Starting with the 80's Romeo and Juliet aka Randy and Julie in the awesome battle of skinny tie preppy new wave valleys against the hardcore hair dyed Punk Rock kids of North Hollywood...I am talking about 1983's Valley Girl. Featuring an 80's hottie (Deborah Foreman) and a pre-jerk off bad movie making Nicholas Cage this flick still holds up well as entertainment and a good look at kids and the horrible (down right disturbing!) clothes they wore of yore. While not much on sex and drugs, although we do get a E.G. Daily breast shot, this film had some fun moments and a soundtrack that bordered between some great 80's New Wave stuff (Josie Cotton, Bonnie Hayes, and Psychedelic Furs) and a bit of the downtown rock music that wasn't punk by any means (Pat Travers, Payolas, and the awesome The Plimsouls) just not the polished modern rock of say...The Knack, although I must lament that this soundtrack includes one of my personal top 5 most annoying songs Ever "Melt With You" by Modern English.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6Z1MRN0I
Next up is a movie that I CANNOT believe has gone unseen and underexposed for so many years! I am talking about the 1981 awesome film Ladies and Gentlemen the Fabulous Stains...okay you may all scratch your heads with that dumb "What movie?" look on your pathetic mugs (I guess some of you had parents that did not let their child watch the BEST SHOW EVER...USA's Night Flight). Starring Diane Lane (and an remarkable hair style that I am shocked no one has copied), Laura Dern, members of The Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The Tubes (Fee Waybill in a hilarious prediction of what most bloated rockers of the late 70's early 80's would end up as...), and Ray Winestone.
The movie follows three dead end girls as they form a band and get put on a tour with two bands, one on their way up another on the downward spiral to Spinal Tap-ville. While it's kinda funny and a tad farfetched to see how the girls manipulate their way to being the top billed band via media tactics instead of talent (hmmm that sounds all too familiar) but the Joan Jett-esque way Diane Lane plays it (sexy and tough with just a hint of trashy) kinda makes you wish the Runaways movie was never made. Secondly the music kicks ass!!! There isn't much info out there about it and I am sure the re-release has came and went on a large scale, but I know the movie is available on Amazon from Rhino, but pick it up for incredible Sex-Pistols styled punk anthems like "Professionals" by both The Stains and The Looters, Waste of Time by The Stains, and "Conned Again" by The Looters written by musician Barry Ford who plays the bus driver Lawnboy. Also check out the comical opening song “I Slept in an Arcade" by Black Randy and the Metrosquad!!!
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ESOL5LGC
And finally just for poops and giggles I am putting up two albums by groups that were a part of some terrific soundtracks from this time as well. I will start with the Smithereens enduring album from 1986 Especially For You. While without any movie this album holds up there if you were a fan of The Replacements or R.E.M. at that time, also note it was produced by Don Dixon who worked with R.E.M. on Murmur and Reckoning. The song "Blood and Roses" was used in the out of print and memorable film Dangerously Close. If you can find a bootleg of this movie I highly suggest it, this is a really smart teen film right up there with River's Edge, WHAT? Geez didn't you people watch anything that didn't have Molly Ringwald in it? So enjoy this album as you certainly won't hear stuff as honest as this these days. And if you've got the currency word is The Smithereens will play at your house party, beat that Kid 'N Play!
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LL0VJ7WA
And for our final band that was featured in an 80's teen movie I present to you The Rave Ups. Okay so at the beginning I know I cracked on Pretty in Pink but it was to prove a point. So to round it out and show no disrespect for Mr. Hughes or Ms. Ringwald I pick the album Town and Country from 1985 by The Rave Ups. In the scene where the chick brings her guy to the club to meet her friends and her guy friend the dorky one is being...blah, blah, blah. Anyway the band playing in the club is a LA via Pennsylvania band known as The Rave Ups and they played some appealing worthy rock music with a bit of twang to it, think The almighty Blasters more than say rockabilly type stuff. So here it is and as always...enjoy.
http://rapidshare.com/files/142317163/PVAc0059.rar
Oh yeah this files is from another blog since i can't seem to find my file of this album and there is a password. The password for this file is PVAcblog. Sorry 'bout that.
