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.
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.
This is pretty much the best we can do as a nation when it comes to writing songs for our weird Thanksgiving holiday. For some reason we just don’t have that many.
Sandler recorded this again and released it on an album but the original 1992 performance on SNL is the one everyone remembers the fondest.
Today is Micky Mouse’s Birthday. He turns 94. We’ve got a crazy tune here to celebrate. It’s ironically called “Can’t Botch This”. It’s the only good track on an otherwise cringey kid’s album called Mickey Unrapped, released in 1994 back when he was still in his 60s.
As far as the album goes, they botched it. They really really botched it.
Unlike the rest of the album however, The Disney cartoon gang actually sounds believable performing this song. It cracked me up and I bet you will enjoy it too.
Happy Birthday Mickey!
Today is Halloween and this might be the most appropriate song. Released in 1993, it became an instant classic. It’s not quite as ubiquitous as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” or Bobby Picket’s “Monster Mash” but it fit’s the occasion like a spooky glove.
“Danny Elfman, who has scored many of Tim Burton’s imaginative films (Edward Scissorhands, his two Batman films, etc.), is a perfect musical partner for the somewhat macabre director, and never more so than here, where, Elfman gets to play the main character. The Nightmare Before Christmas is an animated movie musical about the abduction of Christmas by the denizens of Halloween land, and Elfman sings the part of Jack, the Pumpkin King.” (allmusic, edited)
Danny Elfman is the man. He’s having a moment right now having recently performed a career spanning concert.
Today is the first day of Oktoberfest. Eat your heart out, St. Patrick’s Day. For the next two weeks people in North America may pretend to be “German”. I suggest having Rouladen for dinner. Have a Kalter Hund for desert. Try a Schwarzbier. It’s the best!
Get in the mood to celebrate with this track by Werner-Wichtig. It’s is all about pumping out that tasty beer from kegs. Oktoberfest is also a great time to review your German vocabulary. The Lyrics can be found at the bottom of this page so you can sing along. Because it is a drinking song, it makes it even better if you murder the pronunciation.
This track is a parody of “Pump Up The Jam” by Technotronic, which was released in 1989 and hit Number Two on the West German pop charts. The instrumental version was included on the 7 inch single release. That made it really easy to create you own lyrics and sing over it. They probably got permission to use the track but I haven’t been able to find the details on that. It would have been possible to source the backing track from the 7 inch release without much of an issue. 45 RPM produces a superior signal verses 33 RPM. “Pump Ab Das Bier” was also released in 1989.
While the world is busy appropriating German culture this week, maybe we can excuse the apparel worn by the guys in the video. African inspired prints were popular at the time for White people to wear. Even I had a few shirts and hats at the time. We thought we were being cool. In hindsight, it’s cringe worthy. Conversely, Germans often cringe when they see American tourists wear kitchy lederhosen costumes at Oktoberfest celebrations.
Since the song first came out as a single, it’s been included in dozens of compilations. It was also re-released in 1998. I managed to get the original 12 inch vinyl record but it’s not in great condition. It’s a bit odd to me that they used the Statue of Liberty on the cover art, especially since the original song is by a Black Belgian band.
LYRICS (courtesy of LyricFind)
Pump ab das Bier, pump es ab
Trink ihn aus den Humpen, komm lass dich nicht lumpen
Mann, kann ich euch pumpen
Pump ab das Bier, pump es jetzt, pump es hier
Pump ab das Bier, pump es ab, pump es, pump es, pump es
Aua, das schmeckt so gut
So ein Bierchen, das macht Laune und geht ins Blut
Aua, wo bin ich hier?
Sag doch endlich mal dem Wirt Bescheid
Noch en Bier, noch en Bier
Noch en Bier, noch en Bier
Noch en Bier, noch en Bier
Noch en Bier, noch en Bier, noch en
Pump ab das Bier, pump es ab
Trink ihn aus den Humpen, komm lass dich nicht lumpen
Mann, kann ich euch pumpen
Pump ab das Bier, pump es jetzt, pump es hier
Pump ab das Bier, pump es ab, pump es, pump es, pump es
Aua, noch en Korn, noch en Bier und noch en Korn und
Dann von vorn
Aua, wo bin ich hier?
Sag doch endlich mal dem Wirt Bescheid
Noch en Bier, noch en Bier
Noch en Bier, noch en Bier
Noch en Bier, noch en Bier
Noch en Bier, noch en Bier, noch en
Pump ab das Bier, pump es ab, egal ob die Theke zusammenbricht
Heute lassen wir’s uns gut gehen und nach Hause gehen wir nicht
Pump es ab, sei nicht traurig, wenn der Kellner dich vergisst
Dafür wirst du schon seit Tagen von der Ehefrau vermisst
Aua, noch en Korn, noch en Bier und noch en Korn und
Dann von vorn
Aua, wo bin ich hier?
Sag doch endlich mal dem Wirt Bescheid
Noch en
Pump ab das Bier, pump es ab, kriegst du auch die Hucke voll
Irgendwann läuft’s sicher besser, hauen wir uns die Birne voll
Pump es ab, denn heut ist Zahltag, heute schmeißt man uns nicht raus
Ich bestell’ schon mal die Runde, heut gibst du mal einen aus
Aua, das schmeckt so gut
So ein Bierchen, das macht Laune und geht ins Blut
Aua, wo bin ich hier?
Sag doch endlich mal dem Wirt bescheid
Noch en Bier, noch en Bier
Noch en Bier, noch en Bier
Noch en Bier, noch en Bier
Noch en Bier, noch en Bier, noch en Bier
– C. Hüther, F.T. Meyer-Thurn, R. Thielecke, R. Beyer
FunHouse Radio 