PODCAST! Remembering John Hughes

Your Stuck in the '80s podcast team of Steve Spears, Cathy Wos and Sean Daly pay their respects to writer-director-producer-shaper of lives John Hughes. Alas, no "seggies" this week, but you do get plenty of clips, giddy chatter and trenchant analysis of the existential power of "Those aren't pillows!" CLICK HERE TO LISTEN or download us on iTunes.

Silicon Teens 'Red River Rock' (hey EW, you missed a John Hughes song!)

In the current ish of Entertainment Weekly, the pop-culture mavens pay tribute to the late John Hughes. There's an oral history, a rundown of his top flicks -- plus a playlist of the best tunes from his movies. As the master of the playlist, I give EW a B. Their choices are too obvious, too blah. But their biggest sin is that they left off Red River Rock!!! How does something like that happen? Perhaps because I have a screw loose, the Silicon Teens' Red River Rock, from 1987's Planes, Trains and Automobiles, is my flat-out fave Hughes tune. Have you ever heard such a joyful noise? The bubblicious cut punctuates two of the movie's biggest laughs, including a man getting picked up by his genitals. (Also great from PTAA? The Mess Around by Ray Charles!)

Best 'John Hughes' Music

Hey gang, I wrote this item a few years ago, and it's currently lighting up on Google. Only problem is, the old version lost its formatting and looks like crap. So here's a prettier version...

Watched The Great Outdoors this weekend, the cable-classic comedy written and produced by John Hughes -- but which might as well have been directed by him, too. Not as great as his other "dysfunctional adults" movies featuring John Candy -- including Planes, Train and Automobiles and Uncle Buck -- but damn funny regardless. (If I ever make it to Paul Bunyan's Cupboard, I'm totally ordering the Old 96er. I'll just skip the Bucket of Salad.)

Anyway, the movie's credits feature a zany "dance" scene cut from the middle of the film: Dan Aykroyd & Co. partying in a lodge to the tune of Wilson Pickett's Land of 1,000 Dances. It's fun stuff, and just another example of John Hughes' deft touch with cool, vaguely kitschy music. It got me thinking of all the great music from John Hughes movies -- and not just the obvious teen ones.

So herewith...The Old 96er "Processing Nicely" Playlist

1) Danke Schoen -- Wayne Newton (from Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
2) Red River Rock -- Silicon Teens (from Planes, Trains...)
3) Wild Thing -- Tone Loc (from Uncle Buck)
4) Try a Little Tenderness -- Otis Redding (from Pretty in Pink)
5) Land of 1,000 Dances -- Wilson Pickett (from The Great Outdoors)
6) Weird Science -- Oingo Boingo (from Weird Science)
7) Crazy Love -- Bryan Ferry (from She's Having a Baby)
8) I Go Crazy -- Flesh for Lulu (from Some Kind of Wonderful)
9) If You Were Here -- Thompson Twins (from Sixteen Candles)
10) Holiday Road -- Lindsey Buckingham (from Vacation)
BONUS TRACK: The Spirit of Christmas -- Ray Charles (from Christmas Vacation)

To vote for John Hughes' best '80s flicks, go to Stuck in the '80s. 

John Hughes, 1950-2009

My boy Spearsy is working on a nice memorial for the '80s king at Stuck in the '80s. Rest assured there's a spot in heaven reserved for Mr. Hughes, if for no other reason than the "Those aren't pillows!" scene in Planes, Trains and Automobiles, one of my fave movies ever. Teenage wasteland? More like the kids are alright.

SD's Favorite Pop Soundtracks (or: Happy Anniversary, Purple Rain)

As a kid who loved both movies and music — not to mention conjuring suave cinematic fantasies of action, adventure and Christie Brinkley in a two-piece — I grew up with as many soundtracks in my collection as regular records. So with Prince’s Purple Rain turning 25 next week, it got me thinking about my other fave soundtracks, all 10 of which, no matter how old or weird, I still spin on the player all the time.

The Graduate (1967) Dave Grusin’s ripe cocktail swing puckishly frames the youthful freedoms of Simon and Garfunkel’s ethereal pop. April Come She Will gets me every time. (Fun Fact: The famous "leg" in the poster is not Anne Bancroft's. It's Linda Gray's. Yep, of Dallas fame.)

Superfly (1972) From the title track to Freddie’s Dead, Curtis Mayfield’s street serenade is sexy, cool and utterly terrifying.

Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973) Bob Dylan’s foray into soundtracking includes Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door plus a soft, jingle-janglin’ saloon score. I bought this on CD at the Princeton Record Exchange, then played it in my crappy rental car as I cruised around campus. Total bliss.

Grease (1978) If we’re talking Travolta dance flicks, I’ll take the bawdy ’50s fun of Greased Lightning over Saturday Night Fever’s ’70s-sparkly Stayin’ Alive.

The Electric Horseman (1979) Willie Nelson owns Side 1 of this underrated gem, from his crackly take on the Allmans’ Midnight Rider to the bittersweetly spare Hands on the Wheel. Catch me at the right time -- say midnight, alone in my office, can't sleep -- and I'll tell you this is my favorite soundtrack of all.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) As well as having hits by the Ramones and the Pointer Sisters, this fun, cheeky road-tripper is bookended by two great Lindsey Buckingham cuts: Holiday Road and Dancing Across the U.S.A. This sucker is pretty rare and rather expensive (at least on CD).

Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) For all the verbal zip of John Hughes movies, the director also had killer taste in music. This soundtrack stars ’80s one-hitters Flesh for Lulu (I Go Crazy) and Lick the Tins (a cover of Can’t Help Falling in Love). Sadly, Charlie Sexton's climactic Beat So Lonely (an extended version, no less) is not on here.

Pulp Fiction (1994) You could go with any Quentin Tarantino soundtrack and you’d be in happenin’ shape. (I was this close to picking Reservoir Dogs.) Still dig the surfy, switchblade licks of Dick Dale’s Misirlou kicking off the bloody party. 

Toy Story (1995) There are myriad reasons why Pixar has a winning streak unmatched in modern cartoonage. One of those is the reliance on big-hearted satirist Randy Newman to provide the music. Here he matches adult cynicism (Strange Things) with chummy tyke sing-alongs (You’ve Got a Friend in Me).

Slumdog Millionaire (2008) Composer A. R. Rahman’s Bollywood-meets-techno score, plus devilish help from Sri Lankan hip-hopper M.I.A., helped make this beat-mad soundtrack a crossover smash.