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Weekend Discussion Thread: Best Rock Music ReferenceThe ever-resourceful Susan suggests:
Gotta go for Crow’s comment that “KISS were never cool.” What’s your pick? 151 Replies to “Weekend Discussion Thread: Best Rock Music Reference”Commenting at Satellite News
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I’m not sure this quite counts, but I loved the parody of the “Behind the Music” rock specials when they did “SOL’s Legends Of Rock Presents: The Band That Played California Lady” from Track of the Moon Beast.
(BTW, Mary Jo Pehl and Josh covered this song on MJ’s kickstarter album, and the results were quite entertaining.)
Well the ultimate rock reference is of course SOL’s “Legends of Rock” featuring the Band That Played California Lady.
I’m a big Pink Floyd fan.
So of course it was awesome when they start riffing Floyd lyrics at the start of Mitchell.
Joel: “…the lunatic is on the grass…”
Tom Servo: *crazy laughter*
There’s more too, but that’s my favorite.
This is smaller, but Mike dissed Rush during The Canada Song
But no band can top the musical stylings of Arch Hall Jr in Eegah!
The only specific in theater rock reference I really remember was Prince showing up in Agent for HARM.
And i don’t know if he counts as rock but the Gordon Lightfoot references in Gorgo and The Undead were pretty good.
“Sundown you better take care.”
“Gah, damn you, Mike.”
From Pod People:
Mother: Tommy can you hear me?
Servo: Can you feel me near you?
During the short A Day at the Fair, when the marching band appears, Servo starts singing a Nirvana song:
“Here we are now, entertain us.
I feel stupid and contagious”
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” seems like the perfect fit for a short that talks about ears of corn and grandma rooms.
there are many references to Rush – a band the Brains purport to hate – and my favorite is from San Fran International: as the medical supply crates are being inspected, “Serum, the new album by Rush!”
Any answer other than the ‘Werewolf’ credits song is wrong.
Well, maybe The Band That Played ‘California Lady’, but that’s been mentioned already.
A few of my favorites.
In “Final Justice” when Geronimo gets into a fight with a bunch of low life bad guys.
Crow: “He’s fighting A Red Hot Chili Pepper!”
Tom: (Quietly says) Flea.
In “Laserblast” guy is walking across the screen.
Tom: Looks like Trent Reznor ran out of gas. Poor guy.
Crow: Looks like Robert Smith is in a good mood today.
In “Hercules and the captive women” a character is standing next to the water on a beach.
Joel: Standing on the beach with a gun in my hand. (“Killing an Arab” from “The Cure”)
as a Rush fan and willing to admit it, i both grumble and chuckle during ‘Final Sacrifice,’ as Mike is pointing out the old trash cabin as Geddy Lee’s birthplace.
I just want to give Tommy a great big kiss when he starts singing Tom Waits’ “Pasties and a G-String” during the club scene in “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die.”
Golly, there’s tons of these.
The Heart music video references in Cave Dwellers.
The Dead routine from The Dead Talk Back (and then the MOON came out and it was as if Jerry WILLED it).
Some episode where they start singing Black Diamond (still unsure if this is in reference to the KISS version or to The Replacements’ cover).
Hello!
Johnny Mathis in Mitchell!
Two of my favorites: Warrior of the Lost World & Talking Heads
Paper Chase guy: “This ain’t no party.”
Servo: “This ain’t no disco.”
Any time Jimmy Carl Black is mentioned.
The Johnny Mathis reference in The Horror Of Party Beach…
“Chances are…I’m gonna kick your scrawny ass…”
Not really a rock song…but worthy of note.
Soultaker:
The blonde comb-over guy: “Zeppelin was wrong! There is no stairway to Heaven!”
Servo: “Shut up! Zeppelin’s never wrong, man!”
Mike: “Is Sabbath wrong too, man?”
8-) :shock: 8-) :shock: 8-)
From Crash of the Moons
General Drake: Cleolanta, try to understand . .
Joel: . . I’m a Magic Man.
In Posture Pals, they reference the Grateful Dead song, Truckin’.
Crow: And than you truck like the Doo Da man.
Tom: Oh, got his chips cashed in.
I love Servo’s debate about Yes’s Owner of a Lonely Heart. Is it better than an owner of a pencil, cheese grater, etc. Masterpiece.
From Rocket Attack USA: the shot of the spies in the Russian wasteland and Tom says, “I’m standing in a shotgun shack, on the other side of the world…and this is not my beautiful wife” (a play on the Talking Heads, “Once In A Lifetime”) This is one of my favorites, since when I originally saw the broadcast I was so impressed with myself for finally getting one of the more sophisticated references that were usually flying over my fourteen-year-old head!
There are more than the usual number of rock music references in Space Travelers, perhaps because of its 1969 vintage. My fave is when Joel sings one of the trippy lines of “Roundabout” and one of the ‘bots says “Just say no to Yes.”
The Satellite of Love itself is my favorite rock reference.
That and “old man, take a look at my elf. He’s a lot like you were”.
Hercules to captive women (well actually one captive woman) “What’s your name?” leading to obvious response, “Who’s your daddy?”
I don’t know that it’s the best, but the first one that sprang to mind is the “Smoke on the Weirdo!” Riff in Manos.
From “The Touch of Satan,” during one of the many pauses, Jody and Melissa are in her witch shed.
Jody: “Melissa…”
Crow: “Crossroads seem to come and go.”
All the accidental on turning during Hobgoblins
Everyone at Best Brains were known fans of Frank Zappa (…those in doubt should check out Episode #523 “Village Of The Giants”). Several of his song lyrics were integral to various riffs, most notably “Poodle bites; poodle chews” – a reference to the song “Dirty Love,” in Manos: The Hands of Fate, and “Is that a real poncho or a Sears poncho?” from “Camarillo Brillo” in “Mitchel” (…plus a few others if memory serves).
“The Death of Rick Springfield” from Space Mutiny always makes me chuckle. “Just wish I had Jessie’s Giiiiirrrlll!!!
There are so many that come and go so quickly, but I am sure that if I researched and thought about it for a while I could easily come up with a Top 50 list. But ah won’t do that to ya.
Because I watched it recently, there are a couple from “Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell”. The first one involved our “hero” talking to someone in the castle, in a fixed pose. When he starts to walk away, one of our jokesters says “I’m done with my Robert Plant imitation”.
Digression: That made me think of “Hobgoblins”, when we get the full body reveal of Fantasia, and Tom exclaims “Robert Plant!” I’ve seen that dozens of times and it always cracks me up.
Then, at the end of Deathstalker Mike starts singing “You can dance if you want to…”, because of the cast running around like they were in that renaissance themed video by “Men Without Hats” (is that the right group name?). Anyway, if you watched MTV in the early 1980s you know the video.
Finally, from “Laserblast”, frequent shots of vehicles driving around and Tom singing “The South’s gonna do it again!”
Space Children, “driving on the beach with the kids in the car”.
Not a riff, but the Hexfield visit by Bridgette as Lisa Loeb always cracks me up.
Mike: “Lisa Loeb, everyone!”
Crow: “Lisa Loeb? I thought it was Courtney Hole.”
In ‘Space Travelers’ AKA ‘Marooned’, the name of the spacecraft is Ironman 1. So naturally, Joel and bots do some Black Sabbath.
Also in the same movie, Joel sings a bit of ‘Roundabout’, prompting Tom to say “Say no to Yes.”
A couple that I liked were in “Monster a Go-Go”, during the scenes with the camera stalking through the darkened labs. The weird electronic soundtrack results in “Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’…” and “Ooooh, what a lucky man, he was.”
And, of course, every time we see a screaming crowd, there’s the traditional riff of, “The Beatles!”
I’ve got two! One is from MST3K and one is from Rifftrax. Overdrawn at the Memory Bank, “Appearing tonight .. .. SLAYER!!!” :devil: From the Rifftrax DVD commentary Star Trek II The Wrath of Kahn. Admiral Kirk says “Klingons take no prisoners” immediately followed by Corbett saying “And neither does Megadeth”! :devil:
Aw Jeez, I forgot Mike turning into… ADAM DURITZ OF COUNTING CROWS???!!!
I’m with VeryDisturbing on the Pink Floyd references, particularly in “Alien from LA.” “How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat your meat?”
I also get excited when Tom Servo sings like Tom Waits. Again, from “Alien from LA.” “There’s a world going on Underground.”
Does the host segment where Joel and the Bots take a long, steamy look at “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” count? :)
I believe it’s from Revenge of the Creature; the monster is chained down underwater, attempting to free itself, when Tom bursts out with a random “Break those chains that bind you!”. (See also: Escape 2000)
Love the moment in “Monster A-Go-Go” where a camera is moving down a hallway while there’s this strange guitar music on the soundtrack and Joel says “They’re sneaking past Robert Fripp’s room!” I was a huge King Crimson fan at the time, and the music definitely had that kind of vibe to it. It was one of those moments where it was clear the Brains were not afraid to go really obscure with the references and that made me an even bigger fan of the show.
Star Force, Fugitive Alien II:
Ken: “Rita!”
Tom: “Meter maid!”
#16 and he’s the Indian in the group
from Home Economics
Play Whipping Post!
Free Bird!
Then KISS came to town!
The rock music references are some of my favorite things that come up in the show. Despite that, the only one I can remember off the top of my head is when Servo is singing “Someday Love Will Find You” in Escape 2000, probably because it fits so well with what’s going on in that end credits music.
“Sessions Presents” from Tormented. Lite Rock but why not?
and of course:
Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man…
I’m a big fan of classic and prog rock, so there are a lot of these riffs I love, even the mocking ones. I’ve mentioned this in another thread about “psychic lawn darts”, –I forget the episode–, but Crow mispronounces the word “ipecac” as “apacac” and Joel says “You mean the Genesis album?”, referring to “Abacab”. Just one of those little improv moments that make me love the show.
Rock ‘n’ roll Martian!
Someone mentioned “Rocket Attack USA”, but how about “Mole People”, where one of the women prepare to be sacrificed. I think Mike says “The Death of Shirley Manson”, followed by “Stupid Girl”
Or in Last of the Wild Horses, where Crow says the deputy is “Black Crows’ lead singer thin”
Don’t remember the episode, but there’s the sound of a gong and Joel says, “Ladies and gentlemen, the Mahavishnu Orchestra.” As a huge MO fan, I love that they got referenced on MST3K.