Broadening my doodling horizons by continuing to make my way through Marvel's finest lineup.
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Broadening my doodling horizons by continuing to make my way through Marvel's finest lineup.
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John Benitez, aka, Jellybean, was one of the hottest producers in the 80's and 90's, working with the likes of Madonna, Debbie Harry, Whitney Houston and Pointer Sisters, just to name a few. While he spent most of his time in the background, Jellybean did branch out on his own to release a few albums. However, the interesting aspect of said albums was that Benitez himself didn't sing on them. Instead, he utilized the talent of some of the era's hottest musicians as his mouthpiece. This instant notoriety of the hand selected artists led to several top ten hits.
In the late 70's, Benitez mostly filled his pocket by working as a DJ, while putting himself through college. It wouldn't be until a meeting with Madonna, where she introduced him to her first single, "Everybody", that a relationship (and romance) would begin. Madonna would ask him to remix her debut album, and as Jellybean would say of the opportunity, "While I was launching her career, I was launching my career as a producer." The relationship proved to be mutually beneficial.Jellybean's discography is relatively short, with only five albums released from 1984 to 2010. However, he makes up for this in spades via his writing and producing credits. He would also go on to dabble in a few television themes. As of this writing, he was working as the executive producer for the SeriusXM station, Studio 54.However, for that one moment in time, Jellybean was an 80's artist, if not directly at least in name, releasing the albums "Wotupski!?! (1984), Just Visiting This Planet (1987), and Jellybean Rocks The House (1988). This would be followed by 1991's Spillin' The Beans, and 2010's A Celebration In Sound (Jellybean Soul).
Today, I'm whipping out his debut album, Wotupski!?!, to give it a good old Retro Spin. I waited a long time to get this one on CD. Not only is this album out of print, but it is also expensive. While it may well have changed since I originally went looking for it, there were none on ebay at the time. Discogs had one copy available, but it was from the Russian Federation, which takes forever to get in the USA. Not only that, but their CD's are notorious for being bootlegs, and the time involved with resolving the matter is even longer than it took to receive.
Finally, in late December of 2021, another copy of the CD popped up on Discogs. Believe it or not, a seller that was literally just down the road from me. I reviewed everything, and clicked the buy button, paying immediately, only to then sit and wait. Eight days later, nothing. No CD. Not even marked as shipped. I reached out to the seller, and got no response.
So began the process of filing a claim with Discogs, and then PayPal. Here's where their site stands out among the crowd of ebay and Amazon. Once a buyer files a claim of an unresponsive seller, they have four days to reply, or their account is suspended indefinitely. Not an ideal solution, but at least they take the matter seriously. Lo and behold on the very last day the seller had to respond, they finally did, and shipped the thing. While the wait and process was excruciating, ultimately I got the better resolution, which was the CD.
Without further ado, let's talk about it.
As I mentioned above, Jellybean doesn't sing on the albums himself. Instead, he utilizes other talent in the industry. This is how you get an album which comprises of Madonna (no introduction necessary), Catharine Buchanan (aka Catt Buchanan) Vernon Jeffrey Smith (saxophone player and producer), Audrey Wheeler (Unlimited Touch), and Jennie Haan (Babe Ruth Band).
Of the five tracks on the album (not including remixes of these songs which are added as bonuses), I really dug three of them. Sidewalk Talk (Catharine Buchanan and Madonna), Dancing On The Fire (Audrey Wheeler), and The Mexican (Jennie Haan). Overall, the sound was heavy synthpop oriented, and that to me is good 80's music.
While the main album may only consist of five tracks, with a run time of six to nine minutes each, you're still getting over half an hour of music, which is a decent run time. Throw in the remixes, and it's over an hour.
Of them, I think The Mexican is my favorite. I dug it so much that I not only listened to it several times, but then went and checked out the original 1972 Babe Ruth version.
In looking further into the artists associated with the album, it was sad to see that Catharine Buchanan would end up being a singer who never got any form of musical contract. Her work on Sidewalk Talk was followed by a lone single, Love Is (1988). She seems to have disappeared from all forms of the spotlight, and Google searches yield minimal results.
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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.Star Wars: Blue Milk
TruMoo and Kemps
2024
Need to chow down on some sugary cereal before traveling the Jundland Wastes? Well, don't forget your blue milk. TruMoo and Kemps have you covered.
Depending on what area you're from, TruMoo may not have been available, leaving you have to track down the counterpart from Kemps. While it was the same logo, with exception of the company logo, the variety didn't seem to be available. Kemps appears to have only produced the half gallon in blue milk, skipping the chocolate and strawberry flavors completely.
I mean, if you want to collect Star Wars milk containers, you've got tons of variety here between skim, 1%, 2%, and whole. I wouldn't necessarily advise you try and track down a full bottle, what with it being long expired at this point. However, empty ones are plentiful online.
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The 80's may have been dominated by a Prince, but there was also a King. While the latter didn't get their fair shake, they definitely should have.
King were a British new wave band formed from the remnants of the ska band, The Reluctant Stereotypes. While they would go on to have two top thirty hits in 1985 in the UK, as well as the number two hit in the US, Love and Pride, major success didn't seem to follow. The group was formed by Paul King on vocals and piano, and he was backed up by Mick Roberts (keyboards), Anthony Wall (bass / guitar), Jim Lantsbery (guitar), John Hewit, Adrtian Lillywhite, and Colin Heanes (all on drums).
The group released two albums in their career, Steps In Time (1984) and Bitter Sweet (1985). The band split up in 1986, and Paul King would release a solo album, Joy, in 1987. However, this lone venture would only yield the minor hit, I Know. Paul would later serve a brief stint as a VJ for MTV in the 90's.
Now, I will admit that I missed out completely on King in the 80's. The band didn't hit my radar until Christmas of 2021, when I received an awesome set of Now - Forgotten 80's albums from my girl. It was here that I would first hear the track, Love And Pride, instantly liking it. It quickly became the most played track from the CD set. It also intrigued me to see what albums the band had released, and more importantly, if they were available on CD.
As typically is the case with older 80's albums, I wasn't expecting to find they albums had been released on CD. Further, if they had, I expected them to be so obscure that they would be stupid expensive. I was happy to be wrong on both counts.
Not only were both albums pressed on disc, but I was able to get them both for fifteen dollars each. Okay, for a used CD, that is kind of expensive, but not ridiculously dumb as others which I've seen as high as $500.00. Still, there weren't many available, with the majority being overseas. Despite this, I was able to find a pair of US seller with them, and jumped on them fast.
As I played through their debut album, Steps In Time, I found myself immediately hooked. I was digging the new wave sound, which was heavily impacted by a groovy bass line. It sounded almost like a contender with Duran Duran, if Duran also incorporated ska into their sound.I really found myself invested and enjoying this album, which only begged the question more, "What happened?" Why didn't King soar up the charts in the 80's becoming international superstars? From my perspective, they certainly had a marketable sound. I just really feel like they could have, and should have been, much larger than they were.
It was only within the last ten to twelve minutes of the album that I really heard any tracks that I didn't particularly care for. The first two-thirds of Steps In Time were solid. So many tracks got added to my shuffle list. Since then, I've also continued to play Love And Pride into the ground. It's just one of those tracks I've yet to get tired of. It's catchy, fun, and really enjoyable. If nothing else, I recommend you give that song a go.
Honestly, I'm really excited to immediately jump into their follow up album, Bitter Sweet, to see what hidden gems are contained within. But until then, that wraps this Retro Spins up.
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Remember that awesome Marvel line from Hasbro where they did every Spider-Man character ever? OF COURSE YOU DON'T! Because Hasbro sucks!
G.I. Jigsaw on the other hand, he knows how to produce a toy line, and see it through to completion! His fantastic series of Peg People keep coming, and each one add a whole new layer of depth to the line.
The Inhumans join the fray with their team leader, Black Bolt! He showed up from time to time in Marvel-Team Up, which is really the extent of what I know about the character.
I said "sort of" above because the mystery figure package returned this round. This time with two new figures inside!
I wanted to say who this was when I saw the character holding up the card, but the exposed brain at the top of his head kept throwing me off. As did the costume. Turns out, that's not an exposed brain, and I should have gone with my gut. What we have here is Johnny Carson's alter ego, Carnac the Magnificent.
Speaking of which, let's roll that beautiful bean footage that is the checklist so far. Can you believe George has finished three full pages, and a third of the way through a fourth? Amazing! Man is he going to hate me when he sees the new list with the additional 700.
I'm moving next weekend, so I don't know if George will be dropping off anymore surprise packages before then. Gosh, now that I think of it, it's not going to be so easy for us to coordinate these moving forward. Man, that's kind of a bummer to realize.
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My introduction to the band, Doctor And The Medics, began when I got turned on to the British series, "Bring Back", starring Justin Lee Collins. The shows were one-off broadcasts, in which Collins would trek out across the globe to bring back stars of his favorite television shows, movies and musicians. The series as a whole is fantastic, and shows our host tracking down the stars of The A-Team, Dallas, Star Wars, Fame, Star Trek, and a handful more. Sadly, the show didn't last beyond eight episodes, with the last, "Bring Back The Goonies" being cancelled before production could begin.
In June of 2006, during the shows original run, there was one episode entitled, Bring Back The One Hit Wonders. It was here where Doctor And The Medics would hit my radar. They were a motley group of mates led by Clive Jackson, who served to, in his own words, "Entertain the great unwashed."
Forming in 1981, Doc and his Medics played mostly to the underground scene, mixing a style of neo-psychedelia, glam rock, new wave and pop rock. The band was signed to IRS records in 1985, and released their first EP, Happy But Twisted. The album was led by a cover of Hawkwind's Silver Machine, which reached number two on the indie charts.
Though lineup changes began early within the group, but ultimately landed on the classic lineup of The Doctor (vocals), Steve McGuire (guitar), Richard Searle (bass), Steve "Vom" Ritchie (drums), Wendi Anadin (vocals), and Colette Anadin (vocals). The end result of their efforts was their first full length album, 1986's Laughing At The Pieces.
In line with their previous EP, this new album was led by yet another cover, Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky. The single reached the number one spot on the UK charts, much to the outrage of the group's core fan base. The band followed this up with their 1987 album, I Keep Thinking It's Tuesday. Mildly successful, but not to the degree of their previous efforts. They would also release another EP this same year, Two Pieces of Cloth Carefully Stitched Together.
Though they would disappear for several years, Doctor And The Medics would return in 1992 for their third studio album, The Adventures of Boadacea and the Beetle, and then again in 1996 for Instant Heaven. However, shortly thereafter, the group would disband.
In 2003, the group would reunite to hit the tour scene. This would lead to a new EP in 2006, Timewarped. Many would stay on for the current iteration of the band which features, The Doctor (vocals), Adrian Hill (drums), Dan Angelow (guitar), Jon Randle (bass), Melissa Weekes (vocals), Matthew Angelow (guitar/performance artist), and Maria Verhelst-Hopkins (vocals/performance artist). No albums have been released since their 2006 entry.
Firing up their album, Laughing At The Pieces, I was greeted to a unique sound. Though it has an 80's vibe to it, there's also a hint of 60's psychedelic rock, and these two styles surprising work well together. Though the overall album is by no means a masterpiece, it is unique, and that in and of itself makes it rather enjoyable to hear.
Of the twelve tracks, I thoroughly enjoyed their renditions of Spirit In The Sky, and Waterloo (ABBA). The latter being a rather good cover. I also really enjoyed Moon Song, and think it may very well have been my favorite of the bunch.
I also know that three out of twelve isn't a very high percentage, and won't profess to say that this album is perfect by any means. Rather, as I said, it's unique, and there in lies its charm. Enough so that I actually tracked down their follow up album, I Keep Thinking It's Tuesday. As I've said many times before, that's always part of the goal in these Retro Spin posts. To find something that makes me want to hear more.
Whether or not that will pay off is yet to be seen, but stick around for that. I'm sure you'll see that post in the future from me. But it won't be any time soon.
In the interim, I highly recommend the television series noted at the start of this post. Fans of the 80's will definitely enjoy seeing their favorite casts and musicians reunited, as well as the interviews conducted individually with them. Though not official, you can find all the episodes on Youtube. Check them out!
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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.Little Shop of Horrors
Warner Bros. Home Video
1998
On November 1, 1996, the DVD format hit store shelves for the first time in Japan, before spreading across the world in 1997. Much like its predecessor, the Laserdisc, this new disc based format came to the market with a hefty price tag which wasn't appealing to many average movie buyers. As such, in its infancy, it was labeled the video format for the film connoisseur.
Another format war started, this time between DVD and DIVX. Though the battle was short, the feud was fueled by studios leaning heavily into one format over the other, making it difficult for buyers to find the movies they wanted during these early years.
One of the bigger names to back DVD was Warner Bros. Home Video, who would release the 1986 musical, Little Shop of Horrors on February 23, 1998 as a Special Edition. This copy remained on shelves for just a few days before it was recalled, and later replaced with a revised version. This sudden removal didn't allow for many copies to be sold, making the film scarce.
Reissued DVD |
This in turn made the original version skyrocket in price, making it the first DVD to also increase in value on secondary markets. Soon, people were paying upwards of $100.00 to own Little Shop of Horrors. But, why? What happened to suddenly make the cult classic film the most valuable DVD in the world?
"Special Features" as noted on the back of both the original release and reissued DVD covers |
Even in its infancy, one of the lures to DVD was the inclusion of special features, and this is what it all came down to on this particular release. On the back side of the disc, where these extras were housed, there was a black and white alternate ending, which showed the entire original ending to the film. This was something, which to date, had never been shared outside of the film's initial test screenings. However, the problem all came down to rights and approvals, which belonged to, and were the discretion of Producer, David Geffen.
Geffen said, "They put out a black-and-white, un-scored, un-dubbed video copy of the original ending that looked like s**t." The studio was forced to remove the DVD from store shelves, and replace it with an alternate version which didn't include the special feature. As word spread, prices rose, and thus the first collectible DVD was born. To this day, the original version remains difficult to find. This, again, is because so few copies were sold during its brief time on shelves.
Prices have since subsided, mainly because the original ending was restored in full color, and included on the October 9, 2012 released Director's Cut. However, for those looking for a true "special edition", the original 1998 release may very well be the one and only source for fans to see the unaltered black and white print, which featured no sound effects, music ques, or special effects.
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As we sit down for our Thanksgiving meal, we take a moment to acknowledge and remember the O.G. of squatters, Christopher Columbus.
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Van Halen is credited for creating hair metal, and since 1976, many more bands have come and gone. Poison, Mötley Crüe, Warrant, White Lion, Bon Jovi, Winger, Ratt, this list goes on and on, and includes today's Retro Spin, Autograph!
Autograph is typically labeled a one hit wonder for their tune, Turn Up The Radio, which was featured as the lead single from their 1984 debut album, Sign In Please. Though they continued to release albums throughout the 80's, and through the new millennium, they've never been able to recapture that moment in time that was their biggest hit. It's because of this, while many would probably say they know Turn Up The Radio, they probably don't remember who the band was behind it.
As the album cranked up, I found myself intrigued with that classic 80's hair band sound. Hard rock, but not what I'd call metal. Picture heavy guitar licks, backed by gravely vocals, and a keyboard. AKA typical hair metal sound. It's familiar, comfortable, and agreeable for an 80's guy like myself.
While it was enjoyable to sit through the album, it was also somewhat forgettable. While Turn Up The Radio stood out among the ten tracks, nothing else really stood out as noteworthy. This in and of itself if the most disappointing aspect of the whole thing. Autograph have a good sound. They're just not able to use this to craft "hits". Again, it's not a bad album. It's just okay. Nothing to get excited about, but also not something that was painful to listen to.
I imagine this album would have made a great soundtrack to an 80's skiing or skateboarding movie. Something to go well with the young teens and their shenanigans, but also suitable to correlate with each scene, and / or respective character.
I don't know. I guess I really don't have much more of an opinion on this one. It certainly didn't leave me wanting to hear more from Autograph, but I also didn't want to turn it off. Especially after I started picturing a generic movie in my head for it to correlate to. It's an average album, and was worth the few bucks I paid for it.
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Nuka Cola Quantum
Jones Soda Co.
2015
When Fallout 4 was on the horizon of being released, Jones Soda Co. teamed up with Bethesda to released a limited batch of Nuka Cola Quantum. If being limited edition wasn't bad enough, Jones doubled down by making it a Target exclusive. This, of course, meant that few bottles made it to shelves, typically bought by employees who put them straight on ebay. The ones that did make it ot shelves were often bought by scalpers, who, as you probably guessed, also put them straight on ebay.
As prices of the drink immediately skyrocketed to $100.00 per bottle, most fans of the game simply gave up on getting an opportunity to try it. It was like Pepsi Perfect all over again!
For the few fans who did manage to get one of the bottles from retail, and crack it open, the general consensus was that the flavor was lacking. Many noted the berry lemonade drink tasting watered down, and chemically, and overall being overpriced, and underwhelming.
Despite this consensus this didn't stop collectors for wanting them.
Nuka Cola Victory
Jones Soda Co.
2024
Following the launch of the Amazon Prime television series, Jones returned to the world of Fallout, and released an all new limited drink, Nuka Cola Victory.
Unlike their prior entry, and despite being limited, Victory seemed a bit easier to come by. This was most likely aided by it not being exclusive to a specific store, as well as being sold directly on the brewer's website, in addition to retail stores.
This time, the soda boasted a peach mango flavor. However, and despite this, the reviews seemed to echo Quantum. Chemically was a word thrown around in various reviews, as well as artificial, underwhelming, and overpriced. On top of this, you also have the secondary market boom making a return as the scalpers gobble these up.
Once again, Jones seemed to fail in the flavor department, while also creating something that the fans would still buy anyway. While I personally own these two drinks, not being a soda drinker, I haven't tried them. As such, I can't say anything about the flavors themselves.
What I will say is that while they're unique pieces to add to one's Fallout collection, they're certainly generic in every sense of the word. I mean, let's be honest. These bottles don't replicate the look of a Nuka Cola from the game. It's just a standard bottle with a printed label on it. You could essentially make these at home, and have something just as impressive, if not better, and people have.
Nuka Cola
Getränkefeinkost
2010
An honorable mention goes to German brewer, Getränkefeinkost, who in 2010 released three different Nuka Cola flavors as a promotional counterpart to Fallout New Vegas. As word began spread, many people chalked these up to being unauthorized. With such a "weird" look to the Vault Boy, this was an easy assumption to make, but an incorrect one.
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Motown entered the 80's with the February release of Smokey Robinson's Warm Thoughts, but before the year would warp up, Michael Jackson, Rick James, Diana Ross, Teena Marie, DeBarge, Black Russian, and today's Retro Spin, Stevie Wonder. Now admittedly, I don't have all that much knowledge of this particular singer, nor his discography as a whole. In fact, I know so little about him, that I didn't even know about this album before stumbling upon his Top Forty hit, Master Blaster (Jammin'), while rummaging through said charts for tracks I had forgotten.
When I came across this one, I added the respective album, Hotter Than July, to my want list. However, something happened over the course of the next few days. It kept nagging on me that I needed this one sooner than later, and ended up purchasing much faster than I typically do most "new" albums added to my list.
The seller delivered it with little to no haste, and with it in hand, I jumped immediately into it. Also something I rarely do.
Well, if you've put two and two together, today I'm listening to Hotter Than July by Stevie Wonder.
While I wouldn't by any means call myself a fan of his music, something interesting happened when I fired up the disc. I found myself immediately invested, digging the title track, Did I Hear You Say You Love Me. This took off on a voyage of a lot of highs, and very little lows. I found myself enjoying, and adding quite a few tracks to my shuffle list.
If I had one complaint about the album, it was how several tracks just seemed to stop, and jump immediately into the next. Though intentional, it felt sloppy. Almost as if the CD was broken. It was jarringly abrupt.
Overall, this didn't impede my enjoyment, and like I said, I added quite a few new tracks to my shuffle. This lead me to one of my favorite things about Retro Spins, too look into other albums from the era from said artist. Doing so lead to another surprise. With this one now in my collection, I actually own Stevie Wonder's complete 80's discography. Neat!
And on that happy note, that wraps up this Retro Spins.
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