epic – NewRetroWave – Stay Retro! | Live The 80's Dream!

10 Things You Should Know About GLOW

Joey Edsall — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 17:34:02 +0000

What is GLOW?

GLOW is an upcoming Netflix original series about GLOW premiering on Friday, June 23.

So what is GLOW?

GLOW, or Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, was a televised women’s wrestling promotion that premiered in 1986. Despite the fact that some people (me) think that wrestling is utterly captivating as both a sincere form of low-brow entertainment and fascinating post-modern expression (it is), it can seem alienating or uninteresting to dive into a TV dramatization of one of the most overly dramatic entertainment mediums from the mid-80’s. If the trailer is an accurate portrayal, GLOW is a show that lives by its character work. To help with the rest, here are 10 Things You Should Know About GLOW.

1. The First Televised Women’s Promotion

While the late 70’s through the early 90’s were arguably the second best time for women’s wrestling not counting the past year or so, it didn’t have a TV presence, and the various successful women’s wrestling company’s of that time period didn’t have the television exposure. GLOW was the first televised women’s wrestling program, and as such the women on the match cards would have matches that were just as long as matches by male performers in other promotions, a far cry from the doldrums of 2-minute evening gown pool matches that followed in the WWE just a decade later.

2. Trained by a Guererro

The head trainer of GLOW was Mando Guerrero. Does that name sound familiar? It should. Mando is from the Los Guerreros wrestling dynasty and older brother of Eddie Guerrero, one of the most beloved and respected wrestling talents of all time. If you have a promotion full of wrestling blank slates as Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling did, you can’t do better than having a Guerrero as a teacher.

3. Sir Miles Headlock

GLOW was never really concerned with realism in its storytelling or presentation. This was perhaps at its zenith with commentator Miles Headlock (a play on Max Headroom). Sir Miles Headlock was played by Douglas Dunning and billed himself as the first computerized commentator in history. While Headlock was certainly unsettling, the most impressive part of Dunning’s performance is that it somehow fails to shatter the suspension of disbelief.

4. That’s A Rap

It’ll be interesting to see how the upcoming show chooses to handle one of the most easily identifiable aspects of its source material; one which is at once hilariously endearing and cringe-inducing. Each of the performers had to perform a rap to the same backing beat. The results are… well… just watch.

5. Fiction or Fictionalized?

Alison Brie’s character, Ruth Wilder, is an out of work actress who happens upon GLOW. While this seems believable and is close to the truth of several of the women involved in the promotion, Ruth Wilder never existed. In fact, every character is not just a fictionalization, but completely fictional. In a way, this frees the writers to explore the story in any way they see fit. On the other hand, fans of the original program may be surprised to see that characters they remember fondly are being presented in a very copyright-friendly way.

6. Kayfabe Is For Lovers

Okay, so kayfabe. Let me give you a quick ELI5. Kayfabe is the fiction that a wrestling promotion and the wrestlers present as the truth. Stone Cold Steve Austin assaulted his boss in kayfabe. CM Punk lost his UFC debut in real life. Does that make sense? Good! In the 80’s, kayfabe was in a much different place than it is in an age of Twitter. It wasn’t uncommon for wrestlers to fear for their life leaving a venue if they played the heel (bad guy) in an angle (storyline). As mentioned, GLOW never had the most serious fiction and was more than a little absurd. Like, did anyone thing Matilda the Hun was an actual Hun? Well, the performers had to stay in character 24/7. Faces (good guys) and heels (you should know this one) weren’t allowed to associate in public and breaking kayfabe would result in a $50 fine.

7. Novelty

Women’s wrestling was popular before GLOW, but not really. When one of the larger American wrestling companies would put on a show that featured a women’s match on the card, it often sold tickets but as a novelty. Women’s wrestling had a very carny-sideshow feel to it. While several women’s wrestling promotions existed to dispel this perception, none had the wide reach that GLOW had.

8. A Stallone Was Involved

Do you want to know who we can thank for GLOW? Sylvester Stallone’s mother. GLOW grew from Jaqueline Stallone’s women’s fitness gym, with Momma Rocky herself serving on the production team. Not content with a behind-the-camera only position, Stallone would go on to serve as the on-screen manager for the stable of the Good Girls.

9. Season’s Greetings

It operated on a season by season basis, making it more like Lucha Underground than WWE. This allowed for an ever-evolving cast and the opportunity for more arc-based storytelling. It also meant that premiers and finales were going to feel more like substantial events than just another night of weekly wrestling.

10. Watch The Pilot

The pilot is the most 80’s thing you have ever seen. I know we throw that sort of thing around a lot, but it really is. I honestly don’t know what to write about this to accurately convey the glory of the thing. Watch it, won’t you?

Turbo Killer II – The Movie??!!

NewRetroWave — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 22:13:01 +0000

Yes folks. It has come to our attention (thanks Andrew Davis) that there is a planned 30 minute short film that will continue from the amazing vision of the “Turbo Killer” music video!!

Please look here for clarification of the epicness to come.

Now that your sense are fully alert, please view the video below:

This is something the scene needs guys!! Let’s help to get “Blood Machines: Turbo Killer II” funded and bring the vision of Mathieu Vavril & Seth Ickerman & carpenter Brut to life!

FM-84 ‘Atlas’

Filip Galetic — Tue, 03 May 2016 17:42:19 +0000

Filip grew up on a diet of Masters of Universe, Nightmare on Elm Street and MTV.

Email: fi***********@**********ve.com

Art by Signal Noise

A SUNSET-TINGED, IMAX-SIZED EPIC

Let’s get this out of the way: Atlas is a profound masterpiece of an album done with an almost unfathomable attention to detail. The wait after FM-84’s Los Angeles EP from 2015 was rather long but well worth it.

FM-84 a.k.a Col Bennett, a Scottish-born transplant to Northern Cali, luckily resisted the impulse I’m sure he had, and that is to quickly churn out a sequel to his much revered short-play release, universally praised by critics and audiences alike.

Instead he embarked on a thorny path of really figuring out what he wanted to do and then really made sure that his vision came true.

The result is this breezy, brazen, cinematic journey of mere 46 minutes, but filled to the brim with genuine heart, soul and some unmatchable synth wielding chops.

I said brazen because in 2016 we still haven’t really seen a mass breakthrough of the classic synthwave sound (the kind established now quite a long time ago by the „fathers“ MN1984, Mitch Murder and others) that cherishes cinematic scope, heavy sense of nostalgia and clinging to carefree days.

No, that remains a steadfast niche genre, while the offshot of synthwave, dark synthwave is quickly gaining new audiences and almost mutating into a genre of its own.

So yes, it’s pretty brazen to stay true to your own artistic calling and make an album that might not get chewed up by horny adolescents, but will surely be remembered as a pinnacle of the craft among those that care.

The reason it works seems to lie in the fact is that Mr Bennet doesn’t just play, arrange, mix and master his creations, but truly uses all of the tools availabe to him to paint with sounds. And he paints gorgeous, sunset-tinged, IMAX sized odes to summer, feeling deeply and falling in love madly, and looking back fondly on the experience.

The emotions Atlas stirs are not easy to describe but this comes close: you know how when you just come to the beach for the first time in the year, every cell in your body sort of exhales everything it’s been accumulating and you truly start being present in the moment? That’s what Atlas does to you.

Or another way to describe it: you know how when sometimes, when you’re in the middle of having a time of your life, you catch yourself looking back at the experience BEFORE it even ended, and you become a little bit sad? That’s what Atlas will do to you.

‘Saying a lot without using any words’ seems to be the operative phrase for FM-84, so then it’s pretty surprising he actually added tons of vocal tracks on this album as well, the majority of them penned with the vocalist sensation Ollie Wride from the UK.

The chemistry between the two was immense which resulted in three synth pop 32-carat diamonds that are absolute highlights of an otherwise near perfect album and can be listened over and over again in new ways each time.

To say Wride has a good set of lungs would be a complete understatement, as there seems to be simply no note he can’t hit with total command and perfection.

His singing hits the sweet spot between Freddie Mercury’s sheer vocal range and pitch and Roland Orzabal’s (Tears for Fears) expressiveness and vulnerability.

On the closing track aptly named Goodbye (hopefully not for long – at some point FM-84 was resolute to end this project and start something new – luckily he didn’t – chalk it up to artistic pressure) his vocal guest is not just someone born in the 80s but someone who actually made a name for himself in that decade.

Mr Clive Farrington, of When in Rome, borrows his warm vocal chords to sing out this ambiguous ballad (did they say goodbye in the end?). If you’re not sure who When in Rome were, like I wasn’t, know that in 1988 they had a hit called The Promise that sounded A LOT like New Order.

‘Goodbye’ is actually a much better song than that one. Musically belongs somewhere in the late 80s (maybe even very early 90s) as well, with it’s sophisticated, marine feel. It’s practically begging for a video featuring a yacht and the sailor pattern.

On Atlas, FM-84 lovingly honors the fans of Los Angeles (including yours truly) by giving plenty more of that sublime, picture perfect cinematic epicness.

But we get to have the cake and eat it too.

This closing track as well as Tears and Jupiter for example, prove that FM-84 decided not to stay firmly in one place, dared to enter new territories and expanded his repertoire. And boy oh boy, he made it.

At a time, when retro synth production – and not to mention music production at large – can seem very cerebral and almost calculated, FM-84 sends us a gentle message in a bottle reminding us music is about listening with our hearts.

9,5/10

Atlas by FM-84

COMMUNITY RATINGS

Carpenter Brut Just Set The Bar WAY HIGH with his New Video!!

NewRetroWave — Sun, 06 Mar 2016 22:50:00 +0000

Yes Yes Yes. We hear you guys. One cannot ignore this visual and audio masterpiece. It is IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO!! This is what you call quality retro lovers. Carpenter, you are truly blowing the competition away. Keep on going!!! Prepare…

Woah!!! Thoughts….

Edits: The word “literally” was removed from the title, and “too” was amended to “to”. Was too excited whilst typing…*cough*.

The Simpson’s Goes EXTRA 80’s!!!

NewRetroWave — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 21:01:58 +0000

FEAST YOUR EYES ON THIS!! The scene continues to infiltrate the masses. Next up, “The Simpsons”. .Get ready for EPIC Miami Vice vibes and KUNG Fury type action + animation! It’s all here folks!!!

Ned Flanders never looked so badass!! lol.

Your thoughts on this….

Fully-Functioning TRON Light Cycle Replica Sold for $77,000

NewRetroWave — Mon, 11 May 2015 13:03:36 +0000

How sick is this?

Apparently this light cycle replica sold for $77,000 at Sotherby’s this weekend.

“It’s got a 96 volt direct-drive electric motor, actual suspension, and hydraulic brakes.” – Gizimodo.

Imagine seeing this on the road!! EPIC!

GUNSHIP Drops an EPIC New Video For The Scene!

Joey Edsall — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 16:16:15 +0000

The new GUNSHIP music video is everything you wanted it to be. Anticipation for GUNSHIP’s music has been pretty high since they released an insane teaser for it a few months ago (hyperlink).

The music has a theatrical quality, as with most music associated with members Alex Westaway and Dan Haigh. That’s all I’m going to say about their previous musical endeavors. You can Google Fightstar if you want. “Fly For Your Life” builds tension with driving bass synths and a subdued beat. The jagged hi-hat pattern and chiming synths in the background build anticipation for a chorus that doesn’t disappoint. The chorus of this song is absolutely huge. The arpeggio of synth crawling all over it is completely beautiful. I know dubstep is pretty divisive among electronic music fans (thanks to all the bros!). The massive drums of the chorus are reminiscent of some of the best dubstep beats. Alex Westaway’s vocals weaving with the female vocals throughout the track are the highlight. It’s the chorus where this dynamic is at its best.

The music video itself is gorgeous. Like the music, it manages to have a definite retro feel without being generic. It complements the music perfectly and its Sin City meets Kill Bill meets Metal Gear animation creates an extremely memorable viewing experience. The faded colors throughout most of the video are kept interesting through an ever-changing environment and splashes of vivid red blood and flashing lights. Around the 3:50 mark of the video, everything that was subdued becomes vivid, terrifying in fact. If you have a method of streaming YouTube to your TV, you owe to yourself to watch this video on the biggest screen you possibly can.

GUNSHIP plan on releasing more new music soon and have what is, in my opinion, the best box set I’ve seen in quite some time for their album available for pre-order. The “16-bit Box Set” includes a signed copy of the CD, a t-shirt, GUNSHIP sunglasses, and a poster. The song and music video are definitely proof that these guys are going to be on our retro radar for a while. You can preorder the box set here: http://www.gunshipmusic.com/#!product/prd6/3156389881/pre-order-limited-edition-box-set

A SPECIAL KUNG FURY VIDEO!

NewRetroWave — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 17:03:00 +0000

Hey Guys,

Here is wishing you all a “Happy Holiday”. Enjoy your gift courtesy of Laser Unicorns!

Take a look at the sneak peak clips from the “Kung Fury” Movie!! Full of merriness!

Post by Laser Unicorns.

LEGIT!

– NRW

THIS WEEKS MUST LISTEN TO ALBUM IS…..

NewRetroWave — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 17:58:00 +0000

NONE OTHER THAN

DANCE WITH THE DEAD

WITH

SEND THE SIGNAL

THIS EP IS EVERYTHING!!

SEND THE SIGNAL by DANCE WITH THE DEAD

NRW

THE TRAILER FOR TERMINATOR GENISYS HAS FINALLY BEEN RELEASED!!!

NewRetroWave — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 20:41:00 +0000

ENJOY!!!

Thoughts?

…

NewRetroGaming Interview – Crossing Souls Promises Nostalgia

Joey Edsall — Thu, 27 Nov 2014 14:51:00 +0000

Crossing Souls is an independent and retro-inspired video game currently looking for funding on Kickstarter. You can check out the trailer for the game on the Kickstarter page or on YouTube. Does the song in the trailer sound familiar? Yep, that’s Timecop1983! He is going to be contributing the soundtrack to the game. I had the chance to interview the Crossing Souls team.

We should probably start with the most basic question. What is Crossing Souls: An Adventure Between Life and Death?

Crossing Souls is an Action Adventure with an orthogonal 2D view with an 80s looking style, slightly similar to classics like The Legend of Zelda or the most recent indie game Hyper Light Drifter.

We’ll be able to control five different characters, each one has different abilities and weapons, which will have to be mixed in order to overcome all the challenges that are waiting for them: exploration, hundreds of NPC from different epochs, solving puzzles, looking for treasures and fighting against enemies.

The game will have plenty of references to films, TV shows and video games that marked an epoch in our childhood. We will look for an emotive touch that make the player remember those titles. Because it’s mainly based in the 80s, the “easter-eggs” will be related with audiovisual content of the decade, but we will also find references to more recent pieces.

How did the Crossing Souls team come together?

We were three friends who wanted to make something different. There are not too many jobs in Spain right now so we talked about starting up our own company. That was more than two years ago and since then, we have completed all kinds of jobs like websites, mobile apps and games but a year ago we decided we just wanted to make games so… here we are!

Which old-school video games served as inspiration for Crossing Souls?

Our main inspiration are Zelda games, mostly A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time. We LOVE that games and we would like to make an adventure similar to them.

We also are taking some inspiration from a French game that we love, a classic gem that unfortunately, many people don’t know: Little Big Adventure 2. If you haven’t played it yet, you’ll find it on GOG so run and buy it!!

Which modern video games inspired Crossing Souls?

We love indie games and they were the reason why we are making games, so we should say: Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery (although we love every game that come from Capy Games 😀 ), Paradise Lost: First Contact, Gods Will Be Watching and Hyper Light Drifter!!

We love Timecop1983. How did teaming up with him come about?

Hahah we love him too!! We think it just was our destiny! We love synthpop music and we listen to a lot of Soundcloud playlists while we’re working. One day, “Childhood Memories” came up and we fell in love with it.

Instantly, we sent him an email asking him to collaborate with us as we need some tracks in our Kickstarter video. He agreed and made “Mercury” which is one of the awesome tracks we use in our video. We knew people would love his music so we asked him to create the entire OST of the game. We’re really lucky for having him with us. Crossing Souls wouldn’t be the same without his wonderful music!

What step in designing a video game would you say is the most difficult?

As a good and rich plot is one of the most important steps for us while designing a video game, we believe that the process of looking for a set of fun mechanics and fit them with the plot in order to create what we call a “game” can be the most difficult and frustrating part of all.

Related tasks with development itself like pixelating, animating or programming can be a little tough sometimes but we really love that part as we’re creating what we really want 🙂

What aspects of gameplay are you most excited for players to experience?

The use of the DUAT stone of course! This is a mysterious stone that players will find earlier in the game and will be able to connect to the death plane and the thousands of souls that exist there, awaiting their trial to be able to finally rest in peace.

You will have to use it wisely to collect clues or solve some puzzles. Thanks to it, you will be able to interact with NPC from different times who can help you in your adventure. The character holding the Duat Stone will be the one we’ll be controlling in the dead zone and it’s the only one who can see the ghosts.

Besides, we really like the idea of controlling five different characters because it makes the game varied and players will have to mix the group abilities with the DUAT stone to overcome all the obstacles they will find along the adventure.

As the medium of video games matures, narrative becomes a focus as much as mechanics. How did the narrative of Crossing Souls come about?

The idea of Crossing Souls is born from the desperation of working in what you can, not in the things you want and it’s, undoubtedly, one of the best creative moments we ever had as indies. We sat down and thought what plot fascinated us more. Decide which gender it was going to be, the story and the background of your first game’s style is not an easy task. So it was time to look inside us, see what our concerns were and our strongest influences and pulling the thread out.

We basically found out that we missed being kids. In a moment that you’re planning your near future and your possible adult life you always look behind you and you remember what you were and you realize how things change over time. We missed those kind of adventures you used to see in films, where everything was possible and where any kid could become a hero living an unique adventure without stepping out from his town.

We think that epicness is somehow lost. We live more stressed and we don’t enjoy that “magic” anymore, as we call it. In current films more of the same happens. How many people think that Prometheus is not like Alien or that Super8 is far from the magic that E.T. or The Goonies had?

Is there any inspiration for Crossing Souls that isn’t a video game, such as films or music?

The game is very influenced by our entire childhood so we take inspiration from a lot of sources. Movies like E.T., The Goonies, Stand By Me, or Explorers are very important for us and we have very lovely memories from them so you can expect finding a lot of “easter eggs” in the game coming from them 🙂

We also want the players to remember their childhood while they are playing so we have included some cut scenes which are based on the 80s cartoon shows like TMNT, He-Man, Dungeons & Dragons, or Visionaries. We hope people enjoy watching them!

Gaming, and in particular indie gaming, has seemed to draw heavily from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras over the last five years. Why do you think that is?

Well, we believe that many people still miss the old classic video games. Those pixels had a special charm thats why many indie developers opt for that style. But it is also true that working with pixel is easier and simplifies the development of the game so it’s good for small studios that have few resources. You know, if you decide to make a 3D game you will need to know modeling, rigging, animation, illumination, etc… so the development will take ages! (or it would be really expensive)

If somebody was on the fence about contributing to the Crossing Souls Kickstarter, what would you tell them to convince them to support you?

Do you remember what you felt when you saw Michael J. Fox turning into the coolest werewolf ever? Or when Gary and Wyatt created the perfect woman with parts of a scanned magazine? When Elliot and his band of friends took off with their bikes? Or when you saw a DeLorean with a flux capacitor could travel in time? That was PURE MAGIC. The way the stories were told made you believe in them and you could step into the shoes of any character in a special manner.

With Crossing Souls the team wants to revive those childhood feelings. Those adventures that could happen to anyone. We want to develop a funny and profound game, with a great plot that can make the player remember those times with a bit of nostalgia: more than one has used a towel as a cape, a broomstick as a sword or have had a hidden cabin.

Help us to make this dream come true and we can make sure that you won’t regret it. You will live a great adventure filled with nostalgia that you will remember all your life!

You can support the release of Crossing Souls by contributing to the Kickstarter campaign.

– Joey Edsall

(@JoeyEdsall)

OGRE – 195 is Cinematic and Striking

Joey Edsall — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 15:00:00 +0000

While listening through OGRE’s most recent release, particularly
the funky “Job For A Cowboy”, my girlfriend walked by and said something
interesting: “Are you listening to 80’s soundtracks again?” This was
interesting because as I listened through 195,
one word kept popping into my mind. Cinematic. This album is completely
cinematic from start to finish. To be honest I have a lot to say about this
album. Both musically and stylistically it really brought a lot up in my mind.
I will try to keep this from going off on too many tangents.

The first two things that you will notice about this album
are the large amount of songs and the short duration of each song. This is
something interesting and I feel it represents a gradual shift that will
continue happening in music. We still define and structure music in terms that
were born in the vinyl era. I love listening to vinyl; it has warmth that is
hard to replicate digitally, but that paradigm doesn’t always work with age of
digital releases and Soundcloud. In the case of 195, this isn’t an issue. The short song lengths keep the overall
length comparable to other full-length releases, but it is vastly different
from other albums in so many ways. The songs are separated and aside from a few
tracks all have a distinct feel, though the transition between songs is often
seamless and makes everything feel continuous. For example, I felt like the
album really kicked off (and punched me in the face) on “Don’t Call Me a Hero”.
The thing is, that’s the third track. It never actually feels like the third
track, and listening to it on its own doesn’t feel as satisfying as listening
to it immediately after the two songs before it, and at a combined total of
1:43 it never feels like a chore to do so. The album would not work as well if
you played it on shuffle; I’d even go as far as saying it wouldn’t work as well
to not listen to the entire thing.

Musically, the album is similar in a lot of ways to Ed
Harrison’s 2009 OST release NeoTokyo,
an album I consider one of the finest overall pieces of music created over the
past 15 years. 195 fills me with the same kind of wide-eyed awe and sheer
excitement to be basking in a piece of music. These songs do not have a
traditional verse-chorus structure and take such dramatic turns that it is
really hard to not find your interest piqued throughout. Because of the
cohesive nature of the album, it becomes difficult to label songs as the best
on the release. There are several moments
that I would define as noteworthy and exceptionally interesting. The
aforementioned crashing of “Don’t Call Me a Hero,” the haunting middle of
“Sneaking Suspicions”, and the return of an other worldly melody that peaked in
an earlier song that comes full force in “Sentai” are a few that I can
immediately recall. As I have mentioned and will continue to mention, the
cinematic scope of the album is in high gear in these moments, the extent that
I feel as though “Sentai” contains a motif.

The short song lengths, while distinguishing the album from
OGRE’s contemporaries, sometimes feels like a hindrance. Several times I found
myself really intrigued by a melody or felt a strong reaction from a song and
just as I was really getting excited by it, the song would end. It sometimes
feels like the really exciting and memorable moments aren’t given their full
opportunity to be explored and elaborated and the tone can feel a bit rushed as
a result.

This album nails aesthetic style, which, while not being the
music, is an important aspect of any form of art for me. The artwork for 195 is beautiful with what I believe are
references to both Akira and Neon Genesis Evangelion. The figure on
the motorcycle overlooking the city feels like a shout-out to the former, while
the ominous gargantuan figure very reminiscent an angel from Evangelion. I would have loved if Rebuild of Evangelion had used this or
similar music as a soundtrack. This movie-like / narrative quality to the music
is further complimented by the short exposition OGRE has on bandcamp about the
world of the album.

Any fan of NRW, fans of old anime, or anyone who can
appreciate cinematic and complex music need to check this out. It is fairly
priced and definitely worth it. It is introspective and brooding and moving all
at once. I make certain to not throw the
word “epic” around. This is an epic album. Something metallic and monstrous
lurks underneath the surface of OGRE’s full length 195.

– Joey Edsall (@JoeyEdsall)