Demolishing the false narrative of Disco Demolition Night
July 12 marked the 40th anniversary of Disco Demolition Night, a promotion at a Chicago White Sox game where fans were encouraged to bring disco records that would then be destroyed on the field. The event went poorly, to say the least, and ended up being a riot that caused the Sox to forfeit the game to the Tigers.
In the 40 years since then, the night has taken on a different meaning among disco defenders and historians. What was once considered a stupid display of drunken idiocy is now often discussed an act of overt racism and homophobia. The belief among many music writers these days seems to be that the straight, white men who largely made up the crowd at Disco Demolition night weren’t rebelling against disco because “disco sucked” but they were lashing out against it because it was known as a predominately gay genre populated primarily with people of color. Some people have gone as far as to compare Disco Demolition night to a Trump rally.
As a gay man who loves himself some disco, fuck that. Continue reading
A deep dive into Stranger Things’ video store
The following contains no story spoilers for Stranger Things.
As a white male rapidly approaching 40 with a penchant for 80s sci-fi and horror, I am squarely in Stranger Things‘ target demographic. While the show has always purposely drenched itself in nostalgia and pop culture references from the decade in which it is set, season three saw these references go into overdrive. Much of this was due to the insanely elaborate and detailed Starcourt Mall set, which many have already commented on in regards to its authenticity, with era appropriate logos of several mall standards (such as The Gap and Orange Julius) being prominently displayed. The brief scene in a supermarket also served as a nostalgia injection for many, thanks to several shots of 80s brands, including some favorite high-sugar licensed-property cereals being flashed on the screen.
For me though, the biggest nostalgia-bomb in the show came at the end, when two characters visit a video store. My family owned and operated a video store for most of the 80s and into the 90s, so whenever I get to see one on-screen, I always want to get my pause button ready just to see how many of the old VHS tapes I can recognize, and this was no exception. So, what VHS classics did the makers of Stranger Things deem worthy for inclusion into their video store? And were all of them era-appropriate? Let’s take a look.
Prepare to be impressed by my ability to identify out-of-focus VHS box art. Continue reading