An odd 1980's sci-fi flick, as I really don't think it fits into the horror genre as it is usually placed. I remember seeing this movie cover as a kid at the video store in the late 80s (amongst many others) and thinking that it looked scary, as did most horror movies at that age. Although I find that watching them now seems to burst some kind of illusion that I carried with me all these years that those movies were actually scary when in fact the 80's horror genre were all quite goofy and comical in many ways. And this movie, totally has undertones of environmental responsibility and anti-government secrecy within it, which is always surprising in these sorts of films. Check it out if your looking for something wacky to watch, but don't expect much as the ending leaves you hanging.
Movie: Dreamscape (1984) Director: Joseph Ruben Rating: 3.8/5 Stars ***'
Definitely an 80's era sci-fi film, and personally I found this film more interesting than its fancy effects/over complicated, grand-child-film Inception. Dennis Quaid's character, who has some telepathic and psychic abilities, is reluctantly recruited by a covert government experiment on dreaming, and trained to enter other people's dreams via use of special lab equipment. After a few benign dream tests Quaid discovers that there is more to the experiment than any of them had bargained for. Check this one out, it is a classic.
I seem to like John Sayles movies, and I really liked this one. This one is about an alien, who appears quite human, who crash-lands in New York City where he must blend in and learn how to live amongst the humans while evading pursuit by his alien slave-owners. This movie really is a social commentary on illegal immigration, slavery, and racial issues. The message I got after watching this is you don't necessarily have to be from another planet to feel like an outsider in another culture, country, or even a strange neighborhood in your own city. The movie is entertaining, I would recommend it, and I would watch it again. Also, this movie is currently available on for free viewing in full on YouTube MoviesHERE.
Here we are already at #56 of VJ Samosonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hit Countdown! And the song is....Dancing in the Sheets (Extended 12" Mix), by American soul-pop-disco groupShalamar. Shalamar formed back in 1975 and were active as a group up until 1991. This dance hit first appeared on the scene in November of 1984 on their Heartbreak album, and it also appeared on the 80's hit movie soundtrack for Footloose (1984), which incidentally hit the screens in 1984. In fact, their is a long dance scene involving the local teeny-boppers, dancing and getting loose to this tune at their local diner/arcade/hang-out, so go rent the movie if you don't remember or know what I am talking about, it is a truly classic scene. Another interesting fact about the Footloose (1984) soundtrack is that it from April 21st-June 30th, 1984, it was was ranked at Number One on the Billboard 200 Pop Album chart, while the song Dancing in the Sheets would peak at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100. Shalamar consisted of Howard Hewett, Jeffrey Daniel, and Carolyn Griffey primarily, but over the years it included other members such as the Grammy Award winning guitarist/singer Micki Free. Shalamar began originally as a disco-driven group created by Soul Train booking agent Dick Griffey, but they developed into an influential dance and fashion-setting trio. Well there you have it, #56 in all its glory, now make sure you go out and watch Footloose sometime soon, as I hear they are remaking a new version of the movie which is going to feature country music??? Sounds lame to me, sometimes they should just leave old creations be in their original form, and create something brand new, but alas they are remaking all of my old 80's favorites left and right. I suppose that means one is finally over the hill when Hollywood has remade a newer version of all the childhood movies, shows, and cartoons??
We are back again, to the 80's of course, and #62 of the countdown is none other than the stellar 80's pop-hit Wake Me Up Before You Go Go by English new-wave-pop duo Wham! Wham! was originally formed in 1981 by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, and according to wikipedia there was a conflict of band-names in the beginning, and so they were originally known as Wham! UK, but was later just changed back to Wham! as they were madly more successful than the other band of the same name in the USA. Wham! sold over 25 million certified albums worldwide between the years of 1982-1986, and the duo split and went their separate ways in 1986 as well (at which time George Michael began his solo career). Wikipedia states that George Michael was the composer, singer, producer, and occasional instrumentalist of the duo, whilst Ridgeley was more the businessman. An interesting wikipedia direct quote about the duo is as follows:
"Still teenagers, they promoted themselves as hedonistic youngsters, proud to live a carefree life without work or commitment. This was reflected in their earliest singles which, part-parody, part-social comment, briefly earned Wham! a reputation as a dance protest group."
"Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" was appeared as the first track off of their October 1984 release album titled "Make It Big," which would become their first #1 UK Chart hit. Once again, according to their wikipedia page, the song was inspired by a note written by Andrew Ridgeley to his parents that read "Wake Me Up Before You Go" but with the word "up" accidentally written twice, so Ridgeley then wrote "go" twice, one of those divine accidents that leads to the creation of an all time classic 80's pop-song. This song was obviously quite well known, and very fitting for it's very title as being "definitively 80's" and it regained popularity amongst a much younger generation (many who seem to have the false idea that the song was new in 2001) with its appearance in the 2001 Ben Stiller comedy film "Zoolander." On to the next!
Welcome back to VJ Samsonite's top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Today we are presenting #87 of the top 100 countdown!And the song is...No More Words, by U.S. 80's new wave synth-pop band Berlin. Little did I know, but Berlin formed in the late 1970's and are actually from Orange County, California of all places. I don't know, maybe its their name, but for some reason I have a hard time thinking of them as being from California. Moving on, according to wikipedia there are 4 current members (Teri Nunn is the blond lead singer), and it lists about 10 former band members who were in and out of the band over the years. The core band members of the band are considered to be Teri Nunn, John Crawford , and David Diamond. Nunn left the band temporarily to pursue an acting career at one point and actually auditioned for the part of Princess Leia in the Star Wars films. Wikipedia also lists Berlin as having an inactive period between 1987 and 1998. Berlin are obviously a better known band from the 80's, and have had many hits over the years. No More Words was released in 1984 on their Love Life album, the song reached #23 on the US singles charts that year, whilst Love Life, reached #28 on the US album charts that year. Enough data, and lets get on with the song...
Welcome back to VJ Samsonite's top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Today we are presenting#92 of the top 100 countdown!And the song is...Dancing With Tears In My Eyes, by 80's British new-wave rock band Ultravox!. According to wikipedia they were one of the primary bands involved in the Brit-electro-pop of the early 1980's. They were considered to be associated with the new romantic and the new wave movements. The band was originally formed in 1973 under the name Tigerlily. In 1976 the lead singer changed his name to John Foxx and the band changed their name to Ultravox! The actual evolution of the band and its members is rather convoluted and if you really want to know the details then I suggest you check out their wikipedia page. Dancing with Tears in My Eyes is a great dance track, and was the second single release off of the band's 7th studio album, Lament (released in 1984). Dancing with Tears in My Eyes hit #3 on the UK single charts, thus effectively putting Ultravox! back on the radar. Apparently (again according to wikipedia) the song is about nuclear power plants and the possibility of nuclear meltdown, which is depicted in the music video. I find that kind of strange now, seeing that the Chernobyl disaster occurred just two years later in 1986, but I suppose that would have made their message regarding the risks of nuclear power even more significant. There are a few different versions of the song, including the 7" and 12" vinyl versions. Enjoy!
Welcome to VJ Samsonite's top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Today is the first post, and so naturally I am starting the countdown at number 100. You may have noticed that I have reverted from doing the top 50 as I found that there were just too many 80's Dance Hits that I couldn't possibly ignore, so I expanded it to the full-on top 100. So, the first song you very well may have never heard of before, and for those of you who are familiar with it, you have already proven yourself to be well versed in true 80's mythology. At number 100 is...Burning in the Third Degree, by electro-rock 80's group Tahnee Cain and the Tryanglz. This song comes off of the original Terminator Soundtrack and is featured in the Tech-Noir nightclub scene. There isn't much info about the other band members but Tane McClure is the lead singer, an actress, as well as a film producer from Los Angeles, California. She has been compared to Pat Benatar in the past, and was part of a Latin-Jazz band in the 1970's before she joined up with the Tryanglz. According to wikipedia, there album reached #121 on the charts, and the band performed gigs up til the 1990's when it officially disbanded. This song is a true sci-fi-80's-synth classic, which has its own dark post-apocalyptic undertones, which truly makes a gripping authentic 80's tune that is more than dance-able. I would recommend that if you dig this tune you check out the Terminator soundtrack as there are at least two other singles by this band on it. I am proud to make Burning in the Third Degree my number "100"80's Dance Hit. Enjoy!
