30th Anniversary of Fast Times at Reidgemont High
I was a HUGE fan of this movie back in the day, still am, probably seen it hundreds of time
August 13 marks the 30th anniversary of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," the teen comedy flick based on Rolling Stone writer Cameron Crowe's real life experiences when he posed as high school student at a California high school in the early 1980s.
While the movie is known for its iconic performances by Sean Penn and Phoebe Cates (it also featured then unknowns Nicholas Cage, Anthony Edwards and Forest Whitaker), the accompanying soundtrack is a potpourri of early 1980s rock music, boasting songs by everyone from the Go-Go's to Jimmy Buffett.
Check out these cool facts about the "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" soundtrack.
1. While his 1977 album "Running on Empty" was one of the bestselling albums of the 1970s, the biggest hit of singer Jackson Browne's career came in 1982 when his "Fast Times" single, "Somebody's Baby," reached #7 on the charts.
2. Solo songs by Don Henley ("Love Rules"), Joe Walsh ("Waffle Stomp") Timothy B. Schmit ("So Much in Love") and Don Felder ("Never Surrender") were all featured in the movie. So what's up with all of the solos from members of The Eagles? Irving Azoff, one of the movie's producers, is the personal manager of the legendary rock band.
3. While it's long been considered a blooper, this musical mishap was intended. In the scene where Mike Damone ( Robert Romanus) gives pal Mark Ratner (Brian Backer) his "five point plan" for getting girls, he says "When it comes down to making out, whenever possible, put on side one of 'Led Zeppelin IV.'" Cut to the next scene, where Rat and his date, Stacy, are in the car and the Zeppelin song "Kashmir"-- from the album "Physical Graffiti" -- is playing. In an interview with The Uncool, Cameron Crowe explained, "Yes, we all knew that 'Kashmir' was on 'Physical Graffiti.' There was a publishing problem that kept Zeppelin from being able to give us something from Led Zeppelin IV. So we sort of happily took 'Kashmir' and figured that The Rat just couldn't get any of the advice quite right."
4. Probably the most memorable scene in the movie is the scene where Phoebe Cates' character emerges from a swimming pool in a red bikini while Judge Reinhold's character fantasizes about her. The Cars song "Moving in Stereo" -- by far the song most widely associated with the movie -- plays during this famous scene, but ironically it's not included on the movie's official soundtrack.
5. Director Amy Heckerling was not a fan of all of the music on the soundtrack (according to a USA Today article she especially hated the Ravyn's song "Raised on the Radio," which was prominently featured during Judge Reinhold's car washing scene) but she did get one coup: The movie-ending Oingo Boingo song, "Goodbye Goodbye." Crowe called the pick "a beautiful call."
6. The cover to the "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" album features a picture of a pair of black and white checkered Vans slip-on shoes, like the ones Sean Penn wore in the role of surfer dude Jeff Spicoli. Thirty years later the classic checkerboard slip-ons are still a hot seller.
August 13 marks the 30th anniversary of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," the teen comedy flick based on Rolling Stone writer Cameron Crowe's real life experiences when he posed as high school student at a California high school in the early 1980s.
While the movie is known for its iconic performances by Sean Penn and Phoebe Cates (it also featured then unknowns Nicholas Cage, Anthony Edwards and Forest Whitaker), the accompanying soundtrack is a potpourri of early 1980s rock music, boasting songs by everyone from the Go-Go's to Jimmy Buffett.
Check out these cool facts about the "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" soundtrack.
1. While his 1977 album "Running on Empty" was one of the bestselling albums of the 1970s, the biggest hit of singer Jackson Browne's career came in 1982 when his "Fast Times" single, "Somebody's Baby," reached #7 on the charts.
2. Solo songs by Don Henley ("Love Rules"), Joe Walsh ("Waffle Stomp") Timothy B. Schmit ("So Much in Love") and Don Felder ("Never Surrender") were all featured in the movie. So what's up with all of the solos from members of The Eagles? Irving Azoff, one of the movie's producers, is the personal manager of the legendary rock band.
3. While it's long been considered a blooper, this musical mishap was intended. In the scene where Mike Damone ( Robert Romanus) gives pal Mark Ratner (Brian Backer) his "five point plan" for getting girls, he says "When it comes down to making out, whenever possible, put on side one of 'Led Zeppelin IV.'" Cut to the next scene, where Rat and his date, Stacy, are in the car and the Zeppelin song "Kashmir"-- from the album "Physical Graffiti" -- is playing. In an interview with The Uncool, Cameron Crowe explained, "Yes, we all knew that 'Kashmir' was on 'Physical Graffiti.' There was a publishing problem that kept Zeppelin from being able to give us something from Led Zeppelin IV. So we sort of happily took 'Kashmir' and figured that The Rat just couldn't get any of the advice quite right."
4. Probably the most memorable scene in the movie is the scene where Phoebe Cates' character emerges from a swimming pool in a red bikini while Judge Reinhold's character fantasizes about her. The Cars song "Moving in Stereo" -- by far the song most widely associated with the movie -- plays during this famous scene, but ironically it's not included on the movie's official soundtrack.
5. Director Amy Heckerling was not a fan of all of the music on the soundtrack (according to a USA Today article she especially hated the Ravyn's song "Raised on the Radio," which was prominently featured during Judge Reinhold's car washing scene) but she did get one coup: The movie-ending Oingo Boingo song, "Goodbye Goodbye." Crowe called the pick "a beautiful call."
6. The cover to the "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" album features a picture of a pair of black and white checkered Vans slip-on shoes, like the ones Sean Penn wore in the role of surfer dude Jeff Spicoli. Thirty years later the classic checkerboard slip-ons are still a hot seller.
