As longtime followers are probably (painfully) aware, Monster Raps are load bearing supports in the Halloween Shindig rotation.
And when it comes to Monster Raps, few come as tailor-made awesome as Yeshwua Barnes and B Dub Woods’Maniac Cop Rap.
Check the stats:
Does it take the movie’s score and mix into an awesome beat? Check.
Does it play during the end credits? Check.
Does it feature the title repeated ad nauseum? Check
Does it talk about how badass the main character is? Check
Does it feature the most ridiculous lyrics you can image? Check plus.
Here’s some choice selection from the track…
Set ‘em on fire, I shoot ‘em with a Uzi
But he’ll show up in you’re jacuzzi!”
Gold.
And don’t waste time dialin’ 9-1-1
Forget karate and forget yer gun!
Forgotten.
You won’t get a ticket or pay a fine
You might as well be dealin’ with Frankenstein!
Fair Enough.
Without any further ado, segueing out of our 80’s Oddball Sequel Dance Party, from a sequel that’s arguably better than the original, 1990’s Maniac Cop 2, here’s the Manaic Cop Rap.
Let’s keep the 80’s dance party/Oddball sequel thing going here.
1985 offered us Freddy’s first foray into sequel-dom, however Jason was already and old man by ‘85, going on his 5th outing.
Perhaps one of the more derided films of the series, and certainly it’s oddball entry, Friday 5 is still Paramount, still hugely 80’s and (I think) rather unfairly maligned.
It’s hard to say which is the “worst”, as some thrive where others lack and vice-versa. Honestly, a lot of it just comes down to personal preference after a point.
5 however has the distinct honor of being the only entirely Jason-less sequel (save for the pre-credit sequence…I guess) as the killer is merely assuming the MO and hockey mask. This, more than any other reason, is why it finds itself on the bottom rung with fans.
What 5 has going for it however is a serious body count. Notably the most of any Friday the 13th film at 22. That’s gotta be worth something.
Sure the effects aren’t on par with other entries and a lot of the murders are cut-aways but this dude ices 22 different people and that’s an achievement, however lessened it may be by the fact that its not actually Jason killing these people (except the first 2 guys…I guess.)
This song, by Australian pop-smiths Pseudo Echo, plays while Violet is dancing and being murdered. The song was actually a suggestion of actress Tiffany Helm, a fan of the new wave and punk music of the day.
Imagine being able to select which song to which you’d be murdered by Jason? Pretty dope.
Interesting side note regarding Violets death. Originally, she was to take a machete to the vag. Now that’s a way to go.
However, the producers thought that was a bit much, and changed it to her stomach, which they don’t even really show anyway, so I guess it doesn’t even matter. Oh well.
This song is pretty awesome though and almost sounds as if it were written specifically about Jason. It was produced a year early however, so no luck there. It does fit in nicely into the movie however, and makes a great addition to The Shindig.
Whisper To A Screamby Bobby Orlando & Claudja Barry
Lets get a Freddy two-fer going, cause your guests are still pissed…
“How the fuck am I supposed to dance to some bullshit like ‘Down In The Boiler Room’…? Are you serious right now?!”
And fair enough. I’m not sure that song’s palatable, much less danceable. So let’s look to Freddy’s soundtrack offerings for a little relief. And what better place to go for a dose of danceable 80’s synth-pop than Freddy’s Revenge.
Certainly the black sheep of the series (and with good cause), A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2 is probably the worst way you could have followed the highly original and groundbreaking hit.
Every franchise has its Oddball Entry. Ya know, that one that doesn’t quite jive for whatever reason; be it overtly non-canon (Halloween 3), lacking its main character (Friday 5) or plays fast and loose with the primary mythos, as is the case with Freddy’s Revenge.
While not so out of place at the time, just a little curve ball for the sequel, the fact that subsequent Elm Streets have totally ignored this entry, its characters and its logic, makes it the strange, stand-out entry it seems today.
Basically, Freddy attempts to possess Jesse, the new teenager living in Nancy’s old room at 1428 Elm., choosing to work through the boy in the material world, as opposed to terrorizing all the children in their sleep. Granted, he does possess Jesse through his dreams, but all the kills are carried out by Jesse in the waking world, as he slowly transforms into a flesh and blood Freddy Krueger.
Needless to say, that pissed off a lot of fans at the time, and still continues to do so today. Coupled with its generalized shortcomings (acting, writing, direction, etc), its bizarre homo-eroticism and its overall weirdness, Freddy’s Revenge is not a fan favorite, and is offend cited as the series’ low-point: a rushed and lazy attempt to cash-in on the success of the original, with Dream Warriors being a much more creative and fitting sequel. True enough, I can concede.
However, I have a soft spot for Elm Street 2, cause well…
I’m a sucker for bad movies, and this one delivers.
Clu Gulager is awesome. I don’t care what movie he’s in, he’s always on point.
Grady is the man (as played by Ron Rusler of The Daggers….fuck yeah Thrashin’)
Freddy is still scary, and he retains his creep-factor before plunging into total buffoonery as per 3, 4 et al.
Jesse is such a little wiener, it’s hard not to love him. Horror’s first male Scream Queen.
And I appreciate the attempt to do something different. Though its failure does lead to subsequent films treading back (and back again) into more familiar waters, it’s still nice to see people trying something different.
That being said (and long-windedly at that) let’s get to Bobby Orlando’s funky beats, as heard during the pool party sequence of Freddy’s Revenge.
In 1993 they decided to take the previously British franchise of Hellraiser across the pond, because, Lord knows America always takes something cool and makes it cooler.
That being said, it’s certainly not the worst Cenobite installment, however it’s hardly the best, as I feel both 2 and 5 are better films. Though I have met some static for my championing of Inferno, which I still feel is one of the more interesting sequels, despite being largely devoid of Cenobites and Pinhead.
Which is the worst? God only knows. They’re up to what, 9 now? I stopped after Hellseeker to be perfectly honest, and from the shots I’ve seen of…whoever the hell that is replacing Doug Bradley, Revelations isn’t providing any….well….revelations.
But enough of my (rather unqualified) opinions of the franchise in its totality. Let’s join Lemmy and Motörhead as they rock out with that secret song at the center of the world. Pinhead is here,…to turn up the volume.
From the extra-90’s, ultra-FX-ladened, creature-feature-comedy Freaked, comes this Title Track from Henry Rollins & Blind Idiot God.
I love Freaked. What’s not to love?
Bill S. Preston, Esq. (Alex Winter) writes, co-directs and stars.
Randy Quaid turns up as a nutball mad-scientist.
You even got Mr. T in there as a Bearded lady.
Keanu Reeves sneaks in as the (uncredited) Dog Boy
Bobcat Goldthwait voices Sockhead.
and William Sadler plays a sleazy corporate greaseball.Not to mention…
Awesome creature FX from Steve Johnson’s XFX
More awesome FX from Screaming Mad George and company.
Some great stop motion from the Chiodo Brothers
One of the coolest title sequences ever
and this awesome spinning Randy Quaid head
Plus, it has a pretty kick-ass soundtrack. A soundtrack, I might add, that was never officially released. These puppies come stolen clean from the DVD.
If you’ve never seen Freaked, and you’re at all about creature FX, foolish 90’s comedies, or bizarre movies in general – find someone who has a copy of this, mug them, and watch it immediately.
More music and gifs from Freaked to follow this initial blast, later in the playlist. For now, enjoy these humble Shindig offerings.
The 1978 B-Movie horror-musical-comedy-spoof turned B-movie itself, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, was probably the first movie I was able to truly appreciate for its camp value.
I saw the light, so to speak, and it began the long love affair I still have today with horribly bad films. A love affair which was nurtured to its maturity on the early days of Comedy Central through Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Here’s the silly title track for the film. A film which, if you’ve never seen, I highly recommend…you know,…if you’re into that sort of thing.
We’ve already gotten a sampling of Freddy Krueger’s sonically iconic offerings, but surely his contemporary and adversary Jason Voorhees has a thing or two to say on the matter awesome 80’s soundtracks, no?
Yes. Yes he does.
From 1984’s prematurely subtitled The Final Chapter (a title made all the more ridiculous considering there are fewer Friday the 13ths proceeding it than following it), comes this tune from LA butt-rockers Lion.
Man, that’s pretty emphatic. They even blow up the mask for God’s sake.
This is the song to which Crispin Glover (aka George McFly, or Jimbo here) famously does he’s strange and erratic gyrations.
I’ve heard from unconfirmed sources (read: my buddy Matt Mastrella, AC/DC fan and possible rumorist) that during filming, the actual song playing was Back In Black, which they could not ultimately use after failing to secure the rights. If that’s true, it would certainly go a long way to explaining Jimbo’s arrhythmic seizing.
Led in with the archetypal campfire tale of Jason, originally featured in Part 2 and rehashed in pieces during the pre-title sequence from Part 4. Its a favorite moment of mine from the series, and goes great with the song, if a tad lengthy.
I think it’s worth the wait though, and makes for a spooky interlude where your party guest can kick back and take in a little histrionic Voorhees history before Lion commence to rock.
Well, Lords of Salem was released this past weekend, much to chagrin of critics and the Internet as a whole, it seems. Tumblr especially appears to be awash was some pretty negative reactions.
So, now seemed as good a time as any to drop in this previously unfeatured addition to the Shindig.
Why previously unfeatured? Well, at the risk of posting negative ideas, and alienating some followers, my love for Rob Zombie extends from about White Zombie to well,…White Zombie. Of Rob’s solo and film career, I can not say I am a huge fan.
So why add it at all? Well, its a Title Track and that’s a little hard to just straight-up ignore. Plus, of all his movie this is probably the one I enjoyed the most. And this song is cool enough and certainly Halloweeny enough to enjoy a position on the playlist.
And hell, I like Rob Zombie. He taught me how awesome samples are in metal songs and pointed me toward a lot of really great movies. What I think of his ability to remake them, or steal ideas from them, is neither here nor there.
So go support Lords of Salem. It may be derivative but at least it’s not another goddamn remake.
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’sSpirit. Some people hear it, some people fear it. Some people just won’t go near it.
This annual addition to most Halloween playlists and radio stations is made all the more relevant to The Shindig for its inclusion in John Landis’ lunar based soundtrack for An American Werewolf In London.
One of my first experiences with the wonders of special makeup FX, Rick Baker and his team won the category’s first Academy Award for the groundbreaking and amazing work on display here. If anyone tells you the effects in this film appear “dated” or “cheesy,” discontinue conversing with that person post-haste.
Cinematic werewolf transformations, until this point, had mostly been the stuff of cutaways and time-lapse photography. Baker (along with Rob Botin over on The Howling) reinvented the wheel with a combination of animatronics, change-o-heads, reverse photography and skillful editing, to show a man literally transforming into a creature of the night right before your eyes. And that’s to say nothing of the intense murder and slow decay of Jack Goodman, played to perfection by Griffin Dunne.
Speaking on the film itself, I feel American Werewolf is hanging out near the top of the horror/comedy heap for its ability to separate the 2 so effectively. When it’s joking, it’s hilarious; when it’s deathly serious, it’s fucking horrifying. Nazi werewolves.
Oh, the music, yeah. I love Creedence, and this is a great song, used to great effect here with all the other moon tracks in the film.
If you’re a bunch of kids that have to do battle with a gang of famous monsters and you need to resort to smelting down your mom’s fine silverware, jacking the school’s archery equipment, and belt sanding stakes in shop class, then you could probably use a montage.
That oughta free up valuable screen time to cut some business cards, write a letter to the Army Guys, grab a soda and maybe do a spit take when seeing naked pictures Frankenstein accidentally took of your buddy’s hot sister.
And if you do need a montage, then this song oughta fit the bill just fine; a song which instructs you, with gleeful irresponsibility, to be completely reckless in your rocking. Suggested amongst the dangerous activities are “dancing until your feet fall off” and “partying until your brains fall out.” Both of which, I might add, are terrible things to encourage of children. Ah, the 80’s, that wonderful place where no one gave a shit about children or their safety.
From 1987’s horror answer to The Goonies, it’s Michael Sembello’sRock Until You Drop. Go forth weeners and try this at home.
When I was 12 my brother bought me Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds’ Murder Ballads for Christmas, and ever since I’ve been a huge fan.
So it’s always given me great joy to have been able to include them legitimately, without forcing some song or another into one of my categories.
Thanks to Scream, Wes Craven’s self-aware response to 80’s slash, Nick and his Bad Seeds have an undisputed seat at the Shindig Table.
A creepy and atmospheric tune perfectly suited to a horror film, Red Right Hand (a nod itself to Milton’s Paradise Lost) looms over the speakers while Woodsboro closes early for its newly enacted curfew.
In a non-horror related aside, this song can also be heard as Jim Carey stumbles around with a large foam cowboy hat in Dumb and Dumber. And while I love me some Dumb and Dumber, I think the tune is a bit more at home in Scream.
You knew it was coming. Perhaps you groaned, but you can’t tell me this track wasn’t telegraphed.
As silly as it is (and believe me, it’s pretty fucking silly,) The Addams Grooveactually has a pretty positive message hidden underneath it’s thin, ridiculous shell. As Hammer states:
Now is the time to get in your mind It’s ok to be yourself Take foolish pride and put it aside Like the Addamses, yo! They def.
Proper.
So, bust out your old hammer pants, do what you wanna do, say what you wanna say. Hell, maybe even kick and then slap a friend…there the Addams Family.
Sometimes in my attempt to mix things up and keep an even distribution of styles and bands, the Shindig kinda seems a bit musically schizophrenic.
So, in the spirit of cohesion, here’s The Blob, which I think doubles up pretty nicely with The Purple People Eater, and is even from the same year.
Much like The Dudes of Wrath (though the ridiculousness of comparing these two groups is not lost on me) The Five Blobs were assembled for the singular purpose of singing this tune, penned by the late Burt Bacharach.
Easily one of the oldestTitle Tracks on the Shindig (if not the oldest) The Blob is also one of the more curious tunes on the playlist as well.
Such a fun and upbeat song for something as horrendous as The Blob is kind of alarming, and as such, a bit creepy. There’s no immediacy to their tone, almost as if you really needn’t worry about this whole indestructible and unstoppable goo-monster. Seriously gang? It’s eating fucking everything, maybe a little urgency, or god forbid, terror?
Naw, they’ll just keep it light and breezy over here. Shit, it’s only The Blob.
First up from Krueger and Co. comes the not-quite-Title Track from A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 4: The Dream Master.
Nightmare is interesting as it is performed by actress Tuesday Knight, who plays Kristen Parker in the film, the role originally held by Patricia Arquette in Dream Warriors.
Long before Christopher Walken needed more cowbell, Annie Brackett and Laurie Strode we’re cruisin’ around Haddonfield, smokin’ a J and rockin’ out to some Blue Öyster Cult.
Almost inaudibly and without much ceremony at all, (Don’t Fear) The Reaper is the only piece of music appearing in the film not scored by John Carpenter.
If that wasn’t enough (and it is) the song also finds itself quoted in Stephen King’s original novel The Stand, as well as playing mood setter to it’s TV miniseries counterpart.
Though not appearing on the Shindig, honorable mentions go out to the 2 covers featured in The Frighteners and Scream, performed by The Muttonbirds and Gus respectively.
“It’s Halloween,” Sheriff Brackett tells us “I guess everyone’s entitled to one good scare, huh?”
Before Full Moon became synonymous with “shitty movie”, Charlie Band had Empire Pictures, which produced a fair amount of good genre offerings like Re-Animator, Ghoulies, From Beyond and Prison, just to name a few.
Among them was TerrorVision, a 1986 film you can easily catch on Netflix these days and won’t be disappointed with,…supposin’ you like that sort of thing.
And that sort of thing is ridiculous (not ridiculously bad, however) horror. With Charlie Band’s name attached, we could be walking into that territory, but TerrorVision manages to be 80’s enough and fun enough to avoid such trappings and deliver a flick that doesn’t take itself at all seriously and has a good time with some silly creature and gore effects.
Plus it’s got The Phantom of Paradise’s Beef, Garret Graham as the Dad and Jon Gries as his daughter’s punked-out boyfriend named O.D., and that’s gotta be worth a viewing.
From TerrorVision comes TerrorVision, the Title Track performed by the Fibonaccis.
I don’t know bout y’all, but when I was a kid, only one thing meant Halloween and that was Garfield’s Halloween special.
6 years before The Simpsons would forever lace itself in my brain to this Eve of the Dead, Garfield was digging through costumes in John’s attic, trick or treating with Odie, and getting lost in a row boat.
The most memorable aspect of Garfield’s Halloween Adventure, other than those goddamn ghost pirates scaring the living shit out of me, was the music.
The first cut from this classic holiday cartoon is the opening number by Lou Rawls, lead in by our old pal Binky The Clown. Enjoy.
