July 21, 2002
Calling Ginger Stampley!

The Chron has a review of the new Rhino collection Like, Omigod! The '80s Pop Culture Box (Totally). It looks like a winner. A few comments:

  • Due presumably to licensing issues, not everyone who should be represented in this collection is. Michael Jackson and Tina Turner are not, for example. I must confess that I always thought Private Dancer was way overrated, so this doesn't break my heart. What's curious is that KHPT, the local 80s station, never plays any Michael Jackson and hardly any Tina Turner. Again, no great loss from my perspective.

  • The review doesn't mention any Europop songs or artists, though I'm sure they're represented. Back in the day, I hated that stuff. Depeche Mode, Level 42, Erasure, the Pet Shop Boys - I despised it all with a fiery passion. Now, in what is surely a sign of my advancing decrepitude, I actually kinda like most of it. God help me, I can even listen to Madonna tunes without feeling the need to rip the radio out of my dashboard and hurl it onto the street, like Lane Meyer in Better Off Dead. (I still hate Michael Jackson, though, so there's hope for me.)

  • Speaking of which, Better Off Dead was the definitive 80s movie. Go rent it right now if you've never seen it.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on July 21, 2002 to Music
Comments

Got to disagree with the representative movie of the 80's bit. My vote's for Ghostbusters.

Posted by: Laurence Simon on July 21, 2002 11:06 AM

I don't know that you could group Level 42 with the others you mentioned - PSBs, Erasure and Depeche Mode have a certain amount of credibility, while Level 42 were nothing once that bloke suffered repetitive strain injury on his 'slappin' thumb'.

And as for the movie, you're both wrong - it's obviously Rocky III.......*cough*....

Posted by: arseblogger on July 21, 2002 1:52 PM

You do know I talked about this set weeks ago and that Erica bought it because I recommended it, right? I guess I'll have to comment at greater length on my own page.

Posted by: Ginger on July 21, 2002 2:30 PM

Sorry, Ginger, either I missed it or I forgot. You were just way ahead of the Chron, surprise surprise.

Arseblogger, ESPN's Bill Simmons agrees with you.

Posted by: Charles Kuffner on July 21, 2002 4:50 PM

yep, i bought the set from amazon.com ~july 3 after reading about it on ginger's blog. love it, love it. (and darin doesn't mind it too much.)

Posted by: erica on July 21, 2002 5:26 PM