Category Archives: WTF?

Sun Ra Plays the Batman Theme?

For Sale, WTF?, , , , , , , , ,

Of all the vinyl finds I’ve had lately, one of the most surreal has to be this French repressing of this Batman and Robin album, complete with the Batman theme.

Re-issued by Klimt Records years ago in France, this record brought in some serious firepower as session musicians, namely members of the Al Kooper Blues Project and the Sun Ra Arkestra including Sun Ra himself on the Hammond B3. The original album gives no clue to the super-session nature of the album, but Klimt sets the record straight with a complete roster of players on the back cover.

That roster included Sun Ra, Al Kooper, Steve Katz, Pat Patrick, Marshall Allan, Danny Kalb and others.

According to blogger Ryan Masteller at Critical Masses, at least one of those players truly hated doing the sessions. Maybe they were underpaid, or had an angry martinet type running the show, or perhaps they were forced to do the music wearing tights and cowls? We may never know.

I’d never heard of this until I spotted it in the bins a few weeks ago. I was so amazed that I had to grab one. The album is a cash-in, made during the Adam West Batman period.

What’s really funny about that to me, at least where the actual Batman theme song is concerned, is that when you watch the end credits of any Batman episode, when they get to the music portion, there is a LYRICS credit.

Yes, somebody actually got paid to come up with “Batmaaaan. Da-da da-da- da-da-da….(repeat until your face falls off)…BAT MAAAAAAANNNNNNN”

But back to the record. The musicians are credited on the cover as “Dan and Dale”. On the flip side, the French pressing reveals that it’s actually Sun Ra and various other names (something not found on the original, heh).

All things considered, this is one super-oddball find and while some uber-collectors are no doubt tapping their foot and clucking at me finding this only years after the fact, collectors be damned. You take the weirdness where you can find it. I was quite pleased to score this and nominate it for “most mind-bending vinyl find of the month”. Sun Ra and Batman. It doesn’t come any further out of left field than that.

(Side note–I do have a copy of the Sun Ra Plays Batman & Robin on auction at eBay. When it’s gone, it’s gone!)

–Joe Wallace

WTF Album Covers Tsjuder Demonic Possession

WTF?, , , , ,

by Joe Wallace

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not at all a fan of black metal, so maybe it’s completely unfair to poke fun at the Tsjuder album cover for Demonic Possession. After all, if you’re not a fan of this kind of music, it just seems a bit silly. The “ooh scary” makeup, the spiky leather armbands, the growling…if you aren’t caught up in any of this your first reaction is likely something to do with the notion that it might be time to leave Mom’s basement and try using some hair conditioner.

But is that really fair? Whatever…I’m a first impression sorta guy when it comes to WTF album covers.

So with that said, I could NOT STOP LAUGHING at the expression on this guy’s face when I spotted this album cover. Sorry, black metal fans, but the face paint doesn’t say anything to me except Circ du Soleil, and the scowling makes me think about eating more fiber. Coupled with yet another indecipherable scrawl for a band logo and we have a winner for this week’s “Album Cover Most Likely To Make You Laugh While Looking Over Your Shoulder For Angry Metal Dudes With Baseball Bats” contest.

Making fun of black metal band album covers is probably almost as dangerous as making fun of gangsta rap records like Mister Stinky’s Everything Dead. THAT clown actually made a sort-of halfhearted threat to shoot my little harmless ass after I wrote, “Fame, fortune, and all the summer sausage you can eat have all passed Mr. Stinky by…”

The reply I got to THAT post read, “Who ever wasted there time and life…. let me know where you are so I can put a bullet in your face!” Nice going, Stinky. Now the lawyers know where to find you.

Poking fun at the metal album covers hasn’t earned me any similar missives so far, but I did get a peeved message from an offended Yanni fan. Boy, oh boy, I just don’t know when to quit, do I?

I do wonder what day of the week it will wind up being when some face-painted angry King Diamond sorta guy shows up looking for some fisticuffs because I said something slightly negative about the idea that all these black metal face-paintey guys make me giggle like a Swedish schoolgirl.

So it’s getting shot by Mister Stinky or curb-stomped by some Scandinavian goat worshipper…hmmm. Which do I choose? Never mind, I’m gonna start making fun of Micronesian zither polka album covers next. Those dudes might come after me with a potato peeler or a pencil sharpener, but it won’t do any lasting injury.

WTF Album Covers: Leona Anderson Music To Suffer By

WTF?, , , , , ,

by Joe Wallace

I stumbled on this image of the album cover for Leona Anderson’s Music To Suffer By on The Magic Whistle. WTF is going on in this picture? This one’s suitable for framing–at least in MY house where bad album art has a special place of love and reverence.

There’s nothing quite like the joys of an especially wretched piece of album art. The ones so wrong-headed you can’t even begin to describe them are my favorites. Music To Suffer By from Leona Anderson is definitely one of those. Can you hear the discussion between Anderson and the artist? “Well, miz Anderson, the guy with the violin is, you know, gonna KILL you here with that lighter as you’re trying to sing with cobwebs coming out of your mouth. GET IT?”

If YOU get it, please by all means, let ME know what this is trying to say. I think maybe I’m still drunk from a week last Thursday and that’s why I can’t wrap my head around it.

WTF Album Covers: Top Dog Slam Dunk’n Hoes

WTF?, , , , ,

I was browsing the design site Creative Meat when lo and behold, what do I find but a collection of top WTF moments of album cover design genius. My favorite wrong-headed cover (and in this case just plain misogynistic to boot) has to be courtesy of a gent calling himself Top Dog. Just look at the liberal, forward-thinking mentality at work on this record, Slam Dunk’n Hoes:

One of the biggest criticisms leveled at hip-hop is that a rather uncomfortable number of the artists involved seem to be all about freedom, equality and the right to be what you are…as long as you are male. Album covers like Top Dog’s don’t really do much to counter that argument, no?

But never mind all that, after all, Top Dog clearly doesn’t care about any of that and we’re wasting our breath trying to convince him that his attitudes are, well, crap. Let’s address the pressing issue of eye pollution here. Top Dog looks like he just stepped away from his segment on The View, talking about a new high colonic regimen and juice-only health plan. He really could be on tour with Joel Osteen here instead of, well, slam dunking “hoes”.

And one thing that is ALWAYS priceless about these kinds of projects is the list of “guest stars” on the album cover. Hey look! This album features a whole laundry list of people YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF! Isn’t that AWESOME that Icey Hott is on this record?

You’d never buy a record by Icey Hott all by itself–I mean, REALLY–who wants to hear songs about sports cream? But here these people all are, most likely hanging out in the studio agreeing with everything Top Dog says for like, 12 hours at a time JUST IN CASE they can throw their voices on one of these tracks.

I hate to draw comparisons here, but much of hip hop has become the new country music, in that there are about five themes endlessly recycled on all records, plus about seven standard costumes for all performers. I think hip hop and country really SHOULD team up the way gangsta rap and heavy metal did back in the 90s–wouldn’t THAT be a riot?

Can you see a Dirty South/Southern Fried music movement blending all the cliches of country and hip hop together to make one big empty musical statement about truck drivin’ playas who slam dunk hoes and love their dogs? I would pay to see that.

But I’m getting ranty. Suffice it to say Top Dog won’t be invited to speak at any NOW conventions any time soon. Top Dog, if you had at least put this album cover in, say, outer space, it wouldn’t be so cringe inducing. Then at least the viewer would be completely bewildered even as you were scratching your head at the whole disrespect to women thing. Confusion is sex.