7782

Updating

2011-09-20T14:29:00.003-05:00

It's been more than a year since I've done any work on the blog. I'm redesigning it to make it a little less 2006. Old blog posts may lose their images temporarily while I pull my stuff off of that fucking shithole Photobucket.

2011-09-20T13:53:00.001-05:00

RIP Charlie

2010-04-02T15:24:00.001-05:00

John Forsythe dies at 92

Moichendizing

2010-03-08T12:47:00.007-06:00

Well, here's the Runaways movie tie-in album I was hoping for: The Runaways - The Mercury Albums Anthology. It contains the entirety of The Runaways, Live in Japan, Queens of Noise & Waitin' For The Night but none of their kind of crappy final album ...And Now the Runaways and no bonus tracks.

There's also a new greatest hits album for Joan Jett & the Blackhearts that includes a couple of Runaways tracks and even 'Backlash' from her early '90s Notorious album. I wish it included the 1999 song 'Fetish' and the single mix of 'Don't Surrender' from Notorious. I had that on cassingle back in the day and I'm still trying to track down a CD single...

There's even a big hardcover photo book centered on Joan Jett (which is just fine by me!) rather than the Runaways. Plus they've reissued Cherie Currie's memoir which was the basis for the movie.

Anyone have a tracklist for the movie soundtrack?

Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett/Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie

2010-01-26T15:32:00.003-06:00

They have hit this out of the park with the period detail and the pictures of Fanning are finally starting to resemble Cherie Currie.

My two wishes for this film, merchandise-wise are for

1) A remastered boxed-set of the complete Runaways recordings -- throw in a bonus disc of Cherie & Marie Currie/solo material.

2) A big glossy hardcover Runaways photo book with a complete catalog of worldwide singles/albums/magazine covers.

I hope some of Stewart's Twilight audience shows up for this and makes it a big hit!

The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977)

2010-01-11T09:25:00.004-06:00

Finally. I saw a commercial for this movie on UHF TV 33 years ago and I've been looking for it ever since: The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977) from Sunn Classic Pictures -- the people who brought you Beyond and Back, In Search of Noah's Ark, William Shatner's Mysteries of the Gods and various other paranormal miscellany.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9

God bless YouTube & g8trman77

It would have been Madeline Kahn's 67th birthday today.

2009-09-29T11:06:00.001-05:00

And she'll be gone 10 years this December. RIP.

NEW BOOK ALERT: And Party Every Day: The Inside Story Of Casablanca Records

2009-09-19T19:18:00.001-05:00

from Amazon.com

7782 in New York City: The Dakota

2009-09-19T18:37:00.001-05:00

7782 in New York City: Missed it by that much...

2009-09-19T18:31:00.003-05:00

I missed Carrie Fisher talking about her drug and alcohol abuse onstage at Studio 54 by 1 week. It doesn't get more 7782 than that!

I've now been inside the Studio 54 entry hall. Wooo.

7782 in New York City: Q, the Winged Serpent

2009-09-18T07:40:00.009-05:00

The Chrysler Building, home of Quetzalcoatl from Larry Cohen's Q the Winged Serpent (1982) as seen from the Empire State Building.

7782 in New York City: The Daily Planet

2009-09-16T08:08:00.003-05:00

A.K.A. The New York Daily News building on 42nd St., NYC

Also the site of this scene:

Faces of 7782: Happy Birthday, Valerie Perrine

2009-09-03T10:31:00.006-05:00

"Lex, my mother lives in Hackensack!"

It's too bad that Can't Stop the Music squelched her career as a major star, especially since she was the least problematic thing in that troubled film.

Compare her '30s screwball performance as Eve Teschmacher in Superman & Superman II to Parker Posey's 'why bother' presence in a similar role in Bryan Singer's recent Superman Returns.

Also great in Bob Fosse's Lenny Bruce biopic.

The Valerie Perrine 7782 Canon:

Superman (1978)
The Electric Horseman (1979)
Can't Stop the Music (1980)
Superman II (1981)
The Cannonball Run (1981)

Speaking of High Anxiety

2009-09-01T10:13:00.003-05:00

Here's the brilliant Mel Brooks lounge singing scene, with one of the greatest 'singing in the shower' songs of all time:

I love Madeline Kahn's reactions in this.

Another Sunn Classic - Beyond and Back (1978)

2009-09-01T10:00:00.004-05:00

Beyond and Back, a movie so intense it inspired the title of one of LA punk band X's earlier classic songs, performed here in Penelope Spheeris' 1981 documentary The Decline of Western Civilization:

Faces of 7782: Vincent Van Patten

2009-09-01T09:35:00.010-05:00

Above: A sleeping Lynda Carter and a Star Wars Cantina Creature are no match for Vince Van Patten.

This dude was all over 70s TV and even managed to sneak his way into a couple of features. I remember him most for playing an alien dupe in Wonder Woman (above). So powerful a presence that he spawned Vince Van Patten imitators -- I could have sworn he was in The Karate Kid (1984) and Just One of the Guys (1985) but he's not. That's William Zabka, a fake Van Patten.

Vince is a member of the royal family of 7782 which includes his dad Dick Van Patten (High Anxiety, Eight is Enough), his aunt Joyce Van Patten, brother Jimmy Van Patten (Roller Boogie, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again) and his half-uncle the great Timothy Van Patten (Class of 1984, The White Shadow, The Master).

Vince is currently serving as the spokesface for Milwaukee's local indian casino, apparently in conjunction with his World Series of Poker gig. I actually saw him in the flesh a couple of months ago when I attended a Brewers vs. Twins game at Milwaukee County Stadi...I mean Miller Park.

The VVP 7782 Canon:

Wonder Woman (1977)
Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979)
The Love Boat (1981)
Hell Night (1981)

Now THAT'S more like it

2009-07-01T11:13:00.002-05:00

Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett in The Runaways (2010)

Joan Jett at Milwaukee's Summerfest

2009-07-01T10:40:00.005-05:00

Two-fifths of the Runaways are appearing at Summerfest this year -- Lita Ford performs this Friday night and Joan Jett was there last night. She played three Runaways songs -- Cherry Bomb, I Love Playing With Fire and You Drive Me Wild -- no doubt because she has the band on her mind due to the biopic that's shooting right now. I am pretty sure Kristen Stewart was in attendance last night, doing some research for her role as Jett.

Jett played all of her hits as well as three or four tracks from her most recent album Sinner. The liveliest numbers were the Runaways songs and her cover of Sweet's ACDC probably because she hasn't played them 5000 times over the last 30 years. I would have liked to hear School Days which is My favorite Runaways-era Jett song but I am more than happy with the show as it was.

If Joan is casting about for an idea for a new album, I suggest a The Hit List, Vol. II with nothing but 70s Glam Rock songs -- even better an album of nothing but Mike Chapman/Nicky Chinn songs -- her version of Chapman/Chinn's ACDC is awesome. But she could do Bowie's Rebel Rebel and Diamond Dogs justice as well. How about the first all-female rock supergroup with Jett, Ford, Suzi Quatro, a Go-Go and a Bangle?

If only he was still around...

2009-06-26T20:01:00.003-05:00

Maybe Andrew Morton? Martin Bashir? Kitty Kelley?

Someone step up and write the tell-all we all want to read.

Charlie's Angels, Season 1 Episode 4: Angels in Chains

2009-06-25T20:05:00.002-05:00

This is the episode where Farrah broke out from what had been intended as the Kate Jackson Show. It's one of the all-time classic Charlie's Angels episodes, the only one explicitly referenced by the Barrymore-Diaz-Liu films and it guest stars Mary Woronov in her 7782 prime!

Embbeding is disabled

The Cannonball Run (1981) trailer

2009-06-25T20:03:00.001-05:00

Logan's Run (1976) trailer

2009-06-25T20:00:00.002-05:00

Saturn 3 (1980) trailer

2009-06-25T19:58:00.001-05:00

And now MIchael Jackson.

2009-06-25T17:55:00.003-05:00

I am neither happy that he is gone, nor am I sad.

My condolences to those who knew him.

RIP Farrah Fawcett

2009-06-25T12:12:00.003-05:00

Above: Farrah in a deleted scene from the 1980 Stanley Donen fim Saturn 3.

Farrah Fawcett dies at 62; actress rose above 'Charlie's Angels'

Wait...a Runaways Movie?

2009-06-12T10:54:00.001-05:00

Above: surly Twilight star Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett.

Apparently Dakota Fanning of all people is playing Cherie Currie.

The Runaways (2010)

My one request is that they remaster & re-release the enitire Runaways and Joan Jett catalogues as a cross-promotion. I would love to own a complete Runaways boxed set.

Of course Google Video has it...

2009-06-10T11:37:00.001-05:00

William Shatner's Mysteries of the Gods:

William Shatner gets a piece of the 'In Search Of...' action

2009-06-08T11:22:00.000-05:00

This just came up on the Wrong Side of the Art feed:

I love William Shatner...I love pre-Star Trek the Motion Picture William Shatner...I love anything having to do with Erich von Däniken's Ancient Astronauts theories...I love psuedo-informative movie posters...Why haven't I seen this movie?!?

Well, probably because it's out of print with used VHS copies that command $1000.00 prices on Amazon.com and was issued with a super-generic '90s video cover.

Amazon.com Link

I wish one of the 50-movie pack DVD houses would put out a set of '70s psuedoscience or conspiracy films such as the the Sunn Classics movies that inspired the In Search Of... TV Show: In Search of Noah's Ark (1976) & The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977) which I saw a commercial for ONCE in the '70s and have been searching for ever since:

Sunn Classic Pictures @ IMDb

I suppose this was inevitable...

2009-06-04T16:22:00.000-05:00

EXCEPT JAIME SUMMERS HAD THE BIONIC EAR, LEE!

RIP David Carradine

2009-06-04T09:29:00.001-05:00

David Carradine found dead in Thailand hotel (MSNBC)

Above: Carradine in cable TV staple Death Race 2000 (1975)

The films that Carradine made for Roger Corman in the late-70s, early-80s are still highly entertaining so I suggest you check them out should you decide to have a tribute marathon. Fuck KIll Bill and that snarky Tarantino shit.

EDIT: Also check out Carradine, Candy Clark, Richard Roundtree & MIchael Moriarty (!!!) in Q: The Winged Serpent (1982) by Larry Cohen.

The reason this blog doesn't reach beyond the summer on 1982: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

2009-05-29T12:38:00.000-05:00

And here's the semi-sarcastic reason why, from Ruthless Reviews:

Subtext Cinema: E.T. the Extra Terrestrial

I have often wondered whether Spielberg was the knowing Leni Reifenstahl of the Reagan Revolution or simply expressing the ever-increasing selfishness of the thousand year reich of the Baby Boomers which the Goldwater-style Republicans then latched on to. Either way, I want to live long enough to see his cultural impact be wiped away, forgotten or -- best of all -- be held partially responsible for the excesses of his generation.

ASIDE: The mid-80s ALF TV series had even more 'Reagan as alien puppet' subtext, and was the bridge from normal sitcomery to the FOX Network-style reveling in idiocy and squalor of Married With Children, The Simpsons and Family Guy.

Touch Me When We're Dancing (1981) - The Carpenters go disco

2009-05-29T11:06:00.000-05:00

It's too bad that Richard Carpenter was waylaid by drug problems during the height of the disco-pop era because with his studio skills he could have produced a fantastic full-on disco Carpenters record. The closest thing we get in that department is the ill-fated Karen Carpenter solo record produced by Phil Ramone in 1980.

This song came out in 1981, on the Carpenters final record Made in America. It sounds like a Barry Gibb composition which makes me think that the way a disco beat got on super-suburbanite Richard Carpenter's radar was by way of Barbra Streisand's Bee Gees-produced Guilty album from 1980. Disco in the Reagan era is really behind the times any way you slice it.

Karen doesn't look too good in this video, unfortunately.

SMAK

2009-05-15T09:17:00.001-05:00

ISO...TAH

2009-05-07T12:05:00.000-05:00

First up:
in Search of... the Amityville Horror

The trifecta of 7782: Nimoy, In Search Of and The Amityville Horror.

I think a lot of the weird occult, UFO, Bigfoot and ghost stuff that was in the culture during this period was made for fun and money, but it unfortunately led to the 'everything is real if you believe in it' irrational douchebaggery that came in with the Reagan administration and never really left.

I still love In Search Of... tho' and I wish they'd bring the series out on DVD and/or, since Nimoy has come out of retirement, relaunch the series! And shoot it on grainy 16mm in natural light. Oh, this show had great production value!

Dom DeLuise

2009-05-05T12:34:00.000-05:00

1933-2009

The heavily-branded 1981 refrigerator

2009-05-03T16:58:00.000-05:00

from Student Bodies, 1981

Prayers, good vibes etc. to Farrah Fawcett.

2009-04-28T09:58:00.001-05:00

I hope you pull through.

They brought back the god damned Juicy Fruit theme

2009-03-19T09:38:00.000-05:00

But it's all American Idoled up with that fake-ass modern country music sound. Some things from 7782 should just be left alone.

They do have to bring back the Mountain Dew campaign where young idiots jump off cliffs into rocky riverbeds while clutching a can of the 'Dew.

This would have been the perfect opportunity to post a clip of The Juicy Fruits' Beach Boys pastiche from Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise except 1) it's from 1974 and 2) I can't find it. Note to self: make a post about 'Phantom' and its influence on 7782.

Album cover photostream @ Flickr

2009-03-14T15:20:00.000-05:00

Epiclectic has scanned/photographed thousands of album covers from the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s and today. The real gems are, of course, from 1977-1982 such as the two posted above, both from 1980.

A fake newsreel from 1977, for the 'Watchmen' film

2009-02-06T15:47:00.000-06:00

Does it pass the 7782 muster?

NO

1. There was a pool of competent animators & illustrators working on industrial films in 1977 -- those sketchy rotary phone & cop with wife shots would have never, ever been used. EVER.

I've read that the above animation is meant to invoke Schoolhouse Rock-like sketchiness. The drawing line on Schoolhouse Rock may have been sketchy, but the cartooning was rock-solid and the cel animation was first rate. The drawing in this film looks like it was done by an incompetent high school sophmore on a low-end Gateway laptop. They should have called up Neal Adams' Continuity Associates to provide illustrations in his ultra-straight, Ben Casey commercial art style.

2. They didn't have flash video back then! Everything was done photographically. What, they couldn't put lettering on a board and photograph it? They don't have cel animation equipment anymore? They don't have 16mm film cameras anymore? This just looks like some twentysomething dumbass spent a weekend on a computer.

The cheap-ass bold italic & quasi-Impact fonts they use throughout are awful -- '70s industrial film equipment and facilities were leftovers from the '40s & '50s and looked like it. White lettering pegged to a textured board and photographed! That's it.

Plus, this is supposedly a government film -- a government film produced under an extended, imperial Nixon administration. They would not have used a giant moving yellow graphic of a finger pointing 'YOU!'.

3. Industrial films like this were nearly dead at this point. They should have made a grainy, videotaped Frank Reynolds-era ABC news report with a young, histrionic Geraldo Rivera-type. That was the face of fear-mongering propaganda in the late 70s. Scare films like this are 1970 or before.

This Watchmen film just seems like its being made by and for morons.

CROM!: The Ultimate Conan Fan Blog

2009-02-06T12:35:00.000-06:00

By the Hairy Hordes of Hyperboria!

Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman eyewear Flickr set

2009-02-06T11:52:00.000-06:00

There's a reason she was the spokeshead for LensCrafters for years and years

Holy cow!

2009-02-04T10:05:00.000-06:00

Farrah Fawcett's 1977 Ford Mustang Cobra II, as seen on Charlie's Angels:

The 2009 Ford Mustang:

I'm just sayin'.

And now, a word from our sponsor...

2009-02-02T10:03:00.000-06:00

A tribute to Sandhal Bergman on her birthday

2008-11-16T08:49:00.000-06:00

...which was two days ago. Here it is, from Erich Kuersten's Acidemic Film blog.

Above: the greatest full-page pin-up Starlog magazine ever published.

Conan the Barbarian, Xanadu (she was one of Olivia Newton-John's fellow muses & she appeared in the weird Tubes vs. big band number in the middle of the film) & All That Jazz? She is a big-time 'Face of 7782'!

Elvis: the evidence that his death was FAKE

2008-11-14T18:17:00.000-06:00

I'm reading Albert Goldman's 'Elvis' right now, so forgive the one-track-posting...

Above: Elvis in '77

Unsolved Mysteries

15. Elvis had the means to fake his own death. He is accused of destroying himself with drugs. In reality, Elvis was a pharmaceutical expert. He took a lot of drugs, but he knew what he was doing and was extremely careful. He knew what drugs he could self- administer to create a deathlike state. Further, Elvis' experience with the martial arts was such that he could slow his heart rate and breathing in order to feign death. He was an eighth degree black belt.

This site also has the eerie 'Poolhouse Photo' I mentioned in my last post.

Was Elvis alive? Is he now living, or did he die again?

2008-11-13T11:09:00.000-06:00

If he is now dead, was that DEATH ALSO FAKED and is he, in truth, still with us?

It's Gail Brewer-Giorgio's 'Elvis Lives!' theory from the mid-to-late 80's, complete with the eerie 'Poolhouse Photo'. This and JFK will always remain my favorite conspiracies.

I'm still looking for the full version of the 'Is Elvis Alive?' infomercial from '87 or so, hosted by Bill Bixby.

Flipper's Roller Disco

2008-11-13T10:51:00.000-06:00

From the haze of the Ur-7782 location: Los Angeles in 1980.

See more goodies @ CENtral 1179's flickr photostream

I must have this: Disco, the Book

2008-11-12T13:03:00.000-06:00

Albert ('Elvis', 'Ladies and Gentlemen, Lenny Bruce', 'The Lives of John Lennon') Goldman on the disco era DURING the disco era? A must have. But it has been out of print since the 70s and now commands crazy collectors' prices for even beat-up copies. Argh.

Since Donna Summer and Grace Jones have put out new albums out of nowhere since I started 7782, maybe whoever owns the Albert Goldman copyrights will be inspired to reprint this book. If so, please make it a el cheapo 1978 style paperback. I can't fucking stand trade editions of books.

Michael Crichton RIP

2008-11-05T13:56:00.000-06:00

CBS News

I've always been creeped out by stills of Geneviève Bujold wandering amongst the floating comatose people from Crichton's 1978 film Coma. It's such a powerful image for me that I've deliberately never seen the film because I'm sure that the reason behind the scene isn't nearly as good as what I've imagined it to be over the years.

I blow hot and cold on his other films and screenplays. Jurassic Park is great, Twister is a super-fun camp classic, the 'ER' TV series was highly entertaining in its original incarnation and The Andromeda Strain is a classic of the paranoid 70s.

On the other hand, Timeline was adapted from a mediocre Crichton novel by a steeply declining Richard Donner,Congo is a non-fun campfest (except for Ernie Hudson) and HOLY SHIT DISCLOSURE WTF. The rest of his filmic oveure just doesn't do anything for me.

Except for Westworld which I haven't seen. Time for a rental.

Crichton was a Global Warming denialist for the last decade of his life.

33-61-77-09

2008-11-05T11:54:00.000-06:00

Oh, the culture's going to be awesome now.

I often wonder what the world would have looked like if so many of the leaders on my side of the spectrum hadn't been struck down before completing their destiny. Is it too much to hope that today is the beginning of a restoration of that future?

Congratulations and good luck to you, Mr. Obama & Mr. Biden.

Richie Cunningham endorses Obama

2008-10-23T15:43:00.000-05:00

Ron Howard's Call To Action from Ron Howard

7782 Wednesday iTunes Link

2008-10-11T14:52:00.000-05:00

Street Player by Chicago, from Chicago 13 (1979)

Faux Late-70s fashion spread from Vogue UK

2008-10-10T10:33:00.000-05:00

here.

The Bee Gees with Andy Gibb - You Should Be Dancing

2008-10-09T01:50:00.000-05:00

Spirits Having Flown tour, 1979

We need a DVD release of this show NOW, Stigwood people.

2008-09-26T15:10:00.001-05:00

Hot Tunes, Go For It and Much More.

2008-03-14T09:39:00.000-05:00

Be careful for what you wish for two years ago...

The Kristy & Jimmy McNichol album @ Dartman's World of Wonder

God bless Google's blog search.

Faces of 7782: Roy Scheider RIP

2008-02-11T02:54:00.000-06:00

Scheider with Ben Vereen, Leland Palmer and Ann Reinking in Bob Fosse's All That Jazz (1979).

Roy Scheider dies at 75

Sorcerer | Jaws 2 | All That Jazz

Early HBO showed a LOT of his movies, so he seemed to be a bigger 7782 figure than what his filmography shows. He really seemed ubiquitous during that period.

McDonald's Star Trek Meal ad (1979)

2008-02-07T14:09:00.000-06:00

Sister Sledge perform 'We Are Family' on Solid Gold '79

2008-01-26T03:08:00.000-06:00

The day that bands decided they were too cool to lip synch on Solid Gold & American Bandstand is the day the music DIED.

Oh and GLEN CAMPBELL.

1977-era promos for Milwaukee's WISN Channel 12

2008-01-26T02:27:00.000-06:00

Can you name all the big celebrities in this thirty-second spot?

Oh boy another one. WITH "IN SEARCH OF..."-ERA LEONARD NIMOY AND GERALDO RIVERA!!!!!

'Jonestown: The Life and Death of the People's Temple'

2008-01-20T08:45:00.000-06:00

I'm back after moving cross-country -- you'll notice my profile location has switched from Seattle, WA to MILWAUKEE, WI which is my hometown. Hooray. Now: mass suicide.

I really liked this documentary. Jonestown is one of my major 70's obsessions and I particularly love the Powers Booth-starred docudrama 'Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones' from 1980. This documentary concentrates on the lead-up to Jonestown -- how People's Temple got started and how Jones broke down his followers into the kind of people who would kill themselves on an order (or worse). There really are quite a few new (to me) details covered in this film.

I suspect this is the most detailed look we'll get at this topic from the mainstream.

The most disturbing TIME magazine cover ever:

'Cult of Death', complete with a half-filled Flavor-Aid tub.

Kaptain Kool and the Kongs - The Album (1978)

2007-12-11T17:49:00.000-06:00

@ Stax-O-Wax

It's an LP rip, so the quality is not 100%. God, I wish Generation X had the same power as the Baby Boomers so we could get all of the Krofft-related stuff back out in watchable and listenable condition. But that would take away resources from Don Henley or something probably.

This album is a mix of kids' versions of glam rock, power pop and Bee Gees-flavored light disco. According to Wikipedia, the songs were written by the Osmonds...which of the bros. I don't know.

If you're wondering who Kaptain Kool and the Longs were..well, they were the goofball hosts of the Krofft Supershow -- the program that brought us Bigfoot and Wildboy, Dr. Shrinker, Wonderbug and Electra Woman and Dyna Girl. 'Kaptain Kool' was actor Michael Lembeck who has continued to work in television. I don't have any idea what happened to the rest of the group.

Here's the opening of the Krofft Supershow, from 1976 **GASP** I broke the blog.

Benny Hill's Angels dance to Cerrone's 'Supernature'

2007-12-06T20:58:00.000-06:00

Plus Benny & the little bald dude in blackface (am I crazy or is Benny dressed as Luke Cage: Power Man?)

They're making fun of Hot Gossip, the dance troupe that spawned Sarah Brightman, the song I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper and probably the Solid Gold Dancers.

Ann-Margret - Hold Me, Squeeze Me (1981)

2007-12-05T16:47:00.000-06:00

Ann Margret

Add to My Profile | More Videos

From a George Burns special. They don't make entertainers like this anymore, people.

Prince - Dirty Mind (1980)

2007-12-03T18:52:00.001-06:00

MTV wouldn't have touched this with a ten foot pole. Night Flight would have, though.

7782 KISS Week: 'She's So European' on German TV

2007-11-16T17:32:00.000-06:00

I'm on disc three of the second Kissology set now which covers my personal least-favorite time period - KISS-related or otherwise - 1983-1991. There has to be some sort of external reason why the post-Vietnam culture peaked in '82 and crashed in '83. Recession? Reaganomics? Glut of Richard Pryor movies? Who knows.

I'll do another post later tonight.

7782 KISS Week: 'Talk to Me' on German TV

2007-11-14T21:21:00.000-06:00

Okay, so the sight of KISS doing Power Pop is a little disconcerting, but I like this song. I also like this performance -- Ace Frehely is totally 'on' and the German stagehands pump a little extra fog into the shot to help moderate Gene Simmons' attempt to upstage him. The commentary on this section of Kissology Volume 2 is hilarious because it's absolutely clear that Simmons os still pissed about the fog to this day. He must be a hell of a lot of fun to work with.

Paul Stanley's commentary makes it clear that he believes Ace should be thankful for every opportunity he and Gene granted him. So much for the four-way partnership. No wonder Ace walked out two years later.

This is also Eric Carr's first public performance as a member of KISS, even though it's a lip-synch thing.

7782 KISS Week: Shandi Promo Video

2007-11-14T01:44:00.000-06:00

I've been chewing my way through the recent Kissology DVD sets and I've found that the most interesting parts are from the era of their decline: post-Dynasty (1979) through Lick It Up (1983). Not only does this time provide great clips (drunk Ace Frehely on the Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder) but also some unexpected musical gems.

I suppose if I was a hard-core KISS fan, I'd hate 1980's Unmasked but I actually really like the three songs from that album that kick off the second DVD of the '78-'91 set; specifically 'Shandi', 'Talk to Me' and 'She's So European' by Paul Stanley, Ace Frehely and Gene Simmons respectively. They may not be good KISS songs, but they're really catchy pop songs.

The 'Shandi' video is the last time Peter Criss appeared as a member of KISS until the '90s reunions. Criss says that he broke down crying in the dressing room after filming. He was officially out of KISS when he went home from shooting this.

KISS should have gone the Bowie route at this point in their career: created all-new fake personas that reflected the times instead of going the 'hey, it's the real us' thing. They half-heartedly tried this by streamlining the costumes and hairdos but it should have gone further.

Vintage MCA/Universal Home Video ad from 1981

2007-10-20T15:56:00.000-05:00

@ the Movie Junk Archive blog.

OMNI Magazine

2007-10-18T13:47:00.000-05:00

OMNI Magazine Online, a fan site for Bob Guccione's science/sci-fi/new age magazine.

7782 Wednesday iTunes Link

2007-10-16T21:16:00.000-05:00

Peaches and Herb - Roller Skatin' Mate

Swwet beer can collection shot from '79...

2007-10-12T12:02:00.000-05:00

from kocoijm @ flickr

7782 Wednesday iTunes Link

2007-10-12T11:52:00.000-05:00

Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb - Guilty

ABC World News Tonight

2007-10-04T13:12:00.000-05:00

The WFMU blog linked to this fantastic Egg City Radio post of a 1978-vintage ABC World News Tonight soundtrack album. WFMU used a picture of Peter Jennings on their post, but the ABC anchor of this era was Frank Reynolds -- the last of the journalist anchors.

For me, Reynolds was the face of the Iran Hostage Crisis, the 1980 election and the Reagan assasination attempt. After he passed in 1983, NBC Nightly News became my newscast of choice.

Here's the ABC News obit from 1983:

7782 Wednesday iTunes Link

2007-10-04T13:01:00.000-05:00

Here You Come Again

Two Doors Down

Chick Vennera's anti-classic dance sequence from 'Thank God It's Friday'

2007-09-28T06:38:00.000-05:00

Cocaine rules.

7782 Trading Card of the Week

2007-09-28T06:31:00.000-05:00

Paul Jabara in 1979

2007-09-28T05:26:00.000-05:00

Photo by Alan Light.

Wow, you couldn't get a more 1979 look if you tried. Looks like he's gonna go to Studio 54 after whatever red carpet thing he's at is over.

Jabara won the Acadamy Award for Best Original Song in 1978 for 'Last Dance', which was the theme to the bizarre disco movie Thank God It's Friday starring Jabara himself, a very sleazy Jeff Goldblum, a post-Wonder Woman, pre-respectable Debra Winger, Terri Nunn from Berlin, Donna Summer as an aspiring singer who can't get her record played at a disco (oh, the irony) and Chick Vennera as Marv Gomez, the Leatherman.

The following year, Jabara put out his third album entitled 'The Third Album' which contains not one but two unsung disco classics. The first, a 14:00 camptastic epic 'Disco Wedding/Honeymoon (In Puerto Rico)/Disco Divorce' has Jabara voicing both the bride and the groom as they get married an divorced to a sweet disco beat. It's like an audio episode of the Love Boat. They do not write story songs like this anymore.

The second is a fantastic team up with Donna Summer: Foggy Day/Never Lose Your Sense Of Humor. I had no idea Summer was on this song when I first listened to it and was THRILLED when she just comes out of nowhere on the second iteration of the chorus. This is a really great tune if you're into disco at all.

Both songs are available for purchase at iTunes:

Disco Wedding/Honeymoon (In Puerto Rico)/Disco Divorce

Foggy Day/Never Lose Your Sense Of Humor

Unfortunately, Jabara career seems to fade with the oncoming of the Reagan era -- his last major success being co-writing 'It's Raining Men' with Late Night with David Letterman's Paul Shaffer (!!!) for the Weather Girls. He passed away in 1992 but his estate has recently put up an official website. I hope this means that his full back catalogue will be remastered and put back into circulation.

Rock n' Roll High School Trailer (1979) - Do Your Parents Know You're Ramones?

2007-09-21T09:29:00.000-05:00

This was originally supposed to be 'Disco High School' until director Allan Arkush convinced producer Roger Corman that disco was on its way out.

One of the many Paul Bartel/Mary Woronov team-ups. I think they really hit their stride here. They're only better in Bartel's 'Eating Raoul'.

If you rent this, watch for LA punk legend/Germs 'singer' Darby Crash in the crowd of the Ramones show at the end of the movie.

I should have put Don Steele in the assholes post below.

Faces of 7782 - The Asshole Contingent

2007-09-21T08:58:00.000-05:00

Duran Duran - Planet Earth (1981)

2007-09-08T19:29:00.000-05:00

Duran Duran, before they were toned down for mass consumption.

Michael Jackson - Rock With You (1979)

2007-09-08T19:26:00.000-05:00

Already damned, but before the point of no return.

Hell Night trailer (1981)

2007-08-18T15:50:00.000-05:00

Hell Night: IMDb | Wikipedia

Vincent Van Patten: IMDb | Wikipedia

Studio 54 (Not the Vegas one)

2007-08-18T14:05:00.000-05:00

Studio 54 Forever YouTube channel

Other People's 7782: the 1982 San Diego Comic Con

2007-08-15T17:04:00.000-05:00

A Flickr photo set by Alan Light, founder of the Comics Buyer's Guide

ETA: Wow. Linkchronicity with The Jack Kirby Comics Weblog and The Comics Journal's Journalista

Elvis Presley: January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977. The 30th anniversary of his death is tomorrow.

2007-08-15T03:04:00.000-05:00

My introduction to Elvis was his death in August of 1977. I remember the newspaper clippings pinned to the wall in the hallway of my school -- they kept them there from most of the year. The neigbors across the street were from Georgia -- they had a confederate flag hanging in their living room -- and they were the hardest hit of all. They talked of nothing else for weeks. They may have driven to Memphis for the funeral. Their daughter was twice as old as me and was the one who had the Star Wars trading cards and the Bee Gees Sgt. Pepper soundtrack and the Kristy McNichol album. This whole blog is practically a tribute to her, but I digress...

The death of Elvis was the first news story I followed in the papers, well...what I could get at the giant school library or at the barber shop (Time Magazine). I didn't get who Elvis really was or what fame meant. I understood death because my maternal grandfather had died three years earlier.

I still don't really 'feel' Elvis. I enjoy the movie 'Viva Las Vegas' very much, but most of his music and persona just don't do anything for me. He's always been and always will be the sequined 70's Elvis to me.

Below is a live performance of 'Unchained Melody' from June, 1977. Elvis is in BAD SHAPE. This clip is where the 'Elvis has left the building' phrase comes from. They used to show this whole concert on HBO in the very early 80's.

I posted this early because I usually forget these anniversaries until the day after. I'm getting a 48 hour jump on my usual self.

Roller Boogie trailer (1979)

2007-08-12T17:31:00.000-05:00

The song is Cher's 'Hell on Wheels'.

Blue Öyster Cult - Burnin' for You (1981)

2007-08-11T03:20:00.000-05:00

I still haven't gotten over seeing BÖC live last month.

Dolly Parton - Two Doors Down

2007-08-11T03:13:00.001-05:00

The song's from '78 but I'm not sure where or when this performance is from. There are a hell of a lot of punk people in the crowd which leads me to believe that it was an awards show or a benefit where other acts were going to play, because I'm pretty sure hipster irony hadn't yet embraced Dolly Parton.

Exorcist II: The Heretic trailer (1979)

2007-08-09T22:44:00.000-05:00

An interview with Fake Jan

2007-08-09T22:39:00.000-05:00

The Brady Bunch Hour's Geri Reischl interviewed @ Confessions of a Pop Culture Addict

"The Tomorrow Show" host Tom Snyder dead @ 71

2007-07-30T07:58:00.000-05:00

CBS

Cherie & Marie Currie - Since You've Been Gone (1980)

2007-07-30T04:54:00.000-05:00

Swedish Paper Dolls: 1949-1985

2007-07-29T15:44:00.000-05:00

from Aret Runt, a Scandinavian women's magazine.

Many 7782 luminaries are represented, including the entirity of ABBA (multiple versions), David Bowie, Bianca Jagger, John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John, Brooke Shields, Tatum O'Neil, Donna Summer and, of course, Henry Winkler. Plus dozens of Swedish celebrities!

Get a year's subscription to Aret Runt for only US$325.83. Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.

Ginsu II Commercial (1981)

2007-07-25T08:34:00.001-05:00

In Japan, the foot can split wood...but it can't split a watermelon.

Ginsu: Official website | Wikipedia

'QFMRocks' Flickr Photostream

2007-07-25T06:44:00.000-05:00

There are some real gems in here for Milwaukeeans of a certain age. I particualrly like the beaten-up Polaroid of Ann & Nancy Wilson of Heart with some of the QFM staff in 1980. Girls in skinny ties!

BTW, I just saw Heart in Milwaukee earlier this month and fucking ROCKED. Nancy Wilson was jumping around the stage like a teenager. The crowd just loved them and the band actually seemed to be having fun. Contrast that with a younger band (The Black Crowes) who looked tired and like they were going through the motions.

Blue Öyster Cult were amazing as well. Asia needed WAY more rehearsal -- we couldn't even stay for the whole set. :-(

Is Yes in a touring configuration right now? Because I would like to see them.

Clash of the Titans (1981) @ Monster Brains

2007-07-21T05:46:00.000-05:00

Some nice concept art and models by Ray Harryhausen here.

Ain't It Cool News published a story during the release of 300 that the PTB were considering remaking Clash of the Titans. Now 'Clash' is not a perfect film, but it is the apex of Harryhausen's career and his final project before retirement. Remaking in while he's still with us is a joke. I haven't read about the remake since then, so maybe it died. But that's what I thought about the Wicker Man remake before it popped into theaters all of a sudden. We'll see...

Ray Harryhausen: Official Site | Wikipedia

Clash of the Titans: IMDb | Wikipedia

7782 in the wild

2007-07-17T19:49:00.000-05:00

Charles Nelson Reilly for Bic Banana Ink Crayons

2007-07-16T22:26:00.000-05:00