Another Saturday, another Caturday. Here we have a lovely jazz-pop rendition of a gothic new wave hit for The Cure. I love this version by Melody Mendis and we play it all the time on FunHouse Radio.
The album that this song was released on is called Love & Madness. It features a number of great cover versions and is worth checking out. -WA
Do you have a steady job? Are you sure? Aren’t we all temps? Aren’t we all disposable? This writer has worked so many different jobs in his adult life that it’s not even funny. It sucked most of the time.
Insane Ian captures this rage. It cuts both ways. Sure it’s a parody. It’s Comedy. It’s also harsh reality. I’m going to have to rejoin the workforce despite having a number of disabilities and off course it’s hard out there for a temp.
This track is off his recent album, Illinoise, available on BandCamp.
-Wacky Alex
Is this another example of Mandela Effect? When I was a kid, nobody ever referred to this group as Fat Boys. It was always The Fat Boys. What Gives?
But seriously, today is National Eat What You Want Day and I can’t think of a better FunHouse Radio track to share than this one.
The song was recorded for use in the movie Krush Groove. The entire music video appeared within the movie. The film tells a fictional story based on the early days of Def Jam Records. It is now considered a Hip-Hop culture classic.
Of course the movie was accompanied by a soundtrack compilation album. My best friend had the LP and I was lucky enough to be allowed to make a cassette tape copy on his dad’s stereo. Hooray!
There was some great stuff on there. “Radio” by LL Cool J and “King Of Rock” by Run D.M.C. were the TOP JAMS back in the day. “Tender Love” by (The) Force MDs was soon played at every high school dance in urban America. “She’s On It” by (The) Beastie Boys seemed like a bonus track cut from the smash hit Licensed to Ill album. Plus you got Chaka Khan, Sheila E, Debbie Harry and (The) Gap Band. Kurtis Blow produced much of the music. It’s a lot.
-Wacky Alex
It’s hard to write about this one because the lyrics say it all. Let’s face it. Well meaning people around the world are currently being manipulated by lunatics.
The phrase is thought to originate in a 1919 remark by Richard A. Rowland about the founding of United Artists. It may have been an allusion to Edgar Allan Poe’s The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether, published in 1845.
I found the music video for the 1981 version by Fun Boy Three. The video is passable but the audio sounds low-fi and mono. It appears that it was recovered from a vhs tape of a live broadcast. This is all the record label seems to have at the moment. Perhaps the original film has been lost.
We play the 1981 version, but the song has been recorded many times. The 2019 version by The Specials is much more true to the rock-steady ska style and has flashy modern production. I almost want to reverse engineer the EQ curve and apply it to the original track.
Take a moment to do The Ska today, Rudy. It feels good.
-Wacky Alex
Today is National Space Day! We celebrate it on the first Friday in May. Ponder the mysteries of the universe with us for the rest of the day on our live stream.
A Canadian Progressive Rock band called Klaatu first recorded this rather bizarre soft-art-rock number back in 1976. The band got it’s name from the alien visitor character in the classic science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still.
“The idea for this track was suggested by an actual event that is described in The Flying Saucer Reader, a book by Jay David published in 1967. In March 1953 an organization known as the “International Flying Saucer Bureau” sent a bulletin to all its members urging them to participate in an experiment termed ‘World Contact Day‘ whereby, at a predetermined date and time, they would attempt to collectively send out a telepathic message to visitors from outer space. The message began with the words…’Calling occupants of interplanetary craft!'” (John Woloschuk, member of Klaatu)
Klaatu’s version was released as a 7 inch single and then included in their album E.S.P. This radio station would love to get first pressings of these. It’s on the “grail list”.
The version by The Carpenters was recorded in 1977. The session crew consisted of 160 musicians. The track charted in both the US & Canada. The full length version clocks in at over 7:00 minutes. That’s amazingly long for a charting single.
Today is Cinco De Mayo. Despite being Mexican in origin, the occasion is celebrated mostly in the United States. It’s become something like a Mexican St Patrick’s day. Just like St Patrick’s Day, you get to drink alcohol while trying on someone else’s culture; or perhaps celebrating your own.
In the nation of Mexico the yearly occurrence is hardly an occasion to celebrate. To them it’s about as exciting as Founder’s Day is to Americans. Have you even heard of Founder’s Day? It’s on November 28.
So in a way, the holiday itself has been “framed”. Enjoy the track!
Can you think of other occasions on our calendar that are excuses to drink and play ethnic?
-Wacky Alex
Attention über-dorks! It’s finally here! Every May 4th, we celebrate Star Wars Day. May The FORTH be with you!
The day has been observed unofficially since the 80s, but in 2011, a group of fans in Toronto held the first organized event. The event included an Original Trilogy Trivia Game Show, a costume contest, fan- films, mash-ups, parodies, and remixes. In 2012, Disney purchased Lucasfilm and now the holiday is celebrated at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
Bad Lip Reading is an anonymous music and video producer who intentionally lip-reads video clips poorly for laughs. They then go on to produce music to go with the nonsensical lip-reads.
There are endless musical production that touch on Star Wars. Maybe I should do a top 10 list. As it stands this would be the number one track on that list.
Remember, There is no “try”. Do or do not.
-Wacky Alex
PS: The image used at the top of this page is a still from Rogue One.
This song is great for meditation. It also has the feeling of being out in nature. There are no vocals outside of a few animal call sounds. This track is essentially instrumental. There is a lot of stereo movement. It will help you clear your mind for a few moments. Or maybe you’ll just giggle a bit. IDK.
Oddly enough, today is National Garden Meditation Day. If you like that Blue Buddha in the image above, it is available for purchase.
-Wacky Alex
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