What up party people in the house?! I know you know what time it is, but if you don't then you is about to learn, shun! Today may seem like a typical Friday night on the surface, but this Friday is actually coated in an extra special caramel glaze here at CNAMB. And no, I didn't become a woman today or anything like that, instead, it is the first day of October, meaning, it's the first day of Chucktober! Now, what exactly is Chucktober you ask? Well, even if you didn't ask, here is the lowdown: The entire month of October will be celebrated in style, with all - and I mean ALL - content being of the horror variety! I know, crazy right?!
Now, this blog is already like 85% horror to begin with, but we're going all out here for Chucktober. I'm talking about all the dance parties, all the hangovers and all of the reviews will be horror or Halloween related in some capacity throughout this month of madness. I will also continue to share with you all of the fun and/or marginally interesting Halloween happenings that go down here in my real (lame) life. And lastly, there will be a special surprise or two tailor made specifically for this epic event of bearded brutality, and I know how much you love surprises that aren't of the "I'm pregnant" variety!
I know I know, you're excited, but don't waste all your energy just yet as there still be some dancing to do. This is a five Friday month(!), so lets start Chucktober off with nothing less than a simple good time. Tonight's funky track is a homemade Halloween rap that comes to us via German duo, NEtotal. Now, I really don't know much about these guys but, from what I have seen, they are a German comedy-duo that make videos like the one provided. It's always funnier when this shit is not on purpose, but this video still rocks thanks to the great lyrics and the accents that are endlessly entertaining whilst slinging rhymes.
Enjoy, and don't be afraid to check out the ghost of Chucktober past by clicking the link! *LINK*
Hello all you jumpin' and jivin' dance machines! Glad you could make it out tonight to enjoy some fine ass jams at the hottest place in town…Freddy's Friday Night Dance Party! As some of you may know, there is a brand spanking new Nightmare film making it's way into multiplexes. Of course, it is a remake, but it's still a Nightmare film and the character in this Nightmare film goes by the name Krueger – Fred Krueger. Considering this is Freddy's Friday Night Dance Party, the need to acknowledge it is kind of important, whether or not the actor is Mr. Englund.
When I started doing this segment, it was meant to be what it is now, a place where I can post great official music videos from horror/cult movies, awesome musical dance scenes from films that are of my liking, and anything that I may find fun and entertaining. Now, while the name Freddy's Friday Night Dance Party might be a catchy one (or, at least that was what I was hoping!), that catchiness is not the reason for the segments name.
Out of all of the monsters, all of them, Freddy Krueger is my favorite of the bunch. He is the one that I grew up on, and while my favorite horror movie might star his rival, Michael Myers, it is Krueger that holds a massive chunk of my horror loving black heart. While some of the things I love him for are out of youth and nostalgia, he is the monster that represents everything that this segment is. I mean, look at the major amount of content I pulled from the Nightmare films for so many of these dance parties in the beginning! He was the definition of a rock star, or a rap star, or whatever style he so chose to take on.
Freddy's Friday Night Dance Party was inspired by wanting to have a fun open ended place to get down and show some clips that I find worthy of our time and attention. In that same vein, it is in honor of a monster that is the one that I grew up on, the one that produced movies that, while not necessarily all great, are a part of my childhood and what shaped my young horror mind. Freddy's Friday Night Dance Party is in essence, a tribute to Fred Krueger, so whether or not this new Nightmare is going to suck…I am still happy to see Freddy making it back to the celluloid form.
I've been doing this segment almost as long as I've done this blog (which really isn't all that long) and the Nightmare inspired videos I have saved for the Dance Party are almost completely dried up. I am holding on to the few I have for special occasions and the ones I have would be in line with the Nightmare films of old, thus my reason for going with this completely insane non visual audio clip. It's called Freddy Krueger Rap and while it is about the Fred that haunted pre-remake, it is about the monster specifically, which I thought would be most fitting with the new film coming out.
Check it out, son!
There isn't much to learn about this Freddy rap, outside of it being brought to us via some dude named Jiggerbean. Whatever, it's a totally fun little rap and what Mr. Jiggerbaen says about this track on his You Tube page is, by the end of recording it, he was hammered, which is noticeable in the song and makes for a good chuckle. Drunk or not, the lyrics are hysterical and every second of it is pure gold. My favorite line is about Jason and his machete, being chopped up like spaghetti!
Anywho, I hope I didn't bore you with all the useless info I spilled all up on your monitors, but I wanted to explain my love for the character of Krueger and why he is the influence of what is a staple of Chuck Norris Ate My Baby. Hope you dug the Freddy rap and hope that new Nightmare film is decent, though, I have heard some pretty bad things…sigh.
Nothing quite says Ninja like one Mr. Vanilla Ice. Much like a stealth assassin, he snuck past your better judgment and made his way into your boom box, and before you could say NO!, you were playing that funky music and shaving lines into the side of your head (You, not me. Okay, maybe me.). Like a Ninja, he was also a master of disguise, as he was able to convinced America that he was a rapper that came with a certain level of street cred. Much like a Ninja, Vanilla has now snuck past Chuck (he was eating) and made his way onto Freddy's Friday Night Dance Party, with the song, Ninja Rap!
Go Ninja, go Ninja, GO!!!
Ninja Rap was written and performed by Robert Matthew Van Winkle for 1991's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze. Vanilla even makes an appearance in the film itself and performs the song at a club for the movie's action filled finale. While Ooze kind of sucks in comparison to the first and very fun Turtles film, it does have many positive things: Ernie Reyes Jr., Super Shredder, a much hotter April O'Neil, and of course, the Ninja Rap ending! Nothing quite says commercial like getting the hottest sucker to perform a song for your movie, in your movie and what it says about that performer is all that needs to be said. Naw mean?
Still, sucker sell-out or not, I love every second of it! This video is gold from second one with Rob doing the Go Ninja cheer, and all with some super Hip-Hop hand gestures. It shows that even a thug can have fun once in a while too. I also love just how hard he dances…it's like he really means what he's rapping about and to not dance spastically would be holding in his love for Ninja Turtles. You just can't fight back a love like that, and the only way to get it out is with hard and quick head turns that go from left to right. Of course, the lyrics are also quite amazing, with my favorite line being: "Did you ever see a turtle get down?!" It's not my favorite because it's sooo corny…nope, it's my favorite because I have seen a turtle get down, so I can totally relate. I do think the best part of this entire clip is the end, when Robert talks about his experience doing the song and his role in the film. Keep it clean, make it Ice, and Vanilla did just that. Yup-yup, he sure did.
The 80’s were littered with Hip-Hop influenced movies with films like Wild Style, Breakin’, Beat Street, and so on and so forth. For what it’s worth, I love this genre, which I will dub Hip-Hopsploitation since many of them were taking something new and popular, and capitalizing on it (which is still very common today). Some of these films are actually pretty solid, namely the ones I mention above, but there are the few that are a little less respectable, but still oh-so-fun. These movies are a window into the past, a window that’s view is filled with crazy bad outfits, hair styles, and people that probably shouldn’t be picking up a mic for any reason at all.
One of those people that probably shouldn’t have spit any lyrics, is the man known as Mario Van Peebles, in the 1985 film, Rappin’! But boy am I glad he did. Rappin’ is the tale of “Rappin’” John Hood (MVP), whom after getting out of jail, comes back home to find a lot has changed since he went away. Some of his old associates have formed a new rival gang, his girl is dating the gangs leader, and some corporate scum bags are trying to take over the neighborhood by getting rid of the tenants so they can build…I don’t know, something. Probably a mall, or nice houses…the usual.
There are a few familiar faces that show up in Rappin’, besides MVP, of course. There’s Kadeem Hardison, and soul glow himself, Eric La Salle who make up a portion of John Hood’s crew. Also, Hood’s little brother is played by Leo O’Brien, who was in The Last Dragon, a film that gave us our most recent Monster of the Week. Along with familiar faces, the film’s director, Joel Silberg, is treading some very familiar territory with Rappin’. He also directed the before mentioned, Breakin’ as well as the sultry dance movie, Lambada (Totally should have been called, Lambada-in’). So he clearly has a certain thing he does and it would seem he is the guy to call when making a movie that is meant to exploit the latest fad in Urban culture. Though, he did direct Catch the Heat, so that makes his resume all the more versatile.
Some of the dialogue is beyond classic, with one scene where a record producer asks Hood if he’s ever rapped before, in which Hood respond’s with “No, but I got a record!” Get it?! When it comes to classic dialogue, no one is better than John Hoods arch rival, Duane (Charles Flohe). First off, he has great feathered hair and while he looks perfect to play the part of a rich, white, asshole bully, he is so unconvincing as a street thug. As for some of his choicest lines – “Don’t make me thaw you out, Ice!” When referring to La Salle’s character, who’s name is Ice. Then there’s the moment when Duane grabs Hood’s love interest by the arm kind of harshly, and Hood says “Hey, don’t be so rough on her” or something to that effect. Duane quickly responds with “Hey? Hay is for horses!” Good one, Duane, but I think you forgot about the better for cows part.
While this film is not the best of the best, it is very fun and a major reason for that is what I like to call, “random acts of Hip-Hop” that occur throughout Rappin’. The viewer is never safe from a random outbreak of rhymes and song from the characters – it can happen at anytime, any place, and anything can set it off. And you know what, even though many of the skills on display are lacking and the lyrics are weak, they certainly are very enjoyable scenes and for some reason, brought a shit eating grin to my face. I wish I could go over them all, but that would take forever, and I’m already at 763 words, so I need to tie things up soon.
I do have to mention Rappin’s end credit sequence, where each of the film’s characters, spit a lyric or two as their name goes by. This includes an old Asian dude, an old Jewish dude, a white, middle aged mother AND her daughter, and many, many more. It’s fucking gold. Then, there is the scene when the people of the neighborhood are trying to fight to stay in their homes and not be driven out. When all else fails, “Rappin’” John Hood and his Merry Men show up and use the influence of rap to convince the city council to their side, so they can stay in their hood! Again, fucking gold. And don’t even get me started on Snack Attack.
So, if you are a fan of this type of film, or Hip-Hop culture, or bad outfits and hair styles of the past, Rappin’ is a blast. It’s plot is messy and it tries to be too many things, but it does succeed at delivering some truly entertaining scenes and some funny moments. Plus, a 10 year old me makes an appearance.
Thanks for pointing this one out to me, Emily…you rock the party like no one else!
Man have I got a beast master of a song for tonight’s Dance Party!! For the first time in a good number of years, I rewatched William Lustig’s Maniac Cop 2 a few weeks back and much to my unknowing rapper’s delight, there was a song at the end of the movie. Sounds normal, right? You expect a song at the end of any movie, but when that song has a poppin’ hip-hop beat laid out to some intricate and dope lyrics about the story and dangers of the Maniac Cop himself, Matt Cordell, well, all just becomes right with the world. There is unfortunately no official music video for this one, but this fan made clip will do just fine - the song is more than good enough on its own. Just listen for yourself.
Can you believe that shit is REAL?! Real fucking awesome! I mean, where do I even begin? How about the Maniac Cop himself throwing his police issued cap into the hip-hop ring with his Miranda rights styled chorus! Or how about some of these crazy lyrics even…” Set him on fire, I shoot him with an uzi, but he’ll show up in your Jacuzzi!” Jacuzzi?! Is this a Maniac Cop that patrols the streets of the Jersey Shore? Better watch out, Snooki! Oh yeah, and the name of the song is get this…Maniac Cop Rap!
I really tried to find out who the”lyricists” were behind this masta-piece, but I had no luck at all. The song as well as the entire Maniac Cop 2 OST is composed by Jay Chattaway who has composed a ton of films and television, including the first Maniac Cop. Is there a chance that Mr. Chattaway was the M.C. behind this classic track? Look at this guy…he has thug Doug written all over him. Maybe he and Ted Turner can team up and create the hottest rap duo since Kid ‘n Play.
After posting my review of Paranormal Activity earlier in the week, I found myself inspired. That inspiration is what provides us with this week’s song of choice for Freddy's Friday Night Dance Party. This pajama-jammy-jam is fitting to what Katie and Micah went through, they were facing an unknown haunting, and they were facing it all on their own. Had they called the Ghostbusters...well, let's just say, they would have been in control. So grab your proton packs and split, to the dance floor, for a pre-crack (maybe) Bobby Brown and his song, On Our Own!
A far cry from Ray Parker Jr's beloved, Who You Gonna Call, On Our Own was recorded and released by Bobby Brown in 1989 as a single from the Ghostbusters II soundtrack. Great cheesy 80's video, complete with awesome special FX, dancing, spandex, and more celebrity appearances than you can shake an ass at...Christopher Reeve makes an appearance for cryin' out loud (which actually kinda bummed me out a little)! On Our Own was my song! For real. Everyone fronts and says how Bobby Brown ruined America's sweetheart, but personally, I think that trick went to the crack, but Bobby gets all the blame. I would take Every Little Step and On Our Own over I'm Every Woman and that Bodyguard crap any day. America's sweetheart...pfft! If you didn't know what you were getting into with the bad boy from New Edition, crack is the least of your problems.
