John Carpenter - Night

Horror maestro John Carpenter is front and center in the first music video promoting his debut album "Lost Themes". One of if not the most iconic horror director of the early to late 80's, Carpenter is just as much one of the architects of the aural landscape of the contemporary sci-fi horror genre as he is its visual curator.

In "Night", we see Carpenter don a Oculus Rift helmet to embody the presence of a remote-controlled robot, tearing through the iridescent-soaked streets of midnight L.A. before meeting up with a buddy for a friendly game of baseball. Although the video itself isn't directed by Carpenter, co-directors Gavin Hignight and Ben Verhulst do an exceptional job of echoing the visual nuances of  his best work. Here's hoping we see more videos from this album in the future!

Vandroid's Graphic Novel Trailer is Pure 80's Pulp-Adrenaline

Vandroid is a limited-series graphic novel written by Tommy Lee Edwards and illustrated by Dan McDaid published by Dark Horse late last year. Golden Wolf, a London-based production company whose work we have featured before with their music video for Dog Blood's "Chella Ride", produced this brazenly cool promotional trailer for the novel's release. After watching this, I'm definitely planning on snatching up a copy on my next comic-store run.

Official site

The year is 1984. Washed-up mechanic Chuck Carducci is contacted by an old roommate from his MIT days to team up on a new project using cutting-edge artificial intelligence. With salvaged electronics from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, high-performance van parts, and a plutonium- ion battery dubiously procured by a mysterious financial backer, Chuck builds a robot so human, yet so powerful, it can only be called VANDROID! Chuck puts everything he ever wished he was into Vandroid, and the robot now has a chance to fulfill his creator’s lost potential.

Perturbator - "She Is Young, She Is Beautiful ... "

The newest music video for Perturbator's latest single She Is Young, She Is Beautiful is nothing short of a concentrated 5-minute shot of 80's infused euphoria to the optics. Is there a story? Hell if I know, but it sure is awesome! Jarkko Kinnunen and Sami Rämä have created a perfect visual companion piece to the track's retro-electronic vibe.

We've got fast cars, sun-kissed beaches, derelict oil rigs, necromancer panthers, hover-bikes, towering cybernetic metropolises, light katanas, sun glass-totting cyber-zombies; And strobe lights, don't forget strobe lights. What's not to like?

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - "The Sun Explodes"

Just a bunch of regular high school kids by day, indie rock band The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart turn into 80's interstellar music warriors by night in The Sun Explodes. Channeling the visuals of Jem & The Holograms mixed with the aural stylings of The Cure, Smashing Pumpkins, Lightning Seeds and a few other bands combined, we join the outfit on a cosmic adventure to annihilate the sun. The track is taken from their newest album called 'Days Of Abandon,' which is available for purchase now.

Harrison - "Akira"

Toronto based DJ Harrison's lit up alter ego on a stormy night that seems straight out of the late 80's, browsing his collection of vinyls, enjoying his Betamax tapes and a round or two of NES, skating around downtown and taking a ride in a lightning infused DeLorean. Directed by Charlie Tyrell, the highly atmospheric music video feels like witnessing the birth of a new, Daft Punk-esque mysterious alter ego. Loved it.

Retro Blast - Starcadian And Jacob 2-2

A strange rift has opened in the musical scene, bringing us the works of two artists distinctly stuck in a retrofuturistic state of mind. Starcadian, best known for his lovely H^ART track offers us a peek at his upcoming 'Sunset Blood' EP. The trailer presents the album as a tongue in cheek 30th year anniversary remaster of the long lost album, and is rife with homage to 80's scifi movies. Starcadian has landed people, follow his endeavors on Facebook, and dust off that VHS player in anticipation.



Jacob 2-2's promo for his upcoming 'Herbivore' album is a slightly more dissonant affair with a somewhat upbeat vibe to it, featuring plenty of scanline goodness, retro CG and a scenario akin to a high level concept of 'future education.' Trippy as all hell. The album is now available on King Deluxe records.

Metaman

Prepare for another opportunity to get sucked back into pure 80's goodness, because Boombros' Metaman is oozing at the sides like a freshly cooked grilled cheese (great, now I'm hungry). Featuring a pulsating soundtrack by Stephen Falken, Metaman Gatsu fight the evil Triangle Gang in an attempt to take back earth as the the last defender of humanity. I'm really digging the retro style of animation, it gives off a bit of a Tron vibe while still doing it's own thing. 

Blood Dragon: The Cyber War Should Probably Be A Feature Length Film

After leaking the the entirety of Blood Dragon (Far Cry 3's standalone DLC) Ubisoft has in been in full force with their marketing of the game. With the game's fantastic soundtrack, beautiful 80's visuals and it's overly self-aware levels of humor the game had me instantly sold, but this short by CorridorDigital is on an entirely different level.

I don't think I've wanted a short to be turned feature length this bad since Neil Blomkamp's Alive in Joburg. The props, visual effects and narrative are all perfectly in-sync for this 80's fueled beauty. While the 5 minute short was a fantastic introduction to the world of Blood Dragon, I want more, so much more. I don't care what you have to do jump this up an additional 2-hours, but I will pay for it multiple times over.

Lazerhawk : Bringing Back The 80's

I just discovered the amazing work of Lazerhawk, a one man outfit from Austin that I instantly fell in love with. I thought Kavinsky had pretty good 80's throwback electro, but Lazerhawk brings in so much more complexity and intensity into his tracks. You can spot the influences here, mainly retro synthpop and elements of Italo Disco masterfully emulated to create an intense ode to everything that in my opinion, was good about the 80's. This Austin based artist has been hard at work refining his sound, so I'd recommend you check out the excellent album the track above is from 2011's Redline, take a listen to his recent works on Soundcloud, and give him a much deserved like on Facebook!

Space Stallions

I think we've got a winner for the best video of January, and it was appropriate for it to come out on the 31st. This 4 minute, mind blowing short from the Denmark based Animation Worshop mixes elements from Heavy Metal, He-man, Tron, Bravestarr and more retro goodness to create a badass opening to a fictional 80's TV show that should be made. If its been a while since the last time you've seen Keytar swords being played by burly nordic men riding space horses, I highly recommend getting your fix with this epic masterpiece.

Hercules vs. Bear

In this 1983 masterpiece version of Hercules, Lou Ferrigno (aka The Hulk) fights off a beast of a bear.  In a manic rage, he sends the bear off to an untimely, galactic fate.  This is an older YouTube video, but one that appears to have been neglected.  After my tears of laughter subsided, I had to decide: So much win, or fail?  You decide.

What Would Megaman Look Like From The Inside?

Probably not like this. If you look closely you'll also see Optimus Prime, Darth Vader, a TMNT, Pikachu, another Megaman, and what looks to be Kif from Futurama. Once again, more art I'd like hang on my wall that I'll never be able to afford.

If you like this, check out samanpwbb's Flickr!

Downgrade To Kick Some Ass

Artsits Valere Amirault, Sarah Laufer, Jean Delaunay, and Bejamin Mattern created this amazing short film, 8Bits for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. 8Bits follows an 8-bit super hero in his quest for vengeance against the impending high-def generation. Whether you prefer retro games, or big budget blockbusters, this flick is amazing and I suggest you watch it. Now.
If you want some more information on the team head over to 8bitsmovies.com.

Live Action TMNT Opening

THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER.  This group of guys (and girl) take the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles opening to a whole new level.

80's Pinksplosion

The flavor of the eighties today is: PINK!  Bring back Barbie pasta.