If I haven't heard it, it's new to me.

There's a radio station here in Atlanta called WRAS 88.5. It's a college run radio station that has the most eclectic assortment of programming I've ever come across. Once I discovered the station a few years ago, I've never listened to anything else.  No matter when I tune in, I'm always in store for a new treat.

One such occurrence was when I heard this marvelous piece of insanity. Solla Solla by Illaiyaraaja

Way before I actually saw the video, the song impregnated visuals in my mind that were actually pretty similar. Although, I kept picturing the singer as a duck for some reason.

As soon as I could, I tracked down the album (s). You can grab 'em here.

I loooved them.  70's -Indian-Electro-Pop is a pretty fascinating combo.  There's definitely some humor to be had listening to this music, but I dig them in a completely non-ironic way. Not unlike another video I came across.

I believe the song in this movie was written by the same guy. From what research I've done, he's a pretty prolific guy with a staggering amount of work under his belt.  Without getting too far into that, I have to say that this clip has really enamored me. All in spite of how goofy it is, or perhaps because of how goofy it is.

I really don't know why, but I freakin' love it.  It's almost sickening how much I love it. The bit at 1:36 is especially mesmerizing. The look on her face certainly has something to do with it. I just kept replaying that shot over and over the first time I saw it. I feel compelled to animate it.

I can't complete a post about cool music without mentioning a gem by Burt Bacharach called "South American Getaway." I was introduced to it recently when I saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

It's one of the coolest westerns I've ever seen.  I was pleasantly surprised at how good that movie was. The soundtrack really took me off guard. I was nothing short of blown away to hear bossa nova in a western! This tune has been stuck in my mind for days.  It gives me the sensation of fragmented memories sweeping over me like a steady breeze.

Here's just the track itself, uninterrupted.

This version of it's gorgeous.  It's mood is so adventurous and epic. The classical treatment of it almost makes the intro sound like "Frog's Theme" from Chrono Trigger.

Now that's The Stuff!

I love jingles. I love 80's music. I love horror movies.

What I especially love, is a jingle from a very weird, yet vastly entertaining 80's horror movie.

The movie I'm referring to is "The Stuff."

The Stuff (1985) was written, directed, and produced by Larry Cohen.  The first of his movies I remember seeing were his "It's Alive" movies about mutant, killer babies.  As someone who's always stood firmly against ever having kids, I've found these movies to be especially scary. hehe

The Stuff is a much more light-hearted in nature.  This is evident by the fact that its about killer ice-cream.  This killer ice-cream also had killer branding. It had a great logo with kind of a 70's flair to it.

What really caught my attention was one of The Stuff 's two theme songs.  It reminded me of "Body Talk" from Toxic Avenger, another tune from an 80's horror flick. There's something about 80's drum beats that just get ya pumped for anything. You' re primed and ready to win the big competition, get into shape, or partake in some teenage hijinks.

Whenever I hear a catchy song I like, I have to know the words to it.  This is especially true if it gets stuck in my head for long periods of time.  If I'm going to have a song pervade my thoughts, I'd prefer it be a steady, unbroken stream. My only option at this point is to get memorizing!

To my surprise, nowhere on the whole interwebs could I find anyone who'd documented the lyrics.  You would think that someone among the film's cult followers would have taken it upon themselves to do it.  To my knowledge, there's also been no official soundtrack release.  So, I had to do a little youtubin' and rewatch some scenes from the movie to learn the lyrics.

You hear the tagline, "Enough is Never Enough for The Stuff." throughout the movie, but you only hear each theme song once (twice in one instance, if you count some brief background play towards the end).  Because of overlapping dialogue, the beginning of the 1st song was hard to make out.  I think I managed to decipher all the lyrics though.  It plays during a photo shoot with some fashion models.

"The Stuff"  Theme Song #1

Lyrics - Richard Seaman
Vocalist - Unknown


One lasting taste that satisfies,

One big exciting sweet surprise.

One lick is never enough for the stuff!

Stays firm and never melts away,

My lips crave more and more each day!

One lick is never enough for the stuff!

Never melts! Never melts! Never melts away!

One lick is never enough for the stuff!


(Instrumental)

One lasting taste that satisfies,

One big exciting sweet surprise.

One lick is never enough for the stuff!

Stays firm and never melts away,

My lips crave more and more each day!

One lick is never enough for the stuff!

Never melts! Never melts! Never melts away!

One lick is never enough, oooh!

One lick is never enough for the stuff!


While I was at it, I figured I might as well list the lyrics for the 2nd theme song.  It's not a peppy as the other one, but still pretty catchy.  It's heard at the tail-end of a commercial scene with Abe Vigoda.  It parodys the Wendy's commercial "Where's the Beef?" with "Where's the Stuff?".

"The Stuff"  Theme Song #2

Lyrics - Richard Seaman 

Vocalist - Unknown

Voice over - Unknown

The Stuff is here now.

A great new taste sensation.

Light and free now,

Puts you to elevation.  

Enough is never enough,

Enough is never enough of The Stuff.

(Spoken) 

The Stuff, the taste that makes ya hungry for more. The Stuff, the taste that delivers.

Enough is never enough,

Enough is never enough of The Stuff.

The film credits say the advertising singles for The Stuff were written, composed, produced by a guy named Richard Seaman.  I'll refrain from making obvious string of jokes.  For the life of me, I can't dig up any information on him. Imdb only credits him for his work The Stuff.  I thought that maybe he would have been behind some recognizable jingles for actual products, but I can't find any indication of that. I can't even find out who did the vocals for the theme song.  Not even the movie lists that.  All lost in time, I suppose.

For any The Stuff fans whom also happen to be lyrics-nazis, I hope I've been helpful.

If you can't get hold of the dvd, you can watch The Stuff in nine parts via youtube.

Experimentaion

What D&D Character Am I?

Lawful Neutral Human Monk/Ranger (2nd/1st Level)

Ability Scores:
Strength- 12
Dexterity- 11
Constitution- 13
Intelligence- 14
Wisdom- 11
Charisma- 12
Alignment:
Lawful Neutral- A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs him. Order and organization are paramount to him. He may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard, or he may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government. Lawful neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you are reliable and honorable without being a zealot. However, lawful neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it seeks to eliminate all freedom, choice, and diversity in society.

Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.

Primary Class:
Monks- Monks are versatile warriors skilled at fighting without weapons or armor. Good-aligned monks serve as protectors of the people, while evil monks make ideal spies and assassins. Though they don't cast spells, monks channel a subtle energy, called ki. This energy allows them to perform amazing feats, such as healing themselves, catching arrows in flight, and dodging blows with lightning speed. Their mundane and ki-based abilities grow with experience, granting them more power over themselves and their environment. Monks suffer unique penalties to their abilities if they wear armor, as doing so violates their rigid oath. A monk wearing armor loses their Wisdom and level based armor class bonuses, their movement speed, and their additional unarmed attacks per round.

Secondary Class:
Rangers- Rangers are skilled stalkers and hunters who make their home in the woods. Their martial skill is nearly the equal of the fighter, but they lack the latter's dedication to the craft of fighting. Instead, the ranger focuses his skills and training on a specific enemy a type of creature he bears a vengeful grudge against and hunts above all others. Rangers often accept the role of protector, aiding those who live in or travel through the woods. His skills allow him to move quietly and stick to the shadows, especially in natural settings, and he also has special knowledge of certain types of creatures. Finally, an experienced ranger has such a tie to nature that he can actually draw on natural power to cast divine spells, much as a druid does, and like a druid he is often accompanied by animal companions. A ranger's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that he can cast.

Detailed Results:

Alignment:
Lawful Good ----- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (16)
Neutral Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXX (14)
Chaotic Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXX (13)
Lawful Neutral -- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (22)
True Neutral ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (20)
Chaotic Neutral - XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (19)
Lawful Evil ----- XXXXXXXXX (9)
Neutral Evil ---- XXXXXXX (7)
Chaotic Evil ---- XXXXXX (6)


Law & Chaos:
Law ----- XXXXXXXX (8)
Neutral - XXXXXX (6)
Chaos --- XXXXX (5)


Good & Evil:
Good ---- XXXXXXXX (8)
Neutral - XXXXXXXXXXXXXX (14)
Evil ---- X (1)


Race:
Human ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXX (13)
Dwarf ---- XXXXXXXXXX (10)
Elf ------ XXXXXXXX (8)
Gnome ---- XXXXXXXX (8)
Halfling - XXXXXXXX (8)
Half-Elf - XXXXXXXXXXXX (12)
Half-Orc - XX (2)


Class:
Barbarian - (-19)
Bard ------ (-23)
Cleric ---- (-8)
Druid ----- XX (2)
Fighter --- (-4)
Monk ------ XXXX (4)
Paladin --- (-17)
Ranger ---- XXXX (4)
Rogue ----- (-6)
Sorcerer -- XX (2)
Wizard ---- XX (2)