The Anniversary: MTV's Twin Channel M2 Was Launched 30 Years Ago.

On this date 30 years ago, MTV officially expanded its music video empire thanks to a commercial-free, second channel: M2 later know as MTV2, the network was created as an all-music-video spin-off to offset its parent channel's shift toward general and reality programming. 

So by 1996, several indie rock and pop outfits were finding their way onto MTV, but ghess what?, it was the days in which the original network started to changed music videos for reality shows. So why launch a second channel focused solely on music videos when the original was seemingly getting the job done?.

The reality shows were already springing up across MTV in the early/mid '90s, and the company wanted to keep fans satisfied with non-stop music videos, decided to go with this new network named at the time M2 -- which would later be rebranded as MTV2 in 1999 -- attempted to reach that goal, and was also used as an opportunity to feature a higher diversity of music videos than MTV was doing at the time. The channel launched via satellite with Beck's "Where It's At", the network inaugural VJs where the 120 Minutes host "Matt Pinfield", Rolling Stones' Jancee Dunn &  radio-industry veteran Kris Kosach, targetting viewers around 23/25 age to up.

Even when we know that MTV betrayed its music video roots for all its reality programming, 30 years ago, believe it or not, critics were having very similar conversations back in the mid-'90s. In fact, when M2 launched in '96, music writer Sean Piccoli wrote "MTV has" put some truth back into the promise of their title: Music Television. And they’ve made it harder to dislike them for all the dreck they pass off as programming on the original channel. Watching the foundling M2, whose start up and first hour were simulcast this week by MTV, it was stunning to see in this new venture how far the parent network has strayed from its roots."

He also highlighted some of the channel's additional programming: “M2’s only nonmusical programming, per se, came in a pair of minute-long segments featuring artists talking about things they love. In the first piece, Porno For Pyros frontman Perry Farrell, grinning like a dope against a backdrop of animated wallpaper, talked about getting hold of a bootleg tape with 20 versions of a little-known Jimi Hendrix song, "Gypsy Boy." In the second piece, Parliament-Funkadelic founder George Clinton reminisced about the heyday of urban break-dancing.” As he noted, M2 played 15 music videos in its first hour of broadcast, including clips from PJ Harvey, Hayden, Gary Young and A Tribe Called Quest,  then M2 is doing part of its job."

M2/MTV2 spent its first decade playing uninterrupted blocks of alternative, rock, and classic music videos, then gradually introduced lifestyle and comedy shows, eventually dropping music videos entirely around 2017.

Today, MTV2 -- much like its predecessor -- is unrecognizable from what it was when it first launched. Reality TV, comedy programs and game shows have taken hold of the channel, with a few music videos sprinkled in for good measure.

The Anniversary/Television Personalities: When MTV Launched A New Era In Music 45 Years Ago.

It was exactly on 1 August, 1981, when Music Television—known as MTV—launched its first broadcast with The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star,"  ushering in a new era of pop music. It was the best of TV combined with the best of radio, video jockey Mark Goodman told the audience in the wee hours of the night. 

The nerwork turned out to be a potent mix, with video becoming as important as the music itself. Among the first videos shown on MTV were Pat Benetar’s “You Better Run,” Rod Stewart’s "She Won’t Dance with Me," and The Who's "You Better You Bet."

 Although MTV wasn't the pioneer of the music video concept—its origins can be traced back to the 1960s with The Beatles and The Monkeys—and in the late 1970s a show emerged that many consider the direct ancestor of MTV: the famous "PopClips" on Nickelodeon, conceived by former Monkeys member Michael Nesmith. It only lasted one season, but its brief contribution was fundamental to the arrival of MTV. 

Of course, every beginning has its challenges, even for MTV. The debut couldn't even be seen in New York, and many of the producers recount traveling to New Jersey to watch the launch in a bar. There were other places where it was available from the very beginning. The truth is, it's not known for sure who actually saw the channel's debut on August 1, 1981. Many of us remember it and were able to watch it because VH1, for its 30th anniversary, dedicated the first 24 hours to its broadcast, and today at least the first two hours are available on YouTube. After the first clip, everything went silent for a few moments, then Pat Benatar appeared, followed by a brief description of the evolution of human sound, and then more videos, which were scarce at the time, many of them from years earlier. There was even a Rod Stewart video from 1976. 

In those first few hours, viewers could watch REO Speedwagon, The Who, Blondie, Styx, The Pretenders, Robin Lane & The Chartbusters, Split Enz, and April. Wine, among others, and then the official presentation of the first VJs: the great Mark Goodman, J.J. Jackson, Alan Hunter, Martha Quinn, and Nina Blackwood. It's curious how Goodman comments on how quickly time has passed since the channel's launch, and now it reaches its 45 anniversary, unfortunately with more sorrow than glory. 

The network gradually took off until the "I Want My MTV" campaign, promoted by luminaries like Hall & Oates, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie, Billy Idol, The Police, and others, aimed to get cable distributors to include it in their programming. Little by little, its influence became omnipresent, with virtually no competition. Although programs like "Night Tracks" appeared on NBC over time, it wasn't the same. MTV's success made music videos essential for established artists and newcomers aspiring to success, benefiting the music industry by giving space to Black artists like Michael Jackson. This was also due to pressure from other artists, since initially there were hardly any Black artists on the programming. Then came "Thriller," and everything changed. The massive success of this video, which many consider the best in MTV history (for me, it's "Take On Me"), encouraged the creation of the VMAs in 1984, whose first ceremony was simple yet successful. Setting the course, and then, even though they continue to be delivered, their influence or value is worthless. 

Obviously the network evolved, delivering memorable moments and programs. For example, the famous "The Basement Tapes," the support for indie music in "120 Minutes," the metal in "Head Bangers Ball," the rap segment "Yo MTV Raps," the "Top 20 Countdown," the Spring Break specials, and the famous "MTV Unplugged," which began with XTC's performance and spawned memorable moments like those with Nirvana and R.E.M. Then came the creation of its younger sibling, VH1, MTV Europe, followed by MTV Latino, Alternative Nation, and AMP. Just as the channel was beginning to decline in the mid-90s, MTV2 breathed new life into the channel, recapturing its golden age and remaining on the air until its cancellation in 2003, leaving us with nothing. There were key moments like the famous "Unplugged," whose idea originated from an acoustic show with XTC, but it was Eric who truly made it happen. Clapton, Paul McCartney, R.E.M., and Nirvana showed that the format would reach massive heights. And what can be said about the VMAs, which after 1985 evolved into something unmissable? I remember the ceremony being considered a massive and unmissable event, until it stopped being innovative and enjoyable from the late 90s onwards. 

Unfortunately, little by little, the network content began to fade and replace music videos with trash reality TV, first was "Real World" back in 1992, and from then on it wouldn't stop, without knowing it, we were witnessing the beginning of the end, until everything became unbearable. Unfortunately over the decades, MTV went through many different phases before ultimately fading as cable TV was replaced by the internet—but not without forever leaving its mark on music.

Retro: Eclipse Total De Sol 1991

           

It was precisely on this date 30 years ago, that the famous total solar eclipse took place. This phenomenon began in the Pacific Ocean and passed over Hawaii, Mexico, and the rest of Central America, including Guatemala, before ending its path in South America, encompassing Colombia and the Amazon region of Peru and Brazil. 

 

Its duration, according to reports, was 7 minutes and 2 seconds at its peak. In Guatemala, according to the newspaper Prensa Libre, it lasted 6 minutes and 54 seconds. I remember the excitement at the time was unique, as it was the first time such an event would occur in the country. As the date approached, the media emphasized everything that was going to happen and how things might unfold. 

 

This led to a series of fantastical and even fatalistic speculations, with some believing it was a sign of the end of the world. According to my memories, at that time I was in first grade, and I think that thanks to all the speculation and how risky the phenomenon could be, since according to what was said, if one looked directly at the sun one could suffer irreversible damage, but not while it was hidden, and perhaps that is why they sent us straight home. 

 

From the early hours of the morning, there was special coverage on the local channels. For example, the local channel "Canal 3" was showing documentaries such like "The Longest Eclipse in the World," something like that, about a plane following the phenomenon. Their counterpart "Canal 7" joined altotogether and broadcasted how everything was going dark from various points in the country, such as the beaches of the southern coast, other border cities, and from the capital city on the balcony of the Teletenango studios. Other local channels "Canal 11/13" also had their own special coverage.

Retro: Hoy Hace 35 Años "Show De Fuegos Artificiales"

Hoy hace 35 años una famosa cadena de comida rápida celebraba su 20 años de existencia, y para darle las gracias a su clientela, decidieron tirar la casa por la ventana, y publicitaron un evento que con el tiempo se quedo establecido como una tradición. 

 

La velada incluía un concierto de un cantante Mexicano muy famoso por esos años, tendría su presentación en el desaparecido "Estadio Del Ejercito" y a las 10 de la noche daría comienzo el más espectacular e inolvidable "Show De Luces Artificiales" tal y como lo publicitaban traído de los Estados Unidos, para agradecer la preferencia local. 

 

El show tuvo lugar en el "Campo de Marte"  y llego a gustar tanto que la cadena de comida rápida decidió repetir el mismo show para las celebraciones navideñas de ese mismo año, comenzando una tradición que se viene realizando desde entonces para las Navidades y que solía celebrarse en el fin de semana previo a la Navidad, luego cambio a inicios de ese mes, hasta llegar a celebrarse a mediados de Noviembre desde hace ya una década, curiosamente su origen fue para los 20 años de existencia de la cadena que hoy esta cumpliendo 55  y no para celebrar la Navidad como muchos lo creen. 

 

El anuncio fue publicado en el ya desaparecido semanario Gente Joven que venía incluido en el diario Prensa Libre los días Sábados, en esa edición de hace 35 años, el top 40 oficial para Guatemala tenía como No. 1 a los malogrados The Real Milli Vanilli con "Keep On Running" banda que se promovió para enmendar la polémica con Milli Vanilli un año antes, el podio era completado por Extreme y su balada "More Than Words" y el proyecto Italiano Black Box con "Strike It Up", además de un artículo sobre la cantante juvenil Debbie Gibson.

Film: The First Horror Movie Of The 21st., Century The Cult Classic "American Psycho" Turns 25

Premiered on this date 25 years ago, "American Psycho" shocked audiences with its razor-sharp satire, unsettling violence, and unforgettable portrayal of Patrick Bateman—an investment banking executive by day and a deranged serial killer by night. 

Directed by Mary Harron and based on Bret Easton Ellis' controversial 1991 novel, was initially met with mixed reactions due to its brutal content. However, over time, the film gained a cult following for its dark humor, social commentary. The cast included Reese Witherspoon, Jared Leto, Willem Dafoe, Samantha Mathis, and Chloë Sevigny. the book and the film has since carved out a permanent spot in pop culture history.

The film had a sleek style and a cutting-edge soundtrack, featuring tracks from David Bowie, Huey Lewis and the News, and New Order—helped define its era. On a $7 million budget, American Psycho grossed over $34 million worldwide, proving its staying power despite the controversy surrounding it.

25 years later, the film remains a brutal mirror of consumer culture, toxic masculinity, and the thin line between sanity and madness. American Psycho is a satirical dark comedy penned by American author Bret Easton Ellis. The narrative follows the story of high society socialite cum investment banker Patrick Bateman who lives a dual life as a murderous psychopath. Ellis confessed that the basic premise of American Psycho came to fruition as a result of the consumer driven yuppie culture that was prevailing at that time, "I was slipping into a consumerist kind of void that was supposed to give me confidence and make me feel good about myself but just made me feel worse and worse and worse about myself. 

The book received a negative backlash when it debuted with the author even receiving hate mail and death threats for his polarizing creative output. Many feminist activists and organizations further lambasted Ellis's effort due to its graphic depiction of violence against women. But despite the properties' controversial nature, producer Edward R. Pressman showed a keen interest in adapting the novel to a feature film, after Johnny Depp expressed interest in it.

American Psycho wasn’t the first Bret Easton Ellis's film-adaptation effort. His first novel, Less Than Zero, also received the big screen treatment back in 1987 but Ellis was far from pleased by the adaptation. Because of this Ellis preferred to adapt American Psycho if he was given the opportunity to do so. The writer's dream came true when he got hired to write the screenplay when David Cronenberg and Brad Pitt were attached to direct and star at one point. Re-Animator helmer Stuart Gordon and Johnny Depp had, at that point, moved on with other projects due to the delayed nature of the adapting process.

However, in spite of authoring American Psycho, Ellis struggled with script development since Cronenberg wanted to excise large chunks of the novel which played an integral role in the narrative and specifically instructed that the script be confined to around 70 pages. The myriad changes resulted in the screenplay diverging from the source material in a big way and as three and a half years had elapsed Ellis had gotten completely fed up with what he was burdened with. The sheer boredom resulted in Ellis crafting an elaborate musical sequence to the tune of Barry Manilow's "Daybreak" as the film’s grand finale in his final draft.

Finding that Ellis could not give what he wanted, Cronenberg hired Dead Ringers' scribe Norman Snider to take a stab at script development. However, Snider too failed at the task and eventually both Cronenberg and Pitt departed the long stagnating project. Ellis ended up writing another draft for producer Rob Weiss, who went on to co-produce American Psycho, but that iteration too failed to materialize. Frustrated, Edward R. Pressman even attempted to pre-sell the property at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival but was unable to secure a potential buyer.

Mary Harron was drawn to the property due to its “risky” nature, but following the success of I Shot Andy Warhol, which premiered at the 49th Cannes Film Festival to glowing reviews, Mary Harron was on the lookout for a project that would stimulate her artistic soul. And it came in the form of a phone call from one Roberta Hanley – who ran the production company which held the film rights to American Psycho – with a tantalizing offer to direct the movie. 

At first, however, Harron was skeptical since she found the content of the novel too dark and violent. But then, the filmmaker realized that the time was right to adapt the property and focus on a more satirical, social commentary heavy version of the book's narrative. Since Harron was uninterested in the other offers she received, she decided to make American Psycho due to its inherently "risky" nature. 

However, Harron requested that she'd like to take a crack at the screenplay as well, since the previous drafts didn’t quite appeal to her as a creative. The producers agreed and Harron came on board as the film's writer and director. About the cast, 25 years ago Bale was a relative unknown who's biggest credit up to that point was Steven Spielberg's war epic Empire of the Sun which was shot in 1987 when Bale was only 13-years-old, and Lionsgate were adamant that the up-and-coming actor wasn't the right choice for their lead. This led to a bitter fallout between the studio and Harron which resulted in her exiting the project altogether.

Willem Dafoe requires no introduction. The gifted character actor has made a name for himself by working with auteur filmmakers. The actor received wide recognition, however, for his brilliant portrayal of Norman Osbourne a.k.a Green Goblin in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films. During the shoot Mary Harron instructed the talented Dafoe to give three different performances for three different takes of the same scene – one where Dafoe’s Detective Kimball knew Bateman was Paul Allen’s murderer, another where he appeared to suspect Bateman and the last one where Kimball appeared to not even suspect Bateman. These three different takes were then stitched together during editing process in order to obfuscate audiences. Jared Leto has developed something of a polarizing reputation amongst both film critics and audiences. For the pivotal involving Leto in American Psycho, director Mary Harron and Christian Bale purposefully excluded the actor during rehearsals in order to illicit a more genuine response by him when the scene is actually shot.

Shooting in Toronto proved to be a challenging affair for all due to the controversial nature of the novel and because of reports that serial killer and rapist Paul Kenneth Bernardo owned a copy of the book whilst engaging in a killing spree in the district of Toronto between 1987 and 1990, anti-violence advocates urged Toronto City Hall to deny the production of American Psycho to shoot in Toronto. Because of this, Harron & co. had trouble securing shooting locations in the vicinity to carry out filming. To avoid unnecessary problems due to ongoing protests, the production removed the title from daily call sheets and parking permits during filming. 

One of the film's most costliest aspects were purchasing the rights to various songs, obviously the music was one of the most key elements, along with the original score crafted by Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale, who also scored I Shot Andy Warhol, American Psycho features a sublime soundtrack 1980s pop music from a variety of artists which include the likes of Phil Collins, David Bowie, New Order, Robert Palmer, Rakim, Erik B. and the Mediæval Bæbes. The producers were able to secure licenses for most of the songs they sought, but the controversial nature of the property led to some artists declining the use of their songs like Whitney Houston who didn't allow the usage of her song "The Greatest Love of All". Production ended up using an orchestral version of the song for the movie, instead. The Huey Lewis and the News song "Hip to Be Square" which appears in a pivotal moment in the movie was also removed from the soundtrack album, as the song was included without the band's permission.

Made on a production budget of $7 million American Psycho went on to make a respectable $34 million at the worldwide box office. The movie debuted at the Cannes Film Festival polarizing audiences and critics both but unanimous praise was showered on the star making turn dished out by lead actor Christian Bale. Veteran film critic Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, showering praise on the female perspective brought by Harron and writer Guinevere Turner because they depict Bateman not as a psychologically disturbed aberration, but as a certain type of selfish, ego-driven male behavior taken to an abhorrent extreme. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weakley gave the film an A− rating, writing, “By treating the book as raw material for an exuberantly perverse exercise in '80s Nostalgia, Harron recasts the go-go years as a template for the casually brainwashing-consumer/fashion/image culture that emerged from them. She has made a movie that is really a parable of today”.he success of the film cemented Christian Bale's reputation as Hollywood's next leading man 

A new generation is getting ready to meet Patrick Bateman all over again. A remake is officially in the works, with director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name, Bones and All) at the helm. Austin Butler (Elvis) has been cast as the new Bateman, setting the stage for a stylish and intense reimagining of the psychopathic executive.

Film: The Great And Beloved "High Fidelity" Turns 25

Now this film has the distinction of celebrating two anniversaries. Nick Hornby's bestselling novel, published in 1995, is celebrating 30 years and the film, released on 28 March 2000, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. And just like Rob Gordon says: books, records, films -- these things matters, actually this novel and film matter.

High Fidelity is about Rob, a failing record store owner in Chicago, and how he must grapple with the reality of adulthood after his long-term girlfriend breaks up with him. The soundtrack and plot is amazing for anyone who has a deep appreciation for music. 

Actually the film is a time capsule wrapped in the essence of the '90s, capturing a generation caught between love, music, and the precariousness of growing up, this film became more than a mere cinematic experience – it resonated like a mirror reflecting my own uncertainties, passions, and quest for understanding.

Based upon the Nick Hornby novel of the same name, the movie follows Rob Gordon played by John Cusack, a record store owner and music enthusiast, as he navigates through a series of failed relationships. Facing a breakup with his girlfriend Laura, Rob reflects on his past romances and compiles a list of his top five worst breakups. Through introspection and revisiting these old flames, Rob grapples with the complexities of love, personal growth, and his fear of commitment – all set against a backdrop of eclectic music and fueled by Rob's self-deprecating humour.

It isn't just about Rob's struggle with relationships though; it's exploring the complexities of identity, growth, and the insecurities that accompany young men into adulthood. Cusack's portrayal of Rob – a music-obsessed, introspective, and flawed character – is not entirely sympathetic, but his wit, self-deprecation, and moments of vulnerability makes him very relatable.

Now the film's soundtrack is another thing, it becomes more than just background music; it is a character in itself. The melodic narrative stitched together by tracks from Bob Dylan, The Kinks, and other legends echoes the emotional highs and lows of Rob's life. It isn’t just a collection of songs; it is the heartbeat of the movie, the soundtrack of our lives, as the film explores its themes of nostalgia, friendship, and the messy realities of adult relationships..

Rob’s journey is messy, distortioned, and definitely human, his humour and candid introspection resonate. His realisation that life doesn’t follow a script and that closure isn’t always neatly packaged leads to understanding that life’s messiness can result in the most profound moments of growth. And I personally think this is the reason why the film keeps resonating with us all this time.

Twenty-five years later, looking back, High Fidelity remains as a cult relic – a film that not only captures the zeitgeist of its time the 90's. The narrative of the film itself that continues to resonate, offering solace and wisdom with each revisit, like a conversation with an old friend. Its lessons on love, self-discovery, and the profound impact of music.

Film: The Decade-Defining Movie "The Breakfast Club" Turns 40

Released on 15 February 1985, "The Breakfast Club" one of the best decade film and one of the most defining genres of the decade was the teenage coming of age story. The mastermind behind was John Hughes again, a one of a kind prevalent writers and directors of the decade who knew how to utilize this angst in his work, and subsequently, that work spoke to teenage audiences in the '80s and for decades to come. 

 

Hughes credits includes the iconic "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "Pretty In Pink" and "Some Kind Of Wonderful" amongst other, but definitely "The Breakfast Club" is his most memorable one, the story of five mismatched students all trapped in the worst place a teen could find themselves: Saturday detention. The Breakfast Club earned its rightful spot in pop culture and film history forty years ago thanks to its relatable characters and unique single location that was utilized to its fullest potential. 

The plot followed five teenagers all from different high school cliques-jocks, nerds, punks, artists, and popular girls-who spent a Saturday detention realizing they weren’t so different after all and bonding over their shared struggles with their school and home lives. What started as awkward, stilted conversations between the five different students eventually turned into them pouring their hearts out to one another and opening up about their various struggles and all the pain that came with being a teenager. Thanks to their differing social standings and personalities, every individual viewer could all find at least one character in the group who they related to or connected with on a personal level.

One of the film’s most well-known and defining scenes came at the climax of The Breakfast Club, where the five students sit in a circle and all explain what they did to end up in detention. Every audience member could relate to at least one of the struggles the characters were facing. Parents who put too much pressure on their kids, academically or athletically, divorce, apathy, or even abuse were issues that faced teens in the previous decades and sadly continue to do so even today. The struggles the characters faced in their daily lives, at home and at school, weren’t exclusive to the 1980s, which helped keep the film’s timeless quality to it. Films that spoke to viewers across generations were ones that often stayed in the pop culture lexicon.

The movie ended when detention did. The characters and the audience alike didn’t know what the group would look like come Monday morning. Would they stay friends and acknowledge each other in the crowded high school hallways? Or would they carry on as if that transformative Saturday never happened at all? These questions never got answered, and it left enough space for audience interpretation and discussion, which helped propel it even more into general conversation. Ambiguous endings could often be divisive with audiences, but in the case of The Breakfast Club, it actually worked in the film's favor. While viewers would never know what happened on Monday morning, they did see how that Saturday detention forever changed the five characters, and as Simple Mind's 'Don't You Forget About Me' played over the end credits, they were left with a feeling of hope.

A curious aspect of The Breakfast Club was its use of a single location for the film’s setting and how it elevated the tight script. The entirety of the movie takes place at a high school over the course of one day, with the vast majority of the runtime being set in the library where the characters serve their detention time. The crew really got the most out of the library setting that they possibly could. With the sheer size of it, characters were allowed to move about and keep the same space from feeling stale and repetitive. From the desks to the second floor overlooking the rest of the space to the air ducts above the characters’ heads, every inch of the library was shown at one point in the film’s runtime. 

With the dialogue being the primary way the audience learned about each character's personality, backstory, and dynamics with one another, the focus had to be on the actors and their line deliveries, and the setting had to allow them space for that. Thanks to the all-star cast of Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, and Ally Sheedy, the characters didn't feel like their assigned school clique; they felt like real people, and the script and their interpretation of it helped bring their respective characters to life.

Unfortunately like with most films from years gone by, some jokes and lines aged better than others, and a high school movie from the 1980s certainly didn't stand completely by modern standards. Nevertheless, The Breakfast Club still possessed a timeless script and universal setting that helped it stay in the pop culture lexicon 25 years after it first came out in theaters.  

The film withstood the test of time thanks to a relatable cast of characters and its creative utilization of a memorable single location, and of course a thrilling and fantastic single by Simple Minds, that still sounds fresh as it was in 1985 when MTV was king.

News: Celebrating The 50 Anniversary Of "I'm Not In Love" Also With New Music

Considered as one of the greatest love songs of all-time, 10cc celebrate the 50th anniversary of "I'm Not In Love" with a special 7" vinyl release on Valentine’s Day.

 

Originally released in 1975, I’m Not In Love was a worldwide hit and a UK No.1. And today as part of the 50th anniversary celebration, Graham Gouldman and Kevin Godley will reunite for a performance on BBC Radio 2's Piano Room. The duo will perform I’m Not In Love live, as well as a brand new song, "Don’t Want To Go To Heaven" It will be the first time in almost 20 years that they have released new music together.

 

The band featuring Graham Gouldman, Kevin Godley, Lol Creme and Eric Stewart, 10cc formed in Manchester in 1972. The group are known for their innovative approach to music, blending art rock, pop, and sophisticated studio techniques. And their groundbreaking production on I’m Not In Love includes the use of lush vocal layers to create its signature sound.

 

Nowadays fronted by Graham Gouldman, as the only founding member, 10cc continue to tour worldwide. In 2024 the band closed their 18-date UK tour at the Royal Albert Hall and Kevin Godley joined the band for a performance of the magnificent Godley & Creme hit Cry.

Rocktrospectiva: VH1 Debuted On This Day 40 Years Ago

Launched on January 1, 1985, VH1 (Video Hits One) focusing originally on music for older audiences that its sister channel MTV, probably may not have the same vivid memories of it that you do of the day MTV debuted. 

If MTV was the ultimate gateway to new music, new stars, and new pop culture trends and lifestyle. VH1 never quite developed into that kind of massive cultural appeal but over the last 4 decades, the channel has carved out its own major cultural profile, as a place where softer rock songs could become hits, and older artists could remake their careers and reach new audiences.

The Channel was launched because they wanting to capture an older audience than MTV was pulling, so for the occasion, they assembled an all-star cast of longtime radio favorites to serve as their VJ's, including Don Imus, Scott Shannon, Frankie Crocker, and Jon “Bowzer” Bauman and Rita Coolidge.Later VJ's included Bobby Rivers, Tim Byrd, Roger Rose, Alison Steele and even Rosie O'Donnell, 

During VH1’s premiere broadcast, Imus promised viewers "music from the past, from the present, that you want to hear all day every day." Indeed, the channel’s initial strategy over the next few years would be to focus on Adult Contemporary and Pop hits that 15-year-old MTV fans might ignored, so practically VH1 was setting the standard of the nowadays radio formats thay play classic and today's tunes. 

VH1's aim was to focus on the lighter, softer side of pop music, including American and foreign musicians such as Olivia Newton-John, Kenny Rogers, Carly Simon, Tina Turner, Elton John, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, Sting, Donna Summer, Rod Stewart, Kenny G, Michael Bolton, Anita Baker, Chicago, and Fleetwood Mac, appealing to people aged 18 to 35, and possibly older. Also frequently featured in the network's early years were "videos" for Motown and other '60s oldies consisting of newsreel and concert footage. 

The first video to play was the video performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Marvin Gaye, who died a year before the network launched, setting the standar the channel will follow in the years to come until 1994, which it was programmed to fit many of the radio formats popular with adults at the time including soft rock, smooth jazz, oldies and adult contemporary.

The typical of VH1's very early programming was New Visions, a series which featured videos and in-studio performances by smooth jazz and classical and new-age bands and performers, including Spyro Gyra, Andy Narell, Mark Isham, Philip Glass, and Yanni, the New Age music videos continued to play on the channel into the 1990s. They would be seen on the Sunday morning two-hour music video block titled Sunday Brunch.

Once VH1 established itself a few years later, they catered to Top 40, adult contemporary, classic rock, and 1980s mainstream pop. For a time, even country music videos aired in a one-hour block during the afternoons. They started out using MTV's famous Kabel-based credits for their music video credit tags. It was later replaced in 1991 by a larger, vertically oriented font, with the year the video was made added to the lower column that identified the label on which the album was released. In 1993, the name of the videos' director was included at the bottom of the credits.

The channel's playlist was gradually expanding, and, by 1994, included contemporary musicians such as Ace of Base, Sheryl Crow, Lisa Loeb, Amy Grant, Seal, and other slightly heavier, or more alternative rock-influenced music than what it had originally played, although favorites such as Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Rod Stewart, Cher, Elton John, Madonna, Phil Collins, and Janet Jackson.

On October 17, 1994, VH1 re-branded itself as VH1: Music First, following a slight ratings decline in the early 1990s. By 1996, VH1 was heading down the same path as its sister channel, MTV, choosing to focus more on music-related shows rather than just music videos. Additionally, the network began to expand its playlist of music videos to include more rock music.During this time, the channel launched several new shows such as the VH1 Top 10 Countdown, Pop-Up Video, Storytellers, Behind The Music, Legends, VH1 Divas and Movies Tha Rock. 

In the late 1990s, the channel diversified and became more teen-oriented and created two spinoff channels VH1 Smooth which later became VH1 Classic and MTV Classic, and VH1 Country which later become CMT Pure Country and CMT Music, by 2003-2013 the channel used their box logo, airing their music video blocks back then, it was during this era when the channel arrived to Latinamerica for their latin version playing videos of Latin American artists combined with their International counterparts, also it was the time when the channel began their "I Love" series, focusing on several decades, and "The Greatest" which was one of the most fantastic shows ever produced by the channel, following a countdown lists like "100 Greatest Artists of Rock and Roll", "The 50 Sexiest Video Moments", "100 Greatest Songs of Rock 'N' Roll", "100 Greatest Songs from the Past 25 Years", "100 Greatest One-hit Wonders", "100 Greatest Kid Stars", and "100 Greatest Teen Stars". 

Their logo changed again between 2013-2022 which was an updated version of its original logo from 1985. Unfortunately this changed shifting towards shows focused around African-American personalities, similar to BET and its sister networks eight years until its acquistion, in Latin America, the channel keep playing non-stop videos 24 hours a day, until its demise in 2020 when the network cease their operations, while in the United States, the channel would move to theb BET Media Group, finish an era in pop culture. 

Stranger Than Fiction: When The U.S. Army Used Rock And Roll For Psychologial Warfare 35 Years Ago

On December 20th., at this time back in 1989, the United States Army invaded Panama, the once close relationship between General Manuel Noriega and the US had deteriorated to the point of no return, So in an address to the nation, then President George H W Bush said he had ordered military forces to Panama to "protect the lives of American citizens" and bring Noriega "to justice".

At the time, Noriega was facing a US indictment for drug-trafficking, as well as claims he had rigged a 1989 election. so then U.S. military invaded Panama under the Operation Just Cause, as it was dubbed by the US, saw more than 20,000 US troops invade the country and seize control of key military installations.

 

As soon he rapidly ran out of options, Noriega took refuge at the Vatican Embassy in Panama City. In deference to diplomatic protocol, U.S. forces did not enter the embassy. But they had a plan B to force the dictator to give up, that plan involved music, mostly heavy metal and rock, with a few ballads, and play 'em on loud speakers. U.S. Gen. Maxwell "Mad Max" Thurman had ordered speakers placed as a "musical barrier" around the perimeter of the Vatican Embassy and turned to full volume.

 

The U.S. military radio for Central America, known as the Southern Command Network, initially did what it always did — play requests from the troops, but at first they did not take any request until 21 December.

 

Many of those requests were directed at Noriega to send a musical musical, but when the troops started coming in from the field, the requests became quite imaginative, for instance "Give It Up," by K.C. And The Sunshine Band, "No More Mister Nice Guy," by Alice Cooper, and "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath.

 

Other favourites included "Welcome to the Jungle," by Guns N' Roses, "Wanted Dead Or Alive," by Bon Jovi, and "The End" by The Doors,  "I Fought The Law" by The Clash, Panama by the stadium rock band Van Halen, U2's "All I Want Is You", Bruce Cockburn's "If I Had A Rocket Launcher.", INXS "Never Tear Us Apart", and of course "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley, so practically, Manuel Noriega was the first rickrolled. The rock and pop music stops on Christmas Day, when the radio station broadcast only Christmas music. But with requests streaming in, the U.S. effort ramped up after the holiday. 

 

On December 27, "someone who identified himself as a member of the PSYOPS [Psychological Operations] team from Fort Bragg [N.C.] called to tell us what they were doing with their loud speakers, because on radio news had reports explaining what was happening there, of course not everyone was happy with the military's approach, including the White House, and the music was stopped after several days. President George H.W. Bush's national security adviser, Brent Scowcroft, said afterward that he thought the use of high-volume music was "undignified."

 

On January. 3, 1990, Noriega surrendered to the U.S. forces, though not until after he'd been treated to a version of "I Fought The Law." Noriega was reportedly partial to opera. What he got instead was "Panama," from Van Halen, "Danger Zone," from Kenny Loggins, and "Refugee," courtesy of Tom Petty.

 

Noriega was flown to Miami, tried and convicted of drug trafficking, and spent nearly two decades in U.S. prisons, and finally died on 29 May, 2017. 

You can take a look to the full playlist here: Panama Playlist

The Item: Celebrating The Pet Shop Boys 40 Years Of Career With Fine Bone China Tea Set

Pet Shop Boys are celebrating 40 years of career with a campaign called "Since 1984", with a commemorative set which marks four decades since the duo – starring Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe – emerged on the scene

The duo said: We are promised a series of exclusive products, under this brand, and in true PSB style the first is rather un-rock ’n’ roll – a fine bone china tea set!

The 22-karat gold-plated range has been designed by longtime design partners Farrow and encompasses cups, saucer, tea pot, milk jug and sugar bowl. Each piece is "hand-finished" and decorated with PSB symbols (pointy hats, silhouettes, Chris' glasses from the Suburbia single sleeve, etc) and has been made in the UK by Duchess China.

Each set comes with a certificate of authenticity and prices start at £200 (for a milk jug and sugar bowl). They will be ‘released’ in November and can be pre-ordered vía the PSB site: petshopboys since 1984

El Aniversario: Se Cumplen 30 Años De La Muerte De "Kurt Cobain" El Malogrado Icono Del Grunge

Fue un 5 de abril de 1994, cuando el icono del grunge y mártir del rock alternativo aparentemente se quitaba la vida de un escopetazo en la cabeza a eso de las 11 de la mañana, aunque la noticia de su muerte se conoció oficialmente el 8 de abril cuando un electricista descubrió su cuerpo tendido en el piso sobre una gran mancha de sangre.

 

A partir de ese momento moría la persona y nacía la leyenda, a la malograda edad de 27 años pasaba a ser el nuevo integrante de ese maldito club de los 27 junto a otras estrellas como Hendrix y Morrison, justo en el momento en que su banda Nirvana y su figura estaban en lo más alto de la cúspide del rock, encabezando y  encarnando la esencia del movimiento grunge que había logrado poner en el mapa a Seattle junto a bandas como Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, o Soundgarden.

 

El artista venía luchando contra la depresión y en los últimos meses previos venía sufriendo de presión crónica y severo dolor físico además de la adicción a la heroína, si bien la causa oficial aceptada fue la del suicidio, hasta el día de hoy muchos de sus seguidores entre los que me cuento, así como gente no afín a la causa creen que en realidad fue asesinado.

 

Un mes antes había quedado en coma por mezclar calmantes con champagne, y lo que Love y los medios hicieron creer, fue que Cobain había atentado suicidarse, cuando un par de días antes aquejado por un malestar de garganta y un molesto catarro, terminó con la cuerdas vocales maltratadas y por consejo del doctor, debía descansar, esa noche Love se junto con él en Roma, y este desesperado por el dolor mezclo equivocadamente Rophynol, Clorydrato y algo de champagne para celebrar la llegada de Love, en realidad algunos de esos médicamente eran de Love y este decidió utilizarlos por la molestia intensa que sentía, y no lo culpo cualquiera de nosotros haría lo mismo con tal de quitarse una molestia corporal, Cobain se va a la cama y a la mañana siguiente, Love se lo encuentra tirado en el piso en coma, la rápida atención de los paramédicos fue vital para lavarle el estomago y ponerlo de nuevo en circulación, y ahí estaba de regreso a Seattle para pasar su último mes de vida.

Se dice que se escapo de una clínica de rehabilitación en California para regresar a Seattle donde compró un arma para protegerse y no para suicidarse, a parte de la dosis de heroína que consumió a gusto, tan así era que los análisis cuenta que la cantidad de droga que tenía en el cuerpo, le imposibilitaba dispararse el mismo a la cabeza al menos que hubiera jalado del gatillo con el dedo de su pie, a parte de la nota de aparente suicidio, ya que si se lee detenidamente parece más bien una nota de despedida de su mujer, hija y fans, el decía que planeaba irse a vivir a Irlanda con su madre y comenzar una nueva vida, o quizás simplemente desaparecer como lo han hecho otros.

 

Han pasado tres décadas desde la malograda e inesperada muerte del líder de Nirvana, pero el legado musical que dejó detrás sigue más vivo que nunca, aún entre las nuevas generaciones, quizás por lo honesto de su mensaje y su forma de ser, encabezando la que para muchos fue y será la última gran revolución del rock, pero también celebramos su legado, su arte, su música, sus frases, su manera de ser tan sincera, de compartirnos sus más profundos pensamientos y hacernos sentir parte de algo especial, lo cual después de tanto tiempo sigue dándonos esa fascinación de como cuando escuchamos por primera vez "Smells Like Teen Spirit" en la radio, luego el video en la otrora grande MTV, de la icónica presentación en los VMA de 1992, del cambio de ruta con "In Utero", de la grabación del "MTV Unplugged In New York", hasta ese sábado 8 de abril, cuando Kurt Loder de MTV News anunciaba la trágica noticia de su muerte.

El Aniversario: El Histórico Concierto De "Bon Jovi" En Guatemala Cumple 30 Años

Fue un 31 de Octubre de 1993 cuando Bon Jovi sorprendió al público Guatemalteco con lo que sería su primera y hasta la fecha, única presentación por estas tierras Centroamericanas, el escenario fue el Estadio Mateo Flores (Hoy Doroteo Guamuch Flores), el inicio estaba pactado a las 18:00 horas con el acto de apertura a cargo de un tal Alfred Kalttschmitt para luego dar paso al icónico Bon Jovi que venía con sus cinco miembros originales, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, el fallecido Alec John Such, Tico Torres, y David Bryan, venían precedidos supuestamente de un enorme equipo te amplificación que superaba los 90 kilovatios, además de 240 reflectores para los efectos especiales y unas cuatro pantallas gigantes, el evento prometía mucho y por eso la gran expectativa al respecto. 

 

Volviendo un poco en el tiempo, la Guatemala de 1993 venía saliendo para variar un momento convulso en su historia política, en Mayo de había dado el auto golpe de estado de parte de Serrano Elías, además de otros problemas sociopoliticos que poco o nada han cambiado en estos 30 años, por supuesto que Guatemala no era ajena a lo que sucedía en cuanto a música y cultura pop, en aquellos años, la serie juvenil "Beverly Hills 90210" estaba de moda entre los adolescentes, que también vibraban al compás sonoro de la música alternativa de la mano de bandas como Nirvana, Pearl Jam o R.E.M., por ahí se asomaba tímidamente el britpop con bandas como Blur ó Suede y por supuesto el eurodance, trance y techno pop cortesía de grupos como Culture Beat, Capella, 2 Unlimited, Urban Cookie Collective, Bizarre Inc o L.A. Style entre otros.

 

Cuando se anuncio la llegada de Bon Jovi, la expectativa entre el público fue de fascinación, ya que conciertos de ese tipo era muy raros, quizás lo más vibrante por decirlo así que se vivió ese año fueron los shows de una banda Mexicana Maná muy famosa en aquella época en Febrero y la llegada inédita de Snap y AB Logic en Junio, pero lo Bon Jovi eran palabras mayores ya que estaban en su momento, recuerden que estaban promocionando su más reciente disco "Keep The Faith", por lo tanto no era banda que buscaba vivir de sus memorias, desgraciadamente este tipo de eventos no estaban y todavía no siguen estando en la mente de los organizadores de evento, ya sea por ignorancia o falta de dinero, a pesar que a lo largo de estos 30 años, el país ha tenido la visita de Def Leppard, Megadeth, Sepultura, Héroes Del Silencio, The White Stripes, Metallica y hasta Babasónicos, y el fiasco que ha sido la esperada actuación de Guns 'N' Roses que han cancelado el evento dos veces, pero tampoco el país se ha convertido en imán para atraer bandas y artistas de este género de una manera mucho más masiva.

 

Bon Jovi tenía una fuerte base de seguidores en Guatemala, se volvieron conocidos gracias al éxito de los discos "Slippery When Wet" y "New Jersey" y el álbum que entrego en solitario Jon Bon Jovi con clásicos como "Blaze Of Glory" o "Miracle", potenciados por las estaciones de radio, la MTV y VH1 y programas de videos locales como Constelación Rock y Musicales 13, este último incluso usaba el tema "Lay Your Hands On Me" como su outro, su disco "Keep The Faith" estaba funcionando bien y marcaba un cambio en su sonido glam metal, lo cual era obvio ya que estábamos a inicios de los 90., en una época en la que el rock alternativo mato a las hair bands, pero Bon Jovi supo evolucionar, si no mal recuerdo la banda tenía temas muy populares ese año tales como "Bed Of Roses" & "In These Arms" que sonaban muy bien en las estaciones de radio. 

 

La banda estaba promocionando el disco por estos lares y originalmente que es lo que yo supe años después que la banda no tenía pensado por nada del destino pasar por Guatemala, pero como les quedaba en el camino entre México y Costa Rica, decidieron tomar la oportunidad aparte que los organizadores estuvieron pilas para traérselos para acá de la mano de una famosa marca de bebidas gaseosas color naranja, entonces se vino el bombardeo masivo en todos los medios locales anunciando el evento para ese recordado 31 de Octubre de hace 30 años con unos precios que hoy levantan mucha nostalgia, la entrada más cara era de Q225.00, la que le antecedía era de unos Q125.00 y habían otros dos más de Q100.00 y Q60.00 si la memoria no me falla.

En realidad y como siempre lo he dicho, no tenía planeado asistir al concierto ya que nunca me he considerado un fanático empedernido del grupo, a pesar que me gustaban algunos temas como "Dead Or Alive", ""You Give Love A Bad Name", "Livin' On A Prayer", "Living In A Sin", y "I'll Be There", además de los temas de solista del cuate este como "Blaze Of Glory" y "Miracle", pero nada más, la situación fue que en ese entonces tenía una novia que si era fanática de la banda y de la nada ya me había incluido dentro de sus planes para ese 31 de Octubre, por lo que literalmente no tuve otra opción y tuve que comprar también mi entrada para acompañarla y que al final resultamos algunas amigas más y su hermano asistiendo al evento.

 

Fue una tarde soleada la de aquel Domingo 31 de Octubre, con algo de frío por supuesto, en el mundo se estaba dando a conocer la noticia que el icónico actor River Phoenix fallecía por una sobredosis de drogas, mientras tanto nos apresurábamos a llegar al estadio que estaba repleto, y una de las primeras impresiones que tuve fue lo imponente que se miraba el escenario con esas luces aunque no tan impresionado con esas paupérrimas pantallas que distaban mucho de ser gigantes, acto seguido fue acomodarnos en las gradas del Mateo Flores y a esperar a que se fuera llenando el escenario, de pronto una parejita estaba peleándose en la gramilla del estadio y acto seguido fue la bulla de todos en el reciento, vaya suerte la que tuvieron ya que hoy en día hubieran sido filmados y acto seguido el video subido alguna plataforma digital, en ese extremo donde yo estaba, se dejó ver el famoso Marcelo Fraccelli que conducía el programa "Rock Tracks" en la otrora grande "FM 95" preguntando a los asistentes sus opiniones sobre el evento. 

 

El tiempo pasaba y la gente comenzó a desesperarse y como los genios organizadores pusieron una fragil división entre la gramilla 1 y 2, muchos botaron esas divisiones y salieron corriendo a la gramilla principal, acto seguido comenzaron a incitar a los de los graderios para que botaran las puertas y se metieran a la gramilla,  y eventualmente eso fue lo que paso, recuerdo que una amiga si logro atravesar la puerta, mientras que yo y mi novia de ese entonces nos quedamos a las puertas de hacerlo por culpa de su otra amiga que se puso nerviosa y comenzó a gritar desesperada por la multitud que se vino abajo, al final regresamos a nuestra posición original, y pese a todos los colados, la gramilla apenas si se lleno. 

 

A las 18:00 por fin, apareció el acto de apertura, ese cuate llamado Alfred Kallschmitt comenzó a tocar pero no impresiono y tampoco gusto a la gente, ahí fue cuando nos dimos cuenta que las famosas pantallas no funcionaban para nada, pero eso era lo de menos, el público ya en su desesperación gritaba para que sacaran al cuate este, y entonces pasaría un cierto tiempo para ver en escena a la esperadisima banda a eso de las 20:30, la banda fue fiel a su sonido y aprovecharon su clásico repertorio entre las que destacaron temas como Bad Medicine", "Lay Your Hands On Me", "Wanted Dead Or Alive", "Runaway", "Born To Be My Baby", "Never Say Goodbye" y por supuesto "Keep The Faith", pero no tocaron temas como "Living In Sin" o "I'll Be There For You" y eso se lo dije a mi novia de ese entonces, lo que si me sorprendió fue escuchar "Blaze Of Glory" pero no "Miracle".

 

El concierto no duro mucho, terminaron tipo 10:00 de la noche y faltaron algunos temas clásicos, se vino la lluvia y las pantallas se quedaron sin funcionar y la banda se despidió y nos dejaron a todos con un amargo sabor de boca, por supuesto que se les abucheo y creo que ni siquiera salieron hacer el clásico encore, y la noche que prometía ser mágica termino siendo para el olvido, al final de cuentas y como dirían aquellos icónicos Beavis And Butthead, me hubiera gustado meter a Bon Jovi en un cajón y no dejarlos salir nunca, porque su actuación dejo mucho que desear, eso sí, para Guatemala fue algo histórico tanto así que treinta años después, la banda ni siquiera se ha vuelto a pasear por estos lares.

Aniversarios: La Icónica Serie De Televisión "Los Expedientes Secretos X" Cumple 30 Años

Debutó un 10 de Septiembre 1993, "The X-Files" o "Los Expedientes Secretos X" como se le conoció por estos lares, era un show ficticio acerca de un agente del FBI encargado de investigar eventos paranormales y fantásticos, su nombre Fox Mulder encarnado por David Duchovny a quien se le une Dra., algo escéptica Dana Scully encarnada por Gillian Anderson, el show iba sobre investigar eventos acerca de abducciones y todo tipo de fenómenos paranormales cautivando al público durante las nueve temporadas que estuvo al aire, el show también lanzó dos películas y le siguieron después dos nuevas temporadas limitadas en el 2016 y 2018. 

 

Creada por Chris Carter, quien era un fan de las series de horror de los 70's., Kolchak: The Night Stalker en donde un reportero investigaba misteriosos crímenes sobre eventos sobre naturales o elementos de ciencia fantásticos, además de otros como "La Dimensión Desconocida", "Night Gallery", "Twin Peaks", y el filme "The Silence Of The Lambs", a partir de esos creo a los dos agentes del FBI uno creyente y la otra escéptica, representando el deseo de creer en algo contra la inhabilidad de no hacerlo.

 

Como era de esperarse, el show rápidamente paso a convertirse de una serie de culto a un fenómeno mundial de la cultura pop en especial durante las primeras siete temporada logrando varios premios en el camino, y a Scully se le agradece impulsar a mujeres jóvenes buscar carreras sobre ciencia y medicina que fue conocido después como el efecto Scully. A lo largo de la serie hubieron varios tipos de episodios, en un inicio era sobre Ovnis y abducciones extraterrestres, con Carter sabiendo que si se seguía así, el show peligraría más adelante, por lo que después optaron por realizar dos tipos de episodios, aquellas en donde aparecían personajes icónicos como "El Fumador" y los famosos "Monstruos De La Semana" en donde usaban seres mitológicos, pasando del horror al humor, conspiraciones, folklore, pero siempre tenían algo para todos y ahí radicaba su éxito. 

 

Las primeras cinco temporadas fueron filmadas en Vancouver, Columbia Británico, pero en la 6ta., temporada paso a Los Ángeles, al llegar la 7ma., temporada, el contrato que tenía Duchovny expiro y entonces dejó la serie aunque ocasionalmente regreso durante la 8ava., y 9na., temporada, a menudo se les dice las temporadas que no deben nombrarse, ya que aquí comenzó el declive, Anderson dejó de sentirse animada, y entonces Carter buscó a otros personajes como John Doggett y Monica Reyes como los nuevos agentes, pero no fue lo mismo, hubieron unos interesantes spin-offs con "The Lone Gunmen" pero no fue suficiente, por lo que acabo en esa 9na., temporada. 

 

En el 2008 llego la película "The X-Files: I Want To Believe" que si bien no fue algo del otro mundo tuvo éxito en taquilla y animó lo que sería una 3era., entrega que llegó en el 2015, en un formato de serie limitada en la televisión, que tuvo críticas variadas en especial por la debilidad que esta vez mostró la serie en cuanto a la temática. A pesar que han pasado ya muchos años del lanzamiento de las subsecuentes últimas temporadas, el interés por la serie no ha decaído y en algunas plataformas la serie esta disponible para verla cuantas veces quiera el televidente, a manera de mantener el culto más vivo que nunca.

Rocktrospectiva: El Single Debut De The Smiths "Hand In Glove" Cumple 40 Años

Hoy hace 40 años, la mítica banda Inglesa The Smiths, publicaba su primer single oficial "Hand In Glove", que venía incluido en lo que sería su primer álbum oficial llamado "The Smiths" y que saldría al mercado al año siguiente. El tema fue compuesto por Morrissey y Johnny Marr, la banda que apenas se había formado un año antes se complementaba con Andy Rourke y Mike Joyce.

 

El tema alcanzó el No. 3 en el UK Indie Chart pero no pudo llegar al Top 75 del UK Singles Chart, apenas llegó al No. 124, pero le iría mejor al año siguiente cuando Sandie Shaw le hizo un cover y como músicos utilizó a miembros del grupo como Marr, Joyce y Rourke, y aquí el tema si llegó al No. 27 del UK Singles Chart. 

 

La maqueta original costó unas 250 libras de la época, y había sido financiada totalmente por el manager de la banda, Joe Moss y grabada en la localidad de Stockport, luego fue presentada al jefe de la Rough Trade, Geoff Travis quien decidió editarlo como single, luego capto la atención de la BBC de la mano de John Peel.

El tema fue una especie de éxito de culto cuya cara B era "Handsome Devil" y que causo cierto estupor ya que los diarios sensacionalistas decian que en la letra se toleraba la pedofilia. A pesar de todo el single caló profundo, y tuvo criticas favorables como la de Barney Hoskyns quien dijo para el semanario NME, que era una de las pocas obras maestras del año, Bill Black dijo para Sounds que era un interesante debut, y Ned Raggett la llamó impresionante, y sorprendente para ser un debut, destacando la calidad en las guitarras acústicas y eléctricas de Marr reconociendo el buen trabajo de Joyce en la batería y eficaz bajó de Rourke.

Con respecto a la curiosa portada, estuvo supervisada por el mismo Morrissey, quien había dado sus especificaciones al respecto, esta solo debia tener un centro la etiqueta de papel con cuatro orificios que rodearan el centro, la cual mostraba la fotografía de un hombre desnudo de espaldas a la cámara, el autor fue Jim Frech, y la hizo en un hotel en San Francisco, sobre el modelo se dice que es George O'Mara aunque por otras fuentes se dice que es un actor porno llamado Leo Ford, la imagen esta datada entre 1966 y 1972 y aparecería en el libro de Margaret Walters "The Nude Male" publicado en 1978.

El Aniversario: El Icónico Single De New Order "Blue Monday" Cumple 40 Años

Hoy hace 40 años, la mítica banda Inglesa New Order lanzaba el single "Blue Monday" que con el tiempo llegó a convertirse en hito, en el single de 12" más vendido de todos los tiempos, pero lo mejor de todo fue lo influyente que llegaron hacer los oriundos de Manchester, quienes simplemente tomaron varias influencias que iban de Donna Summer, mucho Italo Disco, Ennio Morricone, y hasta Sylvester para crear un hit de corte dance alternativo y así cambiar el curso de la música pop y de paso influenciar a otros grandes como The Pet Shop Boys y toda la escena Techno de Detroit.

Escrito y producido por la banda y lanzado bajo el legendario sello Factory, el track seminal ha continuado emocionando e influenciando un sin fin de generaciones de músicos y creadores desde aquel 7 de Marzo de 1983, en su momento alcanzó el top 10 en el Reino Unido pasando un total de 38 semanas en el top 75, pero también alcanzó el top 10 en otros países como Alemania, Suiza, Bélgica, Austria, Nueva Zelanda y el chart bailable en los Estados Unidos. 

Originalmente venía bajo un única cubierta que asemejaba la envoltura de un disco Floppy de 5 ¼ con colores en la barra de código donde se descifraba cortesía de Peter Saville y que a la postre sería parte de leyenda desarrollando un culto increíble para este clásico instantáneo que todavía sigue siendo reverenciado, que pese a que altero la reverencia que la banda solía tener bajo la sombra de Joy Division e Ian Curtis, ahora con este estilo llegaban a una audiencia que jamas había escuchado acerca de Curtis. 

El sonido mezclaba dance y rock alternativo cosa que ese 1983 era algo novedoso y hasta adelantado a su época pero que afectaría la escena post-disco mostrando la manera de hacer las cosas para los productores de música techno. 

La banda sigue en activo haciendo giras y ahora han sido confirmados para el Primavera Sound en Barcelona y Madrid junto a sus colegas del tour Unity, Pet Shop Boys, también estará Depeche Mode y con eso será posible ver a la santísima trinidad del synth pop juntos este verano.

Film: La Icónica "Singles" Cumple 30 Años

Hoy hace 30 años, era estrenada en los Estados Unidos, la película "Singles" (Solteros/Vida De Solteros) escrita y dirigida por Cameron Crowe y que contó con la participación de Bridget Fonda, Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick y Matt Dillon, y estuvo animada por una serie de bandas que ayudarían a volver el género Grunge un suceso mundial. 

 

A menudo considerada como la película del grunge por excelencia o el "Saturday Night Fever" de la era grunge, es prácticamente todo lo contrario, lo que sucede es que el filme la premier del filme coincidió con el éxito mundial que estaba teniendo en ese momento la escena aparte que se filme en Seattle, ciudad a la que Crowe se mudó a mediados de los 80's., mucho antes de la gran bulla que vendría a principios de los 90s., y es que el famoso novelista y crítico para la revista Rolling Stone estaba buscando un lugar apacible en donde seguir con su carrera hacía el cine y mantener contacto con la música, en donde entro en contacto con gente como Jeff Ament y Stone Gossard, que tocaban para una banda llamada Green River y que después formarían la banda Mother Love Bone juntó a Danny Wood y estaban encaminados a ser un fenómeno, y de hecho ya habían lanzado un buen disco en la época en que Nirvana apenas si tenía relevancia y Pearl Jam ni siquiera existía. 

Para 1989, Crowe ya había tenido un filme en su haber, la recordada "Say Anything" con John Cusack, el cual tuvo un gran éxito, por lo que ya estaba planeando su próximo filme, el cual buscaba mostrar una serie de episodios sobre la vida independiente de un grupo de jóvenes de trabajos menores y grandes aspiraciones, eso evolucionó a lo que sería "Singles" en donde contaba la vida entrecruzada de 6 jóvenes solteros que viven en un mismo edificio de apartamentos en Seattle cuya trama se va dividiendo en capítulos enfocándose en dos parejas complicadas del grupo de amigos. 

Junto al filme crecía una escena en paralelo, bandas como Soundgarden y Alice In Chains ya comenzaban a entrar en el radar masivo de MTV, pero habían otras como Tad, Mother Love Bone, Screaming Trees y Mudhoney que empezaban a tener su momento, y de ahí es donde sale la idea del grupo Citizen Dick del cual era vocalista Cliff (Matt Dillon), se dice que Nirvana rechazó la invitación de participar. El filme se comienza a filmar a principios de 1991, y cuando acabaron, pues el estudio no sabía como distribuirla comercialmente, por lo que estuvo en riesgo de quedar engavetada, porque no tenía en sí, ni pies ni cabeza y de hecho, la película es recordada por los músicos y las canciones que salieron en ella que por la trama, pero todo esta apunto de cambiar.

En 1991, la suerte comenzó a cambiarle a varias bandas de la escena, primero fue Alice In Chains que gozó de popularidad ese año y amplía rotación en la MTV, de hecho su tema "Would?" es uno de los principales del soundtrack, luego bandas como Soundgarden, y eventualmente Pearl Jam surgida de las cenizas de Mother Love Bone junto a Nirvana, terminaron por volverse populares y masivos, que el Estudio vio la forma de como aprovechar el filme. La idea de involucrar a todos estos nombres dentro del film y usar el soundtrack como punto principal, entonces removieron el poster promocional con el horrible lema y colocaron el nombre de Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains y Soundgarden. 

Así fue como Alice In Chains aportó dos temas "It Ain't Like That" del popular álbum "Facelift" y luego "Would?" su tema más popular, Pearl Jam por su parte puso dos temas inéditos "Breath" y "State Of Love And Trust", incluso los miembros de la banda eran los colegas de Cliff en Citizen Dick, por su parte Soundgarden puso el tema "Birth Ritual", así como otras bandas tale como Screaming Trees, Smashing Pumpkins, Mudhoney, Paul Wsterberg, Jimi Hendrix y por supuesto Mother Love Bone. 

Su estreno el 18 de Septiembre fue gigantesco en gran parte por su soundtrack y por aprovecharse del éxito del grunge, y que como decía Crowe, ni Cornell ni Vedder hacían el rol cliché de estrellas opulentas sino de tipos normales, y es que el filme era un homenaje directo a Seattle, y su gente, los jóvenes que en ese entonces se enfrentaban ya a los vaivenes existenciales y el temor de pasar a la edad adulta, en una época previa a "Friends", el internet, los lugares de citas en línea, y el panorama de la juventud a principios de los 90s., por eso e independientemente del argumento, vale la pena volver a revisitarla y así poder tener una idea del panorama de hace 30 años.