Have a very 80s Halloween

Remember Halloween in the 80s? Sure you do. It was the last time people willingly opened their front doors when you rang the doorbell after dark. And your mom made awful costumes for you to wear. You can relive the magic of the 80s this Halloween too. Just follow these easy steps from the Stuck in the 80s gang.

YOUR MUSIC: Start your day with a mix of Halloween-themed music from the 80s. Times pop music critic and Stuck in the 80s co-host Sean Daly offered these suggestions on his blog:

• Bela Lugosi's Dead -- Bauhaus
• Weird Science -- Oingo Boingo
• Pet Sematary -- the Ramones
• Thriller -- Michael Jackson
• House of Fun -- Madness
• Dead Man's Party -- Oingo Boingo

Heck, any song by Oingo Boingo pretty much works. After all, they turned this holiday into an art form with their legendary Halloween shows in L.A. (Bring Back Boingo!) Don't forget to add a little Van Halen ("Running with the Devil"), Iron Maiden ("Number of the Beast"), Chris de Burgh ("Don't Pay The Ferryman") and Billy Idol ("The Dead Next Door") to the mix. Or a little Bow Wow Wow ("I Want Candy.")

YOUR JOB: They wouldn't let us wear costumes to school back at Countryside High School in the 80s. But here at tampabay.com and the St. Petersburg Times, if I came dressed as someone from the 80s, who would know the difference? (Today, someone is dressed up as a psychotic urologist -- don't ask me how I know.) Your boss will be cool about a great costume too. So try dressing up as Adam Ant today. You know you want to.

YOUR EVENING ENTERTAINMENT: Consult our list of top 20 horror movies and go rent one -- but go old school and find it on videotape, not DVD. Sean Daly usually opts to watch Halloween, probably because he doesn't value a good night's sleep. Our other co-host, Cathy Wos, prefers the 80s shlockiness of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, which we all agree is the epitome of 80s horror flicks.

But for my money, give me a double feature of Poltergeist and The Lost Boys. I like a little humor mixed with my blood-letting. And if there's a Corey or two thrown in there, who's to know the better?

Pop some corn, uncap the Bartles & Jaymes and Busch beer and you're set. (Oh, and of course, listen to our special Halloween in the 80s podcast again. It's always funnier and more embarrassing the second time through. Just like sex.)

Dolby's coming to town

Thomas Dolby is expanding his string of one-man shows from just a handful of West Coast stops to an entire nationwide tour. Although the dates aren't confirmed on his website, Dolby should be visiting Colorado, Texas and even Florida before heading up the East Coast to wrap things up by Christmas.

A date at St. Petersburg's State Theater is set for Dec. 17.

Dolby is co-headlining the tour with "trance pioneer" musician BT. Dolby will be releasing a new album on DVD and CD, "The Sole Inhabitant," in November on his own label.

[Click here to see a fuller list of dates for Dolby and BT.]

Wino forever

Winona Ryder turns 35 today, and although she's probably more associated with her work during the Dark Ages (the 90s), let's not forget her nuggets of entertainment from the 80s. But where do you go after the genuis of Beetlejuice?

Well, not far it seems. Her career seems to have peaked in 1994 with Reality Bites.

Her biggest contribution to popular culture outside of acting and shoplifting? Gotta be the tattoo on Johnny Depp's arm, which changed from "Winona Forever" to "Wino Forever" after the couple broke up.

So where does that leave us for a top 5 list? Desperate.

Top 5 Winona Ryder flicks:
5. Mermaids (1990): "Oh god. I think I might be pregnant with the next Jewish Italian Messiah."
4. Girl, Interrupted (1999): "What kind of sex isn't casual?"
3. Heathers (1989): "Lick it up, baby. Lick. It. Up."
2. Reality Bites (1994): "I just don't understand why things just can't go back to normal at the end of the half hour like on the Brady Bunch or something."
1. Beetlejuice (1988): "I myself am... strange and unusual."

Stay away from: Lucas, 1969, Great Balls of Fire, Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Age of Innocence and many more I wouldn't admit to having watched.

Chase Squires ... 80s blasphemist

Former Times TV critic and Stuck in the 80s special guest Chase Squires celebrates his birthday today. Chase was the genius behind two of my favorite episodes of our podcast: the TV in the 80s show and the Miami Vice tribute. (Click those links to relive the magic that is Chase Squires.) Nowadays, Chase is shoveling snow in Denver as a reporter for the Associated Press. He also writes a hilarious blog about his running adventures.

He e-mailed Stuck in the 80s today to give us his review of our special Halloween episode ("I was laughing my a-- off on the treadmill") and to share the tale of his favorite Halloween costume in the 80s:

"My best Halloween Costume of the 80s ... I was at The Citadel, no money and not a lot of clothes to work with ... I pulled out a wool blanket, a couple bedsheets, some flip flops, a fake beard and a halo I made with a coat hangar and cardboard ... carry a bottle of mad dog "wine" ... presto, I'm Jesus! ...Yeah, it didn't go over so good at my girlfriend's parents' house, the whole South Carolina thing, you know ..."

Chase had no photos of his costume, but he was nice enough to recreate it with some photo-editing software. (Please forward all charges of blasphemy to Chase Squires, c/o The North Pole.)

Speaking of Jesus and Halloween, a quick trivia question for you 80s addicts: Chase isn't the first person to dress up as Jesus for a costume ball. It happened in an early 80s movie. Can you name the movie and the actor?

   

Andy Taylor quits Duran Duran

Sad news for 80s fans: Guitarist Andy Taylor has parted ways with Duran Duran. The news is confirmed on the band's website. Billboard.com says the choice was Andy's, and the decision came from a "gulf" developing in their partnership.

The band is set to begin a leg of U.S. shows, starting with a stop tonight in Chicago, that will last until Nov. 11. Dom Brown will replace Andy for the shows. Brown, a London-based singer and songwriter, has worked with the band on previous tour dates. The band plans to return to the studio to produce a new album after the tour.

One of the founding members of the 80s lineup, Andy has left the band before. In 1986, he left the band and formed the Power Station with Robert Palmer, Tony Thompson and John Taylor. He rejoined Duran Duran in 2001.

A statement posted on the websites for Andy and Duran Duran is signed by the other four members of the band (John Taylor, Simon Lebon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor): "The past five years have been an incredible journey for us all - and having the original five back together was something that we had wanted to see happen for some time.  As of last weekend, however, the four of us have dissolved our partnership and will be continuing as Duran Duran without Andy."

[Click here to hear the special Stuck in the '80s podcast on Duran Duran, featuring an interview with former lead singer Andy Wickett.]

They're here: Best horror movies of the 80s

"You wanna see something really scary?" Great line from the 1983 flick "Twilight Zone: The Movie." And the perfect way to begin our list of best horror films of the 80s.

The list is generated by reader suggestions, reviews of the movies and a little personal opinion here and there. It's not as long as our previous lists of best comedies, worst songs, best videos and worst films. But it'll still give you a great guide to picking movies to watch between now and Halloween.

Excerpts from critic reviews are only included in the top 5 for this list. Critics are traditionally harsh on horror movies and their comments weren't pretty beyond the very best of the movies. I picked the "taglines" for the rest of the flicks.

Enjoy the list and remember: "You can't choose between life and death when we're dealing with what is in between."

Top 20 Horror Films of the 80s:

20. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986): Dennis Hooper, Caroline Williams. "After a decade of silence... The buzzz is back!"

19. C.H.U.D. (1984): Daniel Stern, John Heard. "You Won't Want To Know What It Means."

18. The Changeling (1980): George C. Scott, Jean Marsh. "Whatever you do...DON'T GO INTO THE ATTIC."

17. Hellraiser (1987): Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins. "Demon to some. Angel to others."

16. The Evil Dead (1981): Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss. "The Ultimate Experience In Grueling Terror."

15. Fright Night (1985): Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale. "If you love being scared, it'll be the night of your life."

14. House on Sorority Row (1983): Kate McNeil, Eileen Davidson. "Sisters in life.  Sisters in death."

13. Re-Animator (1985): Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott. "Herbert West Has A Very Good Head On His Shoulders... And Another One In A Dish On His Desk."

12. The Lost Boys (1987): Jason Patric, Corey Haim. "Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It's fun to be a vampire."

11. Dressed to Kill (1980): Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson. "Every Nightmare Has A Beginning ... This One Never Ends."

10. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984): Johnny Depp, Robert Englund. "A scream that wakes you up, might be your own."

9. The Believers (1987): Martin Sheen, Helen Shaver. "They exist. Fear them."

8. Return of the Living Dead (1985): Clu Gulager, James Karen. "They're back ... They're Hungry ... And they're NOT vegetarian."

7. Prince of Darkness (1987): Donald Pleasance, Jameson Parker. "It is evil. It is real. It is awakening."

6. Christine (1983): Keith Gordon, John Stockwell. "Hell hath no Fury...like Christine."

The top 5...

5. The Shining (1980): Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall. One critic said: "It is not just a great horror film; it is a psychological profile of how people wrestle with their unsavory pasts."

4. Night of the Creeps (1986): Jason Lively, Steve Marshall. One critic said: "Rarely is a horror comedy as much fun to watch as this movie is."

3. American Werewolf in London (1981): David Naughton, Jenny Agutter. One critic said: "It may be one of the best endings to any movie, ever."

2. The Thing (1982): Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley. One critic said: "If you don't repeatedly drop your jaw and gape at the screen in disbelief, you might need to lay off the PCP."

1. Poltergeist (1982): Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams. One critic said: "This is the movie The Amityville Horror dreamed of being."

The scariest scenes: The face-ripping scene, that dreaded clown, the bodies floating in the pool. The list goes on and on. The cast of Poltergeist was virtually unknown before the movie. And though ToBe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) is given credit for directing it, rumor had it that writer Steven Spielberg often took control of the shooting, giving this move the quintessential 80s feel.

So there's the list. Feel free to share your darts and laurels.

Speaking of horror flicks...

Our Stuck in the 80s special Halloween podcast is now online, featuring music and scenes from our favorite movies, along with the stories that made the day special for us back in the 80s. Click here to listen or click here to subscribe to the series for free on iTunes.

Sending in my RSVP early

So my 80s hero Tom Cruise and his gal-pal Katie Holmes have set their marriage date for Nov. 18. How embarrassing ... I won't be able to attend! Turns out that I'm juggling several invitations for the same day. I'm sending them a nice electric fondue pot though. (I originally picked out a book on Kama Sutra, but I hate when gifts go unused.)

10 Reasons I'll Be Missing Tom Cruise's Wedding:

10. The Wiggles: I have seats to the 1:30 show in Tampa.
9. Celebrating 21st anniversary of Joe Theismann breaking his leg on national TV.
8. Sleepover at John Travolta's house. (Kelly's out of town.)
7. Trying to sell DVD copies of Vanilla Sky and Mission Impossible 2 on eBay.
6. Attending Calvin & Hobbes Festival. The strip debuted on this day in 1985.
5. Auditing class on practical psychiatry with pal Matt Lauer.
4. Waiting for "Personality Test" results back from new church in town.
3. Have 10:30 seats to Zamora the Torture King at Las Vegas' Bourbon Street Hotel & Casino.
2. Appointment to give foot massage to Nicole Kidman.

1. Just lost touch with Tom since he wouldn't sign and return my mini Ampipe Bulldog helmet from "All The Right Moves."

Why, Tom? Why?!?

Harrison Ford is kidding himself

This is not a photo of Harrison Ford today. This is a photo of him back in .... oh let's say 1979 or so. But that's seemingly how Ford thinks of himself today, because he continues to say he's fit enough to play Indiana Jones again if a sequel is ever made.

(Don't hold your breath. A script has been in the works for 10 years now. We're more likely to see a sequel to American Graffiti at this point.)

At 64 years old, Ford is older today than Sean Connery was when Connery played Indiana Jones' dad in the The Last Crusade.

For the record, Ford looks more like this today. He's old, gray and grumpy. He should be playing Henry Fonda's part in the remake of On Golden Pond. Or maybe he can co-star with Ted Danson and Burt Reynolds in another installment of the Cocoon movies.

Checkup with the Doc

Christopher Lloyd turned 68 over the weekend. Seems like he'd be older than that by now, right? Probably because he's always playing parts wearing a white shock wig. Though he's best known to 80s fans as Doc Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy, Lloyd has appeared in a wide range of roles over his career (along with 200 stage productions.)

Dare I try to hold his top 5 list to the 80s? Let's give it a go.

Top 5 Christopher Lloyd movies of the 80s:
5. Clue (1985): "Never mind about the key, unlock the door!"
4. Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai (1984): "Use more honey. Find out what she knows."
3. Eight Men Out (1988): "Shoeless Joe is ignorant; Hap Felsch is just dumb."
2. The Dream Team (1989): "Can you recommend a good clinical psychiatrist in the area? We seem to have lost ours."
1. Back to the Future (1985): "Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads."

He needs a little help from his friends

Poor Paul McCartney. He's on his third-or-so wife and things are going badly again. According to court filings, he beats her (or she beats him), he drinks too much and belittles her. All in all, sounds like a night at the Kid Rock or K-Fed households. But my third-favorite Beatle could rewrite one of his 80s classics to make himself feel a little better:

"I can wait another day, until I sue you
You've only got my wallet on a string, and every quid a flutter
But another sober night
Might take forever
We've only got our lawyers to blame
It's all the same to me, witch
Cause I know what I drink feels so right
No more sober nights
No more sober nights
Divorce is my only light
Day or night it's always there...

(Other possible remakes: Silly Love Songs, My Brave Face, and of course, Live and Let Die)

Happy Journey anniversary

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the first concert I saw in person: Journey on their 1981 tour promoting their Escape album. Lakeland Civic Center in Lakeland, Fla. I want to say I paid maybe $12 for the ticket and another $15 for the obligatory t-shirt. (Can I add that I've never been to a concert since then where EVERYBODY bought the same t-shirt?)

Loverboy opened the show. And actually, when we talked with members of Loverboy a few weeks ago after one of their shows, one of the members actually remembered that particular show. Or at least he said he did. Lie to a fan? Loverboy would never do that.

That's the only concert I've seen in which I remember the exact date, the costs involved and the design of the t-shirt I bought. (It doesn't hurt that it's the same day as my mom's birthday.) And if I had to rank the top 10 shows I've seen in person, well ... rankings are what I do best.

Top 10 concerts I've seen:
10. REO Speedwagon (1995)
9. Simple Minds (1986)
8. Jonathan Richman (1990)
7. They Might Be Giants (1998)
6. Billy Joel (1999)
5. Journey (1981)
4. Frankie Goes To Hollywood (1985)
3. U2 (1985)
2. Oingo Boingo (circa 1988)
1. Styx (Mr. Roboto tour, 1985)

Barely missing the list: Mojo Nixon (1990); Hall & Oates (1984); Rush (1983); Cheap Trick (1985); AC/DC (1982), Replacements (1989).

No chance of making the list: Eric Clapton, ZZ Top, Foreigner, Genesis, Paul McCartney.

George Michael: One toke over the line

Based on his recent behavior, it appears George Michael is rehearsing to star in a remake of a Cheech and Chong movie. The reality-challenged popster openly smoked pot during a TV interview set to air later this month on British TV, according to media reports.

"It's a great drug -- but obviously it's not very healthy," Michael reportedly said shortly before going on camera. "You can't afford to smoke it if you've got anything else to do."

The former Wham! frontman has been arrested twice in the last year by London police, who found him slumped over the wheel of his car -- with a bag of marijuana beside him.

The TV interview was shot in Madrid, Spain, where marijuana use is legal. Then again, so is bullfighting. (To be fair, the country has a history of strange laws. In the 17th century, it was against the law for a woman to show her bare feet to anyone except her husband. A woman however could freely expose her breasts.)

At least Michael is maintaining a sense of humor over it all. "If I'd drunk as much as I'd smoked," Michael said during the show, "my God, I'd look like Keith Richards."

Genesis reunites for tour

Ten years after Phil Collins quit the band, he's back again as Genesis announced plans this week for a reunion tour. Guitarist Mike Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks also will take part.

Former lead singer Peter Gabriel, who left in '75, reportedly was invited to return for the tour but declined, citing the upcoming release of some more solo work. More details on the Genesis tour dates are expecting in coming weeks.

OK, so that's the news. Here's the opinion: Is Genesis a band anyone wants to really hear play live anymore? I'm not so sure. I caught their show back in Orlando at the Citrus Bowl in 1987 on the Invisible Touch tour, and it was a letdown. Granted, my seats were so bad that where I'm sitting right now has a better view.

Adding to the aggravation, we arrived 20 minutes to the show, thanks to a drunken shuttle bus driver. Plus I was so traumatized from having meet my new girlfriend's parents the night before (and sharing a bed with her best friend's boyfriend) that I took to biting my nails to the nub that day. A habit so bad it took me five years to quit.

So when I think of Genesis in concert, all I see in my head is:
-- A speck a half mile away that's supposed to be Phil Collins;
-- The hairy back of Mike, six inches away, hoping he wouldn't want to spoon;
-- Shards of fingernails littering the front seat of my 1982 Mustang.

And the girl broke up with me two weeks later! But I shouldn't punish Genesis for my personal psychosis. I really loved their music. So why not give them their own list?

TOP 5 GENESIS SONGS:
5. Turn It On Again: "I can show you I can show you some of the people in my life"
4. Invisible Touch: "She reaches in, and grabs right hold of your heart"
3. Carpet Crawlers: "We've got to get in to get out"
2. Abacab: "Tell me do you think I'm to blame?"
1. Supper's Ready: "We have finally been freed to get back home"

Blog Battle: Spandau Ballet's True

Time to answer another burning question from the 80s: Spandau Ballet's 1983 song "True" ... truly classic or truly painful?

It's time to decide the issue in an old fashioned blog battle with Times pop critic Sean Daly. Normally, he and I draw straws to decide who takes what side on the issue. (He drew the better band but lost anyway in pathetic fashion during our Go-Go's vs. Bangles throwdown). But I was shocked to hear these words spring from his lips yesterday: "I think it's the worst song of all-time."

After the shock wore off, I did what any 80s addict would do. I decked him, lit his body on fire, danced around the smoldering corpse and then sprinkled his ashes in the River Styx (the official river of all 80s fans, naturally).

Click here to read his final words on why he hates True. But more importantly, here is my argument:

5 REASONS WHY SPANDAU BALLET'S TRUE IS A CLASSIC:

5. Is it new wave? Hmmm. Pop? Not so much. Rock? Ummm. No. True shares jazz, soul, R&B and other influences. It's a blend, like my favorite Canadian whiskey, and that gives it a uniqueness among 80s ballads.

4. Speaking of crossing genres, 90s hip-hop act PM Dawn loved the song so much, they sampled it extensively on their hit "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss." The single and accompanying album brought glowing reviews. Even a young Sean Daly, writing for his high school newspaper, the Camp Hill (Pa.) Highlight, called it "sublime and dreamy ... like my feeling after eating a twin lobster dinner."

3. It's featured as the closing song in Adam Sandler's "Wedding Singer" and if there's one person on the planet who loves the 80s more than me, it's Sandler. (Steve Buscemi sings it at Robbie and Julia's wedding.)

2. As a band itself, Spandau Ballet was hailed as "brave" and "hugely innovative" (while Daly's taste is music is usually described by words like "toasty" and "spongey." The bandmembers wore matching suits; Sean wears a muu-muu.

1. It was the song that played during my first significant slow dance: Tarpon Spring's Cavern Club, Nov. 23, 1983, 11:37 p.m., the lovely Robin. It only took me six months to get over her and that dance (only to have her reappear four years later when she dated my best friend. That took another 18 months to get over.) To this day, whenever I hear it, I think of her. Warmly, I swear.

Come to think of it, maybe Sean was right all along. ... Nah, I'll always love Spandau Ballet's True. Robin, on the other hand, I've finally learned to live without.

Speaking of 1983...

Our latest podcast -- the one-hit wonders of 1983 -- is now online. Click here to listen or click here to download the series for free on iTunes. I don't want to ruin the surprise of which songs you'll hear. You'll just have to tune and let the memories wind right through you.

The world according to John Lithgow

John Lithgow is 61 today. And though you may think he's too old to have contributed any major part to the 80s, consider some of his signature roles: Roberta Muldoon (The World According to Garp), Rev. Shaw Moore (Footloose), Dr. Emilio Lizardo (The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai). The list goes on.

While I'd love to give him a list of top 5 movies, his characters are so much fun that he gets a slightly different birthday list:

Top 5 lines from John Lithgow movies:

5. "I had mine removed surgically under general anesthesia. But to have it bitten off in a Buick..." (The World According to Garp)

4. "There's a man of the wing of this airplane!" (Twilight Zone: The Movie)

3. "If our lord wasn't testing us, how would you account for the proliferation, these days, of this obscene rock and roll music, with its gospel of easy sexuality and relaxed morality? " (Footloose)

2. "A writer? What do you have to write about? You're not oppressed. You're not gay." (Orange County)

1. "Sealed with a curse as sharp as a knife. Doomed is your soul and damned is your life." (Buckaroo Bonzai)

A real buzz to this 80s classic

Normally, here at Casa de la 80s, I prefer to spend each evening in quiet reflection. Listening to my "Best of Wang Chung" CD, painting my ceramic Air Supply figurines, watching my bootleg "Loverboy Live in Vancouver '82" DVD and making sandwiches with Wonderbread and Pixie Stix.

Last night, though, a different agenda. I screened the 1986 classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 for the first time. I didn't do it willingly -- the Stuck in the 80s crew is knee-deep preparing for our special Halloween episode and reviewing some of the signature slasher flicks is a necessary evil. But now that I've finally finished the movie, I confess I'm enamored and can truly add this one to my list of top horror films of the 80s. (Never too late to add one of your favorites either!)

Why? Well, Leatherface's fun-loving shimmy and the tasty dialogue of course!
-- "I've got a real good eye for prime meat. Runs in the family."
-- "Look, darlin'. Built ya a little fry house."
-- "You have one choice, boy: sex or the saw. Sex is, well, nobody knows. But the saw, the saw is family."

Or maybe it's the small 80s touches sprinkled throughout:
-- The Fine Young Cannibals poster at the radio station.
-- One of many intoxicated performances by Dennis Hopper.
-- And of course, in the movie poster, the characters are in the same position as the characters in the poster for The Breakfast Club. "Being bad feels pretty good, huh?"

Bruce, you're famous (but bald)

Bruce Willis got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday. Just now? Yeah, it seems the process of getting a star awarded on the Walk of Fame is about as crooked as winning Florida's electoral college votes. But better late than never (or insert your favorite cliche here).

Bruce is also in the news these days for lesser honors:

• Producers of his latest "Die Hard" sequel want to close down key freeways leading into the Los Angeles airport. Which is more disturbing? Gridlocked airport traffic or another installment of this tired, sad movie franchise? I'd rather see four sequels to The Fifth Element or Armageddon.
• Willis also is threatening to beat up anyone who makes fun of his baldness. (OK. Bruce, you're so bald, you make William Shatner's hairpiece look good.)

But we love the Brucester, though he'll always be David Addison on Moonlighting to us.

Top 5 Bruce Willis flicks:
5. Die Hard: "Nine million terrorists in the world and I gotta kill one with feet smaller than my sister."
4. The Sixth Sense: "I didn't leave you."
3. Armageddon: "I'm not gonna kill him, I'm just gonna take a foot off of him. A man can work with one foot."
2. The Fifth Element: "Negative, I am a meat popsicle."
1. Pulp Fiction: "I'm American, honey. Our names don't mean s--t."

Worst 5 Bruce Willis flicks: The Bonfire of the Vanities; The Whole Ten Yards; Unbreakable; The Story of Us; Hudson Hawk.

Last call at CBGB

CBGB, the infamous New York punk club, hosted it last concert last night. It's closing its doors for good on Oct. 31. Since opening in 1972, CBGB cradled the development of bands such as The Ramones (podcast), Blondie and the Talking Heads. This weekend, Deborah Harry and rock poet Patti Smith performed for the venue's final shows.

Forced to close because of a feud with its landlord and local neighbors, the club is stripping its walls bare and moving to Las Vegas.

"We can have CBGB in our hearts, but the new generation is going to have their own places to play," Smith told the audience during her performance Sunday night. "They're going to find some s--t hole and play in it like we did."

Click here to see photos of the artists who've performed at the club over the years.

[Photos: AP and Getty Images]

Patty Smyth is still The Warrior

Patty Smyth visits with Stuck in the 80s in our latest podcast, which is now online. Click here to listen or click here to subscribe to the whole series for free via iTunes.

Patty, most fans remember, was the lead singer for Scandal in the early 80s. When the band parted ways, she continued on with an impressive solo career. Away from music, she's also know for her marriage to punk god Richard Hell and now to tennis legend John McEnroe.

Thanks to the VH1, Scandal reformed in 2004 when the network featured the band on its "Bands Reunited" show. (I don't know if they canned that series or not, but it was the only reason I watched VH1. Now, I pretty much stick to VH1 Classic and watching endless repeats of "Wedding Crashers" on HBO.)

This week's podcast features a 20-minute interview with Patty and lots of Scandal music -- including a bunch of songs you probably never knew they performed. If you're like me, you'll end up blowing a few bucks on iTunes afterward to get a handful of the hits for your iPod. Definitely worth the coin.

Enjoy the show: Next week ... the one-hit wonders of 1983.

Friday the 13th battle: Best 80s horror villain

When we asked for your input on the upcoming Best Horror Movies of the 80s list, you knew this side-argument was on the way: Who's the best horror movie villain of the 80s?

So go walk under a ladder, cross the path of a black cat, break a few mirrors and buy a Lionel Richie CD -- all the things that traditionally bring bad luck -- and sound off. Here are the three main contenders, but feel free to add more of your own:

Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th series):
Pros: Usually waits til his victims at least finish sex first before dispatching them.
Cons: Last name sounds Swedish -- how many Swedish serial killers are wandering summer camps in the U.S.? It would explain the hockey mask though.

Michael Myers (Halloween series):
Pros: Has the good sense not to kill the lovely Jamie Lee Curtis.
Cons: These days, mainly confused with Mike Myers of Austin Powers fame. Also, what's with the William Shatner mask painted white?

Freddy Kreuger (A Nightmare on Elm Street series)
Pros: Snappy dresser; only one of the top 3 villains to actually speak.
Cons: He only kills in your dreams? Most of us today are on so many prescriptions for various emotional problems that it's a miracle if we get to sleep at all.

Who are we forgetting?

Review: Pretty in Pink special edition

May I admire "Pretty in Pink" again today? John Hughes fans ... the official Stuck in the 80s verdict is in: The new "Everything's Duckie Edition" DVD is definitely worth your time.

This new edition DVD-only version of Pretty in Pink was released on the film's 20th anniversary and it contains several gems, including an audio commentary by director Howard Deutch (remember, Hughes only wrote and produced it) and a half dozen featurettes about the making of the film. Most of the stars are shown in interviews from 1986 and today. (They've all aged remarkably gracefully.)

The real treasure though is a feature on the original ending of the flick. And here's the controversy too. The movie was supposed to end with Andie (Molly Ringwald) and Duckie (Jon Cryer) together at the dance, dancing alone in a spotlight dance -- with no reconciliation with Blane (Andrew McCarthy). Test audiences though objected, so the ending was rewritten and re-shot to show Andie and Blane together.

No, the entire original ending isn't included on the DVD -- mainly because it's still sorta there ... in pieces. The new ending is more "addition" than subtraction. Are you confused? Then go rent or buy the movie. What's amusing is that only Andrew McCarthy thought the original ending was stupid. Most hardcore Hughes fans I know would prefer the original ending.

Other factoids you'll learn in this edition:

• John Hughes invents his own "teen language" for his movies, so that they don't appear dated when people watch them 20 years later.
• Deutch disagreed with Hughes on much of the music for Pretty in Pink (though he later admits Hughes was right all along).
• Everyone thought James Spader ("Steff") was an obnoxious jerk during his audition. No one wanted him to get the part until they realized -- hey, that's exactly the kind of person who should play Steff.
• Andrew and Molly had a date arranged during the making of the movie, but Andrew stood her up.

He stood her up? I nearly fell off the couch when I heard that. But I ran over and rubbed my Molly Ringwald action figure instead for good mojo.

If you already own the movie on DVD, is it worth buying the new one? I'm going to go out on a limb and say yes. (Just give the old version to a younger sibling.) The Duckman would approve.

It's Madonna's world ... someone tell me why!

I know I've done my share of bad things and made some wrong decisions in life. Tried to leave my best friend's girlfriend behind without a ride home at the U2 concert back in '85 ... Skipped my last day of school in 8th grade -- only to be caught red-handed by my mom ... Tried to get out of my prom date back in junior year of high school to go with someone hotter ...

And I think for -- for the most part -- the appropriate amount of bad karma has been redelivered on me as punishment. (For the record:  1) The girl caught up to our car and basically beat me like a rag doll the whole way home; 2) I pulled weeds from our lawn all summer; 3) My prom date wouldn't let me break it off, then wanted to go home early, but not before my friend's prom date threw up on me.)

So what in the world did I do to deserve this? Madonna is on TV and the Web nonstop all week -- just because she adopted a child?? First, everyone reports she did it (including me, because - face it - I wanted to mock her). Then, everyone reports she'd denied it. Now today, everyone is again reporting it's confirmed again.

Can't I read some non-Madonna news somewhere? Isn't Whitney back in rehab yet? Or George Michael prowling a public park with a bag of Kentucky bluegrass tripweed? I'd settle for news on the latest Corey Haim-Corey Feldman project. I'd help them read their lines. Anything but this lingering non-story.

Thanks to the web, I now know I'm not the only person who hates Madonna:

• Crazy Virgo "kind of" hates Madonna;
• A professor at UC-San Diego definitely hates her;
• One blogger thinks Madonna is a sweaty, pain-killer addict;
• This Australian just hates Madonna's ankles;
• Even the drag queens are turning against her now. About time!

Finally proof that I'm not alone. It may be Madonna's world. But we don't have to like it.

Share your scares: Best and worst horror flicks

With Halloween around the corner, it's time to build another list: What were the best (and worst) horror films of the 80s? I'll have the complete list for you next week, just in time for our upcoming Halloween episode of the Stuck in the 80s podcast.

In the meantime, here are a couple suggestions:

Ghosts with the most:
- The Shining (1980): Almost enough to make you forget about Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut."
- American Werewolf in London (1981): Love the "all moon" soundtrack and special effects.
- A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984): I have a friend from college who dressed similar to Freddy Kreuger -- striped shirt, leather fedora. Quite the babe-magnet at bars. Seriously.
- The Thing (1982): When John Carpenter and Kurt Russell work together, great things happen. ("Snaaaaake Pliskin ... I heard you were dead.")
- Poltergeist (1982): The family-friendly horror flick. Except for the parts where you're so scared, your heart nearly explodes.

More gruel than ghoul:
- Friday the 13th (1980): A series of deaths in between porn scenes. Kevin Bacon should be ashamed his name is attached to this fiasco.
- Maniac (1980): Sadly, not a movie about Michael Sembello's song from Flashdance.
- Shocker (1989): A ripoff of Nightmare on Elm Street. Totallly without merit. Still not convinced? It stars John Tesh.
- Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984): Santa Claus as an ax-wielding murderer. Now that's family fun for every generation.
- April Fool's Day (1986): I paid money to see this back when I thought Deborah Foreman was the greatest actress of the 80s. A crushing blow to my adolescence.

Drop me a comment with your favorite and least-favorite horror movies of the 80s. Or, if you feeling particularly moved by the spirit, call our toll-free line ((866-371-9605) and leave us a voice mail.

Hollywood's most famous sister?

Joan Cusack, the sister of John Cusack, turns 44 years old today. And maybe as a birthday present, I'll stop referring to her as the second-half of the Cusack Dynasty. After all, she's got a impressive list of film credits of her own. And while she rarely steps in the lead spotlight, her films are largely as entertaining as her brother's.

If I had a little bit more moxy today, I could even suggest she's more talented than John. Nah, the Stuck in the 80s gang is hopelessly devoted to All Things John. But we still get a kick out of seeing Joan and John star in the same flicks.

So how about two Top 5 lists today? And because I think of J&J as both being eternally part of the 80s, I'm opening the lists to movies from any decade.

Top 5 films starring Joan and Joan Cusack:
5. Class: They're both credited with roles here. John's easy to pick out. Joan, not so much.
4. High Fidelity: Joan plays the mutual friend of the broken-up couple. Her best lines can't be repeated in this family-friendly blog.
3. Gross Pointe Blank: Joan books the hits for John. They're never in the same room.
2. Sixteen Candles: They both played geeks. Joan outshines John here as the girl in the neck brace.
1. Say Anything: Brother and sister in the movie too. Director Cameron Crowe brings out the best in his two co-stars.

Top 5 Joan Cusack films:
5. Broadcast News: "Except for socially, you're my role model."
4. School of Rock: "I've just been informed that all your children are missing."
3. In & Out: "I need a heterosexual male, CODE RED!"
2. Say Anything: "There's no food in your food."
1. Working Girl: "Six thousand dollars? It's not even leather!"

Curtain call for Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis says she's through with acting. (Her critics might snicker and wonder when she ever started.) She'll instead spend her time tending to husband/actor Christopher Guest and their two adopted children.

We'll survive. After all, we have an entire video library devoted to the daughter of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. And of course the best of her work is in the 80s. (I'll go as far as saying the only decent non-80s flicks -- and this will upset the "Halloween" fans out there -- are True Lies in 1994 and The Tailor of Panama in 2001.)

Top 5 favorite Jamie Lee Curtis flicks:

5. The Fog (1980): "Thank God you're weird. The last one was so normal, it was disgusting."

4. Grandview, USA (1984): No great quotes, but I can't leave a movie with Curtis, John Cusack, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Patrick Swayze off the list.

3. Perfect (1985): "What's wrong with wanting to be perfect? What's wrong with wanting to be loved?"

2. Trading Places (1983): "Food and rent are not the only things around here that cost money. You sleep on the couch."

1. A Fish Called Wanda (1988): "Aristotle was not Belgian, the principle of Buddhism is not 'Every man for himself,' and the London Underground is not a political movement. Those are all mistakes, Otto. I looked them up."

Success hasn't spoiled me yet

If I'm going to rip off a headline idea, it better at least be from the 80s. Thanks, Rick Springfield.

So now that I'm some big award-winning blogger, I have a few things to accomplish on my wish list. Thought I might jot them down here.

Top 5 things a winning 80s blogger ought to do:

5. Go buy all the John Hughes flicks on DVD -- all at once if possible, which would really scare the checkout person at Best Buy ... especially if I reeked of Boones Farm.  (Probably ask store whether Class Reunion, Dutch and Curly Sue can be found in the bargain bin.)

4. Make winning bid for autographed portrait of Molly Ringwald on eBay. (Right after I see if won the bid for the "Dreaming of you, Anthony Michael Hall" pillowcase.)

3. Convince bosses to send me to London to catch the last of the Original Asia reunion tour. Cash in the first-class ticket for coach so that there's money left over to buy wall clock signed by the band.

2. Get tattoo of Kristy McNichol on one arm and Susanna Hoffs on the other. (Finally pay to have giant "Frankie say RELAX" tattoo removed from my back.)

1. Use one-half of award prize money to hire Journey to play my 40th birthday party. Use other half to bring back Steve Perry to join them. Videotape the teary reunion and make a fortune in pay-per-view rights.

Thank you, readers and listeners around the world. I remain here, humbly but forever, stuck in the 80s.

Bodacious blog wins gnarly award

Congratulations, Steve Spears!

The Stuck in the '80s blog on Saturday night won the Online News Association's award for online commentary.

Before announcing the winner in the blog category, the presenter teased the crowd, displaying an image of Cyndi Lauper in outrageous dress and playing the punchline of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."

The Online Journalism Awards are serious business, the most prestigious recognition for news and information web sites. To see a list of the winners -- such as nola.com, the nation's homepage for Hurricane Katrina coverage -- go to www.journalist.org.

Little pink candles, babe, for you and me

John Mellencamp turns 55 today. That's Johnny Cougar for those of us who enjoyed the EARLY part of the 80s. (After his hit 1982 album American Fool, he was able to reinstate his real last name on future bodies of work.)

I gotta admit I was never a huge fan of Cougar/Mellencamp, but he had the best MTV contest of the early years. Remember those? Back when MTV still needed to build an audience, the network was the undisputed king of beyond-belief contests. In once contest, the winners got to see Asia in concert in Japan ("Asia in Asia"). In other, The Cars did a show for you and your friends.

And my favorite: The winner got a pink house in Indiana and a private concert by Mellencamp. Rumor has it the original house MTV had bought for the contest was located on a toxic waste dump, and -- under orders from Mellencamp -- the network bought another house and quickly painted it pink. The contest winners lived in it for two days before selling it.

Stuck in the 80s co-host and Times pop critic Sean Daly has a great story about the rock icon. Back in 2004, when Daly was still working for the Washington Post, he interviewed Mellencamp in Bloomington, Ind., for a big piece in the newspaper. (Click here to read it.) Before making the long drive back to the airport, Daly needed to use the star's bathroom. An hour after saying goodbye, the sudden fear hit him: Did he forget to flush the toilet? He didn't have the nerve to find out. The mystery endures.

Happy birthday, Mr. Mellencamp from the Stuck in the 80s gang. Here's a top 5 list for you to help forget the whole toilet fiasco.

Top 5 favorite John Cougar Mellencamp songs:
5. I Need A Lover: "I'm not asking to be loved or be forgiven"
4. Jack and Diane: "Dribble off those bobby brooks. Let me do what I please"
3. Pink Houses: "The simple man, baby, pays for the thrills, the bills and the pills that kill"
2. Ain't Even Done With The Night: "I don't know no good come-ons. And I don't know no cool lines"
1. Small Town: "Another boring romantic that's me"