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Books

'The Ultimate History of the '80s Teen Movie': It's More Than Just the Brat Pack

A quiet revolution of women in the film industry, the rise of home video -- The Ultimate History of the '80s Teen Movie is about more than just Saturday Night Fever and The Breakfast Club.

Music

Locked and Loaded: Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud Discuss Their Classic 1988 Hip-Hop Debut

Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud's Girls I Got 'Em Locked exuded the right amount of urban flair, boyishly sly humour, and club appeal when it was released back in 1988.

Film

On Susan Seidelman's Film of Aimless Desire, 'Smithereens'

The experiences you have in NYC are not the best experiences to be had, the sex you have is not the best sex, the friends you make are not the best of all possible friends—but they ought to be.

Music

Bass is Loaded: Kid Sensation on His Bass Music Classic, 'Rollin' With Number One'

Electricity and simplicity are the two prime characteristics which drive Kid Sensation's debut.

Music

New Wave Noir Meets Technicolor: An Interview with the Motels' Martha Davis

On the eve of the Motels' first new album in ten years, The Last Few Beautiful Days, founder Martha Davis talks "Hollywood 101", the machine of celebrity, and why the Motels are like a thrift store treasure.

Television

Mustaches Run Amok Throughout Mickey Spillane’s 'The New Mike Hammer: The Series'

WARNING: This review may disturb, nay, trigger recollections for Gen X'ers that grew up watching TV with adults in the '80s.

Reviews

Lady-Killer: Exploring Coming-of-Age Through Horror in 'Lady in White'

Lady in White is a patiently-crafted example of how setting and atmosphere can supersede character and action in a story.

Music

Phil Collins: Singles

The main question with Singles is this: does Phil Collins really deserve all the critical revilement he's gotten for decades?

Games

Best of the Moving Pixels Podcast: Our Top 5 Arcade Games of All-Time

This week we consider the place of the arcade machine in the history of gaming culture.

Music

Various Artists: Another Splash of Colour: New Psychedelia in Britain 1980-1985 (take 2)

This is a thorough, satisfying, and surprisingly scholarly cross-section of British New Psych in the early '80s.

Reviews

Defining Spiritual Sequel in 'Everybody Wants Some!!'

The powerful timing of Richard Linklater’s take on '80s competitiveness in Everybody Wants Some!!

Music

Always Cry 4 Love, Never Cry 4 Pain: Prince's 30-year 'Parade'

On Parade, Prince allows an openness to ideas and collaboration to a degree he’d never experienced before, and it brings out the best in him.

Film

Boston Underground Film Festival 2016: 'The Lure'

There's no denying the worthiness of The Lure's experimental qualities, but its characters get drowned in the music and never really find their way out.

Games

Why the Arcade Matters

The arcade snatched video games from the rarefied spaces of industry and academia, making playing video games into a truly populist pastime.

Books

Crossing the Troll Bridge With 'Marvel Comics in the 1980s'

It’s almost as if Pierre Comtois is trolling the reader, treating the printed page as a message board on which to make fans go crazy.

Television

'The Facts of Life' Is the Ultimate '80s Comfort Food Sitcom

Almost 30 years after its conclusion, putting The Facts of Life on the TV feels like hanging out with an old friend.

Games

“Beware, I Live”: The Voice of Antagonism, The Voice of the Arcade

The most honest voice of the arcade era is that of Sinistar: "I hunger."

Music

Grateful Dead: Dick’s Picks 32 and 33

The Grateful Dead's most exciting stuff is born of some pretty daring work on the high wire. They certainly fall from time to time, but not nearly as often as they might.

Music

Cherub: MoM & DaD

Despite Cherub's best intentions, their sound still strikes as schtick. MoM & DaD's closest relative is probably The Electric 6.

Music

Aretha Franklin: Knew You Were Waiting: The Best of Aretha Franklin 1980 - 1998

Despite too many duets and a lack of variation, Aretha's voice still shines on her '80s hits.

Music

Human Switchboard: Who's Landing In My Hangar? Anthology 1977-1984

Velvets-worshipping Ohioan post-punks get their day in the sun on this long-over reissue.

Reviews

'Maxwell Street Blues' Is a Toe-Tapping Time Capsule

Viewing Maxwell Street Blues paradoxically stirs simultaneous emotions of melancholy and elation. Much like what happens when singing the blues.

Music

Ford & Lopatin: Channel Pressure

A work of heroic heritage -- reorganizing an era that is too often dismissed as sterile.

Reviews

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Features

20 Films That Went From Bombs to Beloved

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PM Picks

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Pop Ten

20 Films That Went From Bombs to Beloved

The 25 Best Classic Progressive Rock Albums

The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 1: 100 - 81

The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 5: 20 - 1

Jackie Chan's 10 Best Films

The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 4: 40 - 21

The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 2: 80 - 61

The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 3: 60 - 41

The 70 Best Albums of 2019

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One of our most popular series ever, this 2015 list of the 1980s best "alternative" music has it all, from new wave to punk and post-punk to goth.

A quiet revolution of women in the film industry, the rise of home video -- The Ultimate History of the '80s Teen Movie is about more than just Saturday Night Fever and The Breakfast Club.

Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud's Girls I Got 'Em Locked exuded the right amount of urban flair, boyishly sly humour, and club appeal when it was released back in 1988.

The experiences you have in NYC are not the best experiences to be had, the sex you have is not the best sex, the friends you make are not the best of all possible friends—but they ought to be.

Electricity and simplicity are the two prime characteristics which drive Kid Sensation's debut.

On the eve of the Motels' first new album in ten years, The Last Few Beautiful Days, founder Martha Davis talks "Hollywood 101", the machine of celebrity, and why the Motels are like a thrift store treasure.

WARNING: This review may disturb, nay, trigger recollections for Gen X'ers that grew up watching TV with adults in the '80s.

Lady in White is a patiently-crafted example of how setting and atmosphere can supersede character and action in a story.

The main question with Singles is this: does Phil Collins really deserve all the critical revilement he's gotten for decades?

This week we consider the place of the arcade machine in the history of gaming culture.

This is a thorough, satisfying, and surprisingly scholarly cross-section of British New Psych in the early '80s.

The powerful timing of Richard Linklater’s take on '80s competitiveness in Everybody Wants Some!!

On Parade, Prince allows an openness to ideas and collaboration to a degree he’d never experienced before, and it brings out the best in him.

There's no denying the worthiness of The Lure's experimental qualities, but its characters get drowned in the music and never really find their way out.

The arcade snatched video games from the rarefied spaces of industry and academia, making playing video games into a truly populist pastime.

It’s almost as if Pierre Comtois is trolling the reader, treating the printed page as a message board on which to make fans go crazy.

Almost 30 years after its conclusion, putting The Facts of Life on the TV feels like hanging out with an old friend.

The most honest voice of the arcade era is that of Sinistar: "I hunger."

The Grateful Dead's most exciting stuff is born of some pretty daring work on the high wire. They certainly fall from time to time, but not nearly as often as they might.

Despite Cherub's best intentions, their sound still strikes as schtick. MoM & DaD's closest relative is probably The Electric 6.

Despite too many duets and a lack of variation, Aretha's voice still shines on her '80s hits.

Velvets-worshipping Ohioan post-punks get their day in the sun on this long-over reissue.

Viewing Maxwell Street Blues paradoxically stirs simultaneous emotions of melancholy and elation. Much like what happens when singing the blues.

A work of heroic heritage -- reorganizing an era that is too often dismissed as sterile.