Slashdance

"He's a maniac, he just moved next door

He'll kill your cat and nail it to the floor

He'll rape your mother and screw your wife

He's a maniac" 

 

Dennis Matkosky & Michael Sembello - Maniac (Original Lyrics)

(Maniac Men featurette from Maniac blu-ray, 2010)

What a feeling when one of the greatest film legends that has always intrigued me, the rumour surrounding the origin of Michael Sembello's eighties pop classic, Maniac, has finally been answered. Although forever remembered as the song from Flashdance that many young lads back then took note of thanks to Jennifer Beals in lycra and legwarmers, it was supposedly meant for William Lustig's scuzzy slasher classic, Maniac (1980); that's what the rumour was, anyway.

Colour me surprised then that a featurette produced for the blu-ray release of the film featuring both Lustig and the song's creators, Dennis Matkosky and Michael Sembello, answer all the questions about this eighties banger and lay all the rumours surrounding it to rest. Was it written for Lustig's film? No, but it was definitely inspired by it, along with John Wayne Gacy's murder spree. That's a good enough answer for me. Peep the video above for the full breakdown by the trio, which includes Sembello channeling "a mongoloid playing Chopsticks" for the song's break on Matkosky's tuneless piano in a rendition of the song.

Why am I writing all this if it was all explained in a blu-ray featurette? Because it costs a small fortune to buy and import every movie I want to own, and I don't have it, innit? Anyway, some kind samaritan uploaded the featurette on YouTube and put us skinflints out of our misery and settled the score once and for all.

Dada Debaser Bonus

From Frank Zito to Franck Hueso, I can't sign off and end this post without including the best cover version of the song to grace my ears. Originally heard as an encore track in 2016 during his live sets, the global lockdowns of 2020 finally got Franck Hueso, aka Carpenter Brut, off his arse and record a studio version of the classic anthem. One of the few musical highlights of that year for your host and the last great tune by the French man, in my opinion.

Carpenter Brut feat. Yann Ligner - MANIAC

(Digital Single, 2020)