Welcome to the first installment of Q97.3’s Pop-Culture Throwback, where we look through the past three decades to reminisce about the movies, music, and TV that shaped our lives.
First off, let’s jump back into the eighties with this week in 1989!
The week in movies starts off with the cinema classic Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The series ended on a high note, with Harrison Ford’s Indy playing against his father, portrayed by Sean Connery. It’s a shame they never made any more of these.
Up next is the film Pink Cadillac, a fun chase movie starring Clint Eastwood and Bernadette Peters, released on May 23rd. The film also has a small cameo by a then-unknown Jim Carrey.
Finally, on May 31st, we get the animated adaptation of the children’s novel The Brave Little Toaster. Did you know the late Joe Ranft, one of the screenwriters of this film, would go on to help write Toy Story?
In music this week we get the live Frank Zappa album, “Broadway the Hard Way“, released on May 25th.
After that, The Jacksons (no longer the Jackson 5!) release the album “2300 Jackson Street“ on May 28th.
And on May 29th, now 30-year old actor Brandon Mychal Smith was born. While most known for his roles on various Disney channel shows, the actor also appeared in the James Brown biopic Get on Up as Little Richard.
Also born on May 29th was Riley Keough, who is the granddaughter of the one and only Elvis Presley. Keough is an established actress, having appeared in films such as Magic Mike, Logan Lucky, and Mad Max: Fury Road.
Now let’s jump ahead a decade and see what was happening in 1999!
Out on May 28th was the sci-fi film The Thirteenth Floor. If you haven’t heard of it, check out the trailer, which screams “late-90’s.”
Also out on the 28th is the romantic comedy Notting Hill, starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. The film was written by the same author as Four Weddings and a Funeral.
On the music scene this week, break out the Faygo, because we start out with “The Amazing Jeckel Brothers”, the fifth album by jester rappers the Insane Clown Posse.
We also received the first album released by Slick Rick after release from his incarceration, “The Art of Storytelling.”
Finally, there’s the album “A New Kind of Army” by punk rockers Anti-Flag.
Moving over to television, we begin on a tragic note. On May 28th, wrestler Owen Hart died performing a stunt, which caused him to fall 70 feet from the rafters during a live WWE (then-WWF) broadcast.
Several shows ended their long runs this week. May 24th saw the end of both Fox’s Melrose Place and NBC’s Mad About You. The 25th brought us the final episodes of ABC’s Home Improvement, as well as UPN’s television adaptation of the film Clueless.
Moving forward another decade brings us into 2009!
In movies, Sam Raimi, the creator of the Evil Dead franchise returns to his horror roots with Drag Me To Hell, which released on May 29th.
Also on May 29th saw the counter-programming of Disney/Pixar’s Up. If you’re a scaredy-cat like me, you could definitely use that as a pallet cleanser.
In music, May 26th brought us the album “Amanda Leigh” by Mandy Moore. It only had one single, “I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week.”
On the opposite end of the music spectrum, we have the May 27th release of “Skyforger,” the ninth album by metal band Amorphis. The album consists of english translations of finnish poems.
Moving on to television, May 26th brought us the final episode of the cult classic CW series Reaper, a show about a 21-year old loser who finds out his parents sold his soul to the devil before his was conceived.
On May 29th, we get the um…first finale of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Initially a passing of the torch to Conan O’Brien, this finale sparked a lot of behind the scenes drama that ended with Leno returning to the show just a year later.
And that’s it for the week! Were you in the theater for Indy’s last crusade? Were you team Leno, or team Coco? Leave us a comment!
