rose tint my world

While watching The Daily Show tonight, Jon Stewart said something that put me in mind of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Not sure what he said exactly. I don't recall him specifically mentioning time warps or sweet transvestites or anything of the sort, but then again, it doesn't take much for my feeble mind to meander to regions far and wide.

So within seconds I was singing "Over at the Frankenstein Place" to myself. For those of you in need of a memory refresh, that's the song Brad and Janet sing while they make their way in the rain from their broken-down car over to... say it with me now... the Frankenstein Place. [For you hard-core Rocky fans, now's your chance to bust out lighters, don newspaper hats and squirt water pistols.]

I totally whet my musical appetite with that song snippet and now there was no turning back. I.had.to.hear.this.song. Oh and "Science Fiction Double Feature" too because j'adore that tune and um, it's actually in my key so I can sing it without peeling the paint off the walls. The paint only bubbles and puckers slightly, you see.

Would you believe that the soundtrack isn't available on iTunes? The only Rocky-related tune they carry is some bullshit muzak version of "The Time Warp" performed by some doofy orchestra. I listened to the 30-second preview and it is brutal! I have a good mind to snap that conductor's baton in half and stab him with it.

So I decided to go old school and dip into my cassette collection. I've pretty much cleaned out my stash in recent years with the exception of my cherished Cure, R.E.M and Love & Rockets tapes that I will never ever part with. Oh and of course, the original soundtrack from the original motion picture to... you guessed it... The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

I bought the tape when I was in high school and tortured all of my friends with it. Some of them appreciated the brilliance but the rest couldn't get into it. Although, I did catch one of my more stubborn friends singing "Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me" despite herself. Victory was mine.

God, I was a complete doofus in high school. I actually used to request "The Time Warp" at school dances (in between pleas for some Depeche Mode or New Order). It was always strange to hear my songs sandwiched in between "Ice Ice Baby" and "Rhythm Nation." But far be it from me to complain about continuity when the DJ was kind enough to throw me a bone despite the protests of the guido majority.

Naturally when "The Time Warp" came on, the dance floor cleared and only a hearty few remained... most of them members of the marching unit. And me.

So I set aside my usual disdain for the band kids and drama dorks and together, as one, we jumped to the left, stepped to the right, brought our knees in tight and executed some rather impressive and spirited pelvic thrusts. Well, impressive and spirited for a bunch of clueless virgins...

I'm really shocked that this tape isn't all warped from overuse. But, much to my delight, it's still in fine working condition. How do I know? Because it's playing right now! And I'm singing every fucking word to every fucking song. Neighbors be damned!!

Um, anyone know where there's Rocky karaoke in NYC? I'm totally feeling inspired right now. Hook a theater geek up!

Update: A big thank you to Laura, who was cool enough to send me a bunch o' Rocky mp3s. Thanks again!!! They are SO going on the iPod.