It would be interesting to investigate the history of Old School Friday, and how often it correlates directly with an after work happy hour. I’m pretty sure the former has always been accompanied by the latter. So who am I to mess with destiny?

Tonight, we forget about Britney Spears and her paparazzi boy toy; we forget about Huckabees and Romneys and O’Reillys; we forget about the fact that I live in a country where Howie Mandel and Jeff Foxworthy have hit prime time game shows in the year 2008. Yes, my friends , we go back to a simpler time…

Lisa Velez was a latina teenager from the Hell’s Kitchen area of Manhattan when she was introduced to the strapping young lads from Full Force: Paul Anthony, Bow-Legged Lou, Shy Shy and friends. When they heard her sing, they dubbed her Lisa Lisa, and put her together with a roadie from Full Force (Mike Hughes) and a friend, Alex “Spanador” Moseley (is there a better nickname than Spanador? I think not).

Full Force produced Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam’s first hit single, “I Wonder If I Take You Home”, which became a pop and R&B hit during the summer of 1985. They would go on to have success with singles like “Can You Feel the Beat”, “All Cried Out”, and “Lost in Emotion”.

Checking out Lisa Lisa’ web sites tonight, it looks like she’s still going strong, doing some singing and acting, and even planning a tour in 2008.

And she still looks great – holy crap I feel 15 again!

Grrreeeowrrr…..

Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam (w/ Full Force) – I Wonder If I Take You Home (mp3)

Buy

Full Force – Old Flames Never Die (mp3)

Buy

Links:

• Lisa Lisa’s Official Site | MySpace
• Full Force’s Official Site

Video: “Can You Feel the Beat”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F5lQNrxg7c 336 278]

Video: “Lost in Emotion”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6NL5yku59E 336 278]

Tomorrow, I will try my luck on Ticketmaster.com for some decent seats to see the Boss at the L.A. Sports Arena on October 29th. Did you see him on the Today show Friday morning? My original idea was to record it and get to work on time, but “The Promised Land” pulled me in, and Plan B was swiftly put into action (stare intently at the TV screen for the next 35 minutes or so, then walk late into work like I own the place). Check out some Today action here (thanks Krup for the link).

Naturally, this segues effortlessly into an Old School Friday, featuring our friend Georgio. Where is Georgio these days? He directed and appeared in a movie with Coolio: 2003’s Tapped Out (oh, don’t make me Netflix it, I will). I had to share this review snippet from Netflix:

“I applaud Giorgio’s effort in getting this movie completed. The plot is as loose as a $10 hooker on Figueroa. The beginning scene of the movie has virtually nothing to do with the rest of the flick. Lots of good eye candy in the soft porn scenes though! I give Georgio 5 stars for the supporting females casting.”

Consider it Netflixed.

Georgio – Sex Appeal (mp3)

Buy Sex Appeal.

Well I’m back from a little family vay-kay to the beaches of San Diego, and the crowded, expensive, but still fun destinations of $eaworld and Di$neyland. We happened to be at Disneyland to experience the phenomenon that is Disney’s High School Musical. The premiere of High School Musical 2 took place on Tuesday while we were there. Before the premiere, the kids from HSM rode in a little cavalcade through Disneyland. I’ll have you know that Vanessa Hudgens totally looked right into my camera as she rode by with Ashley Tisdale. See?

I assured my wife that there was nothing between us, that she just had an innocent crush on this studly 37 year old father of 2 from Arizona. “Some things I just can’t control, babe” I coyly remarked. After the ladies came the latest cover subject of Rolling Stone, Zac Efron.

I also assured Zac that nothing was going on between me and Vanessa, ’cause she’s like totally his girlfriend in real life and stuff.

So is that a great segue into another installment of Old School Friday or what? Sometimes, we all just need a little Midnight Star, don’t we?

Midnight Star – Freakazoid (mp3)

Midnight Star – No Parking on the Dance Floor (mp3)

Buy No Parking on the Dance Floor.

You’re just gonna have to indulge me a bit here, as I rifle through my hundreds of albums and cassettes, and get nostalgic about the music of yesteryear. I’m not sure if the words “Where the hell is my Georgio album?” have ever been uttered before, but they were last night! Don’t worry, I’ll track it down.

But another 80’s gem I uncovered last night was the L.A. Dream Team‘s 1986 album (okay, tape), Kings of the West Coast. Rudy Pardee and Chris Wilson were an L.A. area duo who were one of the first to marry up electronic music with rapping. Others around that era were the Egyptian Lover and World Class Wreckin’ Cru (Dr. Dre was a member).

One of my favorites from the album is this side two standout track featuring the smooth and sultry “Miss Rockberry”.

L.A. Dream Team – Rockberry Jam (mp3)

Buy Kings of the West Coast (OOP, but available used)

Check out Jefitoblog for his Safe for Crackers series, the latest installment submitted by yours truly. Hey, who you callin’ a cracker?

Jefitoblog’s Safe for Crackers: Ickmusic Edition

It’s a quick random flashback to the spring of 1989, where hours were spent entertaining friends in my dorm room with this album. A stroke of genius it was (and is). Here’s my favorite cut, complete with samples of Hall & Oates’ “I Can’t Go For That”…

De La Soul – Say No Go (mp3)

Buy 3 Feet High and Rising (I guess the album is out of print, as the only copies that Amazon offers up are $30 imports. What’s up with that??)

I’m not going to knock Diddy for this one. If I was standing next to Jessica Biel, I’d probably gaze at her golden globes too. Well done Diddy! What a great segue into another Old School Friday!

Schooly D: Am I Black Enough for You? (mp3) – from 1989’s album of the same name, this was Schoolly D’s fourth release. With songs like “Black”, “Black Is…”, “Education of a Black Man”, “Black Education”, “Black Jesus”, and “Black Power”, um, yeah, I’d call it afrocentric.

Slick Rick: The Moment I Feared (mp3) – Ricky Walters, aka Slick Rick, left Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew in the late 80’s to embark on a very successful solo career (even with a two year prison term in the midst of it all). This one comes from his 89 debut, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick.

Whistle: Barbara’s Bedroom (mp3) – Who remembers Whistle? “We’re Only Buggin”, anyone? This album was on regular rotation in, what 86, 87, I think?