Bert Convy's The Monster Hop

Howdy Kiddies! 

Well, Halloween is now in full swing. I know it's only the end of August, but go into any store and you'll begin to see orange and black beginning to seep in. In fact, some leaves are already starting to shed their summer outfits for something a little more comfortable, in my neck of the woods. Add to that the fact that Matt from DinosaurDracula will taking his annual Halloween countdown live this Saturday, and you've got a season on the cusp of full bloom. 

It's time to really begin working on your Halloween playlist, not just for a night of spooking wary trick or treaters, but for your amazingly spooktacular party. You are having a Halloween party, right?

So far, we've given you a decent primer. Now let's add some paint.

The first song to really enlighten me about the world of monster music beyond the Purple People Eater, The Mash, and Werewolves of London, was Burt Convy's The Monster Hop.

I first discovered this song on the Monster Bop compilation.

This album deserves its own seperateblog. I plan on posting that later this week, but today, I want to talk specifically about Convy's main contribution to this fine collection.

The Monster Hop is a wonderfully spooky ultrasonic treat. I still remember the first time I heard the bass line. It was deliciously late 50's in tone. My ears perked up. What was this? It was something new. Up until this point, I thought I knew most of the standard Samhain song selection, but with the first trills of brass and those ghostly, "ooohhhh"'s, my whole world was about to explode with new monstrous goodies.

Take a listen:

As you can hear, it is a marvelous song for Halloween. Here are the lyrics, in case you missed them:

I heard strange noises coming from a house on the hill 

So I crept up to the window and looked over the sill 

My heart almost stopped, I nearly died of fright 

By the dim candlelight I saw the strangest sight 

There was Frankenstein and Dracula and Wolfman too 

Dancin' with some zombies, what a ghastly crew 

The ol' ugly vampire was doing the bop 

And everything was rocking at the monster's hop 

The bats were flying and the room was full 

The crazy witch doctor was dancing with a ghoul 

The organ was playing, but no-one was there 

And the headless horseman was combing his hair 

There was Frankenstein and Dracula and Wolfman too 

Dancin' with some zombies, what a ghastly crew 

The ol' ugly vampire was doing the bop 

And everything was rocking at the monster's hop 

I can't forget that empty house upon the hill 

The night has fall, the monsters dance and oh what a thrill 

The wind did howl, the night was black

I nearly lost my mind, I'm never ever going back 

There was Frankenstein and Dracula and Wolfman too 

Dancin' with some zombies, what a ghastly crew 

The ol' ugly vampire was doing the bop 

And everything was rocking at the monster's hop

Are your spide senses tingling?  What a Halloweeny song, right? I loved the callback to just about every classic monster that Burt could envoke. 

The song was recorded in 1958, at the height of the monster craze. Burt started as a minor league baseball player, but left the game and pursued music after just two seasons.

He joined a 50's rock n roll group called The Cheers, and in 1955 they had a top ten hit called Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots.

 The band broke up in '57 and Convy recorded The Monster Hop in 1958 for Contender Records. He also recorded another creepy track known as Gorilla. 

Around this time, he also caught the attention of Roger Corman, who cast him in his cult classic, A Bucket of Blood, forever cementing him as a favorite with the horror community.

 Burt went on to become a fairly familiar television host for such shows as Super Password, and Tattletales. He even formed a production company with Burt Reynolds called, Burt and Bert Productions. Their first production was Win, Lose, or Draw, which Bert (Convey, not Reynolds) hosted.

Sadly, Convy died in 1991, from an aggressive brain tumor.

So, that's way more information than most of you probably wanted to know about a 2:29 second blip on your playlist. But add it to your playlist, you should. (said Yoda). It is a marvelous song, perfect for All Hallow's Eve and beyond, and a quintessential piece of 50's monster music.

Alright, enough of this nonsense. Tune in next time as we explore the wonders of the entire Monster Bop album.

 

Strange Things are Afoot at the Kum and Go (A Halloween Oreo Egg Review)

 

 A bizarrely named convenience store might be the last place you'd expect to find Halloween goodness on the 17th of August, but if you should learn anything in this crazy world we live in, it is not to judge based upon appearances.

I walked in today, completely unsuspecting of the tresaures that I'd find. In fact, I just wanted a beverage. But when I meandered over to ye ol' candy aisle, I was struck with spooky spectacles! 

Now, at first glance of this picture, you may be thinking, "Yeah? So, what?!?"

Look closer.

We have all kinds of goodies, here. We have Resse's pumpkins, Hershey's Candy Corn Bars, and Cauldron Skittles. 

The Cauldron Skittles were interesting, but I wish they'd done more with the bag than put a cauldron at the bottom that looked like it had been appropriated for a LGBQT parade.

They tried to give some spooky flavors like Petrified Pear and Gripping Grape, but this was kind of a half-hearted attempt, if you ask me.

Where are the bats? The cats? The skulls? The pumpkins? 

The M&M's Ghoul's Mix was better. Not only did we get a cool mummy Peanut M&M guy, but I'm digging the colors of the candy, itself. Very Halloweeny.

Next, we move on to the spooky KitKat collection. There are four spooky bar designs, hidden in bat-encrusted, season-appropriate packages. 

I approve.

In fact, I bought one of the bars. I haven't opened it, yet, but when I do, I will post a pic in the comments. I know, what kind of fiend toys with you by purchasing a decorated Halloween candy and then not having the decency to even open the package and post the appropriate pic?

Well, one who has overdosed on extremely sweet new candy, which I will show you below, thank you, very much.

Butterfinger brought back their peanut butter skull Cups. I love these things, but I was on a hunt, today. 

And low and behold! There, stacked between the underwhelming cauldron Skittles and some groovy Frankenstein Bubble Tape, was the first Holy Grail of the year, this year's most celebrated new treat, ladies and gentlemen I give you: The Oreo Halloween Egg. *

Recently, holidays and eggs have gone together like toast and bacon. No longer just satisfied with Easter, Cadbury has decided that every holiday needs a creme egg. I wouldn't be surprised if soon they have an Arbor Day creme egg that you can plant and have a small tree sprout.

Not to be undone, Oreo has created a Halloween Egg. This one is smaller than your average Creme Egg, as you can see in the picture, below.

Obviously, I had to have it. I couldn't very well leave without having one of these eggs in my possession. I snagged it and went straight to my tasting laboratory (a.k.a. my car).

The first thing I noticed was the nifty little Dracula that overlooked the logo, like a protective vampire mother, watching over her little baby (or egg, in this case).

There are actually three different packages. The other two are a pumpkin and ghost. **

They all look fun. I grabbed the vampire by random, but will go back and get the other two before they are all snagged.

The description promised Creme filled candy with cookie pieces! 

Oodelally! That's right up my alley. I eager unwrapped it, and was... confused.

It looked like "chocolate". But the package didn't call it "chocolate". The package called it "candy". What was this sorcery?!?

Tentatively, I took a bite. Nope, not exactly chocolate - at least quality chocolate. I'm not here to slander, but there was something decidedly caroby about the texture and taste.

One of my first impressions was: SWEET!

I don't mean sweet as in the 80's term of endearment concerning something totally righteous. I mean sweet as in diabetes. This thing has sugar and you can feel it attacking your pancreas with every single caroby*** bite.

The creme was classic cookies n cream and there was a satisfying thickness to the thing. I wasn't disappointed in the bite that I took, but I wasn't sure I could take another. This thing is not something I will eat in one setting.

So, yes, I recommend the egg. It tasted good, enough. It wasn't amazing, and certainly isn't better than the classic Cadbury creme egg, but it's worth picking one up, if you see one out and about.

On my way out, I saw something that made my heart happy:

If you understand why this appealed to the Hallow-trickster in me, then we can be friends.

* which I will affectionately refer to as Boooreo!

** I didn't realize this when I grabbed my little Dracula****. I was in a hurry and just picked one.

*** Any claims that the shell is carob is completely unsubstantiated.

**** That came out dirtier than I meant it to.