Tag Archives: New Wave

“Spooky” by Classics IV – Halloween Classic – COVERED by Dusty Springfield, Martha Reeves, Daniel Ash and More!

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“Spooky” was originally an instrumental tune by saxophonist Mike Sharpe. It charted as an instrumental in 1967 hitting No. 57 in the US. One year later vocals were added by Dennis Yost and the song was re-released as by Classics IV. That’s the version featured above. This version went on to hit No. 3 in the USA and 46 in the UK.

7 inch single cover art, France version

Shortly after, Dusty Springfield released her version, with genders flipped. This version is my favorite but does not lend itself to the Halloween season quite as well.

Eleven years later, a band called The Atlanta Rhythm Section recorded a nice 70s pop-rock version. Man the bass playing on this kicks ass.

Martha Reeves went on to recreate the song in the first person. This time it’s a Spooky Old Lady and she specifically mentions Halloween. It appeared on her 1986 album In the Midnight Hour.

Daniel Ash, best known for he work with goth-rockers Bauhaus and the new wave Love And Rockets released his take in 2006.

It got the Latin Jazz treatment earlier this year by the Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band on the 2023 CD, Vox Humana featuring Janis Siegel on vocals.

And if you are curious about how the original 1966 instrumental sounded, here it is!

That’s a lot of versions. There are probably dozens of others. If you know of one that we missed, let us know in the comments!

The Beatles vs Kraftwerk – Which Band is Most Influential?

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As a GenXer with extensive knowledge about popular music, I find it difficult to resolve this question. The question is, who has had more influence on music and music culture?

This short video piece by DW proudly claims that the answer is Kraftwerk. It’s fun to watch because they didn’t get the same respect in Germany that they first got in places like Detroit, New York and Sao Paulo until many decades later.

I am not sure I can agree with the video or not. I would love to find out what our readers think. Please, by all means, leave a comment below!

“Star Trekkin'” by The Firm – From Self-Published Single to International Chart Topper – Goofy Video With Puppets and Stop Frame Animation

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Back in 1987, The Star Trek franchise had established a strong cult following after a string of successful motion pictures and decades of reruns of the original series on TV. Public enthusiasm was so strong that the now ubiquitous reboot, Star Trek: The Next Generation. began in the Fall.

But this song is not about TNG. A British novelty music act called The Firm created “this song”Star Trekkin'” with lyrics based on catch phrases and dialog from Star Trek: The Original Series which originally aired in the 1960s.

They tried to get the track published on a major label but they all declined. So the band decided self-published single on 7 in 45 RPM. The original run was just 500 copies. These original pressings are highly collectible today.

The song caught on, but not in North America, It hit number one in The UK and charted in Australia, Japan and parts of Europe. The group subsequently included the song on their first album.

The music video is weird and goofy. It utilized crude puppetry and stop frame animation. It’s so bad that it’s good. It kind of reminds me of Robot Chicken. The original print is believed to be lost today. YouTube has a a few attempts at recovery. The best one I could find is included at the top

Back in North America, “Star Trekkin'” was released on Dr. Demento Presents the Greatest Novelty CD of All Time in 1988, Dr. Demento: 20th Anniversary Collection in 1991, and Dr. Demento: Hits from Outer Space in 2006.

I had a very cool and strange roommate my sophomore year in college. He was lucky enough to own one of the compilations. I had never heard the syndicated radio show, but I had seen music video specials, so I was aware of the good doctor. This was not quite the beginning of my love affair with novelty records but Dr D has obviously been a huge influence on me and this radio channel.

Of course we also love Star Trek around here too.

“I Want Candy” by Bow Wow Wow, The Strangeloves, Kidz Bop & Many Others – Now A Halloween Classic – Add It to Your Playlist

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“This song certainly did not begin it’s life intended for Halloween. The lyrics even mention summertime. Nevertheless, the obvious connection between Halloween and candy has made the song slowly find its way into Halloween mixes. It is now considered a standard include by DJs worldwide. We probably need more songs about candy.

Most of our readers will remember the New Wave version that came out in 1982. The band was called Bow Wow Wow. The single hit No 9 in the UK and 22 in the USA.

12 inch single cover courtesy of discogs

The song was originally written from the male perspective. The narrator is talking about a woman named Candy. In the Bow Wow Wow version, Candy is now a male but it feels like it’s secretly woman to woman in this listener’s mind. The subtle lesbian-code did not register with the mainstream audience at the time.

But of course the story does not end there. The song was first made famous in 1965 by The Strangeloves. The band used a type of syncopation called The Bo Diddly Beat on the track. Some footage has unearthed of the band performing on TV. It is thought to be from a show called Shindig. Tony Basil might be one of the dancers in this video, though that has not been verified. See if you can spot her.

Since then a number of other artists have performed or recorded this song. A British group called Candy Girls charted with the song in 1996. Aaron Carter performed the vocal modulation for auto-tune back in 2000. I won’t ask you to listen to Charlie XCX murder the tune live but you can find that on YouTube.

You know you’ve made it as an artist if your song gets covered by The Kidz Bop franchise. Looks like The Strangeloves and Bow Wow Wow have really hit the big time now. The Kidz Bop version appears on the 2012 release Halloween Hits.

Don’t forget to tune in to FunHouse Radio for more Halloween Fun!

“Jocko Homo” by Devo

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It’s hard to call a song by Devo a favorite because I have like 20 of them. This one is from the very early times of the band. The music video is delightful. The sounds and music are weird. This track and many other classics can be found on the album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!.

Pretty cool animated gif right?

“Major Tom (Coming Home)” by William Shatner

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The unofficial “part two” of The Major Tom Saga, this song was written and first made popular by Peter Shilling in 1983. You may have heard the 2009 version by Shiny Toy Guns. Shatner released this version in 2011 as part of his Seaking Major Tom album, which also features of cover of the original “Space Oddity”, by David Bowie.

Since then Bill Shatner has actually taken a rocket to space and then returned to the planet surface safely. Of all the artists to cover this song, Shatner is the only one to actually live it out both on screen and in real life. Bill IS Major Tom.

The photo above is a still frame from Star Trek The Original Series.

-Wacky Alex

“Quiche Lorraine” by The B-52s Live at The Capitol Theater Passaic New Jersey 1980

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Here we have the ever-present B52s in their prime. The entire concert was captured on what appeared to be Black and White 16mm film. Hardcore fans have already seen this. The typical fan may not have. I can’t think of better way to celebrate National Quiche Lorraine Day, which is today!

The song appeared on their second major label release, Wild Planet.

I got a chance to see them a few years ago. They had a kick ass back up band. The three remaining members Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson held down the vocals like they were still in their 30s. It was like a celebration.

Sadly they are on their farewell tour now. If you get a chance to see them this year, take it.

-Wacky Alex