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
Imagine that it’s the 90s and you’ve just arrived home. The first thing you do is press PLAY on your answering machine. Then you find out that your son is currently in jail. Not only that but he’s gone nuts. He claims to love it there.
Was (Not Was) wrote a song about it. The track features a mix of acoustic and electronic instruments. I would classify it as experimental jazz. It’s weird as hell and certainly not a traditional pop song. “Dad, I’m in Jail” was the final track on their 1988 album What Up, Dog?.
courtesy of RYM
I got my first CD player in 1989 or 1990. I quickly joined both Columbia House and BMG music services. I got What Up, Dog? on CD from one of those two. I checked to see if I still have it in my collection and sadly I do not.
The video here is not the official video for the song. The band itself never made one. This is actually an animation piece made for MTV’s Liquid Television. It first aired on October 1, 1992, part of season two.
At the time animation was not as ubiquitous as it is today. The technology to create animation was nothing like what we have now. Liquid Television was one of the only places that a casual viewer could see animated works of art. It also is where future popular shows like Beavis and Butthead were first tested out on an audience.
This upload looks like a VHS recording from live TV. As a result it is in mono and does not sound very good, so for your reference, I found a better sounding recording of the track here.
The Peppers are releasing their second album this year with returning guitarist John Frusciante. Beavis & Butthead are back with a recent movie and new episodes on Paramount Plus. Both of these GenX favorites are hot again. I love it!
Fans will remember that the movie Beavis & Butthead Do America features a song performed The Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was 1996 and Dave Navarro was the lead guitarist in the band.
In the film, the boys find themselves at a Las Vegas casino dancing to the music of a cover band. The band is dressed in look-alike blue suits. They look nothing like Red Hot Chili Peppers.
It cracks me up that The Peppers played a cover band in the movie. They could have just covered any RHCP hit but it’s a lot funnier having the band play a cover as a cover band. RHCP also made an animated video for it, but it’s just not as entertaining as the scene from the movie.
Decades before Beavis and Butthead were seen dancing to this song as performed by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1996, it first made famous by The Ohio Players in the 1970s. Here is footage of them playing live-to-tape on Midnight Special as introduced by Wolfman Jack.
The RHCP version was released in North America and Spain as a CD single that also functioned as a promo for FM radio. It included three mixes of the song. Today it’s a collector’s item.
courtesy of discogs
The song was released as a single on cassette as well as CD in the UK. The UK release was different than the North American one. The UK version featured only one mix of the song but also included Engleberth Humerdinck’s version of “Lesbian Seagull”.
Believe it or not, “Lesbian Seagull” was not written for the movie. The song was first released in 1979 by an obscure folk singer called Tom Wilson on his album Gay Name Game. That makes it a cover version also.
courtesy of discogs
If you want to jam out to the album version, here you go!
This is basically the title track to an amazing album Big Lizard in My Backyard. Of course it contains their big hit “Bitchin’ Camero”. I also love “Swordfish”, “Right Wing Pigeons”, & “Nutrition”. It’s a blast to just listen to the album straight through.
The story behind the song reminds me of Little Shop of Horrors. Rather than a plant that grows too large and gets out of control, it’s a big lizard.
Back in the early 90s my best friend had the album on cassette. I have it on CD now but I would love to find the LP in good condition.
I got to see The Dead Milkmen perform at the Phoenix Amphitheater in Pontiac. They were great and lived up to their zany reputation.
courtesy of discogs
The image above is of the cassette release. It’s sideways or “landscape” rather than the typical “portrait” orientation.
Created by Bill McClintock, here we have a strange combination of musical styles that never quite mesh. Party-pop vs a thrasher. It’s entertaining to say the least. And there is a lot more where that came from.
I did embed a video on this blog, but I recommend skipping the videos, and go directly to his audio page. The sound quality is better and you can download the audio. You’ll find quite a few gems in there.
Hooray!! It’s National Falafel Day! Nearly every Turkish restaurant (outside of Türkiye) offers this delicious fried chic-pea dish. Conversely, people living in Türkiye do not frequently consume the dish. It’s not really a Turkish food. Unlike in The Middle East, Falafel is not served as street food in The Republic.
The City of Istanbul was once called Constantinople. Türkiye was formerly known as Turkey. Now it’s Türkiye not Turkey. Why did Turkey get the works?
The version by They Might Be Giants appeared on the album Flood which was released in 1990. It also appeared in an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures.
The song was first made famous in 1953 by The Four Lads.
The most recognizable landmark in The City of Istanbul would be the Haga Sofia. Below is a photo I found from “7 Interesting Facts About Haga Sofia“. First it was a Church then a Mosque. Then it became a Museum and then a Mosque again. They switch things up a lot.
Hagia Sophia domes and minarets in the old town of Istanbul, Turkey, on sunset
What food do you eat that has been wrongly lumped in with a certain culture’s cuisine? Tell us about it in the comments.
Celebrate National Cheese Day with this classic cartoon and song from Pinky & The Brain. Pinky points out that there are so many different kinds of cheeses in the world that it’s actually quite bizarre.
The song itself is sung to the tune of “Semper Fidelis”, the official march of the United States Marine Corps.
Do you hanker for a hunk of cheese? What are your favorites? Let us know in the comments.
FunHouse Radio 