Putting the 'boing' back in Boingo
Was there any band in the 80s with a more original sound than Oingo Boingo? The California band started in the late 70s as a theater group (Mystic Knights of Oingo Boingo) but eventually ditched the acting and stuck with the eccentric rock sound of bandleader Danny Elfman. (Yeah, the same Elfman who has done the musical score for flick after flick in Hollywood).
Sadly, the band is probably best known for a tune they detested -- Weird Science, the title track to the John Hughes movie. (The film producers grabbed it from the band before they had really finished producing it, or so the story goes.) Other 80s films that featured the band include the Rodney Dangerfield opus Back to School (the band entertains Thornton's dorm party, playing "Dead Man's Party") and the Tom Hanks think-piece Bachelor Party.
The band called it quits in the mid-90s, and Elfman spends his days writing creepy music for films like The Corpse Bride, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice and Pee Wee's Big Adventure. (Looking for a daily dose of Danny E.? The theme for The Simpsons is also his.)
Our Stuck in the 80s podcast finally honors the band in this week's episode, but until then...
Top 5 Oingo Boingo songs to cherish:
5. We Close Our Eyes: "I looked Death in the face last night. I saw him in a mirror. And he simply smiled."
4. Nothing to Fear: "Go ahead, sleep tight in your beds. Remember what the wise man said."
3. Who Do You Want To Be: "I've been reborn so many times, I can't remember them all."
2. Dead Man's Party: "Goin' to a party where no one's still alive."
1. Grey Matter: "If they say 'take it and like it' ... don't do it!"
(By the way, you can buy the official "Bring Back Boingo" t-shirts at the band's website.)
Relive the music, movies and culture of the greatest decade ever with Times online editor Steve Spears. A teen during the decade, Steve is obsessed with everything from Duran Duran to Journey, John Hughes to John Cusack, and parachute pants to Reaganomics.
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Ah, the Mystic Knights.... the group first formed as sort of a club so Danny could get people to sight-read his music, then became a free-form theater troupe with a show featuring the entire history of the human race (in dance and song) as their best set piece -- basically a take-off on the movie 2001.I used to see the Knights all the time in L.A., even hauled my violin down a couple of times and sat in. It's good to see Danny and some of the others going beyond the old Garden Theater Festival.
Posted by: Robin 'Roblimo' Miller | June 20, 2006 at 06:34 PM
Thank you Steve!
Posted by: Bassnote | June 20, 2006 at 03:54 PM
Elfman is responsible for the "Deparate Housewives" theme, too.
Posted by: Anonymous | June 20, 2006 at 09:46 AM
Bassnote -- you're the special "fan greeting" for the Boingo podcast, just so you know.
Posted by: Steve Spears | June 20, 2006 at 04:11 AM
Oops.. I missed the line that said that your NEXT podcast is on Boingo. My bad. I can't wait to hear the podcast!
Posted by: Bassnote | June 20, 2006 at 12:57 AM
I forgot one thing.....PLEASE DO A BOINGO PODCAST!!!!!
Posted by: Bassnote | June 20, 2006 at 12:54 AM
I love Oingo Boingo! I had the great fortune of seeing them in 1990 (general admission show at the Riveara theatre In Chicago... got right up to the front of the stage in front of Elfman). They were an awesome live band. If they ever reunited, I would pay top dollar to see them again. They were highly underrated because they never got any radio airplay, but I think they put out some of the best music in the 80's. One of my top 5 all time favorites. My favorite lyric quote comes from Just Another Day: "Just when I think that things are in their place, the heavens are secure, the whole thing explodes in my face..."
Posted by: Bassnote | June 20, 2006 at 12:52 AM