Look, I don’t know what the hell’s going on in Halloween City, but from the looks of this album cover, it’s fuckin’ serious.
What’s more, I don’t know what the hell’s going on in this song. Probably because I don’t speak French. Perhaps I should attempt to translate these lyrics. Gimme a sec.
Ok, that failed, cause – surprise – outside of the Discogs page, no one seems to have a whole lotta info on Special Du Jour. So, easily finding the French lyrics to this song was perhaps a nonstarter. If either of you readers out there are fluent in French and wanna take a crack at decoding this business, be my guest. ed@halloweenshindig.com is awaiting your calls.
Speaking of Discogs, they’re informing me that Special Du Jour is the handle for French duo Louise Beaudoin & Martine Fugère. So there’s that, at least.
This is an album I picked up years ago, song unseen, back when I discovered it was a thing and a blind purchase seemed to be the only way I was actually gonna hear the tune.
I won’t say it was disappointing, but it didn’t hit the playlist immediately upon arrival, so that ought to speak a bit to my initial impression.
Perhaps if I knew what the hell they were saying other than “Halloween City” I could gauge things a bit more accurately. As it stands, I think the song isn’t bad. Certainly not the Halloween Disco banger I was hoping it might be, but not unlistenable, and definitely not unfestive in its sound.
So here, in the midst of our Halloweens-til-Halloween run, seemed like as good a place as any to drop this somewhat spooky and somewhat danceable Halloween (question mark) hit (also question mark.)
So grab some spandex, maybe a headband, a few rattle cans and let’s take the metro over to Halloween City! There’s a plywood wall there that would look a lot better with the words “Halloween Shindig” sprayed on it.
Once upon time, Bret Michaels revealed to the world that every rose had it’s thorn. Ya know, just like every night had it’s dawn.
Now, whether or not every cowboy truly sang a sad, sad song, or why that is also held up as a universal truth, I couldn’t say.
What I can say though is that, similarly, every day has it’s night. It certainly doesn’t have the same ring, but it does seem just as true.
Such is the case with this evenings entry, the ying to Ministry’s Yang, Every Night Is Halloween by Industrials.
This one, much like Al’s tune, seems to use the idea that the underground culture of dance/industrial/goth is a operating outside the boundaries of accepted society and hey, stop giving us all so much shit all the time, ya fuckin’ squares. But they beat Ministry to the conceptual punch, releasing this song a good 4 years prior.
I’m not sure this is exactly the same kinda deal though, as Industrials seem to be playing a different sort of pool here. Homeboys got a welding helmet on, and that’s kinda…industrial…I suppose. Nothing else about this seems terribly gothy or industrial. It just kinda sounds like new wave synth pop if you ask me, so maybe this is angling for a bit of a different message. Or maybe they were getting the business too, for dressing all freaky with welding helmets and typical 80’s wares.
Either way, the lonely dancers on the ceiling feel like it’s Halloween. Maybe they’re dressed up. Maybe there’s candy up there. Who knows.
But yeah, it’s another “not really about Halloween” Halloween song. There’s a lot of these fuckers it seems. Maybe they need they’re own playlist or something. I dunno.
I like this tune though. It’s got a spookyish sort of synthy vibe that feels right and man is it 80’s. Looks like we might be starting a bit of a thing here.
Interestingly (at least to me, maybe to you too, we’ll see) this album was produced by infamous music industry whack job Kim Fowley. This is the same Kim Fowley who put together The Runaways and allegedly sexually assaulted Jackie Fox while Joan Jett and Cherie Currie watched. Damn, ok. That was a left turn.
This is also the same Kim Fowley who released the album Frankenstein and His All-Star Monster Band, which you would think might be wall-to-wall Shindig goodness (I know, cause I did too) but here we are and here they ain’t. I’d say give it a listen, but don’t actually think you should.
Sorry about that little detour Industrials, I didn’t mean to get ya webbed up in all of that. I just saw his name there on the back sleeve and was like “Snap. Really? I don’t really like that Frankenstein album and this might be a good time to explain why it’s never been featured to readers that might be wondering.” Which, admittedly, is probably no one.
But anyway, we’re loosing the thread here so let’s just let Industrials take ya through the night and I’ll see ya in the morning for some more 80’s Halloween madness!
Oh, and this opening sample is from 1963’s The Haunting. If anyone is playing along at home.
As I may or may not have already stated, 2022 marks the 10th anniversary of the internet incarnation of Halloween Shindig.
I had planned to do more things to ring in the occasion, but alas, even doing just the normal October push at this point seems difficult enough.
We will not let the anniversary go unmarked however, as from here on out, every song til Halloween will be a Halloween Song. That’s right…though it pains me to even utter the phrase…everyday is Halloween from here on out.
So, to kick off such a block, we’re finally calling upon Al Jorgensen and his Ministry to join the fold, with their Halloween staple Everyday (Is Halloween.)
Long time followers may know of my general distaste for the nascent cult of “Everyday is Halloween.”
My disassociation from this slogan and it’s ideology is 3 fold:
First, and chiefly, it is an (admittedly) semantic and good-natured comical argument I make with the literal nature of the phrase. Every day is not, in fact, Halloween. More to the point, we shouldn’t act as though it were, because if it were, then Halloween would cease to be special and what’s all this fuss about?
Another semantic off-shoot of this qualm, is that Halloween isn’t a day at all, but rather an eve. Hallow’s Eve, The Eve of All Saints. Halloween technically doesn’t start until sundown. I know, I know. I’m splitting hairs here. I’m just being ridiculous and annoying prick! Hell, many definitions of “eve” will suggest it can also be the day before. However, in that it’s a shortening of “even” or “evening,” I think I got a leg to stand on this one, obnoxious though it may sound.
Lastly, I find it to be, as the kids are wont to say, a bit of a flex. And a stupid one at that. Oh yeah? That’s how spooky you are, huh? That’s how much you like monsters and horror and shit? Halloween ain’t no big deal because you at that spooky shit 24/7? The rest of the poser world has decided to take this time of year, and only this time, to revel in ghosts and goblins, but not you, bruh. You do this shit all year, so fuck the tourists? Get real. Ya’ll sound like Suicide.
And yeah, it is a costume and I do think that’s what it’s all about, cause that is what it’s all about. It’s Halloween, and it falls on October 31st.
Look, I get it. If it wasn’t clear after 10 years, I love Halloween. I love the colors, the air, the traditions, the imagery and the horror. In particular, I love it for the very fact that for one month (or at least it should be) the whole world around me seems aligned with all the things I love as well. Stores have spooky webs up, candy is in abundance everywhere, die-cuts adorn waiting rooms and post offices, monsters are suddenly in TV commercials, and people have their houses decked out for the onslaught of costumed tricksters. I don’t get chippy about this fact, like people are falsely co-opting my interests. I embrace it. I don’t like when it happens too soon, or when Christmas encroaches too early. It’s a special time, but I don’t want it to overstay it’s welcome either.
Now, this brings into question my own actions. Namely this website, my obsession with this Eve, or plastering my work space with all manner of Halloween imagery…all year. It sounds hypocritical, right? Well, maybe that’s true.
I doubt if even a day goes by in either my work on this blog, or in my research, or with my personal interests, that I don’t write out the word “Halloween.” I see things, and many of them, that say “Halloween” on them, every day. Like Graham once put it on the show, The Halloween Hole is like being inside a giant Halloween candy bag. If anyone is living the ethos of “Everyday is Halloween,” you could argue it’s me. So, I should just shut the fuck up, right? Well, maybe that’s true too.
I’d argue it just means that if I, there very person who has created this place and surrounds themselves with Halloween…every day, is telling you to take it easy with the “Everyday is Halloween” bullshit, then it’s gotten a little out of hand.
Whichever the case may be, Halloween is a special time of year. And it falls on the very last day of the month, perfectly positioning October to be be a full-on, 31-day countdown celebration of all things spooky and monstrous. However, I didn’t wanna blow all the Halloween songs I have left on a 31 day binge, so I tightened that up a bit, my apologies.
And though I’m aware that this song isn’t even really about Halloween at all, and speaks to a completely different ideology than the current wave of dildo Horror fans declaring other people just don’t like Horror as much as they do, it seemed like the most appropriate song to ring in the occasion. Particularly since I have avoided adding it to this playlist for literally 19 years now.
So, as halloweenshindig.com turns 10 years old, let us for once (and only once) proudly exclaim…Everyday Is Halloween.
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 need to rewatch this thing.
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!
If you have a playlist where every 10th track is a Halloween Song, and you start a 31 song countdown on October 1st, it’s mathematically impossible to get that song to actually fall on Halloween. Well, without skipping a day of course, or not doing 31 songs.
Originally, this song was slated post last year on Oct. 30th and I had a whole spiel about math and tactics that unfortunately no longer applies, as this cleanup act from 2021 has shifted everything earlier.
No matter anymore I suppose, so I’ll just delete all that bullshit and talk about Seducer, a band that managed to miss out on our Heavy Metal Halloween in 2018. I should drop them onto that playlist though for sure.
As I’ve said in the past, these 80’s metal “Halloween” tracks are just falling off of pumpkin trucks it seems and I find new ones all the time. Hell, I think there’s a bunch more in the bullpen at this point, although I know several are “Something” Halloween, or Halloween Something. Impressive still, no doubt.
Not Seducerthough. Nope, they’re comin’ correct with this dinger from 1985’s Caught in the Act.
Accidents, departures and record company troubles ultimately lead Seducer to pack it up before they could turn their early career momentum into full blown notoriety.
They are still well regarded by fans of British New Wave Metal, and they’ll forever live on, however dubious the honor may be, as Heavy Metal Halloween Shindig heroes.
Lead in here with a little clip from 1964’s Witchcraft, starring Lon Chaney. That’s a fun one, if you’re into the style and era. I’m pretty sure Tubi’s got it right now, if you’re lookin’ for something festive for the evening.
Witchcraft is extra cool because of this fresh gimmickry: The Witch Deflector!
Here’s what the actual device looked like, and it’s pretty dope. One just went recently on eBay for a cool 100 buck, if you’re interested in holding it in your hands at all times.
Man, I wish they still did stuff like this at theaters. Honestly though, I’ll bet it would be something lame now even if they did.
Oh yeah, the song. Here’s Seducer!
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go start a Doom Metal band called Witch Deflector.
Here’s a song that’s been kicking around the bullpen for a while now, just waiting for some poor rookie left hander to get taken deep back to back in the 2nd.
Now, I’m not entirely sure that’s happened here, but in the middle of a metal run to Halloween seemed as good a time to drop this Halloween track from Blind Guardian.
Ah, Blind Guardian: the sorta band that’ll get you laughed outta the room in some circles and a get you fat lip for saying a disparaging word in the other.
However, before this operatic and somewhat silly German metal outfit went clean off the D&D deep end, they meted out some pretty by the numbers, if not exacting, speed metal.
And their first album, at least their first album as Blind Guardian (their original name was Lucifer’s Heritage…yeesh) feels largely indebted to their German power metal brothers, Helloween.
And much like Helloween, they’ve got a song about Halloween! Well, they say Halloween a lot , anyway. Additionally, the song was originally titled Halloween (The Wizard’s Crown) back on their old Lucifer’s Heritage Demo. So, what gives?
Well, when it came time to re-record the track for their proper debut, Battalions of Fear, they dropped the “Halloween,” kicked the parenthetical to the curb, and sent that “the” packing. A choice no doubt in an effort to differentiate their track from Helloween’s famous and similarly titled tune. A shame, really.
But, no matter. These are small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. Besides, when your chorus is just you shouting “Halloween” along with the song’s title, it’s water under the bridge really, and The Shindig is happy to have you, “Halloween” or not. You ain’t lockin’ down no 10-slot pullin’ that kinda bullshit, make no mistake, but you can bring up the rear, no problem.
This move (aside from relegating them to a 9er) did keep Blind Guardian out of the rotation for Shindig Radio’s Heavy Metal Halloween. Sure, I could have used the demo and even could have added it here, but frankly, I like the studio version more, titles be damned.
So, if you don’t like Blind Guardian, maybe give their early stuff a go. It’s certainly a little less over-the-top nerds in their Mom’s basement rolling 26-sided die.
So, here they are, on Halloween as it were, taking the crown from Thelemic Wizard Aliester Crowley. Or maybe Crowley’s taking the crown from some other wizard. I dunno, it’s a little unclear with these wizard dust ups. I just know, that allegedly anyway, it’s supposed to be about Aliester Crowley, in some regard. Which is always just a little creepy.
We’re not quite outta the old country just yet folks, cause here comes Mr. Italy himself, Dario Argento.
We’ve no doubt got some Dario fans with us today, and our next song indulges in his mid-career tendency to load his soundtracks with rocking 80’s metal.
This one hails from 1987’s Opera, which (for my money, anyway) is probably Argento’s last hurrah. His 12 year, 6 film run from Deep Red to Opera is one gnarly lineup. Those two, plus Suspira, Inferno, Tenebre, and Phenomena all make up the bulk of what Dario is best known for and it’s a hell of a run.
After that, it’s a hit or miss affair for me with Argento. No matter, because that Cal Ripken-like streak is more than enough for this fan. Anything after that is dude playing with house money as far as I’m concerned.
You add his early 70’s giallos like Four Flies on Grey Velvet and his rookie outing, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (a personal favorite) and the guy’s a monster. Hell, any 3 of those films is enough to put you at the top of the heap. Quite frankly Suspira alone gets the job done just fine.
But Opera is where the run comes to its end. It’s truly the last time I feel like you’re watching something wholly Dario, and it’s quite good. It’s got plenty of Dario’s trademark stylistic flare, one rockin’ soundtrack and some seriously gnarly kills.
Chief among them is the one he affords to his former lover, Ms. Daria Niccolodi. Her bullet through the peephole demise is as artistically rendered a murder as Dario (or anyone for that matter) has put to screen.
And that gif cuts out the coolest part! Oh well.
With so many good songs though, it was tough to choose just one to include, but this shredder from Swedish metal band Norden Light is probably my favorite.
Played just after costume designer Giulia gets a clothes smoother tossed into her back, but just before she can reveal the true identity of the killer, all while poor Betty has to watch with eyes pinned back…literally.
From their lone LP, Shadows from the Wilderness, here’s Norden Light assuring us all there is No Escape.
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.
Attentive Shindiggers will not doubt recognize this album cover, as we’ve long used this image from Luigi Cozzi’s Paganini Horror as a banner here on Halloween Shindig cause c’mon, look at that thing!
However, we have never taken a moment to talk about that film or add any of the songs from its soundtrack. So this year, we’re gonna change all that.
What’s most interesting about that poster image is that it existed before the story for Paganini Horrorwas even written. It’s almost assuredly why those two actors and that awesome skeleton man never shows up in the picture.
Looking to piggyback on the imminent success of Paganini, a biopic about the legendary Violinist being helmed by actor Klaus Kinski, our producers thought “Hey! We slap the word “horror”on that shit and I think we got a winner.”
Well, they were wrong. On both accounts.
Not only was Kinski’s Paganini not a hit, but the horror iteration became a mish mash of chefs spoiling the pot. The resulting film found little success with audiences.
Horror historian Louis Paul even noted
“Nobody likes Paganini Horror, Cozzi included.”
Well, i kinda like Paganini Horror. I don’t love it, but it looks real nice, there’s a dude with a switchblade violin, Donald Pleasence gets real weird…and then there this song: there’s Stay The Night.
Now, when it comes to blatant, shameless and completely unapologetic rip-offs, I don’t know if you can pull a bigger offender than Stay The Night.
And I mean seriously. Gangster Rock may sound like China Groove, but it’s a different song. Stay The Night, the other hand, is 100% You Give Love a Bad Name.
I have to imagine that neither John Bon Jovi nor Richie Sambora have ever heard this song. That’s conceivable. Paganini Horror wasn’t busting blocks. But I have to assume that someone…anyone…who even knew them remotely, heard this song and was like “Yo, John…you gotta hear this fuckin’ thing.”
One might then assume a lawsuit of some sort would have arisen, but nothing seems to have come from it. So, I’ll just say they’ve never heard it. Or maybe they just shrugged it off like good sports, cause much like the film, I doubt this song was padding anyone’s bank account either.
The fact still remains, that unless you’ve never once heard You Give Love a Bad Name, Stay the Night is one of the most overt rip-off’s of all time.
But maybe that’s part of the joke, as their producer certainly leans into what unoriginal, rehashed bullshit the band is pumping out these days. Boy, I’ll say.
Since Switchblade Violin Man never makes good with an actual Title Track, here’s the best song Paganini Horror…a movie specifically about a band…making a video…for their new song…called Paganini Horror…which is also spray painted on the set…sigh…is cranking out.
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…
“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!
Here’s what the actual device looked like, and it’s pretty dope. One just went recently on eBay for a cool 100 buck, if you’re interested in holding it in your hands at all times.
