The Flopcast

This week our excruciating ten-part look at the 80s brings us to 1986! 'Twas the year we danced on the ceiling, had fun tonight, and were rocked by Amadeus (which explains the headache we've had for the last thirty years). Kornflake tells us about the 1986 reopening of the Statue of Liberty, which had spent much of the 80s surrounded by scaffolding, while construction workers added giant shoulder pads and one massive sequin glove. Meanwhile Kevin recalls the high school sitcom Head of the Class, in which a bunch of genius kids learned simple life lessons from Doctor Johnny Fever. Also: Kevin and the Mayor are back from their goofy Caribbean cruise, during which they tried (and failed) to avoid people, reggae, piano bars, napkin folding demonstrations, and pretty much anything that wasn't a howler monkey.

Direct download: Flopcast_186.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:01am EDT

We're halfway through our court-ordered ten-episode celebration of the 80s, which means it's time to talk about 1985. Kornflake has a song by Passion Pit (not from 1985, but still thematically appropriate... well played, Kornflake). Meanwhile Kevin selects the classic Pat Benatar-meets-Supergirl film The Legend of Billie Jean, because fair's fair. Then we move on to some holiday talk -- Kevin's Halloween costume was the stupidest thing anyone has ever seen, and we have the Turkey Stark business cards to prove it. We also thought Thanksgiving week would be the perfect time to tell the world about "turxting" -- a bold new breakthrough in turkey-themed communications technology. (You might even hear us send and receive turxt messages from some friends of the Flopcast during the show! Try to contain your excitement.) And we look forward to our final convention of the year, the Northeast Comic Con! (If Judy Robinson from Lost in Space will be there, then we'll be there. This is how we plan our lives.) Hey, if you found this week's show to be a little weird, please let us know. Send us a turxt.

Direct download: Flopcast_185.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:36am EDT

For our 1984-themed episode, Kevin and Kornflake each have a weird TV memory to share. Kornflake recalls DTV, which was Disney Channel's take on MTV-style music videos. (But where was Billy Ocean? A certain cartoon rodent owes us an apology.) Meanwhile Kevin is still obsessed with The Master, a short-lived TV series about a ninja, his dopey apprentice, and their pet hamster. It was ridiculous and we loved it. And in our "Chickens in the News" segment: Well, there's a chicken on Twitter. For real. This is best thing to come out of Australia since Air Supply (and coming from us, that really means something).

Direct download: Flopcast_184.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:12am EDT

This week we're creeping back to 1983, the year Top 40 radio was totally conquered by goofy new wave. We were blinded with science, rocked down to Electric Avenue, safety danced if we wanted to, and watched 99 red balloons go by. In fact, Kevin's pick for our 1983 discussion is Nena, the young German lady who taught us about those red balloons (or luftballons, if you prefer). Meanwhile, Kornflake reminds us that 1983 was also the year of the Chicken McNugget! (Mayor McCheese knew his days were numbered when those little creeps blew into town.) We also look ahead to the Super Megafest convention (November 21-22), where you can meet MacGyver, Big Bird, a Bad News Bear, a Monkee, and all three Dukes of Hazzard cousins! (We're not counting Coy and Vance. Sorry, guys.) And we sneak in a quick review of the new Supergirl TV series, and learn that Kevin would not make a good Supergirl. Alas, another dream has died...

Direct download: Flopcast_183.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:30am EDT

Kevin and Kornflake celebrate the year 1982 by discussing a couple of lost Saturday morning cartoons ("Meatballs and Spaghetti" and "Pandamonium") and an early computer virus ("Elk Cloner"). Scientists are trying to determine which of these 1982 creations has done the most damage over the years. Then we review the recently announced nominees for induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year: Chic, Deep Purple, Nine Inch Nails, NWA, The Smiths, The Spinners, Yes, The Cars, Cheap Trick, Chicago, Janet Jackson, The JB's, Chaka Khan, Los Lobos, and Steve Miller. Warning: This list contains one of Kevin's all-time favorite artists, as well as one he thinks is the worst thing that ever happened. (The Hall of Fame has a lot of range, apparently.) By the way, we're still angry about The Monkees getting snubbed every year. Also, Tiffany.

Direct download: Flopcast_182.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:48pm EDT

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