Author: zachary.hoskins@gmail.com

  • Podcast: (Zoloft) Zombie Nightmare

    Oh, hey, remember when we said we would watch the 1987 Jon Mikl Thor sorta-vehicle Zombie Nightmare and discuss it in time for Halloween? Well, here it is, just in time for…Thanksgiving. Yeah, we kinda screwed the pooch on that one, but bear with us, because we also have a lot to share about Zach’s 15 minutes of…

  • Podcast: Brought to You by AnuSol

    Look, people, when we said we were going to talk about whatever we want on the podcast from here on out, we meant what the fuck we said. So this episode, along with the usual discussion about art, old music, and video games, we also swap stories about our past and present butt problems. If you…

  • Podcast: Allow Us to Reintroduce Ourselves

    The Dystopian Dance Party podcast is back, and we’re out for blood. This episode, we catch up on what’s been going on during our two-month hiatus and talk about Gene Simmons (naturally), the 20th anniversary of Final Fantasy VII, and the 70th anniversary of Marc Bolan. Please look out for more in the next couple of months–we have a lot…

  • Jheri Curl June: El DeBarge’s “Real Love”

    The last week of Jheri Curl June is always a story of decline, and this year’s is no exception: like yesterday’s song by After 7, today’s closing track is more New Jack Swing with a residual curl than it is JCM proper. Hell, El DeBarge even appeared on the cover of its parent album, Gemini, with…

  • Jheri Curl June: After 7’s “In the Heat of the Moment”

    After 7 were formed in 1988, just in time to partake in Jheri Curl Music’s swan song before the genre gave way to the emerging New Jack Swing style. The group consisted of Kevon and Melvin Edmonds–brothers of singer, songwriter, and Jheri Curl June inductee Babyface–as well as Keith Mitchell, who was (incorrectly) rumored to be…

  • Jheri Curl June: R.J.’s Latest Arrival’s “Off the Hook (With Your Love)”

    The first time I encountered a record by R.J.’s Latest Arrival, it was in a bargain bin at 2nd & Charles in Woodbridge, Virginia. The moment I saw their 1986 album Hold On, with its mid-’80s barbershop’s assortment of jheri curls on the back cover, I knew I had to have it (it helped that it cost…

  • Jheri Curl June: Terence Trent D’Arby’s “Let’s Go Forward”

    The fact that Sananda Maitreya, the artist formerly known as Terence Trent D’Arby, was not considered for Jheri Curl June until our fourth year is surprising. Of course, his music isn’t Jheri Curl proper–few artists were, by the end of the ’80s–but the influence of Michael Jackson and Prince is particularly obvious. Introducing the Hardline According to Terence…

  • Jheri Curl June: Jermaine Stewart’s “Jody”

    This month is of course not only the holiest month on the Dystopian Dance Party calendar, but also Pride Month for the LGBT community, commemorating the Stonewall uprisings of June 1969. So I thought today was as good a time as any to talk about one of our favorite LGBT Jheri Curl artists (LGBTJC?), Jermaine Stewart. Stewart…

  • Jheri Curl June: Exposé’s “Point of No Return”

    Formed by Miami D.J. Lewis Martinée, Exposé originally released their first single, “Point of No Return,” in 1984. However, during the recording of their debut album, Exposure, the group’s lineup completely changed. Thus, “Point of No Return” was re-recorded and re-released in 1987. Although Exposé exemplified Miami freestyle, “Point of No Return” stands out as particularly Jheri Curl–most…

  • Jheri Curl June: The Jets’ “Crush on You”

    This Jheri Curl June, we’ve unsurprisingly talked a fair amount about artists from Minneapolis; but most of those artists–again, unsurprisingly–had a direct connection to the artist from Minneapolis, Prince. The Jets are a rare example of a Twin Cities R&B group from the mid-’80s that didn’t have the Purple One pulling the strings from behind the scenes.…