Perennial spooksters Blitzkid are back at #77 with their ode to Mary Shelley’s classic cautionary tale of scientific hubris gone wrong.
Sympathetically written from the Monster’s perspective, the song actually has a bit more in common with the source material than the 1931 film used to lead-in the track. But a clip sample that perfect can’t be ignored, not by The Shindig at least.
Here’s Shindig All-Stars Blitzkid with a Franken-Weener of monstrous proportions!
Inclusive, though not to any movie relevant to the Shindig (1992’s Wayne’s World) this hit from shock-rocker Alice Cooper needs no introduction to anyone reading this right now, I’ll wager.
One of 2 songs on the Shindig featuring a monster allusion to sexuality, Feed My Frankenstein uses the dubious imagery of Frankenstein to replace the word “cock.”
Why Frankenstein, though? Is it sewn together from several different cocks? Does it just want to be loved, only to meet disdain from all who gaze upon it? Or is it simply that it’s just a monster of a cock?
If that’s the case, why not Mummy? Feed A-MY…..mummy.
Hmm, guess that lacks a little something syllabically.
That probably cancels The Wolfman, too. And the Creature from the Black Lagoon is definitely out.
Hey, Dracula could work! He’s already a monster of a sexual nature. Plus, he’s associated with hunger (or more appropriately, thirst), something I can’t really say for Frankenstein. I guess he’s just not big enough, and I suppose that’s really the underlying, if perhaps juvenile, point.
Recently, for his stage show, Alice Cooper commissioned haunt specialists Distortions Unlimited to create a giant Alice Cooper Frankenstein puppet. Here’s a video of it if you no idea what I’m talking about. He…uh….pops out…at that 3:45 mark, if you just wanna scan to it.
As mentioned previously, this puppet was sculpted by my buddy and horror/music/Shindig enthusiast Mikey Rotella.
Oh, and I almost forgot. This track is led-in with almost unnatural appropriateness by a sample from George Romero’s Day of the Dead. Too perfect for words.Enjoy!
Several years before he became the host of Super Password, Tattletales and Win, Lose or Draw, and 4 years before Boris Pickett would soar to #1 on the wings of The Monster Mash, Bert Convy recorded this tune about a bunch of monsters dancing around inside a spooky house.
Though lacking the character and humor that ultimately made The Monster Mash such a smash, I rather enjoy The Monsters Hop, maybe even a bit more than Pickett’s seminal Halloween hit. I think it’s catchier, certainly more up-tempo, and nowhere near as played out as The Monster Mash. Those are some pretty big checks in the plus column, you ask me.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s a better song, not by any stretch of the imagination, but when listening to the Shindig leisurely (as is my wont) I will usually skip The Monster Mash, yet I always have 2 minutes to spare for The Monsters Hop.
Over the years, as the musical climate shifted, Boris Pickett attempted to recapture his Monster Mash lightning into all manner of bottle. The results were, well, not quite as successful.
In the early 80’s he tried rap, much to the delight of The Shindig.
Easily my favorite Boris Pickett tune, this goofy number is, I think, the funniest of his career. The ridiculous chorus of “Shock the body. Shock the body, body” in that Karloff voice is unmatched. Plus a rapping Frankenstein in the form of “Monster Mouth” is pretty fantastic too.
Though, I think the funniest aspect of the track is Boris’ initial excitement to hear the monster rap, and how quickly that turns to complete annoyance once the creature “won’t stop rapping.”
Even in the form of a silly rap, some remnant of Mary Shelley’s themes still persist,…kind of.
Either way, Boris Pickett’sMonster Rap is Shindig gold, all the way around.
Now that we’ve all had a chance to gawk at Elvira (some 1000+ times) lets keep the tunes going.
You mighta heard this one on classic rock radio and not thought much of it. Hell, why would you? Damn thing don’t even got no lyrics.
Despite being largely unrelated to the actual Frankenstein , or anything horrific for that matter, it finds itself on the Shindig, and just about every other Halloween collection or list, for the same reason – It’s called fuckin’ Frankenstein.
So naturally, it tends to get a bit more airplay around Halloween. At least that’s when I remember hearing for the first time anyway. In my Dad’s car, probably 17 years ago, driving around Massachusetts on a Sunday morning, getting coffee or donuts or newspapers or something morningy and its all red, and orange and brown all over everything and this song is playing in the cold air. So now, Its just guilty by association.
But why Frankenstein? Well, to quote Wikipedia:
“The song’s title, coined by the band’s drummer Chuck Ruff, derives from the fact that the original recording of the song was much longer than the final version, as the band would often deviate from the arrangement into less structured jams. The track required numerous edits to shorten it. The end result was pieced together from many different sections of recording tape using a razor blade and splicing tape.”
Sounds legit. And as a guy cutting sounds together, especially about monsters, I like that kinda thing. Sure, I do it digitally and it’s been years since I held (let alone cut) a piece of tape or film – but the image of a mangled, spliced together, Frankenstein-ass looking piece of tape is awesome, Halloweeny, and right up the Shindig’s alley.
So let the Monster Squad test you, and get down to this stitched-up instrumental.
