Epic Christmas Crap

There are a lot of super annoying Christmas songs out there, and I could go off on how hundreds of them grate on my nerves. But this one in particular makes me want to rip my ears out. The only reason I am posting it is because I have a companion song to it which I actually find fascinating.

According to our friends over at Wikipedia, Alvin and the Chipmunks, started out as a puppet show in the 1950s. Ross Bagdasarian created the novelty record "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" in 1958. The record was highly successful, selling more than 4 million copies in seven weeks, and it launched the careers of its chipmunk stars. It spent four weeks at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart from December 22, 1958, to January 12, 1959. It also earned three Grammy Awards and a nomination for Record of the Year.

Record of the year??? And you thought Amy Winehouse (2008 Record of the Year winner) was bad.

"The Chipmunk Song" was recorded on audiotape at half of the normal speed, then played back at double speed which made the voices an octave higher in pitch at normal tempo. Here are the two for comparison.

Double Speed (The Chipmunks): The Chipmunk Song.mp3

Half Speed (Human Singers): The Chipmunk (remix).mp3
I found the "slow" version last year on the internets somewhere from a DJ called "Mr. Fab."

Epic Crap Tuesday

I hear this song occasionally on Q107's "Psychedelic Psunday." Its so weird and trippy, you have to wonder what these guys were smoking when they recorded it. According to allmusic, Focus is a Dutch band that was formed in Amsterdam in 1969 (hence the access to the good drugs). "Hocus Pocus" actually cracked the US pop charts in 1973, reaching #9 (#20 in the UK).

If you like "heavy guitar riffs, neo-classical organ, and Alpine yodeling," then this song is for you.

Focus - Hocus Pocus.MP3

Epic Crap Monday

If there is one thing we can all agree on, its that Mondays suck.

A few months ago I was road-tripping north of Toronto, listening to Rock 95 out of Barrie, Ontario. Some listener called in and requested this song. After a few minutes of listening to this song, my friend commented, "Wow! This is epic crap! What music producer decided that this was a good idea?" A song that is so bad, it is good.

Prism - Spaceship Superstar.m4a
Buy: The Best of Prism (1996)

Prism was formed in 1976 in Vancouver. "Spaceship Superstar" was a minor hit in Canada in 1977. Check out the wicked keyboard solo at the end. Kraftwerk influence? Oy.