Slate has a great article on the origin of the Muppets’ song “Mahna Mahna.” The second most interesting bit I gleaned was that it wasn’t an original tune by the Muppets troupe. It’s so iconic and muppetesque that it’s hard to imagine it having a very non-Muppets beginning.

Yes, that’s the most shocking revelation from this story. The ditty was by Italian composer Piero Umiliani. Surprising given its Muppet notoriety, it was written for the 1968 documentary “Sweden: Heaven and Hell.” The film chronicled sexuality in the Scandinavian country for Italian audiences.

You read that right. The song made famous by those cute and cuddly Muppets had its origin in a soft-core porn movie.

The song, originally released as “Mah Nà Mah Nà”, was featured on the film’s soundtrack. The single was a minor hit and reached #55 on the U.S. charts in ’68. “Mahna Mahna” then began its second life when it appeared in a “Sesame Street” sketch during the first season of the children’s TV show. Later that same year, the Muppets performed the song on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” The catchy tune was reprised for the very first episode of “The Muppet Show” in 1976. See the video below. The Muppet hit even appears in the new film.

For more on this fascinating bit of Muppets trivia, head over to the Slate article. They also have videos of the song from (gasp!) the original movie.

This came out of left field. Latino Review received this pic and they’re claiming it’s a head from the 2011 live action TMNT movie that was being planned. I haven’t heard anything else about this movie since Nickelodeon snatched up the turtles. Could it still be on? Are they going for a more natural turtle look? Did I just stare at this image for an hour speculating what it would look like talking?

Hopefully we’ll get answers to all those questions except for the last one. That is between me and my computer screen.

Via Topless Robot

Update – It’s not for a movie. Surprise surprise.

The Simpsons Sing the Blues came out in 1990, riding on the huge wave of popularity the Simpsons were enjoying at the time. I was an insanely huge Simpsons fan when I was younger, and I’m starting to regain that obsession now thanks to finally buying all the DVD sets.

I had two or three of the Simpsons albums back in the day, and The Simpsons Sing the Blues was my first. While I liked the albums of music from the show better, I can’t help but feel nostalgic when I listen to Do the Bartman or Deep Deep Trouble. Since it’s a couple decades old, you can pick up the album on Amazon for less than ten bucks, or you can listen to all the songs with me thanks to the magical world of YouTube.

Who can forget how huge Do The Bartman was when it came out? I never knew until now that the song was actually co-written by the great Michael Jackson, who was apparently a big fan of the show. Later in Stark Raving Dad Jackson would provide the speaking voice of Leon Kompowsky (but not the singing voice). You can read more about Jackson’s ties to The Simpsons over here.

Well, I think you’ll agree it’s more of a The Simpsons Rap than it is Blues, but that title is lame so I don’t blame them. Now, if you’re a Simpsons fan looking for a more satisfying musical experience, go pick up one of the great soundtrack albums containing tracks from the show like Songs in the Key of Springfield.

Remember when I made a list of the Best Beatles Covers from the Muppet Show, and I said I could listen to a whole album of Jerry Nelson singing? Well, that’s exactly what I’m doing right now thanks to his new album, Truro Daydreams.

Jerry Nelson is of course the super talented puppeteer/voice actor/musician that you probably know as the characters Floyd, The Count, Gobo Fraggle, and too many more to mention. I heard about a year ago that he was coming out with an album, and it looks like it was just now released. It’s a very cool blend of a lot of different styles of music, and I highly recommend picking it up.

It’s a $9.99 download from Digstation (requires signing up for an account).

Thanks to ToughPigs for the tip.

Christopher Lee is no stranger to awesomeness, and his latest forray into the world of having a deep voice and being generally intimidating is Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross. His website describes it as a “metal concept album”, but I’ll let you be the judge.

Check out Christopher Lee’s website for more.

I don’t cover music a whole lot on Saturday Morning Central, especially new music, but this is pretty cool. One Eskimo is a band from the UK, and they’re making their debut in the United States by trying out a new concept, a visual album. It’s a combination of music and animation in a 10-part series that tells the story of One Eskimo and his animal friends Giraffe, Penguin, and Monkey. The animation reminded me a lot of the Gorillaz videos, which is appropriate because it was produced by the same studio.

I would best describe the music as indie/electro pop, almost reminiscent of Radiohead. The music combined with the animation is a pretty cool laid back trip. It’s more like an ongoing story than just a collection of music videos.

You can check out the official site or download the latest episodes on iTunes (non-affiliate, iTunes link).

Check out the Beatles Muppet shirt on 80stees.com!

One of the great disapointments in life is that no member of the Beatles ever appeared on the Muppet Show. The band had been broken up for six years or so by the time the Muppet Show came about, but I would have loved to see episodes starring each member. Well, I could have done without a Ringo episode, but still. Paul McCartney’s affinity for vaudeville would have been a perfect match for the show, but he would only agree to go on if he could bring the rest of Wings with him. Apparently, the producers couldn’t swing that, and now we’re left with no Muppet/Beatles crossovers.

All is not lost, however, because the Muppets still covered their fair share of Beatles songs. So without further ado, here are the best Muppet Beatles cover songs.

And for good measure, here’s the Sesame Street Let it Be spoof that almost cost CTW $5.5 million.

Well, this just sucks. The King of Pop, and the person I’ve always considered to be the most talented person on the planet died yesterday. This is the first celebrity death I’ve cared about in my life, and it’s hitting me pretty hard. Even though Thriller came out two years before I was born, it’s always been one of my favorite albums, and I’ve always loved Michael Jackson and his music. I think he had a tragic life, and was constantly crucified by the media.

For those of us who grew up with him primarily in the 90s instead of the 80s, this is how I’ll always remember him, how I discovered him.

Who can forget Black and White with Macaulay Culkin, or playing Moonwalker (my Dad had the arcade in his pizza shop). These are all memories from the 90s I have of Michael Jackson, and they mean as much to me as the 80s memories mean to my sisters.

His music was amazing. Someday I’m going to introduce my kids to his music and his videos, and I’ll look back and think of where I was when I heard he died. Like many people yesterday, I was on Twitter, hoping the reports weren’t true and trying in vain to access CNN on my phone.

I’m not going to go on and on or post a ton of YouTube videos because, chances are, you’re already doing that if you care. We’ll miss you Michael.

Let’s talk Muppets.  The Muppets have always gone hand-and-hand with Christmas to me over the years, and thats about 33% because of  A Christmas Together.  I’ll explain the other percentages in upcoming posts. Consider it a trilogy.

This album originally came out in 1979, as a soundtrack to a TV special of the same name, which supposedly really exists. It’s never been released on home video, and probably never will now that Disney owns the Muppets.

I remember picking up this album at Sam’s Club as a child and listening to it every year. Looking back on it now, there are a few songs I always skipped, but its a good listen during the holiday season.

Highlights

• 12 Days of Christmas – Pretty much what you’d expect a Muppet version of this song to sound like. Miss Piggy yelling “Five Gold Rings, buh-dum-dum-dum” is classic.
• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – (Rowlf the Dog/John Denver) This is my favorite Christmas tune, and possibly my favorite version of the song. Rowlf’s scratchy voice plus the musicians’ piano playing are a perfect match.
• Christmas is Coming – (Piggy, Scooter, Gonzo, and Robin)  Only a highlight because it’s not a long, drawn out, sappy song.
• Little Saint Nick - (Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem) I actually prefer this version to the original Beach Boys song. You’ve got to love the Electric Mayhem. I wish they had recorded tons of cheesy cover albums that I could use writing articles as an excuse to buy.

There are other good tracks, but there are also a few worth skipping, depending on your tastes. The Peace Carol is cool, Little Alphie, not so much. Regardless, it’s a part of my nostalgia, which means it will mean something to me the rest of my life, whether I want it to or now. Thats the crazy thing about memories.

What are some Christmas albums you grew up with? Chipmunks? Boyz II Men? Don’t be ashamed, let me know in the comments!

Vintage SMC: The sweet, sweet sounds of Mickey Unrapped

Some memories are best left alone. If I wasn’t so addicted to reliving the memories I have buried deep in my subconscious, Disney’s Mickey Unrapped could still be a great album. Heck, Animaniacs could still be hilarious. Unfortunately, my inner child can’t let that happen. I have to know if something’s still good. I usually call this rewatchablilty, seeing as how most of these feelings involve television shows or movies. In this case, you could call it…relistenability…er…well you know.

I loved Mickey Unrapped when I was nine. Nineteen ninety-four was a good year for kids. A prequel, if you will, to the treasure chest that was 1995. I loved everything Disney and I didn’t care if I was succumbing to their corporate branding schemes. In my mind, Mickey Mouse must have felt the need to record a rap cd with all his friends and, by golly, I would be there to support him.

I fondly remember going to Wal-Mart and buying the cassette. This was back in the day when Disney cassettes came packaged in those big thick plastic things that you had to get hedge trimmers to get past the first half inch, and then the rest would just fall apart. Over time I lost the tape, but I was lucky enough to snag a copy (a compact disc!) on ebay for ten cents, sealed and all. Wow, I would get to open Mickey Unrapped again!

Is a Mickey rap cd necessary? Who’s idea was it? In the real world, this idea would originate in some boardroom with a bunch of boring businessmen in suits, but in my nine-year old mind, Walt Disney was still alive somewhere and it had to have been his idea. Or Mickey’s. So was ‘ol Walt a hip-hopper? Here’s one of my adolescent interpretations of how this cd was born.

California: 1958

There you have it. Now, let’s get on with the album itself. How does it stand the test of time?

TRACK ONE: “ICE ICE MICKEY”

Right off the bat this album is confusing. I expected, even after twelve years, to hear the familiar bass line from “Ice Ice Baby” (or rather from “Under Pressure”), but alas, it’s nowhere to be found. Most likely, Disney couldn’t get the rights to the original song, and knowing how dumb kids are, went ahead with the song. Not that it matters too much though, the song would still just be one big pun. Apparetnly Disney thinks the word “cool” was invented by rappers and hasn’t been around since the fifties. Somewhere The Fonze is rolling in his grave. (I know) I don’t even want to count the number of times Mickey jokingly raps that he’s “so cool he’s co-co-cold!”

Once, twice, thrice, nice like ice/The beat is the best when you sing it with the mice

TRACK TWO: “MINNIE MOUSE IN THE HOUSE”

I have to admit, this one is kinda catchy. The concept of a whole song about how cool Minnie Mouse is kind of creeps me out though. Was it designed to appeal to boys? If so it shouldn’t have been. Do the girls care how cool Minnie is? Oh well. Once again, this track was written by either a calculator or a really weird kid, like the one in your English class who was always drawing pictures of Lola Bunny.

Now Minnie’s here and it’s a mouse house party/ Go tell it to Michael and Mona and Marty/ Gonna twirl, gonna swire, and ride the groove/ And when you see her you got to… MOVE!

TRACK THREE: “WHOOMP! (THERE IT WENT) (FEATURING TAG TEAM)

I hate using the term sell out, but wow. Tag Team not only agreed to let Disney spoof their song, but they perform on it too? You never saw Michael Jackson performing with Weird Al.

TRACK FOUR: “WHATTA MOUSE”

Take track two, make it about Mickey instead of Minnie, add a dash of Salt ‘n Pepa, and bam! Instant classic! Minnie Mouse “raps” about how faithful Mickey is to her and how he’s completely perfect in every way and how we should all feel like terrible people because we are not Mickey Mouse.

And yes he’s got what I want from A to Z/ He says I drive him crazy/ And he knows that my name is not Daisy.

Hmm.

TRACK FIVE: “BOWWOW TO THE BEAT (FEATURING WHOOPI GOLDBERG)

Apparently Whoopi goldberg knows rap, and she doesn’t even have to rap to prove it! Instead, she’s gonna talk reaaaal smooooth. About Pluto. And bark. This cd is getting old fast.

Dogs are cool. Dogs are good/ Would ya like to be a dog? I thought you would.

I wanna be a dog soooo bad…I could just shoot someone! Right Walt?

TRACK SIX: “DJ GOOF”

I don’t ever remember Goofy graduating from R.A.P. University, but I guess I could’ve missed that one. I wonder what R.A.P. University stands for anyway. Really Annoying Production? (I could’ve sworn obnoxious started with an A, sorry) Anyway, if PUN is the word in Mickey Unrapped, this song takes the cake. This track could have been called “Goofy misspells various forms of DJ, hilarity ensues.”

TRACK SEVEN: “DUCKS IN THE HOOD”

Heuy, Dewie, and Leuy are “on the run” and are apparently very dangerous. This track makes me mad because I still love Ductales furiously and I don’t want anything crapping on those memories, especially not the voice actors themselves. You hear that VOICE ACTOR?

TRACK EIGHT: “M.C. MICKEY”

M.C. M-I-C-K-E-Y. on the M-I-C

That about sums it up.

TRACK NINE: “U CAN’T BOTCH THIS”

Disney assumes not only do kids know what the word botch means, but use it/hear it enough to warrant making it the title of the most recognizable song on the album. But then again, nothing really rhymes with touch. All in all this is actually a semi-entertaining song. The things Goofy does (botches) are silly enough that you forget you’re listening to a Mickey rap cd.

TRACK TEN: “LITTLE RED RAPPINGHOOD”

he talks a lot, we get it. They were scraping the barrell with this one.

TRACK ELEVEN: “MICKEY MOUSE CLUB MIX”

A for effort. Does it really matter anymore?

TRACK TWELVE: “THE COLOR OF MUSIC (FEATURING COLOR ME BAD)

Finally, something pleasing to the ears. Just sit back, close your eyes, don’t listen to the words, and it kind of seems like real music. That’s a start!

Well, I wish I could just give you all the mp3s of these songs so you could hear for yourself, but Disney probably wouldn’t like that too much. Not that Disney would like seeing a gun in Walt’s hand, but oh well.

Just think, if they could have waited a year we could have had Goofy’s Paradise (Featuring Coolio).

-Tommy