Winona Ryder may be the greatest alternative actress of the 1980’s.   She just rolled over 40 years this past week and is still alive.

Her more recent roles were Spock’s mother in the Star Trek reboot and anyone see her in Black Swan?  I sure hope her cheek is doing better.

To celebrate the occasion here’s my Top 5 Winona Ryder Movies Of The 1980’s:

5. Edward Scissorhands (1990, but filmed in 89): “You see, before he came down here, it never snowed. And afterwards, it did. If he weren’t up there now… I don’t think it would be snowing. Sometimes you can still catch me dancing in it.”

4. 1969 (1988): No memorable quotes, but anything is better than Great Balls of Fire.

3. LUCAS (1986): “People do kill themselves when they can’t have the one they love!”

2. BEETLEJUICE (1988): “My whole life is a dark room. One big dark room.”

1. HEATHERS (1988): “I use my grand IQ to decide what color lip gloss to wear in the morning and how to hit three keggers before curfew…”

Remember songs from the 80’s like “We Are The World” and “Don’t They Know It’s Christmas?”

There was another one too, but it had a metal twist.  Ronnie James Dio and other Dio members put together their own charity project called “Hear N’ Aid,” but it kind of fizzled.

The result was the song “Stars,” featuring members of Mötley Crüe, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, Blue Öyster Cult and even Spinal Tap. The group also enlisted Ted Nugent and Yngvie Malmsteen to record the track and put out an album, Stars, featuring live cuts by Kiss, Rush, Dio and more.

Because of contract problems, the song and album was released late and never made the transition to CD.

That is until now.  Ronnie’s widow Wendy Dio is re-releasing Stars as part of an effort to honor Dio’s memory and raise funds for the “Stand Up And Shout” Cancer Fund.

Jeesh. It’s 7 rockin’ minutes long.

No, I’m not talking about the guy in the cubicle next to you that keeps stealing Post-It notes.

1980’s blue collar rockers Men At Work have lost their final court appeal, challenging whether or not they stole a song idea.

In question is their song ‘Down Under.” The High Court of Australia denied the band’s bid to appeal a federal court judge’s earlier ruling that the group had copied the signature flute melody of “Down Under” from the song “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree.”

This case has been going on for some time, but if you ask me, it was a clear case of thievery.

Here’s the Men At Work song, followed by the children’s song, then both on top of each other.

Men At Work: Kookaburra

“Down Under” and the album it was on, “Business As Usual,” reached No. 1 on the Australian, American and British charts in early 1983. That year, Men at Work won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Looks like these Men are gonna have to pony up the dough, although their punishment should really be eating a giant stack of vegemite sandwiches.

In this week’s most unusual convergence of food and music, Adam Horovitz, better known as Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys, popped up on Bravo’s cooking competition show Top Chef: Just Desserts.

The subject for the day was to be a special Beastie Boys-themed food contest. A huge cart was promptly wheeled out containing foods mentioned in the lyrics of Beastie Boys songs, including bacon, pork and beans, ravioli, popcorn and, of course, matzo balls.

Now that’s a sure shot of root down.

A notable day in history today in 1989  Gloria Estefan went to No.1 on the US singles chart with “Don’t Wanna Lose You.“

While she may not be known more as a vocalist, she also knows her way around the drum kit.

Female drummers are a select crew.  I would be the first to admit that it’s difficult to come up with a list of female drummers, but there is also something pretty awesome about a girl that can bang on the drum all day.

Here’s out Top Five Female Drummers

5. Meg White (of the White Stripes)

4. Terri Lyne Carrington (a notable Jazz drummer, but you may also have seen her as the house drummer for the Arsenio Hall show (1989-1994)

3. Karen Carpenter (yup, she played)

2.  Cindy Blackman (know for playing with Lenny Kravitz)

1.  Sheila E.

How great is it that kids are back in school?

A tribute to a Rodney Dangerfield, whose movie Back To School (1986) was partially shot on the UW Madison campus.

Thornton Melon: “The football team at my high school, they were tough. After they sacked the quarterback, they went after his family.”

We have a special edition of Friday Night 80’s this week, because there is an accompanying party going on in downtown Madison.

Be sure to check out the Majestic Theater where we present the 3rd Annual 80’s vs 90’s Michael Jackson Birthday party.  Michael would have turned 53 on Monday, so we’re gonna party Friday night.

DJs Nick Nice and Mike Carlson will pay tribute to the King of Pop by going head to head in a battle of the decades, and rockin’ every MJ video ever made on the Majestic  HUGE Big Screen.

Hope to see you there.

Also a note about Steve Jobs.  Apple was a 1980’s juggernaut.  We wish Steve the best of health and I personally thank you for bringing me Angry Birds.  Remember this one?

What?  If you’re never heard of this day, you’re not alone.

August 10th was Duran Duran Appreciation Day, so happy DDAD!

According to Gimmeawristband.com, the day is named so because Aug. 10, 1985, is the day that lead singer Simon Le Bon almost drowned when his yacht capsized during a 608-mile race from the Isle of Wight to Plymouth in England.

In any case the band marked the occasion by offering fans a free download of the Night Version of ‘Other Peoples Lives’.

Happy downloading.

Click here to download.

Even if you weren’t a fan of the NFL, if you grew up in the 80’s, you knew him.

He was the soft spoken, gentle giant from the Police Academy movies known at Sergeant Moses Hightower, played by none other than the infamous Bubba Smith.

Bubba Smith appears to have died from natural causes .  Police said there were no signs of foul play at Smith’s LA home, where he was found dead Wednesday afternoon. He was 66.  Besides the Police Academy movies, Smith also appeared in Stroker Ace, episodes of Hart to Hart, Black Moon Rising and the TV series Half Nelson during the ’80s.

Smith was one of the most feared defensive men of the NFL in his time.  He played five seasons for the Colts including a 1971 Superbowl win.

His football career was just as impressive.  He’s a Big Ten Grad too!

Three-time NCAA All-American at Michigan State.
Graduated from Michigan State University in 1966.
Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988.
Played defensive end/defensive tackle for the National Football League’s Baltimore Colts (1967-1971), Oakland Raiders (1973-1974), and Houston Oilers (1975-1976)
Played in the 10-10 tie that gave Notre Dame the national championship in 1966 and is considered one of the greatest college football games.

Let’s remember him with a couple last laughs.

Lets get fit with Bubba too. Good advice at :35.

Wow.  It’s been 31 years since Caddyshack came out and we’re still learning new facts about the movie.

Thankfully, Cindy Morgan, who played the morally relaxed character of Lacey Underall, has linked to the full set of story notes from her Facebook page. You can read the whole list online, here’s my Top 5 New Facts About Caddyshack

TOP 5 NEW FACTS ABOUT CADDYSHACK

5. WHY LACEY DIDN’T WEAR A BRA: “It was 1979, and women had just burned their bras,” Morgan said. “It was a political statement more than anything.”

4. MICHAEL O’KEEFE QUIT PLAYING GOLF AFTERWARD: The actor who played Danny Noonan says he stayed away from golf for 25 years after Caddyshack. He wasn’t into the “pressure of having everyone come out of the pro shop to watch.”

3. HOW TO MAKE A BULLSHOT: The favorite drink of Al Czervik (Rodney Dangerfield) is a Bullshot, made by mixing vodka, cold beef bouillon, salt and pepper.

2. MURRAY’S LINES WERE IMPROVED: In the role of assistant groundskeeper Carl Spackler, Murray was on set for just six days and he had no scripted lines. The director would just leave the camera on him and let it roll.

1. DIRECTOR HAROLD RAMIS RECEIVED TOTAL CONSCIOUSNESS: Years after making the movie, Ramis had the opportunity to spend time with the actual Dalai Lama. He said the Lama’s monks were confused about the famous “Gunga galunga” speech because the “Dalai Lama doesn’t play golf.”