It’s kind of crazy to hear this take in 2023. New-Jack-Swing beats were on EVERYTHING in 1992, the year this one dropped. At least is slowed down a bit so as to be more tolerable.
The melody is all Sting. He naturally received a writing credit on this track. It’s not quite a parody and not quite a cover. Le’ts call it a reinterpretation. It charted in several countries reaching #30 in the USA and #5 in New Zealand.
For your reference, here is the original version by Sting.
Here we have a goofy mash-up/parody of “Tom’s Diner” with the I Dream of Jeanie TV Show Theme.
The DNA remix, rather than the original, became a big hit in 1990. Remixes were relatively new as a concept in pop music at the time. They sometimes charted along side, or even instead of, the album version.
Reruns of the 1960s classic TV sitcom, I Dream of Jeanie, were airing daily in the USA at the time.
It’s seems that the Jeanie parody actually samples the DNA remix. So in that way this is a mashup. While never officially released as a single but word got around about the parody and It was released on a compilation called Tom’s Album the following year.
The video included here contains scenes from the television series as well the promotional spots for the show that aired on Nickelodeon in the 1990s. It’s not an official video but it seems to have been created by the same guy who first created the mashup.
The role of Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, a beautiful and talented bridge crew-person of African descent was originally played by the iconic Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek. She’s made countless appearances in the franchise as the character.
It’s hard to imagine that Lt Uhura could be portrayed as a Caucasian woman but here we have it. Wrap your heads around it. It also seems that the role of Sulu is depicted as a Black or perhaps South Asian.
In 1975, Peter Pan, a long-time children’s record publisher, created eleven Star Trek stories. These took the form of both 7 and 12 inch vinyl records and often with a read along comic book.
Presumably, a Black voice actor was not hired to play Uhura. Rather than have a White voice actor perform a Black character, they simply depicted the character as White instead. The ethnicity of the voice actor playing Sulu, however, is unclear. None of the original TV series actors did voices for these recordings. With these unexpected changes, it get’s a bit uncanny. You might think we’ve been zapped over to an alternate universe.
The story on the actual record is charming or course. We won’t spoil it for you.
If you liked this episode, check out the CHDanhauser YouTube Channel . They uploaded several of these about two years ago. I’ve checked out a few and they are all pretty good. I can only assume that none of these are considered official cannon.
But who is FREAKING OUT about this? Well nobody. That was just a click-bait headline. Nobody should be freaked out by this.
Today is National Opposite Day and this might be the perfect song for the Occasion. We think this live version from 1997 is best but Kit And Kaboodle recorded it again for a studio album.
In English, negation works like multiplication. Two negatives equal a positive. Three equals a negative again. This song is about “nothing but not”. Count the negations. Are they really singing about nothing? What is NOT nothing? Is that automatically something?
Also it is important to remember that an argument is not just contradiction. Or is it?
What the hell is going on here? It’s 1992. Howard Stern is bald and looks like he’s dressed for Rocky Horror. Corey Feldman is trying to be Bobby Brown? Drugs and Gangs and a positive message? Really? Dude is wearing silk and busting a few moves that his weird friend Michael Jackson must have coaxed out of him.
HOLY SHIT THIS IS CRINGE
Look. I am glad there is no footage of ME trying to be cool in 1992. If anything from that year were to surface, I would go into exile and get plastic surgery.
But anyway, what is New Jack Swing? Wikipedia says:” New jack swing is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was most popular from the late-1980s to early-1990s. Its influence, along with hip hop, seeped into pop culture.” So yeah.
Here is the style he is trying to copy, in my opinion. It may not be your cup of tea but it’s a far better effort.
It’s January. Have you backed up your data lately? It’s probably time. We are doing it here at FunHouse Radio. Don’t wait. You will thank us later.
Our parody song here, in my opinion is better than the original. Let this be your inspiration and don’t half-ass it.
I am still trying to confirm all the details but this is what I believe to be true at the moment.
Sometime back in the year 2000, I was 25 years old and very much enjoyed going to nightclubs. I had previously visited the now legendary nightclub in Hamtramck Michigan called The Motor and I liked the place.
I don’t remember why I decided to go there again that particular night. I think I was just bored of the other places that I frequented at the time. I went alone.
When I got there, it looked like a party was wrapping up. The song was on the speakers. I had never heard it before. I didn’t know anything about Detroit Grand Pubahs.
There was a table with a large club-sub sandwich. Most of it had been eaten. I’m talking about the kind you might get at a work lunch. Something like this photo.
I had no idea what was going on exactly. It was not until much later when I encountered the song online that I pieced together that I might have inadvertently attended its release party!
The song ended up on the dance music charts in both the US and UK. Then they made the goofy video you see at the top of this blog.
The track makes use of a pitch-shift effect on the vocals that produces a chipmunk-like voice. For that reason alone it made it to rotation here at FunHouse Radio.
Who decided that a Snowman should have arms? Why a nose? Is he going to smell something? Why a mouth? Is he going to sing to us? I personally don’t see why a snowman should go without a penis. It’s just another body part.
Some snow-people might have a preference for one gender or the other. We shouldn’t give them a hard time just because they are a little different. I am kind of mad that I didn’t think of this when I was a kid. I could have got a lot of the neighborhood kids to laugh.
FunHouse Radio 