Weekend Retro Rewind

 

 

Since I update FourthGradeNothing.com daily, I've decided to take weekends off and simply feature songs from my past... Maybe you've heard 'em. Maybe you haven't. 

Let's start with collaboration.

Tales From My Head blog talked about how excited she was to discover her two faves worked together on a tune. This inspired me to find collaboration tracks I dig and boy, are there many. I love British music and those Brits bang out some awesome songs together. It's like nuts in chocolate and peanut butter on banana -- if you like that sort of thing, you'll get what I'm saying.

To this day, I can listen to these two Chemical Brother songs featuring Beth Orton over and over and over again. I wish I had a voice as lovely as Beth Orton's.

"Where Do I Begin" Beth Orton & Chemical Brothers, Dig Your Own Hole circa 1997

"Alive Alone" - Beth Orton & Chemical Brothers, Exit Planet Dust circa 1995

Big Wheels Keep On Turning | Early Rides

Fisher Price Ride-On Horse

Around 1976 my brother had one of these Fisher Price Ride-On Horses. They were so cool. I don't recall having one myself, but I've seen photos of me motorin' on other ride-on toys and Big Wheels, so it's all good.

I looked this item up and it's available on eBay. It's funny, my mom wasn't the type to keep lots of our old toys, but for some reason, she kept this Fisher Price Ride-On horse for the longest time. I think it may still be in her basement.

Marx Big Wheel

I was excited to discover that the Original Big Wheel is still alive and well and available for purchase. The Big Wheel was all the rage back in 1972 and continued to thrive throughout the 1970s paving the way for imitations into the 1980s. They were made of heavy plastic and were typically red, yellow, black and had a blue seat.  Visit this link for more info: The Original Big Wheel.

Marx Green Machine
In the 1970s, The Green Machine by Marx Toys was targeted at boys who were a bit older than the Big Wheel crowd. I feel as if I first discovered The Green Machine at a random classmate's backyard birthday party. If not that, maybe my friend Alison's big brother Ian had an old one in their family garage.

I remembered the name and seeing this insane sick ride that was definitely like a pimped-out style Big Wheel.  A quick Google search didn't provide any real history lesson behind The Marx brand Green Machine, but today Huffy manufactures the toy. Look here!

It's no surprise Huffy recommends The Green Machine for kids six and up. I must say, the dual exhaust pipes and joystick controls surely make this ride kick-ass and way more intimidating than Marx Big Wheel. Huffy categorizes the Green Machine as an "Xtreme Ride" and that it is!

I was bummed when my husband didn't recognize the name "The Green Machine" -- alas there's that pesky three-year age difference rearing its ugly head again.  When he was six, it was already 1981.  I'm thinking the Green Machine fad had faded.

This image and other great stuff was snagged from MarxToyMuseum.com -- check 'em out!

Corey Feldman, Let's Just Be Friends

If you've been following me for a while, you know all about my love for Corey Scott Feldman. Hell, I've only mentioned him in about maybe six out of about 155 blog entries, so that's not too obsessive, right? 

Anyway, so here's the deal. My BFF blogger Jesse at Not Worth Mentioning tells me about this awesome video he just got his hands on featuring my childhood fave, COREY FELDMAN. 

  

The YouTube video is a Dees Guys production about, well, dees guys Nick and Michael. Nick and Michael are two young dudes doin' their TV production thing in Hollywood while mackin' on girls, chillin' with friends and whatnot. Kinda reminds me slightly of the boyish humor stylings of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Their sketch comedy web series Nothing Bad Ever Happens To Nick is hilarious and can be viewed here on YouTube. I think the Nick character is pretty freakin' skater/indie boy hawt and Michael is too, but in more of a scruffy Luke Perry way. It's easy to relate to Michael having that friend who has nothing but good luck in every sense of the word.

OK, so here's where Corey comes in. 

In this one particular Dees Guys episode (view it here) Corey Feldman is the all-knowing advice-giving guy Guru and that's when it hit me. My childhood crush has matured. I've moved on from wanting to make out with Corey Feldman to wanting to just do coffee with him or maybe check out some cool vintage clothing and record shops together downtown.

To be honest, I think this vibe may have developed prior to the Dees Guys episode of Nothing Bad Ever Happens to Nick. I think it struck me possibly while watching The Two Coreys, his reality show with the dearly departed Corey Haim (so sad). 

As a kid, I had this massive crush on Corey Feldman, not really knowing how else to feel about this cute Bad News Bear who went on to portray the adorable kid-next-door in Gremlins and funny friend in The Goonies.

In fact just the other day Erin at Blogging is for Dorks talked about this. As a married adult, you don't want to "get" with these celebs in the biblical sense, you just wanna sorta be their friend.

So here here my message to Corey Feldman:

Corey, today I'm 37 and married. Friendship is all I can now offer you and I'm sure you're beyond okay with that. Maybe even extremely relieved and breathing easier.  

One thing I will always hold dear is my personal letter from you, old pal Corey Feldman.That's one thing marriage and maturity will never take away from me.