One of the amusing things about the incessant thirst of the ravening maw of the Entertainment Machine™ for new sources of mood and nuance is how every now and then, an arbitrary spark manages to catch a dusty old chestnut freshly aflame with an unexpected surge in popularity. The usage of old pop songs to provide vibe for the now thousands of TV shows produced for broadcast/cable/streaming is a real thing that happens, even in the face of my indifference.
In 1985, Kate Bush’s single “Running Up That Hill” was a UK number three hit and even managed to reach the then-lofty perch of number 30 in the US charts. Becoming a calling card for her on these shores. Earlier this summer, the usage of that song in Netflix’ hit series “Stranger Things” managed to give Ms. Bush an even bigger hit over 35 years later as the song managed to “go viral” on the popularity of the show and shot up to the top of the UK charts and replicated her number three placing on the US Top 40. Stunning, no?
But that was an instance of what had been a hit song, two generations ago, getting reactivated. It’s rare, but it’s been known to happen. This time the lightning was striking a target which was much more bizarre. It was another Netflix series; the show was “Wednesday,” based on the Addams Family character and produced by Tim Burton and his blue filter. The song plucked from what was once obscurity and now thrust, writhing, into the possibly more alien world of TikTok/social media virality was the 1981 single by The Cramps from their second album, “Psychedelic Jungle.”
I remember my good friend chasinvictoria sending me a tape of the single on one of his epic tape letters of 1981, which is where I first heard “The Goo Goo Muck.” At the time, I felt that it was a nearly shocking retreat from the completely bent out of shape sound of their first album. The clean, trebly Duane Eddy-influenced licks were worlds away from the primitive [actually threatening] Link Wray fuzzzzzz of the earlier album. Of course, Lux still managed to get out there with a guttural vocal climax that was still a thousand miles from Squaresville. I soon normalized to the changes that The Cramps would evolve their sound through in the next few years and the cover of the obscure 1962 single by Ronnie Cook + The Gaylads [!!!] joined songs like “T.V. Set” and “Call Of The Wighat” in its rightful place in the firmament of The Cramps roster of deviant Rock ‘N Roll kicks. By the 90s, I was seeing bands cover it in concert.
When the producers of the “Wednesday” series were looking for the right song for a high-school dance scene where Wednesday Addams could strut her stuff, there was a shortlist of songs, with another Cramps classic, “Human Fly” on it. In the end “The Goo Goo Muck” was tapped and the rest has been history as the series debuted on Netflix on November 23rd, 2022 and took off like a shot to become one of its most popular must-see hits. And then as night must follow day, the legions of fans and even just watchers of the numerous viral videos of Wednesday’s dance uploaded to social media began to get curious about that weird rockabilly band who were complete strangers to the Billboard Hot 100 during their heyday.
We’ve all see the clip by now, and the shocking thing to me is not that The Cramps are getting a synch on a Hollyweird property. After all, their opus “Garbageman” had been put to very memorable use in the black comedy “The Matador” in 2005, as a drunken hit man, played by Peierce Brosnan, walked through a posh hotel in his Speedo [drink in hand] to a meeting with the pool and the end of his tether. The shocking thing was that there was no professional choreographer involved in the scene. Jenna Ortega only knew that she needed to have some primo moves down and so she consulted the greats; Siousxie Sioux and Lene Lovich, among a few others, and gave the scene the juice that caused a sensation.
And any time that a world of curious teens were exposed to the musical mutagen of The Cramps…even 41 years later, could only be a great time. The song in question has spiked in streaming playback over 8000% in the last three weeks and the song currently sits at number 25 in the iTunes download store. That song is the radioactive bologna between the white bread of José Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad” [#23] on one hand, and Der Bingle’s “White Christmas” [#28] on the other! I don’t recognize the other acts on the chart I captured. I’m still waiting for the assault on the Billboard charts, which, in all candor, I have no comprehension of how they are tallied any more. Radio play and sales reports probably no longer cut it in this thrill-a-minute world we live in. In the berserk 21st century we already have split singles with The Cramps and…William Shatner! Let’s keep an eye on The Cramps and their never-too-late assault on normality. It could only help!
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Post-Punk Monk 
Adult Wednesday Adamms on YT is a million times better than this Tim Burton thing.
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Tim – I’ll take your word, though I didn’t know about any YT thing.
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Over the last few years I’ve taken a liking to reading band biographies and several months ago I read Dick Porter’s “Journey to the Centre of the Cramps.” The first show I ever went to solo was The Cramps in Virginia. First, it was a fantastic read with plenty of info I didn’t already know. Second, despite being true “characters,” Lux and Ivy come across as ordinary people, which can make you feel a little closer to a band when you get that impression. I think it’s great for Ivy if she’s able to make a few bucks from this burst, especially since Lux’s passing tore off half her life. I expect my daughter to tell me about the Cramps gear she sees in Hot Topic in the mall soon enough. After all, if they can get so much mileage from the Misfits skull, the Cramps seem like a no brainer.
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secretrivals – So far the one seeing the bigger fiscal uptick is the owner of the song itself. Though that story is interesting enough if you clicked the link to the Variety story on it in the post. I only have the earlier Ian Johnson Cramps biography from 1990, so I need the Porter book!
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Yeah, obviously they didn’t write it. I was too excited and spoke too quickly. I’ll check the link, thanks Monk.
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I really enjoyed Wednesday and found the dance scene seriously smile inducing and in the current climate that’s worth a lot. No need to compare with Adult Wednesday as the two shows are seeking to achieve very different things which is fine for me.
Reminds me of the tik Tok inspired success of Belarusian post punk band Molchat Doma. Seeing a sold out venue with three hundred mainly under 25s going nuts to Russian language post punk was a joy to behold!
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SimonH – Hearing makes me think that the Ukrainian Post-Punk band КАДРИЛЬ might also have a chance at connecting with a large Western audience. I hope they still exist because one can only imagine the songs a band in the middle of a war zone could write!
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Very true! Hope they are ok.
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SimonH….I recently bought tickets to see Molchat Doma. I’m thrilled to have the chance to see them. To make the gig even better, Nuovo Testamento is opening up!
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Enjoy! They’re pretty impressive live.
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Damn you nailed that. I’ve written my Goo Goo Muck piece for next week but you? You smasher. You Titan of the blogosphere. You Jedi of the genre. Masterful. I loved that! Loved it. Merry Creepmas
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steveforthedeaf – Your words meant so much to me that I just got in there and corrected the two typos that slipped in due to my normal haste! Merry Crampmas right back at ‘cha!
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I have almost no interest in this series. Not because I don’t like Mr. Art School or his view on life and “cinema” nor because I don’t like Addams Family (I mean, John Astin and Raul Julia along with Carolyn Jones and Angelica Huston…) but because this seems like “a take” on the source material that doesn’t need to be. Oh, The Cramps. Been into them since…. 85. Saw them once. One of the best reviews of a record ever was in Rolling Stone that said something to the effect “after listening over and over to this album I can safely say this is a Cramps record.”
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postpostmoderndad – Yeah. I have zero interest myself. What little I’ve read seems like they are shooting for a “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” vibe/audience. Certainly not me! I cracked half a smile at the title of the original “Buffy” movie and that was that. I was too old for that even then!
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There needs to be a cinematic restraining order issued against Burton re-working/rebooting/reviving old already done well entities.
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Tim – Tim Burton should have retired…20 years ago. Actually he could have retired after “Ed Wood;” his magnum opus!
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I can give you an AMEN BROTHER MONK to that.
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Tim – I mean, I did love “Big Fish” and liked “Big Eyes” [his big movies!] but was it worth it for all the others? I say thee, nay!
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YOU GOT GOOD TASTE was used in a beer commercial some years ago…
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Dirk L. Holland – That is amazing to hear. I wonder which beer company had the good taste to think of The Cramps? [checks] Seems like Michelob Ultra inked the deal.
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It had been a good twenty years since I watched it (turned it on last night and had forgotten this), but The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 also has Goo Goo Muck playing in an early radio station scene!
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secretrivals – I seem to recall that The Cramps were on the OST to that as well as “The Return of The Living Dead” which must have made them proud. I just checked and I.R.S. Records had the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2” OST and it was stuffed with their [appropriate] bands!
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