LIve Aid at 40: Personal Reflections from the Day Pop Music Reached Its Pinnacle: Part 1

As we reach the 40th anniversary of Live Aid, many articles are being written and CNN is planning a multi-episode documentary about what was inarguably the greatest day in the history of pop music. Ahead of that documentary, and before I or anyone else is prejudiced by what we learn and how it's presented, here's my first-hand account of how the event went down and recollections (and recordedings) of someone who was completely immersed in the event from the moment it was announced:

This was going to be BIG

I'll begin by recalling the scant (by today's standards) coverage of the show's announcement. Remember this was the mid 80's so there was no internet; there were only three TV networks; and even basic cable (which many households still did not have) only provided about 40 channels. Still, it soon became clear that Live Aid (with its overlapping concerts at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia) was going to be something huge. Both Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas", the charity record for famine relief in Africa that Bob Geldof had organized in December '84, and the American recording industry's answer, USA for Africa's "We Are the World", were both massive hits that generating millions. Now Geldof was announcing he'd be continuing that momentum by joining forces with American organizers and artists for a one-time music event taking place on two continents. An event that might quite literally include every relevant music artist in the world of pop and rock.

Indeed, Live Aid's lineup read like a who's who of the Top 40. Case in point, the week that Live Aid was announced, George Michael, Billy Ocean, Bryan Adams, Howard Jones, Simple Minds, Madonna, Phil Collins, Sade and Duran Duran all had songs in the Top 20. All would go on to appear at Live Aid. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Queen, Hall & Oates, The Pretenders, Adam Ant, Black Sabbath, Lionel Richie, The Cars, U2, Mick Jagger... The ever-growing lineup was so much of a wish list and so hard to keep track of, I felt the need to document it in one of my college notebooks and for this article, I went to the Pop Culture Fiend Archives and dug up this old momento. 

Note that the "L's" and "P's" specify which venue the artist apeared (London or Philadelphia) and the check mark indicates it was a performance I actually got to see. Looking back now I realize that I most likely copied this list of scheduled acts from one the early announcements in Rolling Stone magazine or an MTV news report. And it's clear it most have been an early announcement, as multiple acts lsted (e.g. Culture Club and Tears For Fears) dropped out and/or wound up not appearing.

MIAs

In addition to Tears for Fears, Huey Lewis and the News were one of the big names that wound up not appearing. Lewis apparently had questions about mismanagement of the "We Are the World" funds and whether the money raised was actually being used to feed the starving Africa. This created controversy with the organizers and Lewis and his band were soon struck from the Live Aid bill. Other notable artists who failed to appear included:

Prince - The purple one was scheduled to be a part of "We Are the World" but missed the recording session, with excuses ranging from his bodyguard getting into a scrape at the American Music Awards earlier that evening, to rumors he just flat out hated the song. Why Prince missed Live Aid is not clear but it's also not very surprising as he was always aloof and mercurial. 

Michael Jackson - One of the creative forces behind We Are the World, MJ would miss Live Aid with his publicist giving the excuse that Jackson was "immersed in heavy projects." (Tina Turner would go on to replace him in a planned duet of "State of Shock" with Jagger.)

Cyndi Lauper - Lauper almost took some bad advice and turned down her "We Are the World" invite. In the end, she was talked into by Lionel Richie. Apparently no such persuasion took place for Live Aid, and it's likely Lauper was asked to participate but passed.

Billy Joel - Geldof had a number of counter-intuitive and downright strange ideas for the Live Aid shows. He almost didn't ask Queen, foolishly figuring that their time had come and gone. As for Billy Joel, even with a storied career that at the time already included 11 studio albums, 10 Grammy noms and 5 wins, for Live Aid Geldof purportedly only wanted him to play piano. Joel and his management rightly felt this was a silly waste of his talents and no deal was ever made.

Eurythmics - The popular British duo was set to play but had to bow out of the show when Annie Lennox developed a throat infection.

Yes and Foreigner -- Both bands reportedly wanted in on Live Aid but by the time they asked to participate, the shows were booked solid and the organizers had to start turn them away. It's worth noting that as it grew in size and scope, Live Aid, despite being a charitable endeavor, lost its "come one, come all" vibe. After a slow start, momentum began to build and several artists who had been asked to play changed their answer from "maybe" to "yes". Additionally, more and more artists who hadn't been personally approached were now making calls asking to join. Some of this was fueled by genuine desire to do their part for such a good cause; some no doubt by record companies and artists' reps worried that their clients not being part of the show would diminish their perceived importance in the music world.

One who didn't have to plead for a spot was Bruce Springsteen. Geldof and company wanted him bad, but the latest leg of the Born in the USA tour had recently ended and the E Street Band was enjoying its first break in over 5 months. Springsteen felt it wasn't fair to reorganize everyone on such short notice so he politely declined.

In addition to Prince and Michael Jackson, it's also worth mentioning the multitude of other acclaimed black artists that for one reason or another were not at Live Aid. This list includes Earth Wind and Fire,  George Benson, Grandmaster Flash, James Brown, Chuck Berry, DeBarge, Rick James, Kool and the Gang and Donna Summer, as well as "We Are the World" veterans Ray Charles, The Pointer Sisters, Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross, Al Jarreau, Jeffrey Osborne, Sheila E., James Ingram and Stevie Wonder. Chaka Kahn was also notably absent and in the weeks leading up to the event, publicly questioned the lineup's lack of diversity. Geldof fired back, implying that among the black artists he had asked to play the show, there seemed to be a lack of enthusiam and a general "I already gave at the office" attitude. In the end, the show's organizers did feel the need to include more black artists and Run-DMC (who curiously had initially been turned down), Ashford & Simpson, Patti Labelle, and Teddy Pendergrass secured spots.

The Broadcast

In America, coverage of Live Aid was split between MTV and ABC. MTV would begin its broadcast at 7:00 AM (ET) with the Wembley performances; ABC coverage would kick in late in the day and continue through prime time. At least one major New York radio station would simulcast the entire event, which pleased me no end, as in the days leading up to Live Aid, my plans to attend the Philadelphia concert were threatened.

And no, attending Live Aid in person wasn't some pipe dream for me. Philadelphia was just a short two hour ride down the turnpike from my home in north Jersey. What's more, I had tons of family living in Philly and had visited and stayed in the city (sometimes for weeks at a stretch) more times than I could count. Point being, I was familiar enough with the city that it wasn't an intimidating idea to plan on waking up early and making my way to JFK. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to secure tickets, not because they were too expensive (the $35 - $50 cost for a lineup of this magnitude was super cheap even for 1985) but because the process and logistics of buying concert tickets in the mid-80's were perhaps even more frustrating than the fiasco it often is today. First, just knowing when and where tickets were going on sale was a challenge. With no internet/social media, you relied largely on local radio to clue you in, which meant you needed to constantly be tuned in to your favorite station. Then, if you did hear that a record store or other venue would be selling tickets, there was often the rather time consuming and chaotic process of lining up (sometimes days in advance) just to receive a bracelet that would only make you eligible to buy tickets once they went on sale. When that day came, you had to return to the venue, line up all over again and hope tickets didn't sell out before it was your turn. The whole thing was as frustrating and unpalatable as it sounds, and somewhere along the way I missed a step. Live Aid quickly sold out and I was left ticketless.

But not to worry; I had a backup plan. Drive to the Philly show, purchase tickets from a scalper and witness music history.

It didn't quite work out that way. As I anxiously counted down the days to the concert, I waffled and wondered, "What if I drive all the way to JFK and can't find a scalper?" I had never scalped before and didn't know any tips or tricks to purchase tickets this way. Plus, I figured everyone was viewing this show the same way I saw it -- as a once in a lifetime event. In that case, anyone with tickets to sell was going to have a quick and easy job. What if I got to the venue too late and even the scalpers were sold out? Plus the drive from New Jersey to Pennsylvania was going to take at least two and half hours. With the drive back, this meant missing six or seven hours of the concert if I failed to score tickets. The idea of that made me nervous. Add that to the fact that attending the Philadelphia show, as great as that would be, would be at the cost of missing the entirety of the London acts. I pondered my decision and debated making the trip all the way to the night before the show, when by chance, I happened to be out with friends til around 3:00 AM... That settled it. I decided to forego my plan to see Live Aid in person, made it home, set my alarm clock for seven o'clock and hit the sack.

The Live Aid Tapes

Waking up early the next morning for the start of the London show (after barely three hours of sleep) I switched on the small 13-inch black and white TV in my room. I knew from the announced schedule that the first several acts included no one I was particularly excited to see. Status Quo, Style Council, Ultravox, and Geldof's band Boomtown Rats. I dozed for the next couple of hours and finally fully woke up in preparation to see one of my favorite artists at the time, Sting. I tuned in the simulcast, loaded the first of the brand new Maxell cassette tapes I'd purchased especially for this purpose, and started recording. It would be the first of over four hours of live performances I would capture and keep to this day. For literally decades, stereo recordings like this made by me and others would be the only way to relive Live Aid and enjoy these performances again. It would take nearly 20 years (2005 to be exact) before a DVD set of the event would be released. Rather curiously to this day, it seems there's still no CD or other digital audio format release. In light of that, I often weigh my decision not to make more of an effort to attend the concert in person. Seeing the Philadelphia show would have meant sacrificing seeing the London show (until 2005) as well as never having an audio recording to play back. As memorable as actually being there may have been, it would have been a tremendous loss to go through the remainder of my youth (and into my 30's) before getting to enjoy any version of the Live Aid performances again.

London

And so the acts rolled through and scores of memorable moments began. 

Sting performed a subdued, acoustic set of Police hits and introduced saxophonist Branford Marsalis, part of his new heavily jazz-influenced band that played on Sting's just released The Dream of the Blue Turtles album.

Phil Collins joined Sting halfway through his set and was equally subdued in his renditions of "Against All Odds", "In the Air Tonight" and "Long Long Way to Go".

Sade stood out with a sultry performance highlighted by "Your Love is King". Though by all accounts she hit the stage before Sting and Phil Collins, MTV's coverage made it appear that her appearance was much later. This was perhaps explained by something I'd learn weeks later:  as part of its deal, ABC had purchased the right to block live coverage of several acts — including David Bowie, Elton John and others — until later in the day. This meant that in some instances, artists performances on television were not taking place in treal time.

As morning gave way to afternoon, the London show hit its stride with back-to-back performances by Paul Young (at the time riding high on the charts with "Every Time You Go Away"), Alison Moyet, U2, Dire Straits (their soon to be #1 hit "Money for Nothing" had been released just two weeks earlier) and (drumroll please...) Queen.

Queen

So how great was Queen?...  Why are they getting a section of this article all to themselves?... Well, as  Queen's participation may have difficult to secure, but once they hit the stage, it was apparent from the start that the band's perfomace was absolutely iconic. Forty years removed, everyone from music historians to casual music fans agree on this. 

The best way to describe Queen at Live Aid?... It was like Michael Jordan in his prime. Anyone (even someone who knew nothing about basketball) could watch Jordan for a few minutes on the court and be able to point at him and say with confidence, "Yeah, that guy's the best one out there." That was Queen performing at Wembley that day. Even in a setting where they were measured against the best the music world had to offer, their performance stood above all others. Their set included some of their more recent cuts ("Radio Ga Ga" and "Hammer To Fall") along with signature songs "Bohemian Rhapsody", "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions". Queen is absolutely revered in England (maybe even moreso than the Beatles) and the fans at Wembley proved this yet again. Their energy during the band's performance reverberated over the airwaves, across the Atlantic, and through television screens like mine all over the U.S. If you haven't seen this performance, stop reading and watch it below.

Philadelphia and the Back and Forth Coverage

By the time Queen finished their epic performance, the Philadelphia show was already well underway. Joan Baez had kicked things off by rather ridiculously proclaiming to the crowd, "This is your Woodstock!" Sorry Joan, Woodstock was a seminal event in music and concert history, but Live Aid played out on a world (not just an American) stage, reached a far greater audience of 1.5 billion, had a much more important cause fueling it, and greater participation (i.e., more acts). You measure Woodstock by who was there; you think about Live Aid and ask, "Who wasn't there?" No offense Joan, but compared to Live Aid, Woodstock was just a backyard hootenanny.

As I went about swapping in fresh cassette tapes into my stereo, I knew I was recording something historic. Something to be kept and treasured for all time. One of the first Philadelphia acts I captured were the Beach Boys, who finished their fun set with "Surfin' USA". With the Philly show going and now two concerts to cover (plus the aforementioned ABC deal that blocked coverage of some acts until later in the day) MTV's hand was forced and the network began taking libertties with regard to performances on two continents overlapping and how to cover them. This resulted in times when only part of an artist's set was broadcast before the network would cut to someone (or something) else -- a fact I discovered with the 2005 DVD release. I along with millions of viewers around the world never knew that we missed songs by Sade, U2, and others. Even more disappointingly, some artists' performances (like Run-DMC, George Thorogood and REO Speedwagon) received little or no coverage at all. 

But back to the show... Shortly after the Beach Boys, I was able to catch the entireity of David Bowie (back at Wembley), The Pretenders (who, after Queen, might have given my favorite performance of the day) and Elton John. The latter was quite memorable for his reunion with Kiki Dee on "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" and his team up with George Michael on "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me". This was one of, if not the, first time the two had performed the popular power ballad in public. Michael's soaring vocals took the song to a different level, and six years later a studio version would be released that hit #1 on charts across the world.

And this brings us to back to U.S. for Madonna.

Oh yes, Madonna... I have some interesting backstory and distinct memories to share regarding her appearance at Live Aid... but I'll save that for Part II.

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The 80's Will Never Die #5 (Roxette/Repatha)

 

The music in this commercial for Repatha, a drug used to treat high cholestrol, is a cover of the 1988 power ballad "Listen to Your Heart" by the Swedish rock duo Roxette. The song reached #1 on the U.S. pop chart in 1989.

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1984's Breakin' Brought Urban & Inner City Art Forms to the Big Screen

I have a tremendous memory when it comes to things pop culture related (hence the name of this blog.) So even though it was 40 years ago (to the day in fact) I still remember what was playing at Loews Wayne Sixplex (the flagship theater located near the Willowbrook Mall in the suburbs of Wayne, NJ) on the first Friday in May of 1984. Firestarter and the Mel Gibson/Anthony Hopkins version of The Bounty alternated showings in one of the big houses; Weekend Pass and My Tutor (the latter on a re-release); Footloose; Moscow on the Hudson; and opening in the other big house was a curious new movie with an unknown cast of black and Latino rappers and street dancers called Breakin’. At the time, breakdancing, b-boys and hip-hop culture was a part of black, inner city culture exclusively. Walls, however, were about to come down and Breakin’ would be the battering ram.

The origin of breakdancing

In New York City throughout the 1970’s, DJ Kool Herc, one of the architects of hip-hop, developed deejay techniques that would serve as the paradigm for many of the most important records of the first generation of that musical genre. One of Herc’s techniques involved isolating the most percussive and/or infectious part of the record, also known as the "break". Armed with two turntables and two copies of the record, Herc would let the break beat play on one turntable then “crossfade” to the second turntable where he had the same break beat already cued up. He then repeated this technique over and over, effectively extending these funky drum solos and bass grooves for as long as he wanted. Hearing the prolonged breaks inspired dancers to show off their moves and this ritual was soon dubbed “break dancing.” Herc’s innovation would go on to inspire the early recording technique of “sampling”, which began when artists and producers -- in efforts to simulate Herc’s innovation -- would copy and loop portions of a record to serve as the foundational bed of a new recording.  

A pop culture phenomenon

Just about ten years after Herc pretty much invented breakdancing, it and other forms of urban artistic expression finally began entering the American pop culture zeitgeist more broadly. To this point, breakdancing was largely underground and undocumented, gaining perhaps its greatest national attention via the cult film Wild Style and the Los Angeles based dance group The Lockers, who had showcased their talents on shows like Soul Train and Saturday Night Live. Three of the group’s founding members were Fred Berry who, as “Rerun” on the ABC show What’s Happening, would sometimes show off his “pop-locks” and other street dancing moves; choreographer/singer Toni Basil, later known for her hit single “Mickey”, and future star of Breakin’ Shabba-Doo Quinones. But Wild Style and The Lockers were not widely known. What breakdancing needed was a main stream showcase. 

It would take pretty much the first third of the 1980’s but interest in breakdancing and other urban artistry would continue growing. Jean Michel-Basquiat was by this time well known in Manhattan art circles for his raw, graffiti-style paintings; breakdancing was featured in the hit 1983 hit Flashdance and in music videos by Chaka Khan, Billy Joel and others. Run-DMC’s first album, released in March of 1984 would become the first gold-selling rap album and the group would join forces with Whodini, the Fat Boys and others in what would be rap's first successful live concert tour. The small cultural circles in which these novel types of creative expression were found would soon widen.

Breakin’s legacy

Breakin’ earned almost $40 million on a budget of just $1.2 million. The film’s profitability caused studios and film producers to view the breakdancing “fad” (as it was judged in many of their eyes) as a something worth investing in. A sequel was rushed into production and, in almost unprecedented fashion, that follow-up would arrive less than six months later. More significantly, Breakin' helped expose white America to new art forms – ones that, like jazz and blues, had their origins and for a long time were only appreciated in minority communities. Breakdancing, pop-locking, graffiti art, MC-ing, deejaying and rap music would finally open bourgeois eyes – along with movie producers’ wallets.

Breakin’ was followed by several similar releases including Beat Street, Krush Groove, Body Rock and Rappin’. Two years after Breakin’, 1986, was another breakthrough year for rap music, as the Beastie Boys debut License to Ill and Run-DMC’s take on Aerosmith’s "Walk This Way" officially legitimized rap for white kids. Soon after, Hollywood began “discovering” talented black writers and directors like Spike Lee and John Singleton and allowing them to tell stories that shined spotlights on black life and the urban experience. This resulted in a type of Afro-centric New Wave – a revival in Hollywood’s interest in films featuring black protagonists and perspectives not seen since the heyday of “blaxploitation” in the 1970’s. This wave reached a high water mark in the early nineties. Boyz n the Hood, Menace II Society, Juice and New Jack City told harrowing tales of gang life and communities besieged by drugs and violence. Above the Rim, Hollywood Shuffle, Poetic Justice and Jason’s Lyric explored themes of love, art, betrayal and emotional abuse through the eyes of filmmakers painting portraits of the minority experience. 

All of the aforementioned films are better scripted, produced and acted than Breakin’ and all are of higher quality overall. But many of these movies would not have been so easily green lit had the appetites of studio execs not been whetted by the box office receipts of Breakin’, which demonstrated once and for all that the urban experience, creative sensibility and culture had a place in contemporary film. 

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Great Album Covers: A Momentary Lapse of Reason, Superman & Dookie

Pink Floyd's A Momentary Lapse of Reason -- unlike many of the band's greater efforts (The Final Cut, Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall) -- is not a concept album. The cover photo, on the other hand, is highly conceptual, conveying ideas of isolation, loneliness and irrationality. When contemplating prospective cover art, lyrics from the album track "Yet Another Movie" brought images of an empty bed to Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. Gilmour explained his idea to Storm Thorgerson whose design firm was responsible for several notable rock album covers including the aforementioned Dark Side of the Moon, Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy and Pieces of Eight by Styx. Thorgerson's final design was a type of installation art that provided a nod to the album's track list and incorporated a soaring hang glider ("Learning to Fly") and several dogs ("Dogs of War") occupying an English beach with not one, but 700 carefully arranged wrought iron Victorian beds. Though shot on a typical gray day, the sky we see has a lovely purplish hue, which gives the photo and this cover a wonderfully serene feel. 

Barbra Streisand's nineteenth album would be one of her best-selling. Released in 1977 when she was coming off the success of the chart topping "Evergreen" single and three straight box office hits (The Way We Were, Funny Lady and A Star is Born) Streisand was arguably at the peak of her career and rightly being considered the biggest female talent in entertainment. But on the Superman cover she belies prevailing opinions with a simple, demure pose against a plain blue backdrop. Wearing a white t-shirt emblazoned with the Superman logo, knee socks and white shorts, Streisand is shy but coquettish as she sheepishly cocks her head and tugs down on her shirt. Adorable!

Like Never Mind the Bullocks Here's the Sex Pistols, Green Day's Dookie is more than just a major label debut, it's a pronouncement. Just as the Sex Pistols' album had seventeen years prior, Dookie makes the statement: "We're here; we're kicking the effing doors in and we're changing the face of punk." Unfortunately, despite the fact that their lone album is considered one of the seminal works of its genre, the Sex Pistols didn't last. Green Day, however, is closing in on five decades of punk rock relevancy. 

Dookie's cover is everything you'd expect from a punk album -- frenetic, irreverent, iconoclastic. In a jam-packed R. Crumb-like illustration by artist Richie Bucher, we see bombs dropped from a plane, a giant mushroom cloud, the "Bad Year" blimp, funny renderings of Patti Smith, fat Elvis and AC-DC's Angus Young; a satyr, a prospector, a giant talking fly, the woman from the first Black Sabbath album, and tons of dogs hurling their feces.

Apart from all the (often scatological) chaos you'll find, the Dookie cover is also a tribute to Green Day's old stomping ground of East Bay, San Francisco. The setting of the entire illustration is downtown Berkeley and Bucher includes representations of several locals from the East Bay punk scene along and the UC Berkeley Marching band. There's also a shout out to Huey Newton, the former Black Panther leader whose base of operations was just a few miles to the south in Oakland, 

This is nowhere close to a full list of all the characters, Easter eggs and inside jokes included on this cover. I bought it when it first came out in 1994 and honestly, I'm still discovering things I hadn't previously.

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Great Album Covers: Breakfast in America, Big Lizard in My Backyard & She's So Unusual

Great Album Covers: Breakfast in America, Big Lizard in My Backyard and She's So Unusual

The cover for Supertramp's 1979 smash Breakfast in America is nothing short of a masterpiece of composition. It features the view from an airplane window of a wonderfully inventive interpretation of New York City. In the foreground, a smiling waitress poses like the Statue of Liberty. In her right hand she holds a tray with a glass of orange juice substituting for a torch. In her other hand, instead of a tablet, is a menu featuring the album's title. Behind her is a model cityscape of Manhattan -- an assortment of high rise buildings and skyscrapers represented perfectly by plain but cleverly arranged salt and pepper shakers, condiment bottles, coffee cups, egg cartons and other breakfast-related items. A year following its release, this album deservingly won a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.

Cover art doesn't get much more on the nose than what you see on this, the Dead Milkmen's first album. But the cartoonish illustration (designed by the band's drummer) is also whimsical and consistent with the band's style of injecting humor into its hardcore punk.

Photographed by the legendary Annie Leibovitz, the cover of Cyndi Lauper's 1983 debut LP She's So Unusual helped establish her zany persona. The shot captures Lauper in the middle of some jerky, uninhibited barefoot dancing in front of a wax museum in Coney Island, a Brooklyn, NY neighborhood close to where Lauper grew up. The photo's kinetic energy and the cover's bright splashy colors convey the playful, care-free spirit of both the artist and American zeitgeist in the early 1980's. Interestingly, decades after the album's release, several additional photos from this cover shoot surfaced (see below.)

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And the Most Beloved (but Embarrassing) Artist of the 80's is... Adam Ant!

Started an open-ended discussion on Reddit recently asking which 80's band or artist do/did you love BUT are kind of ashamed to admit. The many responses ranged from the obvious (Tiffany, Kenny G, New Kids on the Block) to the obscure (Sigue Sigue Sputnik.) The conversation sparked remembrances of long forgotten acts like Cameo, Winger and El Debarge, shout outs to the criminally underrated ABC and Human League, and confessions by unabashed metal heads of their secret love for Madonna and Debbie Gibson. But surprisingly, the number one artist (measured by mentions in comments and subsequent upvotes) was British new waver Adam Ant... 

No, I'm not kidding; Adam Ant won in a landslide... 

What's funny is I thought of him when I put together the above collage image intended to spark this discussion -- but I never imagined he was so beloved by others.

Cyndi Lauper, Huey Lewis and the News, Genesis, Pet Shop Boys and Warrant all fared well but the top five are listed below.

Adam Ant - 101

Air Supply - 67

Wham/George Michael - 57

Ratt - 57

Go-Go's - 33

The Cure - 26

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Logic's List of Things He REALLY Wants You to Know About Himself

Disclaimer:
I actually like Logic. I admire his creativity, his passion for his art, his sincerity, and how prolific he is. We also have a shared admiration for Nas, Kill Bill, and a certain blue-eyed crooner from Hoboken. Still, the following has to be said.

I picked up on Logic with 2017's Everybody, then went back and listened to a lot of older stuff (Under Pressure, The Incredible True Story...) I then followed him through YSIV and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, until finally, with the 2021 release of Bobby Tarantino III, I was able to articulate Logic's place on the hip-hop landscape with this statement:

"Logic is the official poster boy for mediocre rappers."

Yeah, occasionally he'll wow you with a "1-800" or a "100 Miles and Running", but generally Logic is that dude who is technically proficient as a rapper but who doesn't quite have enough personality and uniqueness to his flow. Whose rhymes are serviceable, but not memorable. Whose beats are almost interesting... until you listen closer and realize they're actually monotonous. His latest LP, Vinyl Days, is another reminder of all this. It's also a reminder -- or should I say a summation -- of all the things Logic has spent seven albums, five mix tapes, and pretty much his entire career reminding you of. It also speaks to a couple of new developments in his life we seem similarly destined to hear about for the next decade.

He's bi-racial

You're alerted to this fact quite often whenever you listen to his lyrics. Oh yes, you'll learn fast that he was "a biracial baby... born to a black father and a white mother." You'll understand in no time that he's a "BLACKWHITEBOY" from a "half breed family" because, as he explains it, "I'm black again.. fighting for credibility from the lack of blacker skin"... It gets quite tiresome at times.

And hearing him going over this same ground again and again is even more tedious than Eminem complaining about his ex.

He's from a really rough neighborhood.

Yeah, so are Ice-T, Nipsey Hustle, Naughty By Nature, Gucci Mane, Future, 21 Savage, Lil’ Durk, NWA, Biggie, Eminem, Young Thug, and T.I., just to name a dozen. Spitting rhymes about the crime-ridden area he grew up in is yet another way Logic fails to set himself apart from other rappers.

He "grinded" and "worked for SO LONG" until he finally made it...

... even though he started in high school, signed with an independent label at twenty, and got a Def Jam contract at twenty-three.

He retired (but now he's back.)

Check the chronology:
No Pressure - Released July 2020
Bobby Tarantino III - Released July 2021
Vinyl Days - Recorded 2021–2022. Released June 2022

So two albums and a mixtape in less than two years... When exactly during that brief time frame did he manage to squeeze in a retirement? 

He made a lot of money in crypto.

In the fall of 2020 Logic posted on Instagram that he invested $6 million in cryptocurrency. On Vinyl Days, he brags:

Stupid motherf**ker, oh, yeah, you got a deal
But you spent your whole advance on a chain
I invested mine in crypto, and now I'm sailin' out to Spain

And also:

Now I think I'm a good father figure 'cause I was sonnin' rappers before I was a father, go figure
My cryptocurrency is in the seven figures.

Last month it was widely reported that the overall market capitalization of crypto assets had plummeted from about $3 trillion in November 2021 to now less than $1 trillion.

Hmm... Maybe this is why he needed to come out of retirement?

He's leaving Def Jam.

Mostly on good terms it seems but to hear Logic tell it, the label still owes him a lot of money -- although you wonder why this would bother him since he made so much in crypto.

He's the best rapper alive.

If you don't want to believe Logic himself the numerous times he's staked claim to this title, then perhaps you'll trust Morgan Freeman, who on the intro of Vinyl Days, informs "every other rapper in the game that Logic is the GOAT." 

Boasting of this type has been part of hip-hop literally since Day 1 -- but with Logic you somehow get the sense that he actually believes this absurd declaration could be true. 

It's not of course. He's not the greatest rapper of all time. Not the greatest of his era. Maybe not even the greatest from the state of Maryland, depending on how you feel about Wale. 

Perhaps moving forward he'll be able to produce superior material that better demonstrates the abundance of talent and creativity he's been blessed with -- but no, right now Logic is simply a solid, often redundant, and mostly mediocre rapper.

MTV Refused to Grow Up... But Was It the Right Decision?

"I heard you on the wireless back in '52..."

In the first few moments of the MTV's launch 41 years ago today, we were greeted with those words courtesy of The Buggles and their prophetic "Video Killed the Radio Star", the very first video shown on MTV. Then, for the next ten years, we watched as the fledgling channel expertly polished, refined and improved its brand, content and image. Along the way, the 24-hour music channel became the single most significant television experience for Generation X, which at the time comprised the most important segment of America's youth. But by the early 90's MTV faced a difficult decision -- one that would completely redefine its identity and alter its pop culture legacy. Here's the story of how MTV came to that crossroads and the path it ultimately chose.

The truth is that MTV arrived with little fanfare back on that first day of August, 1981. It was a simpler time for Americans in terms of our ability to keep ourselves entertained without benefit of personal computers (coincidentally introduced by IBM just a few days later), Sony Playstations, or even VCRs. Indeed, as hard as it is to believe, this was a time when the majority of Americans were also limited to three network channels, a few local stations and PBS. Cable television changed all that. Originally intended for populations living in mountainous and remote locations, cable TV was, by the early 80’s, quickly spreading to both urban areas and their surrounding suburbs. Most Americans at the time had barely even heard of MTV. The channel was largely considered to be just another basic cable station with novelty programming that could best be described as "pop or rock music songs typically set to creative visuals or the artist's live performance."

It was tough going at first. Operating on a shoestring budget, with only five on-air personalities and a handful of production people and executives, MTV struggled its first two years but somehow still found its audience – high schoolers and college age young adults. What MTV offered back then is very similar to what Napster would provide a little less than two decades later, that is, a fresh new way to source and experience music. The record industry was floundering, coming off of some of their worst sales years ever. The glory days of the 70’s when everyone was eager to run out and buy the latest LPs by Peter Frampton, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Styx and Heart were over. Disco, and to a lesser extend AOR, were dying slow deaths. New musical genres (punk, new wave, rap) were emerging and what’s more, many of these new styles were, in one way or another, actively discouraging record sales. Early rap records, for example, were often recorded on tape and sold out of the trunks of cars in the artists' local neighborhoods. Many of the most popular punk artists were either British and/or their recordings were not as readily available as other artists. The time was just right for MTV to enter, establish some common ground, and offer an exciting new platform of content for a wide range of music listeners. Despite having little more than a hundred videos to begin with, the idea of “seeing the music” was so appealing to viewers that “Hey, did you see so and so’s new video?” soon became a common question on high school and college campuses. Clearly, it had a lot to do with the fact that at the time, outside of a concert venue, there was no opportunity to experience your favorite music artists visually. The ability to view your favorite performer singing their latest hit but also have it presented in a stimulating and creative way was one of the most innovative developments in music since the invention of phonograph. 

"Lying awake intent on tuning in on you..."

MTV’s popularity grew rapidly, thanks in part to the fact that the channel came about at virtually the same time as two other innovations in the music/recording industry – the Walkman and the compact disc. Sony debuted its portable personal cassette player in 1979 and by 1982 (MTV’s second year) had perfected its design and was on its way to selling over 100 million units. Just about the same time (1982) the compact disc was introduced and was soon recognized for offering superior sound quality and being the music format of the future. The CD and the Walkman led to tremendous growth in music sales throughout the decade (see chart below) and increased interest in popular music in general.

MTV can also take credit for another music industry trend of the 80’s. The channel can take sole responsibility for breaking a number of iconic British artists here in the states, the result being something akin to a second British Invasion. Out of necessity (rather than some visionary decision making) the first two years of MTV saw a flood of English artists receiving heavy rotation on the channel -- mainly because, initially, Brits were the main ones making music videos. Going back to the mid 70's, when artists like Queen and David Bowie experimented with the music video, English artists had always gravitated towards the medium. As a result, they were the ones ready when MTV came looking for content. Enduring artists like The Police, Eurythmics, Billy Idol and Duran Duran owe their careers to MTV, and one hit wonders and lesser artists like Naked Eyes ("Always Something There to Remind Me"), Spandau Ballet ("True") and Adam Ant ("Goody Two Shoes", "Strip") experienced their brief stints at the top courtesy of the channel.

Not to say that English artists were the only ones benefiting in those early days. American artists scrambled to take advantage of the new outlet MTV provided and early videos by Cindy Lauper, The Cars and The Go-Go's, among others were MTV staples. At the time, it was a great example of a symbiotic relationship: artists make videos that get played on MTV; more people watch the channel to see the video, thereby giving the single/album more exposure and increasing sales; and finally, more people watching MTV meant more advertising dollars for the network. Everybody was happy. 

Over the years, MTV got its legs, matured and perfected the art of shameless self-promotion. Segments like "MTV News", the “I want my MTV” promos, and the MTV Video Awards (introduced in 1984) combined with the cooperation of the major record labels in providing not only content, but also access to their artists, helped MTV put an indelible stamp on the 80’s. In the process, MTV both capitalized on and helped perpetuate all of the decade’s biggest music trends, including the Michael Jackson and New Kids on the Block phenomenons, the emergence of rap/hip-hop, and the popularity of “pop metal” bands like Bon Jovi, Whitesnake and Poison. 

All the while, MTV’s programming became more and more diverse -- yet always stayed true to it’s acronym: Music Television. New shows and specials began to appear: The Top 10 Video Countdown (1984), Club MTV (1987), a series of “rockumentaries”, Yo, MTV Raps (1988), The Grind and the groundbreaking MTV Unplugged (1989) evidenced the fact that it was still all about the music.

MTV hit its peak in the early 90’s – right around the time the original MTV-generation stopped watching regularly. It wasn’t that they were no longer interested, it was just that after college, and as they neared our mid-20's, they were cornered by careers and responsibility, Suddenly, checking out the new Guns N' Roses video wasn’t as important as getting up for work the next day. MTV brass likely took notice of a dip in ratings and tried to formulate a response to what was then, the first decline in viewing since the channel’s inception. 

The result was an excessive (and in many ways unwarranted) revamping of MTV’s programming. Back in the 80’s, MTV had begun supplementing its video programming with reruns of The Monkees, animated series like Speed Racer and the old Beatles and Jackson 5 cartoons, spring break coverage from Florida, and their first original regular series, the game show Remote Control. Then suddenly, as the nineties rolled in, more new shows began to appear (among them, House of Style, The State, and additional game shows like Singled Out) -- all of which had nothing to do with music.

MTV further pushed its programming envelope with the animated anthology Liquid Television, which launched Mike Judge's Beavis and Butthead and provided a showcase for other independent animated productions, including the cult classic, Æon Flux. Equally innovative and groundbreaking was MTV's 1992 documentary series The Real World, which doesn't get nearly enough credit for being the first reality show of its type since An American Family aired on PBS in the 70's.

Make no mistake, this was the beginning. Fair warning had been given:  MTV was in the process of casting aside Generation X -- the generation that had watched so religiously and made the network a success. MTV would soon belong to Gen Y (and not long after, Millenials.)

This clip from The Simpsons satirizes MTV's marketing approach toward programming. 

Many faithful MTV viewers tried their best to roll with the changes, figuring these new shows might provide an acceptable break from MTV's video dominant format, despite being wholly inappropriate for a channel called "Music Television". And while the aforementioned The Real World and a few other shows proved to be popular and lasting, many others, like Dead at 21, were poorly received and short-lived (no pun intended.)

Perhaps it was the distraction offered by home video and the new DVD format. Maybe it was the explosion of the internet and home gaming systems like the Sony Playstation (introduced in 1994.) It might have been the meddling corporate influence of Viacom -- the multi-billion dollar entertainment conglomerate that purchased MTV in 1985 -- or maybe MTV simply went as far as it could with its all-music format. Whatever the reason, as we entered the early 2000's, MTV made its choice to consciously and permanently change its identity. Music videos would need to give way (almost entirely) to alternative programming. 

More new shows appeared that had even less to do with music: Celebrity Death Match, Cribs, Undressed at Eight, The Blame Game, and Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County to name a few. Moreover, in efforts to emulate the success of network TV hits Survivor and Big Brother (which both aired on CBS, another Viacom property) reality TV like Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, The Osbournes and Punk'd would become cornerstones of a new MTV seeking to remake itself as a full-blown network, with original series, specials, game shows, the entire gamut. Music content would be limited and decidedly aimed at a twenty-and-under demographic, which meant an abundance of Britney, Christina, Mandy Moore, Jessica Simpson and boy bands NSYNC and Backstreet Boys. "Mature" artists -- Madonna, Prince, Hall & Oates, Janet Jackson and others -- who had built the network during the 80's were relegated to MTV's sister channels MTV2 and VH1. (Ironically, both of those channels would soon follow the same course as the original MTV, shifting their focus from music to mostly lifestyle and reality programming, reruns of acquired sitcoms, with only daily blocks of videos, typically shown very late night or early morning.) Total Request Live began its remarkable run around this time. One of MTV's few remaining music-oriented shows, TRL spotlighted pop and hip-hop videos (introduced by teenage "woo-girls" screaming shout-outs at the top of their lungs.) Before long the "new MTV" was fully formed and the remainder of its programming came to be dominated by inane "semi-reality" shows like Jackass, Road Rules, Pimp My Ride, Date My Mom, and Lovelines. By 2010, MTV ended the charade and officially dropped the words "music television" from its logo and channel description. "MTV" was now simply a name.

"If I was young it didn't stop you coming through..."

Abandoning music for reality programming... Forsaking older generations in pursuit of younger/teen audiences... Were these smart decisions? Financially speaking, the answer is almost, "Definitely yes." Business-wise, it's always smart to cater to the demographics from which the money is coming. It became clear that this was in fact the case as early as the mid-90's. That's when businesses of all types had begun marketing to kids. 

With the passing of the 1980's, young people -- who until that point had been barely tolerated (mostly seen and not heard) -- started to gain more and more influence over their parents, and in turn, those parents' dollars... 

How so?... Let's rewind.

Throughout the 90's, the U.S. economy was strong. Indeed, between 1993 and 2000, the United States exhibited the best economic performance of the past three decades. Unemployment was down; the stock market was up; and the personal saving rate was plummeting. In short, people had money, were willing to spend it, and (when it came to parents) their children were often the beneficiaries. 

Businesses of all types recognized an opportunity. Restaurants and hotels remade themselves as "kid friendly." The MGM Grand and other Las Vegas hotels spent millions on amusement parks and other family-oriented attractions. Suburban malls (traditionally the gathering place for high schoolers and pre-teens) added youth retailers like Hot Topic and Tilly's. Disney, after the massive success of their new animated features The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, continued to crank out their G-rated fare -- and then merchandised the hell out of it. 

So with pleasing the kids now a priority -- not just for their helicopter parents, but for all of society -- Viacom (like Disney) began tweaking the marketing strategies of its entertainment properties. MTV was first on the list and its programming was radically adjusted to appeal to an even younger demo than when the channel first launched. Such a change, execs figured, would attract their sought after youthful audience and the avalanche of advertisers looking to tap into that market.

"In my mind and in my car, we can't rewind, we've gone too far."

And so it was, and so it continues. Each generation (or half generation) of MTV viewers is now aggressively marketed to and indulged before they (and the content they love) get unceremoniously discarded. Right now, it's all about targeting Gen Z, whose constituents (almost poetically) are very often the sons and daughters of those teenagers who made MTV what it was back in 1981.

Difficult as it is to face and sad as it may be, it can be no other way. Though they once were close and had great affection for each other, in time Wendy Darling had to grow up... and Peter Pan remains forever young.

Observations from a Cross-Country Drive (with Pop Culture References)

I recently drove from California to New Jersey in three days... 

That's right, three days.

Here are the takeaways and some of the high (and low) lights: 

Yuma, Arizona is unfathomably hot.

I don't mean really really hot; I mean not suitable for human beings hot. I don't even know how plant and insect life can survive hot. I stopped there to buy a sandwich, got out of the car, made it halfway through the parking lot, and was ready to turn back. Matthew Broderick in Biloxi Blues described it quite well:

There are no bagel shops in Odessa, Texas.

I spent the night there, got up and wanted to have a quick breakfast. So I asked Siri where the closest bagel shop was... She showed me a bunch of donut places... 

I asked again and the same thing happened. Upon further investigation, I learned that most of west Texas was devoid of bagels and I would need to go about 90 miles to get one. If Kramer from Seinfeld was with me he would loudly be declaring the following:

After leaving Texas I wound up in something called "Texarkana". 

As near as I could tell, this is some odd, hybrid region of the country that combines the oppressive heat of Texas with the mind-numbing hick-dom of Arkansas. Needless to say, I kept the windows rolled up and sped through it as quickly as possible, lest I encounter any of the the local yokels. 

Also while n Arkansas, I stopped at a convenience store and picked up a couple of bags of Rap Snacks.

What are Rap Snacks you ask? Well they're just plain old potato chips and other salty snacks offered in packaging with pictures of Migos, Notorious B.I.G., and even Cardi B. What's interesting is that Rap Snacks seem to be more popular and widely marketed throughout the south. It's a sobering reminder of the subtly racist tropes and stereotypes that still exist and continue to be perpetuated in this country and across every strata of our society... apparently even our consumer products packaging.

While driving through the south I was careful not to run afoul of sheriffs like Buford T. Justice and J.W. Pepper.

By far, the most tedious part of the drive was through Virginia. 

Governor Youngkin, please prioritize making your highways less boring because while driving through your snoozefest of a state, this almost happened to me twice:

Those QPCs are quite odiferous.

There are SO many rest stops in Pennsylvania and every single one of them has a McDonald's. The result is, you can smell quarter pounders up and down the highway for miles.

The Donnas are the best driving music band of all time.

The all-girl band's distinct mix of hard-charging rock and simple but fun punk-pop (e,g, "Pass It Around", "Are You Gonna Move It For Me", "Fall Behind Me") is infinitely listenable and kept my foot on the accelerator for hours at a time.

Astronomers estimate there are about 100 thousand million stars in our galaxy...

That's only about a dozen or so less than the number of bugs that splattered on my windshield over the course of my 2800+ mile journey. When it's that many bugs, combined with the 70-80 mph speed, the bugs (or what's left of them) get practically permanently embedded in the car's windshield and hood. And then you throw in the heat -- at some points upwards of 100 degrees -- and the mess all gets baked in and actually becomes part of your vehicle. Seriously, by the time I arrived in NJ the front half of my car looked like this Jackson Pollock...

Great Albums Covers: Honey, 1984 & Parallel Lines

Of all the genre-defining, hugely influential funk bands emerging out of the midwest during the 1970s (including Slave, Parliament-Funkadelic, Rufus, Dazz Band and Zapp) Ohio Players may have been the most distinctive, in part due to their album covers. After moving to the Mercury label for their fifth studio album, the band released a string of LP covers that all possessed three artistic elements. First there was the stylized lettering of the band's name -- thick and blocky with "OHIO" usually appearing transparent. Next there were the album titles, most often consisting of a single word -- Fire, Rattlesnake, Contradiction, etc. Finally, apart from chart-topping hits like "Skin Tight" and "Fire", Ohio Players' album covers were known for featuring beautiful semi- (or fully) nude African-American women. With their 1975 smash, Honey, this uninhibited celebration of black feminine beauty reached its zenith. The cover features a topless woman holding a glowing, dripping jar of honey in one hand as she sexily tilts her head back and drips more of the sticky treat into her mouth with a ladle. Playboy Playmate Ester Cordet was the model, famed Playboy photographer Richard Fegley did the shoot, and the album's art director Jim Ladwig won a Grammy award for this cover in 1976.

Depending on your perspective, 1984 is either the album where Van Halen sold out or the one where the band took an important new turn in their career by embracing and validating the synth-pop sub-genre that dominated the early 80s. However you see it, 1984's cover can stand on its own as a gallery-worthy piece of art. Created by graphic artist Margo Nahas and based on a photograph she took of her neighbor's son, the 1984 cover consists of a colorful painting of a delinquent cherub casually enjoying a smoke. His body position is curious and contorted and his attention is clearly on something unseen off to his left. Above this are the band's name and 1984 written in Roman numerals -- which only adds to the cover's Renaissance-era fresco look.

In September 1978 Parallel Lines was released and Blondie had their breakthrough album that soon topped the charts. By the following spring, on the strength of the album's third single, "Heart of Glass", Blondie was the biggest band in the world. Except by this time, Blondie wasn't Blondie anymore; Blondie was Debbie Harry -- and bandmates Jimmy Destri, Frank Infante, Clem Burke, Chris Stein and Nigel Harrison were often viewed as simply backing musicians. As erroneous as that was, Harry was unquestionably the face and identity of the band, a fact that was reinforced by the Parallel Lines cover. Harry (the commanding officer) stands front and center, with hands on her hips and a deadly serious expression on her face, while her male "subordinates" back her on both flanks. All the guys wear identical and unremarkable black suits, while Harry is luminous in a white dress and her matching (trademark) mules. If this is the Justice League, Harry is clearly its Superman. With all of this set against broad, black and white vertical stripes as a background and fire engine red cursive lettering for the band and album names, you've got one eye-grabbing album cover.

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The Pop Culture Fiend's Long, Complex History with Top Gun

Top Gun: Maverick releases tomorrow and the sequel to the Tom Cruise starrer and #1 film from 1986 has me as charged up as I've been for any film since before the pandemic. Why am I so stoked for this pic?... Well first, the trailer simply blows you away. There's the amazing cinematography, the musical cues borrowed from the original film's soundtrack, and several intriguing callbacks to the first movie --  Goose's son, Maverick's motorcycle, "Great Balls of Fire" and more.

Next it's the characters. Val Kilmer  is (seemingly) returning as "Iceman", aka, Lieutenant (now Admiral) Tom Kazansky. I'm also fully expecting a cameo by one or two other actors from the first film -- possibly Meg Ryan as Carole Bradshaw.

One character we know we'll see is Penny Benjamin, the admiral's daughter alluded to in the first film as someone with whom Maverick had "a history of high-speed passes." It was throwaway line, a simple quip intended to give us insight into Maverick's reckless nature with both planes and women. But the Top Gun: Maverick screenwriters (Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., who by the way, also penned the first film) ran with it. Penny Benjamin is now embodied by actress Jennifer Connelly (and by the way, how refreshing is it to see Cruise finally doing a movie where his love interest is age-appropriate instead of 20 years younger than him like Annabelle Wallis was in The Mummy?)

But the main reason I'm so excited for this film is that Top Gun and I have serious history. So allow me if you will to not just provide my usual type of commentary and discussion, but also offer some detailed personal tales and anecdotes about one of the most important films from my youth.

Back to the 80s

In 1986, I was working as an usher at Loews Wayne Sixplex in Wayne, NJ. It was my third summer at the theater, which at the time was one of the premier multiplexes in the state. It was early May and after about a week on the job I showed up for work one day and was greeted in the theater lobby by a roughly 8' high, 6' wide promotional display for some new movie about fighter pilots. It starred Tom Cruise, who was coming off the colossal flop Legend. In fact, at the time Cruise had starred in only one bona fide hit -- Risky Business. Even so, solid performances in All the Right Moves, The Outsiders and Taps, had Cruise on the edge of stardom... but he still needed a breakout hit.

But back to that lobby display. This thing captivated me with both its sheer size and the fact that it wasn't just a static, stand up, cardboard standee; this thing had depth; it lit up and it had moving parts. Thoughts began to stir: "This thing would look great in my room."

The hit of the summer

Top Gun was released on May 16, but few know that its release date was moved up a week from May 23. I know this because the display included a prominent "Coming May 23" declaration. Presumably, the studio (Paramount) felt good about the Top Gun's positive advance previews and also may have feared going head to head against Sylvester Stallone's Cobra, as well as Poltergeist II, which were both also released on May 23rd.

Any such fears soon proved ridiculous. Top Gun was an immediate and massive hit -- a summer popcorn movie driven by young male moviegoers who flocked to see it with their best buds (or girlfriends they'd talked out of seeing Short Circuit instead.)

As for me and my usher brethren (Mike, Steve, Kirk, Lou, John and Marcus) we embraced Top Gun probably more than any other film that played at Loews during our multi-summer tenure there. This included incessantly quoting all the best lines from the film:

• "This is what I call a 'target-rich' environment"
• "The bet is 20 dollars. You have to have carnal knowledge (of a lady this time) on the premises."
• "I don't like you because you're dangerous."
• "Slider... You stink."
• "I feel the need... The need... for speed."
• "That was some of the best flying I've seen yet. Right until the part where you got killed."
• "Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full."
• "We're too close for missiles; I'm switching to guns."
• "Goose you're such a dickhead. Whose butt did you kiss to get in here."
  "Well, the list is long  but distinguished."
  "Yeah, well so's my johnson."

We also re-enacted our favorite scenes -- even going as far as banding together to loudly sing along on "You've Lost That Loving Feelin'" in the back of a packed auditorium. Steve, meanwhile, was obsessed with Kelly McGillis's love scene halfway through the film and would regularly duck into the auditorium to catch it. We even adopted the call signs of all the Top Gun characters. Mike was "Goose"; Steve was "Hollywood"; Kirk was "Wolfman"; Lou was "Slider", John was "Merlin" and Marcus was "Sundown". 

And me?... I was a big Val Kilmer fan, so I of course was "Iceman".

But even as Top Gun continued to bring in big audiences week after week, I kept careful eye on that display. Then finally, on one of my off nights, I was out with my friend Brian (who had also worked at Loews for years) and formulated a plan. We came to the theater, seemingly just to say hang out in the lobby for awhile, but as the place was closing, we intentionally left one of the back doors slightly ajar. Then we left, waited about an hour and drove back to the theater. 

An inside job

Brian and I crept up on theater door we left cracked. Sure enough, no one had noticed, so we peeled it open and ducked into the lobby. Now because I worked there, I knew the theater had just invested in a new alarm system, complete with motion detectors, but being little more than teenagers, we didn't let that stop us. We crept along the walls to dodge the motion detectors (which we later learned weren't even activated yet) down to the lower lobby where the display sat. To get it out of the theater (and transport it back to my house) we knew we'd first have to disassemble it and put it back in the gigantic box it was shipped in. It wound up taking close to an hour to get the display broken down using tools Brian had brought.

Ultimately, we got the display into the box and were ready. We each grabbed an end and headed out the fire door, then somehow lashed this behemoth to the roof of my car, and I made the half hour drive home early in the AM, at a speed of little more than 35 mph.

Disappointingly, after reassembly, I realized the display was too tall for my converted attic room so I actually had to saw off close to foot of it in order to stand it back up. But finally the deed was done and there my Top Gun display stood for more than a decade -- Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis staring out like sentinels at me all through my twenties.

More history

In 1992, my dad took a business trip to San Diego and brought my mom, sister and me with him to have sort of a mini-vacation. Upon arrival, my mind immediately went to Top Gun and the opportunity I now had to see filming locations for one of my all time favorite movies. I visited the beaches where a lot of second unit stuff was shot, as well as Naval Air Station Miramar, home of the actual TOPGUN (Navy Fighter Weapons School.) The streets near my hotel are seen in the sequence where a pissed off Maverick speeds away on his motorcycle pursued by Charlie (McGillis). It had been six years since the film's release but the city of San Diego, I found, was still using its connection to the movie to appeal to tourists. So yeah, I bought my fair share of Top Gun t-shirts and merchandise. 

But the absolute highlight for me was visiting the Kansas City Barbecue. The place is right on Harbor Drive in downtown San Diego and was the location for the Top Gun scenes where Goose (Anthony Edwards) and Maverick drink, play piano and sing "Great Balls of Fire." I stumbled across it purely by accident but visited twice during my trip. Predictably, this bar/restaurant was packed with Top Gun memorabilia -- movie stills, framed photos, the piano Goose plays, and yes, the same exact promotional display I had pilfered from Loews. The place even proudly advertised itself as "Kansas City Barbecue: Top Gun sleazy bar scene filmed here" and sold t-shirts declaring the same.

Kansas City BBQ

Eight years later I actually moved to California and my first residence, before eventually planting stakes in the city of San Diego proper, was in Oceanside, which sits way up in north county San Diego. It's famous for its surfing, its pier and of course, its connection to Top Gun. Charlie's cozy little beachside cottage, where Maverick arrives late for dinner, sat literally steps from the beach and the aforementioned pier. During my first few months living in Oceanside, my workout runs took me unknowingly right past this house. I literally jogged by it dozens of times and only later learned of its cinematic pedigree.

Years later, what came to be known as the "Top Gun house" fell into disrepair and when "downtown" and beachfront Oceanside (including the block the house sat on) underwent redevelopment, its future seemed uncertain. Fortunately, the local historical society recognized the home's significance, funded its restoration and had it moved north from its original location to the beachfront courtyard of the Mission Pacific Hotel, about 200 yards up the street. The house was repainted to match its 1986 light blue color, restored close to its classic look, and is now home to (of all things) a specialty pie shop  where tourists come to see the Top Gun memorabilia on its walls and take pictures on a replica of Maverick's motorcycle parked out front.

The Top Gun house on film (left) and in real life (right).

The Top Gun house - May 2022

So why was Top Gun such a hit and why does it deserve all this remembrance anyway? 

Well for starters, it was a riveting actioner that didn't rely on the usual conventions -- gunplay, speeding cars and the like. Plus, the action didn't take place in the usual (i.e., terrestrial) setting. Instead, Top Gun gave us rarely seen action in the form of supersonic jets -- soaring, dipping, spinning, engaged in aerial combat -- and it gave us this action 40,000 feet in the air. It was an unprecedented offering that appealed to both testosterone-infused young male audiences and military enthusiasts.

Speaking of the military, we shouldn't underestimate Top Gun's leveraging of the Cold War, which in 1986 was still very palpable. Like Rocky 4 and Rambo: First Blood Part II, both released the year prior, Top Gun made villains of the Russians and played to a strong sense of jingoism. Audiences cheered unashamedly when Maverick shot down the Russian MIGs, the same way they did when Rocky knocked out Ivan Drago. Indeed, Cruise's character was seen as something of a modernized Eddie Rickenbacker. In fact, Top Gun's popularity was so rousing and its glamorization of fighter pilots so profound, at the Loews I worked at, representatives from the U.S. Navy showed up one day asking if they could set up a temporary recruiting station outside the theater.

Top Gun also endures due to a perfectly cast ensemble of actors. Cruise was the perfect actor to play the Maverick role:  a burgeoning matinee idol with a cocksure persona and shit-eating but lovable grin. Women wanted him and men wanted to be him. Kilmer, who had already starred and impressed in both Top Secret and Real Genius was just as handsome and charismatic. McGillis, Kilmer's classmate at Julliard, also had two major roles on her resume. She had starred in the critically acclaimed Reuben, Reuben and had earned Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for her role in Witness, which at the time put her on the short list of Hollywood's top young dramatic actresses. Anthony Edwards, as Goose, was Maverick's likable, wisecracking sidekick, and Meg Ryan (in her first major role) as Goose's wife was positively adorable. The cast was rounded out by the stern and steady Tom Skerritt as "Viper" and the rough and rugged Michael Ironside as "Jester".

The onscreen chemistry was a byproduct of real life. The cast's principals clicked, formed friendships and sometimes more. Edwards and Ryan would later become a real-life couple, McGillis started a relationship with Barry Tubb (Wolfman) and they and the rest cast would regularly hang out together after shooting wrapped for the day. 

Top Gun's music also plays a part in its longstanding popularity. Beginning with the film's opening shot, when Harold Faltemeyer's beacon-like instrumental gives way to searing Steve Stevens guitar work, music is an integral part of the Top Gun experience. Legendary producer Georgio Moroder, one of the architects of disco, was the driving force behind the the Top Gun soundtrack. Moroder had a track record of writing and producing hits for movie soundtracks, including Blondie's "Call Me" from Amercan Gigolo and Irene Cara's "Flashdance... What a Feeling" from Flashdance. For Top Gun, Moroder penned "Danger Zone" which was performed by Kenny Loggins and became a Top 40 radio smash. Moroder also composed Teena Marie's "Lead Me On" (played during the bar scene when Maverick first meets Charlie) and Berlin's "Take My Breath Away", which went to #1 in the U.S. and several other countries and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The rest of the soundtrack featured tunes by heavyweights Cheap Trick and Loverboy, plus another cut by Loggins -- "Playing With The Boys". Though never a radio hit, the song was instantly memorable (and later became something of a gay anthem) due to its placement during Top Gun's famous beach volleyball scene.

So now it's now 36 years later and Top Gun remains an 80's classic and "guy movie" staple, right up there with Die Hard and Lethal Weapon. It's sequel is already getting fantastic reviews and being hailed as one of the best movies (not action movies, "movies") in years. There's also been plenty of advertising and promotion -- billboards, bus shelter ads, the works. All of it gets me even more charged for this film. So when I go see it this weekend, fair warning to all the movie chains out there... Keep close tabs on your lobby display.