And we’re back!  I’m now halfway around the world coming to you live from Seoul, South Korea, and I’d thought to celebrate the occausion by posting one of my all time favorite movie music sequences ever!  Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice was one of the most bizarre movies of the 1980s, and all one has to do to get a taste of it is to watch the very end when he unleashes a ghost filled calypso dance party with Harry Belafotne’s immortal classic, “Jump in the Line,” blaring in all corners of the spirtual universe.  Belafonte, the legendary singer and civil rights activist, was co-musical director of the film alongside equally legendary Danny Elfman (Batman, The Simpsons, Oingo Boingo fame) and together they created a fantastically classic music landscape to one of the most insane movies ever.  Enjoy.

Welcome back again to my youtube favorite retrospective part 2!  You know the deal, the list is done, and we’re looking back at all the hits that made us laugh, cry, and die.  Let’s start rolling right where we left off!

#74.  The Ramones, Blitzkrieg Bop – It’s more Ramones, the greatest and most original punk ever playing the shit out of Blitzkrieg Bop, in Germany of all places.  Not bad for a bunch of Jewish guys from Queens.

#73.  The Sex Pistols, Anarchy in the UK – When I was in college, I actually had a history professor show us this video as an example of historical outliers.  That’s all well and good, but I was just fascinated with how the drummer sat at the front of the band.

#72.  Elvis Costello, Pump it Up – Declan MacManus’s punky little pop jam.  You gotta love Costello for essentially being the reincarnation of Buddy Holly in modern times, both physically, and musically. Read more »

Welcome loyal readers, to part 58 of my youtube countdown!  Today, I’m in the mood to party, party with the DEAD!  Normally, I’d be locked up for such a notion, but at least groups like Oingo Boingo are there to supply the soundtrack with their hit 80s song “Dead Man’s Party.”  This group, fronted by now famed TV and film composer Danny Elfman, performed this song in the incredible 1985 Rodney Dangerfield movie, “Back to School.”  Elfman, the lead singer/songwriter of the group, had many smash hits with Oingo Boingo, but found even greater success writing things like the theme songs for “The Simpsons,” “Batman,” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”  I’ve always loved this song with its bizarre funeral lyrics, tight harmonies, and driving dark ska party beat.  It’s a great classic of 80s rock that typifies the era, enjoy!