. "Weird Tales of the Ramones" has 85 songs, 18 music videos and a booklet containing work from 25 top comic artists.

Any Ramones fans out there? Tune in to our upcoming podcast for much more on the band. Personally, I never even heard of them until I saw them in "Rock 'n' Roll High School." A very bad movie, true, but the music was good. (Don't even mention the sequel -- let's just say Corey Feldman ... that's all you need to know.)

Is "Rock 'n' Roll High School" the worst movie to feature a big-time rock star? Put aside the music and just judge the movie. You also get movies like Purple Rain (Prince) and Hard to Hold (Rick Springfield) to consider. Tell us what you think.

Sing Blue Silver

Not to create overkill on Duran Duran, but my personal fave onscreen event for them is "Sing Blue Silver," a documentary made during their "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" tour of 1984. It's actually available on DVD right now. In same ways, the band members are so hopelessly playing up to the camera that it seems campy in almost a "Spinal Tap" way. You'll particularly enjoy the scenes with the band's road manager, Spy Matthews. "A scoreboard 50 feet off the floor? You must be mad!!"

Even if you have even lukewarm interest in the Duran Duran, this is a must-see rental. (Have you seen it, Gina? It is -- dare i say -- a classic. Especially when Simon can't find his wristbands.)

A DURAN DURAN PAN : 1982

In the second week of August, 1982, the British music magazine NME had this rather unsavory review of the brand new Duran Duran single: "Get yourself into the most sloppy, lugubrious mood possible and pretend that you can hear something medium and ploddy with too many acoustic guitars, a tear-jerking synth line and a song equally remarkable for its portentousness, its blandness and its utter vacuity. If you have followed these instructions faithfully, you have just imagined the new Duran Duran single.''

The song? "Save A Prayer.'' Which went to UK chart position #2, its biggest hit yet.

Of course, Duran Duran went on to woo the world, and was one of the hottest bands of the early 1980s.

Nick Rhodes, as many know, was my husband during grades 6 - 8, which made MY middle school years a juggle. I wouldn't trade those days for anything. It was a whirlwind and it made my passing pre-algebra a hassle, but it gave me my first taste of "life in the biz.'' (I love you Nick, wherever you are, you little orange-haired scoundrel, you!)

HEY! LET'S VOTE HERE!

VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE NICK RHODES HAIRDO!

I know what mine was NOT! The "Planet Earth" white cotton candy 'fro. My fave? Nick's orange hair in the "Is There Something I Should I Know?" video. YUM.

VOTE NOW!!

Joe Cool

Joe Jackson, who had a hit with "Steppin' Out" in 1982, turns 51 today. Though that was Joe's only hit in the 80s, he went on to win a Grammy in 1999 for best pop instrumental album ("Symphony No. 1").

Joe might unfortunately be remembered best as one of the least video-friendly artists of the time (see photo). Sorry, Joe. Love that song though!

80s marathon on VH1

Eighties fans, we've hit the motherlode -- an "I Love the 80s" marathon on VH1 on Wednesday through 10 p.m. Get your Tivo cranked up.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, SEAN AND MADONNA

Twenty years ago this week the Material Girl married Sean Penn. Why? Madonna met the notoriously ill-tempered Hollywood bad boy on the set of the video for "Material Girl" as her star was rising, rising, rising. Penn was a publicity shy actor with a penchant for BEATING UP PHOTOGRAPHERS. This, as anyone could see, was a match made in hell.

But, on August 16, 1985 - Madonna's 27th birthday, the two tied the knot. It was a media circus. The paparazzi went nuts with helicopters swooping over the couple as they exchanged vows on a Malibu mountaintop. Penn fired a gun at the copters, carved obscenities into the sand for them to photograph and screamed at them.

"It was like Vietnam,'' Madonna told the press later.

As was the couples' stormy four year marriage.

After allegations of abuse and plenty of heated public arguments, Madonna filed for divorce a second time in 1989 and the two split up.

Our Sean and Madonna tribute podcast is now online! [Click to download]

Just what I needed!

There's no way I'm actually seeing this movie (in the theaters anyway), but Disney's "Sky High" has a killer soundtrack with loads of 80s covers. Try "Melt with You" by Bowling for Soup. Or Devo's "Through Being Cool" remastered by my personal faves They Might Be Giants. Other covers include: "Everybody Wants To Rule The World," "True," "And She Was," "Just What I Needed," "One Thing Leads To Another" and "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want."

(Personally, I think "Melt with You" still gets too much airtime on 80s stations. But you gotta give a high five for picking up the underappreciated Talking Heads and Cars tunes.)

Nice to see we're raising today's youngsters on the real classics. Maybe I'll buy a copy of the soundtrack and mail it to Paul Anka -- to show him how 80s tunes really ought to be sung. (Take that, Gina!)

Totally bogus

OK, who stole my DVD of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High"? I planned my whole day around coming home, pouring a nice drink, and putting on that opus of the 80s. It was for research, of course. On Tuesday, we're recording a special Sean and Madonna podcast and I needed a little Jeff Spicoli for inspiration. Alas, my DVD is missing. Thankfully I know the entire movie line by line anyway. "What Jefferson was saying was 'We left this England place because it was bogus. If we don't get some cool rules ourselves -- pronto ... well, then we'll just be bogus too,' yea?"

Even NASA has 80s fans

For those of us who had to be awake and at work by 4 a.m. for the originally scheduled space shuttle landing today (ok, that's only me), there was at least some happy 80s music to enjoy on TV coverage.

NASA woke up the crew by playing "Come On Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners (a reference to shuttle commander Eileen Collins). Ah, that's a song that doesn't get its due anymore. Poor Dex. After getting mocked on the Simpson's Grammy episode ("You beat Dexy's Midnight Runners" .... "Well, we haven't heard the last from them!"), there wasn't much chance that our dungaree-clad UK buddies would rise above 80s trivia obscurity.

Dexy's Midnight Runners formed in the late 1970s -- their name comes from dexedrine, the amphetamine popular in the music scene at the time. In 1982, the song "Come On Eileen" hit the top of the charts in the UK (that'd be United Kingdom, not University of Kentucky, where I'm sure the song never charted at all). It'd take another year to reach the top of the charts over here in the colonies. It took 18 months for the band to crank out another album. Too late. Frontman Kevin Rowland is still around though, occasionally working on solo projects. My hope is that, as Homer J. Simpson predicted, we haven't heard the last from him yet.

Hall and Oates back on the road

80s icons Daryl Hall and John Oates are back in the news again. Unfortunately, it's because Daryl Hall was diagnosed last month with Lyme's Disease, forcing the act to cancel or postpone some tour dates. But all is well now and they're back on the road again.

Hall & Oates (or, as I used to think they were called -- Hauling Oats) are promoting their "Our Kind of Soul" album, which was released to positive reviews last year. It's a collection of cover tunes and some fresh material from the soul era, of which the Philadelphia-bred artists have always been heavily influenced. Still, they'll probably be best known for their light, bouncy ditties of the 80s, such as Private Eye, Maneater and You Make My Dreams Come True. (Sara Smile and She's Gone are great too -- just not bouncy!). I caught their live act back in 1982 or 1983 at St. Petersburg's Bayfront Center during the H20 tour. Classic show. Speedy recovery, Daryl.

Let's hear it for the blog

Our latest "Stuck in the 80s" podcast is online. Go to tampabay.com/podcasts to download it. Gina and I discuss the greatness of Footloose, the 1984 film -- dare I say classic? -- where Kevin Bacon gets to dance, do some gymnastics, fight the town council and eventually make out with the preacher's daughter. Ah, good times.

You can't have a Footloose posting without some Kevin Bacon links. So dig in!

• The Oracle of Bacon
• Official Bacon Brothers website
  
• His imdb.com listing
  
• Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon
  

#1 SONGS FOR AUGUST 4, YEAR BY YEAR

The #1 Songs for August 4: 1980: 'Magic' by Olivia Newton-John. 1981: 'Jessie's Girl' by Rick Springfield. 1982: 'Eye of the Tiger' by Survivor. 1983: 'Every Breath You Take' by The Police. 1984: 'When Doves Cry' by Prince. 1985: 'Shout' by Tears for Fears. 1986: 'Glory of Love' by Peter Cetera. 1987: 'Shakedown' by Bob Seger. 1988: 'Roll With It' by Steve Winwood. 1989: 'Toy Soldiers' by Martika. You can find these for every day in the 1980s by consulting: http://www.awesome80s.com/Awesome80s

RAP INFILTRATES YOUR LIVING ROOM!

This week, too, "Yo! MTV Raps!" debuted. It was August 6, 1988 that host Fab Five Freddy (immortalized by Debbie Harry and Blondie years before in "Rapture")and producer Ted Demme (who would go on to become a major Hollywood director) brought the Saturday hip hop program into the living rooms of mainstream America. It is the first national rap program on television and it quickly scores MTV its highest ratings ever. "Yo! MTV Raps!" soon becomes a daily show hosted by Long Island DJ Dr. Dre and rapper Ed Lover, who spin videos by the likes of De La Soul and L.L. Cool J introducing these artists to kids hungry for a new sound. Not surprisingly, rap album sales skyrocket, the face (certainly its color) of MTV begins to change, and pop music, in general, has never been the same.

MTV GIVES MY LIFE MEANING!

Twenty four years ago, this week, MTV debuted. Of course, EVERYONE knows the first video ever played on the network was the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star.'' Okay, Smarty pants what was the second video ever played?

Pat Benatar's "You Better Run."

I missed all that because it happened at midnight on August 1. I was 10 and not allowed to stay up that late. The first video I saw was something by Blondie. I was hooked. Of course, the network didn't have too many videos then, but - wow! - it sure was fun watching them repeat over and over 24 hours a day. The veejays - hey! New word entering the lexicon! were interesting, too - Mark Goodman, suspendered Alan Hunter - remember them? The late J.J. Jackson, dippy but adorable Martha Quinn - did you know she dated Stiv Bators of the Dead Boys? and later Lords of the New Church - and the shaggy-haired blonde Nina Blackwood.

Those were the days, when every new hour of my life was kicked off by a rocket launch, some scraggly guitar and the announcement of what music videos I would be eyeballing in the next 60 minutes.

A-ha-ha-ha

Assuming you're familiar with A-ha's breakthrough video, this website is a riot:

[Turn up your PC sound and click here]

I'm gonna hold a grunge

Pearl Jam is the greatest American rock band, according to a new poll conducted by USA Today columnist Whitney Matheson. To this, I can only say "PPPPppppppfffttttt!"

Pearl Jam and grunge bands are to American music what mullets are to hair design. A short unfortunate trend that evolved into a cultural embarrassment.

Better choices? The Eagles, Aerosmith, REM, KISS, Bruce Springsteen. Maybe the Replacements too. All made the list, but in much lower spots.

(By the way, speaking of the Eagles, one of the dumber record swaps of my youth: I traded my Eagles' "Long Run" album to a friend for "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang. Ouch.)

Where have you gone, Mr. Cusack?

Say what you want about Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks or Molly Ringwald. To some of us, the great movies of the 80s belong to our Chi-town buddy John Cusack. His latest flick, Must Love Dogs, just came out. The buzz so far is that it's a little more mainstream than the titles that earned him a loyal cult following (Better Off Dead, High Fidelity, etc). It earned an above average review from the Times. But decide for yourself.

In the meantime, here's my top 5 must-see Cusack film gems:
1) Better Off Dead: "I'm really sorry your mom blew up, Ricky."
2) The Sure Thing: "Who invented liquid soap and why?"
3) High Fidelity: "If you really wanted to screw me up, you should have gotten to me earlier!"
4) True Colors: "Don't ... get ... caught."
5) Say Anything: "I hearby surrender my duties as keymaster."

This week's trivia question: Name the first movie in which John co-starred with his sister Joan.