About FunHouse Radio

Staff writers, freelancers and collaborations

“Fly Me to The Moon” by Frank Sinatra – Live at The Kiel Opera House – St Louis – 1965

“Fly Me to The Moon,” a classic song with a timeless allure, has captured the hearts of generations since its inception. Written by Bart Howard in 1954, this iconic tune has been covered by numerous artists, finding its way into movies, commercials, and cultural references. Let’s delve into the history, significance, and enduring popularity of “Fly Me to The Moon.”

The Origin and Inspiration
Bart Howard, the songwriter behind “Fly Me to The Moon,” composed the piece originally titled “In Other Words.” Inspired by the burgeoning space race of the 1950s and 60s, Howard’s lyrics embodied a yearning to escape the confines of Earth and venture into the vast unknown. The song’s title was later changed to the more recognizable “Fly Me to The Moon,” reflecting its dreamy and aspirational essence.

original 7 inch single

Frank Sinatra’s Signature
While the song gained popularity in its early years, it was Frank Sinatra’s rendition that truly catapulted it to stardom. Sinatra’s 1964 recording of “Fly Me to The Moon” became synonymous with the Apollo space missions and the broader spirit of exploration during that era. His velvety voice and impeccable phrasing infused the song with a sense of romance and adventure.

Cultural Impact
“Fly Me to The Moon” has transcended its original context to become a cultural touchstone. Its inclusion in various films, TV shows, and commercials has kept the song alive in the collective consciousness. The song’s themes of love, dreams, and escapism make it relatable across generations, ensuring its place in modern pop culture.

Cover Versions and Interpretations
Over the years, countless artists have put their own spin on “Fly Me to The Moon,” showcasing its versatility and timelessness. From jazz and pop artists to instrumental ensembles, each interpretation adds a unique layer of emotion and style to the song. The song’s adaptability has allowed it to resonate with different musical sensibilities.

Legacy and Enduring Appeal
“Fly Me to The Moon” continues to hold a special place in music history. Its elegant melodies and evocative lyrics evoke a sense of nostalgia while remaining relevant to contemporary audiences. The song’s enduring appeal is a testament to its ability to evoke emotions and capture the imagination, reminding us of the human desire to explore and connect.

Conclusion
“Fly Me to The Moon” stands as a testament to the power of music to transcend time and space. From its origins as a reflection of the space race to its status as a romantic and aspirational anthem, the song’s journey has been nothing short of remarkable. With its ability to touch hearts and minds across generations, “Fly Me to The Moon” will likely continue to enchant listeners for many years to come.

NEW – Feature Program – What A Weird Week

What A Weird Week is a weekly radio program and podcast from Vancouver, BC. Host Scotty Horsman delivers a top 10 list of the prior week’s events as long as they are strange, weird, odd, unusual, ironic, and/or hilarious. He’s got a great radio voice too.

Friday at NOON & 6:00 PM
Sat/Sun at 6:00 AM, Noon, & 6:00 PM

Central Time (CDT/CST)

If you follow us on social media, you know that we are obsessed with stories like this. While hunting down these stories, Wacky Alex discovered this podcast. We liked it right away and the show is now broadcast on FunHouse Radio with permission. We’re airing it multiple times over each weekend.

Each episode is paired with rather extensive shownotes. If you want to see references or learn more, check them out.

Expense Report


There are a lot of expenses to cover in bringing this radio channel to the world. Here is a list of them. With your support we can keep FHR running and even make improvements.

WordPress Hosting
The yearly bill for web hosting service has arrived. It covers the website and our content management system. This does not cover the audio and streaming server. That’s another topic entirely. Do you think you could chip in a few bucks to help pay this bill?

LIVE 365 Streaming Server
We are currently on the lowest cost beginner’s plan. That costs $59 /month. It gives us server space, the live radio-like audio stream, and global licencing with royalties. FYI – This system actually pays the artists much more than Spotify.

By this graph you can see that our Total Listening Hours are going to be used up before the end of the month.

It was the 17th day of the month when we wrote this blog. We were on pace to use all of the allotted Listening Hours for the month. It means that we are in demand. That’s great, but it also means we need to upgrade our server package. That’s not cheep.

The server plan that we hope to upgrade to someday is for 3500 listening hours, No Ads, and Higher Quality Audio. It’s $134 /month. Imagine if we could get enough subscribers to cover that modest cost. It would be awesome!

HELP!

Computer Upgrades
Wacky Alex needs newer computers. One of the studio machines gave up this year. We save money and help the environment by using refurbished machines that cost in the ballpark of $100-$300 a piece. Not too bad right? Here is a machine we found on Amazon.

Audio Gear
FHR needs a new field recorder and a new turntable. Here are some examples.

Music & Skit Library
In addition to paying royalties, we have to purchase any music that was not given to us as a gift, or lent for promotional reasons. Most of what you hear comes from CDs, LPs, and even cassettes that were purchased (mostly used) and exist now in our collection. Sometimes we have to purchase mp3 downloads instead.

IFTTT Applets
We currently have a free account there. It would be great to get a pro account.

Internet Connection
At the moment our internet connection is just a basic residential package with a low monthly rate. Eventually FHR will be forced to upgrade and that increases the cost considerably.

PO Box
It’s $4.50 .month for a Post Office Box, and we need one.


There are a lot of expenses to running an online radio channel. This effort depends on donations from our listeners. We can’t do it without you!

Now you can donate with BuyMeACoffee. You can also get a membership though them. If you prefer, we do still accept PayPal.

It’s Been Nearly 40 Years Since The Shmenge Brothers Retired From Polka Music

The Last Polka is a mockumentary film. It was written by and starred John Candy and Eugene Levy. It was produced for and first broadcast on the HBO cable TV network in 1985. A limited number of VHS copies were produced as well.

In a similar fashion to VH1 Behind The Music, The Last Polka follows the life, careers, and then the final concert of Yosh and Stan Shmenge, brothers from the fictional country of Leutonia. Somehow they become the biggest polka duo in the world at the time.

One scene has The Shmenges performing an outdoor stadium Michael Jackson salute concert, complete with glitter outfits, sequin glove, and a polka version of “Beat It”.

The Shmenges were originally created as characters for the television series Second City TVSCTV performers including Rick Moranis, Catherine O’Hara, and Robin Duke appear in the film.

Superheroes Start Wearing Safety Helmets – Shocking Announcements From DC Comics & Marvel Entertainment

In a four-page joint press release published this morning, DC Comics and Marvel Entertainment have pledged to portray their superhero characters with safety helmets on their heads. The reasoning is due to child safety concerns.

“We recognize the tremendous responsibility placed upon us to keep our young fans safe. In order to set a good example for young media consumers, from this point forward, all of our heroic characters will be seen wearing safety helmets of some kind. This includes our top-shelf properties such as Superman, Wonder Woman, Wolverine, Spiderman, and The Hulk”

So reads the press release. It goes on to say,

“We understand that children may model their behavior after what they see in comics and in the movies.”

That is quite a public admission considering all of the litigation that has occurred in the past. As recently as July 2021 a parent successfully sued for damages in a Minnesota court after a child sustained a traumatic brain injury while imitating the action from one of the many Batman films.

Fans were immediately outraged by the news and took to social media to air their discontent. On the other hand the move was immediately applauded by the Children’s Helmet Initiative, a grass roots organization dedicated to preventing brain injury.

There are a lot of questions about the thinking behind this change and about the plans for the films that are currently in production such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is set to release on November 11th.

We reached out to both corporations but have not received any replies as of the time this went to press.

Hero illustration by Sketch Iwerks

* This is satire. Don’t freak out.
** Re-share this on you social media! Get in on the joke!

Top 10 Most Iconic Songs About The Radio – The Best of All Media Formats

DJs on the radio are obsessed with music. Musicians sometimes write songs about the radio. Picture a Venn diagram. If you are obsessed with both the radio and music then this list is for you. I asked legendary radio pro Bart Shore to help us compile this list. I think we nailed it.

NUMBER TEN
“Transmission” by Joy Division

NUMBER NINE
“Radio Radio” by Elvis Costello & The Attractions

NUMBER EIGHT
“The Spirit of Radio” by Rush

NUMBER SEVEN
“Radio GaGa” by Queen

NUMBER SIX
“Video Killed The Radio Star” by The Buggles

NUMBER FIVE
“I Can’t Live Without My Radio” by LL Cool J

NUMBER FOUR
“Mexican Radio” by Wall of Woodoo

NUMBER THREE
“On The Radio” by Donna Summer

NUMBER TWO
“Don’t Listen To The Radio” by The Vines

HONORABLE MENTIONS
“Satellite Radio” by Steve Earle
“Devil’s Radio” by George Harrison
“There Ain’t No Tits on The Radio” by Scissor Sisters
“You Turn Me On I’m A Radio” by Joni Mitchell
“Turn Up The Radio” by Autograph
“On The Radio” by The Selector

NUMBER ONE
“Wolfman Jack” by Todd Rundgrend

Trade ad for Wolfman’s radio show.  circa 1975

For this one, we have Bart Shore presenting from Time Warp Radio.


Wolfman Jack is considered to be the most iconic Radio DJ ever at this point. His name is synonymous with radio fame and that’s why a song about him made the top of our list. Todd Rundgrend was a great song writer. This track have been a little overlooked.

courtesy of discogs

This has gotten paradoxically meta. Is this Inception? Are we in the movie Inception right now?

-Wacky Alex & Bart Shore

Ten Songs About Chickens (Arranged In Pecking Order)

I asked Carrot Topp from Radioactive Chicken Heads if he wanted to help create this blog. He is certainly an expert in Chicken Music. Between the two of us, we found ten good to great songs and arranged them in our preferred order of greatness.


NUMBER TEN
“The Song Of The One Legged Chicken” by Tom T Hall



NUMBER NINE
“Chicken Walk” by Hasil Adkins



NUMBER EIGHT
“Chicken” by The Cramps



NUMBER SEVEN
“Know Your Chicken” by Chibo Mato



NUMBER SIX
“Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens” by Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five



NUMBER FIVE
“Magic Chicken!” by The Aquabats!



NUMBER FOUR
“The Chicken In Black” by Johnny Cash



NUMBER THREE
“Chick Chick” by Wang Rong Rollin



NUMBER TWO
“The Funky Chicken” by Rufus Thomas



HONORABLE MENTIONS
“Chicken Squawk” by MDC
Super Chicken Theme Song
“Chicken Fat” by Robert Preston
“Teenage Mutant Kung Fu Chickens” by Ray Stevens
“Chicken Strut” by The Meters
“Run Chicken Run” by Link Wray


NUMBER ONE
“Psycho-Chicken” by The Fools

Here is the video, but it has a lot of hiss from the VHS tape.



BONUS TRACK
“Cluck At The Moon (I Was A Teenage Werechicken)” by Radioactive Chicken Heads

Don’t get your feathers in a bunch if these songs were not in the order you would put them in. Cluck about it in the comments instead.

-Wacky Alex /w Carrot Topp

Ten Songs About Robots Just For You Meat-bags

This list is a result of both serious research and personal taste. Your personal top ten may be different. Let us know in the comments! In evaluating the songs we did consider the chart positions but this was not the sole criteria by any means.

Does the song have staying power? Has it become legendary? Was it groundbreaking in it’s time? These are the types of questions considered in creating the list. Also, we did not want to include the same artist twice, so one does pop up again in the honorable mentions.


NUMBER TEN
“The Robot Song” by Yo Gabba Gabba (Spanish version)



NUMBER NINE
“Monkey Vs. Robot” by James Kochalka Superstar



NUMBER EIGHT
“Robot Boy” by Robyn



NUMBER SEVEN
“Robots on Parade” by They Might Be Giants



NUMBER SIX
“Transformers Opening Theme” (1980s original)



NUMBER FIVE
“Robot Rock” by Daft Punk



NUMBER FOUR
“Robots” by Flight of The Conchords



NUMBER THREE
“Mechanical Man” by Devo



NUMBER TWO
“The Robots” by Kraftwerk


HONORABLE MENTIONS
“The Girl And The Robot” by Röyksopp ft. Robyn
“Ya Robot” – Yury Chemnavsky
“Theme From Robot Hamster” – Parry Gripp



NUMBER ONE
“Mr Roboto” by Styx

Thanks for checking out our list of robot songs. We hope you enjoyed reviewing it as much as we did creating it.

-Wacky Alex & Robot Don

Illustration on the top of this page by BenMonster (benmonster.tv)