The Ghostbusters

The boys themselves, and their songs.

Audio

The Real Ghostbusters Soundtrack

On Saturday mornings in 1986, The Real Ghostbusters cartoon aired on ABC to the delight of an entire generation across the country.

What resulted over the next 7 years was one of the finest pieces of animated children’s media to come out of the 80’s. This high quality program was hugely creative, thoroughly entertaining and massively expansive to the Ghostbusters mythos. The variety of wild creatures and situations this iteration of the Ghostbusters went up against was singular, and the animation that brought them to life was top notch.

Like any good cartoon of the era, The Real  Ghostbusters acted as 30 minute commercial for all manner of useless shit your parents didn’t want to buy you. The difference here was that this commercial was impeccably crafted and could stand on its own outside of any merchandise. It never felt like the product informed the art, like say with Transformers. The other difference? Real Ghostbusters shit is awesome, specifically the action figures and the wearable toys. If you don’t remember these things, never had any or are too young to fall into either category, do yourself a favor and Google that awesome shit.

One other piece of very rare merchandise attached to this show is the album presented here today, The Real Ghostbusters Soundtrack. Released in 1986, it features the in-show pop music from specific episodes from the show’s first season run. They’re all performed by two young girls Tonya Townsend and Tyren Perry, a duo known as Tahiti. Unfortunatley (for me at least) this appears to be the only thing Tahiti released. Tyren released a solo album in ’89, but Tonya didn’t

But none of that matters, because for one shinning moment, these two girls were the literal sound of a weird occult children’s cartoon based on a strange supernatural comedy about ghost fighting scientists in New York City and the whole damn thing is too goddamn 80’s to bear. I love every second.The Real Ghostbusters Proton Pack - Kenner (1986) : r/nostalgia

A huge thank you and shout out is due to Paul Rudoff at Spook Central. I’m not sure if he’s the sole responsible party for this rare piece of media existing in the digital domain, but he’s been running Spook Central since 1996, and he’s certainly the reason I know about this album. So, my credit and my thanks land on him directly. I mean no ill will posting the playlist here, nor am I interested in diverting traffic away from his site. You can listen to all of this on Spook Central, or on several different YouTube accounts. It just seemed again like the kind of thing people should be able to listen to here, so now they can.

If you love The Real Ghostbusters and always wished there were full versions of these songs, I’ve got good news. If you just love the most 80’s of 80’s synth pop syngery, I’ve also got some good news.

Here it is, in all it’s glory, from straight heaters like Don’t Play Her Game, to the epic 80’s beauty of Hometown Hero, to Shindig Halloween solid gold like Midnight Action…it’s all here. Enjoy.

 

Audio

On Our Own

TRACK #201:

On Our Own by Bobby Brown

Yeah, I think it’s gonna be another one of those funky ones…

Ghostbusters 2, the definitive statement on Monster Raps, continues its genre dominance here with perhaps its most popular track, Bobby Brown’s On Our Own.

Featured during a montage of the GBs kicking it into gear and revving up for a final showdown with Vigo the Carpathian.

Total side note here, but if you’ve never heard the skinny on Vigo’s painting, definitely check this out.

This track’s especially relevant in that Bobby Brown actually has a cameo in the film! His excitement at seeing the Ghostbusters emerge from ECTO-1a is a great moment. He asks Egon and Ray if he can get a proton pack for his little brother. Naturally, Egon flat out rejects this ludicrous proposal, while Ray halfheartedly agrees.

“I guess he’s right.” Ray responds.

You guess? Really Ray?

Am I to believe that if Egon hadn’t been there, then Ray would have seriously considered giving Bobby fucking Brown a proton pack? For his kid brother, no less?

I’m not sure if Ray should be allowed to handle such dangerous equipment if he doesn’t know well enough not to just hand it over to random citizens, or fucking children. Maybe dickless Peck was right all along.

Bobby Brown gets in on the action all the same, proton pack or not, serving up a Ghostbusters jam to beat all. Yeah, yeah, you know it.

Tryin to battle my boys? That’s not legal!

 

Audio

Touching Old Magic

TRACK #188:

Touching Old Magic by The Real Ghostbusters

Ok, that Rosemary’s Baby stuff was a little heavy, so to lighten things up a bit, we’re gonna go in the complete opposite direction…or are we?

The Real Ghostbusters fought a fair share of spooks over their 7 season run. So, it should come as no surprise that they had a few different Halloween encounters.

My favorite, as selected for 2016′s Return of the 31 Days of Halloween countdown, is The Halloween Door.

Here, this Franken-headed fuck-face named Dr. Crowley wants to end Halloween forever. He even has his own cheeseball coalition of concerned buttinskis called Citizens United Against Halloween. What a dork. He then tries to enlist The Ghostbusters to provide the assist, but the GB’s ain’t down with that shit.

In fact, they’re so not down with that shit, they show up for a school assembly and bust out this rockin’ Halloween track just to show you what’s up.

Now, I know I’m a bit paranoid, and doing this blog over the years has certainly put me in a weird spot mentally over the nature of Halloween, it’s origins and all the media surrounding it. But, I gotta be honest here, I get a weird vibe from this. Like a Halloween 3 vibe. And that’s weird.

Maybe it’s all the Stonehenge and Celtic imagery, or maybe it’s the extolling of “old magic,” but it seems pretty bizarre. Because, I mean, why the fuck are some cartoon ghost police talking to kids about old magic anyway?

It’s weird, right? What are they saying, and why? And to kids? And is that weird? I dunno, but it sure makes me feel a little weird.

Doesn’t stop me from rocking out though, ’cause this is a Halloween jammer, for sure. You got the whole gang singing, with assembly attendees dancing in costume and Egon here rocking out on a modified Poly-800 while Slimer and his buddies turn into these weird Irish-green Jack-Lantern sperms. It’s all very festive…and probably totally weird.

We wrap it up in the same fashion the show does, with that Halloween prick Dr. Crowley firing up his Electronic, Positronic, Anti-Halloween Machine and…ending Halloween forever, Or opening up The Halloween Door?

 

Audio

Ghostbusters

TRACK #134:

Ghostbusters by Run D.M.C.

Since everyone got so pissed off this summer about the Ghostbusters remake, and even more pissed off about the new song by Fall Out Boy ft. Missy Elliot (definitely not featured on the Shindig), I thought we’d take a look at another Ghostbusters Theme reiteration that surely pissed off purists in its day.

I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again, but when it comes to Monster Raps, no movie’s got that shit on lock like Ghostbusters 2.

A prime example of this is Run D.M.C.’s Ghostbusters, which (as sacrilegious as it may sound) I actually enjoy a little more than Ray Parker Jr.’s seminal theme.

Don’t get me wrong, Ray’s original Title Track is an unrivaled classic, both for Halloween playlists and just generally speaking. It also serves as the basis for Reverend Run and Co.’s sonic sequel. This jam however is way less played-out, awesomely 8o’s in its own distinct way and just plain old fashioned ridiculous in the best way possible.

Sampled up with tons of clips of the boys bustin’ and schillin’.

You can click this glowing text to watch the official video. It’s pretty great.

So, who you gonna call?

You call the Ghostbusters, well that’s who you call!

 

Audio

Ghostbusters

TRACK #115:

Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr.

Is there a more well known or loved Title Track than Ray Parker Jr.’s Ghostbusters? Probably not. Which explains why you’re guaranteed to hear it multiple times around Halloween and The Shindig is obviously no exception.

A certified hit, Ghostbusters spent 3 weeks at #1 on the Billboard charts in August of 1984 and it’s no wonder. This catchy number is spooky, danceable and unrelentingly 80’s.

And the video, one of the first cross-media promotional blitzes of its kind, is something to behold. With Ray creeping it up in a weird, minimalistic, neon house, The Ghostbusters themselves dancing down Broadway with him and a collection of the most bizarre cameos ever assembled, it’s pure Reagen-Era cheese.
gb_peter

Seriously, what the fuck is Peter Falk doing in the Ghostbusters video? Chevy Chase, John Candy, Al Franken, hell even Danny Devito all make some sort of sense. But then up pops Columbo and what the fuck? Yeah, it’s pretty 80’s.

The song itself wasn’t something Ray Parker’s people were at all interested in having Ray sing. Keep in mind, the movie wasn’t even released yet, much less a success.

“So wait, you want our smooth, panty droppin’ Ray Parker Jr. to sing about fuckin’ ghosts for,…what’s this fuckin’ thing called again? ‘Ghostbusters?’ Yeah, that ain’t happening, pal. You can take a hike with that business.”

It’s an understandable reaction. But Ivan Reitman managed to convinced old Ray it’d be a hit and damn it if the guy wasn’t right on the money. The popularity of the movie and this song are completely unmatched.

Now, indelibly woven into the fabric of American pop culture, I’m not sure anyone can ever utter a phrase even close to “who you gonna call?” without some dickhead shouting “Ghostbusters!”

Yeah, that same phrase everyone probably thought sounded pretty stupid before the film blew up like 2 tons of marshmallow all over 1984.

But when something’s this big, people start to pay attention. Maybe a little too closely.

First and foremost you have Huey Lewis suing Ray Parker because he reckoned Ghostbusters sounded a bit too much like I Want a New Drug for his liking. A settlement was reached that Ray still isn’t at liberty discuss on record.

Then you have The Screen Actors Guild getting all bent outta shape due to these cameos and the non-unionized status of the fledgling music video industry.

There’s also a copyright issue regarding the video which has kept it off every subsequent home release of the film, nearly causing the video to be lost forever. Chalk another one up in the win column of the Internet for that.

And still further, there’s even more nonsense over the title with subsequent animated versions of The Ghosbusters, but we’ll delve into that one a little further down the playlist.

For now, let us and your guests revel in what is perhaps the most popular and crowd pleasing song The Shindig has to offer.

All I have left to say is…

 

Audio

Spirit

TRACK #43:

Spirit by Doug E. Fresh and The Get Fresh Crew

When it comes to Monster Raps, no movie’s got that category on lock down like Ghostbusters 2.

Whatever your take on the movie itself (I happen to enjoy it, though not nearly as much as the superior original) its soundtrack is pretty serious, and as such has a lot of representation on The Shindig.

The year was 1989 and this soundtrack certainly feels that way, bridging the gap between 80’s pop and paving the way for what would be the mainstream explosion of rap the following year. Hats off the the music supervisor’s foresight on that one.

Like any good soundtrack it also consistently reminds one of the movie, as the music is featured so predominately within the film.

The first Shindig cut from that album is Doug E. Fresh’s Spirit. Some people hear it, some people fear it. Some people just won’t go near it.

Dig it.