Rudy Panucci On Pop Culture

Videos Of The Week: Spike Jones

For our first PopCult edition of Videos Of The Week, we’re going to look at the work of Spike Jones.   I’m talking about the legendary comedy bandleader, not the music video director who swiped his name, but spells it with a “z.” 

There is a wealth of Spike Jones material on YouTube, and reminded of that fact this morning by this post over on Mark Evanier’s excellent blog, I decided to showcase some of these nifty comic masterpieces in PopCult. 

First up, in honor of the GoodNight performance by “Slide By Slide,” the trombone ensemble who performed at the Riverside Baptist Church on New Year’s Eve, here’s “Flight Of The Bumblebee,” played on a slide trombone:

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Even more fun is the lovely tune, “I Like To Sock Myself In The Face,” which showcases many of the talented noisemakers in Spike’s “City Slickers.”  Look for an early appearance by ZZ Top near the end.

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We wrap up with “Clink, Clink, Another Drink” featuring guest vocals by Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and about a million other cartoon characters.   Sit back and enjoy this tender ballad about the joys of alcoholism:

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1 Comment

  1. Elvis Capone

    No one in his right mind would go so far as to suggest that Spike Jones is the devil. However, a careful reading of various parts of the bible (King James Brown Edition) reveals that The devil IS Spike Jones. Listen carefully to Spike Jones music. Pick any song, such as COCKTAILS FOR TWO, or his cover of POWERHOUSE. It’s difficult to miss the keen sense of loss, the implied wail of agony, the pain of being cast out, and the impact of the fall as Lucifer smashed down among the dinosaurs in the Garden Of Edam. Spike Jones was not only the first Frank Zappa – he’s in the bible. All you heathen chillun pick up your damn bible right now and read all about Spike Jones and his stable of comely Playmates.

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