Go Retro!

Whatever Happened to TV Show Themes?

2012-01-28T11:55:00.000-05:00

"Sunday Monday, happy days! Tuesday, Wednesday, happy days! Thursday Friday, happy days! The weekend comes, my cycle hums, ready to roll to you!"

"Well, we've movin' on up (movin' on up) to the East side (movin' on up.) We finally got a piece of the pie!"

"Thank you for being a friend...travel down the road and back again. Your heart is true, you're a pal and a confidante."

If you were a child of the 60s, 70s, and 80s, I'm sure that like me you can still sing dozens of TV show themes by heart, and no doubt you can name which shows the ones above came from. These and other great songs added to my enjoyment of equally great TV programs, many of them comedy sitcoms. Even instrumental openers--like on Taxi--are still quite memorable.

That's why I'm wondering why we rarely hear an opening original theme for today's shows. Not so much dramas like Mad Men which feature an original score, but the half hour comedy sitcom. Many don't seem to have any opening at all other than flashing the credits. One exception is The Big Bang Theory which features a theme written and performed by the Barenaked Ladies for the show, so kudos to them. However, will people still remember and sing it decades from now?

Is it Hollywood's laziness and growing lack of imagination that has contributed to the theme song's demise? It seems that opening TV themes started to disappear around the same time as the advertising jingle went AWOL--about a good 10-15 years ago. This was right around the time reality TV shows started to get popular. Whatever the reason, I miss the creativity.

Here's some of my favorite opening TV show themes. What are yours--and why do you think they're so rare today?

Mah Na Mah Na, The Muppets, and Italian Soft Porn

2012-01-20T20:06:00.001-05:00

Just before the holidays, Slate reported on this story but it seemed to slip under the radar. All these decades, it seems the Muppets were keeping a secret from us: they're familiar with soft porn Italian film soundtracks. You know that song Mah Na Mah Na? Well, if you don't recognize it from the The Muppets, then you might recognize it from The Benny Hill Show...but after learning about its origins, I can understand why Benny was fond of the ditty. It first appeared in a 1968 Italian sexploitation film about Sweden called Sweden: Heaven and Hell, which explores various sexual activities. Here's a clip from the movie that features the song--and a bevy of Swedish women in a sauna. For those of you who are fans of Retrospace, I'd say these women are about 2 minutes of screen time away from having pancakes*.

Mah Na Mah Na was written by Italian composer Piero Umiliani and was a minor hit in a few countries--it peaked at 55 on the American Billboard singles chart in 1969. That same year, it was first heard on Sesame Street, as sung by a shaggy male Muppet backed by two girl Muppets. Later the girls would be replaced by alien like creatures called Snouths.

Thanks to Jim Henson's love of catchy European tunes, Mah Na Mah Na would become one of the most infamous songs in the Muppets' catalog. And thanks to retro pop culture trivia, we may never look at the song in the same way again!

*See Retrospace for pancake explanation.

January 19, 1972...Or WTF, I'm Forty?!?

2012-01-19T10:58:00.000-05:00

It isn't that often that I mention personal accomplishments on this blog; it's better served showing you pictures of bell bottom pants. But today I turned 40 years old, and I'm not sure why, but it seemed relevant to mention it. A few weeks ago, I wasn't in love with the upcoming milestone. I understood why Jack Benny kept his age at the perpetual 39. But now that it's actually happened, I don't feel any different than when I turned 30 (and where the heck did those past ten years go, anyway?) Sure, there are some things in life that I wish had happened by now (ahem, finding my life partner) but there's been a lot of incredible things that have happened the past four years or so that previously didn't seem possible. I can honestly say that I've never been as happy and confident in my entire life as I am now. I discovered my love for a newer area of marketing--social media--and I finally feel like my writing has taken off the past few years. Last year I posted about how women in their 40s in this day and age have a somewhat more positive experience and are viewed by society differently than women who lived through their 40s in the 60s and 70s. Yes, life is good and continues to get interesting and more fulfilling.

But I'm sure you don't want to hear me jabber on about...well, me. For fun, I thought I'd pull together some key facts about January 1972, the month and year I was born:

*The song topping the music charts was Don McLean's American Pie.

*Gas cost 55 cents a gallon (yikes!)

*The cost of a first-class stamp was 8 cents.

*The average cost of a new house was $27,550.

*The first Star Trek convention was held in New York.

*All in the Family was the top rated show, followed by The Flip Wilson Show.

*Life cereal had a popular commercial with the famous line, "He likes it! Hey Mikey!"

*The Godfather was a few weeks away from winning the Oscar for Best Motion Picture.

*The Dallas Cowboys were a few weeks away from being the Superbowl VI champs.

Famous people who share my birthday: Janis Joplin (yeah!), Dolly Parton, and Robert Palmer.

I'm looking forward to seeing what my 40s are going to bring. If Go Retro goes quiet the rest of this month, I've just been extremely busy. On that note, I'm planning on a small surprise here for the month of February. Nothing earth shattering, just going to slightly change things up a bit for next month. Stay tuned.

Vintage Thrush Ads: Ladies Love Your Exhaust Pipe

2012-01-12T11:41:00.000-05:00

Thrush has been making mufflers and exhaust parts for vintage automobiles and hot rods since 1966, but in my opinion the best part of their history are their old advertisements from the 70s and 80s. Before I show them to you, let me just remind everyone that "Thrush" sounds a lot like "thrust." Thrush is also the name of a yeast infection that people can get in the mouth and throat or on their tongue. Take out two letters and you have the word "tush." I'm just saying. I truly mean no disrespect to the Thrush company, but just thought I'd point that out.

The ads are spectacular; laden with double entendres and subliminal imagery. The agency who dreamed up this theme wasn't stupid; everyone knows that sex appeal sells. I wouldn't expect anything less from the testosterone laden 70s.

I found most of these ads scanned on Flickr by a user named trebomb. I must give credit where credit is due!

That (60s) Girl

2012-01-10T19:44:00.000-05:00

I'm not a heterosexual man or a lesbian, but I do know this: I think that of all the decades, women of the 60s were the most beautiful. Over and over again, guys usually have something positive to say on video clips featuring Rachel Welch, Jane Fonda, Shirley Bassey and anyone else who was somebody during the 60s. That is not to say that the 50s, 70s and 80s didn't have attractive, sexy humans of the female persuasion, but when it comes to choosing a classic look that would still be right at home even in 2011, I think the 60s women have it nailed (for her debut this week on CBS This Morning, Gayle King looked very 60s in a yellow and black colorblock dress and heavy eye makeup.) I tried to dissect what made 60s women so appealing, and I came up with these reasons:

Hair

For both men and women, hair got longer and more finger friendly (meaning it could actually move because it was free of sticky/greasy styling products more often) during the 60s. While some gals opted for pixie cuts (a la Mia Farrow and Twiggy), a mod bob designed by Vidal Sassoon, hairspray coated bouffants and beehives or afros (all of which looked marvelous), the classic look that immediately comes to mind when I think of the 60s decade is hair that falls to or past the shoulders with heavy, eye framing bangs. I could be wrong, but I tend to think that most men still prefer long hair on women, and the 60s certainly provided them with plenty of that.

Makeup

In the 60s, makeup was all about the eyes, and I greatly admire anyone who could artfully apply the mod looking/cats eye makeup in the 60s--because I've been attempting it myself (sans the fake lashes) with varying results! In my opinion, it's still a classic makeup look, especially when paired with pale lips. On the other end of the makeup spectrum were the ladies who preferred to go au natural--like Joan Baez--and still looked beautiful.

"Sexy, Not Slutty"

I've seen this comment left plenty of times on YouTube by guys when reminiscing about sexy starlets and singers of the 60s. Sure, this decade gave us the miniskirt, hot pants, and bikini, but most gals knew the meaning of modesty--if they were going to show off their legs in a short skirt, they usually revealed little else. Today, it's all about showing too much skin and leaving very little to the imagination. Sixties women knew how dress sexy and look classy, not trashy.

Fashion

On that related note, I love women's fashion from the 60s the best compared to other decades. From Mad Men-esque curvy suits and dresses to colorful space age inspired clothes to the maxi dresses in the age of Aquarius, there was something for everyone in the era, and it all looked groovy. By contrast, many fashion trends of the 70s and 80s leave us scratching our heads and saying, "What were we thinking?"

Did I miss anything?

The More Things Change...

2012-01-09T13:25:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! I have not forgotten about Go Retro; I've just gotten busy again with two jobs and I'm almost done with a new post that will hopefully go out this week. In the meantime, I saw the following clip shared on Facebook last week and found it very moving because it's still relevant in the year 2011. It's from the 1940 Charlie Chaplin movie The Great Dictator (combined with more modern footage.) This speech takes place at the end of the movie and some believe it's one of the greatest ever captured on film. I certainly thought so.

Whatever Happened to Kids Being Kids?

2011-12-30T12:08:00.001-05:00

I find it deeply disturbing how much today's children know about sex and sexuality at such a young age. I went out to dinner last night with a women's social group. One member at our table, a teacher, recounted stories that, while not terribly surprising, would still curl anyone's hair. A second grader came to school one day wearing gold "hooker heels", a micro mini and a low-cut top that was a size too small for her. A 7th grader who routinely dressed the same way was pregnant by the following year--despite the teachers' attempts to warn the mother (who stormed into the school showing off her enormous cleavage and butterfly tattoo on her chest, defending her daughter with the first amendment excuse.) A young boy was frustrated because, he said, "the girls won't leave me alone and stop asking me out." According to our dining companion he said he "just wanted to play basketball--not go out with girls."

Another woman mentioned how her 5 year-old niece has mastered the art of flirting--when going out to eat with her parents recently, she batted her eyelids and flirted with the waiter--who "rewarded" her with an extra bowl of bread.

In my Decline of Marriage post from a few weeks ago, I mentioned the book "The Good Girl Revolution" by Wendy Shalit. In the first chapter, she discusses the influence of pop culture on today's young girls and how it's not helping the situation. In particular she discusses the lack of modest clothing options (one company mentioned in the book actually makes thong underwear for 8 year olds) and how the Bratz line of dolls started the trend of dolls that are dressed like sluts. I guess the polyester pants from Sears that I wore in the 70s wouldn't fly with today's girls or their parents. A few years ago, a line of pony dolls called "Struts" were released that look like Victoria's Secret supermodels--wearing high heels, jewelry, and fashion accessories. Really? What was wrong with My Pretty Pony?

And don't even get me started on the piece of garbage show known as Toddlers & Tiaras--which earlier this year featured a mother who purposely dressed her 3 year-old daughter up as Julia Roberts' hooker character from Pretty Woman.

Holy whores, Batman! What the good gravy is wrong with our society today? Seems like it is truly headed down the toilet. I'm not a parent, but I feel sorry for anyone raising kids today who wish to shield them from sexual influences, particularly those who have daughters. Kids today are growing up way too fast and have limited choices when it comes to role models. I remember when Mary Lou Retton and other female athletes were looked up to. Today, according to the teacher who was at my dinner table, it's people like Snooki. Snooki was actually cited by two young girls in her class as their hero (on Who's Your Hero Day) because she has "'tude" and is "sexy." My immediate thought was why were the ridiculous parents letting them watch Jersey Shore in the first place? Jersey Shore is a show for grown ups, not little girls.

Kids today don't seem to have much of an innocent childhood.

Despite the yearly sex ed classes, I truly didn't feel that I know much about sex until I was in high school. I didn't even know what it meant to be sexy until I was in college. It's only recently--in my late 30s--that I feel like I know how to flirt! The only girl we know of who got pregnant the entire time I went to high school happened during our senior year and it disturbed us. Who would want to get pregnant, when we were going off to college and had our whole lives in front of us? Unfortunately, today we have shows like MTV's Teen Moms which is supposed to show the unglamorous side of teenage motherhood, but instead had the opposite effect when a girl got pregnant on purpose to be on the show and become famous.

For many pre-teen boys, their first look at naked or semi-nude women came from sneaking their old man's dirty magazine collection or looking at the undergarment section of the Sears catalog.

That is not to say that kids in my junior high and high school weren't having sex. Teens have always been having sex, but their knowledge and experimentation is occurring at earlier and scarier ages. I remember a few years ago Oprah did a show about oral sex among pre-teens...12 and 13 year-old boys and girls who had shared many oral sex partners in their school. These kids didn't think much of it because President Clinton had declared that oral sex wasn't the same as real sex during the Lewinsky scandal. The girls didn't seem to care that they were at an increased risk at contradicting diseases.

Technology isn't helping. Teens and pre-teens think nothing of "sexting" and sending sexy photos to each other using their smartphones. It landed at least one teen--who distributed pictures of his steady girlfriend to several friends and family members (what?!)--on the sex offender list.

Parents aren't doing their job. Yes, we have pop culture and toy influences but we can't place all of the blame on TV shows, musicians and the toy companies (personally, I think if parents are unhappy with certain toys and clothing manufacturers they should let them know, as was the case when Abercrombie & Fitch tried to advertise bikini tops for 8 year-old girls which attracted many negative comments on their Facebook page.) Parents need to talk to their kids about sex and stress the importance of waiting until they're older and not giving in to peer pressure. Watch what your children are watching on TV and look for clothing alternatives to letting them dress like a hooker. We need a return to family values.

P.S. I didn't mention the disturbing trend of girls going through puberty at earlier ages, because that is something beyond their control (and is a sad situation for sure.)

The Craptacular Star Wars Holiday Special

2011-12-24T11:48:00.000-05:00

Just how awful was The Star Wars Holiday Special? So bad that it only aired once and has never been released on VHS or DVD. So bad that George Lucas himself alienated himself from the project. So bad that Conan O'Brien has used a clip from it to embarrass Harrison Ford during one of his appearances as a guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. So bad, that the only thing that could make it better would be for Bill Murray to make a cameo as his SNL Nick the Lounge Singer character crooning his made-up lyrics to the Star Wars theme.

Actually, it's quite surprising that Bill Murray didn't make an appearance in the 1978 train wreck, because Bea Arthur, Harvey Korman, Starship Airplane and Art Carney did. It's almost like the producers tried to turn the Star Wars legacy into a comedy variety show--in one segment, Bea plays a singing bartender and Harvey is a four-armed alien who tries to romance her and consumes alcohol (or whatever concoction they imbibe on the planet Tatooine) by pouring it into a hole in his head. The comic relief is well intended, but it's also a little embarrassing. The storyline also takes place on "Happy Life Day" (the equivalent of Christmas) and introduces us to the disturbing notion of Wookies procreating; we discover that Chewbacca has a wife, son, and father. It also introduced the character of Boba Fett (via a cartoon) and features Carrie Fisher as Princess Leah singing at the end.

All of which, I'll admit, sounds intriguing. I've never seen the special in its entirety and I don't even remember it as a kid, but the clips are out there and it's possible to watch the whole thing on YouTube. George Lucas loathed it, and told fans that it didn't match his vision of Star Wars. TV Guide ranked it number 11 on their "25 Most Hilarious Holiday TV Moments", mentioning that it was "unintentionally hilarious". The toy company Kenner was planning on creating characters of Chewbacca's family, but after the poor reception the special received, it canceled them. Supposedly prototypes still exist; I would imagine they're worth quite a bit of moolah.

Here's some clips from the program; you can judge for yourself. And I'd like to wish all of my readers who celebrate a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Life Day!

Harvey and Bea's romantic interlude seems so out of place in the Star Wars story:

Some say that Bea's performance was one of the better parts of the special.

The Year Without a Christmas Card

2011-12-22T10:34:00.000-05:00

In 1843, Englishman Sir Henry Cole "invented" the Christmas card as a means of distributing holiday wishes more easily to his friends and contacts. Cut to the year 2011. Is anyone still sending--or receiving--seasonal cards? Thanks to the Internet, the Christmas card seems to be on its way out, sadly. I've really noticed the difference this season. I've only gotten a few. To be fair, I've only sent a few. Along with e-communications making it more convenient to post or send greetings online, it's also less time consuming. With physical cards you have to look up people's addresses, think of a thoughtful message to write, and stamp the cards. It isn't much, but more work than typing in an email address and punching the send button. Then there's the fact that many people won't send a card to a particular contact unless they regularly receive one from them.

Kind of a shame, even though I'm just as guilty of contributing to the holiday card shortage. Growing up, I looked forward to seeing the many colorful cards that my parents received. My mother would tape them to the wall in the entryway so that visitors could see them when they entered. This year, she has about 5 or 6 up when decades ago the entire wall would be filled.

How about you? Did you send--or receive--any holiday cards this season?

Love on the Rocks: The Decline of Marriage

2011-12-18T15:27:00.000-05:00

Photo via Houseplant Picture Studio

Earlier this week it was reported that the number of married people in the U.S. has nosedived--from 72% of the adult population in 1960 to just over half (51%) today. It's sad news but hardly surprising--I've even noticed the change in my Sunday paper's "Celebrations" section, which used to have enough engagement announcements and wedding photos to publish weekly. Now the frequency is more like every month.

Curiously, the TV stations that reported on this didn't offer much explanation into exactly why marriage is declining. That's where Go Retro comes in. So, here are my honest opinions on what's been going on in the past 50 years that is hindering people from walking up the aisle...let me know if you agree (or disagree.)

Women Are Less Financially Dependent Upon Men

Before the 1960s, it used to be that most women had one career path to follow, and that was homemaker. Jobs after WWII for women were limited, and that meant in order to have any kind of financial security the best bet was to find a husband and let him be the sole breadwinner for the household. Likewise, for many years men were expected to choose a wife while still young, settle down, and find a job that would provide for his wife and kids. Once women were able to enter the workforce during the 1960s, they suddenly had money to support themselves and other life options to explore early on besides getting hitched and having children. And that leads me to reason #2 why marriage is declining...

There's Less Pressure Today To Get Married

It's no longer a stigma to be single. In fact, it's OK today to be 25, 30, 40, or even in your 50s and still on the market. It used to be if you weren't married by your early 20s--especially if you were a woman--you'd be considered an old maid. Mary Tyler Moore portrayed one of the first single female characters on TV and ever since, pop culture has given us lots of single heroines. Again, since women can have a career just as lucrative as a man's, the way society viewed their purpose in life began to change. And since there's less pressure to get married at a young age, both men and women can take their time finding Mr. or Mrs. Right instead of settling for someone for the financial and emotional security. In fact, the average age that both men and women get married at has increased to record highs: 26.5 for brides (which still seems young to me!) and 28.7 for grooms.

You Don't Have to Get Married to Have Sex Anymore

This reason is sure to cause some debate, but hear me out. Back when my mother was young (the WWII era) it seems not as many people were having sex before they got married--or at least engaged. Those who were kept it on the down low. Women who messed around with several guys were considered sluts, and most men actually didn't view them as marriage material. My mother recalls a story about one such neighborhood girl that my father knew, and he predicted that she'd have a hard time becoming a bride thanks to her wanton ways. Most young women "saved" themselves for a husband--and the soldiers returning from WWII, like my father, wanted nothing more than to get married and forget about the horrors of war.

Sex was also a taboo subject and most girls learned about it from what their girlfriends had heard or experienced. Women simply didn't know as much about sex back then as they do today--today, we have magazines, talk shows and websites at our disposal to each us about human anatomy and how to be a good lover.

I'm not saying that people never had unmarried sex before the 1960s, but when oral contraception was introduced and sparked the sexual revolution, it definitely overturned how most young people viewed sex. During the 60s, Cosmopolitan was launched and books such as The Happy Hooker were published. The problem, however, (at least from what I've seen in the singles world) is that it's now gone too far. So many women today have no problem having sex with a man right away that it has ruined it a bit for women like me and my friends who would like to be in a committed, long-term relationship leading to marriage. From the stories I've heard from women who tried online dating, too many men expect--or at least wish for--first date sex and if a woman isn't willing to oblige, they know they won't have a hard time finding someone who will. According to the book The Good Girl Revolution by Wendy Shalit, on today's college campuses, the problem is even worse: apparently, not many young men like to date, from the info that Shalit gathered while interviewing dozens of college women at several notable campuses. It's all about hooking up for short-term satisfaction. Sure, there have always been people with this goal in mind throughout the decades, but today it seems to be at an all-time high for younger generations. Shalit also devotes a chapter in the book to the sexual revolution and why the long-lasting effects have not been good for women. The result: men today can find plenty of opportunities to find a piece of ass that don't require courting--and certainly not an engagement ring.

You Don't Have to Be Married to Be A Parent Or to Live Together

It used to be that if an unwed woman got pregnant, she had three options: get an abortion, give the baby up for adoption, or marry the father of the child and somehow make it work. Likewise, the honorable thing for most men who had gotten a woman pregnant was to marry them, whether they loved them or not. Being an unmarried parent, particularly a mother, was frowned upon, and again, marriage offered women in this situation some financial support for them and their baby.

Today, it's become socially acceptable to have children together and not be married. Many celebrity couples have done it, and Murphy Brown became a single mom during the course of her show (much to Dan Quayle's chagrin.) Over the past few decades, the number of couples who live together without getting married (regardless of whether they have children or not) has risen. That stigma seemed to fall away with the sexual revolution as well. Time Magazine reported in 2009 that there were 5 million unmarried couples living together in the U.S., which was eight times the amount in 1970. Needless to say, just because you're not married to someone under the same roof doesn't mean you're not devoted to them. For many couples, marriage is just a piece of paper that doesn't change their relationship and how they feel about each other.

Photo via A Lovely Morning

A Shortage of Available Single Men
I read a statistic in AARP Magazine recently that said for every 100 single women aged 18 and older in the U.S. that there are 88 single adult men. As you get older, that ratio favors the guys even more: the ratio of single women to single men age 60+ is 100 to 83. Of course, these stats do not take into account how many single people are homosexual and gender ratios vary by geographic location but guys, I believe you have a greater pick of women to choose from. In my own social group, I've met oodles of really attractive, smart, kind women who cannot find a decent date, let alone someone who has marriage potential.

Weddings Are Expensive
It's a minor reason for the decline in marriage for sure, but I think today's current economy is a deterrent for getting married. Weddings used to be simpler and more affordable--a church ceremony followed by a reception at the local VFW, restaurant or country club. During the 80s and 90s, around the time people started buying McMansions and charging everything to their credit cards with abandon, we started to see wedding celebrations get bigger and more lavish. There also seems to have been a serious shift from celebrating a union between too people to spoiled brides making the day all about them. Shows like Bridezilla don't help. While there are ways to have a frugal yet tasteful wedding, it could be that some couples are foregoing them all together (namely the ones for which a marriage certificate isn't that important.)

So What Does It Mean?
So what does this all mean for single women like me? These are cold, hard facts that don't show any signs of reversing anytime soon but believe it or not, I'm still optimistic. I believe in being positive and looking at the bright side of things...people are still getting married. I still believe there are quality single men looking to share their life with somebody in a committed relationship. At this point I'm still hoping to meet the love of my life, whether it leads to marriage or not. As long as I believe it's still possible...then it is.

The Original Ugly Sweater Contest

2011-12-15T13:24:00.000-05:00

WTF are we looking at here? I found this image over at a cool knitting blog called Craft Schmaft. It originates from a 1985 knitting book called Wit Knits. More like Nitwits. Let me collect my thoughts--it's pretty obvious that that is indeed a banana on the sweater, so you don't need to actually knit the word into the pattern. The nerd wearing it, however, is obviously confused, which is why he's holding up a pineapple. And what's up with the frog vest--does he want women to think that if they kiss him, he'll turn into a prince? Who the hell wears a sweater vest without a shirt underneath anyways? Maybe the piano man below knows the answer...I'm not sure why there are tassels attached to the sweater; makes it even uglier.

That's John Inman from Are You Being Served? above. He is perhaps the only man who could get away with modeling a teddy bear sweater.

Just another prime example of 80s awfulness. If anyone actually did own this book or knit anything from it, my sincere apologies.

My Favorite Christmas Movie You Probably Haven't Seen: The Ref

2011-12-14T11:14:00.002-05:00

When one thinks about holiday movies, lots of classics come to mind. The Ref, however, is probably not one of them--and that's a shame considering the sharp comedic writing and acting supporting it. Somehow this one slipped off Santa's radar.

I first rented the movie about 7 or 8 years ago and my mother and I have made it an annual tradition to watch it every Christmas season ever since. In fact, she loved it so much that I purchased it--on VHS, no less. It's now beginning to get so worn out that a fresh copy on DVD may be in order. It may not be the most vintage Christmas movie out there (considering it was made in 1994) but I certainly think it's one of the most unknown/underappreciated holiday films, and one of the funniest, and for those reasons it deserves to have a little love thrown its way.

The Ref is a comedy film by the late director Ted Demme. It stars Denis Leary as a burglar on the run who holds an unhappily married couple (Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis) hostage in their own home on Christmas Eve as he hides from the cops. Spacey and Davis play Lloyd and Caroline Chasseur, and their constant bickering makes Lester and Carolyn Burnham from American Beauty look like Ozzie and Harriet. You know your marriage truly sucks when you begin Christmas Eve with a visit to the marriage counselor's office--and that's just where we find this miserable couple at the beginning of the movie. The first ten minutes is full of memorable zingers--when Lloyd tells the counselor that his teenage son, Jesse, started an escort service for his school's high school football team and gave out his grandmother's phone number, Caroline retorts with, "And I still say getting laid by an 18 year-old linebacker is JUST what she needs!" That's not Jesse's worst offense--we soon learn that he's in possession of X-rated photos that involve one of the officials at his military school, and he's using them to his advantage.

Leary's character, Gus, is in hiding after his dimwitted partner deserted him after a botched robbery. He eventually makes his way into Lloyd and Caroline's car and orders them to bring him back to their suburban Connecticut house, but not before he loses some of his own patience along the way. Even having an armed criminal in their vehicle can't stop the couple's arguing--to which Gus realizes, "Jesus Christ, I kidnapped my parents." Eventually, Gus begins refereeing the couple with threats to get them to shut up, if only temporarily.

Back at the house, Gus learns that the Chasseurs are expecting family guests for dinner, including Lloyd's mother, who turns out to be the quintessential stereotyped mother-in-law with financial control over the family (in other words, she's a queen bitch. There's even a portrait of her hanging in the living room.) Momma Rose is a tightwad and about as warm and fuzzy as Dick Cheney on a good day. They decide to pass Gus off as their marriage counselor, Dr. Wong (by explaining that he is half Asian, half Irish.) Christine Baranski has a small but hilarious part as the Chausseurs' sarcastic sister-in-law.

My favorite scene in the movie is the Scandinavian Christmas dinner. Caroline has taken a Swedish cooking class and decides to show off the dishes she has learned, with little success--the menu looks and sounds horrific. In honor of Saint Lucia, she has made everyone wear wreaths with candles on their heads, and tells the lovely tale of how Saint Lucia was betrayed by her husband and burned at the stake. If you watch the scenes carefully you'll notice that the candles appear at varying heights, as they burned down throughout shooting.

Along the way, there's also a cranky drunk Santa to deal with, a missing baby Jesus, and stupid cops who are more fascinated with watching It's a Wonderful Life then solving crimes...just your typical elements of a comedic movie. And of course, there is some soul searching and a happy ending for all (well, except for the mother-in-law, but I don't want to give anything away.)

Part of what makes this film work well is the chemistry between Spacey and Davis. Rolling Stone said of the pair, "They are combustibly funny, finding nuance even in nonsense. The script is crass; the actors never." Being a Kevin Spacey fan, I read some years ago that he and Davis didn't actually meet each other until filming began. That's a monumental chance for any director to take, but apparently Demme trusted his instincts, and they worked. And Leary, while still playing a loose cannon, has lost a bit of his potty mouth for this role, which makes him a little more palatable for non-Leary fans. The set is definitely very 90s--the Chausseurs' house is beige, beige, and more beige, complete with a seashell encrusted Christmas tree, and Davis' hairdo makes her look like she stuck her finger in an electrical socket.

So if you've grown tired of A Christmas Story and the other usual comedic holiday movies, I highly recommend giving The Ref a spin in the DVD player. Here's the first ten minutes if you'd like to give it a preview--let me know what you think!

Scenes from a 1960s Office Party

2011-12-09T14:14:00.000-05:00

Drinking and smoking, smoking and drinking. I found these photos on Tumbler, credited to the username Saltyrain. They're supposedly photos of a 1960s office party--with today's photo technology I'm not sure if they're indeed 100% authentic but I'm hoping they are (the vintage Coke bottles seem to validate them.) Don Draper and crew would be proud. I think we can learn a few things here: that blondes like to have fun and the guys from finance don't know how to dance.

Mommy Wants More Housework For Christmas

2011-12-07T16:21:00.002-05:00

It hardly seems fair: before the 1960s, common gift ideas for men that were advertised included booze and grooming products, but for women it was usually anything housework related, most notably vacuums and ovenware. More amusing was that some of these ads implied that the man would not only be assured a cleaner house, but a little nooky for his gift giving efforts. By the 1960s and beyond, advertisers were promoting cameras and fragrances as gift ideas for women, but in the 1950s* I'm afraid Santa was a bit clueless:

*The Toastmasters appliances and Chesterfield cigarette ads look like they're from the 60s. Same with the Kenwood one which also isn't specifically for Christmas but I thought it would be fun to throw it in there.

Meri Wilson's Merry Double Entendre Hits

2011-12-04T16:29:00.001-05:00

I love double entendre songs--there's a whole slew of blues music from the 20s and 30s, for example, that have suggestive lyrics, such as Lil Johnson's "Sam the Hot Dog Man."

"Sam's got the best hot dog in this town, I like the way he serves it, he goes round and round! Baby, with his hot dog, Baby, with his hot dog, Baby, with his hot dog, Honey in his hot dog van!"

So when fellow blogger Darrin over at the awesome Dads Dish Retro Blog introduced me the other day to Meri Wilson and her hits, I knew I had to share them here. Technically, this post should be saved for Two Forgotten Friday Favorites. But really, how I could wait until Friday to share prolific lyrics such as these with you?

"Hey, baby, I'm your telephone man
You just show me where you want it and I'll put it where I can
I can put it in the bedroom, I can put it in the hall
I can put it in the bathroom, I can hang it on the wall
You can have it with a buzz, you can have it with a ring
And if you really want it you can have a ding-a-ling
Because-a hey baby, I'm your telephone man"

Watching the ditsy clips of Meri Wilson performing her signature song, you'd never know she was a serious musician. She was actually a child musical prodigy who began singing and mastering several instruments beginning at age two, earning a master's degree in music from George State University.

As an adult, she modeled on the side, appearing in commercials and singing. "Telephone Man" was a song she performed with her jazz group, and Jim Rutledge, who was the lead singer and drummer for a Texas rock group called Bloodrock, took an interest in Wilson after seeing her in a TV commercial, helping her record and release "Telephone Man" to the general public. It received airplay in the U.S. and England in 1976, and climbed to the tops of both music charts that year. Wilson claimed it was based on an exchange she had with an actual telephone company man. It quickly became a favorite on the Dr. Demento radio show.

Wilson had a few silly, naughty follow-up songs with "Dick the D.J.", "Peter the Meter Reader" (who actually was also the telephone man), "Santa's Coming", and "My Valentine's Funny"--the last about a cross dressing lover. She also released an updated version of "Telephone Man" in 2011 called "Internet Man." Not exactly Grammy-worthy but entertaining such the same.

Sadly, her life was cut short in 2002 when she died in a car accident in Georgia during an ice storm...but her legacy will live on here. There are not many uploads of her on YouTube, but here she is performing "Telephone Man" and "Peter the Meter Reader."

I Dig Love: Reasons Why I Love George Harrison

2011-11-30T14:13:00.001-05:00

Several years ago, a rather arrogant male coworker asked me who my favorite Beatle was. When I responded with George Harrison his reaction was, "George! No wonder you're single!"

Assholes may come and go, but my love for George has never wavered. But that snippet of conversation shows how much George was misunderstood and under appreciated compared to John, Paul and even Ringo. I mean, the best description the mainstream media could come up with about George in the beginning of Beatlemania was that he was "the quiet one" which always seemed a little insulting to me. How little they knew. If John was the smart one, Paul was the cute one, and Ringo was the funny one, then George in my opinion was a combination of all three!

Martin Scorsese's recent documentary on HBO, called "George Harrison: Living in the Material World" provided additional insight into what true George fans already know: that he was the coolest! It's hard to believe that he's now been gone for 10 years (and even harder to believe none of the radio stations I listen to recognized the anniversary), but George is most certainly not forgotten from the fan pages and dedications I've seen on Facebook and YouTube. So today I'm sharing some love for the "quiet Beatle" and listing the reasons why he's my fave of the Fab Four:

He Made Songs About God Cool
Mass, CCD, and Catholic school could be a lot more fun if parishioners got to sing "My Sweet Lord" and "Awaiting On You All"...just saying. I never had a desire to listen to music with a spiritual message on purpose until I became introduced to George's catalog of solo work. His disdain for a world that prides itself on materialism and greed still resonates with me today. And when I need a pick-me-up, "Blow it Away" and "Beware of Darkness" help remind me to stay positive.

He Organized the First Charity Concert
1971's Concert for Bangladesh, performed at Madison Square Garden, was the first charity concert of its time to reach a wide mass of people and featured several big name performers including Bob Dylan, Billy Preston, and Mick Jagger. It raised $243,000 for UNICEF and helped set the stage for Farm Aid and Live Aid.

He Had an Incredible Sense of Humor
He hung out with the Monty Python crew, and his wry sense of humor is revealed in many interviews and even some of his music videos, like this one here for "I've Got My Mind Set on You." Watch for the dance number!

He Was the Beatles' Best Guitarist
Well, certainly better than Ringo! I'm not knocking John Lennon's and Paul McCartney's guitar playing abilities by ANY means, but let's face it, if you are applying to be in a Beatles tribute band, the role of George is going to be the toughest shoes to fill. 15 years ago a guitar teacher wrote out to tabs to "Here Comes the Sun" for me to learn. Two years after picking up a guitar again and learning everything from scratch, I still don't have the guts yet to attempt the song.

He Stayed Friends with Eric Clapton Even After His Wife Went with Him
The love triangle between George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and George's wife Pattie Boyd is perhaps the most infamous one in rock and roll history. Yet George, perhaps realizing that he was at least partially to blame for his first failed marriage, remained close with Clapton and toured with him in Japan in the 90s. Years after Pattie left Clapton, George remarked that in retrospect he was glad "that she went with Eric instead of some dope."

Even Frank Sinatra Loved His Music
Frank Sinatra was not one to incorporate modern rock and roll into his set list, but loved George's ballad "Something" so much that he sang it on stage, often improvising the lyrics slightly to, "You stick around, JACK, it may show..."

He Was a Master At Going Faster
George loved cars--he owned several from a Mini Cooper to a McLaren F1 (which you can see in the Beatles Anthology.) He was also a huge racing fan and friends with Jackie Stewart, and admired race car drivers for their concentration abilities, which he likened to transcendental meditation.

He Had the Best Sense of Style of All the Beatles
From guitars to cars to pretty wives to the opulent Friar Park he called home, George's sense of style was greatly admired--and envied--by his buddy Eric Clapton. Clapton said that he wanted to be like George--which may have partially motivated his desire to win over Pattie Boyd's heart.

He Loved the TV Show "Dallas"
Who shot J.R.? George knew the answer. A recent book by Monty Python alumni Michael Palin reveals that George was a huge "Dallas" fan. He even got angry one Friday evening when Palin called to discuss a film project, thus interrupting his viewing pleasure.

Fellow Hari fans--did I miss any? We love you, George--never forgotten!
Oh, did I mention that he loved cats?!

Celebrate Christmas Like It's 1985

2011-11-26T13:24:00.001-05:00

It's that time of year again--time to scour through scans of old department store "wish book" catalogs. The holidays wouldn't be the same without taking a look back at what we used to ask Santa for, and this time we're cranking up "Do They Know It's Christmastime" and visiting the 1985 Sears Wish Book. Let's have some fun...

The oversized shirt with a belt or vest was the quintessential 80s outfit for women. Who else wore stirrup pants? I had at least two pairs and found the elastic on the bottom of my feet to be kind of irritating. They were also fleece lined and got static cling constantly. The handprint sweater is just plain hideous.

I was wondering why the fuschia and black sweater above looked familiar to me--it's because I owned one, or one very similar to it! 1985 was also apparently the year of the hair bow--so far three of the photos above feature a model with a bow or lace in her hair. The gigantic sweater with the hand paint prints all over it is hideous.

Teddy bears were another common them for women's sweaters; I don't know why--it certainly doesn't make the unflattering shape any sexier.

There's something about the fur jackets, hair, and makeup that make these models look like working girls...in the traditional sense of the word.

1985 called, and would like its hair gel ba--oh, wait. It IS 1985!

Mary Lou, think of the children, and cover that crotch up with a pair of parachute pants!

Admit it, what boy didn't have a pair of He-Man underoos during this decade?

I believe the dude on the left is sporting what was known as the "poor man's Miami Vice look."

It's nice to see that the matching "his and her clothing" trend so prevalent during the 70s hung in there for a few more years. Unfortunately, matching his and hers banana hair clips weren't available.

Looking for some gift ideas? How about a tanning lamp, exercise bike, walkman, boom box or big ass stereo?

Gotta love the 80s!

Much to Be Grateful For

2011-11-24T10:36:00.000-05:00

One of the many things that I am grateful for this year is Go Retro's continued growth and popularity. During the past 11 months I've seen traffic grow, new followers, and at least once a week I've started to get emails from people commenting on the blog or asking me to post something retro news-worthy because they obviously value the site. So I'd like to once again thank all of you readers and fans out there who give me the inspiration and encouragement to keep Go Retro growing strong! May you all have plenty of things to be grateful for this holiday season.

And for your entertainment, here's one of those vintage how-to manners videos related to Thanksgiving...how to behave at the dinner table. Watch yourselves today, kids!

Fonzie & Fozzie: The Difference Between Two 70s Pop Icons

2011-11-23T10:12:00.001-05:00

I know it's awfully hard sometimes distinguishing between Fonzie and Fozzie. So I figured with the new movie featuring The Muppets being released today, here's some side-by-side comparisons to help clear up the confusion. You're welcome!

Catchphrase:

Fonzie: "Ayyyyyyyy!"

Fozzie: "Wocka wocka!"

Profession:

Fonzie: Being the Fonz

Fozzie: Telling Bad Jokes

Sidekick:

Fonzie: Richie Cunningham

Fozzie: Kermit the Frog

Favorite Article of Clothing:

Fonzie: Leather jacket

Fozzie: Brown hat

Enjoys Hanging Out With:

Fonzie: Hot chicks who are anything but dogs

Fozzie: Dogs and frogs

Transportation Mode of Choice:

Fonzie: Motorcycle

Fozzie: Studebaker

Favorite Hangout:

Fonzie: Arnold's

Fozzie: El Sleezo Cafe

Public Service to Children:

Fonzie: Starred in an 80s video called Strong Kids, Safe Kids aimed at helping children avoid child molesters

Fozzie: Starred in an 80s video called Hey! You're As Funny As Fozzie Bear aimed at helping children develop comedic skills

Special Talent:

Fonzie: Making cars start by pounding the hood with his fist

Fozzie: Singing and dancing

Often Heckled By:

Fonzie: No one would dare heckle the Fonz!

Fozzie: Statler and Waldolf

Notable Mannerism:

Fonzie: Giving the thumbs up

Fozzie: Wiggling his ears

Whatever Happened to Wearing Pantyhose?

2011-11-17T13:05:00.001-05:00

As a child of the 70s and 80s, I remember lots of pantyhose ads on TV as well as in magazines (including the infamous one where Joe Namath lounges in a pair of Beauty Mist tights.) Pantyhose was promoted as sexy, feminine, figure enhancing and even energizing. Celebrity women often promoted them. Today, I can hardly recall the last time I saw an advertisement for nylons. Pantyhose sales have been in decline for years, and L'eggs just launched a new campaign aimed at making the garment hip and cool again for 21st century women. While I'm not sure yet if they will succeed, I would like to offer a few words on pantyhose from the female perspective (and it's not all negative.)

There's a few obvious reasons why pantyhose sales have tanked during the last decade, compared to their heyday that was the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Much of my reasons echo those in this Retrospace blog post. For me, personally, I gave up wearing the sheer, nude colored variety of pantyhose at some point during the 90s. I think my feelings why were the same as for most women: for starters, they were an unnecessary (and hot) layer during the warmer months of the year, and you can't exactly wear them with open toe shoes or sandals. This was also right around the time I quit my hotel job (which required a skirt and closed toe shoes as part of the uniform) for an office one. We all know that the typical office dress code has slackened significantly in recent years--and I'm not placing the blame solely on pants and jeans for making pantyhose obsolete, but the fact that women wear capris and leggings with skirts while at work in some places.

Then there's the fact that pantyhose will develop a run after so much use, and stretch in some areas (leading to extra material bunching around the ankles.) I remember stopping many a run on my last pair using a spot of clear nail polish. Many women also consider it a nuisance to wear them--the "panty" top portion is often tight and constricting. Speaking on The View a few years ago, First Lady Michelle Obama admitted her distaste for the garment: “I stopped wearing pantyhose a long time ago because it was painful. Put ‘em on, rip ‘em—it’s inconvenient.”

These tight economic times may have something to do with the unpopularity of pantyhose as well. Like any other consumer good, the price has risen, and I'm willing to bet some women don't want to spend needless money on something that they'll have to throw away after a few wears.

Having said all that, I am a woman who still loves and wears other types of pantyhose (aka tights or novelty hosiery), especially during the colder months. Just recently I bought two textured pairs of tights in Macy's, and loved having the whole section to myself to oogle over. So many colors, patterns, and various weights from opaque to sheer--even sparkly ones for the holidays--and no surprise, they were on sale and with my store coupon I got two for the price of one. To any woman who doesn't like pantyhose, let me just say there's a big difference between the bland, old school, beige variety and the fun styles that can enhance an outfit (and your legs.)

Also, I know from reading Gilligan's Retrospace post that men love them. Guys from my generation and earlier grew up seeing women on TV, in movies, and in person wearing hosiery. They also wore shorter skirts, which required something covering the legs. As much as I love knowing I have the permission to wear jeans to work, I make the effort to get some use out of a skirt or a dress at least once a week. There's definitely something about them that makes me feel sexier. I never met a guy who said he doesn't like pantyhose--especially the fishnet variety that Morris Day paid homage to in the 80s:

So what do you say, ladies (and gents?) Maybe it's time for pantyhose to make a comeback? They say nothing beats a great pair of L'eggs!

The Glam of Pan Am, Part 2

2011-11-11T12:55:00.000-05:00

Collector's Weekly is an awesome vintage and antiques site that contacts me usually once a month about a new article they've published that they think may be of interest to me. I always feel bad that I haven't mentioned them here yet, but this past week they posted this wonderful article about ABC's Pan Am, collecting authentic Pan Am memorabilia, and what it was like to be a stewardess for the airline. The article features an interview with Kelly Cusack, a collector who worked for Pan Am during the 80s and 90s and who runs the The Virtual Pan Am Museum, which is definitely also worth checking out! The show's prop department has actually borrowed hundreds of period Pan Am pieces from Cusack to make the series as authentic looking as possible. Some of the tidbits I learned from the interview include:

*The flight attendant's reputation for being "easy" is false.

Sexy, yes, but easy, no. Cusack says it just isn't true and that the show tries hard to make the on-screen romances look tasteful.

*Those white gloves had to be worn at all times.

Stewardesses switched to black gloves during the winter months or when flying to colder destinations. If they took off from a warm location they'd be wearing their white gloves, and would switch to their black pair by the time they landed.

*The same group of stewardesses didn't fly together.

I think we already knew that. No one was that lucky.

The interview says that authentic Pan Am and vintage aviation relics are selling for big bucks these days, which isn't surprising thanks to the show. An official stewardess hat from the 60s recently sold for thousands online.

The Virtual Pan Am Museum is fun to poke around in, especially the Pan Am People section:

A Happy Veteran's Day, especially to all who served our country! Have a great weekend.

Where the Action Is: Groovy 60s Dance Party This Sunday in NYC!

2011-11-09T14:45:00.000-05:00

Hey cool cats and daddy-os, my friend Allison asked me to pass along some groovy info to anyone who will be in the NYC area this Sunday. She and a friend are DJing a monthly event called Where the Action Is: A 60s Pop and Garage Party! The premier dance will take place at 116 MacDougal in Greenwich Village from 8 PM to midnight. Where the Action Is is hosted by DJs Hullabalou and Ajobo, two kindred spirits brought together in the fervent love and passion for '60s music, bringing you the best of 1960s pop, rock, garage, soul and folks. So if this sounds like your bag (and it probably is if you're visiting Go Retro) and you're going to be in the Village this weekend, check it out!

Be sure to like them on Facebook as well! They're giving away drink tickets and posting fun 60s tidbits and clips on their page. Wish I could go! It sounds like a fab time.

Sandy Sarjeant's Go-Go Dancing Moves

2011-11-08T17:31:00.000-05:00

Ever since my last post about go-go dancing, I've been trying to find out if there were any notable women who made a name for themselves performing this 60s form of dance. After all, it's one of my time travel fantasy jobs. One such name that I uncovered is Sandy Sarjeant.

Sandy's name may not ring a bell to most Americans, but in Europe during the sixties, she was one of the most famous go-go dancers to ever shake her tail feather on television.

Sandy on her wedding day.

Sandy enjoyed a lucrative go-go or mod dancing career on two music shows: the UK's Ready, Steady, Go! and a German program called Beat Club. From what I saw on YouTube, male fans certainly remember her fondly and she was the cream of the British mod scene. Known as "Crazy Legs Sandy", she apparently invented her own moves which were tough for the other girls to emulate (not that it didn't stop me from trying to copy her in the privacy of my home.) But info about her bio is very scant on the Internet. Her other claims to fame were that she released a catchy single called "Can't Stop the Want" and she married British keyboardist Ian McLagan from the band Small Faces in 1968. (She starred in the music video for their hit Itchykoo Park.)

After that, the trail goes cold. How Sandy got her start dancing remains a mystery, as does anything that happened to her after 1972 (she did have a child and divorced McLagan.) If anyone out there has any additional information about Sandy, please feel free to share it. In the meantime, here's some clips of her fabulous and contagious looking moves--they sure make me want to get up and dance! She was one skinny looking chick, but how could you not be when this was your profession all day long?

In this Otis Redding performance, Sandy is the middle girl:

Land of the Lost TV Series #2: Midnight Caller

2011-11-06T00:07:00.000-04:00

If you recognize the line, "Good night America...wherever you are" then you were a Midnight Caller fan. This was one of my favorite TV shows while I was in high school. There were a few reasons for it: namely, another friend and I both thought that lead actor Gary Cole (before his Office Space role) was super hot, the plots were interesting, and it differed from other cop series of its time in that the lead character doubled as a San Francisco radio talk-show host known to his listeners as The Nighthawk. Midnight Caller ran for three seasons, although I wonder if it's ever remembered much in TV history.

Gary Cole starred on Midnight Caller as Detective Jack Killian, a cop who quit the force after accidentally shooting and killing his partner. Now dealing with a drinking problem, he gets a call one day from Devon King, the beautiful owner of a San Francisco FM radio station. She offers him a job working as a radio talk show host late at night, taking calls from listeners and trying to help solve their personal problems. (Now granted, this part of the premise never made sense to me--why would a radio station randomly call an alcoholic ex-cop and offer him an on-air job for which he has no experience? Whatevers.) Jack got personally involved with many of his callers' plights and acted as a detective during the day to solve crimes (which means the man didn't get much sleep.) Billy Po, played by Dennis Dun, was Killian's sidekick on both of his jobs.

Midnight Caller sometimes worked controversial topics into its storylines. One such notable episode was called "After It Happened" and was about a bi-sexual man with AIDS who infects women with the HIV virus on purpose. It was one of the first times the disease would be part of a network television plot, and because people thought it portrayed bisexuals in a negative light, it sparked protests by GLADD and AIDS activists. Nonetheless, one of the woman who co-starred in it won an Emmy for her role in the episode.

My favorite character on the show was Devon King, played by Wendy Kilbourne. I was delighted to see comments from male viewers/fans on YouTube clips who admired Devon's style, because I did as well. She was one classy and smart business lady, and one of the few female TV characters I looked up to. Jack had a thing for her, and sometimes the chemistry between these two on screen seemed very believable. In between struggling with drinking and family issues, Jack had a few loves on the show, but like most viewers I really wanted to see him and Devon end up together. They almost did during an episode where Devon had to deal with a stalker and Jack camped out at her apartment to protect her, which ensued in a steamy kiss. But eventually Kilbourne wanted to leave the show and was pregnant, so the writers had her character get pregnant by another man. This scene that I found online, after Devon has her baby, is the last moment she shares on screen with Jack. Both actors did a fine job showing the adoration they had for each other...the hint of a relationship that was never meant to me...and it made me a bit sad to watch! Oh, and of course, Devon named her son Jack.

There's a ton of full episodes of the show on YouTube, but they're in Japanese! Proof that the show had international appeal.

This was a good and unique series. I miss shows that can put an interesting twist on the same old premise and keep us coming back for more, the way Midnight Caller did for me each week. Do you remember the series?

Power Outages

2011-11-03T13:02:00.000-04:00

Hey my readers, just an update that I've been itching to blog this week but have been unable to do so because I lost power Saturday evening in the nor'easter snowstorm and it hasn't been restored to my street yet. To say I'm pissed is an understatement, but I won't bore people who come here looking for retro fun with the details, just that I can't post much at the moment. Hopefully we'll be returning to our regularly scheduled retro programming this weekend!

Since I probably won't get to do Two Forgotten Friday Favorites tomorrow, I might as well have some fun with this and a couple of songs with a common theme: dancing in the dark. Hope to back online in the evenings soon!

The Glam of Pan Am (and Retro Travel)

2011-10-29T15:47:00.002-04:00

Oh, man. I feel badly about the crickets chirping on this blog lately, especially after UMRK Radio gave me a few nice plugs last Sunday, but it shaped up to be another very busy week. I had wanted to get a Halloween related post up this weekend, but instead I want to share a bit of love for ABC's series Pan Am, especially as I'm now hearing the show is in danger of being canned after only a few weeks.

A picture of real Pan Am girls and pilot

Unlike NBC's unfortunate The Playboy Club, which was already canceled, Pan Am has at least (in my opinion) has some redeeming qualities that make it worthy of saving for a second season. Where The Playboy Club seems to have taken place entirely in the club itself, the writers of Pan Am are wise enough to take the characters out of the plane and put the action on the ground in international locations.

As everyone knows by now, Pan Am follows the lives of four (because all fab things come in fours) flight stewardesses--sisters Kate and Laura (played respectively by Kelli Garner and Margot Robbi), spunky Maggie (played by Christina Ricci), and a French girl named Collette (Karine Vanasse.) Laura is a runaway bride who decided to follow in her sister's career footsteps. Kate is doubling as a secret agent, taking on tasks which each new city she visits, which helps keeps the show interesting. Along the way there's the usual scenarios where the gals have to deal with frisky male passengers and sexual harassment, but they also know how to use their appeal to get the perks (such as when Maggie talked up a journalist to try to help get her access into a party where President Kennedy was attending.)

During the pilot episode, it was implied that in order to be a Pan Am stewardess in the 60s, you had to be under the age of 30 and single. I have no idea if those requirements are indeed true to the real rules, but the stewardesses are shown being weighed in regularly and I wouldn't be surprised if keeping your weight down was an actual requirement.

One criticism I have with the show is that it's very girly, and needs more storylines that might appeal to men...and it also wouldn't hurt to show more men! The two main pilots are definitely the minor characters during the course of each hour and at least one of them also seems ridiculously young to be flying a commercial airplane.

If you approach the program not expecting it to ever live up to Mad Men (and let's face it, what show could?) then it's not bad. It reminds me a bit of two other ABC series that I enjoyed that took place in a past decade, Homefront and China Beach. And of course, it's loaded with 1960s fashion and eye candy.

Now for some fun stuff...Pan Am inspired my Halloween costume this year, with a twist: I recreated the logo to say PAM AM instead of PAN AM! The closest looking costume I could find was this shiny blue jacket and hat...there was a matching skirt that measured only 11 inches long; way too short for an office environment! I added the gloves and go-go boots to make it a Pan Am-meets-Austin Powers type stewardess costume. My coworker was dressed as Steve Jobs...I guess my outfit was enough to bring him back to life!

I do love looking at stewardess uniforms from the 60s and 70s...you have to admit they're so much snazzier than the bland clothing you see on airlines today. The Museum of Flight apparently loved them so much too that earlier this year they dedicated an exhibit to flight attendant fashion called Style in the Aisle. Go-go boots and miniskirts were definitely common components!

An Oleg Cassini-designed uniform for Air West, late 60s

Southwest Airlines, 1971

American Airlines, early 70s--love the navy blue dress

Boozing up on Dela Airlines, 1970s

Pacific Southwest Airlines uniform, 1973--there actually was a costume very close to this one, but just as short!

Lastly, if you want some tunes to groove you into a Pan Am mood, I highly recommend a compilation of air travel inspired music from the 60s and 70s on the Ultra Swank Retro Adventures blog called Love at First Flight. It includes a bonus track which chronicles the history of the real Pan Am. Happy flying the friendly skies!

Retro Hi-Fi Fun: UMRK Web Radio

2011-10-20T13:15:00.002-04:00

Friends, for a while now I've been meaning to dedicate some posts on Go Retro to other folks such as you and I who are keeping the retro dream alive, and doing a pretty nice job of it. I'd like to start today by introducing you to my friend Greg's groovy website for UMRK Web Radio. If you miss the bygone days when radio was actually FUN to listen to, when DJs had their own personality, corny jingles, and didn't stick to the same 50 classic rock song rotation, then you need to check out Reverend Greg's show! He streams live on the site every Sunday evening starting at 9 PM EST for approximately 3 hours. Too busy watching Pan Am or reruns of Mad Men? No problem, every show is recorded as a podcast and available for your free listening pleasure on the site at any convenient time.

Even Pan Am girls listen to UMRK Radio!

Reverend Greg is a rabid Beatles fan like me, so that means each show begins with an hour of the Beatles, including rarities and live tracks, followed by music from the 50s through the 80s. The best part about his radio program is that you're going to encounter some lost songs (like some of the ones I try to feature on Two Forgotten Friday Favorites) that you haven't heard in quite a long time through your typical modern day radio FM station. Did I mention that the program is completely commercial free? When's the last time you experienced THAT on the dial?

Greg is a super cool dude with an impressive history in the radio industry who has met just about anyone who was anybody during the 60s-80s music scene. He was hosting a show on an oldies station in the Philadelphia area when he decided to make it available to the global masses, and UMRK Radio was born in 2001. Still going strong after 10 years!

So if you need a break from Spotify, Pandora and the like and long for the nostalgia of 1960s/1970s radio, definitely give UMRK a visit. It's completely free and listener supported, and like John Lennon sang, guarantee to raise a smile. Have a listen and let me know what you think!

Go Retro's Retro Hottie of the Month: Steve Jobs

2011-10-17T12:37:00.001-04:00

Photo: Rolling Stone Magazine

Sometimes it's fun to just be superficial. I know that Steve Jobs is going to be remembered as a visionary, a genius, and an arrogant SOB but let's face it, before he got sick and wore black turtlenecks non-stop the man was pretty darn good to look at, too. He may seem like an ironic choice for Retro Hottie of the Month but the truth is I do love Apple computers. I first learned the fundamentals of graphic design on the tiny screen of a Macintosh II (using Aldus Paint.) I then studied Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator on Macs and loved every minute of it. Earlier than that, my elementary school's library had an Apple computer that my classmates and I would scramble over each other to play with (it had some game on it that was interactive and sort of like Where in the World in Carmen Sandiego?) So while I've bashed our society's addiction to technology on here before, if it weren't for Apple, I may not be blogging or working in my particular area of marketing today.

Back to being superficial...was this man yum-worthy, or what? Smart AND hot. A rare combo!

What You Didn't Know About the Doctor Who Theme

2011-10-16T15:44:00.000-04:00

Take a look at this chick. She looks like she should be dancing at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go or chasing after the Beatles down a London street, doesn't she? Her name was Delia Derbyshire, and damned if that doesn't make her sound like a Bond girl. In reality, Derbyshire was the mastermind behind one of the eeriest and most memorable television theme songs of all time: the Doctor Who theme!

In the 60s, Derbyshire worked for the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, which was essentially the sound effects department of the BBC. She was fascinated with music and the mechanics of sound, and had previously tried to get a job at Decca Records only to be told that women weren't allowed in the recording studios (Decca was also the record company that turned down the Beatles; talk about a company that couldn't recognize talent.) Derbyshire didn't actually compose the theme (that was done by a man named Ron Grainer) but she was responsible for setting his notes to music. The story gets even more intriguing when you realize how this was actually accomplished in a period before commercial synthesizers were readily available. It was a complicated process at the time which involved a lot of cutting, splicing, speeding up and slowing down fragments of analogue tape. Honestly, I read about what Derbyshire did on this Wikipedia page and couldn't make heads or tails of it. Let's just say she was extremely clever. When Grainer heard the finished product for the first time his astounded response was, "Did I write that?" to which Derbyshire responded, "Most of it."

The sad part of the story is that Derbyshire didn't receive official credit for her work. Grainer tried unsuccessfully to have Derbyshire listed as a co-composer and allow her to receive part of the royalties, but the Radiophonic Workshop was considered a secret bureau of the BBC and they wouldn't allow it!

Every time the show came on PBS while I was a child, the theme gave me the chills. I was not the only one--apparently the BBC received complaints from at least one parent who said their son was terrified of the opening music. And yet, it's also strangely hypnotic. I can't think of a more appropriate, freaky TV theme for a sci-fi show!

Doctor Who debuted on British television in the UK in 1963 and it's still alive and well today which makes it the longest running TV series in Great Britain. Each time the actor playing the doctor was written retired via "regeneration" the show's titles would change and the theme would get a slight makeover as well. Reportedly Derbyshire was mortified that anyone would tinker with her creation; the original theme that ran for the first few years is the only one she approved of. The video below shows how the theme and opening credits have changed throughout the decades and it's interesting to see the variations that kept up with the times and how computer special effects have advanced as well. I was never a big Doctor Who fan, but I prefer the cheesier 70s effects, sets and costumes from my childhood. I think the original black and white opener is also the freakiest and the best.

Derbyshire was truly a pioneer of electronic music and would go on to have a lucrative career experimenting with music and producing scores for the theater and movie soundtracks (you can look up her work on YouTube) but the Doctor Who theme will always be her most famous piece. She deserves our kudos. Thanks, Delia, for freaking me out as a kid!

Taking a Break

2011-10-06T12:01:00.000-04:00

At least once or twice a week, I receive an email from a kind reader who discovered this blog and wanted to let me know how much they appreciate it. I also get a lot of tips for possible post ideas from my readers and people representing collectors' and other retro pop culture sites. In addition to this, I occasionally hear from PR folks who are seeking bloggers to write about upcoming nostalgic music, TV series, and DVD releases. I'm very grateful for it all and I'm often amazed when I hear from someone or discover that a site with high traffic mentions my blog and links to it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that Go Retro is becoming another job for me in and of itself--and while I often wish I had an extra day or two during the work week to just stay at home and post to my heart's delight, I simply don't. I have a full-time marketing job and a part-time social media job and I'm now trying to run a social group on the weekends. Needless to say I'm on a computer a LOT. Most days, when I get home, the last thing I want to do is fire up the iMac or laptop. I want to exercise, I want to read, play the guitar, or simply meditate and relax.

That is why, my friends, I'm taking a short break from Go Retro. No need to panic! I'm not talking about the time Bobby Darin became a hippie and hightailed it to the Big Sur with an Airstream trailer...though that honestly doesn't sound like a bad idea to me right now. I'm just thinking I need a couple of weeks to rejuvenate my creativity and think about some good future posts. Who knows, I may surprise you and get a post out this weekend. Truth be told I just need a vacation from a lot of stuff right now and want to focus on a few other areas of my life; namely, my career.

Anyways, if this blog goes quiet for a while that's what's up. Didn't want to leave folks high and dry (maybe just high!) Be back real soon!

Pin-Up Mess-Up

2011-10-02T17:07:00.002-04:00

I had planned on taking this weekend to finally profess my love for sideburns, but in the middle of conducting research (research = drooling over pictures of John Sebastian) I came across a motherlode of a site for anyone into retro pop culture: The Totally Awesome Teen Pinups and Magazines site. Holy smokes, what a collection over there! Anybody and everybody who was featured as a pin-up from the 60s to the present day can be had for a few dollars.

Unfortunately, along with the Scott Baios, the Kirk Camerons and Joey Lawrences, there are quite a few people who were maybe not quite as famous or odd/creepy choices who were selected for teen pinups. For example...

Can't say I'm too familiar with this double trouble who "wanta kiss you," but there's a gazillion photos of Andy and David Williams on this site--the twin nephews of Andy Williams, who were teen heartthrobs during the 70s. There's some irony to the headline of the last photo--David is gay and came out in the mid-90s.

I found this very creepy, absolutely reeking of pedophilia--Adam Rich was just a kid when Eight is Enough aired. It's hard for me to imagine a 13 year-old fantasizing over an eight year-old...even if she was a cougar!

Great. Now we've gone to the other extreme--Alan Alda's a nice guy, but WTF is he doing in a magazine aimed at 13 year-old girls? He's more like somebody's dad!

Gee, by the mid-80s they were really starting to run out of pin-up choices. Yes, even ALF was an intergalactic sexy symbol.

I've never heard of Andre Gower, and I'm too lazy at the moment to Google him, but doesn't he look like the secret love child that we learned Arnold Schwarzenegger was hiding?

I bet this was one of the pin-up posters that saw the least amount of locker and bedroom wall action. Poor AMH--so many of us were not pretty teenagers. I can sympathize.

Again, I'm clueless...I've never heard of Bill Beyers, but judging by those shorts he appears to be a man who has no fear walking on the edge.

Aww, I love Bill Murray. He WAS one of my teenager crushes, and I would have happily appreciated a pin-up of him, but how many girls my age actually saw The Razor's Edge at the time? This should have been a shot of him from Stripes or Ghostbusters.

Well, I could go on and on here, but that would take away the fun. Check out the site--not only do they have a goldmine of pin-ups that you may actually want to own, but they also sell old rock magazines.

Two Forgotten Friday Favorites: Hall and Oates

2011-09-23T16:34:00.000-04:00

Photo copyright Billboard.com

I long for the day when the man of my dreams puts his arm around me and says, "Pamela, me without you is like Hall without Oates." I think that would be the ultimate declaration of love, because there weren't many musical acts that I adored more during the 80s than Hall and Oates. I loved them so much I endured my older sisters' teasing me and constant cracks about them being an ambiguously gay duo. I didn't care. I still don't care. I still love these guys and their music. Daryl Hall and John Oates have known each other since high school when they hid out together in an elevator while a fight erupted at their school. Let us give thanks now to whoever started that fight! Thanks to them we may have never have known the songs Private Eyes, Maneater, Kiss On My List, You Make My Dreams Come True, Sara Smile, She's Gone, Out of Touch, One on One, Say It Isn't So, Adult Education, etc.

I could go on and on, but I've always kind of liked the hits found on the album Big Bam Boom, which was their last successful LP before they split for a few years. One of my favorite tracks from it is Possession Obsession, which should have climbed higher on the charts than it did. It was one of the rare hits where Oates was given the spotlight and sang lead and Hall was regulated to background vocals. Beautiful sound and the message is more important than ever today:

Another forgotten favorite was Method of Modern Love, which I believe Hall cowrote with his long-time girlfriend Sara Allen (the same Sara that Sara Smile was written for...oh, how jealous I was at the time!) Needless to say the music video probably didn't help quell the gay rumors but it was the 80s after all. Happy Friday, everyone!

And the Winner of Boston's Most Valuable Blogger Contest Is...

2011-09-20T15:24:00.000-04:00

...not me. Sorry to burst everyone's bubble, but I did want to take a few minutes once again to thank you for your votes and support. The winners were announced last week, and if you want to see them just click here.

To be honest, and I'm seriously not being a poor loser or trying to diss other blogs, but I was really surprised by some of the winners compared to all of the blogs to choose from. During the voted period I visited so many unique sites that clearly had sharp writers behind them. What happened?

Anyways, the prize was just a measly $50 Amazon.com gift certificate. It's not like they were giving away a dream date with Mike Wolfe of American Pickers, or a private concert with John Sebastian. If they had, now that would have been a major drag and tears would be streaming down my face right now. However, I was thrilled to just be nominated---in not one but two categories! I also gained a few more fans and followers in the process so it's a win-win situation.

So again, thanks to everyone who voted for Go Retro. I wish I had an awesome giveaway prize for each and every one of you!

Fragrance Nation

2011-09-18T15:49:00.000-04:00

The world can be a pretty stinky place--literally. I am so over the current trend of consumer goods manufacturers pumping artificial fragrances into everything from laundry detergent to moisturizer. I don't have the strongest nose, but the fragrances in these products are often so overwhelming that if one of my neighbors is washing their laundry with one, I'll detect it. Want your sheets and tighty whities to smell like a tropical island, a lavender field or "Freshness Powder," whatever that is? Well I don't. What's wrong with clothes smelling like good old fashioned outdoor air, the way your grandma cleaned them?

Then there's the onslaught of the Yankee Candle craze, the plug-in-freshener craze, and don't get me started on the Febreeze craze. Seriously, why the need for these products?

To the best of my knowledge, consumers never asked for a perfume factory in the detergent aisle. It's not like we have crummy hygiene or a lack of plumbing that makes us all smell like we're living in 18th century France. Growing up in the 70s and 80s, I only remember Tide as available in one scent--Tide. Today, Tide comes in Original Scent, Tide Plus Febreeze Freshness, Tide with a Touch of Downy (which is available in the scents "April Breeze", "Clean Breeze" or lavender) and Tide Totalcare, which is available in the scents "Renewing Rain" or "Cool Cotton." You mean they actually found a way to artificially reproduce the smell of "cool cotton"? I am forced to use Tide Free and Gentle, which is free of fragrance and dyes. The others are simply too stinky, and it's not like the smell fades once the clothes are rinsed and dried. It lingers until you wash the item again using a fragrance-free soap.

I'm one of those women who has never really been into perfume. In fact, I only own one bottle of it that I rarely use--Clinique's Happy--and I choose fragrance-free products for anything and everything whenever possible, because I can't stomach them otherwise. Artificial fragrance is in everything now. Would you believe that Proctor and Gamble even managed to ruin Ivory soap? Those simple white bars, touted as "pure", were always completely scent free up until a few years ago. Now I get a distinct smell of something floral when I wash my hands with it. But the thing that I don't really get are the odd products that get the scented makeover treatment. My brother and I waxed my car over the summer with a product he uses that smelled like perfume--car wax! WTF? While attending an outdoor public event earlier this summer, free ladies razors were given out. I like the razor a lot, but the plastic handle is raspberry scented. It reminds of me of the scented watches that Swatch made briefly during the 80s, with smelly bands that eventually disintegrated. What value does this possibly add to the product, especially when many women are using it in conjunction with a scented soap or shaving cream?

No offense to those who purchase and like these products, but I do want to make users aware that most of them are being made with artificial, not natural, scents. In recent years there's been mounting studies done suggesting that the chemicals that are used to make these fake-o smells may be toxic. Yeah, I know that not everything will kill you like the media would sometimes like to make you believe, but hear me out. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics looks at all ingredients used in beauty products and considers artificial fragrances to be both a phthalate (a class of chemical linked to hormone disruption) and a neurotoxin (a chemical that is toxic to the brain.) Considering that so many products also contain other ingredients that may have an unsafe cumulative effect over time, I go out of my way to buy fragrance-free products whenever possible. I order shower gel and body lotion from a great little U.S.-based company called Loving Naturals. None of their products contain any fragrance manufactured in a lab, only oils derived from real vanilla, peppermint, grapefruit and more. They also make unscented versions of many of their items.

I'm sure your mothers and grandmothers would agree that artificial fragrance is unnecessary, and a marketing ploy to get people to buy these products. A few years ago I bought a vintage 80s romper on eBay, and the smell of whatever it was washed in was so strong and sweet that I had to launder it three time to remove it. I would have preferred that in addition to looking like an 80s clothing item, that it smelled like one, too--which means that it should have smelled like nothing at all other than clean fabric. Enough is enough--if it was made in a lab, I don't want it going up my nose.

American Pickers in High School

2011-09-17T23:22:00.001-04:00

I don't know what's sadder, the fact that this photo is from a 1979 high school yearbook being sold on eBay, or that I'm home on a Saturday night, found it, and absolutely had to share it. Anyways, for my fellow American Pickers fans, this is indeed Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz from their high school days--would you look at that hair on Frank? Who knew? He actually could qualify for Go Retro's Retro Hottie of the Month! Mike is awfully cute with that Beatles/bowl cut. The guys were in their freshmen year here. Looking good, fellas!

Bad Cover Art of the Day: Christopher Cross

2011-09-16T13:50:00.000-04:00

There are many things in life that should never been seen. Christopher Cross's crotch (say that fast three times) is definitely one of them. Think of Laura? More like think of the children! The pose and the pink pants make it pretty hard to think about anything else. Who thought this was a good idea?

With all fairness, I believe the photo below is the alternative cover shot...but that still doesn't make it any better for our eyes.

Two Forgotten Friday Favorites: Berlin

2011-09-16T10:32:00.001-04:00

The group Berlin is best known for the overplayed hit "Take My Breath Away" from the 1986 movie Top Gun (Paul McCartney even performed a parody of it earlier this year on Saturday Night Live.) However, it's two of their earlier hits that I'm choosing for today's Forgotten Friday Favorites. This L.A. based New Wave band, made up of John Crawford (bass guitar), Terri Nunn (vocals), David Diamond (keyboards), Ric Olsen (guitar), Matt Reid (keyboards) and Rod Learned (drums, later replaced by Rob Brill) started their career in the late 70s. The very pretty lead singer Nunn pursued an acting career in between music and even auditioned for the role of Princess Leah. The band is still active today (Nunn is the only original member), and is currently working on a new album

Today's songs are "No More Words" and "Sex (I'm A...)" I love the "No More Words" video because it was Bonnie and Clyde inspired and therefore the clothes and cars used in it are fantastic (I actually think Faye Dunaway's style in the iconic 1967 movie is still sexy and timeless today.) And "Sex (I'm A...)" was one I never heard on the radio for obvious reasons--it was banned by several radio stations due to its controversial lyrics. Ah, they don't write songs like they used to. Thank goodness for the magic of the Interwebs. Hope y'all are enjoying your Friday.

Three Ads Too Good Not to Share #10: The TV Commercial Edition

2011-09-14T12:37:00.000-04:00

It's been far too long since I've done one of these posts, because so often the process of finding three interesting ads is time consuming. So I thought I'd shake things up and make my life easier by posting commercials instead. My goal was too find three whacky TV spots from the 60s. Thanks to the magic of YouTube and the free flowing pharmaceuticals during that era, this didn't take long at all!

1. IHOP: You Want Some Acid With Your Pancakes?
I may have posted this bizarre commercial before, but it must be seen (and heard) to be believed. The balloons, the slow motion, and the trippy Chipmunks singing voice makes me wonder what the ad men who dreamed this up were smoking that day. But the truly horrifying part to me is the food itself--have you ever seen a salad that looked like this before? "Just for the fun of it"? I'll just have the pancakes, thanks.

2. Cheer: Beam Me Up, Mommy
The Star Trek reference in this Cheer commercial is so obvious that I'm surprised no one was sued for ripping off Dr. Spock's look. I'm sure that most normal people would be positively freaked out if a spaceman from the future materialized in our home to discuss laundry detergent, but not our unfazed heroine mom here. She even manages to makes a joke: tem-pera-CHEER! Ha ha!

3. Sunsweet Prunes: Fiber is Your Future Friend
Well Ray Bradbury, I'm awfully disappointed with you. According to this commercial, you predicted that by the year 2001 people would be traveling in nomadic tubes and watching wall sized television. Now it's the year 2011 and what do we have? PRUNES*. Thanks for nothing.
*I actually love prunes. And watch the ad; it's a riot.

The 80s Fitness Craze

2011-09-10T23:17:00.001-04:00

Photo copyright Living Pages

When one looks back on the 80s, it's pretty remarkable to think how much the fitness craze of the decade permeated every nook and cranny of pop culture. From Olivia Newton-John's music video for "Physical" to Nike's infamous "Just Do It" advertising tagline, Americans sweated and jazzercised themselves through the era. Jane Fonda was everywhere, although she wasn't the only celeb putting her workouts on VHS: my mother still has a copy of Debbie Reynolds' fitness video released in 1983, called "Do It Debbie's Way." Sweats, spandex, leg warmers and high top sneakers even became part of everyday streetwear...I should know, since I wore them all--at once! In late 1981, Time ran this cover. Ask yourself when you last saw this headline--anywhere--in the news:

That's a pretty sharp contrast compared to today, where it seems the media makes an announcement about the growing obesity epidemic at least once a week. So what the hell happened to us?

I've seen many other blogs and sites attempt to answer this question. Some blame the revised USDA food pyramid, others the supersizing of McDonald's menu choices, and still others on the fact that Americans are stressed and overworked. I think there's no one clear answer, but a cumulative effect of all of these factors. One thing's for certain: as a nation, we're not as healthy and active as we used to be. In some ways I think the 80s took the fitness fad to the extreme, but that's certainly better than the stagnant lifestyle many people lead today.

Anyways, let's look back on this craze via some photos, shall we? Some of these were apparently scanned from muscle magazines and exercise equipment catalogs, so they're extra fun!

They are wearing inappropriate shoes for aerobics which tells me this is some sort of dance/performing troupe, not a gym class. Nonetheless I would love to know what the instructor is saying to the other ladies...he's definitely checking out his example's gams.

I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation why he's working three hula hoops around his crotch area at once...damned if I know what it is, however.

Damn, whoever took these shots is one pervy photographer. Is she working her glutes, or waiting for her pelvic exam?

"Have fun"...maybe. "Look great" while doing it? Not so much. I never understood workout records vs workout tapes...it's hard to do the moves without actually seeing them.

Wow. She looks like she's having too much fun on that machine, huh?

Definitely would have been a good one for my Things That Look Gay But Aren't post. "Teal is definitely your color, Rico!"

Three words: not tan enough.

On second thought, maybe it was all of the ridiculous workout clothing that led people to the couch.

And the Winner Is...

2011-09-09T11:13:00.000-04:00

Amanda H, come on down! You're the winner of the Welcome Back Giveaway!

I used a virtual slot machine to pick a name. I know you can't see everyone's names on the screenshot, but rest assured I entered the user names of everyone who left me a comment on the post.

I will be sending Amanda an email with the promo code good for $25 off any purchase at Daddy-Os. Congratulations, and thanks to everyone who participated! Now back to regularly scheduled retro goodness...

The Coolest Commercial Ever

2011-09-07T17:26:00.002-04:00

A couple dances through 100 years of fashion in this awesomely executed ad for East London clothing. Somehow they even manage to make the 80s and 90s look good. This commercial has gone viral in recent days, but just in case you haven't seen it yet, enjoy!

Announcing the Welcome Back Giveaway!

2011-09-06T09:51:00.000-04:00

Yes, welcome back...to school, work, or the unofficial start to the fall season now that the Labor Day weekend is behind us. I know that most of us are not exactly jazzed up about the idea of saying goodbye to summer (as Vinnie Barbarino himself would say, "Up your nose with a rubber hose!") Before you know it, most of us will be cranking on the heat and eventually shoveling snow. In order to ease your pain, I've decided to do another giveaway!

I must confess, the giveaway prize has absolutely nothing to do with Welcome Back Kotter try as I did to create some sort of connection, but nonetheless it's a cool one indeed. In fact, I'll admit that I wanted to keep this one for myself! It's a $25 online gift certificate to Daddy-O's, "your one stop shop for rockabilly and swing clothes, bowling shirts, lounge wear, club wear and clothing inspired by the 1950's!" Daddy-O's has a great selection of vintage style shirts (the kind that Charlie Sheen wore on Two and a Half Men) and jackets for the cool cats, and sexy and stunning dresses by the clothing manufacturer Stop Staring for the foxes. They also carry shoes, hats, accessories and boys shirts. Check them out!

To win the $25 promo code, just leave me a comment about any ol' thing...and I'll draw a name Friday morning and announce the winner then. You must have an actual profile name with a way that I can contact you if you're the winner (so comments left anonymously cannot qualify.)

Good luck, everyone! To help sing you off, here's John Sebastian performing his signature solo hit "Welcome Back" on the 70s variety show Sha Na Na!

Whatever Happened to Visiting the Barbershop?

2011-08-31T19:52:00.001-04:00

Photo via Waterbury Time Machine

Being a female, I don't have any personal experience with barbershops; however, I wonder how many modern men today visit one. (Yes, I know that some shops cater to women, but for the purpose of this post I'm talking about the barbershop as a male-centric business.) Back when I used to get my hair cut regularly at a local Supercuts (before I finally realized that they didn't know what they were doing and were butchering my hair) I noticed that the place was loaded with male clientele. It was always a little surprising to me, because in my opinion there's nothing manly about the inside of a Supercuts--there are screaming kids, perfume-y styling products and (often, but not always) incompetent stylists who don't know how to cut hair.

A modern London barbershop. Photo via The Daily Mail

A barbershop, by contrast, is a testosterone filled establishment. I found a really great article on the blog The Art of Manliness on why every man should visit a barbershop. For starters, the author points out how the local neighborhood barbershop used to be the place where men went to discuss news, politics, women, and anything else on their minds. Secondly, barbers know men's hair and how to cut it properly--and into any style. Thirdly, they can get a shave while they're at it--a close, comfortable shave. The blog author says that getting a shave at a barbershop is an indulgent experience, because they know what they're doing. They have the right equipment (you won't find a single disposable plastic razors in sight), know how to moisten the face with a damp, hot towel first and use special moisturizers and lotions that prevent razor burn. According to The Art of Manliness, after a barbershop shave a man feels ready to take on the world.

Image via Vintage Metal Art

I'd also like to add that visiting a barbershop can be a right of passage for fathers and sons. I know that today there are a few hair chains that cater to squirmy, frightened children getting their first cut, and that's understandable for kids who are still in diapers. The notion of bringing them into a dark barbershop devoid of balloons and chairs shaped like horses might be too scary for them. However, once a boy is old enough I would think a barbershop visit with dad might make him feel like a big kid.

Photo via Mr Peacock

The barbershop's popularity definitely took a hit in the 60s when the Beatles introduced the world to longer hair that moved and was free of styling goop. Perhaps it's an exaggeration, but my mother has said that many barbershops went out of business during Beatlemania. The Art of Manliness mentions a few other historical tidbits that decreased the frequency of barbershop customers: the introduction of Gillette's safety razor in 1904, the Great Depression (no extra money for haircuts) and the dip in the American male population caused by WW2.

Today, I think there are two factors that could potentially hurt the barbershop biz: mobile devices and impatience. In our rushed society, people want to be in and out of the salon chair, while the traditional barbershop is seen as a place where you're going to be spending some time and talking to other people. For those nostalgic guys out there that don't mind and are tired of the impersonal cookie cutter haircut chains out there, perhaps an old school visit to your local barbershop is just the ticket.

Question for the boys who read my blog: do you ever visit a barbershop? Why or why not?

Two Forgotten Friday Favorites: The Weather Girls

2011-08-26T10:53:00.000-04:00

I think The Weather Girls would be awfully excited about this weekend's East Coast hurricane--it could start raining men. I don't care if the song became adopted as a gay man's anthem; the video is one of my favorite cheesy 80s videos. This hefty, man-hungry duo was made up of Martha Wash and Izora Armstead. Their original stage name was Two Tons O' Fun, and their self-evident sass and self-acceptance was sort of groundbreaking for women in entertainment during their time. Plus these ladies could really sing. After the success of "It's Raining Men", they enjoyed a few other minor hits such as "Dear Santa (Bring Me a Man This Christmas)" and "Well-A-Wiggy." Armstead passed away at the age of 62 in 2004, but her daughters are carrying on The Weather Girls legacy in Germany.

So, for my fellow East Coast readers, stay safe this weekend and for my fellow single ladies, I hope you see a hottie or two float past your window on Sunday.

All We Are Saying...Is Give Pants a Chance

2011-08-22T23:08:00.000-04:00

If there's one thing I've noticed when looking at pictures of women's fashion from the 70s, it's the plethora of pants. Much to the disappointment of men everywhere, many women traded their 60s minis for trousers and pantsuits during the 70s era. Part of the reason for this is because up until then, many women simply weren't allowed to wear pants at their place on employment. Despite the fact that 30 years earlier actresses like Katharine Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich sported trousers, as well as the working women of WWII, they were banned from the typical 1960s office. Even on Mad Men, you won't see any female employees at Sterling Cooper Draper Price wearing anything besides skirts and dresses. To quote a memo that was distributed to employees of CBS Broadcast Center in the early 70s:

Please be advised that it is not Company Policy nor the discretion of the immediate supervisor for female employees to wear slacks during the course of their normal working hours...Slacks may be worn going to and from the Broadcast Center in the morning and evening, and/or on a lunch hour, business, and personal errand.

A week later, 30 female workers from the CBS offices in the Manhattan area organized and held a "pants-in" (not to be confused with a "pants-off"...ha.) These rebellions took place at high schools as well.

Nurses also led the pro-pants movement for working women. Around 1970, if you got sick and found yourself in the hospital, you'd be cared for by miniskirted nurses--who struggled to keep their modesty while bending and lifting during their daily duties. Fed up with the idea of dirty old bedridden men (and doctors) looking up their skirts, seven nurses at Queen of Angels Hospital in Southern California petitioned for the right to wear pants, and won. Their victory was front page news and several other hospitals quickly followed their lead.

Pretty soon, there was no turning back. In 1972, public education rules were reformed so that schools were required to treat boys and girls equally and that meant female students were no longer restricted to wearing only skirts and dresses. Women had won the right to wear pants in the classroom and the office. The fashion trend quickly made its way onto the TV screen, as characters such as Maude Findlay and Mrs. Partridge made pants a closet staple. And although many guys out there may not agree, women born after 1970 (like me) salute our sisters who came before us and gave us more workplace clothing options.

That isn't to say that these new options were always sexy and flattering. I scanned the following images from a funky little book called 70s Fashion Fiascos by Maureen Valdes Marsh. Um, we fought for this?

Beetle Love Through the Years

2011-08-17T19:31:00.000-04:00

Make no mistake about it, the iconic Volkswagen Beetle is one of my favorite cars--ever. I owned the "New" Beetle when it was introduced in 1998, and admittedly still miss it. Supposedly, the latest incarnation of the model is due to start hitting VW dealerships any day now in the U.S. In the meantime, I found the coolest Facebook page dedicated to the Bug called Beetles, Bugs and Buyers. It has a most impressive collection of Beetle photos through the decades. Here's just a small selection of them...if you're a Beetle owner or lover, then check them out and enjoy.

Now Vote for Me for Boston's Most Valuable Blogger!

2011-08-16T14:39:00.001-04:00

Folks, we did it. The blogs that are in the running for Boston's Most Valuable Blogger have been announced, and Go Retro made the cut! I'm in TWO categories: "Lifestyle" and "Everything Else." I can't thank you all enough for your support, and for going out of your way to nominate me.

Our work is not done yet, though...now we all have to vote! Voting opened today and runs through September 9. You can cast your vote once a day *per category* through then. Here's the link to all of the categories and you can vote for Go Retro under the Lifestyle category, Everything Else, or both!

It seems like an awful lot of work for me to win a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate, but no doubt the public link may direct some more readers and fans this way, so that's always a good thing. I plan on checking out all of the other Boston blogs as well. Good luck to all!

Vote away and THANK YOU again for your support!

Vantastic Part 2: More Shaggin' Wagons

2011-08-12T11:28:00.001-04:00

My first van post from a few weeks ago generated such a response that I simply had to do a follow-up. I must admit that the more I browse through scanned photos of customized vans, the more I can appreciate these forgotten painted beauties. While the sight of an old VW Bus on the street makes my heart go pitter-patter, I think the customized van is in an automotive league of its own. So get ready for some more van photos, van ads, and van tidbits...some of which my readers clued me into.

First of all, Luis reminded me that The Hardy Boys drove a van in the 70s TV series The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. Perhaps I had forgotten because my five-year own brain was too distracted by the raging crush I had on Shaun Cassidy at the time, but the van was a fixture of just about every episode. There was even a toy model that you could assemble.

Joe Hardy looks a little young to be behind the wheel! And boys, where are your seat belts? Ah well, it was a different time for sure.

Funny, the model looks different than the on-screen van.

The Charlies Angels gals drove a very Barbie-dollish looking pink van, perfect for helping to pat down the bad guys...

Next, I could spend hours, honestly, looking at scanned van magazines and advertisements from the 70s and 80s on Flickr. This Jaws themed one is pretty cool...and wait! Is that a racer or a van at the bottom? Very clever!

Courtesy JustACarGuy

Thrush, apparently, is not just a yeast infection but the same of a muffler manufacturer. There's a whole slew of old Thrush ads that I found selling the message that hot chicks love to handle hot pipes and other car parts. By the way, I found this ad over at a tremendous blog called Just A Car Guy. If you're an auto/motorcycle enthusiast, I highly recommend checking it out!

Finally, there were several cheesy films that revolved around the van craze of the late 70s/early 80s. Brother Bill and Luis clued me in about a 1977 teen sexploitation movie simply called The Van with the rather far out tagline, "Bobby couldn't make it...'til he went fun-truckin'!" That pretty much sums up the plot...it's about a kid who blows all of his money on a customized van to win the girl of his dreams...but what a van it is! I haven't seen the movie yet, but I think you'll agree that you can't help but share Billy's anticipation and excitement in this scene where he views "The Straight Arrow" for the first time:

Some final words of advice, aimed at the American Pickers guys: ditch your Mercedes Sprinter for a retro American custom Dodge. It's groovier and better suited for vintage picking in my opinion!

I Love Lucy in a Miniskirt

2011-08-06T16:43:00.001-04:00

I couldn't let the day pass without recognizing what would have been Lucille Ball's 100th birthday. I'm sure you've seen or heard about Google's page by now, but in case you haven't and you're an I Love Lucy fan, definitely check it out! It's one of the best Google tributes to a notable figure that I've seen.

I could, of course, embed all of the famous clips from I Love Lucy here, but I know you've seen them all several times over. Instead, I wanted to post this kind of a rare clip that a friend on Facebook shared, apparently from a mid-60s TV special where Lucy got down with the mod swinging London scene. I have no idea what the name of the special was, but it featured music by the Dave Clark Five. Too groovy. Happy Birthday, Lucy!

I Want My V-66!

2011-08-06T11:38:00.001-04:00

This week marked the 30th anniversary of MTV. While a few retro bloggers paid tribute to the milestone, I was fondly thinking about the local (and free) music video TV channel that I grew up with, V-66. For me and fellow kids whose parents didn't have cable, V-66 (which has been referred to as "the poor man's MTV") was truly our savior and a way to keep current with 80s music videos.

I discovered V-66 quite happily and accidentally while flipping the channels on the TV in my bedroom one day. I believe they were airing a Duran Duran video at the time--"The Union of the Snake" to be exact--in all its glory and I was hooked immediately! Quite often I had to fiddle with my rabbit ears to eliminate the static on this station, but it was worth it. It was the first time in many cases that I could put a face as well as a personality to the names of my favorite singers and bands, and gain exposure to new ones I hadn't heard on the radio. At first, V-66 apparently had a very limited run of videos because I seem to remember the same ones being repeated constantly (including some of Weird Al Yankovic's...you can imagine what a drag that became!) but as word-of-mouth and their popularity grew, so did their video music library. In fact, they eventually developed a reputation for airing videos of lesser known, local Boston area bands among the heavy hitters.

Some of the earliest videos I can recall seeing were those by Cyndi Lauper, Culture Club (the first time I ever saw what Boy George actually looked like was from the video to "Karma Chameleon," Michael Jackson, Hall and Oates (my faves!), the local band 'Til Tuesday, as well as heavy metal groups (Twisted Sister--yikes) and rap acts (Run DMC.)

V-66 first took to the Boston area TV airwaves on February 12, 1985. The two guys who launched it were long-time New England area radio personalities, John Garabedian and Arnie "Woo Woo" Ginsburg. Of course, the goal was to compete with MTV and that meant hiring several "VJs" to host shows and interview musicians (I mostly remember VJ David O'Leary, since he was the cutest one.) Some of the acts who visited the V-66 set included local Boston band Aerosmith, Howard Jones and Fiona. After 66 days on the air, V-66 had amassed a pretty nice fan following and celebrated its new found success.

Since this was a local station with limited revenue, the channel had a very off-the-cuff, unrehearsed, but fun personality all its own. No, the VJs were not as polished as the ones on MTV and maybe the set wasn't as cool, but that was its endearing quality that many viewers still remember. It seems that everyone who worked at this station knew how to have a blast on the air, and that often resonated on the screen.

In 2008, a documentary was made about the history of the channel called "Life on the V: The Story of V-66." This trailer should give you a better idea of what watching it was like...and check out the 80s hairstyles!

Sadly, this station only existed for about two years before a lack of advertising revenue forced it off the air. This tribute site has several wonderful comments on moments from the station's history that I don't remember. Seeing as how MTV doesn't really show music videos anymore, it seems that this programming format and concept holds a ton of fond memories for folks of my generation.

Do you remember V-66, if you grew up in the Boston area during the 80s? Or did you have a local music video channel in your area? If so, leave a comment--I'd love to hear your memories!

Nominate Me for Boston's Most Valuable Blogger!

2011-08-05T11:17:00.001-04:00

Friends, it isn't too often that I ask my readers for a favor, but I came across this local blog contest and thought it would be fun if Go Retro got at least a nomination. The rules are the blog must either be about the Boston area OR written by a blogger local to the area. That would be the latter for me, although from time to time I do try to cover something retro that's relevant to the locals (such as my post last week about Pleasure Island.) Winners are going to get a snappy $50 gift certificate to Amazon...I sure could use it to add some retro music to my CD collection...or maybe a DVD or two of a beloved vintage TV show!

Not sure what category Go Retro would fit best into, but perhaps the "Everything Else" category. So, if you love me and feel like saying a few (and they mean few--the equivalent of a tweet) kind words about the blog, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Now back to good retro stuff...

P.S. To thank everyone for their time, I have another blog giveaway item coming soon!

New Fave Show: American Pickers

2011-08-03T12:38:00.002-04:00

As you probably know, I've never really discussed a modern television show on here with the exception of Mad Men; however, I'd like to break tradition to spread some love for my new favorite reality show American Pickers, which airs on The History Channel. If hearing the phrase "reality show" makes you want to run away screaming, let me make my case that anyone with an interest in vintage items or pop culture, especially from the 20th century, could benefit from watching this show. After seeing a few full episodes online, I've learned what "trench art" is, how much a Beatles "butcher cover" in perfect condition is worth, and about the different types of surfboards that were made during the 60s.

The show follows two guys, Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, as they travel the U.S. in their van looking for anyone with a sizable and potentially valuable collection of vintage items that they can "pick" through to resell for a profit. Mike and Frank get their leads from Danielle, their assistant/accountant back at their store/warehouse they call Antique Archeology. Many of the people who own these treasure stashes are true American characters--farmers, bikers, mountain men, and former hippies as well as serious collectors. Some might also call them pack rats or hoarders, but the stuff they've amassed is usually awe-inspiring (well, except for maybe the old dude who was keeping GARBAGE along with junk in a scary, dark attic that Mike and Frank compared to the house from The Blair Witch Project.) Some of the items that the guys have picked and purchased include antique motorcycles, neon car dealership signage, rare toys, a gasoline pump, vintage NASCAR auto parts, and a 1939 Ford "Woody" Wagon.

Sigh....dreamy!

Admittedly, there's two reasons why I love this show: first, you never know what the guys are going to find, and you actually learn a bit about American history along the way. There's a bit of a romantic aspect to the show considering many of the people Mike and Frank visit are a dying breed. Secondly, that Mike Wolfe makes me light up like a pinball machine--what a hottie! My nickname for him is "The Hunk of Junk." The fact that he's a man who knows his retro stuff is truly the icing on the cake. Like me, Mike gets really excited when he sees an old car or a cool vintage lunchbox. (A common favorite phrase on the show is "Honey Hole"...don't worry, I won't go there.) OK, I admit it--that's definitely what made me notice the show, but both guys, who have been friends since their school days, can be a riot together. Mike in particular loves poking fun at Frankie's expense (in one episode, he forced the chubby Frank onto an old stationary exercise bike and cranked the speed up to full force, while laughing his ass off like a high school kid.)

Oh, to be in Danielle's spot...sans Frank.

The show is not without its criticisms; there's rumors online speculating that one or both dudes may be gay (I won't repeat the nasty play on words of the show's title) and many viewers consider them to be crooks who are ripping innocent people off. While the show often shows the guys scheming behind the scenes for good price haggling, as Mike put it in one of the episodes (I'm quoting verbatim), "we like to make sure items go to their rightful place." They've donated picked pieces to museums on occasion and they are, after all, self-employed and trying to make a living.

Anyways, I think I've made my point. I am addicted to American Pickers. You can visit the show's site to get the schedule, watch clips and full episodes and learn more. 'Dems good picking over there. Are you a fan or a foe of this show?

Oh, and about that Honey Hole...

The F Word Has Lost its Shock Value

2011-07-29T23:53:00.000-04:00

Remember when the f word used to be bad? It was the word that earned Ralphie a mouthful of soap in A Christmas Story. It was, as Ralphie put it, "The mother of all dirty words. The f dash-dash-dash word."

Well, not so much anymore, folks. Our society has become a bunch of potty mouths, because the word for unlawful carnal knowledge is so ingrained in our modern culture that it's openly used in public and on TV as a verb, adjective, adverb, noun and anything else we can get away with grammatically. On a recent edition of Hell's Kitchen, I counted the f word bleeped out no less than 15 times in only one minute, and most of them weren't coming out of Gordon Ramsey's mouth, but those of the contestants.

I mentioned to my mother the other day that one of the reasons I like Mad Men so much is because there's virtually no swearing in it, particularly the f bomb. No matter how agitated the characters get, you don't hear them telling someone to f off. She said, "That's because we didn't say it back then (in the 60s)! It was a bad word and you didn't hear anyone making it a part of regular daily conversation." And when we were growing up in the 70s and 80s, who could ever imagine a hit pop song having the f word in the title or lyrics? Yet that's exactly what happened to Cee Lo Green with his now iconic up yours aria "F*** You." OK, I'll admit it, I loved this contagious hit as much as anyone else (and its censored twin, "Forget You", just didn't have the same impact) but the first time I listened to it I was a little embarrassed. Worst of all, I see the f-bomb regularly dropped on Facebook by some of my Gen Y connections. C'mon kids, wouldn't your parents be ashamed?

So what the f--I mean, heck, happened? I've really noticed the change in movie and television dialogue during the past 15 years. There's some debate as to when the f word was first used on the big screen. According to Roger Ebert's book Questions from the Movie Answerman, it was first said in a movie during the 1930s; however, some people think Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe? and Midnight Cowboy both opened the doors for the f word to be freely used. Today it's pretty rare to watch a film that doesn't use it, but it's the ones who overuse it that bother me. Nothing annoys me more than when every other word in a string of dialogue is the f word. Unless it's truly appropriate to the character, it's a sign to me that the screenwriter is low class and frankly, unimaginative. It has actually caused me to stop watching a DVD or two when it's relentless.

Please know that I'm no prude--it's not like I never say or write the word. However, I try to reserve it for the appropriate time and place, if you know what I mean. You've probably noticed that I've never written it, to the best of my knowledge, on this blog, and I would NEVER say it at the office or in a professional environment, or with people I barely know. I wonder how many kids get away with saying it in school. Back in my day, saying the word out loud in class would earn you a one-way ticket to the principle's office.

The f word's popularity in current pop culture means that it's also lost its shock value. Think about it--are we really shocked anymore when we hear it? Now that it's no longer a big deal, the question is what will take its place as the mother of all swear words? Maybe I don't want to know, but it's amazing that a word with roots dating back to 1475 enjoyed its profane reputation up until about 10 years ago. I guess we all need to keep those bars of soap handy.

Defunct Amusement Park: Pleasure Island

2011-07-27T19:29:00.000-04:00

It's a shame that I was born too late to visit Pleasure Island--an amusement park close to my hometown that went out of business in 1969, three years before I was born. The irony is that I worked there in the mid-90s, as the location is now home to a business park. Taking my daily lunchtime walk around the small lake, I had no idea that it was once home to Moby Dick, a giant mechanical whale meant to emulate the one that Herman Melville made famous, or that Captain Kid once guarded his ship there and posed for pictures with kids. However, the memories of Pleasure Island are so vivid to those locals who enjoyed it that there's a pretty extensive website dedicated to its memory.

Billed as the "Disneyland of the east," Pleasure Island opened in 1959 in the Boston suburb of Wakefield, Massachusetts (the exit for it off the highway is still called Pleasure Island Road.) In fact, the "island" was designed by Disneyland's developer, Cornelius Vanderbilt Wood, and founded by William Hawkes, the publisher of Child Life magazine. Pleasure Island was unique in that it mixed a taste of the wild West with the swashbuckling high seas. Some of the attractions included a Stagecoach Ride, the Pirate Ride, the Burro Trail, Moby Dick Ride, Indian Village, Captain Kid's Pirate Cove, and the Horseless Carriage ride, among many others. The "Showbowl" was where entertainment usually played, and the biggest names who appeared at Pleasure Island were Rick Nelson, The Modernaires, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Michael Landon, The Three Stooges, Don Ameche, and Lassie! There was also a petting zoo, a shooting gallery, a Western-style saloon, carousel, railroad station, ice cream parlor, and more.

Costumed actors were a fixture in the park. A recurring theme was when bandits would try to board the train ride to rob the conductor and passengers. They never succeeded, however, because the sheriff always made sure of it by "gunning them down." Corny for sure, but this was during an era when the Lone Ranger was popular.

My parents had many fond memories of taking my siblings to Pleasure Island during the 60s, and was very disappointed when it closed. My mother says that my sister was terrified of Moby Dick, who would rise from the lake during the boat ride, open his mouth to reveal his sharp teeth, and blow water from his spout. As someone who saw (and enjoyed) the movie Jaws when I was only 3 and a half years old, I think I would have dug that ride!

With such a wonderful array of attractions for families to enjoy and see, you may be wondering why the park went out of business: it was the New England weather. Only open during the seasonal summer months, Pleasure Island eventually couldn't keep up with the expenses of running it, and closed in 1969. A string of poor management may have contributed to its demise as well.

I grew up going to Canobe Lake Park in nearby Salem, NH but visiting the Pleasure Island tribute site definitely makes me wish I could have been there. I can only experience it through the many photos found on the site, some of which I've posted here. There's too many original photographers credited, so if these belong to any readers who come across this post, just let me know and I'll credit you.

Two Forgotten Friday Favorites: Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

2011-07-22T12:22:00.000-04:00

Twitter has Follow Fridays, and Go Retro has Forgotten Friday Favorites. Actually, my song picks for today are not exactly forgotten, just appropriate because of the sweltering heat and humidity many of my fellow Americans are experiencing today.

Martha and the Vandellas were the most active from 1963 to 1972, racking up an amazing 26 hits, yet they never received a Grammy (they were, however, inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in the late 90s.) Their hit "Dancing in the Street" has been covered by other artists many times, most notably David Bowie and Mick Jagger.

So grab a mojito and sit back and listen to Vandellas' hits "(Love is Like) a Heat Wave" and "Quicksand." Stay cool and safe this weekend, everybody!

Whatever Happened to...Full Service Gas Stations?

2011-07-20T19:45:00.001-04:00

The gas station of yesteryear puts today's modern filling facilities to shame. It's insulting that we must pay close to $4 a gallon for gas, often pump it ourselves, and not get any kind of reward or thanks for our patronage.

For me, one of the most memorable scenes from Back to the Future is when Marty McFly, upon landing in his hometown during the 1950s, witnesses a full service gas station. A car pulls up and out of the station spring four uniformed attendants who not only fill the tank, but check the tire pressure and oil and wash the car's windows. These perks were free and it was the norm up until the 1970s. Not only that, but gas stations often gave away trinkets such as drinking glasses, toys, key chains, calendars, trading stamps and even road maps. Exxon was known for giving away a plush tiger's tail that could be affixed to your car's gas cap or a bicycle, to go along with their famous slogan, "Put a tiger in your tank."

This was also service with a smile - one baby boomer recalls here how he was allowed to help the attendant pump gas, earning a small reward as a result.

The oil crisis of the 1970s marked the beginning of the end for the full service station. Oil companies figured that customers wanted to pump their own gas in exchange for saving a few pennies. Pretty soon, the attendants were no longer needed. Also, the process of getting gas at a full service station took about 10-15 minutes, which sadly is considered too long in today's high paced, impatient world.

It's sad--especially considering I don't remember visiting one as a kid growing up in the 70s. Interestingly, all stations in Oregon and New Jersey are considered full service because it's against the law in those two states for customers to pump their own gas.

There is one modern gas station that I've heard of that offers full service the way it used to be: Forrest's Duxler filling station Wilmette, IL. Check it out below!

And here's a vintage clip showing one of the originals:

Do you remember full service gas stations? What kinds of freebies did you make out with?

Vantastic! How to Build the Ultimate Shagging Wagon

2011-07-14T17:59:00.000-04:00

'Tis that time of year when vintage car owners show off their chrome and wheels at cruise nights and classic car gatherings, but the custom van of the 70s usually isn't one of them. I don't know why no one is restoring these shag pads on wheels, because street vans were a huge automotive phenomenon during the late 70s and early 80s--there was even a magazine dedicated to them called Travelin' Vans. However, as a public service to my readers, I'd like to offer three simple steps on how to turn any mommy (or daddy) minivan into the Ultimate Shagging Wagon. Get ready to say to your friends and neighbors, "If this van is a-rockin', don't come a-knocking!"

1. Get a Custom Paint Job

Vans from this time period were adorned with a wild assortment of graphics and portraits, from bold, mod looking stripes to western landscapes. Nothing was too tacky for a 70s van, so let your imagination go wild--even if you're a Star Wars fan!

2. Get a Custom Interior

Don't forget about the inside of your vehicle! Shag or velour carpeting will make those trysts with your loved one a little more comfy (but watch out for carpet burn!) while curtains ensure privacy. A lava lamp, dashboard Jesus, or fuzzy dice adds a nice ambiance and sets the mood. For added flair, consider the chain steering wheel--it was a favorite of Cheech and Chong's, after all.

Or how about some fiber optic lighting???

3. Go Where the Girls (or the Guys) Are

Take the van to the beach, local swimming hole, or your neighborhood block party. They'll flock to it like moths to a flame!

Don't you just totally want one now?

Pinup Girl Clothing: Vampalicious Vintage Swimsuits and More

2011-07-11T19:53:00.000-04:00

Mod Bow-tie mini dress, $128

All too often, I often forget to mention retro items that you can buy in favor of the usual Go Retro commentary. I'd like to remedy that by sharing the love for some of the cool vintage-themed stores I've found online, starting with the site Pinup Girl Clothing. I found them not long ago while looking for vintage-styled swimsuits online, but love all of their product departments, particularly the dresses and bags. If you're a woman looking to wear something bombshell sexy along the lines of Marilyn Monroe or Mad Men's Joan Holloway, this is the site to check out. The company also prides itself on using models of various dress sizes to show off the clothing and accessories. Here's just a few of the favorite things that I'd like to add to my wish list:

Birdie Party Dress in Red Vintage Floral by Pinup Couture, $118

Natasha Dress in White Pin Dot by Pinup Couture, $88

Paris Dress in Grey with Pink Trim by Dixiefried, $116

Look familiar, Mad Men fans? This is the Joanie Dress in Olive Green by Pinup Couture, $96

Retro Halter Swimsuit - The Bettie One Piece in Red Polka Dot by Pinup Couture, $78

Sailor Girl Nautical Bikini Top and Bottom, $56 for each piece

Red Sparkle Train Case by Pinup Couture, $112

Just in time for the upcoming ABC series, the Pan Am Hat Bag, $87

There's oodles more where these goodies came from, so check out the site. Happy shopping!

And the Winner Is...

2011-07-08T09:35:00.000-04:00

I just picked a winner for the Jacob Bromwell skewers. Needless to say, this being a retro themed blog, my method of choosing a name is old school...

I know it's hard to see, but the winner is...Mimi, of 1972: The Retro WW Experiment! Congratulations, Mimi! I'll be in touch to obtain the address to have the skewers shipped to. Enjoy, but don't go using these for your nasty gelatin Weight Watchers recipes (she knows how much I hate gelatin!)

Nice try to everyone who participated, and thanks again to Jacob Bromwell for reaching out to me and contributing the item. I hope to have more cool giveaway items for my readers in the future.

Go Retro's Summer Giveaway!

2011-07-05T13:20:00.000-04:00

Now that I have your attention, I'm excited to announce that I have another giveaway item for my readers! Last week, the president of a company called Jacob Bromwell, Inc. reached out to me. Jacob Bromwell is a manufacturer of American cookware since 1819, specializing in vintage, nostalgic, and hard-to-find kitchen and campfire cooking products. Named for its founder, Jacob Bromwell, this company is recognized as America's Oldest Cookware. Best of all, every product is made with pride in the U.S.A. and backed by a lifetime guarantee!

Jacob Bromwell is offering a lucky reader of this blog a pair of Ohio Barbeque Skewers, pictured above, a $29.50 value. These beautiful skewers are 20" long and feature wooden handles to keep hands cool while cooking. They are right at home around a campfire or on the grill, and perfect for roasting or grilling marshmellows, hot dogs, kebabs, and more. You can see additional photos and read more about them on the Jacob Bromwell site here.

To win them, just leave me a comment on this post. The only rule is I must have a way of contacting you, so any anonymous commenters must leave a valid email address where they can be reached. I'll draw a name Friday morning at 9 AM EST and will announce the winner then. The skewers will ship directly to the winner from Jacob Bromwell.

I also encourage everyone to check out the Jacob Bromwell site to see all of the cool items they offer. Good luck!

Land of the Lost TV Series: Crime Story

2011-07-02T16:02:00.001-04:00

This fall, NBC and ABC are going to try to capitalize on the success of Mad Men with two shows that are set in the 1960s: The Playboy Club (NBC) and Pan Am (ABC.) Time will tell if either of these dramas becomes a hit (I'm guessing no - too little, too late, folks,) but people may forget that this isn't the first time the 60s era was portrayed on network television. In the mid-80s, NBC did a pretty good job with a short-lived but compelling series called Crime Story.

Crime Story was produced by Michael Mann, who had left Miami Vice in 1986 to work on the new show, which took place in 1963 Chicago (and later, Las Vegas.) The series starred Dennis Farina as the tough talking Lt. Mike Torello, and Anthony Denison as his nemesis, gangster Ray Luca. Torello's thwarted attempts to bring Luca down was the underlining theme of the show, but other sub-plots were worked into the storyline, and both seasons ended with cliffhangers that left viewers wondering if the main characters would survive.

A lot of that cool art deco style so prominent in Miami Vice oozed over into Crime Story and worked nicely in what has become known as the pre-Beatles period of American history. By the second season, each episode cost over $1 million to produce, because of the period costumes and props required and because it was shot on location. The opening theme was a cover of Del Shannon's hit Runaway, with the lyrics slightly altered. Although many clips of the show don't currently exist on YouTube, this 10-minute sequence was full of eye candy to me: a pastel colored department store, impeccably dressed extras, and shiny, fish-finned cars. Is it also wrong of me to think that the bad guy, Ray Luca, is kind of a hottie? Whoever the set director was for Crime Story, they captured the look of the time period as nicely as the crew of Mad Men does:

I get the impression that the Lt. Torello character rarely smiled in this show - he was the epitome of the crusty, hard working TV cop. This scene made me laugh - his marriage is ending, and he discovers his wife's lover in his home...but he's not telling him take the beloved TV set away from him!

Even though Crime Story only aired for two seasons, several big-time actors got their starts on the show. Julia Roberts made her TV debut playing a rape victim in one of the episodes. Gary Sinese starred as a man who robbed in order to pay for his wife's health expenses (see clip below) and Kevin Spacey portrayed a Kennedy-esque politician. Stanley Tucci played a bomber and David Caruso had a recurring role as a minor character in the pilot and some of the season one episodes.

I regret that I didn't appreciate Crime Story as much when it first aired, but the premise just didn't appeal to my 14 year-old female mind (Don Johnson sans shirt, however, did.)The show did fairly well after its premiere, where it aired after Miami Vice on Friday nights. When NBC made the fatal move of switching it to another night to compete with Moonlighting, its ratings sunk. They tried the 10 PM Friday night slot again but to no avail: the show was canceled after the second season ended and we never learned if Lt. Torello and his colleagues survived a plane crash.

Martin Scorsese noted that at the premiere of his film Casino that Crime Story served as an inspiration for the movie. It also was one of the first TV shows that followed a storyline over an entire season, instead of episode by episode, a format which later became popular with 24 and The Sopranos.

Here's the opening theme to Crime Story. Both seasons of the show are available on DVD.

Two Forgotten Friday Favorites: Heart

2011-07-01T07:44:00.000-04:00

Before I get into today's Two Forgotten Friday Favorites, I wanted to let everyone know that there's going to be another giveaway after the long holiday weekend! So stayed tuned for more details next week...

Even though the sister-centric rock group known as Heart has their roots in the 70s, it's the hits they sustained during their comeback period of the 80s that I love the best: These Dreams, Alone, What About Love, and many more. Throughout the group's band member changes, the beautiful sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson have remained the only two constants - except, interestingly, when the group was first formed by three guys. Ann met and fell in love with one of the members, and the rest was history.

Heart is still going strong and just released a new album last year which did very well on the Billboard album charts. For this week's Two Forgotten Favorites, I'm not going to choose Barracuda, Magic Man, Crazy on You, or any of the usual overplayed hits. Instead, I really want to hear 1987's There's the Girl - the video is quintessential 80s. I'm cheating a bit on the second song as it's not a true Heart song, but one that features Ann Wilson performing a duet with Mike Reno of Loverboy on one of my favorite sappy love songs of all time, Almost Paradise. Also known as the love theme from Footloose. Yep, I realize I just lost my male viewers with that one...but I can't help it. Just last week I listened to the song for the first time in nearly 25 years!

Garish Rooms of the 70s

2011-06-27T13:55:00.000-04:00

A look at the bold and tacky decorating tastes of the 70s is certainly nothing new on any retro blog; I think Retrospace has the best collection around (check out That 70s Home.) However, I scanned the following images from a couple of old Family Circle magazines that I picked up at a vintage flea market last year and it would be a shame if I never shared them with my readers. Where the 50s and 60s gave us flattering earth tones and the right amount of color on walls, furniture and even kitchen appliances, the 70s took hues and patterns to the extreme. There was no such thing as too much color as these examples demonstrate...

I actually like the room on top...which I'm guessing served as the home office/music room (and note the requisite fern plant that was seen everywhere in the 70s)...there's something about the green and orange that doesn't bother me at all. But the yellow, red, and orange color scheme of the dining room is a little too saturated for me (I do like the chairs...but was it necessary to make the doors yellow as well?)

This room was part of a "Two Rooms in One" series in one of the magazines...the glass/acrylic table and shelving is reminiscent of the furniture that came with my Barbie town house when I was young...the fur throw on the fold-out futon adds a nice Austin Powers-esque touch. But that wallpaper and matching curtain (!) is enough to burn out anyone's pupils.

Lime green, orange, yellow, pink...I lost count after four colors. Perhaps a child's bedroom was the only room in the home where such a color palette worked best. I honestly don't know what the difference is between the "day and night" shots in this example other than the bed on the floor...but I do like the groovy Siamese cat.

Granted, this last example is an advertisement, but it shows that not even the bathroom was safe from the extreme color/pattern fad. The arrows really put it over the top. I believe the floor is also wall-to-wall carpeted...a really common but gross 70s trend when you consider the kind of thing that can miss the toilet if one isn't careful with their aim...sorry, had to mention it!

Still, if I had to choose between a bland beige interior and a 70s style, I know I'd go with the latter.

And the Winner Is...

2011-06-24T10:25:00.000-04:00

Well, I have to admit I'm a little surprised that more people didn't submit entries for the Famous Face contest...maybe because they saw a few readers had the correct answers early on? We did have two people who got all six photos correct: Tom and Barbara. Just to recap, the names of the celebs in the photos were: 1. Jon Hamm, 2. Bill Murray, 3. Stephen Colbert, 4. Sandra Bullock, 5. Kirstie Alley and 6. Sheryl Crow. Great job, guys!

I wrote both names down on paper, put them into a hat (a very small one - ha) and the winner is....Barbara from If I Didn't Have a Sense of Humor!

So, congratulations, Barbara! Send me your email address to my email, GoRetro1@hotmaill.com, and I'll order that $25 gift certificate to Plasticland for you today. Enjoy!

BTW, I may have another cool giveaway prize in a few weeks, so stay tuned!

Announcing the Who's That Famous Face Contest!

2011-06-21T22:52:00.000-04:00

Well guys, I'm pretty excited to announce Go Retro's first ever contest! After a few years of running this blog and attracting a nice little devoted following, I figured it was time to reward my readers in anticipation of its 4th anniversary. The prize? It's a $25 gift certificate to Plasticland, the "purveyors of kitsch curiosities and retro clothing since 2002." Admittedly, this site will probably appeal more to women than men; however, I invite the guys out there to check out the home decor because there are some items that men will like..including a Star Wars wall clock! Also, other online retro stores that I contacted about securing a gift certificate or promo code never got back to me. This was one of the only ones that offered it.

Here's how to win it: this is graduation season, so I've collected some high school and college shots of famous people (3 girls, 3 guys) when they were in school. I've tried to include some that you can't find simply by Googling "celebrity yearbook photos"; that would make it way too easy! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post listing, in order, who each famous face is. The contest will run for 48 hours, until 10:45 PM E.S.T. At the end of the contest period, I'll collect the names of everyone who has the correct answers and will randomly choose a winner, who will be announced on Friday.

RULES: 1. No anonymous comments, please - I have to be able to email you the gift certificate! 2. If you subscribe to the blog's feed, you MUST leave your answers in the comments section on the actual blog...do not email me your answers or I cannot include you in the running!

Hints? Well, I really don't want to give any because that would make it too easy and because I know you have the smarts already. However, I will give you one clue: all of these people are still alive. Ready??? OK - here you go, and good luck! Have fun! Remember, you have to leave your answers in the comment box - no exceptions!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T13:54:00.000-04:00

To all the dads out there who read Go Retro, here's wishing you and yours a Happy Father's Day!

This is a picture of my own (late) father, I'm guessing from the late 50s or early 60s. He really wasn't a "partier" per say, at least not by today's standards, but it does look like he was a having a good day or night here. I got a kick out of the pictures of the chickens on the wall...this may be from my parents' original house that they lived in, not the one I grew up in.

I miss you, Daddy!

The Death of the 'Stache

2011-06-18T16:09:00.001-04:00

Maybe it's just me or the corner of the country that I live in, but I cannot remember the last time I saw a guy sporting a mustache. Of all men's facial hair trends, this one seems to have fallen by the wayside in recent years. I still see plenty of goatees, beards, and the occasional soul patch but nary a 'stache. I can't think of too many famous men today who regularly sport one (with the exception of Dr. Phil) and flipping through any magazine, you'd be hard pressed to find a male model with a mustache. Even John Oates shaved his off years ago!

I'm actually not complaining about this fashion trend; truth be told, I prefer the clean shaven look on men or the Don Johnson shadow if they can pull it off without looking too sloppy. Many of my long-time readers also know by now that I adore sideburns. But I've never been a fan of mustaches and I'm guessing that today's Gen Y and Gen X men echo that sentiment. So what happened?

I think the mustache - which lost its popularity during the 40s and 50s but gained it back in the 60s along with long hair - is too closely associated today with 1970s tackiness and porn film stars, such as Ron Jeremy and fictional anchorman Ron Burgandy. Although it was considered macho back in the day, the 'stache has a somewhat cheesy and sleazy reputation now. Back to Hall and Oates, I can't tell you how many times I watched one of their videos on YouTube only to see someone in the comments ask who "the guy with the pornstache" was!

I also think there may be some gay connotations with having a mustache (think Freddy Mercury and members of The Village People) or that it's the facial hair pattern of choice by child molesters and Adolph Hitler.

Despite the stache's decline in pop culture and the general public, there is a group dedicated to men who still proudly wear one: The American Mustache Institute. They even have an annual charity event called the Stache Bash. And new this year is a book just published in called The Moustache Grower's Guide. Since fashion trends are cyclical, it's quite possible the Tom Selleck look could make a comeback.

So, readers, what do you think? Do any of you guys out there wear one, and do you ladies like a guy with a stache or not?