A while back, Rob was bitten; not by a radioactive spider but by an idea to post a weekly article about a few songs that he really likes. There are so many possibilities that the series could go on forever, and so Saturday Jams was born.

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Yes, I did. I took a little break from Saturday Jams, just to give it a little think-a-madiddle and consider whether I wanted to continue doing it, and I have decided that this is what I’m going to do: Saturday Jams, as frequently as I care to do it. No pressure. Post one every Saturday, as long as it works for me.

And yes, I know Halloween is two days past, but I think it’s okay to do a scary music post. I have to thank Jen Kehl at Twisted Mixtape Tuesday for the prompt that brings this post.

I don’t really think that music is scary as such, even if it’s a little girl singing about stuff she has no business getting involved in. But there is one band that has managed to give me the creepin’ jeebies with their sonic sauce, and that’s Oingo Boingo. Have you heard of them?

It seems like there’s three types of people: those who haven’t heard of Oingo Boingo, those who have and love them, and those who have and think they’re a gimmick. But there’s so much more to Oingo Boingo than meets the eye. Some of the stuff about the band fits the bill for gimmickry, but they’re actually a cult sensation. They started out as a musical theater group in the early 1970’s as the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo under a fellow named Richard Elfman. After a few years he passed off leadership of the band to his little bro, Danny.

And in case you didn’t know, it is that Danny Elfman. The movie music genius who’s name always comes after “Tim Burton”. There’s a reason for that: he’s got a real knack for the scary vibe. Oingo Boingo recorded and toured until their farewell on October 31, 1995. There are few songs that chill me in a wonderfully, freaky way, and it’s no surprise that most of them come from Danny Elfman and Oingo Boingo.

Thanks for stopping by; if you like Saturday Jams, feel free to leave a comment. Have a great weekend!

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