Daily 80's - December 31st

The ultimate way to end a decade is a song about a timelord. Or at least a song based on the theme song for a TV show with a timelord.

This was a giant hit for The Timelords overseas, but a very minor 80's hit here in the US. But with the current version of Dr. Who going into a 5th season soon, I figured many should be familiar with the theme song by now. Myself, I remember the weird tunnel-like intro from the 70's. Such a strange show - but so good.

Anyways, back to the 80's with Doctorin' The Tardis. Happy New Year...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 30th

Tomorrow night will be goodbye to the 00 decade. The decade no one in radio knows what to call.

Is it the O's? The zero decade? Hmmm. That's why a lot of station's slogans have been the "80's, 90's, and Now", "now" being a great way to avoid naming the decade.

So how about a goodbye song to the decade. Here's a good one. Arcadia's second hit.

And a really weird video to go along with it. It's a time thing though, so I love it (I'm a fan of anything time travel related).

Tomorrow will be another song about time. But for today, it's Goodbye Is Forever...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 29th

Paul Young might be known to people now as the character from the early seasons of Desperate Housewives. But in the early 80's, a very different Paul Young was all over the radio.

Everytime You Go Away was easily his biggest hit. But there were others.

I got The Secret Of Association album by Paul Young for Christmas in 1985. My favorite song off that was I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down.

The album version is good, but I've always liked the radio / single version even better. And luckily, the single version is what's featured in the video...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 28th

Agnetha Faltskog was the blonde A in ABBA.

When ABBA broke up in the early 80's, she attempted an English solo career (she had previously released a bunch of Swedish solo albums). She released three English language albums in the 80's but only managed two hit singles in the US.

The second was an AC hit in the late 80's with Peter Cetera. The first was Can't Shake Loose, which barely made it into the top 30. Not quite as impressive as what she did with ABBA, but it's a good song and deserves to be heard. Enjoy...



You can find this song on Agnetha Faltskog's album Wrap Your Arms Around Me. The single isn't available on either iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 27th

Rick Springfield had a whole herd of hits in the early and mid-80's.

But because Jessie's Girl and Don't Talk To Strangers gets played so often now, the others don't get heard much on the radio (if at all).

This is one of the unheard ones. And it's one of the songs towards the end of his string of 80's hits. In 1985, you probably heard it on the radio and saw it on MTV. Here's Celebrate Youth...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 26th

It's the Play Misty For Me song of the 80's.

Charlie Dore had a lot more success writing for other artists like Celine Dion, Sheena Easton, Barry Manilow, and Tina Turner than she did with her singing career. But I'm sure happy she gave us this song.

The single was released in 1979, but the song made it into the top 20 in 1980. It's Pilot Of The Airwaves...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 25th

I can't share with you my banana cream pie that I'm eating today. Which works out good - more for me.

But I can share this with you - The Sound Of Musik, a 1986 dance hit from Falco.

Merry Christmas...



You can buy the "symphonic" or live version of this song as an amazon.com mp3 download. The live version is also available on iTunes.

Daily 80's - December 24th

You're probably expecting a Christmas song today, but I'm all Christmas'd out. So instead, a holiday song - sort of.

The Other Ones reminded me a bit of The B-52's. The one big exception being The Other Ones were only relevant in the US for a few months while The B-52's have been around for a few decades.

Here's The Other One's hit.

Have a great Christmas and a happy "Holiday"...



You can buy this song on iTunes.

Daily 80's - December 23rd

Do you remember the group Moving Pictures? If you do, you can probably only come up with one of their hits. And that would be the one that's today's 80's song.

Even though it was never a big hit, most people remember it. That's probably because it lingered on the charts for six months in 1982, even though it never got higher than #29. That's impressive.

The song is What About Me...



You can buy this song on iTunes.

Morning show on The Lake...

In addition to being on-air at Star this week, I'll also be filling in on 107.7 The Lake. I'll be on the morning show from 6am -8am (through January 4th).

I'm familiar with the format because I also program Subterranean HD Radio, an Entercom HD2 station that airs in seven cities around the country. Subterranean features hits and obscure stuff from the 60's - 90's, with some occasional new songs thrown in too (similar to The Lake).

I think my favorite part of scheduling that station is throwing in the obscure 80's stuff. Why is so much of the 80's left unheard on the radio?!

Unfortunately, Subterranean isn't on-air here in Buffalo because we already have The Lake. It just wouldn't make sense to compete with ourselves.

Anyways, if you get a chance, check out my morning thing on The Lake this week. And then at night, I'll keep playing the Christmas music for you on Star 102.5.

Daily 80's - December 22nd

Today's 80's song is another of my all-time favorites. So naturally, it wasn't a giant hit (I think I must be a curse to songs when they're one of my favorites).

Times Two was one of the opening acts for Debbie Gibson in 1988, which probably helped make this song a hit. Thank you for that, Debbie Gibson!

It's Strange But True...



You can buy this song on iTunes.

Daily 80's - December 21st

Whenever I play (I Just) Died In Your Arms, I always get calls afterwords asking about the song and the band. The band is Cutting Crew.

(I Just) Died In Your Arms was easily their biggest hit. Worldwide, their second biggest hit was the follow-up I've Been In Love Before.

The song after that - not such a big hit, but one of my favorites from them. From Broadcast, the same album as their first two hits, this is One For The Mockingbird...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 20th

Basia is awesome. And she's even more beautiful in person than in the video.

I met and saw her perform at the Melody Fair Theatre in 1990. That was a great show.

And she's still making great music! Check out A Gift from her latest CD It's That Girl Again.

This was one of her first hits and it's still my favorite Basia song. From 1988, it's Time and Tide...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 19th

Originally, I was only going to do the Daily 80's posts through Christmas. But everyone knows the Christmas season doesn't end at Christmas. Since it lingers right through New Year's Day, so will the 80's posts. Check back everyday for another awesome and usually obscure 80's song.

Today is from one hit wonder (in the US) Wa Wa Nee. They did a little better in their homeland of Australia, managing six singles. Here, there's only the one.

A second single was released, but only made it to #86 on the US charts (since it didn't make it to the top 40, the band still qualifies for that illustrious one hit status).

The one hit was Sugar Free from 1986...



You can buy this song on iTunes (the 12oz Mix is the radio version).

Daily 80's - December 18th

How's this for a collection of artists? Adam Ant, Phil Collins, and ABBA.

That's what you get when you listen to one of Adam Ant's 1983 hits. Only in the 80's - lol!

Phil Collins is on the drums and Anni-Frid (Frida) of ABBA does the spoken part for Adam Ant's hit Strip...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Survivor: Samoa's Monica...

Survivor 19 is getting ready to wrap up. Tonight and Sunday will be the final two episodes of the season. Tonight I talked with Monica Padilla, the latest Survivor cast-off.

On-air she talked about her threat to Russell and what she's based her final vote on.

Off-air, Monica went into a lot more detail on this season. She revealed some Ponderosa secrets, how her eating habits have changed thanks to the show, and of course her opinion of Shambo (who's been a major focus of the show this season).

I also asked her about Ben's accusal of Jaison being a - supposedly - very prejudiced person (which Ben said when I talked with him earlier this season). She didn't have any interactions with Ben during the game, but she did know Jaison well enough to shed some light on this.

Hear the full 8-plus minute interview with Monica here.

To see the Ponderosa videos she talks about (where the cast-offs go after being voted off), visit the CBS website.

And as we get ready for the finale on Sunday, catch up with some of the other interviews from this past season...

Ashley Trainer (5th voted off)

Russell Swan (removed from the game due to injury)

Ben Browning (3rd voted off)

Marisa Calihan (1st voted off)

Daily 80's - December 17th

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark has reunited!

The two original members of the group have been working on a new album which will be released sometime in 2010.

You can hear a demo of their new song Sister Marie Says on OMD's Myspace page. While it's definitely got an 80's feel, I'm not a big fan of it.

Instead, I'd rather hear their 80's stuff. Here's something from their 1988 The Best Of OMD album. It's Dreaming...



You can buy this song as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 16th

Today's 80's song should have been a bigger hit than it was. One of the group's members wrote songs that became hits for Tina Turner and Pat Benatar. Another helped write Animotion's biggest hit Obsession and would eventually become one of Animotion's singers in the late 80's.

And yet, Device's biggest hit barely made it into the top 40. And then the group pretty much disappeared.

Here's their only top 40 hit Hanging On A Heart Attack...



You can buy this song on iTunes.

Daily 80's - December 15th

Tommy Page was kind of considered the 6th New Kid On The Block. Two of the songs on his 3rd album are a collaboration with members of that group.

In 1990, Tommy Page had his first and only #1 hit in the US with I'll Be Your Everything. That would be another one of the very few songs on my soft rock favorites list.

He had other good songs even before that though. Here's one that was played in dance clubs in the late 80's. It's A Zillion Kisses from 1988...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 14th

Katrina & The Waves.

So be honest, was the first song that popped in your head when you heard that group Walking On Sunshine? That's the case with most people I would imagine, myself included. But they did have a few other hits. Unfortunately, the others ones never seem to get played.

While Walking On Sunshine is definitely my favorite (especially the extended mix), the song that was released after that was also good. Remember Do You Want Crying from 1985? Here it is...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 13th

Hall & Oates have been getting a lot of publicity lately thanks to their excellent publicists who are hyping up the Hall & Oates box set that just came out in October.

In the meantime, Daryl Hall's solo stuff has pretty much been forgotten. But not by me.

With the help of producer Dave Stewart (half of the Eurythmics), Daryl Hall released his second solo album in 1986. It only resulted in two hits. Here's one of them. Foolish Pride...



You can find this song on Daryl Hall's album Three Hearts In The Happy Ending Machine. The single isn't available on either iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 12th

Here's the ultimate in one hit wonders. Today's group only had one single release. No album and no other single. Just the one release. It was a double A side release, but the other song never charted.

Depending on which version of the song you listen to, there's anywhere up to 30 different songs being sampled in the various versions. Wow.

Let's Pump Up The Volume with M/A/R/R/S...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 11th

What song did Cyndi Lauper and the Bangles sing together on?

The answer is today's 80's song. The Bangles sang the background vocals on the second single from Cyndi Lauper's second album.

From 1986, it's Change of Heart...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 10th

The highlight of a Depeche Mode concert is when they launch into this song and then keep going for upwards of ten minutes. The sad part is it usually means the concert is nearing the end.

The song is Never Let Me Down Again, definitely not their biggest hit, but one that totally captures the essence that is Depeche Mode.

By the way, Depeche Mode recently released their third single from their twelfth studio album - it's Fragile Tension / Hole To Feed (a double A-side single) from Sounds of the Universe. I like Fragile Tension a lot better than Hole To Feed. But it can't come close to Wrong, my favorite from the latest album.

For now though, here's Never Let Me Down Again...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 9th

Sa-Fire was known for freestyle music in the 80's and 90's. But my favorite song by her - a ballad.

And I'm not normally a fan of slow music. Working at a soft rock station in Rochester for three years kind of made me soft rock'd out for life.

But this is a such a great song, it's worthy of being an exception. From 1989, Thinking Of You...



You can buy this song on iTunes.

Daily 80's - December 8th

I first remember hearing Roger Christian playing a dance version of this song during the lunch hour show on Majic 102 in the late 80's.

When the song first became a hit in the US, the band had already split up. So it ended up being their only hit.

This is one of my all-time favorite songs. It's One 2 Many's Downtown...



You can buy this song on iTunes.

Daily 80's - December 7th

Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy was the original lead singer of Duran Duran back when they were just playing local nightclubs. Stephen left the group in 1979, eventually being replaced by Simon Le Bon in 1980. One year after that, Duran Duran would hit the charts with their song Planet Earth.

After leaving the group, Stephen formed a couple different groups, one of them being Tin Tin. With that group, Kiss Me first became a minor hit overseas.

About two years later, Stephen recorded a solo album and re-recorded Kiss Me. Then he redid the song yet again about a year later and that's the version that would become his biggest hit. It wasn't anything close to what Duran Duran was doing on the charts, but he did make it on his own.

Here's Kiss Me...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 6th

In the mid 80's, everything seemed to be going great for Duran Duran. They had just taken a bit of a break for some side projects (Power Station and Arcadia) and were about to return to the studio to record a new album. Then ugliness hit.

Andy Taylor decided not to return, but didn't really tell the band. A lawsuit happened, forcing Andy to record a few tracks. But that was the end of Andy and Duran Duran in the 80's.

Shortly after all that mess, his first solo hit came out. It was the theme to the gymnast movie American Anthem in 1986. It ended up being the biggest solo hit of his career.

It's Take It Easy...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 5th

Last month, one of my posts had the video for Pseudo Echo's Funkytown. An awesome remake, but not the best Pseudo Echo song in my opinion.

Their best was a few months earlier in 1987 with a song called Living In A Dream. It got some airtime on MTV and alternative stations in the 80's, but never became a giant hit in the US.

If you like their Funkytown, I know you'll also like this. Pseudo Echo's Living In A Dream...



You can buy this song on iTunes. If you're a fan of long versions of songs, also check out their Long Plays 83 - 87 CD. The extended version of Living In A Dream is one of my favorite 12" singles of the 80's.

The Road...

I've been looking forward to the movie The Road for over a year now. It's based on the Cormac McCarthy book of the same name, which at one point was an Oprah book club selection. That's normally not something I'd like, but this sounds very different.

It's the story of a guy and his son and their travels after just about all life on earth has ended.

Some of the movie was filmed in desolate-appearing places like the abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnels (specifically the Sideling Hill Tunnel), Conneaut Lake Park south of Erie shortly after a fire decimated parts of the park, and even the Presque Isle State Park beaches.

The movie was supposed to come out last November and just kept getting pushed back over and over again until it finally was released last Friday. Visually, this looks like the kind of movie I want to see on the big screen (I caved and finally watched the preview today). Unfortunately, it's an extremely limited release and isn't playing in Buffalo.

Places nearby where it is playing is the Cinemark Tinseltown 17 in Erie, PA and a bunch of theaters in Toronto. Check Fandango for more info if you're up for a road trip to see a movie.

Here's the trailer...

Daily 80's - December 4th

The end of yesterday's video showed that this song was up next. Then it was in my head and I had to see the whole thing.

Even if you know nothing of the 80's, you've probably heard this song. The most notable sampling of it (at least in my world) was in Mariah Carey's 1995 hit Fantasy.

I remember seeing the video for this constantly between the movies and during the Video Jukebox show on HBO in the early 80's.

From 1981, it's Genius Of Love by the Tom Tom Club...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 3rd

This had to be one of the most tiring videos ever to make. You'll see why.

Peter Wolf is the on again / off again lead singer for the J. Geils Band. His first big solo hit came in 1984 with Lights Out. Then three years later, he had his second and (so far) final top 20 hit on the mainstream charts with this. It's Come As You Are...



You can find this song on Peter Wolf's album Come As You Are. The single isn't available on either iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 2nd

Another Irene Cara favorite today. After Flashdance, Irene Cara followed up with the top 20 hit Why Me.

I loved this one even more because it was the second 12" single I ever bought (the first being One Thing Leads To Another by The Fixx). The 7:02 version is equally as good as the original (which wasn't always the case with 12" singles - Duran Duran's Monster Mix of Is There Something I Should Know and the Hello, Goodbye Mix of Leave It by Yes being two examples of how bad some of them could be). This long version was done right.

Here's the official video with the single version from 1983...



Only the 12" Mix of this song is available on iTunes.

Amazing Race 16 has begun...

The race began this past Saturday in Los Angeles.

One of the teams spotted at the LAX airport was Jordan Lloyd and Jeff Schroeder from this past season of Big Brother (Jordan was the winner of Big Brother 11).

Check out this Facebook page for a picture of them waiting to leave the airport. There's also another picture showing some of the airport chaos and one of the other teams.

Amazing Race 16 will most likely air during the first few months of 2010 on CBS.

And don't forget about the Amazing Race 15 finale on CBS this Sunday night at 8pm. Here's the preview...

Daily 80's - December 1st

Chances are, if you recognize this song, you're either one of the group's members or you've heard occasional bits and pieces of it in the background on Star 102.5. It was such a great 80's song, but never charted.

It did make it to MTV though. But that's not how I found out about it. I worked at an alternative station in Rochester at the time (90.5 WBER) and they were tossing a bunch of their records. This was one of them. I couldn't allow this awesome song to just be trashed. I'm happy I saved it as it became one of my favorite songs from the 80's.

In the 90's, I finally bought the album this came from. Why this group (or at the very least this song) never got radio play is a mystery to me.

The song has a definite Pet Shop Boys / Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark feel to it. From 1987, it's The Pop Tarts and Another Grey Day In London...



You can find this song on The Pop Tarts' album Age Of The Thing. The single isn't available on either iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - November 30th

El DeBarge had massive success throughout the 80's with the group DeBarge. But then he took the advice of the group's record label and left DeBarge to go solo.

That might have been a mistake as he only managed to make it to the top 10 on the mainstream charts one last time with this song from the movie Short Circuit.

From 1986, it's Who's Johnny...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - November 29th

Limahl left Kajagoogoo after only one album. But the group continued on, eventually morphing into Kaja.

Their second big hit after Too Shy was Turn Your Back On Me, which reached #2 on the US dance charts.

But Kajagoogoo / Kaja and Limahl both probably would have done better had they stayed together. Either that or they would have all strangled each other since it was tensions within the group that caused the breakup.

We'll never know now...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download (on both sites, the group is listed as Kajagoogoo for this song).

Daily 80's - November 28th

I just got back from Dollywood, so I've got to put a Dolly Parton song on here today.

In 1983, Dolly Parton should have had another pop hit with this song. But things didn't work out that way. It did well on country stations and got quite a bit of dance club play thanks to a 12" remix (a rarity for Dolly), but no luck with the regular charts.

It's a good song though. Here's Potential New Boyfriend...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - November 27th

It's Toni Basil's biggest US hit.....after Mickey of course.

You're probably not doing this kind of shopping first thing today, but it seems to be the perfect video for today. From the same album as Mickey, here's Shopping From A To Z...



You can find this song on Toni Basil's album Word Of Mouth. The single isn't available on either iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - November 26th

In honor of the awesome banana cream pie I'll be eating today, here's something from Bananrama.

It came out right after I Heard A Rumour and was one of their biggest hits overseas (topping even Cruel Summer). That wasn't the case in the US though. It did well on the dance charts, but never made it to the top 40 mainstream chart (it did get into the top 50 - barely).

It's such a fun song and should have been a bigger hit here. It's Love In The First Degree. Have a great Thanksgiving!



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - November 25th

Get ready to be on the road for the holiday weekend.

And there's no better on the road song than this one. Although it didn't really do that well on the music charts, only making it to #82.

But thanks to the National Lampoon Vacation movies, everyone knows it. Here's Lindsey Buckingham and Holiday Road...



Only a live version of this song is available on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - November 24th

This was the very beginning for Go West on the music charts.

It never made it into the top 40 - which makes no sense to me, since this is just about as perfect of a song as you can get.

The group (Peter Cox & Richard Drummie) is still together and released the CD futurenow a little over a year ago.

It's Go West with We Close Our Eyes...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - November 23rd

From 1973 - 1987, Kool & The Gang had over twenty top 40 hits!

But the only one that had a video with a comet that brought out strange animal behavior in people was their 1984 hit Tonight...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - November 22nd

An Irene Cara classic today. No, not Flashdance. And not Breakdance (as much as I love that one, I couldn't find the official video for it).

So this time it's The Dream (Hold On To Your Dream) from the 1983 movie D.C. Cab (which starred Mr. T, Gary Busey, and Irene Cara too)...



You can buy this song on iTunes.

Daily 80's - November 21st

Something that was a top 10 hit in the 80's can't really be called obscure. But I've gotten so many requests for this over the past few months that I had to include it.

Remember Pseudo Echo? Chances are, you can only think of one of their hits. That's really all they had in North America. Later in the season, I'll post my personal favorite from them. But first, what's most likely yours.

It's a remake of a #1 1980 Lipps, Inc hit. Pseudo Echo couldn't quite make it all the way to #1 with it, but #6 is still impressive. I prefer this version to the original. Let's go to Funkytown!



You can buy this song on iTunes.

Daily 80's - November 20th

It's New Order at it's absolute best here.

The song has been remade a bunch of times, most recently by alternative rock band Anberlin. While I love the recent remake, the original remains my favorite.

From 1987, it's New Order and True Faith...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - November 19th

I'm still traumatized that a-ha is breaking up after their 2010 world tour. Hopefully, they'll come somewhere at least on this continent so I can get to see them in concert (I'm still annoyed that I didn't go to their concert at Shea's when they came in the mid 80's).

As far as the US is concerned, Take On Me was their biggest hit. The second biggest here was their follow-up The Sun Always Shines On T.V.

What followed that? Another great song - Train Of Thought. The video tried to mirror the success of Take On Me...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - November 18th

Falco's no longer with us, but his music lives on. And not just with Der Kommissar and Rock Me Amadeus.

This was his top 20 hit that came after Rock Me Amadeus. Most of it is in German - when translated, it's pretty much a song about women all around the world (Toronto even gets name checked).

It's my favorite Falco song - from 1985, Vienna Calling...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

By the way, I'll be off from Star 102.5 for the next week and a half - I'm going on a road trip. But I'll still be posting the 80's stuff everyday!

Save Solitary...

Solitary, one of the best reality shows ever, may soon be without a network home.

When it comes to reality TV, I consider The Mole (the first two seasons) to be the best reality show ever. Solitary is an extremely close second (with Amazing Race and Survivor not too far behind).

It's such a cool show. Nine contestants are in solitary confinement and try to remain the longest. Instead of competing against other contestants though, they're actually competing against themselves due to the clever gameplay.

There's been three successful seasons of Solitary already. Solitary 4.0 is currently in production and is set to air in 2010. BUT, the network that Solitary is on will be going away forever on March 31, 2010.

That's the dreaded day that the Fox Reality Channel will become the National Geographic Wild channel. Definitely not a network that would run a reality show like Solitary.

So VAL from Solitary needs our help. If you've seen the show and like it or if you think the concept sounds fun and would like to see it, visit the Save Solitary website and show your support of the series.

Here's VAL asking / begging / pleading for your help...



See the previous three seasons of Solitary free on Hulu.com.

Daily 80's - November 17th

I saw O.M.D. in 1985. They opened for the Thompson Twins at the Convention Center in Rochester. It was the third concert I ever went to and one of my favorites. Pure synth pop from start to finish.

The group had a few dance hits in the early 80's, but this was their first big mainstream hit in the US. It's So In Love from 1985...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - November 16th

The non-stop Christmas music has begun. I miss the 80's already.

If you do too, visit my blog everyday until Christmas and revisit an 80's classic that you may have forgotten about. And believe me, I've got some really obscure 80's songs that I love (along with some favorites that aren't so completely obscure).

So if you also miss the 80's music (or if you're one of those shark tank-type people that wants to bankroll the start-up legal licensing fees of an awesome 80's music syndicated show), get ready for a bunch of obscure 80's. I'm going to try to stick to songs where I can also find the music videos.

We'll start with Samantha Fox, probably best known for her hits Touch Me (I Want Your Body), Naughty Girls (Need Love To), and I Wanna Have Some Fun.

Here's one her songs that's equally as good as those, but didn't have as much success here in the US. From 1987, I Surrender (To The Spirit Of The Night)...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Black Friday 2009 ads...

It's only two weeks away. Are you ready?

Here's some websites that'll help you plan your shopping strategies for Black Friday...

black-friday.net

bfads.net

theblackfriday.com

tgiblackfriday.com

blackfriday.info

blackfriday.gottadeal.com

bargainshare.com

dealtaker.com

CBS always runs late on Sundays!

Argh! It so annoys me.

I don't care about whatever is on Sunday afternoon. I'm out having a life then. What I do care about is coming home, relaxing, and watching Amazing Race or Cold Case before sleep. But they're never on at the right time because everything's been delayed from earlier overruns.

Well now you can know when your favorite CBS shows will be on later than usual. The network has created something called Eye-Lert. It'll send you an e-mail or cell phone message letting you know exactly how late your favorite shows will be on.

Sign up for this at the CBS website.

More Iron Island Museum ghost sounds...

Once again, Linda Hastreiter of the Iron Island Museum visited Star 102.5 with some new ghost audio (EVP's). Hear the full interview here. This online version of the interview contains two new EVP's and two previously aired EVP's.

Then check out the clips she brought to us in early October here.

Visit the Iron Island Museum website to learn more about their overnight ghost hunts. If you do go, only go with a maximum of five people. Trust me, it's more fun when there's fewer people. Any more than five and the noise level of everyone is just too loud. While you'll still probably get some EVP's, they'll probably be drowned out by talking.

Survivor: Samoa's Russell S...

Russell (the nice one) was removed from the game last week after he blacked out twice.

How's he doing now? And who does he want to win the game now that he's no longer in it? Find out that and all the details on his removal from the game in my interview with him here (a portion of which aired on Star 102.5).

House of Horrors movie interview...

Earlier tonight on Star 102.5, I talked with Dan Monroe (the writer, director, and producer of the House of Horrors DVD) and Tim Bunch (the owner of the House of Horrors).

We only talked on-air for a couple minutes about the local movie. Off-air, the interview went on longer.

Hear all about the House of Horrors movie and how it came to be here.

Then find out even more and buy the DVD at the movie's home page.

More Boo Bash 2009 pictures...

Here's a few more Boo Bash photos I found...

Star 102.5 Boo Bash 2009 pictures...

We've got a bunch of pictures from our Boo Bash party at Bounce Magic this past Saturday. Here's a few of them.

Just click on any of the pictures here to see them all...

Another FREE retro remake mp3!

The Lincoln car company is going remake crazy. The commercial for the Lincoln MKT car features an excellent remake of The Church's 1988 hit Under The Milky Way by an artist called Sia.

The free downloads are usually only available for a very limited time, so go get it quick.

Hear the short commercial version below and then go download the full 3:35 version for FREE from Sia's MySpace page.

Survivor: Samoa's Ashley...

Poor Ashley - yet another victim of Russell's evilness. But even worse, she's the victim of some strange editing on last week's episode of Survivor.

It looked like Ashley was a colossal failure in both challenges last week. She was the only one who couldn't finish her sick smoothie in the reward challenge and she failed miserably at getting coconuts in the baskets in the immunity challenge. But that's not how things really happened. Ashley explains a little on what happened there - way more than her brief explanation that aired on Star 102.5. Her reasoning makes a lot of sense.

And of course I couldn't resist asking about Survivor's biggest villain ever. Ashley gives her ideas on what Russell's true personality really is.

Hear it all here.

Upcoming movie: The Box...

** Click here for the 2009 Haunted Houses & Hayrides list **
** Click here for the 2009 Real Hauntings list **
** Click here for the 2009 Corn Mazes list **
** Click here for the 2009 Kiddie Halloween Events list **

I'm really not a big fan of movies. Most of them are soooo boring to me. I'd much rather watch a reality show or TV series.

But this year, there's been quite a few good ones. There's one I'm really excited about in late November called The Road, but even before that, there's The Box.

It starts November 6th in theaters. It's based on a short story by Richard Matheson, which was turned into a Twilight Zone episode in 1986 called "Button, Button".

The story is simple - would you push a button that would cause someone you don't know to die in exchange for one million dollars?

Check out the movie preview. Then below that, the Twilight Zone episode of this story (but watch out, the episode might end up spoiling the movie)...






By the way, all three seasons of the 80's Twilight Zone are on DVD. This episode came from the first season. I think some of the best Twilight Zone episodes ever came from seasons one and two of the 80's remake, so definitely give it a look.

The Balloon Boy game...

The object: to see how long you can keep Falcon and his UFO balloon flying, all while wasting taxpayer money.

Click the picture to play. Good luck...

Movie review: House Of Horrors...

It’s a local production based on the House Of Horrors haunted house in Cheektowaga. “Local production” might scare you away (normally, that would make me run the other direction) . Don't let it though. This was actually a well done slasher movie.

First, because I work for Star, I have to say that this movie is definitely not for anyone under 17 (as the movie itself states). The problem is language, some minor sexual situations, and of course graphic violence. Also, if you're extremely religious, you definitely won't like it.

I thought it was a good story and it moved along well, although the pacing is a little different than most movies. I never really knew what to expect next, which I like. But at times I didn't realize two things were happening simultaneously. That would only take me out of the movie for a second though, then something crazy would happen and I was back into the story. So much so that I actually jumped a little (it was late at night and I had all the lights out, so that’s why, okay).

Before I get to the good, the one big bad. The language. Just like with District 9, the constant swearing got old and annoying real fast. Blood, body parts, vomit, and all sorts of awfulness doesn't bother me (which is good, because this movie featured plenty of that). But the constant swearing always annoys me. It's not needed. Proof of that - how often do you hear swearing on the radio? Never. The FCC would revoke our license in a heartbeat.

Now the good stuff. The camerawork, scenery, and production were amazing. I wasn't expecting that. And it was really weird seeing so many Buffalo locations in a movie. I kept thinking, hey I know that place. The church scenes were filmed at the haunted Iron Island Museum - very cool. And of course a large chunk of the movie was filmed at the House Of Horrors in Cheektowaga.

Even weirder though was seeing people I know. Robert Saviola, who hangs out at the station occasionally, was in the movie. He did a great job as the Catholic Cardinal. And I know I've seen “Pops” Garrison around town, maybe at Tops or a restaurant or something.

For the most part, the acting was good. I've got my favorites of course. Sandra Grover as the cast manager was great. “Blu” Brenton Jamal Harold felt completely out of place in the movie - which is exactly as he should since he’s the new owner of the haunted house, so he was cast perfectly. Kaitlyn Salamone and Stephen Burke were both believable as Lisa and Steve.

And then there's the ghouls and monsters which you might recognize from the House Of Horrors. But one you probably won't recognize is Dan Monroe, the guy who wrote, directed, and produced the movie. His monster persona at the House Of Horrors is a little different than his part in the movie as the TV anchorman. Visit the cast page to see everyone that's in the movie - maybe you know someone in it.

Overall, a good horror movie for October and one that was fun to watch because of all the Buffalo connections. Go support Dan and buy the House Of Horrors DVD. You can get it online here or at the House Of Horrors in Cheektowaga.

Balloon boy story continues...

The kid is only six years old, so can you imagine what's going through his head with all the publicity happening now. The parents are the ones who are the problem. They're crazy - well, at least the father is (check out one of their Wife Swap episodes to see proof of this).

Here's the Heene family on The Today Show earlier this morning. There's a recap for the first four minutes, then it's the interview. The whole family is there up until Falcon gets sick on camera...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Then you just knew this was going to happen. Someone had to interview the wife that swapped places with the Heene mom on the 100th episode of Wife Swap. Here's psychic Sheree Silver's take on what happened from CBS's Early Show this morning. Harry Smith apparently couldn't take anymore after about four and a half minutes...




Then there's the Wolf Blitzer video from last night where he finally follows up to Falcon's original comment about how "we did this for the show". The father gets really annoyed in this one...




Finally, the Heene YouTube Channel, featuring a bunch of their storm chasing videos and a rap song the kids did. You know, maybe their publicity stunt did work after all. It sure gave radio & TV stations a lot to report on what's been an otherwise dead couple of days.

Balloon boy & family were on Wife Swap...

All along he was hiding in the attic of his house! A happy ending to a crazy story.

The family this involved was on Wife Swap in October of 2008 and then again in March of 2009. Here's the 2009 episode - watch it quick as I'm positive it won't stay on YouTube long. Falcon Heene is the kid everyone was worried about...



Double click on the YouTube video for the continuation links for the episode.

And then here's some footage of the balloon as it was airborne...




UPDATE: The family was on Larry King Live Thursday night. Listen to what Falcon had to say. Oops, I think he messed up the crazy father's plan...

Road Trip: Jiminy Peak's Alpine Coaster

I finally got out to Massachusetts to go on an alpine coaster!

The closest ski resort with an alpine coaster AND alpine slides is Jiminy Peak. It's not far from Albany, so it's not too horrible of a drive (it's a little over 5 hours from Buffalo). And for what you get to do there, it's well worth that drive.

The alpine coaster was fast! It took until my third time down before I could do it without the brakes. I was sure I was going to fly right off the edge of the mountain. As it turned out, I didn't. I was shocked.

I have absolutely no idea how someone could film the experience while controlling the brakes and flying down the course. I know I couldn't do it, so here's a YouTube video of someone who did...



Then there's the two alpine slides. As great as the alpine coaster was, I liked the slides better. It felt more like the experience of riding the luge (which I compare just about everything to since it's so much fun).

My first couple runs down the alpine slides were mellow as I got used to the tracks. But by the end of the day, I was flying up and around the turns. I'm happy to say I never once flipped the sled, launched it out of the track, or crashed into anyone.

The crashing is the biggest worry because you never know how slow the person in front of you might be going. That's something you always have to be looking ahead for.



The alpine slide is only open from May - October on days without rain. The alpine coaster is open year round.

The price is $45 for an all day pass which includes the coaster, slides, plus some additional attractions or $9 per ride. Get the all day pass! If you do a single ride and get stuck behind someone who's scared and goes slow, you'll have just wasted $9 on a really boring ride. Plus, it's not worth driving all that way if you're only going to go down the courses one or two times.

Check out the Jiminy Peak website for a list of all their attractions (there's a bunch) and the operating dates.

And let's hope one of our Buffalo ski resorts installs an alpine coaster and some alpine slides soon!

Amazing Race 15: Zev's passport found...

The worst mistake to make on The Amazing Race is to lose your passport. That's a game killer for sure.

Zev's passport was finally found, but that footage wasn't shown when the show aired Sunday night. Instead, it aired on Elimination Station, the online series that follows the contestants after they're off the show.

The current video also catches us up on Garrett & Jessica's engagement and Marcy & Ron. The very first team eliminated (Eric & Lisa) aren't there as they refused to stay at the sequester area according to Reality Blurred.

Here's this week's Elimination Station episode...

Ghost sounds!

Tonight, I talked on-air with Linda Hastreiter of the Iron Island Museum.

We also heard from some ghosts by way of EVPs from the Iron Island Museum.

Throughout many ghost hunts, a recorder is going to listen for anything out of the ordinary. A lot of times, the EVPs aren't even noticeable when the recording is happening but instead are heard later when listening to it!

Some are a wild stretch of the imagination. But others really make me wonder.

Here's the full interview with Linda (complete with EVPs) that partially aired on Star 102.5 earlier tonight. Then visit the Iron Island Museum evidence page to check out some of the other EVPs.

You can also buy the House of Horrors DVD there - the Iron Island Museum is featured in four scenes in that movie!

And make sure you're listening to Star 102.5's Retro Show all next week (October 12 - 16) for your chance to win a pair of tickets to the October 30th Halloween Ghost Hunt at the Buffalo Central Terminal & the Iron Island Museum! If you'd like to guarantee you'll be there, go buy your tickets here.

Burning For You remake FREE!

The Lincoln car company and the group Shiny Toy Guns have done it again!

First was their remake of Major Tom (Coming Home). Originally, it was a free download. Now you can buy it on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Their next remake is of the Blue Oyster Cult 1977 classic. You can download it FREE here. Do it quick though - it won't be free forever.

Survivor: Samoa's Ben...

I think he could have been the biggest villain of the season if Russell H. wasn't there.

Ben seemed to annoy everyone. We heard from Marisa a couple weeks back saying how he was the worst one on the island.

Now we hear from Ben ourselves. He explains how he really didn't keep everyone awake chopping wood all night. He also talks about the tribal council that led to his island expulsion. We also learn what he thinks about some of the other players and how his Ponderosa experience was.

Here's the full interview (including parts that didn't air on Star 102.5).

Recent retro remakes...

S.O.S. (Let The Music Play) - Jordin Sparks

It's not an exact remake of Shannon's 1983 hit Let The Music Play. It's more like a combination of a new Jordin Sparks song and a Shannon remake. But I like it - probably because I've liked just about every single she's released so far. This is the second single from Jordin's album "Battlefield".


Video Killed The Radio Star - Andrew Spencer

I've been loving the dance remakes Andrew Spencer has been doing. Here's another great one. It turns The Buggles' 1979 hit into a dance song.




Fame - Naturi Naughton

Irene Cara performed the song for the Fame movie in 1980. Naturi Naughton did a great job updating it for the 2009 movie.




You can buy all of these songs on iTunes or as amazon.com mp3 downloads.

Screech's new book...

Dustin Diamond (aka Screech from Saved By The Bell) doesn't seem to have too many happy memories from the show.

Now you can read about all his unpleasant memories in his new book Behind The Bell.

He definitely isn't well liked by many of the other actors now. Recent reports say that the rest of the cast refused to take part in the Saved By The Bell People magazine article this past summer if he was involved.

My guess: he probably didn't get along with the cast too well back when the show was filmed either. So I can't really blame him for now spilling some unpleasant details to make some money off the whole thing.

See him read a kind of PG-13 excerpt from his book on Popeater.com - that should give you a general idea of what's in the book. And of course check out the reviews on the book's amazon.com page.