The Flopcast

This week we're back in 1983! Kornflake shares a goofy 1983 commercial for Dial soap, while Kevin takes an absurdly quick look at the pop music of 1983. It was the year new wave conquered the Top 40, and we approved. (For more complete coverage of 1983 music, we refer you to recent episodes of White Rocket Entertainment and Modern Musicology. While the Flopcast covers Kajagoogoo, they take care of everything else.) We also stopped by Northeast Comic Con (aka Music Con) and saw members of the Monkees (Micky), the Runaways (Cherie), the Ramones (Richie), and the Stompers (Sal)! A Monkees cover band called Zilch was there too, as well as old friend of The Flopcast (and, as Flash Gordon, savior of the universe) Sam J. Jones! Plus: A concert report on Elvis Costello and the Imposters (along with Charlie Sexton) and Nick Lowe (along with his Mexican wrestling-masked backup band Los Straitjackets). And best of all, Happy Birthday to America's 1980s sweetheart, Phoebe Cates! Celebrate by watching Private School. It's not Phoebe's best movie, but it is Phoebe's 1983 movie.

A bunch of 1983 commercials! (Dial soap ad is at 6:50)

White Rocket Entertainment: Music of 1983!

Modern Musicology: Music of 1983 Part 1 and Part 2!

And our regular links...

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: Monkeeing Around!

 

 

Direct download: Flopcast_583.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

It's 1982 (in our hearts, at least), so we're looking at the Mad magazines of 1982. (Historians agree that for a truly accurate account of the past, you should just read Mad. Plus you get to do the Fold-In.) That year Mad's TV and movie parodies included Raiders of the Lost Ark, Archie Bunker's Place, Family Feud, For Your Eyes Only, The Greatest American Hero, The Fall Guy, M*A*S*H, The Facts of Life, and Rocky III! (Want to see Alfred E. Neuman as Mr. T? Done!) Mad also covered video games (their Man of the Year may have been a Pac-Man) and did some silly stuff with lobsters too, just for Kornflake. And speaking of Kornflake, her pick for 1982 is a Corn Flakes commercial! Also: It's Freezepop Day. So listen to some synthpop and chomp on a weird frozen thing.

Mickey Rooney loves Corn Flakes!

Australian twins love Corn Flakes!

And our regular links...

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: Earth Station DCU!

 

Direct download: Flopcast_582.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

Continuing our ten week celebration of the 1980s, we have some silly artifacts to examine from 1981. First Kornflake brings us a couple of Dr Pepper commercials featuring David Naughton (from "Makin' It"), Mickey Rooney (from "One of the Boys"), and the classic two-person horse costume (from our dreams). Kevin's 1981 pick is a Superman comic book produced by Radio Shack to introduce the children to the wonders of the TRS-80 computer. (We're convinced. Here at Chickentown Studios, we're ditching our Commodore VIC-20 and upgrading to a TRS-80.) Also: A surprise concert from Boston 90s alt-rock heroes Kay Hanley and Juliana Hatfield; Eclectic Lee lists a few more TV and movie maids, concluding five weeks of nonstop Flopcast maid and butler action; Kevin is on Earth Station DCU talking about Shazam; and Happy Birthday to Men at Work's Colin Hay! Time to blow out all the candles on your vegemite sandwich.

Mickey Rooney whistling about Dr Pepper!

Sugar Free Dr Pepper: Back of Horse-approved!

Shazam! On Earth Station DCU!

And our regular links...

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: The Watch-A-Thon of Rassilon!

 

Direct download: Flopcast_581.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:58am EDT

Episode 580 means we're kicking off another ten weeks of episodes dedicated to each year of the 1980s. (So yes, everybody will be forced to Wang Chung this summer.) We're starting with 1980, and we're looking at some of our favorite albums from that year. There's some new wave (Devo, The Buggles, The Cars), some Top 40 (Air Supply, Billy Joel, REO Speedwagon), some crucial soundtracks (Flash Gordon, Xanadu), and more. Then Kornflake shares a pair of silly 1980 commercials. (Were early 80s waitresses and bowlers completely obsessed with mouthwash? Let's find out.) Plus: A listener-submitted follow-up list of TV and movie butlers (this will end someday, we assure you), and Happy Birthday to Cyndi Lauper. If Goonies are good enough for Cyndi, they're good enough for us.

Mouthwash-obsessed bowlers of 1980!

Mouthwash-obsessed waitresses of 1980!

And our regular links...

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: The Soul Forge Podcast!

 

Direct download: Flopcast_580.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:48pm EDT

We start with a little follow-up from our recent Maids v. Butlers FlopFight. It's the "honorable mention" list of maids and butlers we couldn't fit in the tournament, including characters from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Hazel, I Married Dora, and more. (Rest assured, we did not forget about We Got It Made. If only we could...) Then Kevin has a concert report, because beloved 80s pop princess Debbie Gibson came to town! Debbie put on a wonderful show including an Abba medley, a pajama party, a small dog, and perhaps even a wardrobe malfunction. Also: Kornflake has a Debbie hat, Kevin found a bin chicken (or something), and Happy Birthday to comedy writer/producer Greg Daniels. (If all he ever gave us was Chris Elliott's Get a Life, we'd still be eternally grateful.) Thanks for listening, kids. You just can't shake our love.

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: Earth Station One!

 

Direct download: Flopcast_579.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:25pm EDT

Let's wrap up the weird tournament we started last week: Our latest FlopFight, featuring maids and butlers from sitcoms, cartoons, and beyond. We have TV characters from the 60s like Lurch (The Addams Family), Mr. French (Family Affair), and Rosie the Robot (The Jetsons). From the 80s we have Mr. Belvedere (from, you know, Mr. Belvedere), Nell (Gimme a Break), and even more maids from Diff'rent Strokes. And once again our special guest judge is Joe Crowe, Co-Director of the DragonCon American Sci-Fi Classics Track! Along the way, Kornflake celebrates Moonshine Day! Kevin has a squouse infestation! (A what?) Joe brings us Tales of the Nedra Volz Appreciation Society! We accidentally create a (perhaps inappropriate) new member of the Legion of Substitute Heroes! And one of us provides a pretty remarkable impression of Leon Redbone! So yeah, it gets a little silly. But only one maid or butler will survive. To make it more interesting, put some money down on your favorite. If you're Richie Rich, either your super-strong butler Cadbury or your robot maid Irona can fetch your wallet.

Find Joe at DragonCon's American Sci-Fi Classics Track!

And our regular links...

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: Con Guy!

 

Direct download: Flopcast_578.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

We grew up in a world where seemingly every sitcom included a maid or a butler. Even middle class TV households somehow afforded live-in servants. And this week all those maids and butlers shall do battle in a good old fashioned FlopFight! What would happen if Benson (from Soap) and Florence (from The Jeffersons) were stranded on an island? How about hula-dancing Alice (The Brady Bunch) versus Batusi-dancing Alfred (Batman)? Anything could happen, and this week's winner will advance to the final round next week. And it's gonna get weird, so our special guest judge is a weirdness expert: Co-Director of the DragonCon American Sci-Fi Classics Track, Joe Crowe! So let's get ready to FlopFight. It might get a little messy, but a parade of Diff'rent Strokes maids should come along to mop up.

Find Joe at DragonCon's American Sci-Fi Classics Track!

And our regular links...

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: DragonCon Report!

 

Direct download: Flopcast_577.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:03pm EDT

Another quick and silly Flopcast, including: Way too much Scotch tape trivia from Kornflake; this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees (and how they ranked in the 80s); Dolly Parton's new star-studded rock album (hey, where's Tiffany?); Bernie Taupin vs. REO Speedwagon; the Love Boat musical; and a "Chickens in the News" story from Mexico, where there are chickens in the trees and on the subway.

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: Epsilon Three!

 

Direct download: Flopcast_576.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:46am EDT

It's a quick Sunday brunch edition of The Flopcast! Except we forgot to have brunch! Anyway, Kevin has tales from the cold and rainy Margarita Half Marathon (with margaritas and shiny blankets), and the hot and grueling Providence Marathon (with Mickey Mouse hands and Jeff Goldblum heads). We also have some comic book recommendations: the new Shazam and Peacemaker series from DC Comics, and the new Jim & Celeste collection from friend of The Flopcast Jon Sloan. (Shazam and Peacemaker do not have forewords by Kornflake, but Jim & Celeste absolutely does!) Also: Happy Birthday to one of our favorite Go-Go's, Jane Wiedlin! Because go go go go go.

The Dojahng, home of the comics of Jon Sloan!

And our regular links...

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: The 42cast!

Direct download: Flopcast_575.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:50pm EDT

For just the second time in three horrifying years, Kevin and Kornflake are together in the same place for the Flopcast! And that place is... a hotel room in New Hampshire! (This is Kornflake's home state, and that explains A LOT.) To celebrate, we're learning some weird New Hampshire facts involving UFOs, old libraries, state songs, and a shopping mall where Kornflake may have gone to college. We also go through a list of famous people from New Hampshire, including three SNL cast members and someone who witnessed Kevin's terrible old Spam-juggling act. Finally Kornflake breaks out some giant weird New Hampshire cookies, and there is much chomping. This was all part of her plan to help Kevin carb up for a half marathon the following day. (Update: Kornflake promised miserable steady rain for the whole race, and she was CORRECT.)

The Flopcast website!

The ESO Network!

The Flopcast on Facebook!

The Flopcast on Instagram!

The Flopcast on Mastadon!

Please rate and review The Flopcast on Apple Podcasts!

Email: info@flopcast.net

Our music is by The Sponge Awareness Foundation!

This week's promo: Earth Station Who!

 

Direct download: Flopcast_574.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am EDT