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Weekend Discussion Thread: MST3K Earworms

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, I’m not talking Wrath of Khan here. An “earworm” is an irritatingly catchy tune that gets stuck in your head, and you find yourself humming it, without even thinking about it. I first thought about this a few weeks ago when I could not get this eight bars out of my head.

And more recently, after the episode guide entry for “King Dinosaur,” I’ve been humming the “Joey the lemur” song over and over. Yikes! So, has any bit of music, either from a MSTed movie or from a host segment, gotten stuck in your head?

171 Replies to “Weekend Discussion Thread: MST3K Earworms”

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  1. Cubby says:

    Just about everything gets stuck in my head from time to time.

    There’s a particular “blues” riff that Danny Dean & The Daredevils play during Teen-Age Strangler that prompts Tom to riff, “Oooh, yeah! Ooo, baby. Oooh, I’m a teen-age stranglin’ man …” ála Muddy Waters (well, it always reminded me of him anyway) I’ll find that riff rumbling through my head – along with the vaguely similar one from What’s Up Tiger Lily – and occasionally mutter Tom’s lines. Hopefully I’m not around teenagers when I do … but life’s never perfect.

    Saint Rude, you’re going to get The Penguin Song stuck back in my head. Now watch me dance!

    I think Sampo probably meant “Ear Candy” but in the case of the
    “tunes” from these MST-ed flicks “Ear Worms” is better

    Earworm explained.

       1 likes

  2. Canucklehead says:

    In the host segment where Gypsy can’t decide if it’s Crow or Tom she can’t get, Crow is humming a little tuneless ditty. “dum a tiki, whowa whowa. dum a tiki, whowa whowa”. After Crow leaves and Tom comes in, he’s humming the same thing. That always pops up in my head from time to time.

       1 likes

  3. Cabbage Patch Elvis says:

    Another vote for California Lady, with the alternate lyrics. “I forced my skull right through my face and refused to wash my stringy hair!”

       2 likes

  4. Howie G. says:

    Honk Honk Govt. Gridlock!!

       1 likes

  5. hellokittee says:

    I love the entire Fugitive Alien Medley but my favorite part (and what usually gets stuck in my head) is when crow and tom servo do the “I love Ken he is my sweet friend” part of the medley together in a “round”.

    Mike’s part in the Gamera song is something that tends to stick with me too after watching, especially the part the goes “shell, teeth, eyes, claws, scales, breath, fuuuuun” (ha if i am remembering it right).

    Great discussion by the way. And I now have Idiot Control Now stuck in my head, thanks guys!! LOL

       2 likes

  6. WhereTheFishLives says:

    For me it is definitely “Idiot control now!” It is literally in my head now just from posting this.

       1 likes

  7. I just love the wildly inapproriate theme music to Puma Man. I think of it an random intervals and would probably have it in my head more it Shout would release the movie.

       2 likes

  8. Luke A. says:

    You Better Run (Or He’ll Steal Your Lunch) from “Final Justice.”
    I just love it how they insert these lyrics in the pauses of the song. Had it on my mind all day.

       2 likes

  9. Gromilini says:

    Waaay too many to name ’em all, but some really sticky ones are:

    “She’s cuuuute, she’s rooty-toot-toot, I bet she smells like Juicy Fruit…”

    “Who’s that fat little funny little doll?
    It’s Tickle-Me Carlo Lombardi!”

    “Pu. Ma Man. When will he find love?”

    “Rowsdower saves us and saves all the world!”

    and finally “To Earth…the very birthplace of my birth…”

    Dammit, now I’m going to have these in my head all freakin’ weekend…

       2 likes

  10. RaptorX8 says:

    Maaaaaaaany songs get stuck in my head. I love music so it’s easy.

    The dance party music from ‘The Creeping Terror’. Especially after the segment with Mike listening to it. “If Chauffeur’s Ruled the World”, “Jet Jaquar”, “The Sandy Frank Song”, “Creepy Girl”, “Tibby”, “Where, Oh Werewolf”, End credits of Werewolf

    And most importantly the bit that I like to call “She’s So Dang Old” from ‘The Atomic Brain’ when the old woman is trying to get from one place to another.

    I have memorized all the parts of The United Servo’s Academy Men’s Chorus theme.

    And I am constantly singing ‘Sparkly Vampires’ from the Rifftones. So much fun!

       2 likes

  11. Other Stephanie says:

    I get the Sir Thomas Neville Servo air from Quest of the Delta Knights stuck in my head.

    Especially this bit: “A sweet Delta Lady am I, am I. More fair than the stars in the sky. I’m bold and bawdy, and oh, my Lawdy, I’m proud to declare I like pie! A sweet Delta Lady, I do what I please, I’m strong and I’m savvy and I’ve got these! I love to sing out, ‘Don’t forget the cheese.’ I’m proud to declare I like pie!

       2 likes

  12. Insect Man #47 says:

    Every time I channel surf and come across a “Sex and the City” rerun, I always break into Crow’s diddy of a tribute to Kim Cattral. And that always leads to the great rap JATB’s do at the end of City Limits.

       1 likes

  13. Critter says:

    Way too many to list….so much musical gold.
    But I have to share:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhHXKQzewgs

    :-D Enjoy.

       1 likes

  14. Mr. B(ob) says:

    I know what I like, cause I like what I know, and I know what I like, about you.

       2 likes

  15. NHCrypto says:

    Hoo-ray for Santy Claus!

       3 likes

  16. Kali says:

    Isn’t torture against the Geneva conventions??

    Ah, well,

    Gotta be the Puma Man Theme. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfnG8MS3xz0

    (I’ve gotta get the wallpaper he used for the video…)

    Believe it or not/this movie’s still on/it should have ended two hours ago!

    Would you believe I actually got the uncut version just to get the full theme?

    http://mst3kvideos.com/extras.htm

    I am so pathetic…

    Now it’s in your head, too… :heh:

       1 likes

  17. Fred Burroughs says:

    Pu-ma-man, he flies like a moron…
    When you want the flavor of bacon in a dip…
    When will our eyes meet…
    Pu-ma-man, when will he find love (‘pu-ma-man’)…

    that, and the “there’s a girl – on the roof – and she thinks – she’s a cat” operetta from Atomic Brain. And sometimes after listening to Led Zeppelin, I will sing ‘Stop the Music’ from Deadly Bees complete with bad glissando (Stooooooooooooooooop the Muuuuuuusic)

       3 likes

  18. Lex says:

    Maybe the band from Wild Rebels. Love that episode, but they kept mocking barfing during the song. “My Lunch goes Blaaaah!”

    If Chaueffers ruled the world. Classic.

       3 likes

  19. Invasion of the Neptune Man says:

    I had to think about it for awhile but what always stuck in my head, in a happy way, is the Upbeat Bouncey Song from Red Zone Cuba. “Whenever I’m feeling down and out and there’s nothing left in my soul, I check the toilet paper and if we’re out I buy another roll!” Words to live by my friends.

       2 likes

  20. Invasion of the Neptune Man says:

    I have a few more. Mike’s version of Oh I Am Sad from Girl in the Gold Boots especially Crow’s reaction to it, “Would you just forget the puppies!!!” It always pops into my head whenever I come across anything that’s really cloying…like Youtube puppy videos in my e-mail.
    Mike’s ditty from Hobgoblins during the Club Scum scene pops into my head a lot “Hey it’s the 80s. Gonna do a lot of Coke and vote for Reagan.” sums up my misspent youth pretty good.
    I also like Servo doing Dionne Warwick to the the Touch of Satan theme music “What do you get when you fall from Grace? You only get cast into Perdition.” I can hum that all day

       1 likes

  21. Jeff Kapalka says:

    Can’t believe that Saint Rude (at #51) referenced a song in Operation Double 007… but not the actual theme!

    “HEEEEEEEEEEEE… holds me,
    HEEEEEEEEEEEE… wants me!
    HEEEEEEEEEEEE… likes to eat tuna fish sammiches…”

       2 likes

  22. Liggy says:

    Well, pretty much everything they sing, really, but the first few that come to mind are the Rowsdower theme, Where O Werewolf?, Patrick Swayze Christmas, Idiot Control Now, the ongoing Sandy Frank ditty that is heard throughout “Time of the Apes”, and, of course, the Gamera theme song.

       2 likes

  23. Really old teenager from OuterSpace says:

    “He tried to kill me with a forklift” gets in my head occasionally and won’t leave for days.

       0 likes

  24. Kt says:

    That ‘Wings of s Dove’ song from Boggy Creek gets stuck in my head all the time. There’s some commercial with slow instrumental music and it fits so perfectly that I have to sing it out loud whenever the commercial comes on tv.

       1 likes

  25. moose says:

    i say either the PUMAMAN flight song,or that bit of go-go music you hear at the bar scene from THE WILD WILD WORLD OF BATWOMAN are both hard to get out of your head no matter how hard you try!

       1 likes

  26. Slartibartfast, maker of Fjords says:

    The Theme from Blood Waters of Dr. Z “Hey, World War Two boy…” The best part of the movie.

    From Manos, The Hands of Fate credits, the song that goes, “I can’t forget… The silly way we met”. Can’t forget that tune.

       1 likes

  27. JiminySaidJohnny says:

    Wow, no one has mentioned Nummy Muffin Coocol Butter? I sing it to my dog, substituting his name for Coocol. He looks at me with a blank expression on his face, pretty much the same as always.
    Then, of course, there’s the Train Song. “The 5:15 from Duluth, oh my it’s just derailed. The toxic waste is spiliin’, the conductor’s been impaled…”

       4 likes

  28. Professor Gunther says:

    #127: Hilarious! We substitue our cat’s name–Bundle–for Butter. She purrs and purrs when we sing to her. :-)

       1 likes

  29. Ms. Take says:

    Everybody do the Zombie Stomp! I sing it in front of my kids and they get very, very embarrased. :-D

       2 likes

  30. Debbie says:

    Servo’s 70s and 50s tributes from the ‘Riding with Death’ episode
    :laugh:

       2 likes

  31. Steve A. Laimo says:

    Whenever someone complains about their job, “Are You Happy With Your Work” pops in my head!

    Also, Once you’ve been exposed to “Yipe Strips” you are never the same! I’ll never be able to see pantaloons without thinking about that song!

       0 likes

  32. Zab Meatfrost says:

    Did anyone ever figure out ‘Idiot Control Now”s real lyrics? I can never make sense of them.

    Considering Pod People was dubbed, I wonder what the original source had.

       0 likes

  33. JeremyR says:

    Secret Agent, Super Dragon.

    Every time I see something that has a title like that, I can’t help but hum the song. It doesn’t even have to be double, as I’ll just add the “Super Dragon” to the first phrase.

    Like I had it in my head the whole time while watching the Master Ninja (Super Dragon) movies.

       1 likes

  34. ackbar1138 says:

    Creepy Girl-a Tom Servo classic!

       0 likes

  35. MikeH says:

    In The Dead Talk Back, the “tooty toot toot” jazz session in the radio station. Also the 70’s funky music played in Progress Island USA, and finally Joel and the Bots singing with the music in Mitchell. “Mitchell, heart pounding, veins clogging, MITCHELL!!”

       0 likes

  36. MikeH says:

    One more: Zulu’s Hawaiian jibberish song in Code Name Diamond Head. I love when his head pops up and freaks out Mike and the Bots.

       1 likes

  37. Cubby says:

    Jeff @121,

    Heeee’s a real big fan of Delta Burke!

    Aaaargh!

       0 likes

  38. Blood Hook says:

    Jet Jagaur song – with the Kevin Murphy’s translation

    Yip Strips

    Idiot control

    The Girl in Gold Boots theme song

       2 likes

  39. UberNeuman says:

    Idiot Control and the little quips riffing off the Pumaman theme…

    “When you want the flavor of bacon in a dip.”

       1 likes

  40. Gemini Eos says:

    Hike up your pants up like mine! HAH!

       1 likes

  41. MikeK says:

    The one I don’t like: “The Zombie Stomp”

    The one I do like: “Are You Happy In Your Work?”

       1 likes

  42. frankenforcer says:

    Scuba Party from Catalina Caper. I will find myself singing it to myself from time to time. More nerve racking is I can’t find it on any mp3 or cd. drive me crazy.

       0 likes

  43. Mr. Homeless People says:

    How ’bout “Schick out of Shape” from Incredibly Mixed-Up Zombies. I’ve been known to break out into that ditty.

       0 likes

  44. Lu-Ann Viera says:

    For me, it’s the entire soundtracks from The Incredibly Strange Creatures , The Girl in the Gold Boots, and The Horror of Party Beach. For some reason, I actually feel like dancing to The Third World and the Del-Airs, and even Cindy “room-clearer” Larson when she sings the Shook-Up(?) Shake ( I also feel like LAUGHING when I hear that song!). Other great candidates for earworms:
    That obnoxious wail called the theme from Manos that starts the film
    Shine Your Love from Angels Revenge
    Kiss-Kicker (or whatever the hell that is ) by Spit Spingola and the Fontanelles from Hobgoblins
    California Lady by that unknown band (the one whose lead singer looks like Keith Carradine and sounds like Jim Croce) from Track of the Moon Beast
    Planning Revenge on My Friends from the Bloody Waters of Dr. Z

       2 likes

  45. Joe Klemm says:

    Of those not yet mentioned:

    Starfighters: Any musical piece involving the Poopie Suit
    Magical Disappearing Money: The “muzak” playing at the beginning and ending of the short

       0 likes

  46. Food Man Chu says:

    Frank’s heartfelt ode to Nummy Muffin Cooco Butter was driving me nuts the other day. Never a big fan of Colossus and The Headhunters and that may be why.

       0 likes

  47. Josh says:

    “They tried to kill him with a forklift…”

       0 likes

  48. Stoneman says:

    “Run To The Hills” by Iron Maiden- oh wait, thats what is playing from my playlist right now.

    Anyway, y’all covered everything I would have mentioned, except:

    In the short “Circus On Ice”, when Tom adds the lyrics to the music playing: “So when…you think…of pink…”

    The Winky classic “Sleepy Little Fella”…

    Many people mentioned “Are You Happy In You’re Work” from “I Accuse My Parents”, which I have sung at work and gotten strange looks, but I also fixate on the sad ballad from later in that movie, “Where Could He Be?”…

    The song Joel and the bots sing when Ator is flying his homemade parasail(?)…”Ator, Ator, my sweet friend”…

    Finally, and this may be obscure to many, but in “The Deadly Mantis”, when M&tb are trying to stay awake “driving” through the cosmos, and they are flipping through radio channels, they come to the one where the only snippet you hear is “Big Woman Blues”…whenever I’m mad at my wife that repeatedly runs through my head.

    See ya!

       1 likes

  49. aprilmay says:

    Just pound ’em down you stupid clown! Well, it’s not annoying, but I find myself humming it all the time. That and Pants!

    I also find myself humming that song from Catalina Caper and Archie’s songs from Eegah. I admit, I kinda like these songs.

    But the worst? That stupid song from Teenage Strangler. Yikes Stripes? After watching it last week it was running through my head all the next day.

       1 likes

  50. aprilmay says:

    Just pound ’em down you stupid clown! Well, it’s not annoying, but I find myself humming it all the time. That and Pants!

    I also find myself humming that song from Catalina Caper and Archie’s songs from Eegah. I admit, I kinda like these songs.

    But the worst? That stupid song from Teenage Strangler. Yikes Stripes? After watching it last week it was running through my head all the next day.

       1 likes

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