LISTEN NOW: Wyldlife, "Contraband"

We haven't heard much from Wyldlife since The Time Has Come To Rock & Roll, which we named the #1 album of 2013. That's about to change as the band will be releasing a new album, Out On Your Block, on January 20th. To get you excited, here's the album's first single, "Contraband:"

COVER SONG OF THE WEEK: The Struts, "Ballroom Blitz"

Take a listen to The Struts covering Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz" for The Edge Of Seventeen soundtrack:

Top '80s Arcade Games

Come with us on a trip down memory lane to the golden era of video games.

Pac-Man

An all-time favourite, beloved by many and iconic to everyone, Namco's Pac-Man is truly a game to have stood the test of time. It was an instant arcade classic which, despite numerous attempts to bring him bleeping into the new century, remains the definitive form of Pac-Man yet, that has never been bettered. Brilliant in its simplicity, Pac-Man was, and forever will be, a puzzle game where Pac-Man chomps his way around a maze, clearing it of all the casually discarded pills on his route. While going about his merry fruit filled quest, Pac-Man is joined, and at times hunted, by four ghosts: Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde, but Pac-Man has the advantage by way of eating four power pills, one in each corner, which turn the tables on said ghosties and allows Pac-Man to hunt them. Gradually the levels get harder and the speed quickens before your lives drop and you insert another coin and try all over again.



Frogger

In the arcade classic Frogger, your aim is to get the little lost frog safely back to the sanctuary of his home in under one minute, while navigating your way through traffic and dangerous rivers, filled with alligators and disappearing-reappearing snapping turtles, all intent on squishing or eating you. Like all the classics, these games are simple by design and there is no complicated story or puzzling narrative to throw you off track. Just make sure get froggy home in one piece. Released way back in 1981, the game was developed by Konami with the game's original screen split into two halves. The lower half of the screen portrayed a road loaded with vehicles, which could include anything from cars, trucks, buses, vans, bicycles, and motorcycles, while the upper half consisted of a river filled with logs, alligators, and turtles. At the absolute top of the screen, there were five homes where the little green one could finally rest at ease.

Donkey Kong

Today, the ape known as Donkey Kong is one of Nintendo's flagship mascots, but, in fact, on launch he was the bad guy. Back then, when we first meet Donkey Kong, he is angrily throwing barrels at Mario, then known simply as Jumpman, who is trying to reach the ape due to the naughty gorilla having robbed Jumpman of his lady friend, Pauline. In this initial introduction, we play as Mario jumping and climbing and generally avoiding the avalanche of barrels raining down on us courtesy of DK. This is played on repeat until all lives are lost, with the pace picking up as the game progresses, as does the barrel storm. Before long, Donkey Kong got his own spin off titles, in which the jungle replaced the building site setting of this original arcade game. Of course, so too did Jumpman, under his new moniker of Mario, soon to be Super Mario.

Star Wars Slots

With the classic original 1977 movie fresh in the memory when we entered the 1980s, video games arcades, not to mention casinos, were quick off the mark to capitalise on the blockbuster film and install these early Star Wars themed slot machines, which became very popular, very quickly. Today, as Star Wars fever shows no signs of slowing, Star Wars slots remain popular but it is the original '80s game, featuring all of your favourites like Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, that remains the best, on retro grounds if nothing else. Slots, too, are always popular and it is the most loved casino game of them all in in terms of money taken. This counts for live and online casinos, where people play online or on their mobile phones. Again, there are lots of Star Wars slots around, online and off, that remain loved by many. While this may have been the classic era of video games, there is much to be admired about video game playing today, including the convenience of it.

Super Mario Bros

Just as Donkey Kong got a spin-off set of games, so too did his nemesis in the first game, Mario. Now known as Super Mario and joined on his second run-out by his brother Luigi, the 1983 classic, Super Mario Bros, was a platform game not dissimilar from today's versions. Basically, your mission was to get Mario to the end of the Mushroom Kingdom, avoiding Bowser's forces such as Goombas, Piranha Plants, and all the other Mario style baddies, collecting coins and super powers as you make your way to save Princess Toadstool. As I said, it hasn't changed much over the years, but then why mess with perfection?

SONG OF THE DAY: Le Tigre, "I'm With Her"

Back from a ten-year absence, here's Le Tigre with "I'm With Her."

LOVE IT!

SONG OF THE DAY: Penny Mob, "Love Not Hate"

Here's a song we all need to listen to right now and take to heart.

From 2016, here's Penny Mob with "Love Not Hate."

Enjoy!

SONG OF THE DAY: Streets Of Laredo, "99.9%"

Streets of Laredo will release their second album, Wild, on October 21st. In the meantime, here's the kickass first single, "99.9%."

Enjoy!

The Most Memorable Soundtracks Of The '80s

Not many decades stand out quite like the 1980s when it comes to cinematic style. It's hard to even put into words, but there's a certain quality to '80s movies that's immediately recognizable. They lacked subtlety but made up for it with pure entertainment, characters' senses of style were unmistakably in line with the times, and there was just a touch of campiness that is a lot of fun to look back on. But '80s movies were also packed with flawlessly chosen soundtracks that have become as emblematic of the decade as anything else.

These are some of the films that stand out as being particularly memorable with regard to their soundtracks.

Dirty Dancing
It stands to reason that one of the most iconic soundtracks of the '80s comes from a film that was largely about music and dancing (and, you know, romance). From Eric Carmen's "Hungry Eyes" to Jennifer Warnes and Phil Medley's "I've Had The Time Of My Life," this soundtrack was overflowing with music that became irreversibly linked with one of the decade's most iconic films. In particular, "I've Had The Time Of My Life" and the accompanying dance scene between Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey became famous all on its own, inspiring countless imitations, including this one from the popular romantic comedy Crazy, Stupid Love.
 
Top Gun
This 1986 action drama is packed with recognizable tunes that made its soundtrack one of the most popular of all time. Tom Cruise, fighter jets, and beach volleyball are all terrific, but wouldn't have been nearly as effective without the musical components behind them — which is why the soundtrack is still so easy to associate with the film. An online slot machine hosted at this site and based on the film employs the music as its most recognizable element, opening with "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin (which won an Academy Award for best original song after Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock wrote it for the film) and transitioning to Kenny Loggins's "Highway To The Danger Zone" during a bonus game unlocked with a certain combination of slot reel icons. Few films are as easily pinpointed by the songs they included and Top Gun takes the cake for recognizable theme songs.
 
The Breakfast Club
A film that became the defining coming of age story of the '80s and remains on a lot of people's lists of favorite movies, The Breakfast Club had a terrific soundtrack. According to this article from the 25th anniversary of the movie's 1985 release that soundtrack actually reached number 17 on the Billboard 200, which isn't the highest we've seen for a film but is still pretty impressive. Wang Chung's "Fire In The Twilight" and Elizabeth Daily's "Waiting" stand out as memorable tracks, but it's "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds, released the same year as the film, that has become its defining song. Like some other songs discussed on this list, it's still used in imitations and in new films today — perhaps most notably Pitch Perfect.
 
Purple Rain
Purple Rain gained new appreciation earlier this year after the tragic and unexpected death of Prince, one of history's most beloved entertainers. But the film has always been regarded by a lot of music fans as something of a masterwork. Developed as a sort of showcase for the artist, it's basically a rock/pop musical that became a legendary album as well. To single out any one or two tracks feels almost inappropriate, but this ranking of '80s soundtracks — which put Purple Rain at the top — probably said it best. It was "a pioneering blend of funk, R&B, pop, medal, and psychedelia" that meant there was something for everybody on it.

The '80s were such a strong decade for movie soundtracks that many more could have made this list! But 26 years after the end of the decade, these are some of the ones that stand out most.

LISTEN NOW: Tesla, "Save That Goodness"

Check it out! A new song from Tesla! Jeff Keith still sounds amazing!



And yes, you did see Def Leppard's Phil Collen in the video. Collen wrote and produced "Save That Goodness."

LISTEN NOW: Pansy Division, "He's Trouble"

Check out Pansy Division's new song, "He's Trouble:"



"He's Trouble" is off Pansy Division's upcoming album, Quite Contrary, which will be released on September 9th.

The Latest Weirdness From Game Of Thrones

We're all aware of how Game of Thrones has pretty much given us Lord of the Rings with an x-rated twist thanks to its adult-centric violence and mature themes. But it's about so much more than the TV series, as there's a massive Game of Thrones universe out there containing fantasy food, dragon-theorising scientists and even slot games inspired by the lands of Westeros.

Flickr: kai smart

A quick sift through the internet reveals a legion of Game of Thrones fans who appear to live in their own fantasy universe by spending huge amounts of hours penning their own Game of Thrones fan fiction and getting some horrendous tattoos featuring badly designed portraits of Daenerys Targaryen and even Hodor!

And whilst this may sound initially a little trivial, it hasn't stopped teams of journalists and scientists spending their time researching the feasibility of dragons existing outside of the fantasy series.

Flickr: TaylorHerring

Even if fictional dragons aren't actually able to fly, there have been plenty of other seemingly magical inventions on our smartphones that help us get a little closer to the Game of Thrones universe. As well as Apple's personal assistant software, Siri, offering some typically adroit comments on the series, there's even been an app developed that send Game of Thrones spoilers to your favoured enemy.

But not all Game of Thrones apps have to be malicious as the Game of Thrones slot game at the Betway site provides gamers with a stress-free way to claim some dragon-sized winnings via their smartphone-friendly gaming interface.

And even away from our smartphones there are plenty of other games out there based on the fantasy series including an official Game of Thrones boardgame that features a rulebook that's nearly as complicated as the plotlines of this massive TV hit.

Flickr: Clarence Risher

But if Game of Thrones online slots games and tattoos still sound a little too normal, then fear not as there's plenty more weirdness out there. The culinary enthusiasts of the internet have shown themselves to be more than willing to pay tribute to the fantasy series by unveiling recipes for a Brienne of Tarth brie tart, as well as a particularly gruesome Night's King watermelon sculpture.

And with the world's cosplay fans showing an unstoppable eagerness to dress up as their favourite weird and wonderful character from the series, it seems that Game of Thrones' fashion is also expanding beyond the humble confines of Westeros!