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The Misfits: Top Five Songs
It
was just a few weeks ago that I discussed my top five favorite Jem and the
Holograms songs/music videos, and like I said, I would eventually get to the
Misfits. So here we are: the top five Misfits songs/music videos that totally
rock my world.
Before
we do the countdown though, I must share this story about the Misfits. For
those just tuning in, the Misfits were the rival band to Jem and the Holograms.
Pizzazz was the leader and her cronies consisted of the loud mouth Roxy,
slightly shy Stormer, and eventually the fourth member Jetta. They were full of
mischief and mayhem and should have been arrested so many times, yet they
always found a way to avoid the law. I loved the Misfits. They were loud and
outrageous. Their songs were some of the best from the series. However growing
up I had no concept of the other real life horror punk band the Misfits.
This
is where the tale turns tragic. One day in high school I was heading into
school and I saw one of the skater punk rock guys standing around. He looked
beyond dreamy with his spiky hair and facial expression that read, “I hate
everything. Even you.” Bad boys were my Kyptonite in the 90’s and when I saw
this guy in a shirt that said ‘the Misfits’ across the front, I just about
freaked out. “He’s a fan of Jem and the Holograms!” I squealed to myself. I
figured this would be the perfect way for me to say hello.
That’s
just what I did. I said hello and expressed my shock that someone else was such
a fan of the rival band to Jem and the Holograms. You would have thought I had
asked him to eat angel food cake. The little devil could only stare at me with
a blank stare and a sneer as he got the joy of letting me know just how lame I
was and how pathetic that I had no clue who the real life Misfits were.
I
was publicly shamed in public high school. Is there no other worse fate? I was
beyond mortified. Of course from that moment on I promised myself to never fall
for a bad boy again. They just don’t care about the heart of a dorky girl. (It
took me a few years to make that promise work.)
Anyways,
now that you know how lame I am, let’s check out the top five Misfits songs you
will all be jamming out to this Summer.
5.
Get Outta My Way
One
of the things I enjoyed so much about my “research” for this article was going
back and looking at these Misfits videos. I make it seem like I hardly ever
view them, but I have them seared into my mind. This video was the audience’s
first introduction to Pizzazz, Roxy, and Stormer. They ride around on guitar
cycles. How could anyone not find this cool? Plus their reckless abandon to
terrorize poor Jerrica is a very interesting point for a cartoon aimed at
girls. Usually in a “girly” cartoon the antagonist is not much of a threat or doesn’t
exist at all. But these were some real mean girls for the 80’s. Now-a-days
their attitudes and actions would just be that of a typical friendship. What,
you don’t ride around on guitar cycles in office buildings?
4.
Misfits in Hawaii
This
song/video came from one of my favorite episodes ever. Kimber gets kidnapped
and placed inside a volcano. That’s all I can say. When the internet made it
easier to go back and watch cartoons from yesteryear, this was one of the
videos that I actively recalled watching as a kid. The visuals of Stormer’s
sunburn and tan lines were just so vivid in my mind. For all their evil intent,
this video shows a humorous side to the Misfits as they end up on a trip from
hell. It’s also a catchy song.
3.
Universal Appeal
Completely
one of the best songs of the entire series; hands down. The music is cool as is
the animation. I love the moon chasing the sun. The coloring in the animation
is nice too. The song has a lot of appeal to it. I like the whole space theme and
the kiss that Pizzazz blows at the end of the video is just great. These
characters had so much personality, which really gets to shine through in the
videos.
2.
I Am a Giant
<
There
is so much to love in this video; I don’t even know where to begin. I think the
animated sequence at the beginning with them performing and dancing on stage is
so cool. It feels so real, like this is not a cartoon. The movement is that
spot on. I also love the role reversal of the King Kong story with Pizzazz taking
on the role of the colossal gorilla. It’s a nice video with a cool story that
gets played out for the short amount of time that the song lasts.
1. Gimme
a Gimmick
My
ultimate favorite Misfits song is Gimme a Gimmick. Words cannot even express how
cool this song and video are to me. Go ahead, give it another shot. The
animation is superb and it just screams the late 80’s to me. I feel instantly
transported back to being a kid and watching cartoons with all my toys and
dolls for company. There is a pop art look to it and one of those final scenes
where the puppet sequence reveals that Pizzazz is ultimately pulling the
strings is such a nice look to it. There were some male villains in this show
that certainly had their own motives to where it seemed like they were using
Pizzazz and the Misfits, but the slight twist that Pizzazz is always pulling
the strings makes her that much more of an interesting villain, and one of my
favorites.
So
that is about it for my top five Misfits songs/music videos. Do any of you
recall the Misfits? What are your thoughts upon seeing these videos? Let me
know! And don’t go too far. I know it has been a moment since I last posted any
new articles, and that is due to my life taking on more work and just not
having enough time to get everything done that I’d like. However, I have
greatly enjoyed writing these articles for Retro-Daze, and I am still going to
be writing fun retro filled articles. They just won’t be rolling out two a week
like they were. I hope you all understand and I thank you guys for always
leaving comments and taking the time to read these memories of mine. Hope you
are all doing well!
Vaporman87 Posted on Jun 04, 2014 at 07:04 PM
Lots of great music in the series, but these are some standout songs. I recall watching an interview with the lady who did Jem's singing voice, and how much fun she had doing the over the top music.
pikachulover Posted on Jun 04, 2014 at 05:38 AM
When was little and watched the cartoon I thought the Misfits dressed better than the Holograms. I like the song "Welcome to the Jungle" not to be confused with the Guns N' Roses song.
I think I knew the difference between the cartoon Misfits and the other band. But it could be confusing.
Unless people knew me well they didn't really know I liked punk and ska music. I was very bookish looking.
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