Megablast from the Past

Celebrating John Carpenter's birthday today with a prime example of the legendary film maker's influence upon popular culture.

The BBC series on film, Moviedrome was like Obi-Wan Kenobi to your humble host, as it helped me take my "first step into a larger world". My discovery of John Carpenter's siege thriller, Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) was when Alex Cox first introduced it back in 1990. This wasn't my first Carpenter film, but it was an early example of a developing appreciation for certain film makers.

John Carpenter - Assault on Precinct 13 (Main Title)

Assault on Precinct 13 soundtrack, 1976

Record Makers · John Carpenter - Assault On Precinct 13 (Main Title)

Being a teenager at the time, imagine my surprise when I first heard that opening main theme blaring out and realising this was where Bomb The Bass got that awesomely catchy riff for the dance tune Megablast; a track forever associated with the Amiga shoot 'em up game, Xenon 2: Megablast (1989). In hindsight, this was perhaps the earliest example of Carpenter's presence being felt not just in cinema, but in other forms of popular entertainment for yours truly.

Bomb The Bass - Megablast

Don't Make Me Wait/Megablast single, 1988

 

InWaxWeTrust · Bomb The Bass - Megablast

Since then, Assault on Precinct 13's theme and Megablast have been the select few pleasant and permanent earworms in this blogger's noggin. Cheers, J.C! Happy 75th!

EDIT: The day after this post, American Genre Film Archive (AGFA) unveiled the 4K restoration trailer for the upcoming cinema screening of Assault on Precinct 13. Deaf Crocodile has been working on this since the lockdowns, if I remember correctly.

Man with a Video Camera

Ruggero Deodato was hardly a darling film maker, so his passing last month was something of a pleasant shock receiving coverage in various mainstream media circles. Notorious, Italian jungle horror, Cannibal Holocaust (1980) is often credited as the grandfather of found footage films. So realistic was its depiction of human savagery, thanks to the cinéma vérité technique, Deodato wound up facing murder charges. Despite signing a contract to keep a low profile for a year, his cast members were urged to come to his rescue and prove his innoncence.

We've had the likes of Ghostwatch (1992) and The Last Broadcast (1998), but it wasn't until the massive success of The Blair Witch Project (1999) when the format became a mainstay for the following decades. Blumhouse Productions became a lucrative company, largely attributed to its Paranormal Activity franchise. The format also birthed various shaky cam ridiculousness like a poorly designed kaiju monster running amok in New York being told from a human perspective. The gonzo style found footage film was being applied to various outlandish concepts and wasn't leaving any time soon.

Without further ado, here's a selection of personal favourite found footage films:

[REC] (Jaume Belagueró & Paco Plaza, 2007): One of the greatest horror films of the noughties. What starts off as a filler "And finally..." news report for a late night TV crew, escalates into an utterly terrifying survival horror. Not going to lie, I still feel a little uneasy sitting in the pitch dark watching this film; very few films have ever made me feel like that. The film spawned a franchise; its follow-up sequel also being another strong contender, in my opinion.

Lake Mungo (Joel Anderson, 2008): A mockumentary that serves equally as a slowburn mystery as well as a supernatural chiller. One of the highlights from the period of the mid to late 00s that was  something of a mini-renaissance for Australian horror. 

Trollhunter (André Øvredal, 2010): Remarkable film that crosses fairy tale legend with the real world. This incredible mockumentary is amongst the greatest films of the 2010s, for this humble blogger.

Grave Encounters (The Vicious Brothers, 2011): A film that was probably based on that time when comedienne Jo Brand spent the night in a derelict mental hospital. Along with some well executed scares and its creepy atmosphere, what makes Grave Encounters such a stand out was it was the first example I had seen of the time limbo effect; a feature that was ripped-off by that mostly mediocre Blair Witch (2016) requel.

The Bay (Barry Levinson, 2012): Who would have thought that one of the best ecological horror films to come along in ages would be by the same bloke who gave us Rain Man (1998)? So much fun seeing how this escalates into a horrific epidemic disaster. 

The Borderlands (Elliot Goldner, 2013): Of the small wave of Vatican related films that cropped up during the 2010s, Brit horror, The Borderlands was the best one I watched. Gordon Kennedy from Absolutely (1989 - 1993) plays one of the two Vatican's investigators sent to a remote English church to disprove the supernatural occurences. The Borderlands contains one of the most memorable film horror endings from the last ten years.

The Den (Zachary Donohue, 2013): While the horror yoots were clamouring over internet horror, Unfriended (2014), The Den aka Hacked, went completely under the radar of most folk. A cyber-horror that does a superior job of propelling fear and paranoia than any supernatural revenge by a girl who shat her kecks.

V/H/S/2 (Various, 2013): A vast improvement over its predecessor. If only the rest of the subsequent sequels in this anthology series were just as good. Arguably, the best short film is Safe Haven, co-directed by Gareth Evans from the masterful The Raid action films.

As Above, So Below (John Erick Dowdle, 2014): AKA Lara Croft and the Philosopher's Stone. Subterranean set horror can offer a lot of atmospheric dread, and having this located in the famous catacombs and caverns below Paris makes it an enthralling experience. The only memomarable offering in this vein by a major studio.

The Taking of Deborah Logan (Adam Robitel, 2014): A documentary crew charting the plight of an elderly woman with Alzheimer's Disease, get something all the more unexpected. It's harrowing enough seeing the disease's ravaging effects on people, but something else entirely seems to be affecting Deborah.

Jeruzalem (Doron Paz & Yoav Paz, 2015): The weakest film listed here. Part shameless advertisement for Google Glass and part Judgement Day. The end of the world is unfolding in the ancient city of Jerusalem, but not before the viewer has to tolerate a vacation video for a huge chunk of time that feels like a Jet2 holidays commercial. Makes you thankful that it’s Armageddon time, innit?

Deadstream (Joseph Winter & Vanessa Winter, 2022): Already covered this film last month. If Deadstream hasn't already convinced you it's a spirtitual successor to Raimi's The Evil Dead (1981) then you only have to compare its trailer with that recently released, dull looking one for Evil Dead Rise (2023). Just when I thought found footage was out, the Winters pull me back in.

In summary, found footage films have been an insightful cultural phenomenom: a perfect example of people's love for voyeaurism, running parallel with the rise of reality television; simultaneously, they've also put us in a role akin to a bored guard during night watch and having to stare at a CCTV console. Interested to see where this format will go in the forseeable future with the progression of technical advancements in video capturing and streaming tech.

Worst Movie Accents: Part 3

The Lady from Shangai ("Sharks" Forshadowing scene)

Orson Welles, 1947

 

Considered a deity amongst some fanatical cineaste folk, Orson Welles gave the world Citizen Kane (1941) at the tender age of just twenty-six. That was enough to earn him a free pass with whatever erroenous error he might have commited throughout the rest of his professional career.

Film noir, The Lady from Shanghai (1947) was a side-project for Welles, since he was only obligated with it inorder to raise funds for his musical adaptation of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days. This level of half-hearted commitment would lead into the film being an expensive and troubled production; not just in terms of causing a shitstorm of problems with Hollywood's workers' union, but with his deteriorating marriage with his onscreen co-star, Rita Hayworth.

Haven't read Sherwood King's If I Die Before I Wake, the film's original source material, to find out whether its protagonist spoke in an Irish accent, but I do know when I hear a terrible one that's on par with Cameron Diaz's godawful accent in Gangs of New York (2002). Welles' accent, while hilarious, genuinely hurts the film as it's hard to appreciate spoken word nuances or pivotal forshadowing, like how he compares his employers to frenzied sharks. Thankfully, the finale isn't hampered by a stereotypical, mock Irish accent that could have come from Warwick Davis in the Leprechaun franchise, but artistic eye candy for my film tastes; ending a flawed production on a particular a high note.

The climax, which includes some obvious inspiration from Robert Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), would also be the forbearer to other notable films down the road, including: Bruce Lee's showdown with Han in Enter the Dragon (1973); Scaramanga's contest with Bond in The Man With the Golden Gun (1974); and more recently Col. Parker's Faustian seduction of the King of Rock & Roll in Elvis (2022). The Lady from Shanghai might not be one of Welles' strongest films, but it's abundantly clear, its artistic legacy would be homaged decades later.

The Lady from Shanghai (Funhouse & Hall of Mirrors scenes)

Orson Welles, 1947

Picks of 2013

2013 may have been the year Miley Cyrus achieved the impossible and turned twerking cringeworthy, but it happened to be a productive year for film (for my standards at least). Colour me surprised just how diverse the year really was that I hadn't even realised until ten years had passed.

The passage of time had also made me kinder towards certain films that annoyed me initially, like the Evil Dead remake or Simon Pegg's excrutiatingly, annoying whining prominently featured in The World's End.

Alan Partidge: Alpha Papa (Declan Lowney)

Blue is the Warmest Colour (Abdellatif Kechiche)

The Borderlands (Elliot Goldner)

The Conjuring (James Wan)

The Den (Zachary Donohue)

Evil Dead (Fede Alvarez)

Filth (Jon S. Baird)

I Spit on Your Grave 2 (Steven R. Monroe)

Nymphomaniac: Vol. I & II (Lars von Trier)

Only God Forgives (Nicolas Winding Refn)

Pain & Gain (Michael Bay)

Riddick (David Twohy)

Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine)

The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears (Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani)

Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer)

Venus in Fur (Roman Polanski)

V/H/S/2 (Simon Barret, Adam Wingard, Eduardo Sánchez, Greg Hale, Timo Tjahjanto, Gareth Evans & Jason Eisener)

Why Don't You Play in Hell? (Sion Sono)

Wolf Creek 2 (Greg McLean)

The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese)

The World's End (Edgar Wright)

You're Next (Adam Wingard)*

Additionally, 2013 was also noteworthy because Harmony Korine's knack in passing off exploitation movies as sophisticated cinema for gullible kino heads and my general lowbrow sense of humour had actually found common ground with Spring Breakers. A hilarious film that I've watched on multiple occasions; unlike anything else I've seen by him. The Everytime montage scene alone makes it a winner, in my humble opinion.

The Fordyce Saga

Cash on Demand (Quentin Lawrence, 1961)

Hammer Films wasn't always synonymous with horror back in the day. Multiple film genres were also produced alongside the splattering of Kensington gore, such as prehistoric adventures, science fiction and war films; its biggest box office success was On the Buses (1971), a film spin-off to the popular television sitcom. 

Quentin Lawrence's Cash on Demand (1961) happens to be the studio's most underrated gem. A lean and tense Brit noir set in a small bank in the south-west of England. Adapted from Jacques Gilles' play The Gold Inside (1960), this heist thriller circumvents its obvious low budget and restricted location with great effect by focusing in riveting character studies for its two main characters, along with some creative plot twists along the way.

The film's major selling point is its two powerhouse performance from Peter Cushing as the dictatorial bank manager, Fordyce; along with André Morrell's devilish crook Col. Gore Hepburn. Both actors had worked together prior to this film, notably in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954) and The Hound of the Baskervilles (1958). Their familiarity would probably explain the sublime chemistry between the pair since they constantly act and react like Newton's third law of physics. This results in a palpable atmosphere so intense that it leaves a lingering impression long after the film is over. Morrell's duplicitous manner and threats which turns Cushing's cold authoritarian into an emotional wreck makes for a very compelling psychological battle. A prime example of this is Morrell's utterly chilling threat to Cushing early on in the film:

"There are two men at your house. At this moment, your wife has an electrode attached to each side of her head. If you fail to co-operate with us in any way whatever, they will pass a charge through the circuit. It is extremely painful and I'm afraid the effects of it are permanent. She would never recover her wits."

Worth mentioning that Cash on Demand takes obvious inspiration from Charles Dickens' novella A Christmas Carol. Fordyce obviously being Ebenezer Scrooge, while Col. Hepburn would more than likely be the Ghost of Christmas Present. Its Christmas setting is another dead giveaway. Ultimately the viewer is treated to Fordyce being brought to crucial turning point in his life that would forever change him.

Considering it represents a quintessentially British style of heist film; one that's a far cry from the violent, gun-totting crooks you would picture from American crime thrillers, Cash on Demand was first distributed in the U.S. by Columbia Pictures and was not released in Britain until 1963 - two whole years later. Being on the backburner for so long did the film no favours. A huge shame. Still, it's now regarded as something of a long lost classic, where it's championed by the likes of Hammer expert and film historian Jonathan Rigby as one of the legendary studio's best films. Thoroughly agree with his sentiment.

Blessed be Dada Debaser

Happy New Year!

We finally reached the same timeline as when The Purge: Anarchy (2014) was set; AKA, the best film in the entire franchise. Granted, I never even bothered with the last two films or that television series rotting on Prime's servers. In my defence, hardly anybody else did either. Taking obvious inspiration from both The Warriors (1979) and Escape from New York (1981) is enough to put it on a higher pedestal than the rest of the franchise alone, but also because Frank Grillo embodied the cool factor of a B-movie action star (excluding that time he rocked a Gareth Bale man bun in Copshop (2021), obviously); even while cruising in his whip. Now compare Reddit messiah, Keanu Reeves having to go through such an extreme effort in the same Dodge Charger as John Wick to even equal that level of appeal.

Being Frank.

With the ringing in of the new year, I was going to go post a list of nuisances I wouldn't mind being purged in 2023 (like Richard Madeley), but I've effectively done that already by cancelling a bunch of streaming subscriptions from this month. Gives me a fighting chance to tackle the daunting unwatched pile of films I've got; which grew exponentially like The Blob last year.

Viewings: December 2022

With 2022 in its final death throes, I almost managed a movie a day with a final tally of 343 this year.

Favourite discovery this month was Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo's chilling, alternate-history mockumentary, It Happened Here. Despite coppin' a physical copy of the film ages ago, my lazy arse didn't watch it until a nice quality rip hit YouTube earlier this month.

Other new finds that I really liked were Dennis Hopper falling head over hills for a sideshow mermaid in Night Tide, and Yuen Biao exacting vigilante justice in Righting Wrongs.

 

Film:

The Maze (William Cameron Menzies, 1953)*

Creature with the Atom Brain (Edward L. Cahn, 1955)*

Night Tide (Curtis Harrington, 1961)*

Cape Fear (J. Lee Thompson, 1962)

Witchcraft (Don Sharp, 1964)*

It Happened Here (Kevin Brownlow & Andrew Mollo, 1965)* 

Zeta One (Michael Cort, 1969)*

Get Carter (Mike Hodges, 1971)

Futureworld (Richard T. Heffron, 1976)*

Porridge (Dick Clement, 1979)

Rock 'N' Roll High School (Allan Arkush & Joe Dante, 1979)*

The Scaremaker AKA Girls Nite Out (Robert Deubel, 1982)

Don't Open Till Christmas (Edmund Purdum, 1984)

Yes, Madam! (Corey Yuen, 1985)*

Righting Wrongs (Corey Yuen, 1986)*

The Dead Pool (Buddy Van Horn, 1988)

Trapped Alive (Leszek Burzynski, 1988)*

Meet the Feebles (Peter Jackson, 1989)

Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)

The Invisible Maniac (Rif Coogan, AKA Adam Rifkin, 1990)*

Basket Case 3 (Frank Henenlotter, 1991)

Evil Toons (Fred Olen Ray, 1992)

Rubber’s Lover (Shozin Fukui, 1996)*

Devil’s Prey (Bradford May, 2001)*

Elvira’s Haunted Hills (Sam Irvin, 2001)*

Havoc (Barbara Kopple, 2005)*

Santa’s Slay (David Steiman, 2005)*

WΔZ (Tom Shankland, 2008)*

All Through the House (Todd Nunes, 2015)*

Under the Silver Lake (David Robert Mitchell, 2018)

The Good Liar (Bill Condon, 2019)*

Cow (Andrea Arnold, 2022)* 

The Banshees of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh, 2022)*

Hounded (Tommy Boulding, 2022)*

Matriarch (Ben Steiner, 2022)*

Triangle of Sadness (Ruben Östlund, 2022)*

 

Television:

The Fast Show Christmas Special (Brendan O’Casey, 1996)

The Two Ronnies Christmas Sketchbook (Ronnie Barker & Ronnie Corbett, 2005)

Christmas University Challenge 2022 (Don Reid, 2022)*

FIFA World Cup 2022 (2022)*

Mastermind - lost count of episode numbers since the rugby (Bill Wright, 2022)*

Werewolf by Night - TV special (Michael Giacchino, 2022)*

 

*First time viewings.

 

Dada Debaser Notes:

• Never caught the Westworld (1973) sequel from start to finish until now. Great conspiracy premise, but the film looks terribly cheap. Many scenes were shot in some grotty industrial plant. Yul Brynner's return as The Gunslinger scene was completely bonkers.
• Loved the gothic splendour of Menzies' The Maze, but the film's climax is perhaps one of the most unexpected film twists I've witnissed. Somewhat spoilt the film for me, sadly.
  
• Lost count how many times I've watched Goodfellas, but it's only now I noticed Saw's Jigsaw was Henry Hill's parole officer.
  
• The homie Tommy Bunz (R.I.P.) was dead right about Havoc. Pure cringe from start to finish.
  
• Career lows for both James Robertson Justice and Charles Hawtrey appearing in the British sci-fi/sexploitation romp, Zeta One.
• Not a fan of musicals, but I can't hate on Rock 'N' Roll High School for having The Ramones as its main focus; plus, P.J. Soles helps a lot in what's otherwise a very erratic film. 
• The sixth form politics and class commentary in Östlund's Triangle of Sadness would almost be tolerable if it didn't bludgeon me over the head with it continuously throughout its lengthy, two hours and twenty-seven minutes run time. The dinner scene was the main highlight from the film.
• Usually get film trivia correct on quiz shows, but I'm dead proud I got none of the French New Wave set of questions right on University Challenge. 
• Adding Hounded to my list of Brit flicks which caters to The Daily Mail's readership. Dumb fun, despite its flaws. Doubt I'll ever bother seeing it again, though.
  
• Michelle Yeoh might be TIME's icon of 2022 , but her Hong Kong action flicks are undisputably better than any of the Hollywood film and TV shite she's been lacing us with over recent years. Loved seeing her kicking arse alongside Cynthia Rothrock in Yes, Madam, even if the slapstick comedy didn't work for me half the time.
  

Gonna tell my grandchildren this was Pepsi & Shirlie back in the day.

Worst Movie Accents: Part 2

The Dead Pool (Welcome to the Jungle scene)

Buddy Van Horn, 1988

As much as I like Liam Neeson, it's fair to say the big Irishman is hardly the best at adopting other accents. I'll never truly pinpoint what exactly his accent is meant to be in the Taken franchise, or whatever identikit movie he's been making ever since.

Big fan of  Peter Swan, Neeson's character from the giallo-esque The Dead Pool (1988), the fifth and final instalment in Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry series of films. Swan is a trashy horror director who thinks of himself as something of a luvvie. After a comical scene where Jim Carrey's punk rocker, Johnny Squares, mimes his way through Guns 'N' Roses' Welcome to the Jungle, Neeson's English accent becomes comically apparent in this scene. His vowel chewing delivers the best line in the entire film, "it's not a rip-off, it's a hummage". No idea what a "hummage" is, but I do know a hilarious homage when I see one. His ridicoulous accent, along with his schlockmeister standards, makes Neeson's Peter Swan a very likeable character.

The Dead Pool might be the weakest entry in the Dirty Harry films, but there's still a lot to love about it: it's blessed with way superior commentary on the film industry than Fellini's insomnia curing 8½ (1963); a Pauline Kael style film critic coming to a grisly end; and of course, a highly entertaining Bullitt (1968) inspired chase sequence with a remote controlled car:

The Dead Pool (Car Chase scene)

Buddy Van Horn, 1988

 

Speaking of dead pools.

Dada Debaser's 101 Greatest Rap Songs of the 90s

Ain't it funny how my favourite genres in film and music were once treated like red-headed step-children back in the day? Mainstream critics turned their noses in the eighties, but things done changed in the nineties and these two passions of mine were crossing over with more frequency. Mobb Deep's Prodigy dropped the lyrics "stab you in your brain with your nose bone," became the soundtrack to Doug's death scene from Friday the 13 Part IV: The Final Chapter (1984). That's why I've always found it fascinating when other like-minded people share their passion between the two; film critic, Mike Bracken, AKA The Horror Geek, dropping rap references in virtually all his film reviews, or that Moodz616 podcaster showing off his rap collection in between all that Italian Horror love. On a more refined tip, I once copped the utterly surreal The Hourglass Sanatorium (1973) from Mr. Bongo's boutique film label many years back.

Anyhow, with all that rambling out of the way, here are my greatest nineties Rap songs that have been sitting in my draft box for ages.

 

Dada Debaser's 101 Greatest Nineties Rap Songs:

Brand Nubian - Slow Down (1990)

Gang Starr - Just to Get A Rep (1990)

Ice Cube - Once Upon A Time in the Projects (1990)

Intelligent Hoodlum - Arrest the President (1990)

Kool G. Rap & DJ Polo - Streets of New York (1990)

LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out (1990)

N.W.A. - 100 Miles and Runnin' (1990)

Black Sheep - The Choice is Yours (Revisited) (1991)

Cypress Hill - How I Could Just Kill A Man (1991)

De La Soul - Millie Pulled A Pistol On Santa (1991)

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Summertime (1991)

Eric B. & Rakim - Juice (Know the Ledge) (1991)

Geto Boys - Mind Playing Tricks On Me (1991)

Ice-T - New Jack Huster (Nino's Theme) (1991)

Main Source - Just Hangin' Out (1991)

Naughty By Nature - Uptown Anthem (1991)

Nice & Smooth - Sometimes I Rhyme Slow (1991)

Organized Konfusion - Prisoners of War (1991)

Positive K feat. Big Daddy Kane - Night Shift (Pimp Version) (1991)

Public Enemy - Shut Em Down (Pe-te Rock Mixx) (1991)

Tim Dog - Fuck Compton (1991)

Too $hort - So You Want to be a Gangsta (1991) 

The UMC's - Never Never Land (1991)

A Tribe Called Quest feat. Leaders of the New School & Kid Hood - Scenario (Remix) (1992)

Black Moon - Who Got The Props (1992)

Das EFX - Mic Checka (Remix) (1992)

Diamond D and The Psychotic Neurotics feat. Showbiz - Feel the Vibe (1992)

EPMD feat. K-Solo & Redman - Head Banger (1992)

Lord Finesse feat. Big L - Yes You May (Funk Flow Mix) (1992)

Onyx - Throw Ya Gunz (1992)

Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) (1992)

Redman - Time 4 Sum Aksion (1992)

Ultramagnetic MC's - Poppa Large (East Coast Mix) (1992)

The Beatnuts feat. V.I.C - World's Famous (1993)

Big L - Devil's Son (1993)

Notorious B.I.G - Party And Bullshit (1993)

Da King & I - Tears (1993) 

KRS-One - Outta Here (1993)

Masta Ace Incorporated feat. Lord Digga & Eyce - Saturday Nite Live (L.A. Jay Remix) (1993)

MC Eiht - Streiht Up Menace (1993)

Outkast - Player's Ball (1993)

The Pharcyde - Passin' Me By (1993)

PHD - Concrete Jungle (1993)

Snoop Dogg - Tha Shiznit (1993)

Souls of Mischief - 93 'Til Infinity (1993)

South Central Cartel feat. Mr. 3-2 & Big Mike - Gang Stories (1993)

Wu-Tang Clan - Tearz (1993) 

Above The Law - Black Superman (1994)

Artifacts - Wrong Side of da Tracks (1994)

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - Thuggish Ruggish Bone (1994)

Gravediggaz - 1-800 Suicide (1994)*

KMD - What A N*ggy Know? (1994)

Lady of Rage - Afro Puffs (1994)

Nas - N.Y. State of Mind (1994)

O.C. - Time's Up (1994)

Rappin 4 Tay - Playaz Club (1994)

Scarface - Jesse James (1994)

Slick Rick feat. Doug E. Fresh - Sittin' in My Car (1994)

Smif-N-Wessun - Bucktown (1994)

Warren G feat. Nate Dogg - Regulate (1994)

2Pac feat. Dr. Dre - California Love (1995)

AZ feat. Nas - Mo' Money, Mo' Murder "Homicide" (1995)

Common - Resurrection (Extra P. Remix) (1995)

Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise (1995)

Fab 5 - Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka (1995)

Goodie Mob - Cell Therapy (1995)

GZA feat. Method Man - Shadowboxin' (1995)

Luniz - I Got 5 On It (1995)

Mobb Deep - Shook Ones Part II (1995)

Ol' Dirty Bastard - Shimmy Shimmy Ya (1995)

Raekwon feat. Ghostface Killah, Method Man & Cappadonna - Ice Cream (1995)

Saukrates - Father Time (1995)

Smoothe Da Hustler & Trigga Tha Gambla - Broken Language (1995)

Big Noyd - Recognize & Realise (Part 1) (1996)

Camp Lo - Luchini (This Is It) (1996)

East Flatbush Project - Tried by 12 (1996)

Ghostface Killah feat. Raekwon & Cappadonna - Daytona 500 (1996)

The Juggaknots - Troubleman (1996)

Lost Boys - Renee (1996)

M.O.P. feat. Teflon & Kool G. Rap - Stick To Ya Gunz (1996)

Poor Righteous Teachers - Word Iz Life (1996)

Ras Kass - Soul On Ice (Remix) (1996)

The Roots - Clones (1996)

Royal Flush feat. Noreaga - Iced Down Medallions (1996)

Street Smartz feat. O.C & Pharoah Monch - Metal Thangz (1996)

Black Attack feat. Problemz & Al Tariq - Verbal Attack (1997)

Capone ‘N’ Noreaga - Bloody Money (1997)

CRU - Just Another Case (1997)

Fat Joe feat. Armageddon - Find Out (1997) 

The Firm - Phone Tap (1997)

Puff Daddy & The Family feat. Notorious B.I.G, Lil' Kim & The Lox - It's All About the Benjamins (1997)

DMX - Stop Being Greedy (1998)

Smut Peddlers - One by One (1998)

N.O.R.E. - Superthug (1998)

50 Cent feat. The Madd Rapper - How to Rob (1999)**

Black Rob - Whoa! (1999)

Cam'ron - Let Me Know (1999)

Dead Prez - Hip Hop (1999)

Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg - Still D.R.E. (1999)

Jay-Z feat. U.G.K. - Big Pimpin' (1999)

Pharoahe Monch - Simon Says (1999)

 

* Was only able to find a fan video of this song online with the original and better lyrics. 
** Really ought to be the official video.

 

Dada Debaser Notes:

• Some of these I was listening to when they originally came out, while others were discovered  later on via various Rap forums.
  
• As expected, a bunch of songs I thought were from '90 turned out to be from '89, but surprisingly, a bunch of songs that I thought were from 2000 happened to be from '99. Rap finds a way, I guess.

Dada Debaser Bonus:

101 Greatest Non-Rap Songs of the 80s.

101 Greatest Non-Rap Songs of the 90s.

Black Christmas

Cilla Black's Christmas Eve (All Night Long performance)

Noel. D. Greene, 1983

 

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even our Graham. When Cilla Black's Christmas Eve was broadcast to British homes in the early eighties, it brought similar shock-horror to the unsuspecting public like Threads (1984), thanks to its awful rendition of Lionel Richie's All Night Long, featuring a bunch of kids rehearsing for one of George A. Romero's zombie pictures. Watching them body-poppin' and shuffling around what looks like a DFS showroom, while Cilla murders an already horrid song cements its legacy in TV Hell. Ardent Cilla Black nostaljacks would be hard pressed defending this eighties yuletide abomination to anyone with an ounce of common sense.

Thankfully, horror and Cilla Black managed to successfully align themselves more tastefully thanks to Edgar Wright's superb, time-travelling giallo, Last Night in Soho (2021). One of my favourite film highlights from last year and Wright's best film since Hot Fuzz (2007), in my humble opinion.

Last Night in Soho (Cilla Black's Your My World scene)

Edgar Wright, 2021

 

Dada Debser Bonus: 

The kid in a blue hoodie might seem like a familiar face. Surprise, surprise! It's none other than a young Jake Wood, better known as Max Branning from EastEnders (1985-∞) well before he appeared in that classic "French Polishers" Yellow Pages commercial.