Tag Archives: novelty

“Take The Skinheads Bowling” by Camper Van Beethoven

Posted on by
Reply

U.S. Bowling League Day is recognized every year on September 3rd. Why not celebrate this grand occasion by actually going to a bowling alley? Take it up a notch and shave your heads before you head out.

Bowling is a lot of fun and it is healthy exercise. Pop this track in the car stereo on your way to the bowling alley to really get in the mood.

“Take The Skinheads Bowling” by Camper Van Beethoven was released both as a single and on the album Telephone Free Landslide Victory in 1985. It enjoyed significant airplay in the UK and was featured on the Dr Demento Show here in the USA.

The song was written by band member David Lowery. In his blog he writes,

“The Skinheads Bowling as just a weird nonsensical song. The lyrics were purposely structured so that it would be devoid of meaning. Each subsequent line would undermine any sort of meaning established by the last line. It was the early 80′s and all our peers were writing songs that were full of meaning. It was our way of rebelling.”

Patrick Stewart & Yule Brynner

We found lyrics on genius.com, but cannot verify that they are 100% correct.

[Verse 1]
Every day, I get up and pray to Jah
And he increases the number of clocks by exactly one
Everybody’s comin’ home for lunch these days
Last night there were skinheads on my lawn

[Chorus]
Take the skinheads bowling
Take them bowling
Take the skinheads bowling
Take them bowling

[Verse 2]
Some people say that bowling alleys got big lanes
(Got big lanes, got big lanes)
Some people say that bowling alleys all look the same
(Look the same, look the same)
There’s not a line that goes here that rhymes with anything
(Anything, anything)
Had a dream last night but I forget what it was
(What it was, what it was)

[Chorus]
Take the skinheads bowling
Take them bowling
Take the skinheads bowling
Take them bowling

[Verse 3]
Had a dream last night about you, my friend
Had a dream–I wanted to sleep next to plastic
Had a dream–I wanted to lick your knees
Had a dream–it was about nothing

[Chorus/Outro]
Take the skinheads bowling
Take them bowling
Take the skinheads bowling
Take them bowling
Take the skinheads bowling
Take them bowling
Take the skinheads bowling
Take them bowling

Before I end this blog, I wanted to remember a cool drone video that was shot at a bowling alley in Minneapolis. The place is called Bryant Lake Bow and I’ve had great times there back in the 2000s.

Get out there and go bowling folks! It’s a great time!

“Addicted To Spuds” by Weird Al Yankovic – LIVE on MTV’s New Year’s Eve Party 1987 – A Parody of “Addicted To Love” by Robert Palmer

Posted on by
Reply

First off let me just say that today is National Potato Day. Personally I love potatoes. I like them prepared any which way. If it has potato in it, I’ll eat it. I’ll probably like it too. When I was a kid my Grandma made me the best potato pancakes on earth.

Yes I love the tuber but I am not ready to admit it. I am NOT “Addicted to Spuds”.

This track first appeared on Weird Al’s 1986 release, Polka Party. There is no official music video for it but Al did perform the song live many times. His 1980s performances featured a back up band of giant Mr Potato Heads.

There are a few instances of this on YouTube. All of them are low quality recordings. The audio on this is terrible but the performance is keen. Luckily someone found this on a VHS tape and uploaded it.

Top 10 Most Iconic Songs About The Radio – The Best of All Media Formats

Posted on by
Reply

DJs on the radio are obsessed with music. Musicians sometimes write songs about the radio. Picture a Venn diagram. If you are obsessed with both the radio and music then this list is for you. I asked legendary radio pro Bart Shore to help us compile this list. I think we nailed it.

NUMBER TEN
“Transmission” by Joy Division

NUMBER NINE
“Radio Radio” by Elvis Costello & The Attractions

NUMBER EIGHT
“The Spirit of Radio” by Rush

NUMBER SEVEN
“Radio GaGa” by Queen

NUMBER SIX
“Video Killed The Radio Star” by The Buggles

NUMBER FIVE
“I Can’t Live Without My Radio” by LL Cool J

NUMBER FOUR
“Mexican Radio” by Wall of Woodoo

NUMBER THREE
“On The Radio” by Donna Summer

NUMBER TWO
“Don’t Listen To The Radio” by The Vines

HONORABLE MENTIONS
“Satellite Radio” by Steve Earle
“Devil’s Radio” by George Harrison
“There Ain’t No Tits on The Radio” by Scissor Sisters
“You Turn Me On I’m A Radio” by Joni Mitchell
“Turn Up The Radio” by Autograph
“On The Radio” by The Selector

NUMBER ONE
“Wolfman Jack” by Todd Rundgrend

Trade ad for Wolfman’s radio show.  circa 1975

For this one, we have Bart Shore presenting from Time Warp Radio.


Wolfman Jack is considered to be the most iconic Radio DJ ever at this point. His name is synonymous with radio fame and that’s why a song about him made the top of our list. Todd Rundgrend was a great song writer. This track have been a little overlooked.

courtesy of discogs

This has gotten paradoxically meta. Is this Inception? Are we in the movie Inception right now?

-Wacky Alex & Bart Shore

“Big Lizard” by The Dead Milkmen

Posted on by
Reply

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.

NSFW – “Vibrator” by Vanity and Prince – Unreleased 1983 Demo

Posted on by
Reply


The song was written by Prince for Vanity 6 back in 1983. It was intended to appear on the second Vanity 6 album timed to release around the same time as the movie Purple Rain.

Vanity (the singer) and Prince ended their romantic relationship around this time. She was also unhappy with her royalties and pay. So she decided to leave the group and not to participate in the Purple Rain movie. The album and the song were shelved and never officially released.

The rather long track is a tribute to a battery-powered sex toy. The narrator (Vanity) reaches for her vibrator. When the batteries run out, she goes to a store and encounters a clerk, who offers to “carry it downstairs” and install new batteries. The narrator then takes the device to a different store, where she meets a cashier (Prince in his Jamie Starr accent). The cashier gives her the batteries and sends her out of the door.

The song concludes with the narrator achieving orgasm. Nice. I can only imagine what Tipper Gore would have said.

This demo leaked long ago. So far every example that I have found includes the sound of cassette tape hiss. They are from a cassette with a rough mix demo that Prince handed out in limited number. The example that appears on soundcloud is someone’s remaster of the track.

It is unclear if Prince’s Estate will release this song in the future. Vanity sadly passed away in 2016, the same year Prince died.

source: PrinceVault

CD Collecting : Recited, Sung & Shouted by Shel Silverstein

Posted on by
Reply

I am thrilled to have these two CDs in my hands. I found them on amazon but they came used from the goodwill. Both are in great condition. Great is that space between good and excellent.

As a kid I had both Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic in book form. I read the poems over and over to myself, friends, and family. These books helped me understand humor in a way that no other children’s book could.

I find them to be priceless and I recommend them to any child ages 6 to 12. When I was that age, it seemed like every kid wanted a copy of Where the Sidewalk Ends.

Adults will enjoy reading the poems to their kids too. Here is a favorite of mine called “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out”. Let’s listen to the man himself.

I challenge everyone on the internet to record themselves reciting a poem from one of these two books. Upload it to YouTube. Let’s start an online challenge that does not cause bodily harm but instead feeds the soul.

NSFW – “Galactic Mermaid” by Sho Hikino

Posted on by
Reply

PURE PROFANITY. This song probably breaks the record for the most swear words ever to be intentionally included in the lyrics. It’s so bad that I can not play it on the live radio stream. It’s impossible to bleep this track.

A listener suggested that we add the original version by The Mermaid Sisters. I was rather shocked when I first heard it. Today I discovered this cover version by Sho Hikino that includes the lyrics. His singing style vaguely reminds me of this band from the 70s/80s called Manhattan Transfer. Great Job!