#48 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Beastie Boys: Fight For Your Right (1986)

Hello again, straight to it, #48 is...."Fight For Your Right" by American hip-hop group Beastie Boys. It would be surprising if you didn't know who the Beastie Boys are, they have practically become a household name over the years, and have produced prolific and solid repertoire. They came out of Brooklyn, New York in 1979 and comprised of members Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch, and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz. You might not know this (I didn't before doing a little research for this) but they started out as a hardcore punk group, and didn't make the full transition to hip-hop until 1984. They are said to be one of the longest living hip-hop acts in the world and continue to enjoy success 20 years onwards. According to wikipedia they have been nominated for induction into the 'Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.' "Fight For Your Right" was the first single release from their major breakthrough album "Licensed to Ill" which was released in 1986. It peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it was also named as one of 'The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.' Well, there is #48, on to 47!

Song of the Day for October 14th, 2010: "You and I" by Young Revelry

And the song is...You and I, by Australian indie-rock band Young Revelry. Young Revelry are a 4-piece band from Perth, in Western Australia consisting of members Sebastian Astone (Vocals/Guitar), Peter Leveson-Gower (Guitar/Vocals), Tom King (Bass Guitar), and Alex Board (Drums). You and I comes off of their debut 7-track and recently released EP of the same name. This song has an undertone to it that I find delightful, and which also reminds me of times past, as though its very notes ring through to another era. Enjoy!You & I

Brief Movie Review for "Everlasting Moments" (2009)

Everlasting Moments (2009) - 5/5 Stars *****

Everlasting Moments (2009) is an excellent movie, and I would say this one deserves awards. I suppose that I have grown to accustomed to the formulaic/unrealistic hollywood stories and movies, and that movies like this one bring one back down to Earth to remember that life is really a bittersweet experience, some pleasant, some not so pleasant, and everything in between, whatever you decide to label it at any given moment I suppose. This story is about a Swedish family in the early 1900's, living in the times before labour revolutions in Europe, and when people lived a pretty meager existence, had many of the same struggles we still have today with a lot less material wealth, but still enjoyed themselves and lived interesting lives all the same. Check this one out, its not really for entertainment, but its a good one.

Song of the Day for October 12th, 2010: "Your Thing" by Urthboy

And the song is...Your Thing by Australian hip/hop MC and producer Urthboy. Tim Levinson (aka Urthboy) originates out of Sydney, Australia and he has been active in the music industry since 1998. He is best known for his involvement as a member of Australian hip-hop group The Herd. Urthboy has released 3 studio albums, the latest is titled Spitshine. Your Thing is a single release, which came out in September of 2010. In fact it is still available as a free mp3 download here, through the Horroshow facebook page.

Song of the Day for October 11th, 2010: "Damn Defensive" by The Boat People

And the song is....Damn Defensive, by Australian 4-piece indie-pop band The Boat People. The Boat People come out of Brisbane, Australia, it formed in 2000, and it  consists of members James O'Brien, Robin Waters, Charles Dugan and Tony Garret. Damn Defensive comes off of their latest album release titled Dear Darkly, which was released in stores in June 2010. For more info on the band check out their website here or their myspace page here.

Brief Movie Review for "Woman in the Window" (1944)

4/5 Stars ****

Another oldie, yes? Well, this Fritz Lang movie is another classic for sure (from 1944)! It is one of those murder-dilemma movies that will keep you interested in watching it just to see what decisions the characters will make and how they will ultimately play out. I liked this one, and would maybe watch it again sometime down the road. A professor of psychology ends up killing an assailant with a pair of scissors after meeting up with a strange and attractive single woman when his wife and children leave town, so watch to find out what happens next.

#49 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Pet Shop Boys: Always On My Mind (1987)

Here it is, the first of the final 49...and so here at #49 of the Countdown is Always On My Mind by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. It all started for Neil Tennant (lead vocals/keyboards/guitar) and Chris Lowe (keyboards) in 1981 in London, England. Pet Shop Boys are still active to this day and they have sold somewhere around 100 million records worldwide, and are listed as The Most Successful Duo in UK Music History by the Guinness Book of World Records. They are also 3 time BRIT Award winners and 6 time Grammy Nominees, and since 1986 they have produced 42 Top 30 Singles and 22 Top 10 Hits on the UK Singles Charts. Always On My Mind appeared on their 1987 release album titled Introspective which was their 4th studio album. It was their 2nd best selling album and sold around 4.5 million copies globally. Always On My Mind was actually a synth-pop cover version of an American country song originally performed by Brenda Lee. This cover version was performed by the Pet Shop Boys on a Television special commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the death of former King of Pop Elvis Presley. This covered version was so well received that they decided to record it and release it as a single which would end up becoming the UK's #1 Christmas Single that year, beating out Fairytale of New York by the Pogues and topping the charts for 4 weeks. A good song it is, and a good dance song at that, so I am happy to have it set at #49, it gets even better folks, so stay tuned! (click here for the full Top 100 Countdown)

Song of the Day for October 9th, 2010: "Wait Up (Boots of Danger)" by Tokyo Police Club

And the song is...Wait Up (Boots of Danger) by Canadian indie-rock band Tokyo Police Club.  Tokyo Police Club formed in 2005, comes out of Newmarket, Ontario in Canada, and consists of members Dave Monks (vocals and bass guitar), Graham Wright (keyboards), Josh Hook (guitar), and Greg Alsop (drums). Wait Up (Boots of Danger) comes off of their June 2010 release album, which is their second studio-album. Check out their wikipedia page for more info on the band and enjoy today's song of the day!

Song of the day for October 8th, 2010: "Don't Lock Your Elbows" by Crash the Curb

And the song of the day is...Don't Lock Your Elbows, by Australian punk-pop band Crash the Curb. Crash the Curb is a punk-duo that comes out of Canberra, ACT in Australia, and consists of members Grace on drums/vocals and Adam on guitar/lead vocals. They are soon to bring out their first EP, and I can only assume that this song among the others featured on their myspace page will appear and that debut EP. Also, be sure to note that a studio-recorded version of the song, and 2 others of theirs are still available as free MP3 downloads at this link. Enjoy!

Song of the Day for October 7th, 2010: "Donkey Kong Suicide" by the Melodics

And the song of the day is....Donkey Kong Suicide by Australian indie-electro-rock band The Melodics. The Melodics originate out of Melbourne, Victoria in Australia and consists of members Oceans Baroque on Keyboards/Vocals, Jeremedy on Vocals,  James Tudball on Drums, Jamie Barlow on Bass, and Tarko (aka Fantastic Mr Fox) on Saxophone and synthesizers. The Melodics released their debut album, titled 4d in 2009 and it involved collaboration with over 20 other artists in its making. If you would like to find more info on the band check out their website here or if you like this song it is available as a free mp3 download with more information on the band here. 

#50 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! "Your Love" by The Outfield (1985)

Well well well, we are there already, half way folks, half-bloody-way! At #50 of the Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown we have....Your Love by British power-pop-rock band The Outfield.The Outfield originated out of London, England back in 1984, and they currently consist of members Tony Lewis, John Spinks, and Alan Jackman. The Outfield are one of the English rock bands from the 80's that never really gained much acclaim in their home country, but did achieve some moderate success in the US music market. Your Love was released on their first studio album titled Play Deep in 1985, and the song peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #7 on the US Mainstream Rock Chart. In fact, Your Love would later prove to become the band's signature song (or one-hit-wonder), and according to Wikipedia this song been covered or remixed over 1,000 times by other artists over the years. As for their 1985 album Play Deep, it would reach #9 on the US Album Chart that year. Well that is it for trivia, and now we are over the hill, we hath finally reached the final 49 songs of the Countdown, or should I add a track "0" or "0.5???"

Song of the Day for October 6th, 2010: "Soldier" by Elke (2010)

And the song of the day is....Soldier, by Australian 5-piece indie-electro-rock band Elke. This song is about Australian soldiers in present day Afghanistan conflict. Elke formed back in 2007 as a weekend recording band in the sunny city of Brisbane, Queensland (aka Bris-Vegas).  I don't have too much more information about the song or the band other than what I was able to find at this page (note that this song a and a few other Elke songs are available for free download here as well). Alas, youtube doesn't have this song posted quite yet, so if you wish to hear it go to the link in the previous sentence or check out some of their other songs and info at their myspace page here. The video was made by someone personally showing some imagery of war and some not so serious imagery as well, and occasional shots of the band.

Brief Movie Review for "Bigger Than Life" (1956)

4/5 Stars **** 

So I suppose that the moral of the story is "don't do drugs," or maybe "don't take more than you are prescribed by your physician." A bit of a crazy James Mason movie, but also very interesting and entertaining too. Its about a school-teacher who develops a rare vascular disease requiring that he take prescription cortisone which incidentally causes manic episodes in this particular case, in fact so extreme that at one point the school teacher decides he wants to kill his son and his wife and himself with a pair of scissors...exciting stuff. Probably would not watch again, but decent flick overall.