Friday 80s Flashback for July 25, 2014

The Teen Titans rendered in the style of The Breakfast Club by Cliff Chiang

[See You in the Funny Pages - Redux] -- I'm re-using a previous Flashback, because I am currently in the midst of heroes. Well, comic book, video game, TV and movie heroes. And several hundred people trying to dress like comic book, video game, TV, and movie heroes. If you want to feel like you're at SDCC with me, you can check out Mark Anderson's tutorial on how to draw Batman (but there is, however, no tutorial showing you how to autograph your drawing like one of the artists who actually work on the Batman comics ... sorry). You can also follow some of our adventures by checking out our little friend, Mocha (travelswithmocha.tumblr.com). This Flashback has something of a heroic theme. To find out what songs made the playlist this year, read and hear more after the break.

"Warhead" by Katrina Kuntsmann (at SDCC)

Found a cool indie comic called Warhead at SDCC yesterday. It's written and drawn by Katrina Kunstmann. She signed my copies of issues #1 and #2, and she drew a doodle of her title character for me. His name is Adam, and he has a nuclear bomb for a head. Find her in the Small Press section, or visit her online at http://warheadcomic.tumblr.com/!

Warhead (issues 1 and 2)

Adam enjoys a cuppa

Friday 80s Flashback for July 18, 2014

[No Age] -- SST Records was launched in 1978 as a punk label. Founded by Greg Ginn, the leader of and primary songwriter for Black Flag, SST had originally been an electronics company called Solid State Transmitters. He repurposed the company as a record label so he could independently release his band's material and distribute other musicians who couldn't get a major label deal or just didn't want to deal with the demands and loss of artistic control that would come with such a deal. From this humble beginning, Ginn built SST to become the most influential underground label of the 80s. The Minutemen, Hüsker Dü, the Meat Puppets, Soundgarden, and many others released seminal albums on SST. However, near the end of the 80s, Ginn's label acquired New Alliance Records and, after re-issuing some of their key releases on SST, he redirected New Alliance to focus on experimental jazz, unusual rock, and spoken word performances. This activity, along with the overall diminishing of SST's roster, really took the glow off SST for many of their fans. In the midst of this, in 1987, SST released the compilation album, No Age. No Age is a double LP set clocking in at a little over an hour. Notably, it's a collection of avant-garde (for the time) instrumental music. This is notable because, although SST had started delving into jazz releases, all the bands on this compilation hail from SST's staple of punk and underground rock artists.

To give you a taste of this unusual release, which remains one of my favorite compilations, I have selected three tunes and created a playlist on my SoundClound account. This playlist has the following songs:

1. "Let's Go Places and Eat Things" by Scott Colby (from his 1987 solo release, Slide of Hand, an incredible showpiece of slide guitar virtuosity)
   
2. "March of the Melted Army Men" by Lawndale (which later appeared on their own LP, Sasquatch Rock, a dazzling collection of surf guitar tinged alt rock)
   
3. Over The Counter Culture by Alter-Natives, a flute and sax driven quartet keen on improv. 

The songs are embedded in a player below. Enjoy!

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Once again, I remind you that the rule of three applies when doing Flashbacks. As I've made my three offerings, that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the archives. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.

And if you are on Twitter, and feel so inclined, please +K my influence in Music on @klout.

I'll see you in seven!

There is a Calm ...

There is a calm before the storm.

There is a calm after the storm.

The only difference between 

these two states and the state 

of your mind during a storm

is YOUR MIND.

Words and image ©BSW

Friday 80s Flashback for July 4, 2014

80s Boombox via Zazzle

[Red, White, and Bruised ... er, Blue!] -- Once in a while, the Fourth of July lands on a Friday. When that occurs, many of us in the States are given a three-day weekend to celebrate a unique event: when 13 scrappy, English colonies engaged in an act of civil disobedience. Well, it was actually an act of treason. And it was committed by writing a sternly worded letter to King George III, who wouldn't receive his copy until August 30, 1776. Now, I don't know what the Founding Fathers would make of this week's playlist. But there will be plenty of serious fare discussing the events of 1776 on the web, radio, and television. So on the Flashback, we're gong to cut loose and have some fun. If you're ready to celebrate with me in 80s rock style, then read and hear more after the break. We'll enjoy a few tracks that somehow have a little red, white, or blue associated with them.

The (Lego) Battle for Multicultural Heroes

Tony (@Crazy4ComicCon) tweeted my submission to his Comic-Con Panel Design Contest. Here it is!

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Tony B Kim‏@Crazy4ComicCon

Everything is awesome! Great sub by @brainwise @ArkhamAsylumDoc @VampyBitme @BlackNerd http://bit.ly/1l32vgD  #SDCC pic.twitter.com/NpSxMdscht

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1:04 PM - 3 Jul 2014