Monday, October 24, 2011

T-minus 7

Today's song comes from Mr. Weird Science himself, Danny Elfman. While I love both "Weird Science" and "Dead Man's Party," both of those songs get played way too much during October, so today's song is an alternate Elfman Halloween gem - "Don't Go in the Basement"! 

Other than composing "Weird Science" and "Dead Man's Party," and being the frontman for Oingo Boingo, Elfman has many other claims to scariness fame, such as being the singing voice of Jack Skellington in The Nightmare Before Christmas and of Bonejangles in Corpse Bride, and scoring almost all of Tim Burton's films. 

Elfman's song isn't the only scary thing about today's selection, though. The video was animated by Sally Cruikshank, who was an animator for Sesame Street for many years, and features a suave, shapeshifting lizard who certainly makes a sound case for not going in the basement. He slinks and slides through a tripped-out landscape that, in the words of Lux Interior from The Cramps, makes you feel like you're on drugs. It once appeared on MTV's excellent 90s animation show, Liquid Telelvision, which has recently been resurrected online.

This video is just the song, but if you dig it, check out the full-length short, "Face Like A Frog." It's animated by Cruikshank and entirely scored by Elfman!   

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