Posts Categorized: Songs

I Touch Myself from Austin Powers – Is it still actually funny?

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If we all remember the movie version, we fell in love with the theme song sung by Madonna for one of the Austin Powers movies and the video of her riding in his car singing.  She then also had a song for an actual James Bond movie that completely kicked ass.  However, another song which Ryan wanted to write about is I Touch Myself from Austin Powers.

I wasn’t sure if I should let him write about I Touch Myself from Austin Powers the movie, but they are producing a musical version of it and it is a kind of popular song.  When reading about what he thought when he first saw it and what he thinks now, I decided to let him post it.  Here is Ryan’s overall thoughts on I Touch Myself from Autism Powers.

Growing up I seriously believed that I Touch Myself from Austin Powers was the funniest musical sequence to ever occur in film. I just watched it again for the first time in about 15 years, and while I no longer would defend that position, I do think that I had a pretty decent sense of humor for an eight year old. After all, what is this scene lacking? I Touch Myself from Austin Powers has it all; sexiness, dance moves, robots, explosions, a fun soundtrack, and even adult stars (the “fem bots” are played by Jenna Jameson). Sure, some parts are a bit slapstick and immature, but the movie is about a cryogenically frozen secret agent who comes back to fight Dr. Evil. You can’t take such a ridiculous plot seriously, and neither can the movie itself.

The biggest thing I notice now that I did not as a child is how confusingly dated everything seems. In this scene, there is a Canadian actor, playing a 1960’s Brit, exploding 1990’s porn star robots with his sex appeal. Austin has the retro-sci-fi outfit (though admittedly not for long), the Fem Bots have ridiculous nineties haircuts, and everyone is smoking on screen. Thinking about how weird all of this is almost makes the scene seem as surreal as it is over the top. There is just a whole lot going on that has no business in this decade – or any other for that matter.
But the scene is more than comedic relief. I Touch Myself from Austin Powers is the one time the hairy chested protagonist’s oversexed personality does not get him in trouble — rather it saves his life. After watching about an hour of the immensely likeable character’s libido shoot him in the foot, I was really rooting for his sex drive to do something good for him. And in this scene it does! Earlier in the film the Fem Bots are displayed as this cutting edge, death inducing technology. They are like lady Terminators that use their seduction instead of strength. However, Austin Powers also uses his seduction instead of strength (or skill, or intelligence… seduction is pretty much all he has) and when he dances to I Touch Myself they literally short circuit from how awesome he is.

I think that there is an almost humanist appeal to this success. Everyone wants to think that the thing they keep doing that gets them in trouble or others call a waste of time will come in handy. Maybe you will end up in some sadistic trivia game and being able to recite all of the dinosaurs from the Jurassic period will save your life. Or maybe one day all the cup stacking you have been practicing will help when you need to… ok, the cup stacking will probably never take you further then winning cup stacking competitions. Still, throughout the movie, Austin tries seducing many people with the best intentions. Time and time again, this only leads to him hurting himself and others. After all of this, I Touch Myself from Austin Powers was a breath of fresh air and a victory for the underdog.

I will not argue that the sound effects aren’t annoying. And I agree that or that the whole premise isn’t abundantly absurd if not stupid. However, this movie seemed like pure comedic genius when I was in second grade, and even if you hate it, at least it is a catchy song.

We Just Had Sex – Well We Didn’t – From Passing Strange the Musical

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This is a guest post from a friend.

Here in DC we seem to have skipped spring and jumped straight to summer. When I came across We Just Had Sex from Passing Strange, I knew right away that I had found a perfectly steamy Broadway song match the weather here. The song is so warm and surreal I that it captivated me right away and made me think of how this weekend I would finally be able to walk around out in the sun without being bundled up. We Just Had Sex from Passing Strange sounds just as dreamy and happy as I feel about the sun coming out and bringing along beautiful weather after the long winter.

Right off the bat, We Just Had Sex from Passing Strange is warm, spicy and inviting, yet at the same time cool and relaxing. The jazzy and tangy intro lets you know that it is going to be fun, funky, and saucy. No time is wasted diving right into the subject matter – people that just had sex and are totally ok with it. I don’t think I have ever heard a song that is so innocent, non-chalant, and even cute about such a sensitive subject. It is this lackadaisical attitude that makes We Just Had Sex from Passing Strange so hilarious.

As soon as the girl kicked off the song with the statement, “we just had sex” I found it impossible not to grin. Her wide-eyed eagerness and frankness in sharing what she had just done, along with her bedhead hair style was just too much for me to watch and keep a straight face. When a song is titled “We Just Had Sex” and opens up with the same lines, you have to wonder where they will take it from there. I was a little worried that they had peaked too early and the humor would fizzle out, but my fears were relieved as soon as the next verse launched with “We just had sex / that’s right all three of us.” While the song becomes increasingly kinky, it always maintains the innocent, unashamed, and non-graphic tone that it opened with. This is because the whole piece seemed to be arguing that sex is natural and not a big deal. As the cast makes clear, they don’t need any feelings of guilt or to make a big deal of it — except for how much fun it was. They just had sex and even though “you might think it’s quite risqué / It’s the European way!”

My favorite part, other than the tune (which is enraging everyone else in the apartment as I keep humming it) was the guitar player who gets caught stroking his instrument’s neck up and down. Yes, I know I said the song was non-graphic…. it is also called “We just had sex” so I was speaking in relative terms. The other highlight of it for me was watching the younger man at center stage in the button up shirt. To give a little context, he is a young American man from 1970’s Los Angeles on his first trip to Europe — and in this song he seems to be blown away with the culture and absolutely loving it. I thought it was great how he was so ecstatic and excited, especially considering how he contrasts with everyone else’s cool and casual attitudes.

We Just Had Sex from Passing Strange had me cracking up intermittently for almost an hour after I saw it. I feel like this is quite a noble achievement, especially considering that the song is less than two minutes long. With its funny lyrics and cool, surreal groove, I am seriously looking forward to putting it on my iPod and going for a stroll under the capital’s cherry blossoms while singing along to the lalala part.

The Top Ten Broadway Songs for Karaoke (20+ songs)

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Tons of people like karaoke and one thing that almost always ends up happening, especially with duets, is someone singing broadway songs for couples, ballads and other showtunes at karaoke nights.  It doesn’t matter if you are at a straight bar, a gay bar or anywhere else, if they have karaoke there is probably going to be a showtune somewhere in the book and someone is going to perform at least one of the most popular broadway songs.  Here are a list of ten popular broadway songs for karaoke and the shows they are from.

1.  Summer Nights from Grease

Everyone knows this one and it almost always gets everyone in the audience singing along.  Summer Nights from Grease is probably one of the most popular broadway karaoke songs that people like to sing.  It’s fun to sing a long to and almost always in the song list at every club.  Besides we go together or hopelessly devoted, Summer Nights from Grease is probably the most sung karaoke showtune and one that will always be around.

2.  Suddenly Seymour from Little Shop of Horrors

Although many straight karaoke bars don’t always have this one, because of the movie that came out a couple of decades ago, this became one of the most popular karaoke showtunes at gay bars, some straight bars and for duets.  It is usually available if there is a large enough song book, and you can find it on sale almost anywhere as it is one of the more popular songs.  It is another one that people love to sing a long too, but it’s also one that gets annoying and old fast.

3.  I Believe from The Book of Mormon Karaoke

This one came out of nowhere.  For some reason people started adding I Believe from The Book of Mormon to their karaoke lists and tons of guys are trying to sing it.  Not everyone can hit the higher notes in the song, but everyone who loves the show loves to join in and sing a long to their favorite lines.  Not only is it funny, but because it is very new it gets everyone excited and laughing if they’ve never heard the song before.  This is a definite song to get applause if you can sing and hit the notes and also get everyone laughing, unless they don’t have a sense of humor.  I Believe karaoke is definitely one of the newer popular broadway karaoke songs and one that you should definitely add to your playlist if you want to keep broadway people happy.

4.  A Whole New World from Aladdin

Whether you are at a gay or a straight bar, someone is going to sing this song if they have it.  People love this Disney showtune and now that Aladdin is going to Broadway, we are probably going to hear it even more.  This song has been sung to death, beaten and then sung again.  People love it because it is a fun one and it is hard to mess up, but it is also one that gets annoying after a while.  If you want to sing it, go ahead but you should also try to find one that hasn’t been done a million times over and over again.

5.  Seasons of Love from Rent

This song is another one that is old and overdone.  I love Rent and definitely sing it way to often, but this song is never done well.  It takes a group of people that aren’t tone deaf and although everyone tries it, I have never heard it done well.  The song is a lot harder than it sounds and when you’re drunk you think you can do it well…until you hear the recording the next day your sober friends took with their phones.

6.  When You’re Good to Mama from Chicago

This is another popular one that has faded.  The reason it’s popular is that it is easy to sing and impossible to mess up.  The song was extremely popular when the movie version of the show came out and a ton of people will remember it and pay attention when you sing it.  A few might join in as well.  The song is fun and easy to do which is why everyone likes it.

7.  Cabaret from Cabaret

Liza made this one famous and because of it’s fun nature and because you can overact it, it is always a popular one to sing at a karaoke night.  Everyone loves it and almost everyone forgets the words.  If you mess up and sing the wrong verse, don’t worry, everyone else probably did the same.  You can change it to any tone or pitch and the song will still work and sound good.  If you over drank so you could get up and sing, the song still works.  Cabaret from Cabaret is a classic karaoke showtune that everyone loves and will definitely join in and sing with you.

8.  Don’t Rain on My Parade from Funny Girl

This is one of my favorite showtunes to sing at karaoke.  Not only is it a hard one, but it is one that always gets people to cheer for you.  Even if you don’t do it well, everyone loves to hear it performed and everyone knows how ridiculously hard the song can be to sing.  That’s why they always cheer and give you applause for doing this song.  It is an amazing song and one that you can turn and make your own extremely easily.  Because you can add or change the tone and pitch with most of the song, add scales or even your own inflections, it is extremely hard to mess up, even though the song is hard to do.  This is definitely one of the best broadway songs for karaoke and one that always get an applause.

9.  Gimme Gimme from Thoroughly Modern Millie

Oddly enough I’ve heard this song done a million times and randomly at different karaoke nights.  For some reason there is always someone when you go to a showtunes themed or gay bar that does karaoke that does this song.  I actually love this song and love when people do it.  I tried it once and failed miserably so I am always excited when I hear someone sing it well.  Two other songs that are popular from this show are Forget About the Boy and The Main Theme Song Thoroughly Modern Millie.

10.  Any Dream Will Do from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

The reason people always choose do sing this one at Karaoke is because it is very basic.  The tune is the same, you can sing off key and it can still work and as long as you can change pitch, you can do a good job.  If for some reason you mess this song up, you probably shouldn’t try singing again.  This is one of the easiest showtunes to sing and one that is definitely worth trying if you are too scared to go for a harder one.

If you want another list of broadway karaoke songs that are popular, here are a bunch of others.

Don’t Stop Believing – Rock of Ages and Glee

Maybe This Time – Cabaret

There’s Got to be a Morning After – Poseidon Adventure and King of the Hill

On My Own from Les Miserables

Defying Gravity from Wicked

Good Morning Baltimore from Hairspray

I’m Alive – Next to Normal

Ladies Who Lunch – Company

Somewhere Over the Rainbow – The Wizard of Oz

Music of the Night – Phantom of the Opera

Feel free to add your own favorite broadway songs for karaoke by leaving a comment below.  You can also buy broadway karaoke cd’s and broadway karaoke mp3s by clicking on the widgets for Amazon and download them.  Feel free to also leave a video of yourself singing your favorite showtune or a link to your YouTube Video and I might replace the one from the post with yours.  Thank you again for reading and looking forward to hearing your favorite broadway karaoke songs and seeing your videos if you share them.

Summertime from Porgy and Bess – Because I am tired of this Winter Crap!

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I am soo tired of the end of winter in DC where it is cloudy, grey and randomly cold when it looks like it should be warm out. I can’t wait for spring with the cherry blossoms and the weather getting warm and being able to go running outside without freezing. When I was thinking about a song to write about today, the only one I could think of when looking outside where it is grey and cold and bare is Summertime from Porgy and Bess. Summertime from Porgy and Bess is an awesome showtune about summer and one that I absolutely love.

The whole song reminds me of New Orleans which is one of my favorite cities in the world. My Dad lived there before hurricane Katrina and when I went to visit for the first time I instantly fell in love. The city’s culture, the music and the food are incredible. Even if you leave the French Quarter to go out on the swamps or the Bayou, the people still smile and are always happy to see you. It is one of the happiest and most inviting cities I have ever been to. It also has a huge history of supernatural beings like the Vampires from Anne Rice’s novels, Voodoo from actual voodoo temples and basically every other type of monster and magic you can think of. When you mix that with the food, the parties and even events like Mardis Gras, you are left with an amazing city and because of the fun atmosphere and how long families have lived there, you have a happy group of people ready to welcome you to their city. That’s why Summertime from Porgy and Bess sort of reminds me of New Orleans.

During parts of the song they scat and when the people are singing they just make you want to relax for a few minutes. There’s something about this type of music that just makes you feel warm inside and the name Summertime is perfect for this showtune because it really makes you feel like it is summer time outside, even if it isn’t spring yet and the weather is still freezing. If you have a favorite showtune about summer, even summer loving from Grease, feel free to share it below in the comments section and let us know why you love it and why it makes you think of summer.

Camelot from Monthy Python and Spamalot…because Ryan wrote another post

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When I was in middle school and told my friend I was going to read the King Arthur saga, he told me I should just watch Monty Python’s Quest for the Holy Grail instead because it was the same thing.  He was totally wrong, but I’m ok with that because the misguided advice gave me the chance to sit down with my family and see one of the most hilarious movies and show tunes of my life.

Although the film is definitely a classic comedy and completely littered with laughs, the first thing that comes to mind whenever I think of it is the Knights of the Round Table / Camelot song. Each time I see the movie, the song gets stuck in my head for a few days.  The upbeat tune is incredibly catchy and shows a side of the famous and mythologized knights of the Round Table that definitely did not make it into most of the written King Arthur tales.

In the song, the knights of Camelot readily admit that in “War we’re tough and able, quite indefatigable” but when they are not battling it out with swords, they like the simpler pleasures in life, like impersonating Clark Gable, singing opera, and eating ham and jam and spam a lot. The song demonstrates that these warriors know how to wield a weapon, but they also know how to unwind and have a great time doing dance routines. Even though it only lasts a minute, it had my entire family laughing for much longer than that. If you watch the video, you’ll see that even the prisoner hanging from a stone wall in shackles can’t help but get in on the action.

Anyone who enjoys slapstick comedy, jolly tunes, and watching men in full suits of body armor dance on banquet tables will have a great time watching the Knights of the Round Table song. If you want to see it live, look up if Spam A Lot is running in a theater near you, it’s another Monty Python fun filled feature based off of the same movie and song.