SPOOKY HALLOWEEN MUSIC - VOTE NOW!

Sure, Halloween is a fun time for everyone, but I think New Wave and goth kids of the 1980's adored it more because we had all that great spooky music to blast through the night. Gems like Bauhaus's Bela Lugosi's Dead and Everyday Is Halloween by Ministry. Lest we forget Halloween by Siouxsie and The Banshees with its chorus:

Trick or treat
Trick or treat
the bitter and the sweet

Don't forget Oingo Boingo's Dead Man's Party and the creepy Dead Joe
by Nick Cave's old band the Birthday Party.

Even the mainstream crowd got in on the spooky tunes with Michael Jackson's megahit Thriller and the bouncy Ghostbusters theme song by Ray Parker Jr.

What was your favorite creepy, crawly tune from the 1980s?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SIMON LE BON!

If you see Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran, wish him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! The singer turns 47 today.

'KRUSH GROOVE' KRUSHES THE BOX OFFICE

Twenty years ago today, the hip hop flick Krush Groove , featuring future star Blair Underwood and rappers Run-D.M.C., the Fat Boys and Kurtis Blow, hit theatres.

The movie, a light-hearted look at gritty urban culture, was released only after prodding from Warner Bros., who learned from its successful Purple Rain that audiences could appreciate a new feature film length style that combined music and acting as did MTV videos.

Krush Groove takes in $3-million in its first week, making it the number one movie in America.

THE SMITHS - ON BROADWAY?

Maybe Sheila really can take a bow now, what with Morrissey and the boys on Broadway. Yes. The Smiths, that mopey Manchester band that won our goth hearts with tunes like How Soon Is Now? and This Charming Man, are not exactly the subject of the new experimental British musical Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others, but the show's libretto features - count 'em - TWENTY string-heavy arrangements of Smiths songs.

The show's themes explore power struggles, violence and heartbreak - terrain familiar to any Morrissey fan, and the onstage antics involve a trapeze show, a tap dance, a throat slitting and a simulated sex act with a man in a bunny suit. (So, if Moz sees Some Girls, chances are, he'll LOVE it!)

The show, which opened in London July 7, is in negotiations to come to the States.

PAGING DR. NOAH DRAKE!

I know a lot of ladies out there who are going to become Munchausen freaks, feigning some sort of ailment to get into General Hospital because it's recently been announced that Dr. Noah Drake - yes! Rick Springfield! - is back on staff for at least four episodes.

Springfield, 56, makes his first appearance on the show Dec 2. Springfield played foxy Dr. Drake from 1981-1983 right around the time he was scoring pop hits with Jesse's Girl and I've Done Everything For You.

Do I smell a Rick Springfield podcast brewing?

Sptimes.com is like so tubular and all....

In the spirit of our "Valley Girl" week, here's a great website to bookmark. Enter in the address of your favorite website and it will change all the text to Valley Girl talk: http://www.80s.com/Entertainment/ValleyURL/

Truly dazzling

Our epic, soon-to-award-winning "Valley Girl" podcast is now online. Thirty-five minutes of pure genius. Well, 30 minutes of genius and 5 minutes of great music clips.

Which of course, begs the question. Five best songs from the Valley Girl soundtrack (once rated the second-hardest soundtrack to find in a store):
5) Everywhere at Once (Plimsouls)
4) I La La La Love You (Pat Travers)
3) I Melt with You (Modern English)
2) Monster of Love (Sparks)
1) Million Miles Away (Plimsouls)

Which begs the question, 8 best soundtracks from 80s movies:
8) Top Gun
7) The Lost Boys
6) The Blues Brothers
5) Fast Times at Ridgemont High
4) Footloose
3) Purple Rain
2) Pretty in Pink
1) Valley Girl

(Yeah, I tried for 10 but couldn't decide on two more. Feel free to add to the list).

Everything I Know I Learned From a John Cusack Movie

Soon to be my hardcover bestselling novel, featuring proven truths such as:

-- Give a girl your heart, she'll give you a pen. (Say Anything)

-- The best defense is a good offense (Hot Pursuit)

-- If I show up at your door, chances are you did something to bring me there. (Gross Pointe Blank)

-- Go that way really fast. If something gets in your way ... turn. (Better Off Dead)

-- I've been listening to my gut since I was 14 years old, and frankly speaking, I've come to the conclusion that my guts have *&^# for brains. (High Fidelity)

-- To hold on to sanity too tight is insane. (Pushing Tin)

-- We may not always get what we want. We may not always get what we need. Just so's we don't get what we deserve. (True Colors)

-- Freedom, choices, possibilities. That's what I'm about. (Tapeheads)

-- What the hell's wrong with being stupid once in awhile? Does everything you do always have to be sensible? (The Sure Thing)

"Valley Girl" - dare I say classic?

In this week's "80s" podcast, Gina and I are honoring "Valley Girl" and we want to know your thoughts and memories of the movie and music that defined it. Nicholas Cage ... "I Melt With You" ... sushi ... Hollywood vs. the Valley ... Romeo and Juliet. It's all there and more. So much more, that we're actually doing two podcasts -- one on the movie, another on the music.

Personally, I think it's one the top 5 movies of the decade. It's sort of the ying to the yang of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." Why they never show it on TV or cable is beyond me. But it doesn't matter because I own it on DVD and I'll spend the entire week watching it over and over again to get psyched for the podcast.

Top 5 favorite quotes (the ones I can print anyway):
5) "Wow, is the movie in 3-D?" .. "No, but your face is."
4) "He's just like tripendicular, isn't he?"
3) "SO WHEN CAN I SEE YOU AGAIN?"
2) "What is this? Bangkok? I don't need a massage!"
1) "Let's crush... that... fly..."

Worst brat-pack movie ... ever

Anyone else besides me awake at 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning watching "St. Elmo's Fire"? God, I hope not. Every time I see it's playing on TV, I make a point of watching it only to shortly discover: This is a BAD movie. Like a lot of the things from the 80s, it's all style over substance.

Right now, we're at the costume party scene, where Rob Lowe is playing the sax, about to freak out when he sees his wife canoodling with a male friend. Nevermind, he was making out with Demi Moore about 5 seconds earlier. (OK, freak-out scene playing out as I type. I feel like I'm part of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel...)

The movie's only redeeming character? Andrew McCarthy as the lovelorn journalist who spouts out lines like, "Marriage was invented by people who were lucky to make it to 20 without being eaten by dinosaurs." Congrats, Andy. This role -- and "Weekend at Bernie's" -- is the high-water mark in your acting career.

I love you, Kristy!

Times TV critic Chase Squires offers his illustration of the latest "Stuck in the 80s" podcast. Download it now!

For more great illustrations from Chase, check out his blog!

Time to talk TV

This week's "Stuck in the 80s" podcast subject? Television in the 80s. You know you miss it. Alex P. Keaton in Family Ties. Square Pegs. The Cosby Show. Sure, it's horrible to watch now on re-runs, unlike the -- dare I say -- classic movies from that era.

What shows do you remember loving or hating from that era?

My personal favorite was Family Ties. I even used to dress like Michael J. Fox's character back in high school. Of course, at Countryside HS in Clearwater, everyone dressed like a preppy Republican.

To quote P. Gabriel: Big Time!

Our beloved "Stuck in the 80s" podcast made iTunes this past week. If you haven't subscribed to it yet, you're really missing out. We save our best humor for that weekly presentation. (Well, not Gina. She just saves her pity for me.)

Here's the new link to subscribe.

To celebrate, 5 favorite lines from the movie "Night Shift":
5) "Oh that Barney Rubble, what an actor!"
4) "She sells cowboy hats ... and cowboy underwear"
3) "Yo, towel boy!"
2) "Love brokers (evil laugh)"
1) "This is Chuck telling Bill to shut UP ... to shut UP ... shut UP"

The Fonz ... is there anything he can't do?

Trivia time

Just bought the "I Love the 80s" board game the other day and was checking it out today. Here are some good questions to test your acumen:

1) In St. Elmo's Fire, what university were the main characters alumni of?

2) What 1980 movie musical starred Olivia Newton-John and featured cast members on rollerskates? What 1970s band provided most of the music?

3) What horror movie's soundtrack consisted only of songs with "moon" in their title?

Cindy and Joe are newlyweds... whooopidy-doo!

Perfect pick-me-up song on the way to work today: Adam Sandler singing "Love Stinks" from The Wedding Singer soundtrack. Dare I say, a classic. (And is it just me, or is Steve Buscemi at his best as the drunken brother/toastmaster in that flick? .. "I guess they were hookers, but I don't remember paying....")

Here's a couple other can't-miss songs to play to wake you up on the drive to the office: "And She Was" by Talking Heads and "Rush" or "Free" by Big Audio Dynamite. Even a no-talent singer like me can keep up with those tunes.

Best excuse for being 5 minutes late: "Solsbury Hill" by Peter Gabriel. You can't get out of the car if that one is playing.

Party out of bounds! (For free)

The B-52s are playing a free concert Wednesday (Oct. 5) in Tampa outside the St. Pete Times Forum before the Tampa Bay Lightning home-opener. The show is 5-6:45 p.m. Fans without game tickets can hang out after the show and watch the game on an 80-foot screen outdoors.

If anyone catches the show, let us know if they play any of their real classics. (And no, Love Shack doesn't count.)

No more live shows!

I've been catching grief from friends who wonder aloud how I can be such a Journey fan but yet I didn't catch them live in Tampa a few weeks ago. Simple. I'm too old to sit outdoors for 5 hours and listen to over-amped music. I caught Journey back in 1981 and to be honest, I think seeing them again today would taint my memory of the experience. Back then, my general admission ticket (there was no other kind of seating then) was $12. My t-shirt was $10. Talking my dad into driving me from Clearwater to Lakeland -- priceless.

In fact, there aren't many bands I'd bother to catch live anymore. For one reason or another. Usually because I've seen them already. Take, for example, U2 -- loved them back in 1985 ... not sure I want to see them again in 2005.

If I were forced to list some bands I'd still like to see live, here's my short list: Green Day, Jimmy Buffett, ummm, that's about it. Maybe Springsteen if he was touring with the E Street Band. REO would be fun to see again, in the right venue. That's all.

What concerts do you think are "must see's" today? Share your list.