Lost Hits of the New Wave #33

The "Quincy" Punk Rock Episode

Back in the day you knew when a trend hit prime time drama, it was over, so over. You knew Satanism was over when "Starsky and Hutch" had to deal with it, and when they did their disco episode... it was clear disco was dead. And then there's the infamous "Quincy" punk rock episode.

"Next Stop Nowhere" first aired on Sunday night, December 1, 1982, in the eighth and final season of "Quincy M.E." I never really watched the show but caught the faux punk band Mayhem as I was popping through channels (there were only a few if them in those pre-cable days). The point of the show was star Jack Klugman fighting against this music that not only promoted violence, but also killed!

Now the silliness of this episode has been skewered and beaten to death by many better than me, like Opie and Anthony (when they were still called Opie and Anthony, that is), so I won't go into that, but there is one more memory of the episode.

The same night it aired, the deejay on WXPN's Yesterday's Now Music Today had taped the two Mayhem songs from the TV, and played them on the show that night. I think that left more of a memory than the episode itself.

The Dumpsta Players Present "Discotastrophe!"

The Dumpsta Players Present "DISCOTASTROPHE!"

The Date: Wednesday, FEBRUARY 19, 2014
The Time: Doors open at 10 PM, showtime is 11 PM sharp! 21+ $1.99 cover!
The Place: Bob and Barbara's, 1509 South Street, Philadelphia PA, For info: 215-545-4511

DRESS AS YOUR FAV DISCO "LE FREAK"… GENERAL HOSPITAL'S LUKE AND LAURA… BEEGEES VS. ANDY GIBB!

Nothing defines the disco era quite like drama, drugs and divas! Swirling, twirling and whirling, one might encounter Liza or Jagger at Studio 69 bumping a boogie while Sylvester werked her booty under a mirror ball!

Join us as we hustle through thirty minutes of feathered hair, polyester, tube tops, fashion no-no's, questionable hookups and glitterama! But beware when Andy Gibb does one too many party favors...

Break a heel, feather your hair, but don't snort coke in the Ladies Room or you'll create a… "DISCOTASTROPHE!"

A portion of proceeds from this event benefit Gaudenzia House.

Gaudenzia helps people affected by chemical dependency, mental illness and related conditions to achieve a better quality of life -- allowing them to live as productive and accountable individuals.

Check out The Dumpsta Players on Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and on their own website.

Thank God It's Friday

Thank God It's Friday ~ This movie is a long forgotten entry from the disco age, barely a footnote today, but when I was a teenager and it premiered, it was huge. For a week or so, before vanishing into the vortex of 'the next big thing.'

Thank God It's Friday was being touted as the next Saturday Night Fever, and it featured Donna Summer singing "Last Dance." The ads made it out to be funny, cool, and it had so much great new music. In other words, the flick had the same hype machine as other masterpieces like Corvette Summer and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

I was at an age where I couldn't see movies. My friends didn't drive yet, I didn't have my own money, and there was no way my parents would take me. All of the above mentioned films I never saw until they made their way, edited for content, to network television. As badly as I wanted to see this, I had to live vicariously through the music, and the friends whose parents did let them see it. Notably, those friends weren't impressed.

What might have been risqué then with a PG rating is a bit lame now, and rewatching this seems more like an extended episode of "The Love Boat" on land. The movie chronicles several vignettes at a night at an exclusive Los Angeles disco, then called Zoo. It is very reminiscent of Cannonball Run meets It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, set to disco music with less laughs, and stars.

While not really the stars at the time, look for Jeff Goldblum, Debra Winger, as well as Paul Jabara, and of course, Donna Summer, Lionel Ritchie and the Commodores. Valerie Landsburg, Doris from "Fame," figures prominently, and don't miss Otis Day, and the pre-Berlin Terri Nunn. The cast, both major and minor is filled out by character actors and others who have faded into obscurity.


The movie is pretty predictable, and has been called the worst movie to ever win an Academy Award, for best original song (for Summer's "Last Dance"). Worth watching, but don't expect much, even if you have nostalgia for this one.

Dumpstas Return Tonight!

The Dumpsta Players Present… "Star Whorez!"

MR. ROBOTO VS. EMPRESS AVIARA! TRELENA 12 SEEKS SANCTUARY! BOOTY JAIL ON DISCO PLANET CARILLON!

Tonight, Wednesday, July 17th, doors open at 10 PM, show time is 11 PM sharp!
…at Bob and Barbara's, 1509 South Street, Philadelphia PA. 215-545-4511
$1.99 to get in, must be age 21 and up!

www.dumpstaplayers.org

Last day, Capricorn 15s, year of the city, 2274, in a galaxy far, far away… hapless Trelena 12 obsesses about uninterested drug smuggling hunk, Starbuck 6. Her foolish attention is lost on him as he has his eyes on Trelena 12’s BFF, Tatiana 8.

Just as Starbuck 6 leaves on a secret mission, mechanical evildoer, Mr. Roboto and his fembot cohorts, R2FU and C3PU, seek the unloved heart and innocence of Trelena 12 for power and galactic domination. Trelena 12 must dodge nefarious attacks while seeking wisdom from Exstacia the Enchanter and Empress Aviara.

But what kinds of trouble await Trelena 12 on the disco planet of Carillon? Will she be sent to Booty Jail or fed to the daggets for being a socialator? And who is behind a deadly attack of meteor showers?

Destroy your life crystal, prepare to energize but beware of mouth sores in - “STAR WHOREZ”!

A portion of proceeds from this event benefit InLiquid.org, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to creating opportunities and exposure for visual artists.

You can also check out The Dumpsta Players on YouTube and Facebook, as well as on PhillyCAM television.

First Six from the Second Eurovision Semi-Finals

Serbia: "Nije Ljubav Stvar" by Željko Joksimović



F.Y.R. Macedonia: "Crno I Belo" by Kaliopi



Zzzzzzzzzzzz...

The Netherlands: "You and Me" by Joan Franka



I'm really not sure what American Indian feather headdress symbolizes in The Netherlands, but Joan Franka is certainly a frontrunner in my mind.

Malta: "This Is the Night" by Kurt Calleja



This kinda reminds me of bad 1990s disco, and I kept expecting to get Rick-rolled. It's catchy though, and very Eurovision.

Belarus: "We Are the Heroes" by Litesound



Ditto. Pretty too, just not sure about the Power Rangers costumes.

Portugal: "Vida Minha" by Filipa Sousa



The Second Semi-Final takes place on May 24th in Baku.

Donna Summer 1948-2012

We've lost far too many folks this year already, and this morning, we lost the Queen of Disco, Donna Summer, this morning after a private battle with cancer. She was 63.

The multi-award-winning singer, also known for her stage, television and film work, came to prominence in the disco era, becoming the so-called queen of the genre. Her songs were the anthem of a generation. Songs like "Last Dance," "I Feel Love," "Hot Stuff," "Bad Girls," and "Love to Love You Baby" are the stuff of musical legend.

In my early teens at the height of her rein I remember listening to my brother's 8-track of her greatest hits "On the Radio," and still have favorites from that album. I also remember Dick Clark, another recent loss, letting her host an episode of "American Bandstand. I remember hearing about her character and subplot in Thank God It's Friday even though I wasn't allowed to see that flick in the theater. I also remember her comeback in the music video age with "She Works Hard for the Money."

Summer continued to perform until recently, despite being out of the public eye in America, she always charted in Europe over the years and toured frequently. The last time I saw her was when she performed with Prince Poppycock on "America's Got Talent" a couple years ago. She was just as fabulous as she had been in the seventies.

We have lost another legend. Donna Summer will be missed.

Lost Hits of the New Wave #7

"Stop This Game" by Cheap Trick



The above video is from an old Italian music TV show. The song, from the 1980 album All Shook Up. Like with Alice Cooper and "Clones (We're All)," this represented a marked change in the traditional Cheap Trick sound, aping the now more popular New Wave sound.

The song and the album were enough to put off the fans who had made Cheap Trick rock gods with their Live at Budokan album. Personnel changes kept the band from putting out a complete album for too long, and the Budokan heat had cooled. The fans were divided, rockers thought they were pop, and poppers thought they were rock, and in the end, they were screwed.

That wasn't all that led to Cheap Trick's downfall. Some say it was the Beatles curse, after Budokan they were dubbed the new Beatles, especially in Japan. That usually kills a band. It didn't help that Cheap Trick themselves were huge Beatles fans, doing various covers like "Daytripper," "Magical Mystery Tour" and even a mash-up with John Lennon of his "I'm Losing You."

And then there were the plagiarism claims. Listen to their early 1980s pop ballad "The Flame" next to Spirit's "Nature's Way" if you don't believe me. Even the above tune, "Stop This Game," borrows a few rifts from KISS' foray into disco and new wave, "I Was Born for Lovin' You."

Now, I don't mean to bag on Cheap Trick. I still have a place in my heart for them. This song, as well as "Reach Out" from the Heavy Metal soundtrack, and "On Top of the World" from the classic 1978 album Heaven Tonight are among my favorite guilty pleasures.