Month: June 2010
A Handful Of… Bad Rap Songs From Movies Still Stuck In My Head
I would never call myself a fan of any specific genre because, hey – if it’s good, it’s good. If it’s catchy, it’s catchy. If it’s kitschy, it’s kitschy. This handful of soundtrack “rap” songs remain in my noggin to this very day… mostly filed under the kitschy label.
Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh – Spirit from Ghostbusters 2
Partners in Kryme – Turtle Power from – what else? – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie
MC Hammer – Addams Groove from The Addams Family
Amanda Ingber (?) – Top That! from Teen Witch
This one isn’t really a rap song, but it still gets stuck in my head…
Shampoo – Trouble from Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: The Movie
The Sh– To Just Sh–ty… The Idea This Drunk Guy Had
Nobody was hurt in the making of this video… except the bush and the bike. Srsly.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
more about “Apparently, beer turns your bones int…“, posted with vodpod
These college kids must have followed the same guidelines as these folks did with their dog:
Could have helped this kitten too:
JusWondering… Do You Believe In Pop Culture Perfect Storms?
Unlike real-life perfect storms, pop culture perfect storms are fun.
What entails a weather-based perfect storm:
- warm air from a low-pressure system coming from one direction
- a flow of cool and dry air generated by a high-pressure from another direction
- tropical moisture from a hurricane
What entails a pop culture perfect storm:
- video from long ago
- containing someone out of their more (in)famous context
- that features products either lost to time, or some ironic reference
The first example is this:
The ingredients (of the PCPS, not the McDLT):
- It’s an amazing 80’s commercial
- containing not only Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander, but also McDonald’s classic jingle composed by singer Sheryl Crow
- that features the McDLT sandwich, which was discontinued because of its polystyrene packaging
Another example would be Ghostbusters 2, partly due to this sequence:
The breakdown:
- This 21-year-old movie (yikes… it can legally drink!)
- containing a cameo from Whitney Houston’s bad boy, Bobby Brown, as well as this theme song
- that features not only the Sony Walkman shown in the above clip, but this adapted NES Advantage game controller:
And then there’s always this old commercial featuring Glenn Beck (you can find irony on your own… just like the Ghostbusters):
So, Duh! Pop Quiz… Song Remakes Rated By Movie Remakes
Remakes are hardly better.
With all the remakes leaking out of Hollywood like – oh, I don’t know – an unstoppable oil spill, I started thinking about song remakes… how they don’t happen as often, and when they do, how they tend to be worthy updates or at least interesting spins (outdated pun!) on the original.
That’s when I decided to present a So, Duh! Pop Quiz that will have you match a song remake with a comparable film remake.
1) Anberlin’s version of New Order’s True Faith
- a) Psycho
b) Fame
c) Alfie
d) Bedazzled
2) Cake’s version of Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive
- a) Friday the 13th
b) Clash of the Titans
c) Dawn of the Dead
d) Nightmare on Elm Street
3) Eddie Vedder’s version of Indio’s Hard Sun
- a) The Ring
b) The Karate Kid
c) The Taking of Pelham 123
d) The Wicker Man
4) Flo Rida’s version of Dead or Alive’s You Spin Me Round (called Right Round)
- a) Who’s Your Caddy? (Caddyshack)
b) My Baby’s Daddy (Three Men and a Baby)
c) Soul Plane (Airplane!)
d) All of the above
5) Shinedown’s version of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Simple Man
- a) The Fly
b) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)
c) The Hills Have Eyes
d) The Parent Trap
BONUS: To check out My Top Ten List of 80’s (Music) Remakes, click here.
(Answers… or opinions, I guess… after the jump…) Read More
Happy Find… Yacht Rock
This isn’t so much of a Happy Find as it is a Happy Discovery… But wait… I guess a find is a discovery, so never mind that.
Yacht Rock tells the untold stories behind the ignored sub-genre of smooth music that hit the radio waves between 1976 to 1984. Hosted by “Hollywood” Steve Huey, the collection of twelve shorts explains the mysterious origins of as many songs, starting with The Doobie Brothers’ What a Fool Believes:
The remainder of the videos can be found on JD Ryznar’s YouTube Channel, or more conveniently at Channel 101.
Sailing… Takes me away to where I’ve always heard it could be… Just a dream and the wind to carry me…
And soon I will be free…
Hibbidy-Wah?! Please Keep My Kittens Single-Faced!
This video promised to be cute:
Aaaaaaah! Quick! Clean the palette! Clean the palette! (Video auto-starts so I moved the too-cuteness to after the jump) Read More
In My Brain While Sleeping… Cartoon Island (And Possible Equine Lust)
They probably could have just called it ImagiNation.
This booze-induced dream is not the first “other format” brain leak I’ve ever had. I’ve dreamed in cartoon before (as well as comic panels), but each of those had more of a narrative.
This one was… odd… to say the least. Particularly for the fact that I remember very little of it. I know there was an island full of cartoon characters, not unlike (<—I hate when people write that) South Park’s Imaginationland.
Actually, I have to be honest. I only remember one thing. And though I’m loathe to admit it, here we go:
Rainbow Brite's horse named Starlite, was being "courted" by...
...BraveStarr's horse named Thirty/Thirty.
I’m hoping this happened in my subconscious because I saw two squirrels chasing each other yesterday, and not for any other deep-rooted,
mane-flowing,
silky muscular reasons.
Coinkydink or Coinkydonk? Dude’s Name Looks Like A Lady’s
(Not So) Artistic Meeting of Artists
Ryan Star meet Ryan Starr.
One was on a reality show for singers and did not win. There other was on a reality show for singers and did not win (well, he won a car, but not the show, Rock Star: Supernova).
But the one that won a car also has a new song on the radio (aside from a song on a movie soundtrack, the theme for a TV show, and various other sporting events):
Needless to say, I’m beginning to feel like he’s the health care plan (“They took our jobs!”), Justin Beiber, or the Kardashian sisters – he’s getting shoved down our throats… through our eardrums.
Look, I actually kind of like the song, but it could have been released by David Cook, David Archuleta, Kris Allen, or Daughtry (see where I’m going with this)… It feels mass-produced, processed, programmed. Even the video is cloying. But again, I had to use Shazam on my iPhone twice to figure out who sang it. Twice.
So let’s get down to this name thing. Ryan Star as a name sounds… derivative. Not only because he shares it with American Idol Season 1 contestant, Ryan Starr (the extra R adds some flavorr), but also his surname with this motley crew:
Ringo Starr
Ken Starr
Captain Lone Starr
Rock Star
Mon*Star
BraveStarr
Patrick Star
In closing, and in Ryan Star’s defense… Star is the middle name his hippie parents gave him, but considering Tiffany Ryan Montgomery changed her name to Ryan Starr after some advice from Paula Abdul, that should speak volumes about your final choice.
And for the record Mr. Star, Ryan Kulchinsky will always be better than r.star.
Awesome Battle… Brain Characters
10) Anne Uumellmahaye from The Man with Two Brains
Steve Martin falls in love with a brain he communicates with telepathically, and throughout the end of the movie he tries to find a host body for Anne. Sound familiar to the plot of All of Me? The ending is close enough to keep this brain at the bottom of the list.
9) The Martians in Mars Attacks!
The way I remember it, this movie was kind of disappointing. But it’s probably been a long enough time to give it another shot, especially since its gained steam as a cult classic. There. Added to my Netflix queue. I should be getting this DVD sometime around April 2011.
8) Brainiac from Superman comics
Brainiac could have been higher if he was still in robot form, like he was in the 80’s. Actually, I always thought he was mostly mechanical and brain-powered. In researching this list, I discovered he’s usually like a green-skinned Lex Luthor mixed with Lobot from The Empire Strike s Back. Fuck that. Hence #8.
7) Brainspawn from Futurama
Futurama is a show about a guy from our time that wakes up 1000 years in the future. Though he’s no Rip Van Winkle – and the future is no Idiocracy – Philip J. Fry is presented his true purpose, courtesy of the Brainspawn. Due to the fact they could not dumb him down (any more than he is normally), he saved the day. Even though they were ultimately defeated, perchance Nibbler’s elaborate plan did not work, the Brainspawn would have cleaned up house without question.
6) The Great Brain from Ugly Americans
He’s high up on this list because I really like the show, Ugly Americans. He’s sassy like Charles Nelson Reilly, his job is to act as a sponge, and he’s a brain stem. What’s not to love?
5) The Brain from Pinky and — I can’t quite remember…
Every night, he tried the same thing – to take over the world. That’s not much different from a hamster running in its wheel, when you think about it. Despite being named after a brain and not consisting primarily of one, Pinky and the Brain started as a short on Animaniacs, and then they got their own show. That’s how he took over this spot on this list.
4) Brain from Inspector Gadget
Another “brain in name only,” this dog was no ordinary dog. He could walk upright. And talk (and pantomime). And use a computer. And wear disguises. And solve crimes. Let’s see your dog accomplish any two of these. Oh, look at how your dog walks upright in a clown costume… Okay. Make that any three of these.
3) Mother Brain from Metroid
She might be solely riding on the coattails of the famous female protagonist, Samus Aran. All right, I’ll admit it. Mother Brain is completely riding on Samus’ coattails.
2) Wayne “The Main Brain” McClain from Aqua Teen Hunger Force
My curiosity in live bar trivia was piqued primarily because of the episode he appeared in. Many years later, I still participate in the brainy drinking game. Watch ATHF, I do not.
1) Krang from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Who else was going to be number one, really? Shredder was supposed to be a bad-ass, and even he kowtowed to this piece of bubble gum wrapped in a weird robot suit.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
The Fiend from Fiend Without a Face
I only heard about this movie via researching the Brainspawn from Futurama. This movie was the inspiration for their creation, and it looks like it probably inspired a few more up above. Furthermore, this title has gotten Billy Idol’s Eyes Without a Face stuck in my head, so no spot on the list for you… Thanks.
Abby Normal from Young Frankenstein
It was not as much of a character as it was a bad pun.
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