National Lampoon, November 1979
It's that time to travel back in time, 43 years, to November, 1979. On the radio, in heavy rotation, are 'Babe' by Styx; 'Escape (The Pina Colada Song)', by Rupert Holmes, and 'Heartache Tonight' by the Eagles. Anticipation is building for the release next month of the blockbuster films Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and Steven Spielberg's 1941.
The November issue of National Lampoon is on the stands. This is a 'Love' themed issue, and it's not very good (too many mediocre pieces from editor P. J. O'Rourke). The advertisements actually are some of the more interesting examples of pop culture detritus in this issue. For example, we get Bruce Jenner selling cameras...........
Fleetwood Mac's double album, 'Tusk', gets some promotion....... Smoking 'Camel' brand cigarettes, and wearing flannel shirts and bellbottom jeans, will get you noticed by foxy ladies..... I never imbibed any liqueur from 'Bols', but they still are in the beverage business to this day.I never thought much of Steve Martin and his type of comedy, but back in '79, he was a big deal.
And buying ad space in the back pages of the magazine are purveyors of prophylactics, and 'Mr. Bill' tee shirts...........One of the more interesting comedy pieces in the November issue is a comic from Shary Flenniken, titled 'Perfect Pickup', that plays on the singles bar scene of the decade's end, and uses an unusual, ankle-level perspective in its narrative.'Foto Funnies', a staple of the early years of the magazine, has been replaced by 'Michael Brennan's True Experience': Cartoonist Charles Rodrigues contributes '22 Houston Street', which mocks people dealing with substance abuse. You could get away with a lot of stuff, back in '79. We close with a three-page comic, 'Love Under Laboratory Conditions', from Ted Mann, Blaine Schlosser, and Bernie Wrightson. I can't say the story is all that engaging, but as always, Wrightson did a fine job with the artwork. There you have it. Laughs and culture from 43 years ago..........!
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