Tag: musical

220 – Streets of Fire

These streets straight fire, yo

An extra-mellow and profoundly aphasic Bitter Karella steps in to help Jen explicate the other, crappier version of The Warriors: Streets of Fire!

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Hear the bangin’ soundtrack on YouTube, which includes “Deeper and Deeper” by The Fixx (which you won’t see on the Spotify version of the soundtrack even though “Deeper and Deeper” IS on there. Who knows why).

Yes, there are some tidbits about Streets of Fire in this 2003 interview with the immortal Jim Steinman, but the whole thing is worth a read for the Meat Loaf stories alone.

If you would like to experience what Karella surely considers the sexiest Gumby cartoon, “Grub Grabber Gumby” also may be viewed on YouTube.

208 – Spice World

They were no longer Spice Girls… they were Spice Women

Tim and Jen spice up their lives with a fluffy little movie about five assertive young women, Spice World!

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Read a contemporaneous account from Rolling Stone of the Spice Girls at the height of their global fame, in which they pick their noses, pee on things, and generally lark about.

The VH1 commercial slamming ELO that Jen mentioned is the first one in this compilation.

Yeah, what was the real Fox Force Five? Since there’s a wiki for everything, check the one for Pulp Fiction:

‘This premise inspired the theme for the Spice Girls’ 1996 music video for their song “Say You’ll Be There” in which the girls adopt similar fictional identities.’

🤯

In true user-edited wiki fashion, this one is incorrect about the Code Name: Foxfire series mentioned. There were actually eight episodes that aired from January to April 1985, not just a pilot.

202 – Aladdin

I spent three wishes to make sure I wouldn’t have to watch this.

Tim wisely stays far away while Jen hosts the lovable Worst of All Possible Worlds boys to chat about the worst of all possible musicals, Aladdin from 1990. Yes, it’s not the animated version, but it does involve Disney. Listen if you don’t believe us!

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The moribund website of the Prince Street Players remains online, in case you want to do a deeper dive on the organization responsible for this mess.

Behold the “I Want to be Ninja” lady, but be prepared to apologize to your Asian friends. And yes, she does appear to be milking her dubious viral fame.

Regarding the Barry Bostwick-featuring commercial Jen mentioned, Brian made up a Pepsi product, and Jen believed him! The commercial actually presented Pepsi Twist, with lemon.

Check out Tim’s Myst linking book set, and follow him on Instagram to see more of his amazing Lego creations!

201 – Earth Girls Are Easy

Rule 1: be Jeff Goldblum. Rule 2: don’t not be Jeff Goldblum.

Jen and Tim debate just how much he actually likes movie musicals during their discussion of a mutual fave, the musical comedy Earth Girls Are Easy.

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According to her own website, writer and actress Julie Brown is currently working on Earth Girls Are Easy…the musical version! Maybe even Tim will deign to see it!

Vanity Fair covered Angelyne in 2022, post-Hollywood Reporter exposé. According to the article, the producers of the Angelyne miniseries paid their subject for her life rights, although she declined a producer credit.

For more Julian Temple, enjoy the longform music video he directed for David Bowie, Jazzin’ For Blue Jean. 

170 – Cats on Park Avenue

A cat on a skateboard from Cats on Park Avenue (1989)
mrow!!

Tim and Jen scratch their heads over a Japanese musical that’s positively infested with cats, Cats on Park Avenue. It has nothing to do with New York or the musical Cats.

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Complex has the story on how Disney literally killed five golden retriever puppies while making Snow Buddies, a direct-to-video follow-up to Air Bud.

Marty Stouffer became popular with his Wild America series on PBS. A few of his ex-employees alleged that he staged many scenes in the show, which he denied.

You can watch the scene from Sledge Hammer! that Tim mentioned, and after that you can watch the whole series on YouTube, because it’s right there and it’s a great show!

For more musical madness, try our episode on the Dr. Seuss-penned The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T!

167 – The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T

Tommy Rettig in The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953)

Jen and Tim talk about a truly weird musical fantasia from the mind of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss— The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.

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So much of this episode wouldn’t exist without the superlative work of Seuss biographer Brian Jay Jones. His book Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisl and the Making of an American Imagination highlights Geisl’s creativity and enduring legacy in popular literature. Jones talked in depth about the life of Dr. Seuss on the Our American Stories podcast (listen to our show first though lol).

The charming animated short Gerald McBoing-Boing may be viewed on YouTube.

Jen mentioned the Australian child murderer (and worse) Mr. Cruel— see the legitimately terrifying police sketch of the suspect at Wikipedia, but don’t say we didn’t warn you.

And yes, we highly recommend that calendar Rifftrax short we mentioned, whether you like to laugh, or if you’re just genuinely confused about how to use a calendar!

094 – True Stories

David Byrne drives an open-top convertible in True Stories (1986)
A pioneering work in autistic cinema

Tim returns to chug the haterade as we discuss David Byrne’s vision! It’s True Stories from 1986! Jen weakly defends the movie but she’s no match for Tim’s anti-twee vitriol!

David Byrne talks about being on the spectrum in a live Q&A.

For another movie that Tim despised, try our episode on sci-fantasy misfire Krull!

068 – Breaking Glass

Tim and Jen argue about cult rock movie Breaking Glass in a surprisingly contentious episode!

Breaking Glass star Hazel O’Connor did a revealing interview with Music Republic Magazine in 2017. As it turns out, she earned nothing from her movie role, sadly.

For more cult 80s cinema, listen to our episode on Weird Al Yankovic’s lone feature, UHF.

065 – Broken

From the Broken movie by Nine Inch Nails, a black and white medium shot of someone restrained in head-to-toe latex and with a pipe going into their mouth, from which little jets of water are leaking

Tim takes charge in order to bend your ear, and Jen’s, about Trent Reznor’s cute little home movie, Broken! That Nine Inch Nails soundtrack still goes the fuck off, by the way.

Watch the Broken movie at the Internet Archive, or you can hunt on the official Nine Inch Nails website for it!

For another movie that was formative to young angry Tim, here’s our episode on The Lawnmower Man!