Retro Attack - A Raving Playlist

Music defines an age and that age defines the people who become adults during that time. It's true that musical tastes expand and change as one grows older but those memories from high school when you began to experience the world through your own eyes for the first time always stays with you. Many of us came of age during the 1980's - we thought we had the best of all worlds, being able to choose from hits across three decades of cool rock tunes. It was also the beginning of Alternative rock and the launch of M-TV. Now those times with the big hair and Members Only jackets seem hopelessly Retro - yet the music still resonates. For those who still appreciate what the real Freaks & Geeks was like or those who'd like to travel back in time and find out why their parents are so weird - we present to you a Retro tribute. Of course back then we didn't have playlists, we used to record songs on cassette tapes and write the names down on the labels.

As usual, this playlist is available on Spotify as well.

What we like about the Romantics...

Retro Attack

The Romantics – What I Like About You
Tommy Tutone – 867-5309 / Jenny
Gary Numan – Cars (Live 1984)
Timbuk 3 – The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades
Rick Springfield – Jessie's Girl
Robert Palmer – Addicted To Love
Ready For The World – Oh Sheila
Bow Wow Wow – I Want Candy
Paul Davis – '65 Love Affair
Gregory Abbott – Shake You Down
Mr. Mister – Broken Wings
Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want To Have Fun
The Romantics – Talking In Your Sleep
Marvin Gaye – Sexual Healing
Robert Palmer – Bad Case Of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)
Philip Bailey Duet with Phil Collins – Easy Lover
Rick James – Super Freak
Paul Young – Every Time You Go Away - Single Version
Soft Cell – Tainted Love
Scandal – Goodbye To You featuring Patty Smyth
The Fixx – One Thing Leads To Another
Tears For Fears – Everybody Wants To Rule The World
Dexys Midnight Runners – Come On Eileen
DeBarge – Rhythm Of The Night
The Temptations – Treat Her Like A Lady
Rick Springfield – I've Done Everything For You
Eddie Money – Take Me Home Tonight
Devo – Whip It
Robert Palmer – I Didn't Mean To Turn You On
Eddie Money – Think I'm In Love
Information Society – What's On Your Mind - Pure Energy   Album Version
The Escape Club – Wild Wild West
INXS – What You Need - Single/LP Version
Howard Jones – No One Is To Blame
Elvis Presley – Suspicious Minds - Elvis Live version
Todd Rundgren – Hello It's Me
Ozark Mountain Daredevils – Jackie Blue
The Tokens – The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)
The Champs – Tequila (Original)
Badfinger – Come And Get It
Juice Newton – Queen Of Hearts
Anita Ward – Ring My Bell
The Troggs – Wild Thing
Orleans – Still The One
Heatwave – Boogie Nights
Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is A Place On Earth - `80s Weight Loss Workout Mix
Atlanta Rhythm Section – So Into You
Dusty Springfield – Spooky
Billy Paul – Me And Mrs. Jones
The Go-Go's – We Got The Beat (Single Mix)
Alice Cooper – No More Mr. Nice Guy
Bay City Rollers – Saturday Night
Kansas – Carry On Wayward Son
Elvis Presley – Viva Las Vegas
Abba – Dancing Queen
The Animals – House Of The Rising Sun
The Go-Go's – Our Lips Are Sealed
Kim Wilde – Kids in America
Three Dog Night – Mama Told Me Not To Come
Missing Persons – Destination Unknown
Rick Derringer – Rock N' Roll Hoochie Koo
The Miracles – Love Machine (Re-Recorded / Remastered)
Commodores – Brick House
B.J. Thomas – Hooked On A Feeling
Looking Glass – BRANDY
The Numb Ones – Space and Time
Robby Krieger (The Doors) – Across The Universe
Exile – Kiss You All Over
Peter, Paul and Mary – Leaving On A Jet Plane
Nazareth – Love Hurts
Kool & The Gang – Celebration
The Smithereens – Behind The Wall Of Sleep
Steely Dan – My Old School
The Guess Who – American Woman
Thin Lizzy – The Boys Are Back In Town
The Tubes – She's A Beauty
Wolfmother – Joker And The Thief
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas – Nowhere To Run - Single Version (Mono)
Sonny & Cher – I Got You Babe - LP/Single Version
The Righteous Brothers – Unchained Melody
Thin Lizzy – Whiskey In The Jar - Full Length Version
The Hollies – Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)
The Spencer Davis Group – Gimme Some Lovin'
Sweet – Little Willy
Janis Joplin – Piece Of My Heart
Diana Ross & The Supremes – Someday We'll Be Together
The Romantics – One In A Million
Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)?
Lenny Kravitz – It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over
Spandau Ballet – True
The Jesus – Head On
The Animals – Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Abba – Dancing Queen
Steely Dan – Rikki Don't Lose That Number
Harry Belafonte – Day-O - Banana Boat
Steely Dan – Peg
Ray Charles – What'd I Say
Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl
Rick Springfield – Love Somebody
Wang Chung – Everybody Have Fun Tonight
Michael Jackson – Billie Jean - Single Version
Michael Jackson – Billie Jean - Single Version
Foreigner – Juke Box Hero
The Seventies – Alone Again
The Fixx – One Thing Leads To Another
Journey – Stone In Love

Journey helped to define rock in the early 1980's

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Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

How many of you are old enough to remember the Dating Game, or the original Newlywed Game or perhaps even, the Gong Show? There was one man behind this wave of insanity that hit the airwaves starting in the 1960's - his name was Chuck Barris. In fact, most of what we now consider Reality Television was born in his twisted imagination well before it earned the title we now use to refer to it. Why do we say twisted though? Well, if you haven't seen the Gong Show you might well not have gotten a true glimpse in Mr. Barris. The program was more or less a very cruel version of American Idol - with awful acts paraded in front of merciless judges only to be Gonged off of the stage in humiliation

Chuck Barris, producer, host, professional killer

But that of course was only the beginning of Mr. Barris's strange story. That story became truly bizarre after most of his hit TV shows were cancelled in the early 1980's. Then he wrote a book titled: "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" and exposed his big secret - that the producer of the Gong Show was in fact a hitman for the CIA. He wrote a sequel to the book as well, providing more details about the 33 or so assassinations he allegedly performed while working as a TV Producer.

Sam Rockwell proved again in this film that he's one of the best actors in Hollywood today

In 2002, actor-producer George Clooney took the two books and combined them into a movie adaptation of Mr. Barris's strange story and named the film after the title of the first book. The movie at least seems to take the claim of Barris' double life as a professional killer somewhat seriously. To date, no one has either confirmed or denied the claims (well, the CIA did say he hadn't worked for them but then again Barris clearly states in the book and the movie that he as an independent contractor).

We missed the movie when it came out in 2003, an easy thing to do given the nature of the subject matter and lack of promotion. This movie was never destined to become a box office hit, but now that it is both on cable and Netflix it certainly is worth seeing. Why is it noteworthy? Here's our rationale:

1. The story is entertaining.
2. Clooney did a good job both as a director and one of the key players in the film (he portrays Barris' CIA handler).
3. The Chuck Barris story is so bizarre anyway, that even without the CIA twist it is interesting to watch - with the hitman fantasy it becomes truly fascinating.
4. There's a great extended cameo by Julia Roberts.
5. Because we've still never fully recovered from seeing the Gong Show...

Marcia Brady on the Dating Game - pop-culture cross promotion at its cheesiest

The big question you may be asking yourself is - could Chuck Barris have actually been a CIA killer? In the movie, they explain that often times on the Dating Game the contestants would be given vacations to strange locations so Barris could chaperone the couples and then steal away to conduct hits. In fact, the movie presents the idea that the CIA handler (Clooney) gave Barris the idea for the trips as a cover for his nefarious moonlighting. Who knows what really happened - most people have written off the hitman portion of the story as fantasy. Whether the story was real or imagined though, the movie is certainly entertaining. Perhaps Barris was the real James Bond?

The Gong Show pioneered bad taste on television 

Movie Reference	Ratings & Reviews	How to Watch
Chuck Barris on Wikipedia	Rotten Tomatoes Review	On Netflix
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind on IMDB	Roger Ebert's review	From Amazon.com

Copyright 2012 - Raving Reviews - All Rights Reserved

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