ECLECTICA 7: CULTURE SCHLOCK
compiled May 1999 by Paul Estin

OK, I have to be honest; this is my favorite Eclectica compilation so 
far.  I hope you like it too.

The theme this time around is “cultural media”—books, paintings, 
comics, films, television programs, and even opera.  I’ve taken only 
my very favorite eclectic, funny, energetic songs in these categories, 
and crammed them onto one CD.  Also, I’ve finally gotten 
sufficiently high-quality digitization of LPs and tapes to put on CD 
mixes, so my range of available material has expanded somewhat.

We start with books.  Moxy Früvous kicks things off with “My Baby 
Loves A Bunch Of Authors,” filled with clever lyrics.  Then it’s on to 
the somewhat more subdued “Trollope” by Dave’s True Story.  I 
wasn’t previously familiar with the works of Anthony Trollope, so 
making this mix was even educational for me.  Next is “King Minos’ 
Song” from the soundtrack to “Inferno!”, a musical adaptation of 
Dante’s Inferno, a 1995 student production at the University of 
Chicago’s University Theater.  (Alas, the soundtrack is not as good as 
the actual live performances were—in particular, another song “Paolo 
and Francesca,” not presented here, was much better on stage.  I may 
eventually include it in an Eclectica collection anyway, though.)  
Then it’s on to three Tom Smith songs about specific books and 
authors—“Telly Taley Heart” (Poe), “Return Of The King, Uh-huh” 
(Tolkien), and “500 Hats” (Seuss).

Next medium is art and painting.  Ookla the Mok was bound to 
appear a lot on this mix, since they are a filk/rock band whose songs 
are nearly all about media.  “Guggenheim Love” is sort of a 
counterpart to “My Baby Loves A Bunch Of Authors.”  Then it’s 
Burning Sensations with “Pablo Picasso,” a bizarre ditty from the 
“Repo Man” soundtrack.

Comics.  Lots of Ookla here—“Superpowers,” “Arthur Curry” (a.k.a. 
Aquaman), and “Stop Talking About Comic Books” are all quite fun, 
interspersed with the classic “Superman’s Song” by Crash Test 
Dummies and the not-so-classic but quite fun “Spiderman” semi-
cover by Moxy Früvous.

Onward to movies.  Animaniacs provide a fun spoof of  Hollywood’s 
newspaper of choice with “Variety Speak.”  Then it’s Tom Smith 
combining the Animaniacs musical theme with content of  the Aliens 
movies into “Alien Adventures.”  Next is a favorite “Weird Al”  song 
of mine, “Gump,” to the tune of “Lump” by the Presidents of the 
United States of America.  King Missile exhibits their usual 
distinctive weirdness in “Martin Scorsese.”  One of my favorite 
Arrogant Worms songs, “Tokyo Love Song,” follows, and then it’s 
Tom Smith’s hypothetical horror movie series, as described in 
“Sheep Marketing Ploy.”  Finally, Animaniacs bookend the movies 
section with “Video Revue.”

TV.  Black Flag present “TV Party” from the Repo Man soundtrack 
(circa early 1980s), then it’s onward to the wonderfully demented 
“Jeannie’s Diner” by Marilyn E. Whitelaw, spoofing Suzanne Vega’s 
song “Tom’s Diner.”  Next the Arrogant Worms return with a tribute 
to “Sam, The Guy From Quincy.”  Uncle Bonsai present “Isaac’s 
Lament” concerning a certain ‘70s/’80s Aaron Spelling TV 
production.  (Note how the tune fits together complementarily with 
the show’s theme song.)  Finally, Tom Smith presents an ode to 
Babylon 5 with “Five Years,” set to what should by now be a 
recognizable tune.

Finally, John Forster merges two famous barbers-of-the-stage into 
“Figaro Todd,” and thus provides a fitting finale.

ABOUT THE COVER:
A digital collage, combining various images I found on World Wide 
Web.
Top row, left to right: Superman, Godzilla, Martin Scorsese, 
Spiderman.
Middle row: Sam from “Quincy,” caricature of Tolkien, Babylon 5, 
Larry Hagman and Barbara Eden from “I Dream of Jeannie.”
Bottom row: the cat in the hat (Dr. Seuss), Edgar Allen Poe, a fancy 
‘A’, Anthony Trollope, Pablo Picasso.