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Those of us that were raised with the "original" MTV Vjs' are in for a real treat! Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, and Martha Quinn reveal all of their trials and tribulations associated with the "Dawn" of "Music Television". Imagine their mixed emotions about doing something that had never been done before. "Will this work"? Did I just commit myself to a flash in the pan future? Will anyone really tune in on a daily basis? Is this a pipe dream? Well as we all know now, MTV went on to define a generation. Little did they know back on August 1st, 1981 the cultural impact that they had just created. Musical acts of the day eventually were begging to get their videos showcased on this new forum.Music combined with visual stimulation eventually created the "MTV Generation". Well, our Vjs' are now sharing their life changing stories with all of us with their upcoming book "The Unplugged Adventures Of MTV's First Wave.This is "totally Awesome" 80s' fans! Tommy Mac
Take a peek at the cover to the forthcoming oral history of MTV's first VJs.
Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter and Martha Quinn are getting together with Rolling Stone contributing editor Gavin Edwards to tell their story in their own words in the forthcoming book VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of MTV's First Wave.
The four (along with the late J.J. Jackson) were the
first on-air hosts hired by MTV when the channel debuted in 1981,
throwing the newcomers into the heady world of rock as the music video
revolution exploded.
The book offers a behind-the-scenes look at their sometimes wild world, from John Cougar's attempt to seduce Blackwood to David Lee Roth offering Goodman groupies and cocaine to Quinn traveling with Bob Dylan on his private jet to Ireland.
The VJs also step back from the wild stories to look at how MTV
changed both music and television. In chronicling the cable net's early
days, they use their story to tell the story of the 80s and the
generation that was transformed by the music video.
As they jokingly conclude, "We’re the reason you have no attention span.”
Look for VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of MTV's First Wave in bookstores in May 2013 from Atria.
Fleetwood Mac is back Awesome 80s' fans! That is right. This band the originally formed way back in 1967 have announced a "Major" concert tour beginning in April 2013. Christie McVie however has chosen not to join back up with the band for this go around, stating that she is content with her retirement from music. Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and of course Stevie Nicks are continuing the saga of this renowned band as a "quartet", and they sound awesome. Stevie Nicks can still hit those notes that she was well known for in the 70s' and 80s', and the rest of the band have never missed a beat. This tour is not in support of a new album release, but "Rumour" is that the band will feature a few new songs at their venues.
Check out this partial list of tour dates folks-An Awesome band, Awesome 80s'! Tommy Mac
Tommy Macs' Awesome 80s' Blog And Radio would like to wish "Phil Collins" a very happy birthday! Phil just turned 62 on January 30th 2013. Phil was born in London England on January 30th 1951, and as we all know went on to be one of the most influential Awesome 80s' Artists PERIOD.
Collins sang the lead vocals on several chart hits in the United
Kingdom and the United States between 1975 and 2010, either as a solo
artist or with Genesis. His singles, sometimes dealing with lost love,
ranged from the drum-heavy "In The Air Tonight", dance pop of "Sussudio", piano-driven "Against All Odds", to the political statements of "Another Day In Paradise".
Collins's professional music career began as a drummer, originally in
a band called The Real Thing with Andrea Bertorelli, who later became
his first wife. Collins played drums and shared lead vocals (with Brian
Chatton) in" Flaming Youth"
which recorded one album, (Ark II). In 1970, he took over drums for
Genesis, which had already recorded two albums. In Genesis, Collins
originally supplied backing vocals for front man "Peter Gabriel", singing lead on only two songs: "For Absent Friends" from 1971's Nursery Chryme album and "More Fool Me" from Selling England By The Pound, which was released in 1973. Following Gabriel's departure in 1975, Collins became the group's lead singer.
His solo career, heavily influenced by his personal life, brought both himself and Genesis commercial success. According to Atlantic Records, Collins's total worldwide sales as a solo artist, as of 2000, were 150 million. Collins has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including seven Grammy Awards, five Brit Awards—winning Best British Male three times, an Academy award, and two Golden Globes for his solo work.He was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010.
Collins is one of only three recording artists (along with"Paul McCartney" and "Michael Jackson) who have sold over 100 million albums worldwide both as solo artists and (separately) as principal members of a band
When his work with Genesis, his work with other artists, as well as his
solo career is totalled, Collins had more top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the 1980s than any other artist. In 2008, Collins was ranked the 22nd most successful artist on the "The Billboard Hot 100 Of All Time"!
Phil retired publicly from music a couple of years ago, stating that "Young adults today aren't interested in hearing him perform". Well I beg to differ. I believe Phil has what it takes to swoon the younger generation as well. Hopefully Phil will come back and give it a try like "David Bowie" recently. At any rate, Happy Birthday to an Awesome 80s' Legend! Please enjoy an absolute "Phil Collins" classic. Tommy Mac
Arnold Schwarzenegger is currently in London, doing press for the U.K. release of" The Last Stand". During a press conference, the actor confirmed that he will be appearing in "Terminator 5" though he did not specify in what capacity. The actor then revealed that he is also officially attached to the "Twins"sequel Triplets", and "The Legend Of Conan". Back in April 2011, Arnold was attached to a version of "Terminator 5" that "Justin Lin"was set to direct. A lot has happened between now and then, with Annapurna Pictures purchasing the rights from Pacificor in May 2011, followed by Justin Lin dropping out in September 2011.
The project has picked up some steam recently, with "David Ellison" signing on to produce with his sister Megan Ellison, with script writers currently being hired.
It is not known if Arnold
will be back as the T-800 Terminator model, or if he will be playing a
whole new character. Since the T-800 doesn't age, they may be using CGI
de-aging effects as seen in "Tron Legacy"
The sequel does not have a director attached yet, although Justin Lin previously indicated he may return if Annapurna Pictures waits for him to complete "The Fast And The Furious 6", which is set for release this May.
Well Awesome 80s' fans, it appears that Arnold was telling us the truth when he said "I'll Be Back". Although the last movie "Terminator Salvation" was a good installment in my mind, I found myself wanting the original "Terminator" to surface at some point. Additionally, I felt that there were a lot of un-answered questions left over from "Terminator 3 Rise Of The Machines". Wouldn't it be cool if Arnold actually plays the real life human that the T-800 was modeled after "Sgt. Candy", introduced to us in the DVD special features section of "Terminator 3". We soon shall see.Apparently the plan is to have a script ready for production toward the end of 2013. See the "Sgt. Candy" segment that was cut from "Rise Of The Machines" in 2003 below. Will "Linda Hamilton" BE BACK as well? Could happen; her body was not in the coffin from the third movie. Can you believe that this movie franchise began back in 1984? There is even talk of a 'Terminator 6". Awesome 80s!
Well 'Tron" fans, we have finally got some confirmation from the "Disney Studios" that another sequel to the movie franchise 'Tron" will be in production soon! Tron Legacy was an eye opening experience in modern day special effects and computer imagery, and a lot of us left the theater wanting our own light cycle. Legacy certainly wet our appetites for a continuation of the story, with the movie ending leaving abundant room for an awesome sequel. The world of "The Grid" has now spilled over into the "Real" world, when Sam, aided by his Fathers identity disc, took Qorra an advanced program through the portal into our world. So what happened afterward? Did she and Sam change the world as Kevin Flynn predicted? Did they become romantically inclined? What will Sam do now that he has taken back control of his Fathers company? Was Kevin Flynn really destroyed at the end of Legacy? Hopefully these questions and more will be answered with the new installment.
Check out this recently released movie teaser for the new film, complete with some familiar faces from the first Tron Movie. Disney has not released any release dates at this point, and it appears that a secrecy campaign is in full effect from the studio. Awesome 80s' will keep you all posted as more news is available! Mac. P.S. Remember the scene in Legacy where Kevin Flynn, Sam and Qorra where heading for the portal on the light sail and kevin was performing some type of meditation while Sam and Qorra where laughing and joking together? Kevin then gave an expression that led me to believe that he wanted Qorra and Sam to essentially become a romantic couple, creating the new world together in the 'Real' world.Do you think that a 'Human and Program Hybrid" life form is in the Tron future? Interesting! Mac
Can you believe that after all these years that "Debbie Harry" and the band "Blondie" are going on an extensive tour the summer of 2013? I for one am very glad to see this. "Blondie" the band was considered by a lot of music critics back in the day as "Ahead Of Their Time". This may explain the bands quick rise to fame in the very early 80s' and subsequent fall toward the mid 80s', or maybe not. As Awesome 80s' fans are fully aware, the band somehow fizzled out after "Rapture" and "Heart Of Glass" but we really didn't understand why. All of a sudden MTV had no Blondie videos in the rotation, favoring the English "New Wave" bands and of course "Michael Jackson" videos from 1983 onward. The last mention of Blondie in the 80s' as I remember was a mention of the band in the movie "Fast Times Of Ridgemont High" in 1982. Well they may have gone off of the radar in the mid 80s' , but they have been making music ever since. Check out the bands "You Tube" videos for tracks that didn't make the mainstream cut for some reason, a lot of them are fairly recent. Well that apparently is show business. Tommy Macs' Awesome 80s' Blog And Radio is pleased to announce a new Era for "Blondie" The band has announced a rather extensive tour schedule for the summer of 2013, and potential new album releases. How awesome is that? Check out the confirmed tour schedule below. Notice the lack of North American tour dates? This needs to change awesome 80s' fans! Mac
The awesome 80s' music fans have heard nothing form "David Bowie" in pushing ten years or so.Well, great news, Bowie fans: The Thin White Duke is back with his first
song—and album—in a nearly a decade in honor of his 66th birthday
today. The new tune that was released on Bowie's website, "Where Are We Now?," is a slow burner that the music legend worked on with long-time producer Tony Visconti
with lyrical nods to the city of Berlin. That's where Bowie lived for
three years and conceived what's been dubbed his "Berlin trilogy" of records—Low, Heroes and Lodger.
"Where Are We Now" is accompanied by a haunting video of old
black-and-white footage of the German capital circa the 1970s and
features Bowie's now-sexagenarian mug projected onto the body of a
puppet looking at the stark images of Berlin that flash by.
"The moment you know, you know, you know," he croons.
The
somber, poignant ditty reflecting back on another time in his life is
an interesting pick on Bowie's part as he re-enters the music scene.
That's because after his last album, 2003's Reality, he abruptly stopped touring and making music in 2004 after suffering a heart attack while performing at a festival in Germany.
The rocker retreated from the pop world, spending most of his time being a dad to his young daughter Alexandria, whom he had with his model wife, Iman,
as well as painting and collecting art while living in New York. His
last musical performance was in November 2006 at New York's Keep a Child
Alive benefit.
Well, "Bowie' is back Awesome 80s' fans, again at the age of 66! How awesome is that? Apparently there will be no standard retirement for this musical Icon. The new song is now available for download from iTunes, while the new album, The Next Day,
hits stores first in Australia on March 8, the rest of the world save
for the U.S. on March 11, and then stateside on March 12. Tommy Macs awesome 80s blog and radio will definitely critique the new album and provide our feedback to you all. Until then we have attached the new video for the single "Where Are We Now" for your enjoyment! Tommy Mac
