The End of the Eighties, Track 30

“Party of the First Part”
Bauhaus
Swing the Heartache: The BBC Sessions
1989

When I worked at the now long-gone Digital Daze CD store in Akron, I rarely took home an actual paycheck. I was always one for being compensated in the form of shiny little discs enfolded in cardboard longboxes or rare gems from the import case. Among my “take-home pay” over the years I worked there were the 1988 Beggars Banquet UK catalog issues of Bauhaus’ Mask, Press the Eject and Give Me the Tape, The Sky’s Gone Out, and Burning from the Inside with the “ripped” CD insert motif and full of extras.

Buried among those bonus tracks on the The Sky’s Gone Out was “Party of the First Part”. This quirky little bass-drum-keyboard workout consists of dialog sampled from the 1978 Canadian Halloween animated special, The Devil and Daniel Mouse by Nelvana Ltd. It’s like watching the show while the bad practices. The only non-sampled dialog is, I assume, a band member commenting that “the interview circus is so absurd, and so silly” near the two-minute mark. The song itself is nearly five-and-a-half minutes long, but the sampled dialog is finished before the three-minute mark, leaving two-and-a-half minutes of groove to carry the song out.

The song received proper US distribution a year later, with the release of Swing the Heartache: The BBC Sessions. As much as I listened to the original albums on the UK releases, it was Swing the Heartache that got the most airplay on my stereo because of the rawness of the Peel Session tracks and nice sampling of the band’s overall catalog. This is where “Party of the First Part” really became ingrained in my musical lexicon. It’s one of those eccentric numbers that helped endear Bauhaus to me. Like so many other pop culture artifacts, I know every word, every well-timed pause and vocal inflection of the dialog from the song. And, given how often I played The Sky’s Gone Out and Swing the Heartache in the dorm room freshman year, I would bet John could recite it, too.

There are a couple of tangential pop culture items of note regarding The Devil and Daniel Mouse source animation:

First, it was the basis for Nelvana’s 1983 animated full-length film Rock & Rule, featuring music by Debbie Harry, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Cheap Trick, and Earth Wind & Fire. Aired incessantly on HBO in the early and mid-’80s, it held a place alongside Heavy Metal among our regular late night viewing. The voice of The Devil and Daniel Mouse’s B.L. Zebub, Chris Wiggins, could also be found on Rock & Rule, among dozens of other classic ’80s animated shows, including The Care Bears, ALF: The Animated Series, Star Wars: Ewoks and Star Wars: Droids.

Second, Nelvana is responsible for arguably the only redeeming value of the mythically bad (and, yes, I remember watching it when it originally aired in November 1978) Star Wars Holiday Special. Apparently, George Lucas was a fan of the studio’s work and tapped them to create the 10-minute animated short that introduces the character of Boba Fett nearly two years before his feature film debut in The Empire Strikes Back.

Last Tour to Endor: The Original Star Tours Experience, Part 5

Finally, there was de-boarding with travel posters, themed signage, and, of course, the merchandise location.

I’ll miss the original Star Tours, but the official opening of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue is today. While I won't be there any time soon, I am excited to ride as many of the 54 possible experiences the new attraction offers as possible on my next visit!

Last Tour to Endor: The Original Star Tours Experience, Part 4

Inside the cabin of the Starspeeder 3000, there were more video reminders to stow loose items and prohibiting flash photography and smoking. Then there was Rex, the Paul Ruebens-voiced droid pilot of your journey. I snapped some blurry, in-motion, low-light level shots during the ride, including the last shot of the George Lucas look-alike who ducks under the control panel. The ride was a classic.

Last Tour to Endor: The Original Star Tours Experience, Part 3

Here are some shots of the original Star Tours pre-show video. It’s all about themeing and that means immersion into the attraction’s world. Although certainly showing its age, Star Tours did that, in part, by creating a pre-boarding video incorporating everything from Ewoks and Chewbacca to the pre-show announcer’s funky hairstyles. Enjoy!

Last Tour to Endor: The Original Star Tours Experience, Part 2

Today we have some shots of the queueing area at Star Tours in Orlando. It was pretty well-known for all the easter eggs and hidden Mickeys. Things like the letters and numbers on the conveyer baskets representing the initials and birthdates of the Imagineers who worked on the attraction, and the arrangement of droid parts to create the iconic three-circle Mickey Mouse head. I always loved the atmosphere they were able to convey with the use of light and animatronics...

Last Tour to Endor: The Original Star Tours Experience, Part 1

I’m excited to experience the new Star Tours attraction at Walt Disney World. I’ve been following StarTours2Live.com and their Twitter feed for a while now, and with the official reopening of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue scheduled for the end of this week, I thought it might be fun to share some of our pictures from the Last Tour to Endor at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (though it'll always be "MGM" to me). The event was a part of Star Wars Celebration V that took place in Orlando, Florida, last August. Along with some key attractions like The Great Movie Ride and Toy Story Midway Mania, there was a special Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular that was reworked and retitled “Raiders of the Lost Jedi Temple of Doom: A Fan Film of ‘Epic’ Proportions” with all kinds of guest stars depending on which of the three performances you attended, and, of course, Star Tours was up and running.

I figured we’d start off with a couple of shots of the promotional diorama at the Disney booth at CV, and some event signage at the Studios…

Hiatus

Obviously, the blog’s been dark for a while now. It’s not that I haven’t had anything to say so much as work has been pretty all-consuming and any free time available for writing has been going to freelance writing jobs.

If you’re looking for a fix of my writing, check out next month’s issue of ToyFare. I covered the new toy and statue releases and exclusives at Star Wars Celebration V. There was all kinds of goodness from Hasbro and Gentle Giant and Lego to be had! The issue (#160) should hit stands around October 13. Check it out!

I’ve also been working under deadline for Back Issue, writing a piece on Elektra for their “Death” issue. While the copy is due next month, the issue (#48) won’t hit stands until next Spring. Here’s the cover image for the issue, though, to tide you over.

Around that same time next year there will be a comic available written by yours truly. I’m really excited about it and have been having a lot of fun scripting it. I can’t give away any specifics yet, but I’m looking forward to finally being able to share details soon and watching it all come together!

I have some writing project ideas for the blog and elsewhere that I’m excited to jump on – some going back to my music journalism roots, others geek related, and some stuff that’s just plain fun. So if you can hang tight until I get over this hump and we get closer to the holidays, we’ll bring the lights back up on Random Thoughts Escaping and hopefully there’ll be a little something for everyone to enjoy. Thanks for sticking around!

A Central Florida Comics/Star Wars Mash-Up

I’ve known Todd Merrick for years. We worked together at the old Disney Inn and spent way too many Wednesdays at “Nickle Beer” night at Church Street Station in the ’90s. Todd quickly became one of Tracy’s friends too after she and I began dating, and he ended up in our wedding.

A year or so ago, Todd opened up Heroes Landing, a nice little comic shop in Clermont, Florida. I had a chance to stop in when I was in town on business last month, and was thrilled to find a clean, well-kept store with a little bit of something for everyone. When Todd found out I was coming back in town to cover Star Wars Celebration V for ToyFare magazine, we immediately hatched a plan for me to do an in-store signing for my book, Deus ex Comica: The Rebirth of a Comic Book Fan, the same week.

Todd has all kinds of pre-convention stuff planned Wednesday, August 11! With me at 3pm will be John Booth signing copies of his book, Collect All 21 (which was edited by yours truly). Christian Slade, Top Shelf Comics author and artist, will be signing copies of his KORGI book series and doing sketches. And Chris Macht, director of The Force Among Us documentary, will be signing copies his DVD, as well.

Later, Arnie and Marjorie from the Star Wars Action News podcast will be hosting a charity trivia event at the store beginning at 7pm. Proceeds from the $10 entry fee will benefit the Leukemia (“Luke”-emia, in this case?) and Lymphoma Society of Central Florida.

So if you’re local to Central Florida or coming in town for the convention, stop in at Heroes Landing for what looks to be a fun, unofficial Celebration V pre-party, and support some creative types in our endeavors!

August 11
Events Begin at 3pm

Heroes Landing
12348 Roper Blvd.
Clermont, Florida 34711
352.242.XMEN
info@heroeslanding.com

Revelations

Capping off what might have been the kiddo’s best weekend ever, we finally let him watch Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. We have held off on this because it’s PG-13 and can be intense in spots.

Although he doesn’t know it yet, he’s going to Star Wars Celebration V in a few weeks, and Tracy and I thought it was only right that he see all the movies in the franchise before we go. So while Tracy and I were making dinner Sunday night, and we off-handedly asked him if he wanted to watch Episode III, he flipped! I don’t think anything could have made him happier. (But he was also thrilled to learn we were having tilapia, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and a salad for dinner. All on his “favorites” list.)

Tracy and I are not fans of the prequel trilogy. We also understand that it was not created for us. It was made for the kiddo and his generation, so we let them have it. Tracy and I obviously sat through Episode III with him Sunday night, and although we’d seen it at least once before (maybe twice), something was different about this viewing. Sure, it was very cool to watch our son experience a Star Wars movie he has waited years to see, but from our point of view, we were surprised just how powerful the death of Kit Fisto and the execution of Order 66 are when you’ve watched two seasons of the Clone Wars television show.

Over the course of the last two years, we have watched all of the Clone Wars episodes as a family. We look forward to it every week when new episodes are being churned out and have watched the season one DVD set a couple of times through. Because of the series, we have grown to care about the prequel universe characters. And, for the first time in a long time, the characters of the Star Wars universe on the big screen meant something to us.

I should have seen it coming, though, because the first time Hayden Christensen appeared on screen in Episode III during this viewing I was actually taken aback! I knew I was watching the live action movie, but was fully expecting the Clone Wars animated version of Anakin Skywalker anyway. And I think that’s a testament to how well done the series is – I have maintained for a couple of years now that it took the Clone Wars animated movie and subsequent television series to get me to actually care about Anakin.

Canon Poodoo

We are big fans of the Star Wars radio drama in our house... er, well, the kiddo and I are. Tracy tolerates it in very small doses. Over the last four or five years, the kiddo and I have listened to the thirteen-and-a-half hours that make up the Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi serials dozens of times.

I vaguely remember listening to the original Star Wars radio drama when it was first broadcast on NPR back in 1981 (at least I think I did). Everything about the drama felt familiar when I listened to it as an adult a few years ago, and everything points to me hearing this back when it originally aired: I was as much a Star Wars fan as all the other 10-year-olds in my circle of friends. My parents were (and still are) regular listeners of all the programming on our local NPR station. I remember listening to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio drama, which aired in the US around the same time as the first Star Wars drama.

Before we started listening to Marvel Noise on our afternoon drives home from work and school together a few years ago, the kiddo and I would regularly become wrapped up in the adventures of Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, Darth Vader and his minions, Jabba, R2, and the whole gang over and over. I treasure the memories of cycling through the thirteen installments of Star Wars, the ten episodes of Empire, and the six chapters of Jedi with the kiddo, and still enjoy it when we have exhausted our Marvel Noise episode backlog or he just wants a break from the comic talk and asks to listen to an episode of the radio drama.

I’ve listened to the radio drama so much that I find the voice talent perfectly natural in their respective roles (something that still bothers Tracy on those few and far between occasions where she does listen to the drama with us). In fact, there are characterizations and scenes in the radio drama that I think rival or surpass their counterparts in the movies. There are moments in Return of the Jedi, in particular, that I think really capture the fun spirit of the story without veering into the camp territory the movie sometimes tread.

For Christmas this past year, the Number One With a Bullet item on the kiddo’s list was an mp3 player. When we asked him what he needed one for, he told us so he could listen to the Star Wars radio drama any time he wants instead of only when we’re in my car. Hard to argue with sound reasoning like that.

The radio dramas are just about the only part of the extended Star Wars Universe I have dabbled in. I read a handful of the Marvel run back in the day (and have reread portions of it over the last few years), and I have read Timothy Zahn’s exceptional Thrawn Trilogy (loved the books, thought the Dark Horse comic adaptation was less than stellar). Among Dark Horse’s current offerings, I pick up the Clone Wars books for the kiddo, and have been inexplicably drawn to the Purge one-shots featuring Darth Vader, but otherwise have largely steered clear because of how daunting that Universe is.

A few months ago, I saw the Shadows of the Empire omnibus solicited in Previews. I had heard about it from John, and (although I recall him not recommending it) I was intrigued by the concept – not the story itself, because I didn’t know exactly what it was about other than that it takes place between Empire and Jedi, but the fact that it was a book, comic series, toy line, video game, trading card line, and even had a soundtrack. So I ordered the omnibus and then noticed the mass paperback on the shelf in our library, realizing Tracy had picked it up at some point in her garage saleing over the years.

On the advice of my buddy Michael, I decided to read the book before the omnibus. And I’m enjoying Steve Perry’s storytelling so far (although it’s not as good as Zahn’s trilogy), but have been put off by a certain passage in the book: The third chapter opens with Luke at Ben Kenobi’s old home on the edge of the Western Dune Sea, struggling to make his own lightsaber following instructions found in an old journal Ben had left behind for him. What bothers me about this scene is that the first episode of the Return of the Jedi radio drama, “Tatooine Haunts”, features a scene with Luke and R2-D2 at Ben’s home on the edge of the Western Dune Sea where he struggles to make his own lightsaber following instructions found in an old journal Ben left behind for him.

So I wonder what hard-core Star Wars fans think of this. Which scene is canon: The radio drama one taking place at the beginning of Jedi with R2 present (and obviously created/produced before Shadows), or the Shadows one taking place after Empire yet clearly well-before Jedi on the overall timeline? And why the hell didn’t one of the purveyors of Lucas’ empire notice this gaffe when Shadows was being vetted?

I consider everything about the radio dramas canon in the Star Wars Universe, so this has been nagging at me since I read chapter three a few nights ago. And I suspect I picked up on this discrepancy because I’m both a comic book fan and an editor, so I probably have a heightened sense of continuity. Or maybe I’m just over thinking things.