We have reached out to your favourite artists and asked them to recommend a few albums, movies and books for you to check out. Through these trips down memory lane, we’ll be learning about the images and sounds that shaped the artists you know and love and finishing off with the latest updates on their current artistic endeavours. Our first guest is Morgan Willis, the French producer behind Miami Calling and Supernova.

Thanks for taking the time to chat! It’s a pleasure to have you as our first guest. What’ve you got to share and recommend to your fans and readers?
I’m gonna recommend a film I re-watched recently: The Warriors [1979; Directed by Walter Hill]. It had been a while since I last watched it and I had forgotten a lot of it. I had an absolute blast! You’ve got all of these different gangs fighting in streets of New York, and the ambience really takes you back to the old-school video game era with Streets of Rage. I really like the fact that each gang in the movie has its own distinct uniform. I had forgotten how dark it was; the setting, the soundtrack…  I absolutely love this film.

Do you remember your first time watching it?
I must’ve been between sixteen and eighteen years old. My dad had it in his collection and I decided to check it out one day. The film was released in 1979 but it foreshadows quite a few eighties tropes, namely musically and fashion-wise. Those looks were real fresh at the time, the Warriors were super stylish and I think this look has found its way into Synthwave culture too.

What is it about these older films that make them special for you?
I really have a sweet spot for Steven Spielberg. Movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind really captured my imagination when I was a kid. I was also really into Back to the Future, The Goonies and Monster Squad. I feel like these movies were accessible to everyone. There wasn’t nearly as much violence as there is in today’s movies, and while they didn’t have today’s digital special effects there was a sense of wonder about these films. In Back to the Future, the magic and wonder is in the aesthetic, the story, the music… When we were kids, we would watch The Goonies and Monster Squad, ride our bikes and really feel like we were in the movie! It really captivates you when you’re a kid, it leaves an impression that sticks with you through the decades.

Have you had a chance to show these films to your kids?
Yes, of course! We recently showed them Back to the Future movies, and they had an absolute blast! They wanted to see the second one and they loved it even more than the first. It’s actually my favourite as well. They watched all three movies and they had loads of fun. Seeing my son discover these films took me back to when I was his age. Those films are timeless, it speaks to every generation and it always hits the same spot. That’s what I mean when I spoke of ‘wonder’ earlier. This is just my take on things, but I don’t really find this sense of wonder in today’s films, even though there are amazing films being released today. The fashion of the time probably has something to do with it, but I still have a blast watching Teenage movies like The Breakfast Club for the 500th time.

Are there any soundtracks that you’re particularly fond of, tracks that left a lasting impression on you when you first heard them in a movie?
What is there to say about the Blade Runner soundtrack that hasn’t already been said. The Soundtrack influenced a lot of tracks I’ve made, like many other Synthwave artists. Another eighties soundtrack that I absolutely love is the Batman soundtrack by Prince. I’m an unconditional fan of that record. My dad showed it to me and he used to play it a lot. He loved Prince and I discovered him through this fantastic album.

The story is that Prince simply reached into his vault of unused recording to put together the album.
Yeah! Like a lot of his songs, actually. When he hit the studio, he’d often record tracks that he’d set aside. He had an infinite amount of unused demos. He’s also an artist that innovated a lot, too. The album has a lot more synths and samplers than his other works. You hear it in ‘Batdance’, for example. The song is all over the place, with samples thrown left and right, synth solos… It’s amazing! I think he also did a track with his father on the album too. The Joker’s song ‘Partyman’ is simply awesome, too. I still listen to it a lot. I also think the soundtrack fits Tim Burton’s vision really well. It was the perfect pairing, I find. When you place the film release and its cast in the context, you really understand that Batman was a huge deal, and the soundtrack reminds me of that time.

Finishing off, do you have any news you’d like to share with your fans? Anything in the works?
My album Dreamer dropped last January on Outland. The Vinyl release was unfortunately pushed back due to these recent events, though. I’m also working on a new project set to release this summer. I don’t want to say what it is just yet, but it’s a big one!

Be sure to check out Dreamer and follow Morgan Willis on social media :

Bandcamp

Twitter

Facebook

Live photo credit: Robin Ono

Leake Streets’ brick-walled halls glowed with majestic, electric neon lights, paving the scenery with the perfect ambience to greet the fans and their colourful attires. Artists, staff and fans all mingled together and shared drinks throughout the night, whether it be at the bar, in the concert hall or at the popular cardboard arcade, and every square inch of the venue was filled with a palpable sense of love and passion, for a shared sense of nostalgia, for a past we may or may not have known. Those lucky enough to have wandered through the halls at the right time will have even run into a fully armed T-800 Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonator shouting classic Terminator catchphrases and posing for pictures alongside festival attendees, begging the question: what more could you want out of a Retro-themed music festival?

Presided over by emcee DJ She-Ra whose tireless work ran all throughout the night, the Synth marathon ran uninterrupted for twelve hours, from dusk till dawn. As any connoisseur would have guessed from the lineup announcements for the festival, RetroFuture Fest left no room for disappointment in its running order of artists. Whether you like your retro synth music funky, sparkly, epic, funky or downright pitch-dark, the festival had you covered and then some, featuring just about every type of lineup you could think of onstage. Amongst our top three personal favorites in the festivals’ flawless set of shows, Sunglasses Kid pumped the funky vibes up to critical levels with a set featuring guest vocalist SJBRAVO and dancer Jean Frais, Lebrock destroying the stage with some of the most epic vocal performances we’ve ever seen at a Synthwave festival, and Danger unleashing the nights’ monumental finale with the heaviest set of all.

Although this marked our first time as attendees, the loyal Retro Future fans were unanimous in their verdict; the festival had once again outdone itself with this third edition. As for us, we’re certainly looking forward to seeing how its organizers plan on following up on such a tour de force. Young though it may be, Retro Future Fest is already well on its way to becoming a landmark event in the Synthwave music scene.

See you next year!

All Photos by Robin Ono

All Rights Reserved.

Without more of my bla-bla-bla, let’s have a look.

MANDRAGORE

Infogrames, 1986

Finally, Burning Man got interesting. This guy is so hopped-up on GHB and star magic that he’s stripped down to his loincloth and decided to fight the pesky lightning-spirits infesting the communal mud pit. Keep the boots, he thought to himself, they look good. The rainbow armadillo represents not only Infogrames, but this man’s lesser self, the shell he hides within, his weakness, leaving him. His id is crushed into annihilation as he becomes a superego-driven archon of love and light. “Fuck your bad vibes, man!” He carries the torch as a symbol of hope in a dark world, the sword as a necessary evil. All of the festival’s other earthly delights fade from his mind. It is just him, the lightning balls, and his sick LARP outfit.

As he is carried out of the swell of nude bodies and pot smoke on an EMS stretcher, his brain receding from the chemical-induced fever dream, his brain thrusts him back into the causal realm. This moment can never be recaptured, and he will long for it until his eventual death from an overdose of designer shit they only tested on dogs. He will rejoin the aether and God will tell him he’s just a big dingus.

CHUCKIE EGG II

A&F Software, 1985

Here we find another hell-world, and its prisoner is poor Chuckie. Not only was he born ugly as hell, he also has to survive in a non-Euclidean landscape where horribly human-faced spiders are never far behind him. Look at that thing’s face. Someone drew that just to be mean to your hind-brain. “Jon B” didn’t even want to put his whole name on this shit. He knew the weight of this and hurried to crawl out from under it.

How does Chuck’s hat stay on his head? Like, just examine that one aspect for a second. If your head had that kind of… slope to it, you’d need to wear a strap to keep a hat on. But wait, my dude doesn’t even have a chin.

Chuckie drew a bad number in the queue of Samsara. He must have been one ill bastard in a previous incarnation. Plus that ladder is going to do a number on his balls (or whatever weird genitals he has that we can’t see) in about half a second. Poor son of a bitch.

CAULDRON II: THE PUMPKIN STRIKES BACK

Palace/RamJam, 1986

Man, the Joker has really let himself go. He’s let his hair grow all willy-nilly, just a thick barely-tamed mane of green atop his head. Keeping up with makeup isn’t something he worries about now. That was for Batman. Their working relationship has soured, so he focuses on what’s important now: bathrobes, pumpkins, and his “realistic” modeling career. He does not focus on hygiene. At all. You can smell him from five feet away – that gym-sock smell, blended with the stench of earwax and sweat.

Jesting aside, this is pretty well-done box art. They kept it simple and highlighted one significant aspect of the game being sold. I’d compare this to the medium-high quality paintings you’d see on the cover of late-era AD&D book covers. Coming from me, that’s a compliment.

Still though, that face sits in front of a diseased brain considering some really twisted shit. Like how to put bat wings on cobras or which music goes best with juicing a man alive in a laundry press.

AGONY

Art & Magic, 1992

This looks like the kind of game no one in their right mind would fuck with. I’m definitely not ever in my right mind, so I did have a look at the actual game. It’s actually gorgeously done and typical of Amiga’s high graphical standards. This cover art, though… this belongs on an 80s speed metal album. The object portrayed is clearly a structure and not just decoration. The implied scope and size are awesomely terrifying; this obvious den of pure evil even has fucking trees on top of it.

I’ll mention D&D shit again: this is definitely where the Big Bad Evil Guy lives, and by stepping inside you pretty much sign your own death warrant. You will not die peacefully or quickly within the jaws of this fortress. I love this kind of shit. Bring this type of dark art back, instead of the edgelord crap we see all the time today. 80S style fantasy is the best, hands down.

Don’t bother waiting for the storm to stop, either. There’s always lightning. They have a guy just for that. They keep him busy.

WAYOUT

Sirius Software, 1982

More clowns. Well, just one this time, and he’s paying for his vile sins in the Laser Labyrinth. All his years spent spreading terror and dismay among children come home to roost, as he basks in the stark horror of his predicament. He begins to panic – a new emotion for him – as he realizes that there may well be no “wayout” for him. This is the Pit. This is the place he sent childrens’ dreams, where he stockpiled their fear. The Laser Labyrinth holds something far more terrifying than a minotaur. It holds this clown’s own worst nightmares, and they’re coming.

Laugh now, fucker.

Thanks again, dear readers. Viddy well and stay retro.

If you were born and raised in any period from the 70s to the 90s, odds are that you had some fantastic cartoons on your television. Odds are even greater that you had one you loved especially. One you never missed if you could help it. One that you would hum the theme song to or daydream about in school. If not, then I envy you. Life in a cave must have been amazing too.

Mine was a little tale about a place called Eternia, where swords and magic met technology and one ripped-as-fuck hero fought tooth and nail to keep a buff, angry skeleton from ruling the world. Not Predator. That’s a horror movie. I’m talking about He-Man, the superhuman punk-destroying pillar of righteousness who has endured as a pop culture icon for 37 years so far.

I was fascinated by He-Man and the Masters of the Universe as a kid, since I was perhaps three years old. I watched most of it on syndication, but I was devoted. The toys, the books, all of it. I even had a sort of pup-tent that went over my bed frame bearing the logo and likeness of the Blonde One himself.

The real story of Eternia began, surprisingly, in 1976. Mattel was in the throes of a classic struggle that many toy buff and kids would insist continues today: The search for the next big action figure line. Lots or R&D, along with some concepts similar to He-Man (that didn’t go far commercially) led up to the final product in 1981. Instead of “Masters of the Universe,” the toy line was meant to be called “Lords of Power,” but members of the team suggested that might sound “too religious in nature.” I guess I see what they meant, but have you ever been to the Church of the Lords of Power? I haven’t. It sounds awesome. Odd nitpicking aside, Mattel was ready to ride into battle. In 1982 the toys hit the shelves, and on September 5^th, 1983 the episode “Diamond Ray of Disappearance” aired on television. He-Man had hit the big time, and history was made.

Diamond Ray of Disappearance, the very first episode to air. Enjoy.

The cartoon incarnation of He-Man was made by Filmation, a production company that did both live-action and animated programming for TV. Founded in 1962, the folks at Filmation had serious experience, serious chops, and a fantastic end product. The show ran for 163 episodes, which his a testament to the impact it made on its audiences.

Let’s start with this sick fucking intro. I mean, just the music alone – a chest-welling, uplifting rock-orchestra piece worthy of a galactic superbowl – is colossal in its weight and cheeseburgery beefiness. Then here comes Prince Adam, a guy who is built like a brick shit-house and yet somehow convinces everyone that he’s the biggest pussy on Eternia. I mean, he does still live with his mom and dad… but it’s a little different when your parents are monarchs. “Fabulous secrets” were revealed to him, however, and so he can turn both himself and his pet giant cat into total, rampaging badasses by calling on the power of Castle Greyskull.

The source of the aforementioned “fabulous secrets.”

Not a bad thing to have in your back pocket when you have shitty neighbors; the evil sorcerer Skeletor craves not only the secrets of Greyskull, but rule over Eternia as well. The cackling, imperious dickhead and his gang of hooligans are constantly flexing on King Randor, He-Man, and the Sorceress who guards Castle Greyskull. Both sides of this epic conflict fill their ranks with numerous allies… I mean, this is a cartoon meant to sell toys, right? Adam (and He-Man) usually rolls around with a minimum entourage of the following homies: Man-at-Arms, the royal arms-master with a super-sweet stache; Teela, Man-at-Arm’s daughter, a serious ass-kicker who has no patience for Adam’s bullshit but just adores He-Man; and Orko, the addle-brained court magician who always seems to fuck things up but sometimes manages to save the day with his poorly-controlled spells. Of course, Skeletor has some friends, despite being a serious douche. He has a tense but workable relationship with Evil-Lyn, a sorceress whose main magical strength seems to be conniving fuckery. A roster of goons including Beast Man, Trap Jaw, Mer-Man and Tri-Klops serve as Skeletor’s vanguard (read: cannon fodder) in the long war against Eternia.

The classic clusterfuck poster, in all its glory. I don’t know if this is the full final roster, but it’s a lot of them.

One really cool thing about MOTU – and perhaps a lost art in all but the softest-themed toons today – was the moral message at the end of each episode. Sure, this show was a consumerist vehicle for an extensive line of kid’s toys, but why not drop some wisdom on the kids? This would always be a theme presented in the story itself (like sharing, responsibility, safety, etc), and more often than not, it was He-Man or Man-at-Arms sitting down for the fireside chat moment.

The animation is remarkably smooth for a timetable-produced toon, and characters are shown running, jumping, etc. in a very natural way. In the tradition of Filmation (and by spiritual sisterhood, Hanna-Barbera), the backgrounds are lush and skillfully colored, on par with motion picture matter paintings sometimes. But what really does it, what really sells the product, is that music.

A total of 72 figures and toys were released, and the series made Mattel insane amounts of money. As for the cartoon, it ran in syndication until 1988, when USA Network bought it and ran it until 1990. The heroes and villains of MOTU briefly returned in a new 1990 series (with its own new toy line), and He-Man resurfaced once more in a new show on Cartoon Network’s Toonami. This show was presented more seriously in tone, and also delves more into the history of Eternia (including an origin for Skeletor). In 1987, Cannon Films released a movie under the MOTU banner, with a more cosmic focus and a somewhat darker tone. This film starred 80s action bull Dolph Lundgren as He Man, and also featured Frank Langella as Skeletor and Courteney Cox as… A normal woman.

If you have a taste for cheese, it’s great. Definitely up there with any other awesomely ridiculous Cannon film.

Needless to say, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe has secured itself a high spot in 80s pop culture. Even now, in the digital age, it can be seen on Netflix, as well as on YouTube. Mattel markets high-end versions of the original figures as collectibles, perfect for the nerd who always wanted a more poseable, articulated sci fi barbarian. There have even been video games; the two that come to mind are the Intellivision (naturally) and Game Boy Advance versions.

Perhaps the war on Eternia will never end. After all, without one another, good and evil have no meaning. He-Man taught us a lot of things, but perhaps that was the bigger message.

We’ll see you next time, barring any technical difficulties due to Orko’s bullshit. Stay Retro!

I know everyone right now is celebrating Michael Jackson on his what would’ve been his 60th birthday. Happy Birthday, Jacko. But, I wanted to remember another B-List celebrity of the 1980’s, better known as the host of Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous and the voice behind over the top, cheesey, self-indulgent wealth and celebrity, Robin Douglas Leach.

The loud and charismatic Leach, was born in London and started out as a young editor for his school paper before graduating from and as a local journalist for the Harrow Observer for only a few pounds a week.

He became the youngest “Page One” reporter for the Britain’s Daily Mail before, later moving to the States and worked for publications such as the New York Daily News, People and Ladies Home Journal.

At some point in the nineteen-eighties, Leach became the host and voice behind Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous. Lifestyles was a syndicated series documenting the lives of well-known and (in later seasons)  obscure celebrities and aired from the mid-1980’s all the way into the 90’s when Shari Belafonti was added to the show as his co-host. Shari Belafonti, not a superstar celebrity but obviously recognized as the daughter of Harry Belafonti. An addition that in my eyes was well suited for the show since by this time in the ninties the shows list of stars to showcase started to scrap the bottom of the barrel and almost seem like a parody of itself.

Lifestyles was created by Alfred M. “Al” Masini, who had also created Solid Gold, Entertainment Tonight, and Star Search;all of these were part of his Operation Prime Time project, which he later renamed Television Program Enterprises and later merged with Rysher Entertainment to form Rysher TPE, though Solid Gold or Entertainment Tonight were never syndicated by TPE or Rysher but all 4 are now owned by CBS Television Distribution.”
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifestyles_of_the_Rich_and_Famous

Lifestyles had two spinoff series, Runaway with the Rich and Famous, also hosted by Leach. The series also aired in first-run syndication, from 1986 to 1994. There was also Fame, Fortune and Romance broadcast on ABC from 1986 to 1987. I briefly remember  Runaway but the later “Fame, Fortune,..” I haven’t the slightest recollection of .

The damn show was very aware of itself. The 80’s were all about being unapologetic and reckless with your cash. Excess and lack of consideration for the waste or lack off were the mode. Style over substance and in some cases just style. The celebrities on the show were no different. I remember on episode, it might’ve been centered around a sheikh, member of royalty or some Tony Stark type 1%er that had yachts and a gold toilet. The toilet was made of friggin’ gold. I was under the age of ten years and , no lie, there were two songs that if they started playing, I would run to the television full- speedforce: 1. The Fraggle Rock theme song and Lifestyles. Now that I’m thinking about it, maybe Married with Children and the Robin of Sherwood theme are up there on that list. The theme music was by Bill Conti titled, “Come with me now” from the film Five Days from Home (1979). Another raging tune that would play either during the opening of the show or wit promos of upcoming episodes is “Runaway” from the 1981 James Bond film ‘For Your Eyes Only’.

If there be a collected Blue-Ray of the series, I want one. It’s so dated and a time capsule of an America obsessed with its own vanity and the style and what was considered, “Cool” need to be preserved in the mental  museums of our nostalgia playsets. Pay close attention the expressions of colors, fabrics, neons, shoulder pads, leather slip-on shoes with no socks, silk shirts and at the end of every episode “Champagne wishes and Caviar Dreams”.

The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous host died at the age of 76 on Friday, August 24. The Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he worked as a celebrity columnist, reported that he had been hospitalized since suffering a stroke in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in November 2017. He had a second and more serious stroke on Monday, August 20. The reporter moved to Las Vegas in 1999 and spent his final years covering local star-studded events. Leach is survived by his sons Steven, Gregg and Rick.

Stay Classy and Elegant and keep your hearts on the Rewind Button.

Anyway, I won’t put any of it in here, because I’m getting to my actual point: the video game industry has its own share of this lowest-common-denominator ramrod surrealism. Images clearly rendered under deadline while suffering from sleep deprivation, questionable pieces of illustration drawn by people who were likely being paid in subway tokens, and even some visual corruptions that will haunt the industry until its death some 5 billion years hence when we are cooked off of this rock by our sun’s death throes.

I will warn you – nay, I admonish thee, brave wanderer. To step forth may cost you your sanity, or worse. I Offer you a garden of unearthly artistic display… some truly ill shit in illustration form.

Tommy LaSorda Baseball

Sega, 1989

You know that it is daytime – the sun is high and bright, throwing all into stark contrast – but you do not know the day. The blurred lines of a baseball stadium form a primordial, half-shaped, Archean terrain in the background… and yet you cannot look at the background. You cannot look at anything but Tommy fucking LaSorda. OR IS IT?

His eyes, lazy and half-closed, fix on you and do not look away. His teeth, jutting from his mouth in an expression halfway between a smile and a predatory sneer, are perfect. Fuck, they are IMMACULATE, like something unused and unspoiled. Something there just for looks. Tommy’s skin bears a striking resemblance to silicon; like the “flesh” of the god-awful robots our postmodern pervert tinkers craft in the human image, Tommy’s flesh is new. You see now that he is not sweating… but you are sweating.

“Play a little catch?” he tips his head ever so slightly as his mouth releases the tinny sound of words. You cannot run. You feel pressure and then blackness engulfs you.

Why not just use a photo? It’s not like there’s any shortage of photographs wherein LaSorda is at least prominently featured, if not the subject of said photograph. I am chalking this one up as an act of psychological warfare, Sega.

Crack Down

also Sega, 1989

Two very greasy and ruddy men stand proudly before the Prince of Evil himself, Satan. They can barely keep it together… in fact, they’ve decided to just push it to the max. The Guy on the right is pooping; don’t say that he’s doing anything else, I won’t believe you. That man is filling his pants with hot sod while he empties his magazine and his under-slung grenade launcher at the same time. Dude on the left has better self-control when it comes to bathroom action, and has settled for filling the air with rounds from his M60. Satan has seen this shit before, and so has his buddy the mouth-breathing orangutan. Besides, just five minutes ago they polished off a fat bowl in the explosion-castle and it’s kicking in T-minus right fucking now.

What the fuck is even supposed to be in the ripoff Stormtrooper’s hands? What is he brandishing? A road flare? My point is that no one knows what they’re doing and clearly no one’s “cracking down” on jack shit.

Mega Man

Capcom, 1987

I wanted to take another look at this. I mean, how can’t we? Eyes red from crying all night, riding high on the power only a man with a gun can know (and also more cocaine than is reasonable), Rock searches the uptown terraces of Purple City for the bomber whose reign of terror has claimed so many lives.

“I’ll find you!” he howls, cranking his little-kid arms back in teeth-grinding rage. “Goddamn it, why can’t I PULL MY RIGHT LEG OVER BY MY LEFT!” No one hears Rock but the colossal palm trees and the God that made him a boy-sized android.

I fucking WISH Mega Man was like this. Like Blade Runner mixed with 10 to Midnight. Scare my shit right out. Show me what real life is like, for great justice.

This one’s bizarre and completely detached from its parent concept, but I love it and I will probably print it out into a 24×36 to put on the wall.

Third World War

Micronet, 1993

There are so many details about this that are haunting. I’m not even sure where to begin. Wait, yes I am. The first thing I reflexively hate about this is the unbridled look of smug elation on both mens’ unthinkable faces. I’m not trying to make a partisan political statement by declaring my hate for Bill Clinton; this image did the mental legwork for me and even if he spent 24 hours a day every day pouring trash bags full of money into orphanages it wouldn’t un-burn this into me. At least you can’t see the raw menace in Saddam’s eyes. Bill is rendered in such a way that, while this is unmistakably him, it is also clearly not him. It is a spirit from the netherworld given flesh, and it thinks this whole thing is funny.

They are both impossibly huge, looming over the cities of Earth as a… what looks like also Earth somehow keeps a tight orbit. Hussein and Wendigo-Bill are the means of Change, the Makers of the Way, everywhere and everywhen. They have made this moment as they want it to be, and you will envy the dead.

Custer’s Revenge

Mystique, 1982

It says “Swedish Erotica” on it but I refuse to accept that this could happen anywhere but America.

George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876), despite his justifiably controversial legacy, was a well-respected cavalry officer who played a pivotal role for the Union in the Civil War. He died at age 36 at the Battle of Little Bighorn – a violent death fit for a man who lived by the sword.

I’d like to be able to show him this shit right now.

Somewhere in the flats of the Vaporwave Desert, a vector-shaded Native American woman struggles against her bonds. It seems that someone has tied her to a gigantic can of spraypaint. Was it Custer?

It probably was. He clunks up in his oversized boots, like a son wearing his father’s shoes to be cute. Looking like some kind of plucked-chicken goblin, Custer makes sure to strike a pose that shows off how his butt is just two large potatoes flecked with beard stubble. DOES HE SHAVE HIS ASS? WHY?

Better wear your gloves, man. Wouldn’t want to touch anything with your hands. Just your… everything else.

Obviously we can get all social justice on this, and we’d be absolutely right to. Unfortunately, the harm’s already done, and I dragged this back out to re-live it. I can apologize, but will that mend what is riven? God no, and it’s compounded by the fact that Custer is TERRIFYING. Naked dress-up Chucky with a boner.

Okay, we’re done. I will review a nice cutesy Japanese game next month. We will recover. I’m sorry and I love you.

Starring Rami Malek and follows the life and Rock&Roll adventure of Farrokh Bulsara from young man into immortality as the man behind one of the greatest voices in modern Rock, Freddie Mercury.

here is a statement from the studio:
“Bohemian Rhapsody is a foot-stomping celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury. Freddie defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet. The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound. They reach unparalleled success, but in an unexpected turn Freddie, surrounded by darker influences, shuns Queen in pursuit of his solo career. Having suffered greatly without the collaboration of Queen, Freddie manages to reunite with his bandmates just in time for Live Aid. Facing a life-threatening illness, Freddie leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music. Queen cements a legacy that continues to inspire outsiders, dreamers and music lovers to this day.”

In Theaters November 2, 2018

Cast: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello, Aiden Gillen, Tom Hollander, and Mike Myers Connect with Bohemian Rhapsody Online: Visit the Bohemian Rhapsody WEBSITE: http://bohemianrhapsody.com
Visit http://www.PutMeInBohemian.com for a chance to have your voice included in the film.

Watch Trailer :

Cars will literally drive themselves, leaving you to be able to eat and sleep whilst a computer does all the hard work, at a fraction of the cost! Don’t worry about having to wait for your car to charge either because robots will be doing your job for you, so you can chill out at home with your nearest and dearest. Even food will be a thing of the past, no more microwaving your machine excreted pies. Once meat has been deemed toxic or something, food powders, pastes and tablets will be delivered to your door via a drone which will conveniently scan your vital signs and never pass this kind of information onto global authorities. Plastic and other waste will be gone to and all the money you save on buying your groceries with no need for packaging like that, will mean you can go on holiday three times a year.

But until the high times of Star Trek like living there are a few teething problems. Like the cost of making the future happen. For the cost of one battery for a Tesla I could have purchased ten Audi 80’s and still have change to buy a pair Nike Mags. But I only needed one car and one that isn’t a silent Jaguar lookalike.

The Audi 80 was introduced in the 60’s as a compact executive car. Audi were fast growing in popularity, more so since their name change from Auto Union, an amalgamation of four automobile manufactures during the great depression in the 1930’s. Conveniently the world found enough money for yet another war and this gave an opportunity for Auto Union to have a go at armored cars and trucks. The U.S remodeled the landscape and turned over most of what was left to the Russians. The Germans, now pushed over into the East, started to rebuild and no one would know just how successful Audi would become.

I wasn’t drinking officer

The Audi 80 shared it platform with the Volkswagen Passat, a coupe, convertible and the Avant (Audi’s name for an estate car or station wagon). Again, the ever efficient Germans had a logical alphanumerical range of vehicles. The B1 Audi 80 had a face lift in the 70’s, the full range with two door, four and the Avant, they were built to last at the cost of fairly underwhelming performance. The B2 launched in the late 70’s and had the hand of god, or Giorgetto Giugiaro, design the body for the refreshed look. In the 80’s, Audi unveiled their turbocharged rally machine, the Audi Quattro, or Ur-Quattro, the “Ur” German for “primordial”, “original”, or “first of its kind” although some would dispute that back in the 1960’s, Jensen the British car manufacture had a system developed for their awesomely regal Interceptor.

Zero to the shops in 6 seconds

Finally the penultimate B series aptly named the “B3” appeared in ’86, it was finally not having to donor from the VW Passat, this was the all new body with an extensive range of specifications. More aerodynamic and a quattro 20V option was enough to make this a very popular car across Europe and further afield.

Mine in particular is a 1.8 litre 80 E in a rather fetching champagne colour.

Or is it gold?

If you’re thinking about starting a journey with a classic, I would highly recommend the Audi range from this era. They are built well, with parts still in abundance. The mechanical layout is straightforward and would only require a fairly standard set of tools to start pulling things apart. It’s a no frills experience with the Audi gadgets wise, but then again I needed a solid reliable car for my commute and this thing has just survived one of the harshest winters I’ve experienced, putting into perspective the sticker in the rear window which reads “Ten year anti corrosion guarantee”. I was surprised however by the quality of the sound system, the acoustics alone are pretty cool but the speakers sound like something decent from the late nineties. In the back parcel shelf is a small black box with two headphone jacks, I later discovered this is for the option for the front and rear occupants to listen to different soundtracks, in case your passengers listen to pop music.

Punch the four rings for horn

You’ll probably notice the wheels are very much not of the Audi range and you’d be correct. It’s currently sat on some Calibre alloys, similar to something from BBS although probably for around half the price. I recently performed an oil change on the car and didn’t expect it to be difficult and indeed it wasn’t, the only reason I needed a jack was because my oil collection tub was too tall to fit under the car. I could reach the sump bolt with ease and the oil filter is placed in the upright position, on the side of the engine, meaning that I could actually unscrew it and not cause death in the environment, unlike some engines where the filter is often positioned I presume, for a joke.

Four cylinders missing but it’ll do

I admit, mine does hold the road a little better than stock thanks to lowered springs and so far the engine gives out enough poke to keep up with modern traffic. In short this is a very usable and cheap classic and with a few upgrades it can bring life back into an old tank, I mean a saloon, like this.

The wet look

Well, you had three options. The first was talking to your dumb-ass friends about it. This has varying appeal, depending on who your “friends” are and how lousy their taste is. You could also check out grainy, tiny screenshots in ads, or on the game’s back cover. The problem here was, a lot of what ends up there is subject to change, as the ad copy and dressing is usually done in advance of the release.

Then there’s the real knee-jerk way, the “intuitive” lie we’ve all told ourselves before: judging the book (video game) by its cover.

Regardless of the quality of any given game, there was an era in the 80s and 90s where box art could make or break counter sales of a game. No punches were pulled. The phenomenon produced some real horrible shit, but we also saw some undoubted masterpieces. I’ve chosen five of them to look at this time over, and will probably do this again in the future… it was hard to narrow it down, so I chose five that impacted me as a young man that still hold a striking presence now, to the adult me.

I would like to note that the order is not a ranking. I would not dare to do that with raw visual art; each piece should really stand or fall on its own merit. I should also note that, while I made an attempt to credit individual artists, that information can sometimes be tricky to get ahold of. If you see a mistake or missing information, feel free to contact me or message our Facebook page. I have also not strictly grabbed the art as it is off the box; if I found a higher resolution or better version of that same art in a flyer, ad, or elsewhere, then I have used that.

Argus no Senshi/Rygar

Year: 1986

Artist: Unknown; if you know, please contact me

Click to enlarge!

Not one single bit of anything happening here is soft, gentle, kind, or anything less than a testament to divinely-inspired violence. There is a gigantic, demonic lion-person leering and reaching from the heavens. Rygar, having just decapitated some manner of ogre-beast in his endless quest for monster blood, holds up his trophy to the sky-lion and roars back in defiance. The bodies of other unthinkable creatures lie submissive and vanquished before him. Rygar will not bow to any being… no god, lion, or demon. If you would have Rygar, then descend from your sickly-green heaven and come take him! He will add your ridiculous head to his collection.

Seriously, there is nothing truly lacking here, except that Rygar’s weaponry is a bit dishonestly represented. I can’t even fault it, though, because it’s under-represented, leaving the pleasant and brutal surprise for when you play the game.

Exile: Wicked Phenomenon

Year: 1992

Artist: Vic Ireland

Click to Enlarge (it’s pretty big).

This one probably took a lot of time and talent, and it shows… this art is sufficiently dream-haunting that for a while I set that face as the image to show when my phone alarm went off. That way, I heard loud noise, picked up my phone, saw THAT, and was jolted awake by two senses instead of just one.

I hazard to say that the art is better than the game, which is okay if not a little slow-moving and unnecessarily inflated in terms of storyline. The game is immaterial. From the floor-fog to the lighting to the soulless, predatory eyes of the face in the wall, you know a dark story lies inside that game box.

Heretic

Year: 1994

Artist: Gerald Brom

Click to Enlarge!

Brom has gotten the nod for tons of art any gamer or fantasy fan has doubtless seen; just google “gerald brom art” and toodle around for a while. You’ll recognize plenty. I have always loved this particular work of his, for several reasons. Firstly, it accurately depicts the world of Heretic as a dark, dying realm where little hope exists. The only strong light source in the picture is the mage’s spell ripping into one of the undead warriors. Secondly, the mage’s face is perfect. It’s this exact blend of grim hardness, sheer terror, and arcane focus. I also love how the focal point of the image is twofold: the mage himself and the bolt of magical energy he is casting. It all seems initially off-balance to one side, but the dynamic movement implied in the figures present makes everything seem to fit right where it is. Lastly, something about these skeletons just looks punk rock as fuck to me. I’m into the undead as antagonists in any medium or genre; it’s even better when they look like extras from Return of the Living Dead.

Wolfenstein 3D

Year: 1992

Artist: Ken Rieger

Click to Enlarge!

I’ve mentioned this one before. This is an image that transcends what it is meant to depict and shows us a glimpse of what lies in one single moment of violence. A Nazi guard is sprawled on the floor, his vividly red blood spattered across the cobblestones as he gasps his last “mein lieben.” BJ Blazkowicz roars in brute triumph as he unleashes the full power of an impossibly huge chaingun on out-of-frame foes who are likely in the throes of Biblical-level terror. Nazi imprisonment has not weakened any part of the animal that is BJ; his instincts, supernatural physique, and bloodlust are every bit as powerful as they were when the Krauts lucked out and caught him. Now he’s going to singlehandedly send each one of them to the mockery of Valhalla reserved for such villains.

When you sit down to craft a piece like this, it’s ballsy to take the perspective of “sort-of underneath the guy.” You could end up with an image framing a crotch, or one that’s just unappealing. Rieger nailed this. He knew he had to show BJ Blazkowicz the way most mortals should see him: as if looking up into the stratosphere, to see where the divine scream of vengeance was coming from.

Castlevania/Akumajo Dracula/Vampire Killer

Year: 1986-87

Artist: surprisingly, I could not find this information.

IF YOU CLICK IT, IT GETS BIGGER

Looming above everything else, above and beyond the decrepit castle on the cliff, sneering arrogantly at the young man with a whip, we see Dracula. The Prince of Undeath. An ancient, horribly potent, and unsinkable evil. Standing defiantly below, we see Simon Belmont: the man who has come not only to kick Dracula’s shit in, but to do it with a whip.

There’s not a lot I can say here… this image has become iconic as a symbol of the protagonist/antagonist struggle that defines most platform games of the era. The player is presented with the bold but intangible outline of a villain supposedly beyond defeat, and given control of a modestly-depicted hero to get the job done. In the end, it turns out that legends die hard… but they can die. Even the vibrant streak of sky-hues across the middle of the picture doesn’t clash; it fits in and even adds to the tone of grey struggle. With eyes that sparkle like a cat’s, Dracula taunts not only Simon, but the potential player. As with its music, the art of the Castlevania franchise is consistently top-notch. This image set the standard.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at some of the indelible images that played a part in our hobby’s history. I will be back with more. Thank you so much for reading.

The art created by 1970’s and 80’s artist Patrick Nagel has been a massive influence in the scene. His overwhelmingly popular art continues to resonate throughout the New Retro Wave area, as some modern artists and mediums of art allude to his classic vibrant style.

Nagel’s art composed of bald, elegant and vibrant illustrations of females, donning sophistication, mysteriousness and attention drawing expressions, reminiscent of expressionistic art of the 1920’s and 1930’s.

Elena G. Millie, a curator of Nagel’s work, best summarizes his style:

“At any time there are a few who give form and meaning to their generation. Patrick Nagel’s emergence as one of these gifted few stemmed from his unique vision of the contemporary woman: She is elegant and sophisticated, exuding an air of mysterious enticement. She is capable, alluring and graceful, but also aloof and distant. You will never know this woman, though she stares out of the Nagel frame straight at you, compelling you to become involved, challenging you to an intense confrontation.”
–    Elena G. Millie, Obtained from arthistoryarchive.com, July 2017

Mystery was the key element of Nagel’s art – the key theme that his contemporaries adopted, and an intrinsic theme that stays strong within the retrowave aesthetic.

1969 would see the start to his career, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from California State University. He would later pick up a career in 1971 at ABC-TV, detailing graphics for channel promotions.

Arthistoryarchive.com have lorded him as a “Playboy art icon”, as he designed for the popular magazine throughout the mid to late 1970’s, however his place in the history of Retrowave is much more significant, with his art continuing to resonate throughout the New Retro Wave movement.

(Image from catawiki.com, NAGP 89 “The Playboy Portfolio II”, Nagel)

In the movement, Nagel is an unsung icon, creating works just before the vibrancy of the 90’s, during a time of great expressionism that would segway into the Pop-art era, taking art into an undefined territory. Today, this has made its way into our familiar minds.

There is no denying that Nagel’s art was a massive influence upon the 2015 Comedy Central production Moonbeam city – the show created by Scott Gairdner encapsulates many facets of the movement, through a nostalgic Miami-Vice theme, however the distinctive character illustrations and some of the execution of colour is a direct throw to the art of Nagel.

Photo from “Moonbeam City Trailer” (August 20, 2015), on YT Channel JoBlo TV Show Trailers, Show by Comedy Central

Album covers of our contemporaries often take a trend of throwing back to the art of Nagel, adapting it to further fit the aesthetic. The album cover of ALEX’s 2017 EP Youth takes on a Nagel-ic design, adding colour to the portrayal of the woman, along with greater detail of the hair, with shadow effects. Trevor Something’s “Trevor Something Does Not Exist” in 2014 took a similar artistic direction with its album cover.

Album cover of ALEX’s “Youth”  (2017) – Art by Jacqueline Ruther, Mizucat. Image from YT Channel NRW Records.

Album cover of Trevor Something’s “Trevor Something Does Not Exist” (2014), Art by Ariel Zucker, Image from YT Channel New Retro Wave.

Soundcloud and Bandcamp synthwave artist SelloRekT/LA Dreams (https://ladreams.bandcamp.com/track/nagel-girl) is also responsible for a nod to Nagel with song titled “Nagel Girl”. The song matches Nagel’s art well.

Photofrom SelloRekT/LA Dreams’ Bandcamp, “Nagel Girl”

In another area, the song “Desire – Under your spell” on Youtube has a throw to the art of the era. Popularised by 2011’s Drive, the fan-made music video uses Nagel-like imagery to be synced to the song – although the art is by Roy Lichtenstein, a contemporary of Nagel, synthesising a comic book-esk and pop art-ish aesthetic, the resemblance is noticeable, further cementing in place the impact of Nagel’s contemporaries. Needless to say, Lichtenstein has his own place in artistic history. The synths of the song throw in Nagel’s direction, but let’s not forget his contemporaries.

Photo from “Desire – Under Your Spell” (November 22, 2010), on YT Channel The Prismer, art by Roy Lichtenstein

Artists that explored this area as Nagels contemporaries and after Nagel’s untimely death include Carlos Sanchez, Dennis Mukai and Luis Preciado, who each added their own flavour to the artsphere.

“Thrill Me” by Carlos Sanchez

“Thrill Me” by Carlos Sanchez

“Special Friend” by Dennis Mukai

“Special Friend” by Dennis Mukai

“Genevieve” by Luis Preciado

“Genevieve” by Luis Preciado

It’s likely to say that Patrick Nagel has influenced the artistic direction of the movement greatly, adding mystery, sophistication and enticement that modern contemporaries have taken on board immensely.

Article by Zac Kelly.

Since the very dawn of video gaming, ever since the first of countless alien invasions and nameless ninja clan insurgencies, gamers and developers have all agreed on one thing: peace is nice, but it’s incredibly boring. A common theme has emerged throughout electronic gaming, one of conflict and mayhem, where the stakes are never low and neither is the adrenaline level. We crave games of war, and damn it all, the developers and publishers have always been right there with us on the front lines.

This trend, when examined, waxes and wanes; an observer of the timeline can see it ebb and flow from simple sword-fighting between two nameless knights to full-scale nuclear war (and the theoretical after-effects). The mid to late 1980s seemed to hit a particular stride, when Cold War phantoms mixed with constantly more badass-looking real life military hardware to spawn a long list of not only films but video games (sometimes directly inspired by said films). War, we knew, was hell… and as this era burned bright red in celluloid and pixel-screen, we strode happily forward to swim in hellish waters. The devil himself was happy to take our hand, and to point out the price… 25 cents for a dip, $40 per cartridge to buy our own backyard pool.

This trio of games is not meant to be a best- or worst-of list, nor a definitive one. These three titles simply stick out most readily in my mind as examples of the over-the-top gloss we often give military strife through the lens of entertainment. And yeah… they’re pretty awesome.

Jackal/Top Gunner

Konami, 1986

I said this wasn’t a best-of list, but this definitely has to be one of my favorites. Jackal is called Tokushu Butai Jakkaru (“Special Forces Jackal”) in Japan, and was marketed in some regions as Top Gunner. In Jackal you play the role of a Special Forces unit tasked with the noble mission of rescuing POWs behind enemy lines. This kind of work is extremely hazardous, so it’s a good thing the brass gave you jeeps that maneuver like gazelles and are as bloodthirsty as you are.

Red beret, devastatingly precise mustache… Easy to tell who drives the jeep… who’s in charge. There’s a cooler in the back. Help yourself to a martini or some Dom Perignon. This will all be over soon, soldier.

Up to 2 players can play, and that’s the better way to go about it since you WILL be mobbed constantly by both infantry and enemy vehicles. The cool thing about most soldiers on foot is that you can just run them over in cold blood, mangling them under your jeep’s blood-soaked wheels as you laugh. The bad news is that they are rarely alone; not only do soldiers pack weapons that can destroy your jeep in one hit, so do the tanks, gun emplacements, bombers, and jeeps similar to yours that tend to accompany them. That’s why you also have a machine gun and a seemingly limitless supply of explosives.

Your POWs are in little buildings, and you open those buildings safely by blasting the shit out of them. Most of them just file out and climb into your seemingly bottomless jeep, but the guys kept alone in their own little sheds upgrade your blammo-factor from grenades to rockets that upgrade each time you rescue another such prisoner.

The arcade original, not unlike that of Contra, is non-stop, with very little in the way of transitions between areas of strife. Not so for the NES port and some other versions; in those, you even get cool little cutscenes illustrating what a rad time you’re having cutting a swathe of carnage through the enemy. Every version has bosses, though, and they’re no joke… from mammoth war machines to walls of launchers and even hostile rows of statues, each set will turn your life into an exercise in move-or-die.

Guerilla War

SNK, 1987

A big part of what makes this one stand out is its original choice of subject matter, which was hastily and clumsily scrubbed for Western release: in Guerilla War, the two players are supposed to be Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, overthrowing the Batista regime. In fact, the game was called Guevara in Japan. Both the titling and dialogue were quickly altered for release in the USA, in hopes of rendering the entire thing generic… I’d say they did nine tenths of a job.

I CAN STILL KINDA TELL THOUGH, CAN’T YOU? I GUESS IT’S JUST INTUITION.

But whatever. This isn’t an opinion piece or a history lesson. Anyone can agree it’s a ballsy move to make a game about that kind of heated subject, and anyone who’s played Guerilla War can agree it’s a pretty balls-to-the-wall run and gun game that is at least worthy of having such a past attached to it.

The only tactical concern of yours besides not dying when you dismount a quick boat to singlehandedly topple the entire enemy force is not to kill hostages accidentally. This is hard, not only because your enemies are all over the place and it’s hard to tell what’s going on, but because it’s tempting to just fire wantonly into cross-traffic and hurl grenades in front of you to clear a path through the chaos of battle. While this is a viable tactic about 2/3 of the time, it gets risky when there are bound and gagged men from your side nearby. Let’s be realistic: some will die. Rescue the ones that don’t.

In the grand tradition of war-themed video games, this one has no shortage of over-the-top enemy shit. You want to fight a train? Well, get ready to fight a fucking train, Che. All by yourself.

Strider Hiryu

Capcom, 1989

Many of us have played the NES title Strider, and most of us know it’s a far cry from the source material. Strider Hiryu, released originally as an arcade title and gradually ported to tons of systems besides the NES, is based off a 1988 Kadokawa Shoten manga of the same name. Hiryu (which means Flying Dragon) is also the protagonist’s name. Here’s what makes it a war game: Hiryu is an assassin sent to kill the overlord of a Communist dystopia in the year 2048. This game was a taste of sci-fi blended into the familiar orgy of violence, and while the overtones may have been lost on a lot of casual players, they still set an interesting example of theoretical futurism carried across different media. While the Red Menace of Soviet Russia ended up reaching a far different fate in real life, the 2048 of this timeline is still a hell of a place to be a super-assassin.

Yep *hitches thumbs through belt-loops* that there looks purdy Soviet to me, soldier. You know what to do.

As Hiryu, you get not only a plasma-generating sword and the acrobatic skills of a jacked-up gibbon, but you can also call upon three different “option” robots to help you unleash a whirlwind of murder on the Motherland. You also get a grappling hook, which seems superfluous after mentioning the other shit, but it comes in handy. All this gear is good, because your target, the Grandmaster, has spared nothing in defending himself. Be ready for robot gorillas (far larger, of course, than organic ones), elaborate laser traps, and more troops than you can shake a plasma sword at.

Robo-Ivan just got knocked the fuck apart by a sword made out of what’s inside the Sun. Robo-Sergei back there is having one of those moments where you wonder what your robo-life would have been if you’d just stayed in robo-art college and studied robo-cubism instead of joining the People’s Droid Army.

I’m kidding. Shake it at all of them. Leave none alive.

FINAL VERDICT:

Jackal – 7/10

Guerilla War – 7/10

Strider Hiryu – 8/10

One of Jackal’s aforementioned cinematics. See you mid-April for more red-blooded gunpowder action!

Robert Rodriguez is in negotiations to direct Escape From New York, 20 Fox’s remake of the 1980s cult classic that starred Kurt Russell.

John Carpenter, who directed and co-wrote the original, is executive producing the project, which is targeting a production start later this year. 

Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman of The Picture Co. are producing the feature project, which the studio is hoping to launch as a franchise in the same mold of its Planet of the Apes series.

The original 1981 movie was set in a future (then 1997) where Manhattan had been turned into an island-sized maximum-security prison. When the president of the United States crashes into the decaying city, an outlaw is coerced into traveling inside to rescue him.

Neil Cross, the creator of the BBC crime series Luther, wrote the script. Robert Rodriguez is the director of Machete, Planet Terror, Spy Kids, Desperado, The Faculty and Sin City. In my opinion I loved the first Sin City but, when you take into account the rest of his filmography I have only one prediction – The Escape from New York remake is going to SUCK.