Scaring the crap out of you
Don Armando's 2nd Ave Rhumba Band "Goin' to a Showdown (Maniac Version)"
Yeah, I know that the bulge the Maniac poster depicts Joe Spinell as having is much scarier than the song -- that's the point! The grindhouse "classic" Maniac (1980) is as schizo as its title character, vacillating wildly between scenes of brutality and hilarity (though the former leaves far more of an impression -- the word "pornographic" is often used to describe the movie's approach to violence). "Goin' to a Showdown" provides relief from the bloodletting that, intentional or not, is unequivocally comic. It plays during a photo shoot; these hoes are the models:
I mean, really, are they posing for the package of a fabric pattern?
As the song plays, the chipper photog who's inexplicably friends with Spinell's character, coaches the girls on. Unfortunately, the expressions "fierce" and "work it" are not part of her lexicon. Still, her dialogue is just as funny as the song's lyrics (which include the couplet: "Put on something nice / Just in case you die"). While not on the actual soundtrack album for Maniac, "Showdown" actually appeared on the full-length LP released by Don Armando's 2nd Ave Rhumba Band in 1979. If I were a good rare-disco fan, I'd have and post the full version of the track, and not one that I ripped from the Maniac DVD. But maybe it's more effective this way, anyway, as you get to hear exactly how far fashionspeak has come.
The song itself is stupid, of course, a kind of "More, More, Morbid," with its psuedo-disco, laid-back groove and fascination with death. I mean, really, there's glee in the "Goin' to a showdown!" like I have never faced in my life. Don Armando's 2nd Ave Rhumba Band, btw, weren't totally awful. In fact, they were great at least once, as their "Deputy of Love" is one of the greatest straightforward disco tracks of all time. It's dippy, but not nearly this mentally deficient.
And while I have the Maniac DVD in my drive, here are two shots of it on the marquee of the Lyric, a 42nd St. grindhouse theater devoted to the kind of depravity Maniac offered.
The Lyric and the neighboring Apollo Theater went on to be converted into the Hilton Theater in the late '90s. (I work right across the street from it -- it's fascinating to walk around and squint hard, imagining how fabulously disgusting the area was 25 years ago and what I wouldn't give to be able to time travel.) The Hilton is now a Broadway theater. Its current show? Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Things only get scarier.
I live in the hood and I too wish it was like the olden days. Even the whores have lost their edge.
Posted by: Tootie | October 24, 2005 at 02:43 PM
I guess "a real rain came and washed all the scum off the streets"?
Posted by: dooku | October 24, 2005 at 11:23 PM
I'm going to decorate my living room with movie posters only from the year 1980.
Posted by: Eric | October 26, 2005 at 10:17 PM
http://www.soundtrackcollector.com/images/movie/small/Cruising_(1980).gif
http://goatdog.com/images/moviepics/103.jpg
http://goatdog.com/images/moviepics/399.jpg
Posted by: | October 26, 2005 at 10:18 PM
bcjoxuhkt zufn guvx fsgcxnl yfmvhng obcxhm aoguecxbm
Posted by: nazjkhb yrubz | December 11, 2007 at 06:55 AM
gqdsylk nhowde dxarw sgpze opwea zved rfsn ufdxiney sqjktfuw
Posted by: dxzp pljncm | December 11, 2007 at 06:57 AM
Nice site. Thank you!!!
Cialis
Posted by: Cialis | December 13, 2007 at 12:25 AM
Cool site. Thank you!!!
Cialis
Posted by: Cialis | December 13, 2007 at 01:34 AM
Cool site. Thank you!!!
Cialis
Posted by: Cialis | December 13, 2007 at 01:35 AM
Nice site. Thank you!
Limewire
Posted by: Limewire | December 14, 2007 at 10:47 PM
Very good site. Thanks!
Cheap Car Insurance
Posted by: Cheap Car Insurance | December 15, 2007 at 06:05 PM
Cool site. Thank you!
Adult Dating
Posted by: Adult Dating | December 16, 2007 at 06:15 PM
Nice site. Thanks!!!
Adult Dating
Posted by: Adult Dating | December 16, 2007 at 07:23 PM
Nice site. Thank you!
Adult Dating
Posted by: Adult Dating | December 17, 2007 at 12:19 AM
Nice site. Thank you!
Adult Dating
Posted by: Adult Dating | December 17, 2007 at 12:19 AM
Nice site. Thank you!
Bearshare
Posted by: Bearshare | December 17, 2007 at 06:26 AM
Good site. Thanks:-)
Disaster Recovery
Posted by: Disaster Recovery | December 18, 2007 at 04:05 AM
Good site. Thank you:-)
Disaster Recovery
Posted by: Disaster Recovery | December 18, 2007 at 05:18 AM
Cool site. Thanks!!!
soma
Posted by: soma | December 18, 2007 at 12:51 PM
Cool site. Thanks!
Watson Soma
Posted by: Soma Side Effects | December 18, 2007 at 12:59 PM
Cool site. Thank you.
plus size wedding dresses
Posted by: plus size wedding dresses | January 18, 2008 at 08:05 AM
Cool site. Thanks!!!
wedding dress by designer
Posted by: wedding dress by designer | January 18, 2008 at 11:25 AM
Very good site. Thanks!!!
long sleeve wedding dress
Posted by: long sleeve wedding dress | January 18, 2008 at 02:34 PM
Good site. Thank you.
2008 bridal gown
Posted by: 2008 bridal gown | January 18, 2008 at 07:01 PM
Very good site. Thank you:-)
merbau long plank laminate flooring by quick step laminate flooring
Posted by: merbau long plank laminate flooring by quick step laminate flooring | January 25, 2008 at 09:54 AM