Well, we’ve passed the 300 mark on Halloween Shindig, so we’re gonna kick off the next phase of the playlist with block of classic heavy metal tracks.
And what better tune to set the mood than this epic instrumental called Full Moon from New Wave of British Heavy Metal outfit, Demon.
“Rise,” they chant, over some synthy goodness and some gurgling belching noises. And we shall do just that.
It’s perfectly Halloweeny and it leads directly into their song, Night of the Demon. Now this song is not explicitly referential to either the classic 1957 film (more commonly known as Curse of the Demon) nor the 1983 Video Nasty Bigfoot freak-out. But hey, so what! It’s great for Halloween as well.
Cause what’s Halloween if not the night of the demon?
And just look at that album cover! It’s awesome. It’s one of the coolest album covers ever.
So sit back, relax, grab some pumpkin boys and the beverage of your choice, cause shit’s about to get heavy.
Cause don’t you know? It’s the Night of the Demon!
Well The Shindig has hit 300 tracks, and we’re gonna ring in the occasion with Shindig All-Stars and Halloween heroes, Acid Witch.
Cause in pure Acid Witch fashion, they surprise-dropped another Halloween banger right as I was wrapping up last years countdown. C’mon fellas, give a guy a heads up!
What’s more? They even used the same damn sample fromThe Halloween That Almost Wasn’t that we used on our Happy Halloweird episode of Shindig Radio. Do these guys know how to party or what!? What can I say, pure Halloween minds think alike, I guess.
What’s more? They totally spoof Halloween’sDon’t Metal With Evil for the cover of the single. We’ve always thought of Acid Witchas the rightful heirs to the throne of Motor City’s Halloween ambassadors, and they now seem to be fully taking up that mantle.
So, while it’s not an explicitly “Halloween” titled song, as is the tradition (the great ones of those are starting to dry up at this point) it’s certainly Halloween enough for the big 300 slot, by a long shot.
And though I would have loved to have closed out Halloween 2020 with this virus-infused pandemic face melter, I think a year out is no big stretch, particularly seeing as how we’re still knee deep in all manner corona-nonsense.
So here’s to 300 songs and to 2021 being perhaps The Halloween That Almost Wasn’t.
And to Acid Witch, a band I wholeheartedly love, that keeps pumpin’ out new Halloween Metal for all the Pumpkinhead-bangers of the world. You’re doin the dark lords work, gentlemen.
From the beginning of 1987 to the end of 1988, at least 12 different Rap songs were created in honor of the Son of 100 Maniacs, such was Freddymania.
Compiled here (unfortunately) are only 11 of those songs. Hopefully the missing track, Triple Scoop and Jam Cutta’sHe’s Back, will one day be added to this list. If I ever find a quality enough copy to include, that is.
In addition to the 9 songs featured on Monster Raps Pt. 3, we have included the extended versions of both Are you Ready for Freddy and A Nightmare on My Street. See Freddy’s other playlist if you’d like to hear the single versions.
Now, it’s time to face the music, with Rapmaster Freddy!
PLAYLIST UPDATE! (6.5.21)
Shortly after uploading, some kind soul posted a clean copy of Triple Scoop and Jam Cutta’sHe’s Back to YouTube. Unfortunately, the show was without this track, but at least it found it’s true home here on the playlist.
Oh, who are we kidding, it’ll obviously make it onto Monster Raps Pt. 4. C’mon now.
PLAYLIST UPDATE! (1.30.23)
Though purchased some time ago, I managed to score a copy of Bit Bizzare’sFreddie’s Groove. I have updated the playlist to now include the complete version and that missing verse is as good as I’d have hoped. Feels good to finally get the whole track on here. Enjoy! I will upload it to YouTube as well soon.
Additionally, in that time span, I also procured a copy of Stevie B’ sNightmare on Freddy Krugger Street. I have also update that version from the crummy YouTube rip to a much nicer pull from the original vinyl. The playlist is now complete…
Though we uncovered 10 and featured 9 different Freddy related rap songs on Monster Raps Pt. 3, none stood out as much as Krushin MC’sNightmare on Rhyme Street. As such, it’s getting thrown in the mix ahead of the pack.
But why is it that this song (at least as far as I’m concerned anyway) is so much better than all the rest?
Well, I think it’s 3 fold.
First and foremost, I think it sounds the least 80’s of the group. A strange stance for me to take, I know, but hear me out.
This is a track that feels a bit ahead of its time. The flow has a much smoother and rhythmic cadence than it’s brethren. Additionally, it’s packing a lot of lyrics into a tight bar. At a time when the other Freddy rappers were still drawing out sparse lyrics to match slower beats, the Krushin MC’seffortlessly flow with a tempo that feels more like something from the 90’s, and a good deal less silly.
Second is this beat, which also feels ahead of its time. Without aping the actual theme, it captures the vibe of A Nightmare on Elm Street with a downbeat and downright sinister bass line. While none of these songs are what I’d call dark, this one has the darkest tone of the bunch, which makes it feel less at odds with the subject matter.
Now, there’s something to be said and appreciated with these Freddy Raps in the juxtaposition of an upbeat rap songs about a homicidal and, most likely, pedophilic murderer turned dream demon. Freddy’s actual album, Freddy’s Greatest Hits, being perhaps chief among this strange intersection of digestible pop and disturbing subtext. But there’s also something to be said of treating this material, at least in respect to its sound, as what it is – a horrifying concept.
Now, the Krushin MC’s aren’t going that far with it. I mean this is still a song where a guy battle raps a Freddy wearing a glove with 5 microphones on it, but at least is sounds kinda appropriate.
Which bring me to the 3rd reason this song a is superior Freddy rap – it’s lyrical content.
Krushin MC’s pack a lot more, and a lot better, references to the films than their contemporaries. You got the aforementioned golden mic glove, the muddy steps, the tongue coming out an inanimate object, the girls jumping rope, the peeling of Freddy skin to reveal his brain and even Dream Warriors’ method of Freddy disposal.
Among a crew of dude who reference the same damn line from Freddy’s Revenge, lazily rhyme the numbers of the films, and even have Freddy potentially pulling has ass out at the beach, Krushin MC’sfeeling like goddamn Nightmare on Elm Street scholars.
Now, those song’s’ll potentially all wind up here eventually, given enough time, but for my money, only the Krushin MC’sNightmare on Rhyme Streetdeserves express service.
In 1983, Michael Jackson released his landmark, groundbreaking and absolutely dominating album, Thriller.
It’s eponymous track featured the incomparable Vincent Price delivering what they called the “Thriller Rap.” Though not exactly what we’ve come to know as “Rap” it is oft cited as the catalyst for the genre I affectionately refer to as Monster Rap.
These are Rap songs exclusively about monsters or created specifically for various horror films, with their title characters or plots at the forefront.
Shortly thereafter Thriller, and perhaps even as a direct result, Whodini released what I think of as the original Monster Rap, The Haunted House of Rock, a bit of early 80’s hip-hop goodness that plays like the Rap version of the Monster Mash.
As Rap began to penetrate pop-culture in the mid 80’s, seemingly everyone decided the best commercial move was to make everything rap. Naturally, horror icons and monsters were not left out of that equation.
Now, collected here in chronological order, are all the Monster Raps currently featured on The Halloween Shindig playlist.
If Monster Raps Pt. 3: Freddy’s Revenge has already aired (and you’ve listened to it) then you may be aware of a guy I referenced on that episode named Werner Von Wallenrod.
Werner has a crazy informative website called The Humble Little Hip-Hop Blog. I stumbled across it while researching last night’s Monster Rap entry and what I got in return was so much more.
In addition to the veritable boiler room of previously unknown (to me anyway) Freddy related rap songs, here’s another addition that I have to chalk up to Werner as well.
From 1984, right on the heels of (and perhaps as a result of) Whodini’sHaunted House of Rock, comes Uptown Express’Creature Feature.
Now, like I’ve been saying all season it seems, there isn’t much info floating around on Uptown Express. They only released a few tunes over a couple years, of which Creature Feature is perhaps their most prominent.
A cavalcade of monsterdom, this one uses the title of Screen Gem’s second package of horror movie classics that were released into syndication to local television stations in the early 60’s. This, of course, gave birth to the Horror Hosts of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. The original Shock! package featured mostly old Universal Classics, but the Creature Features packaged upped the ante with all manner of cheeseball Sci-Fi, Hammer Classics, Asian Kaiju and 60’s monster freakouts.
Like Shock!, the package was sent all over the country and many markets had their own “Creature Features” labeled programs with the requisite spooky host. Perhaps the most famous, however, was Bob Wilkin’s wry and straight-face take on San Francisco’s KTVU.
If you’ve ever seen this picture floating around Instagram, that’s Bob, cold chillin, classed-out in front of his now ubiquitous sign.
To keep things nice and referential, we’ve led the track in with Bob’s 70’s era theme song performed by Beauregarde and The Poppers.
So let’s all keep America strong, and listen to this upbeat and fun loving tune from the birth of Monster Rap, Creature Feature.
There’s no need to fear, it’s as harmless as your teacher…
“Man, I really love that Edgar Winter’s Frankenstein, but I just wish it had more synths, ya know? Like some newer synths…and maybe even a drum machine, yeah! And hey, what if it had some lyrics too, ya know, instead of being an instrumental? And dude, the lyrics could really be about Frankenstein, so it would actually be a real monster song! And oh shit, what if Edgar himself, weirdo, freaky 70’s looking, literal-ass whitest dude ever was rappin’ all over the motherfucker?”
Well my friend, have I got some good news for you today, courtesy of Edgar Winter’svery own Frankenstein 1984.
Yep.
Now, why Edgar decided to update Frankenstein, I couldn’t say. I wasn’t able to find any interviews with him talking about this particular version. But my guess is, Edgar is a pretty experimental guy. The original Frankenstein was the first ever #1 hit to heavily feature a synthesizer. And Edgar is perhaps the inventor of what we think of today as a keytar, as he was the first one to strap the ARP2600’s keyboard around his neck.
As synthesizer technology and their use in popular music grew over the decade or so following this hit, I’m sure Edgar wanted to take another stab at it and incorporate more electronic instrumentation.
Now, why…in addition to this…Edgar decided to remix a slightly different version of the song and then rap over the top of it…that’s about anyone’s guess. As we’ve reckoned many times here on The Shindig before, Rap was starting to emerge as a legitimate musical force and in those early days, everybody decided to take swing.
So let’s thank Edgar Winterfor deciding to throw his hat in the ring and take a song with dubious connections to both Halloween and Frankenstein himself and turn it into the full-blown epic Monster Rap we always wished it could be.
He even went so far as to call it the Monster Rap version.
Shindig Radio is back and Freddy Krueger’s coming with us, and he’s bringing 9 more Nightmare on Elm Street rap songs with him.
Join MC Radio D, Busy G and Mic-E (and of course Freddy himself) as Shindig Radio takes a nap on Rhyme Street, with a boiler room full of Freddy Raps all* from 1987 – a full year before the hits A Nightmare on My Street and Are You Ready for Freddy.
It’s time to face the music with Rap Master Freddy on Monster Raps Pt. 3: Freddy’s Revenge!
And be sure to visit Werner Von Wallenrod’s Humble Little Hip-Hop Blog, without which, this episode would not exist!
And don’t forget to check out that swollen meatball, Matt Mastrella, over at YouTube on The Crypto Hunter!
Dashiki enthusiast and suspected racial appropriator Johnny Wakelin sang a lot of songs about boxers. Not the dogs mind you, but dudes who put on gloves and punch the shit out of each other.
Over a roughly 30 year span, Johnny released 12 different songs about boxers. Of courseMuhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis, Frank Bruno and Mike Tyson each got 2 a piece, but that’s still no mean feat.
It all seemed to start in 1972, when he wrote a song called Hungarian Superman about Hungarian boxer Joe Bugner.
Apparently no one cared though.
Then Joe Bugner lost to both Muhammad Ali and Ghost Fever star Joe Frazier. 12 rounders to be sure, and by decisions, but still L’s none the less.
So, Johnny figured he’d just rework Joe’s tune to be about Muhammad Ali and call it Black Superman instead. Keen.
This time people seemed to care. Well, at least a little. The song hit number 7 in the UK. It only reached number 21 here in the states, but it stayed in the top 100 for 6 months! Not too shabby for a weird ass tune from some British guy about an American boxer.
Figuring if it ain’t broke it ain’t broke, Johnny whipped up In Zaire, a song about Ali’s famous 1974 bout dubbed “The Rumble in the Jungle” against George Foreman. That one didn’t do as well, but still had some legs.
After a few underperforming singles including Africa Man, Cream Puff and Afro Afrique, he attempt to rebottle the lightning with 1986’s Bruno, about boxer Frank Bruno.
That didn’t do so hot either.
Later down the line Johnny thought, fuck it, I’ll write songs about all kinds of boxers including Sugar Ray Leonard, Prince Nassem Hamed and even my own hometown hero Rocky Marciano.
Now, you may be thinking “Gee, that’s real swell, pal, but what the fuck does that have to do with Halloween, you blithering jackass.”
A fair question.
Well, it seems that in the middle of all this pugilist pop, and for seemingly no good reason at all, ole Johnny decided to jump on the disco train and bring some of that spooky monster party shit with him. What?
So, he grabbed up an instrumental disco tune from Harold Faltermeyer – yep Top Gun, Fletch Theme, Axel F Harold Faltermeyer – and slapped some silly Monster Mash-fashioned lyrics over the whole thing.
The result was Dr. Frankenstein’s Disco Party, a bonafide Monster Disco jammer that’s as grooving as it is bizarre.
Seriously, this song rules. And it hits all the notes you want for a monster party disco hit. You got Dracula, Mummies, Zombies, fuckin Bigfoot and even a nod to Frankenstein’s Monster himself. Hell, all the invitations to this Shindig are delivered by bat for fuck’s sake. It’s incredible! Johnny should have ditched the boxing motif and stuck with the monster parties, you ask us.
So let’s say gold riddance to this disco block with a little underground groove about a bunch of bloodaholics.
Unfortunately for everyone listening, that’s not where the “Disco Dracula” ends.
Cause every once and a while The Shindig stumbles across a song that’s definitely not good, but not totally unlistenable, that practically insists upon itself to make the playlist.
Dracula Disco is just such a song.
Because where else do you put this? Where else does this thing get the nod? When else does this song get its day?
But maybe it shouldn’t get its day, because that place doesn’t exist. Maybe it should just get buried in a hole somewhere where you put uninspired, and dubious cash-in trash like this.
Well, unfortunately for that hole, such a place does exist. And that place is Halloween Shindig. And that day is today.
But holy shit. This is the kind of thing that give disco a bad name.
Say what you want about something like Soul Dracula, or Disco Blood, but those songs cut rugs. This shit…this Dracula Disco shit…this is bland, repetitive, cash grabby garbage. Hell, it barely qualifies as music. You can’t dance to this shit! Isn’t that the soul purpose of disco, to at least get your feet moving? What is this song’s purpose? Who is this song for? It’s definitely for us, right now, in hindsight. But I mean in its day, to whom was this appealing to? To whom was this being sold, I ask!
Not gonna lie though, this guy does a pretty good Dracula, but the song isn’t asking much of him in the way of singing. Also, his party is poorly attended and whack as fuck. What’s he got? 2 guests and some lights? A little music? Well, if it’s shit like Dracula Disco, count me out, Conde.
Where’s the cavalcade of monsterous party goers? Where’s the plasma pizza or the blood ballon race? This party doesn’t even have a spooky DJ. This party is lazy and so is this song.
Unfortunately, lazy though it might be, it’s exactly the kind of thing that needs to be on this playlist. Because, where else do you put a thing like Dracula Disco, if not in a trash can?
Also, that LP cover is pretty fantastic. Dude has a coffin guitar, so what the hell.
Speaking of bizarre skin-flicks disguised as Disco Dracula films, let’s talk about Dracula Blows His Cool, a German sex comedy with a surprisingly interesting soundtrack.
When smut photographer and “Dracula” descendant Stan decides just shooting nudie pictures in his old family castle isn’t quite enough to keep it from being repossessed, he does what any self respecting Bavarian in 1979 would do. He opens a disco!
What ensues is a bevy of silly sex gags, tons of mistaken identity hi-jinx and some funny English dubbing. While certainly not even approaching good, there’s less amusing ways you could spend an hour and 20 minutes, if you like this sort of 70’s sex trash. I mean, check this out:
It’s at least worth a viewing.
Additionally, the film is filled with tons of fun (read: appropriately ludicrous if you have a horror-themed music blog) songs.
Most notable of course, and submitted for your approval this evening, is the 1979 hit Rock Me Dracula, performed by Mokka.
Mokka is an iteration from the brief musical career of Italian twins Nadia and Antonella Cocconcelli. Nadia and Antonella even appear in the film performing the tune. Or at least they appear dancing around with garden hoses and lip syncing to it poorly, anyway. But hey, we’ll take it!
Though played several times throughout the film, it is not included on the official Gerhard Heinz soundtrack for Dracula Blows His Cool, which has several potential Shindig inclusions like Graf Dracula and Disco Strip. Both of those songs are pretty great and may find their way into the playlist in their own right.
For now though, we’ll only indulge in the perfectly appropriate and extra referentialRock Me Dracula, from Mokka.
Shindig Radio personality Graham C. Schofield doesn’t much care for disco music. And as you know, we’re currently knee deep in a Monster Disco Block.
So it may shock you to hear he’s actually responsible for our next tune, another vampire related rug cutter from the 70’s monster comedy, Love At First Bite, starring George Hamilton.
See, last Halloween, Graham bestowed upon The Hole this fresh piece of vinyl soundtrack goodness, and there was much rejoicing.
And if he didn’t think one of these fuckers was gonna find its way onto the playlist this year, he’s out of his mind.
Now, perhaps he did. Perhaps he was even ok with the idea. But what he probably didn’t know was that I already had a few disco-diggers waiting in the dugout, and that this specific gift was the catalyst for me diggin’ up a couple more and making a whole block out of the affair.
So, if you need a scapegoat for any ire you’re experiencing at the hands of a solid week filled with goofball monster disco bullshit, he’s your guy. I’m sure he sympathizes.
As for Love At First Bite, give it a go. It’s a surprisingly measured and effective vampire comedy with a fine and funny Dracula performance from George Hamilton.
It is alleged to have ripped off the plot of 1971’s Guess What Happened to Count Dracula? almost to the T, but as of the time of writing, I have not seen that film and can make no assessment.
What I can say is that it was one of 5 Dracula movies released in 1979. You have, of course, John Badham’s classic starring Frank Langella, Donald Pleaseance and Sir Laurence Oliver. Not to be outdone, you got Werner Herzog’s chilling Nosferatu, starring the unearthly Klaus Kinski. And then, no doubt attempting to a capitalize on the success of Love at First Bite, is Germany’s DiscoDracula film Dracula Blows His Cool, but more on that one in a bit.
Because we can’t talk about Disco Draculas without talking about the other Dracula film from 1979.
Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula, is perhaps the Disco Dracula movie, drenched as it is, almost front to back, in so much Disco it actually gets a little hard to watch. It’s practically an hour and 20 minute Disco music video.
It even features the tune Love Is Just a Heartbeat Away (Nocturna’s Theme) from I WillSurvive Disco Superstar, Gloria Gaynor. How they managed to pull her for this weird-ass, low budget monster picture is probably a miracle. She was apparently talked into providing the track by her then manager and future husband. Apparently she’s not too proud of that song in the slightest. We’ll spare you that tune, inclusive and semi-referential though it be, as it’s a fairly standard (albeit pretty decent) Disco tune, with no fun Draculaness.
When it’s not indulging in overly long bouts of dancing to repetitive beats and string synthesizers, Nocturna’s a totally bizarre quasi-skin flick with some weird vampire lore.
See, for Dracula’s granddaughter (played by belly dancer and screenwriter Nia Bonet), the power of disco music slowly changes her into a human or some such nonsense.
It even features a scene with a governing vampire assembly and a new, designer form of blood that the vampires can snort. It was 1979, after all.
Also on tap is actual Dracula John Caradine (even wearing his costume from 1945’s House of Dracula) and Lily Munster herself, Ms. Yvonne DeCarlo. Bonus!
If you’re into bizarre shit and love the idea Disco Draculas, definitely give it a watch. It’s worth it for Nia Bonet’s positively otherworldly performance. Plus, you get to see shit like this:
Outstanding.
But enough about Nocturna, we’re here for Fly By Night from soul singer Pat Hodges, dammit!
Now, out of the box, this fucker is a 12 and a half minute song. Talk about goin’ hard. That’s indulgent, even for Disco.
So, we’ve enlisted the help of our Shindig Audio Magicians to make this one a bit more manageable, with a totally unique Shindig Special Edition version. Not gonna lie though, it hurt a little. Despite the length of Fly By Night, I’m all about how long and epic its Disco is. It pained me to snip out resonant filter sweeps or Simmons drum hits, but it had to be done.
If we’re not gonna use the full length, 12 minute version of Helloween’sHalloween, you better believe Fly By Night ain’t getting no special dispensation.
Without any further ado, though somewhat truncated, here’s Pat Hodges singing Fly By Night!
I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to talk about this nugget of nostalgic goodness, and smack dab in the middle of a Monster Disco Block seemed like the perfect place. Because, ya know, there’s no better way to segue out of fully audible quasi-consensual Vampire fucking than to start taking about children’s breakfast mascots.
Additionally, it appears dragging my feet for years has actually timed this post up to the 50th anniversay of the Monster Cereals, commemorated here with their own all-star box of super-group cereal called Monster Mash! Albertsons, Ralphs and Target all failed me on this box. When every single goddamn physical retail store finally succumbs to the will of Amazon, let The Monster Mash Cereal be their epitaphs!
As an added bonus, the crew teamed up to produce a new version of Boris Pickett’s classic graveyard smash, The Monster Mash. The song’s kind of trash, as Monster Mash covers go, but you can scan this QR code and listen to it on Spotify. They even made a mildly amusing Behind the Music-style video as accompaniment, and that’s worth a watch.
But I digress.
Anyone who’s probably actually reading these posts are well aware of the Monster Cereals. They’re iconic, even if you’ve never indulged in a bowlful of their colorful and crunchy crap.
Before these cartoon creatures came to be, cereal giant General Mills used to use Disney-owned properties to slang their morning crack. But in 1971, they decided it would be a hell of a lot more profitable if they just invented their own characters and kept all the proceeds. Enter Franken Berry and Count Alfred Chocula. Yep, Chocula has a name and that name is apparently Alfred.
So, smashed between Saturday morning cartoons, General Mills unleashed their animated monsters and grabbed the minds and stomachs of an entire generation.
Interesting side note: apparently in 1972, they began using a pigment in Franken Berry which actually turned kids shit pink. They even had a term for it known as “Franken Berry Stool.” Not sure whether this pigment was actually harmful or not, but they discontinued using it shortly thereafter none the less.
But because turning kid turds funny colors while pushing an addictive powder directly into their bloodstreams only makes you so much money, an entire marketing web was established. Stickers, rings, vinyl toys, magnets, and other such pieces of plastic were either shoved into the boxes, or featured as mail-away prizes on the back.
Well in 1979, General Mills began a campaign of of thin, flexible 45rpm records known as Flexi-Discs. These prizes were attached directly the backs of specially marked boxes of the each of the Monster Cereals.
3 of these 4 minute records were produced featuring the gang performing skits, including Monster Adventures in Outer Space and Count Chocula Goes to Hollywood. But it is the 3rd record which concerns us today, The Monsters Go Disco. It was 1979, after all.
This tale involves the monsters finding themselves frightfully lonely on a Saturday Night and deciding to give the local discotheque a go.
There they encounter a Wolfman Jack like disc jockey and have themselves a good ole fashioned dance off for the affections of “Donna Disco.”
But for now, let’s us indulge in a little lull amidst our Monster Disco Block and get a little Franken Berry Stool of our own with The Monsters Go Disco.
No, it’s not thatDisco Blood, featured in 1981’s slasher classic, The Prowler, as performed by Nowherefast. Unfortunately, that one still appears to be unobtainium at the moment. Nope, this disco hit comes courtesy of Brazilian dance outfit, The Vamps.
It’s the title track the from their only LP, Disco Blood, released back in 1977.
And boy, what a weird ass tune this is.
It’s essentially a disco tale of a nubile woman who runs afoul “the vampire.” And not just a vampire, mind you, but the vampire. We could assume this means Dracula, as it typically does, but perhaps not. We’re just not sure.
Anyway, after some less than coy flirtations, and then overt unsolicited advances, this thing turns to (from the sounds of it anyway) straight up Vampire rape. After which, this poor young woman seems to acquiesce to the dire situation and the song then devolves into these 2 audibly fucking for almost 2 minutes over a disco beat. Well then.
The story itself, in all its myriad complexity, is actually illustrated for us on the album’s sleeve. Well, that’s a curious bonus. Chalk one up for The Vamps.
These are some great pictures to have on the back of an album, and it was an unexpected treat when I received this record in the mail.
As for the song, there’s some serious bongo work on display with this tune and man if it don’t get yer foot tapping.
Sure, you could take issue with the less than favorable subject matter, either as a moralistic objection to sex in general, the performance and distribution of simulated sex on record, or the unholy union of a human and creature of the night in sexual congress. Any one of those would make perfect sense and could impair someone’s desire to dance. I get that.
However, having no objection to the above, one could still find it difficult to dance to a song featuring a woman being thrust upon by a man (or monster) against her will. True enough. This woman literally yells “Get out of me!” Not sure if that’s just a language barrier or something more specific, but whatever’s happening here is not (at least initially anyway) consensual in the slightest.
But then again, I think that’s the nature of the vampire. For what is a vampire attack, if not a wildly non-consensual act.
But, if you can square yourself with that unfavorable situation, then you got one hell of a smokin’ disco number on you’re hands.
Unfortunately, like most of the artists this year it seems, I couldn’t dig up too much information on The Vamps.
So, I guess all we have are these drawings and 7 and a half minutes of a little 33rpm auditory pornography/maybe rape/probably horror/definitely disco. Eh, why not?
We’re gonna kick off a long overdue disco block here with the somewhat appropriate Disco Halloween from a band called Forbidden Fruits.
I say somewhat because this song neither sounds very Halloweeny, nor even seems to have much to do with Halloween. I’m not sure, cause I can’t really tell what any of the lyrics are. They don’t sound too spooky, I’ll say that.
As is the case with many bands on this playlist, I had never heard of Italo-Disco outfitForbidden Fruits and I probably wouldn’t have ever heard of them had they not created a song called Disco Halloween.
But apparently no one else would have either, as it appears to be the only song ever released by Forbidden Fruits. I couldn’t dig up any real info on this band. This led me to believe, like many similar singles, that it was released by other artists as a one-off under a different moniker.
As you can see, the name Jimmy McFoy is splashed up there on that LP. This led me to then believe that he’s a somebody. And hell, maybe he is, but he’s definitely a somebody I couldn’t find much info about either. It seems as though he was a somewhat prominent singer in the Italo-Disco scene from in the early to mid 80’s. He even had semi-notable hit with Hi Girl in 1985.
Italo-Disco, for those readers that are still reading this and aren’t familiar with the term, was a form of electronic music that originated in Italy in the early 80’s. It made heavy use of drum machines and synthesizers and even the occasional vocoder. For some reason, despite being Italo, more often than not the singing would be in English. Like Disco itself, it didn’t last too long, and quickly splintered off into other Italo-centric subgenre’s like Italo-House, Italo-Dance and Eurobeat.
Now, looking further into the matter and Jimmy McFoy himself, I saw the name listed as a pseudonym for Antoine Van Bladel, and boy if that guy don’t have a bunch of stuff listed on his discografia. Among the long list you’ll find all of Jimmy McFoy’s releases, and some from the hilariously named Paul Paul, Tommy Bow,Videovision, Manhattan Claude, Johnny Game and indeed…Forbidden Fruits. He even had one under a band called Bank of America. Seriously? Bank of America? This dude released a record as Bank of America? I dunno, maybe it means something different in Italo.
So, what’s the deal, Jimbo? You singing on this tune? You produce it? You write this fucker? You bringing up the rear? What’s the deal, Jimmy?
We may never know. Whoever’s behind this one, when you bust down a track called Disco Halloween, and it’s half way listenable, you’re getting scooped up. Such is The Shindig. Which side of the halfway you’ll lean is certainly open for debate. For my money, despite be largely unfestive, it’s got a pretty fun beat, and hey, they say Halloween a bunch, so, we’re game.
Like most disco songs though, it’s overly long and doesn’t say a whole lot other than the title over and over. Which, if you’re cutting a rug at the local discotheque in the mid 80’s, is all you can really ask for. However this is 2021, and we’re definitely not coke-stepping the night away at the Starship Discovery, so I opted to use a truncated version so as not wear out any goodwill the song my have with listeners early on.
Now, the question remains, if you’re not getting terribly spooky, why Halloween? Eh, who knows? Maybe it’s like Christmas, where it makes good financial sense and ensures a certain amount of longevity attaching your name and song to an annual event. Hell, it got Forbidden Fruits roped up in The Shindig, which I’m sure was exactly what Antoine Van Bladel was hoping for all along.
This smooth operator of a Halloween track, from Dutch jazz-vocalist Denise Jannah, might not immediately strike you as a banger, but its infectious groove, spooky accompaniment and festive lyrics are sure to win you over in the end.
I love the mood of this record, no doubt aided by this it’s laid back clarinet and spooky organ. There’s some other instrument in there pops up later in the song that’s also spooky, but I’m not enough of a musical scholar to able to properly identify it. Perhaps it’s another organ of some kind. All’s I knows is it’s spookyish too.
Now, when it comes to Halloween tunes, you’re basically only really getting 2 types.
First, you got the explicitly and undeniably festive songs of the season, draped in all the imagery of autumn and unashamedly so. These song can go about their pumpkining and tricking in either a fun, spooky or horrific manner, but the end result in always the same – literal Halloweenery.
Now the second kind of song may appear literal at first glance, but they’re using the imagery and traditions of Halloween to tell a different tale. Think Siouxsie and the Banshee’sHalloween, or Otis Reading’sTrick or Treat.
Such is the case with Denise Jannah’sHalloween, which finds her confronting a lover who is duplicitous! She likens their deceptions to the mumming on our favorite holiday. She even goes so far as to just call this dude “Halloween.”
Ouch. That’s a pretty serious accusation, and one that I’m not sure how to take. I don’t know how comfortable I am with “Halloween” just getting tossed around as some pejorative. I’m not even sure how effective it is.
For instance, would you say to a friend whom you have just discovered is a liar…
“Wait, you told the boss I took a shit on his desk? But you’re the one who dared me to do it! You know what bruh, you’re Halloween.”
Then this dude for sure is gonna be like…
“I’m sorry, did you just call me ‘Halloween?”
Then you’ll have to be all…
”Yeah. Ya know, cause like people wear masks and shit on Halloween to disguise their identities. And that’s what’s you did to me bro! You disguised your ass as my friend! So just stay the fuck away from me, alright?!”
To which any reasonable person should respond…
“Yeah, well I definitely don’t want to associate with anyone that uses dumb ass roundabout insults, so no problem guy.”
But hey, I get it. Music is art and art is figurative and all of that. Don’t be so literal, man. Sure sure. But don’t start taking Halloween’s name in vain either!
We’ve had a bit of fun her at Denise Jannah’s expense, but seriously, I found this song last year and I absolutely love it, and I’m glad to be able to add this spooky little number to the playlist this year and I hope ya’ll like it to.
The Toxic Avenger Theme by Scott Casey is pretty damn Toxie, there’s no doubt about that. But for my money, nothing says “The Toxic Avenger” like Sandy Farnia’s leg warmin, synth-bassin, aerobicidin Body Talk.
Setting the stage for perhaps Troma’s most Tromatic and beloved film of all time – Lloyd Kaufman’s 1984 mold-breaking indie slasher, The Toxic Avenger.
While it’s certainly not out of place among the films featured on The Shindig, can The Toxic Avenger truly be considered a horror movie?
Well, being that it was Lloyd’s attempt to capitalize on the slasher craze of the early 80’s and that it started its life as The Health Club Horror, I think we definitely can. Toxie stalking his tormentors alone – one by one for his own horrific revenge – is the stuff of 80’s horror. Factor in his monstrous appearance and it’s Jaws-like slow reveal, and I think we’re looking at some genuine horror people.
All the humor and goofiness aside, Lloyd did something truly interesting and different with The Toxic Avenger. He made the slasher the hero (and a superhero at that) and simultaneously flipped both genre’s on their heads. He gave audiences a legitimate reason to root for the killer: an avenger for the common man, a slasher with a cause, a superhero that wasn’t affair to get his hands dirty.
Made a shoe-string budget and defining “reel” independence, this film gave a fledgling studio it’s mascot and craved their name into the history of cinema.
There’s just no denying the impact of The Toxic Avenger: the first superhero from New Jersey.
It had been a long time since I had sat down and watched Toxie’s back-to-back shot sequels, and I had completely forgotten about this tailor made tune sung by Scott Casey.
This one slightly jukes my (admittedly somewhat rigid) definition of a Title Track by being featured in the sequel and having the word “theme” tacked on the end, but I don’t think there’s any other word for this song.
It explicitly describes, in very detailed fashion, the events of the first film. And Scott enthusiastically chants the title over and over again, making for a textbook Title Track under any other circumstances.
So we’ll overlook the fact that it’s from Toxie’s second outing, and that it has the word theme slapped on there, and simply bask in the relentless 80’s power-synth-rock awesomeness of The Toxic Avenger Theme. Just listen to those falsettos! When Lloyd decided to give Toxie his own theme, he definitely didn’t skimp.
As I stated in an episode of Shindig Radio that you readers have yet to hear, most people seem to refer to our next song as “The Dead Are After Me.”
And once that chorus hits the first time, there’ll be no doubt in your mind why.
However, it is my assertion that this song, composed and performed by George Edward Ott, is actually a Title Track, despite its chorus.
See, the film itself only ever credits this tune as “Title Song” and George Edward does say the phrase “Raiders of the Living Dead.”
Says the title?
Claims it’s a title song?
Good enough for me, internet be damned.
Now, if George Edward Otthimself reaches out to me and says…
“No, ya moron. Listen to that chorus! Obviously the title of the song is “The Dead Are Are After Me.” What kind of idiot are you?
…then I’ll stand down. But until that day, I’m holding fast. This is a Title Track.
Either way, it’s a great little lo-fi piece of analog rock accompaniment that definitely belongs on this playlist, under any name.
As for the film, it’s a crack up. Featuring Flick from A Christmas Story as a industrious young inventor who accidentally turns his Grandfather’s laserdisc player into a death ray. Score.
There’s this Doctor on some prison island, and he’s turning dead convicts into Zombies, as ya do. That gets a little hairy and they’re running amuck. Then a reporter and a local librarian (yeah, it’s that kinda movie) get webbed up in this zombie business, but eventually they team up with Gramps and his recurve bow and Flick with his laser ray to save the day.
Top all that off with a Title Track like this, and you got yourself a kind of a winner.
If you’re a Shindig Radio fan, you’re no doubt familiar with our next tune, which we clowned around on pretty heavily during Title Tracks Part 4 last season.
It’s Teenage Exorcist, the Title Track which says the name of the film incessantly, while never really talking about the film at all. Even the title doesn’t make any sense. There’s an exorcist, but he’s hardly a teenager, played by 66 year old Count Yorga thespian, Robert Quarry.
Additionally, I’m not sure anyone appearing in the film is even in their 20’s, much less a teenager. Brinke Steven, whom the exorcism is performed on, was 37 at the time. Pizza delivery “boy” Eddie Deezen was 34. So much for that, I suppose.
Though, to clarify our “uninformed” query from that episode, this box art here to your right seems to suggest that, yes, someone (at least someone in marketing anyway) did in fact consider Deezen to be the “teenage” exorcist. Ok then.
Whomever this song is about, it’s a fun tune which, as Mikey and Graham so easily illustrated, can perfectly accommodate any 5 syllable movie title.
So try it out with your favorite 5 syllable movie title while we rock a little closer to Halloween 2021!
