Throw on your backpacksand head over to the first day of school as we take you back to the 90s! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...
Artist: Leaders of The New School
Song: Case of the P.T.A. Album: A Future Without A Past (1991) Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: N/A
Bonus Fun Fact: This song was the first single dropped by Leaders of The New School and peaked at #4 on Billboard's "Hot Rap Singles Chart" in 1991.
80's Day was something I started a few years ago to show my kids how cool the decade was. I share some of my favorite 80's music, movies, video games and food with them and they seem to really enjoy it! Typically we head out and take part in some activities that I liked as a kid, but of course this year we had to make some changes and I think we were able to pull it off and everyone seemed to have a good time. Here's what we did!
We started the day as most kids in the 80s did, eating cereal in front of the TV while watching cartoons! My son chose The Legend of Zelda, my daughters chose Gummi Bears & Muppet Babies and my wife chose Jem! My choice for the morning led to some head scratching as the kids and even my wife had never heard of the BIONIC 6! After all was said and done, I don't think I created any new fans to the sci-fi super hero series. If you haven't seen this cartoon for yourself check out the episode below. You may not like the show, but I think we can all agree that Bionic 6 has one of the best intro songs of the decade!
After cartoons it was time to throw on some of our best 80s licensed character t-shirts, so we could go out and hit the town!
My kids had on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Wars and Legend of Zelda. I chose to wear my Thundercats shirt and my wife had her My Little Pony shirt on. Looking good and ready for some adventure!
We hopped in the van and the soundtrack for the day would be some old school DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince and the soundtrack from Ghostbusters II!
Our first stop was the local comic shop. I picked up a few Spider-Man, Batman and Ninja Turtles comics and let the kids each pick out a book. Their picks included Care Bears, My Little Pony and Duck Tales. It had been a while since I had taken them to the comic shop and they had fun perusing the shelves and looking for something new to read. Coincidentally, all of the books they picked were 80s related!
After the comic shop, we had to make a quick stop at Target which was within walking distance. Of course since we were there I checked the store for any NECA Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures I could find and as usual I struck out! The main reason we went to Target was to pick up a classic movie for the night's main feature! Also checked for some My Little Pony CCG cards for my youngest daughter and bought a new soccer ball.
After all that shopping, the kids were hungry. What better place to stop than McDonalds. Growing up, they had some of the best Happy Meal toys like Fraggle Rock, Muppet Babies, Garfield and Berenstain Bears. This time around the Happy Meals featured plush toys from Disney/Pixar movies. Each kid got the main character from the new movie "Soul" and I got a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal. I just wish they still had that old school Orange Drink. It tasted so good, but for some reason always made my throat feel weird afterwards.
With all that delicious food in our bodies, it was decided that we needed to work some of it off. I pumped up the tires in our bikes and we rode to the kids' school for some RAD action! My son was riding like crazy and he rode around the school for a good hour.
The girls and I took a break from riding and shot some hoops in an epic game of H-O-R-S-E! Trick shots were aplenty, but somehow I edged out a win over my 8 & 11 year old kids. We drank some water, ate some fruit snacks and headed on our journey home.
It was almost 100 degrees out, so that bike ride really wore us out! What better way to cool off than with a Klondike bar? My kids loved them! I could have sworn we had these before, but they said they had never had them. As a kid, we never had the name brand Klondike bars, but it was always AWESOME when my Dad brought us home some knock-off "Polar Bars" from the A&P supermarket! Anyone else ever have these growing up?
We finally went inside and got away from the heat and the kids insisted we play some retro video games. Who was I to argue with them? We played many NES classics like Super Mario Bros. 2, Bubble Bobble, Contra and Adventure Island.
By the time we wrapped up our retro gaming session, it was time for dinner. The kids and I wanted pizza, but from where? The most 80s of all pizza establishments of course...PIZZA HUT! I loved our local pizza hut back in the 80s. It had a Rygar arcade cabinet and a juke box loaded with all the hits like "Burning Down The House" by The Talking Heads! Too bad this Pizza Hut didn't have any of that, but at least we got what we wanted.
Stuffed Crust Pizza loaded with pepperoni! We dished up and got ready to watch the night's main feature film. A film beloved by millions and never seen by my kids, a film called E.T.
This was the original cut, not the revised anniversary edition. I was surprised that Target had this for only $5. I swore that E.T. was on Netflix, but when I looked that morning it was no longer there which prompted our trip to Target to purchase the film. It had been decades since I had seen the movie and I was surprised at how little of it I remembered. It was almost like watching it for the first time. My kids enjoyed it and it was time for bed. Overall a pretty successful 80s day was enjoyed by all. Hopefully next year we can make it bigger and better!
This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
Batman: Three Jokers #1
written by GEOFF JOHNS art by JASON FABOK cover by JASON FABOK variant cover by JASON FABOK
Thirty years after Batman: The Killing Joke changed comics forever, Three Jokers reexamines the myth of who, or what, The Joker is and what is at the heart of his eternal battle with Batman. New York Times bestselling writer Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok, the writer/artist team that waged the “Darkseid War” in the pages of Justice League, reunite to tell the ultimate story of Batman and The Joker! After years of anticipation starting in DC Universe: Rebirth #1, the epic miniseries you’ve been waiting for is here: find out why there are three Jokers, and what that means for the Dark Knight and the Clown Prince of Crime. It’s a mystery unlike any Batman has ever faced!
Throw on your jump suit and head over to the gym to dip as we take you back to the 90s! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...
Artist: Freak Nasty
Song: Da' Dip Album: Controversee... (1996) Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 15
Bonus Fun Fact: This song took almost a year to reach it's peak on the Billboard charts in 1997 and was certified platinum the same year.
On vacation this week with the fam! I wish I could say we are doing something epic, but due to certain circumstances we will just be doing some local things like hiking, going to the zoo and a mini road trip. Oh, and we will also be throwing a Ring Pop Party and celebrating 80's Day 2020! Hope your summer is going well and everyone has gotten out to do at least one fun thing! Now, it's time to sit back and unwind! In case you may be asking "What's a Ring Pop Party?" It's something my kids saw in a commercial and they want to recreate in our backyard. See the below video for reference!
This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
MAESTRO #1
(W) Peter David (A) German Peralta (A/CA) Dale Keown
THE STORY YOU'VE WAITED DECADES FOR: THE ORIGIN OF MAESTRO!
Almost 30 years after the landmark story Future Imperfect, legendary INCREDIBLE HULK scribe Peter David returns to the far-future version of the Hulk known as Maestro - the master of what remains of the world. With astounding art from HULK veteran Dale Keown and up-and-comer Germán Peralta, Maestro will answer questions that have haunted Hulk fans for years - and inspire some new ones. How did the world fall and the Maestro rise? What happened to the world's heroes in between? And where is the Hulk we know and love? Find out here!
Throw on your shades and head over to the bank for some loot as we take you back to the 90s! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...
Artist: Tony! Toni! Tone!
Song: If I Had No Loot Album: Sons Of Soul (1993) Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 7
Bonus Fun Fact: This song contains a vocal sample from the Boogie Down Productions song "Remix For P Is Free".
Ah, the Summer of 1993! I had just finished up 6th grade and was a few months away from my 13th birthday. Sports had become my life, especially basketball, the weather was crazy hot and Janet Jackson was topping the charts with her song "That's The Way Love Goes".
Me and my Dad didn't really spend too much time together unless it was sports related. He worked in the day and most evenings I was off doing something stupid with my friends. Our paths rarely crossed, but one major pop culture phenomenon put an end to all that in June of 1993.
The movie Jurassic Park was unleashed on the world and my Dad, being the sci-fi fan that he is, decided he was going to take me to see this movie in the theater. Not me, my 2 brothers, my 2 sisters and my Mom, just me and him. This was so unusual, that it shocked me at first, but then it became clear that he wanted to connect with me. Maybe it was because I was about to become a teenager or maybe it was just to get to know each other. Anyway, he made this trip a pretty big deal.
We stopped at a local comic shop and picked up some of the newest issues of the Superman comics. This was a huge time for the series as Superman had just recently been killed by Doomsday, his friends had a funeral for him and now 4 new Supermen were being introduced! AMAZING! I gotta say, my favorite of the 4 was John Henry Irons aka Steel.
While there, I also remember picking up a few packs of the 1992 Skybox Dream Team cards. Me and my brother were trying to complete a second set and all we needed was one dang Charles Barkley card to do so! It didn't happen from these packs, but many years later I just gave up the pack chase and purchased the card off ebay. Now me and my brother own a set of these cards.
After this surprise trip to the comic shop, we eventually made it to the theater and saw the blockbuster movie of the summer, Jurassic Park! It was mind blowing! The action was fast, the special effects were fantastic and the story was entertaining. After the credits rolled the entire audience applauded and so did I. It was the first and only time I experienced that in a movie theater.
Since experiencing this cinematic miracle, there was much discussing that needed to be done. Where else better to do that than at my favorite restaurant, McDonalds. Not only was this my pick for place to eat, but they were also waist deep in their own Jurassic Park promotional campaign!
We both "Dino-Sized" our meals and had some great one-on-one time between father and son. Not sure what we talked about, but I'm sure it was great. We walked away with 2 Jurassic Park cups. I know I got the Dilophosaurus and I think my dad got the Raptor cup.
It would be a long time before me and my Dad did anything like that again, but anytime I drank out of that JP cup, it brought back some great memories from that one cool Summer day in June of 1993!
This week the comic book I am most excited to read is...
VENOM #27
(W) Donny Cates (A) Juan Gedeon (CA) Ryan Stegman
When a new and dangerous foe erupts into Eddie Brock's life, it threatens to rip away everything Eddie holds dear. His son, his symbiote, even himself - EVERYTHING Eddie Brock loves is in jeopardy!
Throw on your Black Hoodies and head over to the barbershop for a baldie as we take you back to the 90s! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...
Artist: ONYX
Song: Slam Album: Bacdafucup (1993) Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 4
Bonus Fun Fact: This song was produced by the late Jam Master Jay of RUN DMC fame and was the last song recorded for the album. In 2013 the song was re-recorded by ONYX for the compilation album "Urban Classics of the 80's, 90's & 2000's". This song was listed as the #1 "Best Hip-hop workout song" in 2016 by XXL Magazine.
Last week myself and my wife decided that we would take the kids to the local drive-in theater to see Ghostbusters! My wife had a night off from work and we were ready to go...except the weather did not want to cooperate. It rained like crazy and we missed the opportunity to go. Upon checking the movie lineup the next week, we discovered The Karate Kid and The Goonies were playing! We had to go! The Goonies is one of my favorite, if not my favorite movie of all time.
You see, our family was planning on taking a trip to Astoria, Oregon this summer so we could see some of the sites from The Goonies in person. These would include Haystack Rock, Clatsop County Jail, the Walsh house, the Oregon Film Museum & Cannon Beach to name a few. Of course those plans were cancelled due to COVID-19, so getting to see The Goonies on the big screen for the first time in my life was a small but fantastic consolation.
It really brought back great memories for me and watching my kids laugh and enjoy the movie truly made me appreciate this film on another level. I can still remember seeing the commercial for this movie on TV when it was released in theaters all the way back in the golden age of 1985. I was five years old and saw these kids on an adventure that seemed like nothing I had ever witnessed before. The images of them sliding down the water slides was burned into my head.
My family rarely went to the movies at that time. There were 7 of us, so my parents probably had to take out a short term loan to take us. Therefore I never was able to view The Goonies on the big screen. It wasn't until 1986 when The Goonies was released on VHS that I would finally see it! My neighbor's grandma got him a copy and we watched it at his house. To this day, I swear the part with the octopus was included on this video!
Anyway after seeing this movie, I was immediately in love with it! Data was my favorite character and I even tried to create my own gadgets just like him. I use the word "gadgets" loosely because they included taking a piece of screen from a screen door and attaching it to the front of my bike as a bug catcher and putting a piece of twine that was used to wrap our Christmas tree up for transit up my sleeve so if anyone tried to kidnap me, I could eject it and tie up the would be bad guys. Not the most inventive, but still this movie captured my imagination in ways no other movie had before. The only thing that really stunk was that the movie I loved so much never had a toy line come out, but we did have The Goonies II video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System!
Finally, I was able to take on the roll of The Goonies in an attempt to defeat the Fratelli family and save...A MERMAID! Yup, you take the lead as Mikey and you need to save your Goonie pals from the clutches of Jake, Francis and Ma Fratelli by using weapons like yo-yos, slingshots and boomerangs before finally releasing the mermaid Annie from her watery prison!
This actually wasn't that bad of a game. Was it great, no. But it was entertaining and fulfilled my cravings for more Goonies for a little while. It would be many years before we saw the next big Goonies merchandise release.
It was 2007 when Mezco Toys released a line of The Goonies action figures. Sadly to say these came out at a time that I did not have the disposable income available to use on toys. Now if you check ebay you can't find a single carded or loose figure for under $50 each!
Luckily in 2014 Funko released a line of The Goonies ReAction figures. I really love these figures, because I feel that this is what we should have gotten back in the 80s if a line of toys was created. They just have the look and feel of a line created during my childhood. Our local Barnes & Noble had them on sale for around $8 each and I bought one of every character and they are fantastic! That takes us back to present day. I will always cherish these memories and am thankful for everyone who worked on this movie and brought it into my life. Maybe next year myself and my family can finally embark on our own Goonie adventure. Until then, at least we have Cyndi Lauper's song "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" to rock out to! ENJOY and always remember "Goonies Never Say Die"!
This week the comic book I am most excited to read is... ALIEN: ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY #1 (W) Cristiano Seixas (A/CA) Guilherme Balbi En route to back to Earth, the crew of the starship Snark intercepts an alien transmission. Their investigation leads them to a desolate planetoid, a crashed alien spacecraft, and a pyramidic structure of unknown origin. Then the terror begins . . .Just in time for Alien Day (April 26, 2020) Adapted from the original 1976 screenplay by Dan O'Bannon (author of Moebius's The Long Tomorrow, cowriter of Total Recall, writer/director of The Return of the Living Dead). Variant covers by Walter Simonson! SRP: $3.99 Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com
Throw on your gold chains & Adidas and head over to Hollis, Queens as we take you back! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK...
Artist: RUN DMC
Song: Pause Album: Back From Hell (1989) Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: N/A
Bonus Fun Fact: This song peaked at #11 on the Billboard "Hot Rap Singles" chart and the B-side of the single included RUN DMC's song "Ghostbusters" from the Ghostbusters II soundtrack.
