Question of the Day 4.25.12

Name the TV show!

Answer to yesterday’s QOTD: Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven is a Place on Earth”. Congrats to bababooey, Carey, @buttercup081474, @mainerdforever, and @RICANROLL for guessing correctly.

You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)

“If I, I get to know your name, well then I could trace your private number, baby…”

By the time the mid-80s rolled around, the Euro synth-pop movement was beginning to fizzle a little, replaced by the big hair/glam metal of groups like Poison, Whitesnake, and (lest we forget) Stryper.

But there were still a couple keyboard-y groups that remained to be heard from, and leading the charge was Dead or Alive. Their first album, Sophisticated Boom Boom, barely entered our consciousness, but in May 1985 Youthquake hit the scene, and “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” became a big ol’ hit right off the bat (and though it eventually reached #1 in the UK, it took a whopping 17 weeks to get there).

With Pete Burns’ snarly vocals, the uber-synth melody, and the uber-synth drum track, “You Spin Me Round” was as catchy instantly recognizable as arguably any other 80s song.

In the US, “You Spin Me Round” spent 18 weeks on the charts, peaking at #11 in August 1985, but it has survived (and then some) thanks to several re-releases and its inclusion on pretty much every 80s compilation ever. But for our money, the best resurrection of the ditty came in 1998 when Adam Sandler’s The Wedding Singer brought it back into our lives.

“Hey, somebody get some pants on that kid!”

We ♥ You Spin Me Round (Like a Record).

Question of the Day 4.24.12

Name the music video!

Answer to yesterday’s QOTD: Henry V. Congrats to not a single person for guessing correctly.

Pillow People

“Pillow people are huggable, Pillow People are lovable…”

If you have a kid, you’re probably well-versed in the ways of Pillow Pets these days. But how well do you remember the cuddly little buddies that started it all?

Ah, Pillow People.

Created by Springs Industries in the summer of 1986, they were nothing more than a full-size pillow decorated with iron-on decorations that turned the stuffing-filled fabric into cutesy, lovable characters.

From Big Footsteps’ big ol’ hot pink feet to Rock-a-Bye Baby’s bright pink cheeks, there was a Pillow People (er, ‘Person’?) for every kid. (And let’s not forget Pillow Fighter’s black eye and Punky Pillow’s way-cool shades.)

Springs also produced ‘mini’ versions, too, just in case your bed was already crowded with Teddy Ruxpin and too many Cabbage Patch Kids.

The line went on to include (yes) pets, but by the time the 90s rolled around, the craze (if there ever was one) had fizzled, and we’d have to wait for modern-day Pillow Pets to fill the void left behind.

Nowadays you can still find vintage Pillow People on eBay–– though, really, would you seriously buy someone else’s 25-year-old pillow?

This might be a case where your warm, fuzzy memories are plenty.

We ♥ Pillow People.

Question of the Day 4.23.12

Name the movie!

Answer to yesterday’s QOTD: Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”. Congrats to Emma, @StarLady82, @buttercup081474, and Jeffrey Scott for guessing correctly.

A Fish Called Wanda

“Don’t, uh, ever… ever… EVER call me ‘stupid’… okay?”

Has there ever been a more, um, interesting cast of characters that the gaggle of loonies we got in 1988’s A Fish Called Wanda?

Kevin Kline as former CIA operative Otto, Michael Palin as the stuttering animal-lover Ken, Jamie Lee Curtis as American con artist Wanda, and John Cleese as frumpy barrister Archie Leash (make that ‘Leach’), the man who links them all together.

It all starts with a nifty little bit of thievery as the gang (led by Tom Georgeson, playing George Thomason) nab a mint’s worth of diamonds. But just as quickly as they get the loot, everything goes to hell in a handbasket.

Not only did a kindly old lady (and her flock of Yorkies) witness the getaway, George moves the loot before anyone can betray him and take it for themselves.

Over the next ninety minutes, hilarity ensues, including a glimpse at Otto’s lack of driving skills (Ass-hoooolllle!), Wanda seducing Archie, much to the chagrin of Archie’s wife (Oh, look, it’s got a ‘wuh’ for Wendy!), Ken’s failed attempts to bump off the old lady (which results in the deaths of three little Yorkies), and, yes, poor Ken getting french fries stuck up his nose.

In the end, of course, everything works out as Archie and Wanda fly away, leaving Otto squished into a bed of fresh cement and Ken getting his… REVENGE!! (and losing his stutter, too).

A Fish Called Wanda did really well for itself when it opened in July 1988. It went on to earn $62 million and finish the year at #12. N-n-n-not t-t-t-too sh-sh-shabby.

“Aristotle was not Belgian, the principle of Buddhism is not “every man for himself”, and the London Underground is not a political movement. Those are all mistakes, Otto. I looked them up.”

We ♥ A Fish Called Wanda.

Question of the Day 4.20.12

Name the music video!

Answer to yesterday’s QOTD: The Gods Must Be Crazy). Congrats to Howlin’ Mad Heather and Jeffrey Scott for guessing correctly.

The Spider

‘The what?’ you ask?

The Spider, of course.

‘Huh?’

The yellow plastic thingy that you popped into the center hole of a 45rpm single so you could play it on your record player.

“Oh.. that!”

Right, the Spider.

As much a part of our 80s lives as Rubik’s Cubes and Atari joyticks, the Spider first came into the public’s consciousness in the 60s after it was invented by Thomas Hutchison (who was commissioned by then-RCA president David Sarnoff).

The design was not only practical (they were essential if you wanted to play Madonna’s “Material Girl” on 45) but awesome as heck, too.

Seriously… that little, yellow hurricane-like/radiation symbol-sorta design was just totally sweet (…though the one thing it doesn’t look like is a spider).

Plus, we’re pretty sure Hutchison knew that fifty years later it would look wicked slick on a retro t-shirt (though the corresponding video is one of the more pointless in YouTube’s vast library):

Of course the little Spiders would become less and less useful as our favorite decade drew to a close, what with the invention of cassette singles and CDs and all, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still love them.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering why 45s were made with such a big hole in the first place? Well, at least two theories are currently floating around the interwebs. One–– the 45s needed to have bigger holes, because jukeboxes were having a hell of a time snagging the small-holed variety. And two–– RCA invented the big-hole record because they were grumpy about Columbia beating them to the punch, and they wanted to make sure they had something that wasn’t compatible with Columbia’s hardware.

Heck, all we know is that Spiders were cool. And still are.

We ♥ the Spider.

Question of the Day 4.19.12

Name the movie!

Answer to yesterday’s QOTD: Valerie (though we’re also accepting The Hogan Family or Valerie’s Family: The Hogans). Congrats to Taps, @RICANROLL, and @buttercup081474 for guessing correctly.

Classic Concentration

It’s a game we all started playing when we were, what, five? A bunch of tiles laid face-down, and you turned them over a pair at a time, looking for a match.

Couldn’t be easier… which is precisely why it became a game show in 1958, lasting for 14 years (plus another 5 in syndication).

Then, almost thirty years later, it came back again, as Classic Concentration with your host…. Alex Trebek.

The rules were pretty simple–– instead of pictures of dogs and apples, the cards all had prizes on them. Match the prizes, you get the prize, and then you uncover two spots on the game board concealing a rebus of a common phrase. [A car + the letters “bon” + a policeman + a pea pod gives you…? Right! ‘Carbon copy’!]

From there, the winner went on to the Bonus Round–– a board of 15 squares, each with a match for one of eight cars (with one left over). Match seven pairs in the time allowed, and you win the car in the last match you made. See? Fun!

Classic Concentration lasted for four years (plus another two in reruns) on NBC, finally bowing out at the end of 1993.

And even though they kept changing the rules (adding TAKE! cards, making it a best-two-out-of-three match, switching the Bonus Round around), the main idea of the game stayed the same–– just as easy as it was when we were five.

We + heart symbol + Classic Concentration.