FILMS/TV SHOWS with
"8-track Moments"
CATEGORY III.
Current Films & TV shows that use 8-tracks to set a period.
 THE STONED AGE (1994). Great low-budget flick
set in the mid '70s that follows one night in the adventures of Joe and Hubbs, a pair of
West Coast stoners on a quest for 'beer, weed, and fine chicks.' They spend the film
cruising in a beat-up VW station wagon with an 8-track deck. About ten minutes into the
movie, we hear the sound of the player eating Focus's "Hocus Pocus".
The following dialogue ensues:Joe: My tape! This
machine just scarfed my tape!
Hubbs: Big deal man, just put in another!
[Joe pulls out the cart with a stream of tape still coming from the deck. Here's a major
gaff: the tape is clearly upside down! Joe then digs through a bunch of tapes and finally
settles on a Blue Oyster Cult cart.]
Hubbs: What the f*** is that?
Joes: It's "Don't Fear the Reaper," man!
Hubbs: You're not playing that pussy song in my car man!
Joe: But it's Blue Oyster Cult!
Hubbs: I don't give a f*** if it's Blue Oyster Cult, it's a pussy song! Let me
tell you something: every band puts out at least one pussy song so they can find out who
the faggots are!
[a fist fight ensues, they nearly wreck, and Joe finally yields to
Hubbs' demands and puts in a Ted Nugent cart and the movie rolls on...] |
 "This machine just scarfed my tape!" |
 |
Blue Oyster Cult cart |
QUANTUM LEAP (TV show). The episode wherein a sensitive and musical kid is
aching to get out of his repressive father's house and move to NYC to "make it"
in the music world. (His grandfather is also abducted by a UFO--hmmm...) Of course we know
he'll do well because it's only 1966, yet among the pop music detritus littering his room
is a teetering (yet not ostentatious) stack of 8 Track tapes.
SPIRIT OF '76 (1990). David Cassidy goes back in time (from 2376, I think) to
look for the US Constitution. With his "time machine" he gets as far back as
1976. In one scene he is in a teenagers room, bumps into an eight-track player and on
comes Grand Funks "Were an American Band" blasting away from the speakers! Of
course he is puzzled and the kid says "what's wrong, haven't you ever seen an 8-track
before?
KISS THE GIRLS (1997). During the opening credits you hear the
killer's voice talking about his first "catch"; it was in 1975 and he lived up
in the attic of some peoples' house and watched them through the vents for a while (which
gives you a good look at some groovy wallpaper.) Finally he talks about the first girl he
did his unspeakable things to, and the shot of him approaching her in bed (this shot is
also in the trailer, which I have several copies of) and behind are some columns of
8-tracks. So my theory is that she could have gotten away, but had to stay to protect the
8-tracks. Alan Smithee
BORN ON THE 4TH OF JULY (1989). When Tom Cruise is in bed in a few
scenes after he gets injured in the war, you can see a nice stack of 8-tracks in his room.
Alan Smithee
BOOGIE NIGHTS (1997). Set
in the late 70s, Boogie Nights offers multiple 8-track sightings. There's a scene
where budding porno star Buck Swope is working his day job as an audio store salesman.
He's cranking some generic 8-track country & western cart for a customer, trying to
sell a large combo system. Also on display are not one but TWO Weltron 2001 "space
helmets." The customer doesn't buy anything and Buck gets yelled at by his boss for
playing said music. (Source: Peter Golkin) Additonal note: the star of the film, Eddie
Adams (Dirk Diggler) has an impressive stack o' tracks in his bedroom in the scene early
in the movie where his mother is throwing him out of the house.
TOUR OF DUTY (1989) (TV Show). This Vietnam-war drama featured plenty
of 8-tracks throughout its run. During the show's first season, the platoon befriend a
tribe of Montangnards and help rebuild their village. At a post-building celebration, the
soldiers pop in a James Brown 8-track and lip-synch to "Please, Please, Please."
In another episode, a new sergeant tries to win favor with the soldiers by claiming to be
able to bring in the latest albums to the base. He demonstrates this by placing an 8-track
in a Panasonic Dynamite. Meanwhile, two of the soldiers are eyeballing a Nancy Sinatra
8-track (probably one with Frank's daughter wearing a microskirt) and angling the 8-track
to try to see all the way up Nancy's dress.
(Source: Chuck Miller, writer, columnist, Goldmine)
THAT 70'S SHOW (1998) (TV Show). Several references (surprise,
surprise!):
- In one episode, there is a scene in an appliance store with an Aquatron a Weltron Space
Helmet and other
related space age electronics in the background.
- In the episode "Eric's Birthday," Eric requests a cassette player for his
birthday, "not an 8-track player!" Well, his mom gets him an 8-track player
anyway, much to his disappointment
- In the episode
when Donna gets transferred to catholic school, Kelso is flipping through a
magazine, and on the back is the Panasonic 8-track ad "What's a four
channel system without a four-channel deck?" That's what the
bottom of the ad looked like.
(Source:
Macdude443@aol.com)
MUSIC VIDEO (c. 1998) "Brimful of Asha" by
Cornershop; a Welltron player is shown in the background. (SOURCE: Gary Tait)
200 CIGARETTES (1999) - Cab driver at the beginning of the movie has
an in-dash 8-track player. Set in 1981, the cabbie is nontheless playing 70's disco.
SUMMER OF SAM (1999) - Panasonic Plunger sitting on the counter at
hair dresser's.
AND THE SEA WILL TELL (1991) - This is an adaptation of Vincent
Bugliosi's non-fiction book of the same name. Set in the late 1960's, there's a party
scene with lots of dope-smoking and acid-dropping about halfway in to the movie. A pile of
8-tracks were spotted beside the stereo system.
"The Beach Boys: An American Family" (Made-for-TV Movie, ABC, 2000) -
Murray Wilson (the dad) is seen lounging in his den listening to one of his own LPs. There
is a nice 8-track component player (hard to make out the brand, but looks like a
Panasonic) in his very expensive-looking stereo system.
NOW AND THEN (Film, 1995) - Four childhood friends gather together to
prepare for the birth of a baby. While together, they reminesce about when they were kids
in 1970. A Weltron 2001, with extension speakers, is shown in "Then" portion of
the film. submitted by Gary Tait
DETROIT ROCK CITY (Film, 2000)- A film set in 1978 about some kids
who'd do just about anything to see KISS play a concert in Detroit...including trashing a
1978 gold Trans Am that contained disco-induced singalongs from a car load of dingalongs
playing the hit "Making It" on the car 8-track...The owner of same got his
comeuppance shortly after trashing our heroes' fave KISS 8-track by stomping it onto the
ground. submitted by Eddy Swynar
TINY TOON (TV cartoon) (1999?) - Plucky Duck is in an episode where
he's in a weird boat with a little car in 1977 and says something about playing some
ABBA 8-tracks. submitted by Fernando Mauricio da Costa
HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (Film, 2001) - A "Post-punk neo-glam
rock odyssey," based on the hit off-broadway show that ran in New York from
1998-2000. Some people have compared it to the Rocky Horror Picture Show, but
that's only because it's the only other Glam Rock musical ever made into a
movie. At one point there is a sing-along section with a little bouncing wig.
The wig bounces over the line "Turn on my 8-track" and hedwig reaches
off-screen and pulls out...a yellow dy-no-mite plunger. submitted by
Will Tell <wes2666@hotmail.com>
BLOW (2001) 8-track carts sighted sitting on the TV set, when
George and Tuna are moving into their California house. submitted
by Gary Tait [taitg@hurontel.on.ca]
HBO Mini-Series "FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON"
(1998) - In one episode there was a computer geek who had a Weltron 8
track space helmet in his office. submitted by
Brian Skiles
WONDER YEARS (TV Series 1988-1993) - In the
episode called "Heart of Darkness," an older kid named Gary takes Kevin and Paul
camping and provides them with beer (16 ounce cans!) and cigarettes (by the
carton!). To set the rebellious mood, Gary pops in an 8-track tape of Cream
playing "Sunshine of Your Love" into his portable
8-track player. submitted by Will Tell
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Back to 8-Track Moments in TV/Movies
Back to [CONTENTS]
DAZED AND CONFUSED. (1993) By
director Richard Linklater (SLACKERS). This excellent 70's flashback film is set on the
last day of high school in Texas, May 1976. There's a scene where the character Kevin
Pickford pops in an 8-track in his '70 GTO. The cart is a no-name 8-track tape (Foghat's
"I Just Want to Make Love to You" is the song that starts playing) and it's
pushed into his no-name 8-track player while he's on the way to the last-night-of-school
party.
