We were starting to get into a whole “movie” groove there before we got all sidetracked by balls.
Hmmm.
Well, that’s probably the most direct route to where I was headed anyway, so let’s just go with it.
But yeah, movie songs. There’s a ton of em, and we’re gonna take Horror Ball’s lead and segue from the “Monster” Movie straight into the “Horror” Movie with a tune from Australian glam rock outfit, Skyhooks.
Their 1974 hit Horror Movieis no stranger to Halloween music lists. Hell, Elvira herself included it on her excellent 1988 double LP compilation Haunted Hits.
And why not? Lead singer Shirley Strachan says the phrase “Horror Movie” no less than 22 times in this tune. So people can be forgiven for taking it at face(ish) value and assuming they’re just tuned into an episode Deadly Ernest’s Aweful Movies on Syndey’s Channel 10.
Alas, the lyrics to this one state pretty plainly that the Skyhooks boys are simply likening the evening news to a Horror film, and not talking about genre movies at all.
With its penchant for peddling hatred and violence while it sells you detergent and booze, it’s clear that the band definitely feels a certain way about the news media, even back in 1974.
The more things change.
They’re certainly not the first band to disguise (though I use that term quite loosely here) a social message amidst a song about Halloween or Horror. They’re not even the first band on the playlist to do that, so we won’t hold it against ‘em. Besides, this song’s pretty groovin’, even if it’s not really about horror movies at all.
You’re probably reading this on a phone, but I watch a horror movie right there on my TV.
Oh yeah? Big Eric, huh? So, what’s this guy’s deal?
Well, let’s start with that name. “Big Eric “ appears to be a one-off pseudonym used by German artist Eric Billinghurst specifically for this track.
But Eric Billinghurst is better know throughout Germany as Bill Hurst, a standard issue AOR style rocker who produced 2 albums including the (apparently quite rare) 1982 release, Ice Cold Calculation. That fucker’s going for over 200 buck right now on Discogs. This is a shame because it contains a track called Horror that I’d love to investigate. Is it a different take on this song? Is it some other referential rock rarity? Who knows? Not us. Well, at least not yet anyway. That’s fuck off dollars from something I ain’t heard before. I’m hesitant to buy the Critters LPs that are goin for half that much, and the playlist needs a cleaner copy of that song pronto. But Ice Cold Calculation is in our sights, so we’ll keep you posted.
Until then, we can satisfy our Bill Hurst fix with Horror Ball, a peculiar Discoish tune that doubles as a fun play on words.
This one’s a bit silly, but that’s never been a problem around here, and it’s got a good groove, which is always a plus.
On top of that, it’s giving you what you need. All the Monsters you want getting shouted out to an infection disco beat.
And look at the cover to this thing! That’s just plain old fashion monster awesome.
So let’s get some horror going with Big Eric, shall we?
Now, there’s a ton of this kinda old timey Monster Rock ‘N Roll, but I don’t add it to the playlist that often. It’s monstery, sure, but something about it always feels a little off, like they could be singing about any old thing. There’s nothing distinctly spooky or festive about it most of the time.
There’s even a similar tune to tonight’s inclusion titled The Mummy’s Ball by The Verdicts that I removed from this block of balls for just that reason.
But Screaming Ball has a few things going for it that help it make the cut.
First and foremost, I dig this tune. It swings.
Secondly, from what I can tell, this is the very first pop song to actually reference Dracula. At least in the title, anyway.
Thirdly, it’s a pretty referential tune. In fact,The Duponts even have a similarly structured reference to Spike Jone’s Ball-Tune, only The Duponts make The Thing from Another World do The Stroll instead of a Mole Person. But both of them do reference the Thing.
And lastly, it’s from The Duponts, whom were also know as Little Anthony and the DuPonts, after the main vocalist, Anthony Gourdine.
But The Duponts weren’t the only crew associated with a Little Anthony, as Anthony Gourdine is also the Little Anthony of Little Anthony and The Imperials fame, best known from their hits like Tears on My Pillow and I Think I’m Going Out of My Head.
In 2009, Little Anthony and his Imperials were all inducted into the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame, and any time you can add a Hall of Famer to the roster, you should probably just do it.
And dammit if I don’t just love idea of a future Hall of Famer his cuttin’ his teeth on some forgotten old novelty monster record. What’s cooler than that?
Well, it’s also a Mysterioso Pizzicato offender. How do you like that? Another one for the fire, boys.
So let’s all having a scream ball over at Dracula hall. C’mon, it’s a horror party!
It’s probably some sort of Halloween Playlist infraction that after 10 years and almost 300 more songs, we’re just now finally talking about Screaming Lord Sutch again. I mean, he appeared early, and rightfully so, but the guy should probably be an All-Star by by now, and that’s my fault. I guess that since he was already represented, I never felt urgency to get back to him.
But right inside this throwback Monster Song block is a perfect place to revisit David Sutch, because his 1976 single, Monster Ball, is the perfect song for such an occasion.
It’s starts as many Monster Party songs do, but The 3rd Earl of Harrow puts his own distinct spin on the tried and true formula by having the monsters join together and attack the band. A bold move.
Now, a curious thing happens in this first verse. Frankenstein, cheekily, is described as being a “dapper vamp” who’s all dressed up. He then flashes his teeth and bites a chick on the neck. This seems odd. Some time later, Dracula is seen to “blow a fuse.” This is a playful juxtaposition from the Lord that I imagine is intentional, but who knows. Maybe he thinks Frankenstein is a vampire and Dracula is some kind of monster or robot.
After all that, Godzilla shows up and fights “the thing from 20,000,” which I assume is the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. This seems like a fair enough match but ultimately “Zilly” comes out on top. A shame really. In that Bradbury’s Beast is the forerunner to Godzilla (and every other giant nuclear beast of the 50’s and 60’s) it would have been nice to see him win the day, just on the grounds of him being the OG.
Now, perhaps it’s just me (or maybe you’ll agree) but I think this song sounds strangely similar to another 1976 song about balls, AC/DC’sBig Balls. Dunno if there’s any real correlation, or which one came first, or if there’s even any musical evidence to back up that claim, but I just feel it.
Either way, it’s a 70’s take on an age old Novelty tradition done as only Screaming Lord can do.
Now here’s a song that we’ve been putting off since jump.
Yep, this one’s been in the bullpen forever.
So long in fact, it was on pre-internet versions of the playlist that were played and distributed. But it’s high time to kick it on out, if only so I can stop thinking about it anymore.
I don’t imagine any playlist featuring as much novelty music as The Shindig would be complete if it didn’t feature at least one tune from The Godfather of Novelty songs himself, Mr. Spike Jones.
In the days before Rock ‘N Roll ruined everything, Spike and his City Slickers reigned supreme. He was the Weird Al of his era, though I’m not sure if that reference even holds much weight here in 2023. But he was a songsman and comedian in equal order, and having your popular tune get “spiked” was a sign you had made it big.
Though WW2 era songs about Hitler and All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth are all well and good, they’re certainly not Shindigable. However, like any novelty man worth his weight in buffalo nickels, Spike released a Horror record. 1959’s Spike Jones in Hi-Fi featured a ghastly cover with Spike as a Teenage Brain Surgeon surrounded by monsters. The album had lots of horror goings-one including a reference to Plan 9 featuring Vampira herself, Ms. Malia Nurmi. Even legendary singer and voice actor Thurl Ravenscroft, most notable for being Tony The Tiger and singing You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch, makes an appearance.
But for our part, it is track 6 which concerns us, a monster of a referential monster party tune, and one of the older Monster Songs on the playlist.
Spike details the gathering of Monsters big and small at his Monster Movie Ball, and as we’ve said several times around here, a full 3 years before Boris Pickett and his Cryptkickers.
But Spike’s song isn’t simply a Monster Song, featuring generic avatars of the Big 5. Nay! Monster Movie Ball, as its name suggests, is a bonafide referential hitter. In addition to name dropping all the classics, Spike finds time to reference House of Wax and The Mole People and actual creep Peter Lorre.
But he even mentions real-world singing fiends like Vampira, Zacherlee, Dave Savile’s Witch Doctor, and makes Dracula do the Cha Cha Cha à la Bruno Martino. Not too shabby.
So Spike, my apologies. Though you’ve been with us for 20 years and have been passed over, time and time again for 10, today is your day. Welcome aboard, buddy!
Speaking of Jack and Jim, here’s another duo knockin’ out some more old time Monster Roll for ya.
Clifton Nivison and Martin Fulterman (the Clif and Marty here, respectively) were both former members of The New York Rock and Roll Ensemble. As it happens, they’re also former members of Former Members of The New York Rock Ensemble, but that’s a separate and confusing matter involving Opal Records selling a bunch of their music without Clif or Marty’s knowledge.
The Rock Ensemble were a group of Juilliard music students who decided to bust out some Rock ‘N Roll using conventional orchestral instruments. A novel concept at the time, to be sure.
After releasing 5 albums over the course of 6 years, The Rock Ensemble parted ways. Seems Clif and Marty were disillusioned with the Ensemble’s lack of commercial success, and signed with Specter Records/Opal Productions in order to make some career headway.
At Opal, Clif and Marty acted as a kind of utility duo, recording demos, writing music for other acts and releasing tunes under various pseudonyms.
And their single, Monster Movies, appears to have been just that kind of assignment.
Now, why Opal Records would assign these 2 guys some novelty Monster song in 1972 is anyone’s guess. What was the temperature on Monster Songs in ‘72? Hell, I couldn’t tell ya, cause the only other Track on Halloween Shindig from 1972 is Edgar Winter’sFrankenstein, and that’s definitely not a novelty monster song. In fact, ‘66 through ‘73 is a pretty barren wasteland for that kinda stuff, at least as far as this playlist is concerned anyway.
Now, that’s not to say the public wasn’t hungry for Monster Songs in ‘72, it just means there aren’t any that I’ve found or found and enjoyed enough to add to a 300+ rooster of songs which pretty much meet that exact specification. Just saying.
Regardless of how the 45-buying folks of 1972 felt, this is a fun and referential jam which goes so far as to specifically declare its love, not just for Godzilla, but directly to him, as though he might be out there somewhere in the South Pacific listening. Now, I gotta give that kinda thing just a little bit of love myself.
Outside of The Ensemble, and this particular single, I can’t suss out much about our boy Clifton, but Martin Fulterman is a bit of a different story.
See, Martin apparently changed his name to Mark Snow and went on to compose music for an almost absurd amount of Films, TV movies and shows. The most notable of his creations, no doubt, has got to be the famous X-Files Theme.For real? Ole Monster Movie Marty? Pretty snazzy lineage attached to a 40 year old novelty song.
Other Mark Snow projects of note (to me anyway) include Ernest Saves Christmas, Dolly Dearest, Project ALF, Skateboard, TJ Hooker and even Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. And let me tell you, that’s cutting the list real short.
Mark Snow has composed, written songs for or worked on the music department of more shit than you’d believe. Over 350 different credits, including some ridiculous sounding TV movie called Ghosts Can’t Do It, which sounds like some PG-rated Lifetime version of Hellraiser that somehow features our 45th President himself, Mr. Donald Trump.
I’ll just leave you with that as we drop the needle on Clif and Marty’s lone 45, Monster Movies.
For our next monstrous installment, we’re heading back overseas and back to the mid ‘70’s once again, for a little Roaring Jelly.
Now, if you’re unfamiliar with the UK comedy folk trio Roaring Jelly, don’t feel bad, cause you’re definitely not the only one, and that includes the guy writing this thing. On this side of the pound, on this side of the century, I’m sureRoaring Jelly’s name recognition is at an all time low.
But there was a time in the mid ‘70’s when Roaring Jellywas a bit of a sensation on the UK folk scene.
It’s a dance, by the way, the Roaring Jelly. Upon accepting their first paid gig, the band were asked what their name was, and co-founder Derek Pearce just fired that one off from the top of his head. There’s a certain irreverence to this that kinda encapsulates the band’s whole deal.
See, they didn’t bother playing folk standards in a boring folky way. They mixed it up. They pulled from various genres for their sound and even did comedic send-ups of revered folk classics. Now, that didn’t sit too well for many of those stoic folks on that stoic folk scene and some places outright refused to book them.
ButRoaring Jelly could draw a crowd with their lively performances and they left those stuffy folk folks to get stuffed.
And because you know we wouldn’t be talking about em unless they did, Roaring Jellyincluded a little monster ditty on their debut album, Golden Grates.
Not unlike some other songs we’ve heard (and are still liable to hear this year) Monster Movie Nightmare Blues details the tribulations of a poor sap who happened to watch a few too many Monster Movies before hitting’ the hay.
It’s a little bit silly, there’s no doubt about that, but it’s no less silly than a hundred other novelty songs about monsters. But this one’s a rarity. I couldn’t find it anywhere around online. It was definitely a “commit and see.” And my shock, when I finally did drop a copy on my turntable. How was this fun monster jam not more widely known? It deserves to be heard by all monster music lovers the world over!
So, now it has a home on The Shindig, where it belongs, so perhaps it might narrowly escape the jaws of oblivion, if only for you – a small and select few.
So here’s a curious situation that I’m not sure we’ve encounter thus far on The Shindig.
On the surface, this song (the debut release from British rocker’s Icarus) is a full blown Title Track. Now, that’s what I like to hear!
But wait a sec, this song doesn’t appear anywhere in 1968’s The Devil Rides Out.
That can probably be attributed to the fact this song wasn’t written for the film at all, but rather after the film was made. Turns out Icarus was inspired by the pre-release marketing for The Devil Rides Out to write this song. That’s a little weird.
However, it was totally released in tandem with the premiere of the film and the band themselves were even invited to the shindig. What’s goin on here?
So, written because of and about, and is named after the movie? So, is this a Title Track or not?
I say no. If anything it’s a Title Track After the Fact, but even that’s a stretch. It appears in no film that I’m aware of, sequel or otherwise, relegating it the land of Referential, I’d say. But it’s so close, so very damn close to being a Title Track.
But enough about that business, let’s talk The Devil Rides Out, Hammer’s straight-faced, Christopher Lee anchored, Christianity-conquers-all, Satan-banger.
Just check out this French Grande:
I have this thing, and it rules. Unfortunately, it’s goddamn giant and I don’t have any more wall space in The Hole for shit this big. Sorry also to my giant-ass Videodrome and Dracula AD posters.
Hey, check out this sweet Baphomet, which Christoper Lee calls The Goat of Mendes, which is what artist Éliphas Lévi was known to refer to his famous Sabbatic Goat image. He rules too.In fact, just check out The Devil Rides Out, cause it rules.
Our next stop on Satan’s Cannonball comes from a picture you could argue isn’t exactly a horror picture. I dunno though. Being rundown, raped and murdered by freaky, gakked out bikers sounds pretty goddamn horrific to me. But hey, everybody’s got different ideas of a good time. Either way, when you’re throwin’ me a tune which sounds as at-odds with its subject matter as this one does, The Shindig takes note.
From Al Adamson’s 60’s biker freak-out Satan’s Sadists comes our 318th track, Satan (Theme).
Starring the incomparable Russ Tamblyn as Anchor, leader of the biker gang “The Satans” with such fantastic biker members as Willie, Muscle, Firewater and Acid. The latter of which is played by none other the the films writer, and director of such classics as Without Warning, Satan’s Cheerleaders, Wacko, and The Uninvited, Mr. Greydon Clark.
It’s a 60’s biker explotation picture, so if you’re familiar, you know what you’re getting into and whether that’s frying your bacon or not. Again, it’s not explicitly horror in tone or vibe, but exploitation veers so close sometimes, and this song is just too awesome too ignore. And c’mon, we need a little more Satan around these parts.
Speaking of dudes from our Freddy Raps episode and sampling classic horrors themes for raps beat…oh and recent questionable reboots of aging horror properties…oh and even Halloween, I guess, by way of Rob Zombie…
man, that’s a lot of tenuous connections for 2 songs to randomly have…
here comes an actual Referential Monster Rap in the form of Gregory D and Figgy Balls’ Love letter to The Munsters, Monster Booogie.
Now, why they didn’t just call this tune Munster Booogie is above my pay grade, but honestly that’s the only bone I have to pick with this track, because otherwise, it’s just the goods. Well, there’s is that one verse, but we’ll get to that.
Mannie Fresh twists up The Munster’s Theme into the kinda beat I wish every monster rap had, while Gregory D waxes nostalgic for the days of eating cereal and kickin’ it with the First Family of Fright.
They also spit barbs at The Addams Family, which for a song of this nature, feels right at home.
Then, there is that verse I spoke of earlier. Gregory D goes off on Eddie Munster a bit, and some words get thrown around. Now listen, we’ve laid into Eddie Munster ourselves, more specifically Butch Patrick for his crimes against music, but this is a bit of a different beast. Let’s just say he goes so far as to suggest Eddie Munster might prefer the company of men.
This bar-spanning gag which (in addition to being generally offensive to both Gays and Butch Patrick for a number of reasons) is a really weird joke to make considering the kid’s like 10 years old. But hey, I guess that’s just a little slice of 1987 for ya. Try to ignore it, if you can. If not, I’d understand.
Despite that, this is still a seriously referential tune though, with tons of great samples and a dope ass beat. It’s the kinda diamond in the rough you come across while looking for something else and then all you can do is sit back and bask in great weird wave of the universe.
So, instead of subjecting yourself to Rob’s Day-Glo prequel, just blast Gregory D and Mannie Fresh’s Monster Booogie, and then go enjoy a few episodes of the real thing while scarfing down a bowl of Frankenberry.
Given their catalog, it’s actually shameful that it’s taken 10 years to finally get The Meteors on The Shindig.
These guys have been dishing out Horror and Sci-Fi tinged Psychobilly since…well…the beginning, as many credit them for being the very first Psychobilly band.
Whether or not they’re the one true originators of the genre, they are no doubt pioneers that shaped it’s sound and themes, that much is for sure.
I’ve had a couple Meteors’ tunes in the bullpen for a while now, but for some reason they’ve just never made the cut, and that’s the shameful part. They should have been given higher priority.
Well tonight they are, because they have just the song to prime us all for Michael’s big return tomorrow.
Yes, apparently it seems the Thorn Constellation is in alignment…again…and Michael Myers is back. To what? Face off against Laurie Strode. Again? To die maybe? Again? Finally maybe? Doubtful. When are we gonna be done torturing this poor dude, and ourselves to whatever I’ll-advised, money-hungry whim new producers have?
It doesn’t matter if you effectively incinerate him in a giant explosion, cause you can just give Loomis a little scar and have Michael wear some bandages. Let’s go!
Hell, it doesn’t matter if you cut off his head, cause you can always pull a Cincinnati Switch with some other poor bastard’s head in a Michael Myers mask. And off we go.
It doesn’t even matter if Paul Rudd mercilessly bludgeons him to an unrecognizable pile, cause you can always retcon your sequels to completely ignore that little detail, or any detail you’d like for that matter.
It’s the character that we can’t seem to kill, or perhaps more appropriately, audiences’ desire to make it worth the producer’s while to cook up some new fresh bullshit for poor Michael to sleepwalk through.
Now, say what you want about The Curse of Michael Myers (and people do…myself included) cause Lord knows the last thing…andI mean the absolute last thing…I want here is an explanation for this Michael Myers business. Michael greatest assets was always his mystery.
But hey, if you’re bent on giving people an explanation for this shit, because you’re 6 movies deep now and what the actual fuck is going on with this guy we’ve beaten, bucked and blown apart, then you can do worst than a weird cult of star-fearing Druids using Michael as a vessel for sacrifice.
So, let’s let The Meteors welcome Michael back…for the 11th time now I think, with their 1984 jam, Michael Myers.
God, I do hope that evil at least embarks on an incredible long hiatus tonight.
Speaking of Phantoms, we have another Phantom that made his debut on Ep. 19 of Shindig Radio, and that’s the infamous Eric!
Yeah, Eric. You know Eric, right? He’s just like Jason or Freddy except his generic and innocuous name still sounds generic and innocuous cause no one knows who the fuck he is. But he got a subtitle, all about his revenge, which you didn’t even know he needed cause you’ve never seen him before in your whole goddamn life.
Yeah, it’s weird, but it’s The Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge, coming to you direct from the old (and way awesomer) Sherman Oaks Gallery.
Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge is a fairly late-in-game, but still pretty fun, slashery take on the Phantom storyline featuring an all-star (if you’re The Shindig, anyway) cast.
You got Death Spa’s Ken Foree, Action U.S.A.’s Gregory Scott Cummings, Pee-Wee’s Morgan Fairchild and a pre-weasel Pauly Shore all doing their damnedest to try and turn this business into a legitimate franchise. It didn’t quite work out that way for them, but it’s totally worth watching anyway. Maybe even more so.
However, there’s still the matter of this song, from LA punk legends The Vandals, to contend with and reconcile.
See, if there was ever a contender for “Almost a Title Track” then it was certainly this one, and we definitely should not have included it on Title Tracks Pt. 5. But I hadn’t really considered theoption of a Not Quite Title Tracks episode until after the fact. So, Eric just snuck on in, without paying his dues, just like he tried to do with the horror franchises, giving himself a subtitle like he was a somebody. The balls on this guy.
Cause, let’s face it, this track is flagrant two-time offender.
First, you got all these extra words, a Title Track faux pas from the jump. And it’s not just a simple addition either, it’s now a whole goddamn sentence, with punctuation no less!
And sometimes we’ll look the other way; He’s Rockula, The Toxic Avenger Theme, maybe even Midnight Again (but not fuckin’ likely, not after Eric’s transgression) but this one’s asking a bit too much.
Now, if that was all, then maybe all could be forgiven. But that’s not all, because this song title doesn’t isn’t even the name of the movie. Now they say, at one point in the chorus, is there a Phantom of the Mall, but when it came to titling the track, they went ahead with Is There a Phantom IN the Mall?
And baby, that’s just not the title of this movie.
Call me a nitpicker. Call me a hair-splitter. Call me an imbecile for devoting so many pseudo-serious words in a comedically aggressive tone to one of the most inane topics for a full 10 years of my life.
That’s fair. You call me whatever you’d like. But facts is facts, Jack.
And while this is a shinning example of everything a Title Track could and should be in almost every sense of the word, it just ain’t a Title Track where it counts…the Title itself.
Later Eric. You almost had it.
All that being said, this a great Referentially Inclusive Almost Title Track that 100% deserves to be here today.
So go grab a hotdog on a stick and maybe even a gun, cause you’re at The Chopping Mall, and there’s a Phantom in there too, and his name is Eric, and he’s lookin for some revenge. Are you a phony security guard with an ostentatious dangly earring? Did you burn down his house just so you could put up the coolest mall the 80’s had to offer? Boy, I sure hope not.
Since last year’s countdown got cut a little short, we ended up with a couple Shindig debuts on Title Tracks Pt. 5. Let’s take a moment here to get some of those guys on the official roster, shall we?
First up is this banger from The Waters.
Now, I’m not 100% sure The Waters listed in the credits of Phantom of the Ritz are actually THE Waters. Ya know, like how it’s not really Ray Stevens or Paul Williams.
But if this really is THE Waters, then they were a family band from LA that mostly worked as backup singers to the stars. Oren Waters specifically sang for the likes of Michael Jackson, John Fogerty, Paul Simon, Neil Diamond and has personally been featured on over 100 platinum albums. Wild.
He’s even responsible for the vocals on the The Jefferson’s theme song, Movin’ On Up! I guess imagining they are The Waters from Phantom of the Ritz isn’t so out of the question after all.
Additionally, Oren and his sisters Maxine and Julia, all appear in the 2013 Academy Award winning documentary 20 Feet From Stardom, which shines a light on all the great backup singers and musicians responsible for so many famous hits over the years.
Unfortunately, they were more like 20 miles from stardom when the recorded the Title Track to this turkey.
Phantom of the Ritz is not entirely unenjoyable but it is definitely missable. That is, unless you’re this guy, who’s all about Phantom of the Opera interpretations. His write-up actually made me reconsider my stance on the film. He’s into it. Maybe I end to rewatch.
However you feel about this Phantom, I think it’s clear that he doesn’t deserve a Title Track of this caliber, cause it jams, and The Waters, professionals that they are, absolutely belt it.
Here’s it is, Graham’s pick for Title Track of the year: 2022, he’s the Phantom of the Ritz!
Living After Death by Al Festa & Maurizio Cerantola
Since we’re talking about the Zombie series, let’s jump to this “Almost a Title Track” from Claudio Fragasso’s Zombie 4: After Death.
Claudio’s directorial effort never quite hits those moments of gonzo joy on display in Zombie 3, but it’s certainly not the worst thing to carry the “Zombie” moniker. And it does have it’s predecessor licked in one very important department; and that’s the opening credit number.
If you thought Clue in the Crew were 80’s up wait til you get a load of Metropole keyboardist Al Festa and singer Maurizio Cerantola’s Living After Death.
IMDb, surprisingly, has a fair amount of information about Signore Cerantola. Seems he was in a Led Zeppelin tribute band called Custard Pie. Then after that, he fronted 2 separate Whitesnake cover bands, one of which was fantastically named Cover-Dale.
Well he’s got the pipes, that’s for sure, as he belts it out here on the kind of song you just wish was a true Title Track. All the hallmarks of the finest are on display. It’s was right there fellas, starrin’ ya in the gullet, all you had to do was grab it.
But alas, their synthy banger will need to be relegated to an Almost Title Tracks episode of Shindig Radio in the future.
As for Zombie 4…that 2nd “Hey, let’s just take a movie that’s not really a sequel to Zombie and call it one anyway” installment…what’s the old chestnut? Zombie 4 makes Zombie 3 look like Zombie 2? Perhaps that’s applicable.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Blue Heart sets ‘em up and the Shindig knocks ‘em down.
Here’s the somehow even more 80’s rocker Living After Death.
Let’s keep the Italian horror train rolling along with this little number, straight off of Blue Heart’s turntable, Clue in the Crew’s rocking Zombie-Bird Winnebago Attack/Sweet Song, The Sound of Fear.
The Lucio Fulci/Bruno Mattei/Claudio Fragasso mega-team up Zombie 3 delivers just about everything you’d expect outta that unholy and contentious alliance: Italian weirdness, synthy goodness, nonsensical plotting , machete-wielding, decapitated-head-flying zombie madness and generous amounts flagrant intellectual theft.
I mean, let’s start with that poster art alone. It’s straight up the Force: Five fist mixed with Freddy’s eyes from Dream Warriors and the lady’s face from the Absurd poster. If Stay The Night didn’t indicate the kind of shameless theft that’s rampant in Italian cinema, or just what kind is in store from Zombie 3, then this pilfery collage passed off as “promotional material” ought to give you an idea.
What was marketed as the second sequel to Romero’s Dawn of the Dead actually plays out more like Italy’s answer to Return of the Living Dead and I honestly don’t have 1 single problem with that.
You throw in radio DJ Blue Heart, straight rockin’ the Jose Canseco shades, pushing his ecological agenda alongside the hottest Phillipino tunes 1988 had to offer, and the Shindig is in Paradiso.
Here’s Clue in the Crew’s referentially inclusive, 80’ser-than-shit hit, The Sound of Fear.
Bet you never thought you’d see Incubus on The Shindig, huh? Well, I certainly wouldn’t have ever added them, because I don’t like Incubus.
And if you don’t like Incubus either, then you’re in luck, because this isn’t that Incubus.
Nope. Just like any band post-1990, there’s probably 4 other bands that already held that name in the past. And such is the case for, the perhaps inappropriately named, Incubus.
No, this one comes from New Wave of British Heavy Metal outfit Incubus, and their sound is much more aligned with what you might expect from a band named Incubus. Not wholly, but certainly closer.
Now I’ll admit, this isn’t strictly a referential track, I don’t think. But what few lyrics we are given don’t not conjure images of the film.
Should it be added? I dunno. I like the tune, and since To The Devil a Daughter is technically a Halloween movie, we’re pickin’ em up!
I would also like to add that there is no shortage of metal songs called To The Devil a Daughter. In fact, Shindig-adjacent Wytchfynde actually have one as well. I say adjacent because that’s not a typo, as Wytchfyndewith two Y’s was an offshoot of Witchfynde (with an I) vocalist Luther Beltz when he left the band in 1999. However, Luther Beltz didn’t join Witchfynde until 1983’s Cloak and Dagger, the album after Stagefright from which the Shindigger Trick or Treat appears.
However, Luther’s era of Witchfynde sounds pretty different from our Witchfynde, which kinda make’s Luther’s Witchfynde a completely different band altogether than our Witchfynde, which would then make Wytchfynde with two Y’s even more different still. So much so that I probably shouldn’t have even mentioned them at all, but here we are.
Are any of those other To the Devil a Daughter songs more aligned to the film? Not sure. I didn’t really like any of them very much, or at least enough to really cross reference the lyrics. Wytchfynde’s didn’t seem particularly referential, and it was a newer cut, so I wasn’t too keen on the sound. So Incubus it is, names be damned.
We kinda blew our To the Daughter a Devil sample load on the Hallo’s Eve track, but we’ll still pepper in some here, cause hey, it seems a bit more appropriate than maybe it was there.
I love the Abominable Dr. Phibes. You should too! It’s a great old horror flick with a neat premise and a sinister performance from Vincent Price. Here he is hookin’ himself into his acoustic contraption which recreates his lost voice:
It’s also quite musical, as Dr. Anton Phibes plays a mean pipe organ and even built a full-on band of automatons that play tunes for him: Dr. Phibes’ Clockwork Wizards. Here they are just shreddin’:
For years I’ve felt bad that I’ve never included any of the music from the film, but it’s brand of old-time Hollywood scoring doesn’t really fit a playlist of this kind.
And sure, there’s plenty of songs out there called Dr. Phibes, but none of them have ever really jumped out at me until I found this one, from another New Wave of British Heavy Metal outfit: Angel Witch.
And this one rips. However, like some other Phibes-based songs, for some reason it’s also an instrumental. No one really wants to sing about the Old Doc it seems.
So, loaded up with some Phibes samples to set the appropriate mood, here comes Dr. Phibesby Angel Witch.
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!
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.
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…
