Don't be shy. You really LOVE Asia

Attention, 80s addicts! Our Stuck in the 80s podcast tribute to the 80s supergroup Asia is now online. Download. Listen. Cherish. Because deep down inside, we all secretly love Asia. (Who didn't cheer out loud when they queued up "Heat Of The Moment" during 40-Year-Old Virgin? Our theater audience nearly starting doing the wave.)

Plus, you can savor these chewy morsels about those musical English lads:
-- Find out how moose-watching figures into the demise of the original lineup.
-- Listen in befuddled awe as Steve spins the tale of how he taped over the live concert of Asia in Tokyo with the Scott Baio classic "Zapped."
-- Enjoy some great tunes, obviously, including a couple you've probably forgotten.
-- Get the insider scoop on plans for a 25th anniversary reunion tour. (It's gonna happen, my fellow 80s freaks ... mark your calendars for December!)

In the meantime, you may ask yourself: How can they top themselves next week over at the Stuck in the 80s camp? Answer this question: What do all these movies have in common .... Losin' It, Last American Virgin, Class, Porky's and Little Darlings?

Worst album ever? Sadly, it's Duran Duran

Duran Duran's 1995 album Thank You has been named the worst album ever, according to a poll in Q magazine. An editor for the magazine told a British newspaper that Thank You, which spent 3 weeks in the best-selling charts, was "abysmal on every level."

"Sometimes these things are redeemed by some sort of kitsch value, it didn't even have that," Gareth Grundy said. The album was a collection of cover songs, including Lou Reed's Perfect Day, Bob Dylan's Lay Lady Lay and Elvis Costello's Watching the Detectives.

Other panned albums included Billy Idol's Cyberpunk and Mick Jagger's Primitive Cool.

Duran Duran later called Thank You "commercial suicide" but sadly may not have learned their lesson. Band co-founders Nick Rhodes and John Taylor are producing a compilation album of their early influences, including David Bowie and Kraftwerk. Meanwhile, word on the remembertheeighties.com website is that the band is working on an album of original material and should have a single out by summer.

What's on your list of worst albums?

I'm thinking a Duran Duran list of covers isn't significant enough to take the top spot. How about U2's Zooropa and Pop? REM's Green. The Clash's Cut the Crap. Anything by KISS after 1978. Tell us what's on your list.

Houston, you may have a problem

The tabloids are boiling over with fresh gossip over 80s pop diva Whitney Houston. (For the record, we here at Stuck in the 80s hate the term "diva" but with a select group of stars, it's the only word that fits.)

The National Enquirer folks -- ok, so it's journalism but not with a capital "j" -- reports that Houston's sister-in-law told them Houston spends her days locked away in a dirt-bag bedroom abusing crack and other drugs. The paper printed photos allegedly showing the room, along with piles of drug paraphernalia.

The Enquirer also quotes Tina Brown (Houston is of course married to the never-squeaky-clean Bobby Brown) as saying she and Houston were "drug buddies" once upon a time.

Anyone who has witnessed Houston's erratic behavior during her long fall from fame couldn't be surprised by the allegations. In 2000, after years of winning Grammy's and selling more than 100-million records, airport security in Hawaii found marijuana in her and Bobby's luggage. Thus began years of rumors of drug use.

Last week, singer Mary J. Blige, who has had her own addiction problems in the past, told a British magazine that she has counseled Houston to face up to her drug addiction.

Heat of the moment? It's Asia

This week's topic on the Stuck in the 80s podcast -- Asia! The definitive rock group from the early 80s was bound to pop up on our show sooner or later. Tune in this week for such tidbits as:

-- Why did the band choose the name Asia?
-- The anthology of the first supergroup.
-- The hidden track on the Alpha album.
-- Rumors of a 25th anniversary tour with the original lineup.
-- Why do all their album names begin with the letter A? (Up until the last few, of course. What happened? Run out of words?)
-- John Wetton vs. Greg Lake.
-- And the really really sad story of how Steve stayed up all night to tape "Asia in Asia" on MTV only to tape over it the following week.

Feel free to drop us a comment on why you love or hate the band, your favorite Asia tunes and any other fun trivia.

Also this week, we reveal the answer and winner to the Nearly Impossible Name That 80s Tune challenge. Yeah, the 5 "heys" one.

Run, Katie, run! (Or at least waddle away quickly)

Tom Cruise's mansion in Beverly Hills is being plastered with huge posters that remind his pregnant "fiancee" Katie Holmes to be silent -- "Be silent and make all physical movements slow and understandable" -- during the birth of her first child.

(Waiting for the punchline? Sadly, there isn't one.)

Celeb news websites report today that Scientologists have been spotted bringing the signs -- some up to 6-feet high -- into the home because their faith tells them that any verbal sounds by the mother (or attending visitors) can be destructive to the newborn and require years of deprogramming to overcome.

In his defense (since no one else is rushing to it), Cruise says the practice is misunderstood. As long as Holmes is "calm and quiet," he's happy. Whatever, guy. Ice Man was right. You are dangerous.

Obligatory nice thing to say about Cruise

Loony Tune Tom has taken his lumps in this blog over the last few months. (Here, here, here and here). So we try to include some nice things too.  .... Thinking .... Still thinking ... OK! Found something.

Everything I Need To Know In Life I Learned From a Tom Cruise movie:
-- "College women can smell ignorance ... like dog s--t" (Risky Business)
-- "If you think, you're dead." (Top Gun)
-- "Life is just one long night with a few comatose daylight hours." (Cocktail)
-- "All airlines have crashed at one time or another, that doesn't mean that they are not safe." (Rain Man)
-- "All Chests are equal in the eyes of God." (Far and Away)
-- "You don't need a patch on your arm to have honor." (A Few Good Men)
-- "Your body's dying. Pay no attention, It happens to us all." (Interview with The Vampire)
-- "No dream is ever just a dream." (Eyes Wide Shut)
-- "Even in my dreams, I'm an idiot who knows he's about to wake up to reality." (Vanilla Sky)

Add mustache, and anyone can be Magnum

In Hollywood's age of Repetition over Originality, it was only a matter of time until someone ran with the idea of Magnum P.I. for the big screen.

Who will inherit the role of Hawaii's private eye made famous by Tom Selleck? Vince Vaughn and George Clooney are battling over the part, according to Hollywood sources. (Why not Mr. Selleck? Even at age 61, Selleck looks closer to his alter ego than Harrison Ford does for the upcoming Indiana Jones sequel.) It seems Magnum's screenwriter also penned the Vaughn blockbuster Dodgeball, keeping him in the game with man-of-the-moment Clooney.

Precious little other info is available about the production, which would follow other small-to-big screen numbings as Starsky & Hutch, Beverly Hillbillies, Charlie's Angels and Dukes of Hazzard. Meanwhile, according to one newspaper report, Hollywood power brokers last week took out a full page ad in the L.A. Times that read simply: "Anybody got any fresh ideas?"

I do! And so using a cutout of Selleck's real mustache, here are some other contenders for the Magnum P.I. role. Drumroll please....

Other candidates to play Thomas Magnum:

Survivor's Jeff Probst: Looks good in hat and 'stache. Dimples too. If he could only act.
Ben Stiller: It works. Looks more like a porno star than Magnum. If there's a difference.
Crispin Glover: OK, that's just creepy.
Brad Pitt: Time to take the heat off the Angelina-Jennifer fiasco with a little hair dye.

Bill Murray: Looks like the head groundskeeper now on Caddyshack.
Clay Aiken: Time to put those nasty rumors to bed, Clay, and play a man's man. (No pun intended).
Jack Nicholson: Reprising the Adventures of Baron Munchausen?
Katie Holmes: Tom might like her better with a mustache.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush: Needs new career after Bush family is expelled from politics.
Former FEMA fiascoteer Michael Brown: Don't worry, Brownie. You can't screw up this job any worse than your last one.
Yanni: No need to add mustache. He wins.

Bono looking to buy Nirvana catalog?

Is U2 lead singer Bono looking for Nirvana? Word on the web is that Elevation Partners, which includes Bono as a partner, is ready to make an offer on the musical catalogue of grunge pioneers, which would includes tunes such as "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Come As You Are."

Courtney Love, the widow of the late Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain, is looking to sell as much as a 25 percent stake in the band's catalogue, reportedly because the burden of managing it has become overwhelming. Probably from cashing those endless 5-cent checks every time MTV plays Weird Al's "Smells Like Nirvana" video. ("A garage band from Seattle ... Well it sure beats raisin' cattle!")

Meanwhile, back in Bono's universe

Hollywood actor Edward Norton today praised Bono for being able to work with people he doesn't like. Quoted in the Ireland Online website, the star of Fight Club said, "It's very enlightened to choose to seek as much positive connection as he does, even with the people who are the instruments of these terrible terrible policies."

Among the people Bono has broken bread with in his anti-poverty and anti-AIDS campaigns: George W. Bush, Jesse Helms and Kofi Annan.

Cruise pushes crazy button again

You'd think Tom Cruise would be tired of being in the news for his psychotic behavior (a term any Scientologist cringes at) when it comes to his pretend-fiancee Katie Holmes. But no. Loony Tom is back -- and jumping on furniture as an expression of love again.

Fresh off of winning a Razzie for his mind-numbing behavior of the last year, Cruise attended a Yahoo "Influential Speakers" conference last Tuesday and top-gunned it on top of a chair before the crowd to show his love for Holmes, whom he also brought on stage to pat her preggy abdomen after arm-wrestling Yahoo chief exec Terry Semel. Creepy.

We prefer Hussein over Cruise?

Tom Cruise is less popular than Saddam Hussein, according to a recent poll. Stuff magazine's polled asked readers who is the least desirable overnight camping companion. Cruise won with 41 percent of the vote, topping the former Iraqi dictator, who was on 39 percent of people's lists.

Cruise lines trivia challenge

Oh, we mock Maverick/Lestat/Joel, but we still love his 80s flicks. Name the Cruise movies that these lines came from.

1. "It seems to me that if there were any logic to our language, trust would be a four letter word."
2. "I got natural character."
3. "You're not god ... You're just a typing teacher."
4. "Did you fart?"
5. "All things end badly, or else they wouldn't end."

Mr. Spock turns 75

Lots of birthdays to talk about today (check out this site to see the full list) -- unfortunately not many with an 80s angle, so I'm going to pick on ... Leonard Nimoy!

You got it -- Mr. Spock turns 75 years old today. And, yeah yeah, Star Trek the TV show was not an 80s thing (unless you count reruns, and yes, we do), but the Star Trek movies were ALL about the 80s. And let's not forget Nimoy played Count Mippipopolous in the 1984 TV adaptation of my favorite Hemingway book, The Sun Also Rises. Classic!

At 75, Nimoy has outlived several of his Star Trek co-stars including DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy) and James Doohan (Scotty). His acting career, however, remains firmly entombed within the hull of the Enterprise. (Check out this cool site for a history of all ships -- real and fictitious -- that carried the name)

We won't waste your time ranking the movies (everyone knows Wrath of Khan was the best -- and The Final Frontier was the worst). So without further ado...

Best Nimoy Lines from the Star Trek movies:
5. "Really, Dr. McCoy. You must learn to govern your passions; they will be your undoing." (Wrath of Khan, 1982)
4. "They like you very much, but they are not the hell your whales." (The Voyage Home, 1986)
3. "I have little choice but to sample your beans." (The Final Frontier, 1989)
2. "Your use of language has altered since our arrival. It is currently laced with, shall we say, more colorful metaphors, 'double dumb-ass on you' and so forth." (The Voyage Home)
1. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one." (Wrath of Khan)

Weekly lyrics challenge

This is the final full day for "Stuck in the 80s at Sea" so while we spend the day in Nassau, drinking at Senor Frogs and trying to break into Atlantis, we offer you this nautically themed lyrics challenge.

Name the artist and song:
1. "She said I was the tiger she wanted to tame."
2. "All caught up in the reverie. Every word is a symphony."
3. "Her voice is a temptation. It's a siren's song."
4. "By and by we'll defy a little bit of gravity."
5. "Land's where we know the boat is found."

So good she has two first names

Sarah Jessica Parker knows the 80s. Though best known for her leading role in Sex & The City, Ms. Parker -- Mrs. Matthew Broderick turns 41 today and has seen her career takeoff in the 80s, with appearances in TV's Square Pegs and Footloose. Will her latest leading role -- Failure to Launch, in theaters today -- be her first blockbuster role on film?

Top 5 Sarah Jessica Parker movies:
5. Footloose (1984): "I haven't noticed a wet T-shirt contest in town yet."
4. Ed Wood (1994): "Nobody cares! These movies are terrible!"
3. Honeymoon in Vegas (1992): "We're the Flying Elvises. Utah chapter."
2. State and Main (2000): "This is what people died for ... the right to make movies in this town."
1. L.A. Story (1991): "I'm studying to be a spokesmodel."

Ones to forget: Hocus Pocus, The First Wives Club, Mars Attacks!

Songs you don't want to hear at sea

It's the next to the last day for "Stuck at the 80s at Sea" and we're on the homestretch, steaming our way toward the Bahamas and Miami. Aside from the horrific losses at the blackjack table, it's been a great trip. Our favorite bartenders, Hadir and Clive, are amazed at the Jack Daniels drinking skills we Americans display. (One American in particular, I suspect.)

But there is a disturbing trend -- strange tunes played over the intercom that you don't want to hear while taking a cruise. And so we present to you....

Five songs you don't want to hear on a cruise:
5. Theme from St. Elmo's Fire: No, not Man in Motion --  the instrumental theme. Nothing personal. It just makes me want to strangle Andrew McCarthy and Demi Moore -- at the same time if possible.
4. Theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark: Loved the movie, but they pianist who plays this daily is sending me a subliminal message. And I don't want to know what it is.
3. Magic: The upbeat Cars tune came on -- in musak version with the sounds of coyotes barking in the distance -- while I was getting my seaweed wrap today. That's not soothing. Just creepy.
2. Every Breath You Take: The Police's most overplayed song on piano with a 65-year-old crooner singing it? What did I do to deserve this? (And people were slow-dancing to it. Kill me now.)
1. My Heart Will Go On: The love theme from Titanic? Is that appropriate? Is that calming to the passengers? I'm 90 percent sure none of the furniture in our cabin won't float, so Rose and Jack are in real trouble  this time.

Last of the great soundtracks

Part two of our epic podcast about great movie soundtracks of the 80s is now online. Click on the "listen to podcast" link now to hear it (or the link to the right under "episodes.") It's packed with great music and Sean Daly's classic story behind the movie Batman.

Some quick soundtrack trivia questions:
1) In one John Hughes movie, a song by The Smiths is performed, but not by The Smiths. Name the movie, song, and the group that performs it. (Bonus: Name the location where the song is played.)
2) The Vision Quest soundtrack features songs by Journey and Madonna. Name the songs (too easy) and what albums they appear on.
3) In the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the producers wanted a different song to open the movie, instead of "We Got the Beat." The song does appear elsewhere in the movie. Which song was it? (The answer is in the Fast Times podcast, if you want to look it up.)
4) Name the groups who perform in Purple Rain whose music doesn't appear on the sountrack.
5) What movie does the music from our podcast opening sequence appear?

Non-stop Nena? Give us Frankie and Peter instead.

VH1 Classic -- the channel most dear to all 80s fans -- is going to air the video for "99 Luftballoons" non-stop for a full hour this Sunday (from 2 to 3 pm eastern time). Why? It's part of the channel's "Pay to Play for Hurricane Katrina Relief" campaign. One contributor paid enough to choose all the videos for a specified hour -- and chose to play the 1984 hit by Nena. Both the English and German versions will rotate during the hour.

But why this particular song? We may never know. Here's 5 videos we'd rather see played non-stop for a full hour:
-- Hungry Like the Wolf: Duran Duran's classic cost an unheard-of $1-million to make back "in the day." Let's give it some more airtime.
-- Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax: If we play this enough times, maybe they'll reform again and hit the road. I'd pay big-time to any relief fund to see our Liverpool pals again.
-- Sledgehammer: Peter Gabriel's video masterpiece never gets old. Even if the song does.
-- You Shook Me All Night Long: AC/DC's wasn't known for their videos, but after seeing this one, with the girl on the bull machine, you'll wonder why not.
-- Destination Unknown: There's something about Missing Persons, a paint tarp drapped over their instruments and hubcaps over breasts that is - dare we say - classic.

Guilty pleasures from the 80s

Let me make this clear right from the beginning. These are not movies that any sane person would admit to paying to see. They don't belong in the same sentence as Breakfast Club, Back to the Future or Star Wars. But god help us if we can't find some redeeming quality in them all.

And so, we give you our list of movies that are guilty pleasures from the 80s:

-- The Last Starfighter (1984): "One Gunstar? Against the whole armada? It will be a slaughter!"
-- Zapped (1982): "Your mother made her specialty ... Spam with cream sauce."
-- Labyrinth (1986): "Prince of the Land of Stench!"
-- Shag (1989): "Daddy's bourbon ... strictly off limits."
-- All of Me (1984): "Pretty hairy knuckles for a chick."
-- Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989): "Bill, you are dealing with time travel with the greatest of ease."
-- The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai (1984): "May I pass along my congratulations for your great interdimensional breakthrough."

Trivia challenge: The picture above is from one of the movies on our list. Name the movie (easy question). Now name the actor who plays the baseball coach in the movie. AND name the 80s cartoon for which he did the voiceover work.

Stuck at Sea: We're currently docked in St. Maarten, where the specialty is -- I'm not making this up -- guavaberry liquor. They give out free shots in port. Maybe we ought to bring some back as refreshment during our podcasts.

Ferris Bueller, you're my hero.

Matthew Broderick turns 44 today. And like Ferris, it's hard to say much goes badly for the youthful Broderick.

Top 5 Matthew Broderick movies:
5. War Games (1983): "I loved it when you nuked Las Vegas."
4. Biloxi Blues (1988): "Once you start compressing your thoughts, you're a candidate for mediocrity."
3. Addicted to Love (1997): "I'm the Milky Way man, and I know everything."
2. The Freshman (1990): "There's a kind of freedom in being completely screwed."
1. Ferris Bueller (1986): "One of the worst performances of my career and they never doubted it for a second."

Ones to forget: Godzilla, The Road to Wellville, Inspector Gadget.

Stuck at Sea update: The Stuck in the 80s crew is 4 hours off the coast of San Juan at the moment, suffering from mild sunburn and lack of cold Diet Cokes. But the good news is the ship is Stuck in the 80s too. Nothing but 80s tunes in the lounges and theater before shows. I'm with my people.

Best college movies of the 80s

Did anyone out there have a truly great spring break in the 80s? During the four spring breaks I had during college:

-- I met a girl during freshman year's break; she broke up with me two weeks later.
-- A different girlfriend dumped me during the sophomore year's break. (If you want the full story on her, listen to the "break-up songs podcast."
-- During junior year's break, I ended up staying at school and working on a big story about an ongoing trial. Let me tell you how much fun a college town is during spring break....
-- And finally, during senior year, I spent the week traveling through Florida and to New York where I went through 6 job interviews and got no offers (even getting turned down for a job at the place I work now. And don't think I haven't forgotten. In fact, the hiring editor still works here, though I'd be shocked if he remembers me from way back then.)

So you can imagine that spring break is more the stuff of nightmares for me than any real fun. That's why I annually gorge myself on fun college movies this time of year.

Here's my list of best 80s college movies. Enjoy. (And never forget: You're having a better time now than I ever had):
-- Back to School (1986): "Why don't you come see me sometime when you have no class."
-- Real Genius (1985): "Welcome to Pacific Tech's Smart People on Ice!"
-- Revenge of the Nerds (1984): "No one's gonna really be free until nerd persecution ends."
-- School Daze (1988): "Learn to be articulate, you juvenile delinquent!"
-- St. Elmos Fire (1985): "Soon as I make it big, I'm going fluff and fold."
-- The Sure Thing (1985): "How would you like to have a sexual experience so intense it could conceivably change your political views?"

Only if you're really desperate: The All-Nighter, Campus Man, Oxford Blues.

Come aboard ... we're expecting you

Favorite TV show of the late 70s and early 80s? The Love Boat, of course. (With Fantasy Island as a close second.) Beginning today, your Stuck in the 80s crew is setting sail for a week-long cruise. Right now, we're somewhere near the Bahamas on the way to San Juan. But don't fret. We'll still give you a daily 80s blog fix. Tune in each day for something fun.

In the meantime, try this Love Boat trivia quiz:
1. What is the full name of the ship's doctor?
2. Name the actor who played the ship's bartender.
3. In 1984, the Pacific Princess had a ship's photographer. What was the character's name?
4. What singer performed the vocals for the show's theme song?
5. Capt. Stubing eventually gets married on the show. Who played his bride?

Return of the real Asia?

After decades of various lineups, it appears that the original members of Asia are poised to rejoin the group and tour later this year. Announcements at the band's official website indicate that John Wetton, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer and Geoff Downes are going to celebrate the band's 25th anniversary by reforming the rock supergroup and touring the world.

The reunion is made possible after Downes and current band bassist John Payne dissolved their relationship in late February. An official announcement on the 25th anniversary tour is expected soon. Asia fans say band members have told them the tour would start in December.

Asia's original lineup hasn't toured together since supporting their debut album in 1982, which spawned such hits as Heat of the Moment and Only Time Will Tell. Conflicts within the band led lead singer and songwriter Wetton to abruptly leave the group just prior to the band's MTV concert in Japan, triggering two decades of lineup changes.

Album covers that give you the creeps

You know the feeling: You almost didn't buy the album because the cover was so weird. So offensive. So down-right creepy. You prayed that the CD or cassette cover was more tame. (At least the cover was smaller.) And no matter how good the music was, you always sigh when you look at the lame packaging.

It's time for 10 of the Scariest or Most Lame Album Covers of the 80s!

Ozzy Osbourne's Diary of a Madman: Looks like Fright Night at Universal Studios. Or the set of a bad Mel Brooks movie.
Loverboy's Get Lucky: Umm, hmmm. No comment. (I can't believe these guys are Canadians.)

Menudo's Reaching Out: We get the feeling that Michael Jackson collects Menudo album artwork.
Millie Jackson's Back to the S--t: Clearly the most offensive cover of the last 100 years of music (though that Loverboy cover is still giving us the willies.) This artist and album cover has a cult following. Among whom? Better not to know.

Twisted Sister's Stay Hungry: Does it ease the pain to know that Dee Snider is now mostly bald and resembles a deranged truck driver?
Thompson Twins' Into the Gap: Appropriately named since it looks like an ad for the Gap clothing store. Also resembles the cover of Wiggles albums.

Van Halen's Diver Down: Not scary or offensive. Just incredibly lame -- the symbol for "a diver down" in scuba. (Does this cover mark the end of the era of good cover art? hmm) Granted, Van Halen has a history of bad cover art ("Women and Children First" is "Loverboy-esque") but this is sad.
Def Leppard's Pyromania: After 9-11, this just isn't funny anymore.

Wham!'s Fantastic: Aww, honey, look! Menudo grew up! (The only thing "Fantastic" about Wham! is that they broke up.)
Styx Mr. Roboto: Not sure how Asians feel about this. Probably not great. Also, it's the album that essentially broke up a very good band. Thank you, Dennis DeYoung, for ruining the career of the band that helped me transition from the KISS years to New Wave.

What albums did we miss?

Also, don't forget to check out our list of Best Album Covers of the 80s.

Andy Wickett: 'We'll be living in the 90s next"

Andy Wickett was the lead singer of Duran Duran before Simon Le Bon. Today, he's a computer animation guru and still performs the music that inspired him decades ago -- though usually in drag as "Candy Wicked" (see photo). In part 2 of our interview with him, he talks about the 80s influence and how he stays busy these days. (Read part 1).

Stuck in the 80s: When you look back now, years later, on the group, what feelings go through your mind? Did you enjoy the band's music after you left? Do you enjoy it today?

Wickett: "I never really listened to them after that. I enjoyed it when I was with them. I went to see them play live recently with my son. It was interesting to see some old faces."

Stuck in the 80s: The 80s are making a comeback of sorts lately and new bands are borrowing the sounds of that decade. What about the 80s makes it so nostalgic? Why are we still listening to the music?

Wickett: "It takes 10 years for nostalgia to kick in. Look at the Stone Roses resurgence, we'll be living in the 90s next."

Stuck in the 80s: The 90s? God no. Tell me you still listen to some 80s groups.

Wickett: "Still listen to Joy Division, Pixies, Iggy Pop, Gary Numan, Kraftwerk, Suicide, Bruce Springsteen..."

Stuck in the 80s: Springsteen? That's an odd choice, given the rest of that list.

Wickett: "There's a part of me that is a home lovin' family man type."

Stuck in the 80s: Tell me about your animation work these days. What got you started in this field?

Wickett: "It started with the Amiga 500 in the early 90s, I realized how powerful computers were becoming. As soon as the PC came on the market, I jumped on board and never stopped. I've produced videos for a number of Asian artists such as Nusrat Ali Fateh Khan, Stereo Nation and Malkit Singh which got a lot of exposure on MTV Asia. It became a passion, it's the only way for me to explain the pictures I have in my head to other people."

Stuck in the 80s: I love the animated video for Girls on Film 2006. What sort of reaction are you getting to the release of that video?

Wickett: "We put the teaser clip of Girls on Film online just to see what the reaction would be, and, to be truthful, I was expecting a lot of negativity from the hardcore Duranies. I was amazed when it became the top rated MySpace upload video -- it held that position for 5 weeks, and 1000s of people subscribed to my profile there. The full video launch will happen sometime in May, at a London venue. We're hoping to co-ordinate the physical event with an online webcast of the launch for those who can't make it."

Stuck in the 80s: Tell me about your current music projects. Is it as much fun today as it was, presumably, back in the 80s?

Wickett: "Candy Wicked is my female alter-ego, the Rocky Horroresque Frankenstein, living on Sunset Boulevard. Sometimes it's Andy playing live at the shows, sometimes it's Candy. I never know which one is going to take over 'til the night itself.

"As for fun, it's as fun as ever. You have to keep things raw and spontaneous to keep things fun. You have to reinvent yourself to keep yourself interested."

Click here to hear music and see videos from Andy's myspace webpage.

Fame again for former Duran Duran singer

Before Simon Le Bon -- long before Reflex and Union of the Snake -- there was another lead singer for Duran Duran. Meet Andy Wickett, the lead singer in the years before fame found the group. Duran Duran was formed in 1978 in Birmingham, England, by John Taylor and Nick Rhodes and has never formally broken up. However, the group has gone through several lineup changes over the years. In 1979, after singing with a band called TV Eye, Wickett became Duran Duran's vocalist. The band would play several gigs and record a few demos before he left late in the year to form The Xpertz. Le Bon joined the band shortly afterward. Today, Wickett -- with careers in both computer animation and music -- is seeing a revival in fame from his Duran Duran years with the release of Girls on Film 2006 -- a single and video of the song as it was performed by the group during his tenure. It's darker, creepier and frankly a lot more fun. And it's currently one of the most downloaded videos on MySpace.com. Still based from Birmingham, Wickett took some questions recently from Stuck in the 80s. Stuck in the 80s: How did get involved with the band members of Duran Duran? What were the circumstances? Wickett: "Nick, John and Stephen (Duffy, the band's first singer) were all big fans of TV Eye and used to come and see us play at Rebecca's and Barbarella's. 'Duffait' (as he was then known), left Duran Duran and joined TV Eye, I (then known as Fane), left TV Eye and joined Duran Duran. It was a straight swap.'' Stuck in the 80s: I understand Girls on Film existed during your tenure with the group. Do you still prefer the early version to the one that later achieved pop success? I also read somewhere that the song that would become Rio existed back then under another name. Wickett: "I absolutely prefer the original version of Girls on Film to the one that charted. John always says it was Ami-A-Go-Go which became Rio, but that isn't the case. Stevie's Radio Station was a TV Eye song which I took to Duran Duran and they later turned this into Rio. "I still play Stevie's Radio Station live, and Dave Kusworth, the TV Eye guitarist, has also continued to play it throughout his career -- he named his son after the song. Wagging Dog Records have his version online -- the similarities between that song and Rio are fairly obvious!'' Stuck in the 80s: How was the band different when you were the singer as opposed to later incarnations? Wickett: "We were raw punk funk - it was less commercial and more experimental. The lyrics had meaning back then.'' Stuck in the 80s: What lead you to want to leave the group? Any regrets on that? Wickett: "If I'd had that success I'd be dead by now, through drugs, or alcohol -- I was self-destructive back then. It was survival instinct kicking in when I left the band.'' (Tomorrow: Part Two of the interview -- Andy's feelings about Duran Duran without him, what he's doing now, and his thoughts on the 80s.)

Blondie's last tour

Blondie's spring tour with The Cars will be its last road trip, the group announced this week. The punk/pop group, which was inducted in the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame on Monday, might record again together in the future, but that's it.

"We're gonna take a break," Deborah Harry announced at a press conference. "It's time to do some experimenting for me."

Harry said the group wanted to call it quits in the fall, but decided on one last farewell tour after learning of their entry into the hall of fame.  (Click here to see the tour schedule.) Harry caused a little mayhem at the award ceremony when she wouldn't allow the original members of the band to perform.

Best soundtracks of the 80s

The alternative majesty of Pretty in Pink or the testosterone-driven guitar licks of Top Gun? The playfulness of Footloose or the quirkiness of Valley Girl? For this week's Stuck in the 80s podcast, we're paying tribute to the best soundtracks of the 80s in a special two-part episode.

It's no easy task to narrow our favorites down. We have a list of 35 favorites so far. Thirty-five? Believe it. Some simply won't make the final cut because they really only had one decent song (Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire, Weird Science, Desperately Seeking Susan). Others are so packed with great tunes (Pretty in Pink, Valley Girl, The Lost Boys, Fast Times at Ridgemont High) that it's difficult not to run out and buy a couple extra CDs, just so you have one at home, one for the car and one for the office.

And then there are a few that none of us wants to admit we own (Xanadu, Urban Cowboy, Fame).

Here's a quick look at my personal top 5:
5. Footloose (1984): Dancing in the Sheets, Let's Hear it for the Boy, Almost Paradise.
4. Vision Quest (1985): Only the Young, Lunatic Fringe, Crazy for You.
3. Pretty in Pink (1986): If You Leave, Shell-Shock, Bring on the Dancing Horses
2. Purple Rain (1984): When Doves Cry, Take Me with U, Computer Blue
1. Valley Girl (1983): Such a great soundtrack, there's two discs for it. Million Miles Away, Love My Way, Angst in my Pants, Monster of Love, and so many more.

Nearly made the cut: Lost Boys, She's Having a Baby, Some Kind of Wonderful.

Drop us a comment and tell us what your favorite 80s soundtrack was and we'll use your comments in today's podcast.

She's Little Debbie afterall

The night that a band is inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame is hardly a time to put personal differences before the music and the fans. (I sorta figure the Pop Hall of Fame is the place for that type of immaturity.) But Blondie's Deborah Harry did it anyway.

Last night in New York, Harry refused to allow the original members of the band to perform at the award show. "Can't you see my band is up there?" she fired at Frank Infante (pictured right last night with Harry), Nigel Harrison and Gary Valentine, who received awards last night but whose sin, according to Harry, was suing when they were left out of the band's reunion in 1997. "I thought Blondie was being inducted," they shot back before slinking off the stage.

A greatest hits CD by Blondie was released last week and the band is touring with The Cars this spring.

Punk stars uber alles

True to their word, the Sex Pistols -- also inducted into the hall last night -- were no-shows. Rolling Stone magazine founder Jann Wenner accepted the award for them and read the snarky letter the band posted on its website, comparing the hall to "urine in wine."

Wenner said the band could pick up its awards anytime at the Cleveland hall. "If they want to smash them into bits, they can do that too," he said. Now that's something we'd pay to see. Maybe the ousted members of Blondie can join in the fun.

Lyrics challenge - kinky edition

Actress Dana Delany turns 50 years old today. And though she appeared in a slew of 80s TV shows, most notably China Beach, she might be best known (for better or for worse) as Mistress Lisa in the god-awful Hollywood adaptation of Exit To Eden. (To clarify, the script was awful. Dana looked great.) So in honor of the Mistress's birthday, we present you with this week's lyrics trivia challenge -- only songs with kinky subject matters.

Name the artist and song:

1. "I can't tell you what she did to me. But my body will never be the same."
2. "In the hallway, in anticipation, he didn't know the night would end up in frustration."
3. "There's so much happiness behind these tears."
4. "They say I better stop - or I'll go blind."
5. "Say you're a winner, but man, you're just a sinner now."

12 album covers to cherish

The art of a great album cover died along with vinyl records, as pointed out in a fantastic article last week in the Times. And although Sean Daly's article picked out some great art covers through the years, he neglected some of the true classics of the 80s.

So I bring you the official Stuck in the 80s' favorite album covers:

Asia's Alpha: I liked this one slightly better than their first album cover. Even painted it outside my freshman dorm room.
Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill: If you read the plane's tail number in a mirror, it says Eat Me.

Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA: Critics originally thought Bruce was urinating on the flag.
Rush's Moving Pictures: Possibly the band's best album and album cover. Too literal? Not for Rush's covers.

Oingo Boingo's Only a Lad: The very first album I bought based on the cover. Turned out they became my favorite group of the 80s.
REO Speedwagon's Hi Infidelity: Of course, at age 14, I didn't know what infidelity was. Thank you, Kevin Cronin.

Duran Duran's Rio: Stylized, sleek, sexy art by Patrick Nagel. It's so Duran Duran and so early 80s.
Styx's Paradise Theater: On the back, you see a run-down version of the theater after it closes for good. Brilliant!

Rolling Stones' Tattoo You: A creepy album cover full of equally creepy music. But it stands out.
Dead Kennedys' Frankenchrist: Leave it to Jello Biafra to find a way to pair a benign photo with a scandalous album title.

Dead Milkmen's Big Lizard in my Backyard: I really miss this group. When they have a box set, it's mine.
Scorpions' Blackout: Seeing the forks in his eyes, my parents would not allow me to buy this album. (A favor in retrospect).

So what great 80s albums are we missing out on?

(Think you know the 80s? Proof it. Try the 80s lyrics challenges: part 1, part 2, part 3. Or trivia on George Michael, Three's Company or themed trivia. Or tell us which 80s movies should have won Oscars. Other hot topics: goofiest band names, Everything I Need To Know I Learned from Sci-Fi, Overexposed 80s stars.)

Forget rock royalty - Give me the New Wave Hall of Fame

Does Duran Duran really want to be in the same zip code as Lynyrd Skynyrd? Do U2 and ZZ Top make good neighbors? And does Iggy Pop really need a chair next to Ozzy Osbourne? No, no and hell no. That's why I'm making a case today for a New Wave and Alternative Music Hall of Fame.

Monday marks the induction of the Class of 2006 into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. Black Sabbath, Blondie, Miles Davis, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Sex Pistols are the chosen honorees this year. Which of those doesn't seem to fit? (Well, Miles Davis for one. In the rock hall of fame?) But the answer I was looking for is The Sex Pistols, who admitted they wanted no part of the honor in a recent announcement. (Unrelated factoid: Did you know Duran Duran has been eligible for induction since 1996? So "Heart of Glass" yes and "Girls on Film" no?)

But surely our British punk rogues deserve all the honors and tidings worthy of a Caligula-style orgy? That's where my idea begins. Here's how I see it playing out:

Location: Probably London, right? Though if you had to pick a U.S. location, maybe Athens, Ga. (Though who would want to visit?) Definitely no place in Ohio.

Eligibility: Membership in the rock hall of fame certainly wouldn't disqualify you. In fact, we'll be stealing several of their members. As long as you made great music and influenced future New Wavers, you're near the top of the list. If you're more pop though (Madonna, Boy George), wait for your own hall of fame. (Key test: If you have more dancers on stage than musicians, you're pop. Please leave now.)

What the award looks like: I'm thinking of a bronze bust of a head that looks like Mike Score of Flock of Seagulls.

Inaugural class: The Velvet Underground, Talking Heads, The Sex Pistols, U2, Ramones. (Bands that barely miss the first list: REM, B-52s, Elvis Costello, Jonathan Richmond)

Who am I forgetting for the first and second classes?

For those about to rock...

Our latest Stuck in the 80s podcast -- AC/DC vs. Guns N' Roses -- is now online. Click here to listen. We've got some great stories to tell on this episode:

-- Sean Daly shares the story of his topless female hosts in Norway while he was an exchange student.
-- Steve trumps him with the "dazed and confused" story about the '82 AC/DC show and his offensive exploding Angus t-shirt.
-- And then Daly wins the battle with his Jagermeister "dancing in vomit" story about a Guns N' Roses concert.

How can we possibly top this podcast next week? I have two words for you: Michael Keaton.

Neverland is nevermore (or so we hope)

Shocking development, 80s fans! California authorities on Thursday have ordered the closure of Michael Jackson's Neverland estate, pending payment of his worker's compensation bill.

Jackson has been fined $169,000 in fines and still owes more than $300,000 in unpaid wages, according to a report tonight by Reuters. (I guess dressing like a Muslim woman in Dubai isn't paying the bills these days. And there's no one left in the civilized world who needs a copy of Thriller or Bad.) In the meantime, local animal welfare authorities will take care of the zoo on his 2,800-acre estate/themepark. (No word on who's babysitting his sleep-over guests.)

The King of Pop (ack! I hate saying that. Can we call him Wackson Jackson?) was cleared last year of charges of sexually abusing a boy at Neverland. Lately, he's spent much of his time overseas and away from the camera's eye. The Reuters news service was unable to reach any representative for comment.

Cancer behind U2 tour cancellation?

U2 is canceling the remaining portion of their world tour -- including stops in Australia -- due to a family member's illness. The band had several shows scheduled around the Asia-Pacific area, some in cities the band hasn't visited in more than a decade. Who's sick? According to a New Zealand website, it's the daughter of guitarist The Edge. An Irish newspaper reported in January that his 7-year-old has leukemia.

U2's promoter provided no details in a statement posted Thursday on the band's website: "Any fan of U2 will realise that this decision has not been taken lightly. We will announce further details as soon as we have them."

More trouble for Hasselhoff

... Meanwhile, poor David Hasselhoff has own problems these days. The former star of 80s TV's Baywatch and Knight Rider faces a charge of domestic violence filed by his wife. Pamela Bach, his wife of 16 years, asked for but was refused a restraining order. The legal fiasco came only hours after Hasselhoff pleaded no contest to drunk driving. Hasselhoff remains a hugely popular singing star in Germany, though his fame in non-Germanic households is largely confined to him running around the beach in a red lifeguard speedo.

(Save it. Cherish it. Gary Coleman and David Hasselhoff. Life is beautiful.)

Webster turns 35!

Emmanuel Lewis is 35 years old today. Thirty-five? (That just feels wrong, doesn't it? Like the first time you realized that your parents actually had sex, or you wouldn't even be here today.) Lewis starred in Webster from 1983 to 1989, playing an orphan who comes to live with one of his father's friends (played by Alex Karras). Not much of plot really. Just a chance for Lewis to show off his cuteness. (In the 80s, "cuteness" was enough of a plot to launch any TV series. Otherwise, how can you explain Silver Spoons, Punky Brewster and Doogie Howser?)

Lewis also became a "mascot" of sorts to Michael Jackson, who brought his pint-sized friend along to award shows long before Jackson's behavior/fetish was officially categorized as "creepy."

These days, Lewis keeps himself busy making cameos on TV shows and movies about child-stars. He also appeared on the first season of The Surreal Life back in 2003, along with other has-beens like Jerri Manthey (Survivor), Vince Neil (Motley Crue) and Corey Feldman (Dream a Little Dream). You know you're on the road to becoming a future Trivial Pursuit question when you find parentheses after your name.

No jail for Boy George

Boy George avoided jail time today when he agreed to a plea bargain to settle cocaine possession charges. Instead he'll perform "Karma Chameleon" for 36 straight hours on a garbage barge anchored close to the Statue of Liberty. No, not really. (He'll perform 5 days of community service and enter a drug rehab program.)

"I am relieved and happy that this case has been disposed of," Boy said in a written statement. "I love New York and am looking forward to coming back and working in the states later this year."

Boy, whose real name is George O'Dowd, was arrested last year in New York after he called police to report an alleged burglary in his apartment. Instead of a burglar, however, cops found a pile of cocaine on his desk. As part of his plea deal, Boy admitted guilt in reporting a fal