“Lost in the shadows” – Lou Gramm

October is here and it is laying down the law.  The days are getting shorter and in NW Arkansas the air is becoming cooler.  The hummingbirds that have been zipping through our backyard all summer have flown south, and the leaves are starting to change into brilliant fall colors.

Every football team is making their power play into the middle part of their schedules, and pumpkins can be seen everywhere.  In fact, I’m sitting in Starbucks drinking a pumpkin spice latte as I write this.  I know, I know, what a corporate conformist I am sitting in Starbucks drinking a latte.  I can’t help it.  They are so delicious.  If I had a local place close I would go there, ok?  I will give a shoutout to a local coffee house in Bentonville that I love though – Kennedy Coffee in Bentonville.  Tom and his staff do amazing things there in the midst of a cool atmosphere.  In the meantime, I am going to continue writing this post and drinking my Starbucks’ pumpkin spiced latte – skinny, no whip… keeping it healthy!  If you have a problem then I don’t know what to tell you except to cry little sister and cut me some slack!

Stock photo of a delicious PSL full of 50g of sugar!

Also, all of your favorite network television shows have returned or are soon returning.  If you watch television, even just a little bit, you’ve probably seen the previews or maybe you’ve even seen Kiefer Sutherland’s new show “Designated Survivor.”  I haven’t watched it, but I tell you this:  I cannot see Kiefer Sutherland without associating him as one of the coolest 80’s vampires of all-time.  If you haven’t seen Sutherland as a mullet-wearing, motorcycle riding bad-boy vampire named David in “The Lost Boys” then I suggest you find it somewhere under cover of darkness and inhale the campy 80’s classic!  The movie also stars the two Corey’s (Feldman and the deceased Haim) in the prime of their career and features a guy that I know many of the many of the 11th grade girls I knew loved – Jason Patric.  Many of them felt that beauty has her way with that teen heartthrob back in 1987.

Not Jason Patric, but another teen dream back in the 80’s – the mullet wearing vampire Kiefer Sutherland.

“What, you don’t like rice? Tell me Michael, how could a billion Chinese people be wrong?”

Today’s world may lean towards zombies as our favorite undead, but in the 80’s we were all about vampires.  There were a ton of 80’s vampire movies, and like I mentioned, Kiefer is a vampire in “The Lost Boys,” so note that it has nothing to do with Peter Pan and Neverland.  Instead it’s a good 80’s vampire movie with a killer soundtrack.  Next to “Purple Rain,” I still believe “The Lost Boys Soundtrack” is my second favorite soundtrack and one of the quintessential 80’s movie soundtracks.  Every October I listen to it without fail.  Lou Gramm, Echo & the Bunnymen, INXS, Mummy Calls, Jimmy Barnes, and Roger Daltrey are all featured on this masterpiece. Mummy Calls ya’ll!  Ok, so this is the only Mummy Calls song I know, but it’s a good one.  I also typically don’t like too many cover songs of originals, but I have to say that “Good Times” (originally released in 1968 by The Easybeats), and “People Are Strange” (originally a 1967 Doors’ song, and I’m a big Doors’ fan) are remade very well for this soundtrack.

Released in October of 1987 I had the cassette and later the cd.  I wore out the cassette in my ’84 Camaro and to the shock of Miss Louise I can’t believe that some of the singles didn’t fare better on the charts.

“One must hide when the sun gets higher”

I don’t let the sun go down on me, but the days are getting shorter and I do miss that big ol’ warm glowing ball at eight in the evening some days.  How about this for a reminder of how fast 2016 is going – it’s only 81 days until Christmas!  Before we get ahead of ourselves though let’s enjoy the cooler weather and the changing leaves.  Break out the sweaters and long sleeves and start warming up the cider and the lattes.  And then as it gets closer to Halloween, check out the funny, scary, witty, sometimes strange movie known as “The Lost Boys.”

“Here comes the night, the bedroom in shadows.”

As always.  Thanks for wasting a few minutes of your time here.

sincerely,

the 80’s