Comic Book Pick 3/31/21

  The comic book I am most excited to read this week is...
BETA RAY BILL #1

(W) Daniel Warren Johnson (A) Daniel Warren Johnson (CA) Chase Conley
FROM THE PAGES OF DONNY CATES' THOR AND SPINNING OUT OF THE EVENTS OF KING IN BLACK!
The second-most famous wielder of Mjolnir. The right-hand man to the god of Thunder. And now, a warrior without his best weapon. Beta Ray Bill is tired of playing second fiddle to Thor - and with Bill's famous hammer, Stormbreaker, recently destroyed at the new All-Father's hands, tensions are higher than ever. The Korbinite must strike out in search of a new weapon...and a new destiny. Assuming he can first defeat a Knullified Fin Fang Foom! Writer/artist Daniel Warren Johnson (Extremity, Murder Falcon) and colorist Mike Spicer take Beta Ray Bill on a journey beyond the shadow of a god! Plus: This oversize first issue contains an exclusive conversation between Johnson and Beta Ray Bill's creator, the legendary Walter Simonson!
SRP: $4.99
Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com 

Throwback Jam of the Week: 3/29/21

 Throw on your dopest oversized white suit and dance until the mornin' light as we take you back to the 80's! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!!

Artist: DeBarge
Song: Rhythm Of The Night
Album: Rhythm Of The Night (1985)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 3
Bonus Fun Fact: This song was featured on the soundtrack for the films "The Last Dragon" in 1985 and "Ghostbusters: Answer The Call" in 2016!

Whatever Happened To Lisa Lisa?

This week I posted Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam's classic "Lost In Emotion" to this site as the 20 years Before 2000 Jam of the week! I was a big fan of Lisa Lisa back in the day. I remember when "Head To Toe" would come on the radio while me and my siblings were doing our Saturday chores around the house. I would rock out and be jumping off the furniture while I listened to the sultry sound of Lisa Lisa's voice and the dynamic grooves of Cult Jam. This all got me wondering...Whatever Happened To Lisa Lisa?

Before we get to that, let's take a quick look at how Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam became stars in the 80's & 90's music scene. Cult Jam was brought together in the early 80's by Producers/Actors/Singers Full Force of House Party fame. The group consisted of Lisa Lisa Velez, Alex Moseley (guitar/bass) and Mike Hughes (drums/keyboard). Their debut single "I Wonder If I Take You Home" was released in 1983 to Europe without much fanfare. 

It wasn't until almost a year later that the single would see some club play in the US and the popularity grew. This lead to the full length album "Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force" being released in 1985. The album featured the Top 40 hits "Can You Feel The Beat" and "All Cried Out". The album eventually went platinum.

The follow up album "Spanish Fly" was released in 1987 and was the peak of the group's success. This album contained the #1 chart topping hits "Lost In Emotion" and my favorite of their songs, "Head To Toe". This album also went platinum.

Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam would release 2 more albums, 1989's "Straight To The Sky" and 1991's "Straight Outta Hell's Kitchen" which would be the group's final album as they disbanded later that year. So whatever happened to Lisa Lisa after the split? Let's find out!

Like most singers, after her group broke up Lisa Lisa went solo and released her first album "LL77" in 1994. This album included the singles "When I Fell In Love" and "Skip To My Lu". She followed up that effort almost 15 years later with the release of the full length album "Life 'n Love". The notable single from that album would be "Can't Wait" which featured rapper Pitbull. 

These albums failed to reach the levels of success Lisa Lisa had with Cult Jam, but in between projects she discovered another talent...acting!

Lisa Lisa took on a recurring role as Gloria Elana Morales in the Nickelodeon show "Taina". Lisa's character was the mother of the title character. The show lasted 26 episodes over 2 seasons. The show did win an ALMA (American Latino Media Arts) Award in 2002 for "Outstanding Children's Television Programming". In 2003, Lisa Lisa appeared on an episode of "Law & Order" as Lucy Mireles in the episode "Smoke".

Last I heard Lisa Lisa had started her own footwear line and had signed with Snoop Dogg's Entertainment Company "Uncle Snoop's Army". Before COVID, she was still touring with other singers from the era and hopefully afterward we will see her hit the stage again! I would love to see her perform live!!!

If you want more info on Lisa Lisa check her out on Facebook or on her website at TheRealLisaLisa.com!

Comic Book Pick 3/24/21

 The comic book I am most excited to read this week is...

HARLEY QUINN #1

(W) Stephanie Nicole Phillips (A) Riley Rossmo

Ahem! You better read this closely, ’cause we’ve got a red-hot relaunch on our hands here—and I should know! Harley Quinn here to let everyone know that I got a brand-new monthly series here with a brand-new status quo. I’m coming back to Gotham City to make up for the sins of my past and help the city recover from “The Joker War”! But there’s no welcoming committee waiting for me, your favorite Maid of Mischief! And between you and me, some real creeps are working to keep the city broken. We can’t let that happen, can we? Rising-star writer Stephanie Phillips, my new partner in crime, takes me into a bold new era with her partner in artistic crime Riley Rossmo, who I gotta say designed a real nice new costume for me. You’re not gonna wanna miss this one, folks!

SRP: $3.99

Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com 

Throwback Jam of the Week: 3/22/21

Throw on your largest earrings and head to the carnival as we take you back to the 80's! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!!

Artist: Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
Song: Lost In Emotion
Album: Spanish Fly (1987)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 1
Bonus Fun Fact: This song not only made it to #1 on the "Billboard Hot 100" chart, but also made it to the top on the "Billboard Hot Black Singles" and "US Hot Crossover 30" charts in '87!

10 Interesting Fact About Bill & Ted

This past Sunday was kind of overcast and cold where I lived, so my 8 year old daughter suggested that we have a triple feature of Bill & Ted movies! We had already seen them before, but we hadn't watched "Face The Music" since it came out this past summer at the drive in. Watching these movies back to back to back was really fun and everyone had a most EXCELLENT time, but after the movies, I found myself digging online about the history of these films and discovered some sweet trivial tidbits that I would like to share with you most triumphant readers. I was gonna do 69, but that would be too many, so here are 10 facts about Bill & Ted!!!

1. The original phone booth from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure was given away as a prize in a Nintendo Power Magazine! The magazine hosted a contest to help promote the arrival of the "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" video game by LJN. The winner was Kenneth Grayson. He had the booth installed in his room and Nintendo Power paid to have the booth installed with a working phone! They even paid the family's phone bill for an entire year! Truly a most excellent prize! I wonder where it is now?

2. The original idea for Bill & Ted came from a 1983 UCLA improv class where Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson played Bill & Ted, who were 2 high school students who knew nothing about history. Even though they knew nothing about history, that didn't stop them from attempting to talk about it with their friend Bob. Thankfully for us, the person who played Bob lost interest in the skit and we were left with the dynamic duo of Bill & Ted!

3. Bill & Ted's creators, Ed Solomon & Chris Matheson have cameos in each Bill & Ted movie. In "Excellent Adventure" they are the Ziggy Piggy guys, in "Bogus Journey" they are Missy's friends at her séance and in "Face The Music" they are demons in Hell! 

4. Clarence Clemons from Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band was one of the 3 Most Important People In The World in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure! He also acted on television on the shows Diff'rent Strokes, Jake and the Fatman and the Simpsons! Unfortunately this world class saxophonist & Rock and Roll Hall of Famer passed away in 2011 due to complications from a stroke.

5. Bill & Ted had a 1990 cartoon that brought back Alex Winter (Bill), Keanu Reeves (Ted) & George Carlin (Rufus) for the first 13 episode season! In 1991 the second season of the series changed production companies and voice actors & lasted only 8 episodes before being cancelled. The voice actor change was due to a new Bill & Ted live action show being produced by FOX. The creators of the show thought it would make sense to put the tv actors in the roll as Bill & Ted for continuity between the programs.

6. Bill & Ted had their own short lived live action TV show! In 1992 someone at FOX thought it would be a good idea to create a show based on a beloved movie. They would replace the actors and keep the budget low. This mostly despised program ran for 7 episodes and 1 unaired pilot. As a plus, the show did have Diedrich Bader in an episode and Lisa Wilcox of "Nightmare On Elm Street 4" fame played Missy!

7. Joss Ackland told the BBC he regretted being in "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" and said he only performed the role of De Nomolos because of a bet. Makes me wonder what he did to be in that strange Pet Shop Boys video for "Always On My Mind"? Extra Trivia: De Nomolos is producer Ed Solomon's name backwards!

8. The Princesses were played by different actresses in each of the Bill & Ted movies. In Excellent Adventure they were played by Kimberley LaBelle & Diane Franklin, in Bogus Journey by Sarah Trigger & Anette Azcuy and in Face The Music by Jayma Mays & Erinn Hayes.

9. "God Gave Rock And Roll To You II" by KISS was a reworked cover of the song "God Gave Rock And Roll To You" released by Brittish band Argent in 1973! The KISS version was released as a single from the "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" soundtrack in 1991 and was included on KISS's 1992 album "Revenge".

10. Bill & Ted have had several comic book series based on their adventures like "Bill & Ted Go To Hell", "Bill & Ted Save the World" and most recently "Bill & Ted Are Doomed" from Dark Horse comics. Their first official comic book appearance was in the Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure adaptation from DC comics in 1989! Now that we know all that, go learn how to turn George Washington's head into a mushroom.

I hope you enjoyed this little peak into some of the lesser known corners of the Bill & Ted Universe. Below you can see Keanu Reeves & Alex Winter in their audition for Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Remember to be excellent to each other and ...PARTY ON DUDES!!!!

Comic Book Pick 3/17/21

The comic book I am most excited to read this week is...
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #115

(W) Sophie Campbell (A/CA) Sophie Campbell

It's the biggest battle of the year as Bebop and Rocksteady take on Tokka and Rahzar! Meanwhile, Jennika needs to finish forming her band if the future is to be saved. Who she picks as lead singer will surprise you!

SRP: $3.99

Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com 

Throwback Jam of the Week: 3/15/21

Throw on your Funky Vest & Tie combo, and head to Waco, TX as we take you back to the 90's! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!

Artist: Hi-Five
Song: She's Playing Hard To Get
Album: Keep It Going On (1992)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 5
Bonus Fun Fact: The album "Keep It Going On" would reach #9 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and was certified Gold with sales of over 500,000 albums by the RIAA.

DJ Jazzy Jeff

The year was 1988 and I was at my friend Corey's birthday party. His Mom had taken about 10 of us to Bushkill Falls in PA for some outdoor fun. After a hike we were then taken out for pizza and some roller skating at Bushkill Park!

As us rowdy 7-10 year olds were racing around the track a song came over the speakers in the roller rink. It was a song I had never heard before! It had a cool beat, high energy and lyrics talking about Freddy Krueger! I had to know what it was. I asked one of my friends and he said "Nightmare On My Street". From that point I was hooked on the catchy rhymes of Fresh Prince and the amazing cuts of DJ Jazzy Jeff!

I bought all their albums from "Rock The House" to "Code Red" and even got in a fight with my buddy Little Joe when he told me that Fresh Prince sucked! Well, we all know what happened to Fresh Prince aka Will Smith after his rapping days with Jazzy Jeff were over, but what became of Jazzy Jeff?

He had some great appearances on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" TV show and was a video game character in DJ Hero, but did you know he has released some great hip-hop albums and produced songs for some amazing artists? He has worked with everyone from Bart Simpson (Deep, Deep Trouble) to Eminem (When To Stand Up) and Jeff is still writing, producing and cutting up records with the best of them today! Like any good DJ, a good percentage of DJ Jazzy Jeff's releases are mixtapes, but he has put out a few records with original content. No matter what the content, I have enjoyed them all. Here are some of the albums of Jeff's I have in my collection:

HIP HOP FOREVER II: MIXED BY DJ JAZZY JEFF

2004 BBE

Favorite Tracks: "Danger" by Blahzay Blahzay, "Buck Em' Down" by Black Moon & "Electric Relaxation" by A Tribe Called Quest

HIP HOP FOREVER III: COMPILED AND MIXED BY DJ JAZZY JEFF

2006 BBE

Favorite Tracks: "Passing Me By" by The Pharcyde, "Mass Appeal" by Gang Starr & "The Choice Is Yours" by Black Sheep

HE'S THE KING, I'M THE DJ

2009 DJ Jazzy Jeff & UNDRCRWN

Favorite Tracks: "Human Nature/Right Here Mix" by Michael Jackson & SWV, "Remember The Time" by Michael Jackson & "Off The Wall" by Michael jackson

DJ JAZZY JEFF: THE SOUL MIXTAPE

2005 Groovin' Records

Favorite Tracks: "No Tears" by Pete Rock featuring Leela James, "Make Love Last Forever" by Michael Bohannon & "Daydreamin'" by Kelli Sae

THE MAGNIFICENT

2002 BBE

Favorite Tracks: "Da Nitro" feat. Pauly Yamz & Baby Blak, "Mystery man" feat. The Last Emperor & "How I Do" feat. Shawn Stockman & Cy Young

THE RETURN OF THE MAGNIFICENT

2007 BBE

Favorite Tracks: "The Definition" feat. Kel Spencer, "Practice" feat. J Live & "Brand New Funk 2K7" feat. Peedi Peedi

Not only do I have a decent collection of DJ Jazzy Jeff albums, but I also purchased this autographed 2015 Panini Americana card for around $10 a few years ago, but that's not all...

I also picked up this autographed DJ Jazzy Jeff World Tour lanyard! I got this from Jazzy Jeff's website back in the day for around $10-$15. You can visit his site if you want to check out the rest of the merch that includes shirts, vinyl albums, masks, hoodies & more. While you are visiting DJJazzyJeff.com, don't forget to check out the "Music" section for your chance to download some of his mixtapes for FREE! I highly recommend the "Summertime" mixtape series put together by Jeff & Mick Boogie. These are the perfect playlists for any cookout or a game of any backyard sports!

And there you have it! A collection of music and memorabilia from one of the best DJs of all time! Thanks for reading. As a reward below is a "Magnificent Lunch Break" from 3/3/21! Man, he's still got it after all these years! ENJOY!!!!

Comic Book Pick 3/10/21

   The comic book I am most excited to read this week is...
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #61

(W) Nick Spencer (A/CA) Patrick Gleason

Peter Parker gets a new job! Spidey gets a new look! And Kingpin's plans start coming together!

SRP: $3.99

Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com 

Throwback Jam of the Week: 3/8/21

   Throw on your Neon Tank Top, and get to rehearsal as we take you back to the 80's! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!

Artist: New Edition
Song: If It Isn't Love
Album: Heart Break (1988)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 7
Bonus Fun Fact: This song and video introduced Johnny Gill as the newest member of New Edition and was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals" in 1989.

Silverhawks at BK...The sad story of how I lost my Tally-Hawk.

Back in 1986 Rankin/Bass Productions introduced us kids to the Silverhawks! They were partly metal, partly real, but all action! Allegedly this cartoon was created to be the equivalent of an outer space Thundercats. It was created by the same company, had many of the same voice actors and that may be why I really liked it!

A quick synopsis of the series goes a little something like this...It's the 29th century and a big bad guy named Mon*Star has escaped from prison in the Galaxy of Limbo. A team of heroes is needed to bring him back for the crimes he has committed. Commander Stargazer recruits the best of the best for this mission and creates the Silverhawks! Each Silverhawk came with their own avian companion who helped them fight against the worst criminals in the galaxy, like Yes-Man, Hardware & Mo-Lec-U-Lar.

It was so cool and me and my brother bought into the hype. We had the toys, watched the cartoon after school and even bought a few of the Marvel Star comics! But, our minds were blown when we saw this in 1987...

Burger King had Silverhawks toys in their kids meals!!!! What? We had to go! We bugged our Mom and finally she gave in and we made our way to the local BK!

There were some cool items in this promotion like a lenticular ring & Copper Kid foil sticker, but the item we wanted most was that Tally-Hawk pencil topper! Tally-Hawk was the companion of the Silverhawks leader, Quicksilver and he was AWESOME! This really was the golden age of fast food premiums! We lucked out and got him in our meals. The next day, I had to bring him to school to show off to my classmates.

That day in school just happened to be our 1st grade class trip to the local library. I brought Tally-Hawk with me on this excursion. This would be a mistake! During our librarian's boring lecture on the Dewey Decimal system, I took out my newly gotten toy and started playing with him. My teacher saw me making Tally-Hawk fly majestically through the musty library air while making exciting "WHOOSH!" noises and she immediately took him away!

When we got back to school my teacher put my Hawk in her desk and told me I could have it back at the end of the week. The time came and I was too scared to ask for it back and I thought I would get punished if I told my Mom what happened, so my Tally-Hawk was never returned to me. Sadly, he lived in that cold, dark desk drawer for the rest of his life!

Flash forward to February of 2021. In a search for random stuff from my childhood on ebay, I found a listing for a Tally-Hawk pencil topper from BK for $4.99! I immediately clicked "Buy" and today I have been reunited with this tragic piece of childhood past. I am so glad to have this heroic hawk back in my collection and I vow to never have him taken away from me again and I can finally sleep in peace! Just so you can also witness the coolness of the Silverhawks cartoon, I have placed the intro animation below for you to enjoy. The 80's really were the best, weren't they?

Comic Book Pick 3/3/21

  The comic book I am most excited to read this week is...
X-MEN: DEMON DAYS #1

(W) Peach Momoko (A/CA) Peach Momoko

From STORMBREAKER PEACH MOMOKO comes a Marvel story unlike any you've ever seen before! A wandering swordswoman with a psychic blade arrives at village that's being targeted by demons. One demon is black and white with a terrifying red tongue and another may be the strongest demon there is! In the stunning kick-off issue of this prestige quarterly story, you'll see a revolutionary reimagination of the Marvel Universe that could only come from Peach Momoko. Ready your katana and enter a mysterious world of demons, monsters, mutants, and magic! Book ONE of FIVE of the DEMON DAYS saga!

SRP: $4.99

Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com 

Throwback Jam of the Week: 3/1/21

   Throw on your Timex, and head to the Social Club as we take you back to the 90's! Without further ado, here is the 20 Years Before 2000 THROWBACK JAM OF THE WEEK!

Artist: Timex Social Club
Song: Rumors
Album: Vicious Rumors (1986)
Peak Billboard Hot 100 Position: 8
Bonus Fun Fact: Based on the success of this song, Timex Social Club was hired by Russell Simmons to open for RUN DMC on their "Raising Hell" tour in 1986!