Year: 1996
Original Format: cassette
There’s a sort of narrative here: an extraterrestrial lands; is initially welcomed; meets a woman; is pursued by sinister forces; and in the end decides to return whence he came. It bears some resemblance to the plot of the John Carpenter/Jeff Bridges movie Starman, which I haven’t seen for many, many years. Apparently the Starman comes in response to the Voyager Golden Record, but at no point is he heard to say “Send more Chuck Berry.”
Playlist:
It Is Happening Again Carel Struycken
Struycken has been the go-to guy when you need a really tall, scary-looking actor for almost half a century now. His first screen credit was the role of “The Brute” in the Sgt. Pepper movie, which I remember not at all. One of these days I’ll screw up my courage enough to watch that thing again; I haven’t seen it since it came out, and I know a shit-ton more about The Beatles than I did then. Will that make it more or less painful?
The Happening Pixies
I was hoping that someone had made a video for this showing the ships actually landing on the Las Vegas Strip. None seems to exist, sadly. Come on, internet, help me out.
The Xists Have Landed Producers for Bob
“The X-ists or Xists, or Men from Planet X, will come in the Pleasure Saucers on X-Day to destroy Earth. Only dues-paying SubGenii will be spared the destruction, through The Rupture.” —SubGenius Wikia Clench
Praying to the Aliens Gary Numan
I just learned that Praying to the Aliens is also the name of Gary’s autobiography. I’m somewhat curious what his deal is, but probably not enough to actually read it.
All You of Earth Are Idiots Dudley Manlove
Another legendary line from the pen of Edward D. Wood, Jr. As for the actor — I am amazed to learn that Dudley Manlove was his real name. Says Wikipedia: “Dudley Devere Manlove (June 11, 1914 – April 17, 1996) was an American radio announcer and an actor. His credits include the San Francisco-based radio detective show, Candy Matson, YUkon 2-8209.” IMBD adds, “He had limited acting ability but his excellent voice gave him a career in radio, including being the voice of Lux Soap.”
We Need a Human Female Christopher Lee
And another highlight from the long and fabulous record of Mr. Lee. Though he died in 2015, his career is apparently not over; his IMDB page list a TV series called The Time War, which is still in post-production. His first credit was back in… let’s see… fucking 1946! That’s nuts.
Planet Claire The B-52s
“The time between 3 and 4 a.m. in general, and 3:30 specifically, have been identified by mystics of various traditions as spiritually potent times when the veil between our reality and other realities is at its thinnest.” —Songfacts.com
Teenage Pussy from Outer Space Buck Naked & the Bare Bottom Boys
Turns out all these years there’s been a music video for this song. I had no idea.
Newspapers… Maybe You Kyle MacLachlan
Another clip from the Roswell TV movie.
Men in Black Frank Black
Waiting for the Men in Black The Stranglers
I miss these days, when the Men in Black were not so cuddly.
I Shall Smite Them! Alan Arkin & Judy Graubart
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Marshall Brickman’s Simon is probably the most underappreciated movie of all time.
Mothership Connection Parliament
“We had put black people in situations nobody ever thought they would be in, like the White House. I figured another place you wouldn’t think black people would be was in outer space. I was a big fan of Star Trek, so we did a thing with a pimp sitting in a spaceship shaped like a Cadillac, and we did all these James Brown-type grooves, but with street talk and ghetto slang.” —George Clinton
Swingin’ Low The Outlaws
A surf version of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”? Sure, why not.
Up-wards at 45 Degrees Julian Cope
“This song is about living your spiritual truth. There’s a better world. It’s weird as hell. Don’t be scared, don’t be ashamed. There’s no room for shame in the better world.” —Anonymous commenter
Character Is What You Are in the Dark John Lithgow
Truly, Lithgow’s scenery-chewing turn as Dr. Emilio Lizardo in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is one for the ages.
Turn the Centuries, Turn The Stranglers
“Four fried chickens and a coke and some dry white toast.” —YouTube commenter Kelly Cantrell
Reel Ten The Plugz
Such an unattractive name for such a great band.
Interstellar Overdrive (excerpt 2) Pink Floyd
In case you’re in the mood for nine more minutes when this is over: