(Above: Take that, moose and squirrel.)

Oh, where to begin with this one….

Further to the subject of mixtapes from the other day: for every one that was completed, I probably came up with ideas for another three.  One that was started and abandoned – for reasons that shall become clear – was called “Obnoxious Cruising Music.”  Now, why anyone would want to drive around and listen to music deemed to be obnoxious escapes me now, but thirty years ago it seemed like a good idea.

This was the track that kicked off the failed album.  The concept is simple: take an obscure episode of a cartoon show and make a dance track out of it. I couldn’t pass this up.  Rocky and Bullwinkle was, and remains, one of my favorite cartoons.  A year ago while teaching GVSU’s Life on Television course I did a segment called “animation for adults.”  R&B were at the core of the lesson.  There is basic appeal to kids, sure – but the humor in the series was complex.  (When asked in one episode how Wossamotta U will be able to afford a winning football team, the answer is “Simple – fire a few English teachers.”  55 years later, the strategy still works.) So, the fabled tale of Goof Gas lives on in this record.  No brain, no effect.

The problem, though, with a mixtape like this is that it’s only good for driving around by yourself.  Regaling a date with this, followed by Run-DMC’s “You Be Illin,” which I believe was the next song on the tape, is a good way to remove the chances for a second date. Needless to say, the project was abandoned well before completion, and I went back to more “normal” compilations for the car.

The song came in handy, though, when in the fall of 1988 I was left in charge of WLRA’s morning show.  My programming was simple: three song blocks consisting of new release, classic rock, and… something obnoxious.  Some mornings, depending on how hopped up on Nabisco sugar wafers and Jolt Cola (a real breakfast) I was, the third type of song would be more prevalent. Not a good way to build an audience, but, as I often say to my wife, “some jokes are just for me.”  Some songs are, too.

You can enjoy this tune, in all its obnoxious glory, here.

If you’d like to be more obnoxious, there is an extended mix.