Extraterrestrial Encore: 80s Hits From Beyond | the complete story (part 1 of 2)
- Mickey Fingers
- 2 days ago
- 14 min read
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Extraterrestrial Encore: 80s Hits From Beyond | the complete story (part 1 of 2)
July 1, 2026
with DJ Tea, Mr. Announcer Man & Mickey Fingers
1–3pm CST on WDRT 91.9FM | Listen Live »
By DJ Tea (DJ Celeste) & Mickey Fingers
✨ Eclectic Wonderland: Alternate Wednesday ✨
👽 Extraterrestrial Encore: 80’s Hits From Beyond (The Full Story)
Part One of Two
Every now and then, while wandering through old playlists, you stumble across something that quietly smiles back at you.
That’s exactly what happened a few weeks ago.
Back in November of 2024, Mickey Fingers wandered into the studio absolutely buzzing with an idea. He imagined what might happen if visitors from somewhere beyond our little blue planet stumbled across Earth’s radio broadcasts, fell completely in love with our favorite 80’s alternative songs, and decided to remake them before sending them back into the universe.
The playlist was called Extraterrestrial Encore: 80’s Hits From Beyond.
It was wonderfully strange.
It made us laugh.
And like so many creative ideas, it patiently waited on the shelf while other adventures wandered through Eclectic Wonderland.
Then I found it again.
The moment I saw the title, I remembered how excited Mickey had been when he first shared the idea. I smiled, looked over at him, and asked one simple question:
“What story were you hearing in your head?”
Well…
Instead of giving me an answer…
He disappeared into the studio and came back with an entire collection of voice overs, introducing us to a cast of delightfully curious visitors who had somehow discovered community radio, coffee, dream pop, cheese curds, Earl Grey Bunny, and the wonderfully confusing habits of human beings.
Personally…
I think the aliens encouraged him.
So this isn’t simply a playlist of cover songs anymore.
It’s the soundtrack to a first contact.
Over the next two hours, you’ll meet our unexpected visitors as they wander through record stores, radio stations, diners, grocery aisles, rooftops, and cornfields, quietly discovering that music has a funny way of making complete strangers feel like old friends.
Along the way, you’ll also discover the artwork that grew alongside the story. Every image became another snapshot from the summer Earth accidentally hosted a group of extraterrestrial music lovers with excellent taste in records… and remarkably impressive 1980’s perms.
So grab your favorite beverage, adjust your antenna if necessary, and settle in.
The transmission is about to begin.
Welcome to Extraterrestrial Encore: 80’s Hits From Beyond…
The Full Story.
📺 Watch the Transmission
Before the first song ever played… there was a story.
This little promo became the doorway into Extraterrestrial Encore: 80’s Hits From Beyond and its companion, Stardust & Static. What began as one wonderfully strange playlist from 2024 slowly grew into a cast of curious visitors, a collection of unforgettable artwork, and a celebration of community radio, friendship, imagination, and the music that somehow connects us all.
Press play, meet our unexpected guests, and enjoy the beginning of the adventure.
Just one small warning…
They’ve developed an enthusiastic appreciation for coffee, community radio, and Wisconsin cheese curds.
And yes…
Those really are 1980’s perms.
👽📻🧀✨
☕ Coffee Before First Contact
Every great adventure has a beginning.
Ours didn’t begin with flashing lights in the sky or mysterious crop circles.
It began with coffee.
Before anyone asked about Earth music…
Before the first record was carefully placed on the turntable…
Before community radio became their favorite discovery…
Someone handed our visitors a warm mug and invited them to sit down.
That simple gesture changed everything.
The conversations became longer.
The laughter became louder.
The records kept spinning.
And somewhere between cups of coffee and stacks of vinyl, complete strangers quietly became friends.
Looking back now…
Maybe first contact was never about finding life somewhere else.
Maybe it was simply about sharing a table.
They Arrived Quietly…
The first thing our visitors discovered about Earth wasn’t music.
It was… parking.
Apparently, every civilization develops some sort of system for deciding where to leave its transportation. Ours just happens to involve painted lines, little metal meters, and the occasional debate over parallel parking.
Their ships drew a bit of attention.
Fortunately, nobody seemed too surprised.
This was Viroqua, after all.
One visitor carefully studied the parking meter for several minutes before announcing that Earth’s transportation customs were “unexpectedly adorable.”
Another insisted on paying the meter anyway.
Just to be polite.
As the rest of the crew stretched their legs, compared radio signals, and wiped a little stardust off the hulls of their ships…
they noticed something.
Music.
Not coming from the sky.
Not from space.
But from a little community radio station just across the parking lot.
Naturally…
they wandered over.
From there, the visit got stranger in the best possible way.
Once our guests had coffee in hand, they began exploring Earth with the seriousness of scientists and the enthusiasm of tourists who had absolutely no idea what they were doing.
They found the record store.
They found the ambient aisle.
They found Dead Can Dance.
They discovered that humans file entire emotional weather systems alphabetically in wooden crates and call it “shopping for music.”
Naturally, they approved.
Before long, they were flipping through records, holding albums upside down, asking very fair questions about The Cure, and treating every sleeve like a tiny message from another civilization.
Which, honestly…
isn’t that what records are?
A Building Filled With Music
Once they crossed the parking lot, they found themselves standing in front of something they hadn’t expected.
Not a government laboratory.
Not a military base.
Not even a secret listening post.
Just a community radio station.
The kind of place where volunteers keep the lights on, neighbors become DJs, and every record on the shelf has been loved by somebody before it found its way onto the air.
That idea fascinated them.
On their world, music traveled instantly across the stars.
On Earth…
people carried it.
One record at a time.
The first volunteer handed one of our visitors a stack of vinyl.
He held it very carefully.
Perhaps a little too carefully.
Nobody had explained that records are surprisingly sturdy, so he carried them like they were priceless archaeological artifacts.
To be fair…
around here…
they kind of are.
Keeping the Signal Alive
Eventually someone explained how community radio actually works.
No emperors.
No corporations.
No mysterious galactic funding council.
Just listeners.
Neighbors.
Volunteers.
People who believe good music, strange ideas, local voices, and shared stories are worth keeping alive.
The visitors loved the concept so much they immediately volunteered.
Within minutes they were answering phones…
taking pledges…
thanking listeners…
and politely reminding callers that, while interstellar credits were appreciated, Earth dollars were considerably easier for the accounting department.
One volunteer became so enthusiastic that he answered every phone call with…
“Greetings, favorite planet!”
Nobody seemed to mind.
In fact…
the phones just kept ringing.
Wisconsin’s Greatest Mystery
The shopping expedition was already going well.
The visitors had successfully identified coffee.
Pop-Tarts had somehow become an essential food group.
Bratwurst remained… under investigation.
But then…
someone handed them a warm cheese curd.
The room fell completely silent.
Our guests examined them from every angle.
One carefully sniffed it.
Another gently squeezed it.
A third asked if they were decorative.
“No,” we explained.
“They squeak.”
That only raised more questions.
One brave volunteer took the first bite.
There was a tiny squeak.
Then another.
Within moments, the entire bowl had disappeared.
The official report simply read:
Earth Discovery #27
Cheese should squeak more often.
Stocking Up for the Journey Home
At this point the mission had changed completely.
No longer were they documenting Earth.
They were shopping.
Carts filled with cheese curds.
Pop-Tarts.
Brats.
String cheese.
Spotted Cow souvenirs.
Someone quietly adopted the title of
Official Cheese Expert.
Nobody questioned it.
By the time they reached the checkout, one visitor was attempting to calculate how many cheese curds could safely fit inside an interstellar cargo bay.
The answer, apparently…
was “not enough.”
Sharing a Meal
After a very successful day exploring Wisconsin…
everyone was hungry.
So we did what humans have always done after a good adventure.
We found a diner.
There were burgers.
Fries.
Milkshakes.
Enough ketchup to puzzle an entire civilization.
The jukebox played softly in the corner while stories from two very different worlds drifted across the table.
At first there were questions.
Lots of them.
Then…
there was laughter.
Turns out…
you don’t need to speak exactly the same language to enjoy good food, good music, and good company.
Sometimes…
those things translate themselves.
By the end of the evening…
…they no longer felt like visitors. Under the Same Sky
Eventually…
the records stopped spinning.
The coffee cups were empty.
The cheese curds had mysteriously vanished.
The radio settled into one last quiet song.
So we climbed up to the roof…
put on our headphones…
and simply listened.
Not to Earth.
Not to another planet.
Just…
to the space between us.
Sometimes the best conversations don’t need words.
Sometimes they’re carried by music.
Every good visit eventually becomes a beautiful memory.
Until Next Time…
When the evening finally came to an end…
our friends thanked us for the music.
For the stories.
For the laughter.
For the cheese curds.
(Especially the cheese curds.)
They promised they’d return someday…
with more songs.
More strange discoveries.
And probably a much larger cooler.
As their lights disappeared into the Wisconsin sky, one final transmission drifted softly across the airwaves…
Keep it weird.
Keep it kind.
We’ll be listening.
Then, just a tiny sign-off…
Thanks for spending a little time with us here in Eclectic Wonderland.
Where the music never really ends…
it just finds another traveler.
Until next time…
Stay Weird.
Stay Magical.
Stay Tuned.
Video Playlist Click Here for Video Playlist for Keep Scrolling
Mickey's Corner
Mickey’s Corner 🎙️✨
You know…
When Tea found this old playlist, she asked me what story I’d been hearing back in 2024.
Truth is… I don’t think I ever stopped hearing it.
At first it was just a goofy idea.
Aliens discover 80s alternative music.
Then they found community radio.
Then coffee.
Then cheese curds.
Before long they were helping with the pledge drive, shopping at the Public Market, browsing Brian Eno records, and quietly becoming regulars around here.
Some stories don’t arrive all at once.
They wait.
Then, one day, somebody asks the right question…
“What happened next?”
That’s how we ended up making this show.
If you enjoyed today’s adventure… don’t wander too far.
When the station lights grow dim, the visitors stay behind for one more transmission.
Meet us after dark for…
Stardust & Static.
“I have a feeling you’ll like the Ambient aisle.”
Friday Over - Night 2 to 3 am Central
WDRT
📻 Dispatches From The Corridors
Things have… continued to happen.
Nobody has submitted paperwork.
Nobody has admitted responsibility.
Frankly, we’re not sure paperwork would survive in the corridors anyway.
Recent field reports include…
🍍 Harry’s House of Hootenannies somehow acquired an extremely spacious pineapple.
🦩 The Emergency Flamingo Response Team has expanded operations despite never actually existing on paper.
🥧 The Hootenanny Pie Contest concluded with seventeen perfect scores, one overturned lemonade cart, and absolutely no lessons learned.
🗳️ Traffic Clam has announced another campaign. Nobody remembers electing him the first time.
🤖 A robot continues handing out pink lemonade and mystery pies without any recognizable food-service license.
🍬 Existential Crisis Mints have quietly appeared in the vending machine.
Side effects include:• reduced panic• improved perspective• temporary belief that everything might actually work out.
Use responsibly.
📻 Signal Incoming From The Cosmic Lounge
🚪 Corridor Construction Report
The corridors continue to grow.
Not because anyone planned them…
but because stories have a funny habit of building new rooms when nobody is paying attention.
Recent discoveries include…
✨ The Telepathic Tea Room
✨ The Dream Vault
✨ The Puzzle Parlor
✨ The Echo Chamber
✨ The Astral Bathroom
✨ The Wobble Room
✨ The Waiting Room Between Worlds
✨ The Rooftop Recovery Club
✨ Several locations that officially do not exist.
Our maintenance department would like everyone to know…
Mickey Fingers was specifically instructed not to open any mysterious doors.
Current status:
He opened them anyway.
🍄 Coming Soon…
Behind one particularly curious door…
construction continues on something we’ve simply started calling…
The Mushroom Room.
Imagine…
a cozy little corner tucked somewhere deep inside Eclectic Wonderland.
Part storybook.
Part radio station.
Part secret clubhouse.
Filled with clickable surprises…
hidden passages…
music…
odd little discoveries…
and a Welcome transmission waiting just inside the door.
We’re putting the finishing touches on it now.
The mushrooms seem pleased.
The electricians remain confused.
✨ The Magic Door is open once again.
Take a look around.
Push a few buttons.
Open a few doors.
Click absolutely anything that seems even remotely suspicious.
Just remember…
if you hear someone quietly humming in another room…
you’re probably getting warmer.
This Week’s Transmission…
📻 This Week's Transmission:
Extraterrestrial Encore: 80s Hits From Beyond | the complete story (part 1 of 2)
🌙 And After The Midway Closes…
When Eclectic Wonderland fades into the distance…
the signal changes.
The lights dim.
The corridors grow quieter.
The conversations become softer.
And somewhere beyond the static…
Velvet Umbrella Radio: After Hours begins.
🌙 Velvet Umbrella Radio: After Hours
Stardust & Static
Part Two of Extraterrestrial Encore
The visitors have finished exploring.
The record stores are quiet.
The diners have closed.
The last coffee has been poured.
Now the conversations grow softer.
Stardust & Static is the companion to this week’s Extraterrestrial Encore, following our new friends beyond the bright lights of the afternoon and into the peaceful hours before dawn.
Built from dream pop, ambient soundscapes, ethereal voices, and late-night reflections, this isn’t the soundtrack to an invasion.
It’s the soundtrack to understanding.
Featuring music from:
🌙 Air
🌙 Cocteau Twins
🌙 Harold Budd
🌙 Boards of Canada
🌙 Broadcast
🌙 This Mortal Coil
🌙 David Sylvian
🌙 Dead Can Dance
🌙 Brian Eno
🌙 Jean-Jacques Perrey
🌙 The Orb
Together they create a quiet place where memories drift like radio waves… where static becomes stardust… and where every signal carries a little piece of home.
Because sometimes the greatest discoveries aren’t made during first contact.
They’re made after everyone finally stops talking…
and simply listens.
✨ The music continues Friday morning from 2:00 to 3:00 AM on WDRT 91.9 FM Viroqua.
Friday's Overnight
from 2 to 3 am WDRT-Viroqua
[This will link to the Blog when it is up]
💜 A Quick Note From Mickey
One of my favorite things about Eclectic Wonderland is that none of this is created by one person.
It’s built by a little collection of wonderfully creative humans who somehow found each other through music, art, strange ideas, and an appreciation for stories that don’t quite fit anywhere else.
Some of us are spoonies:
Some of us live with connective tissue disorders, autoimmune adventures, and bodies that occasionally decide to improvise.
Most weeks we simply work around whatever life throws our way and keep making radio.
Because that’s what music has always done.
It reminds us that we’re never navigating strange days alone.
Whether we’re building imaginary corridors, recording late-night voice overs, painting impossible worlds, or laughing about extraterrestrials discovering Wisconsin cheese curds… this little universe is built with a lot of love.
So thank you.
For listening.
For wandering these hallways with us.
For encouraging our strange ideas.
And for reminding us that kindness is still one of the most powerful frequencies we know.
We’ll keep the lights on.
We’ll keep opening doors.
We’ll keep making things worth exploring.
See you somewhere in the corridors.
— Mickey Fingers for all of us at Eclectic Wonderland
🎬 This Week’s Promo Video
✨ Dive into the full playlist below — with videos linked for every track, so you can watch, listen, and wander through the eclectic flow.
Set your reminders!
A Fun Little Promo!
Eclectic Wonderland Links (Links In Pink!)
🎧 Press play and stay awhile…
Video Playlist
👽 Extraterrestrial Encore: 80s Hits From Beyond
Set 1
The Bran Flakes - The Music From Another Planet
Sammy Rae & The Friends - Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Shiny Toy Guns - Major Tom
Tre Lux - What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy)
Evan Blum & Michelle Raitzin - Endless Sky
Set 2
Goldfinger - 99 Red Balloons
Bowling for Soup - I Melt With You
The Cure - World In My Eyes
Kiesza & Sugar Jesus - Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)
Ruelle - Walking on the Moon
The Polish Ambassador - This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)
Raymond Scott - Twilight in Turkey (Electronic)
Our extraterrestrial exchange program continues here on Eclectic Wonderland.
I like to imagine they’re making careful notes back home…
“Humans appear to process nearly every emotion through music.”
“Happiness… music.”
“Heartbreak… music.”
“Existential crisis… definitely music.”
“And they keep offering us cheese curds.”
Honestly, I can’t say they’re wrong.
Let’s continue the transmission.
Set 3
Joy Zipper - Just Like Heaven
Loquat - There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
Dual Sessions - Don’t You (Forget About Me) [Krister Remix]
The Brunettes - Lovesong
Lofi Fruits Music - Take On Me
Set 4
Reel Big Fish - Take On Me
Reel Big Fish - Hungry Like the Wolf (Best Of)
Sugar for Sugar - Bizarre Love Triangle
t.A.T.u. - How Soon Is Now?
SKOLD - Peek-a-Boo
Elektrik People - Love Will Tear Us Apart
MEYSTA, BETASTIC & LUPEX - People Are People (feat. Ruben Arthur)
Raymond Scott - Night and Day
Set 5
Mariachi El Bronx - I Would Die 4 U
Dub Pistols - Blue Monday
Trinix (feat. Holly Henry) - Sweet Dreams
Luke - Safety Dance
Grandmagneto - Let’s Dance
Nouvelle Vague (feat. Alonya) - Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Señor Coconut - Trans Europe Express
HOTT MT - Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft
Who Keeps Doing This?
Welcome To The Wacky World Of Velvet Umbrella Radio
Yes.
We’re all real.
We’re just real weird.
Left to Right:
✨ DJ Tea (Celeste Violet)
✨ Mr Announcer Man
✨ Mickey Fingers
Together we create radio shows, playlists, videos, stories, artwork, strange investigations, accidental mythology, and the occasional kitchen experiment.
[Click The Art Above To Visit Our Home Page] The Door That’s Open Right Now.....
📻 Eclectic Wonderland
Wednesdays
1 PM - 3 PM Central
Live on WDRT 91.9 FM Viroqua
Eclectic Wonderland is our flagship show and home base for musical adventures, unexpected discoveries, and strange transmissions.
🎭 First Week: Alternate Wednesday
(Covers, remixes, reinterpretations, and musical curveballs)
🎵 Third Week: Independent Artist Showcase
(Please send us your music)
🛸 Fourth Week: Audities
(Our weirdest shows, experimental broadcasts, novelty records, and unexplained events)
🌙 After Hours
Fridays (Overnight)
2 AM - 3 AM Central
WDRT 91.9 FM Viroqua
With Celeste Violet & Mickey Fingers
After Hours explores the darker corners of the record collection.
Dream Pop.
Darkwave.
Trip-Hop.
Late-night discoveries.
Moonlit roads.
Signals from beneath.
And occasionally…
reports from Atlantis.
After Hours with Celeste Violet and Mickey Fingers
After Hours is more of an Evening Vibe:
And then .....
🧜♀️ Petals & Hooks
Mixcloud Exclusive
Premieres Fridays at Midnight
With Celeste Violet & Mickey Fingers
Petals & Hooks is where the filters come off. Long-form themed journeys.
Dream narratives. Storytelling. Unexpected connections.
Beautiful mistakes. The things that don’t fit neatly inside traditional radio.
Most episodes run between three and four hours.
Some are explicit.
All are deeply strange.
Beneath The Surface - Part One
Part Three of our current four-part story cycle.
A two-hour descent into signals, longing, dreams, memory, and moonlit shorelines.
Explicit & Unfiltered Content.
Mixcloud Exclusive.
Beneath The Surface - Part Two
Part Four of our current four-part story cycle.
The water gets deeper.
The signals get stronger.
The investigation continues.
Explicit & Unfiltered Content.
Mixcloud Exclusive.
Thank You For Visiting
More portals, hidden rooms, strange broadcasts, companion shows, stories, and weird worlds are currently under construction.
Some delays may be related to ongoing corridor expansion projects.
Some may be related to Gerald.
No official statement has been released.
More doors, stories, visuals, playlists, and companion shows can be found at VelvetUmbrellaRadio.com.
Whether you laughed…
remembered someone…
found a new favorite song…
or simply let the weirdness carry you away for a while…
we’re really glad you stopped by.
Peace, Love & Cosmic Bunny Rabbits.
💜
DJ Tea (Celeste Violet)
Mr Announcer Man
Mickey Fingers
Dewey Lewis
DJ Tea (Celeste Violet) | Mr Announcer Man | Mickey Fingers
Celeste Violet and Mickey Fingers are part of a Creative Collaborative of Spoonie Artists that Create together. When they are not creating with Gala Violet, they create weird worlds, music, kitchen experiments and Radio shows together... To help spread joy... and give people an alternative to Doom Scrolling. Sometimes we even get Mr Announcer Man to play along.
🌐 More doors: VelvetUmbrellaRadio.com
📻 WDRT Archive (available for two weeks): wdrt.org
🌒 After Hours (unfiltered transmissions):[Mixcloud Link]
New Contact Pages & Bio Portals
Celeste Violet | DJ Tea
Mr Announcer Man
Mickey Fingers
From The Vault:
April Newsletter:
Thank you for being here.
Whether you laughed…
remembered someone…
or just let the weirdness carry you for a while…
We're really glad you showed up.
Thank you for Listening
Peace, Love & Cosmic Bunny Rabbits!
-DJ Tea, Mr Announcer Man, Dewey Lewis
& Mickey Fingers
People We Blame For This....
Art Direction & Visual Design:
Celeste Violet | DJ TeaMickey Fingers
Playlists Curated By:
Celeste Violet | DJ Tea
& Mickey Fingers
Voice Overs & Incidental Music:
Mickey Fingers
Show Notes & Storyworld Elements:
Celeste Violet | DJ Tea
& Mickey Fingers
Video Editing:
Celeste Violet
Sound Engineering & Production:
Mickey Fingers
& Celeste Violet
Eclectic Wonderland:
DJ Tea | Celeste Violet
Mr. Announcer Man
Mickey Fingers
We’ll leave the porch light on.
Returned: Heaven or Las Vegas Condition: Slightly tear-stained.
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