Scott Aukerman on Why He Loves Prince’s Batman Soundtrack

This interview was initially printed in June of 2014 for the 25th anniversary.

Scott Aukerman is a busy man. He’s been pumping out a weekly episode (or two) of The Comedy Bang Bang podcast for the final 5 years (overlapping with a future internet hosting a stay present of the identical title) and simply wrapped manufacturing on season three of his gut-busting IFC present. CBB has additionally been hitting the stay circuit of late, and final weekend stopped by Chicago for The Onion A.V. Membership’s 1st Annual 26th Annual Comedy Pageant.

We at CoS have identified for a very long time that Aukerman has an encyclopedic data of schlocky tunes, in addition to common artists and chart toppers. Plus, his open door coverage means all kinds of sudden musicians have been dropping by the Earwolf Studio to say hello. He even began a brand new aspect venture podcast — U Talkin’ U2 to Me? — which is an edgy examination of U2’s discography that Aukerman hosts with pal and occasional CBB visitor Adam Scott (the “Flip Off the Darkish Episode” is to not be missed).

One matter that appears to crop up all through Aukerman’s profession is his love for the Batman soundtrack, particularly Prince’s “Batdance”, which is a wierd celebration of Bob Kane’s batty brainchild. Provided that each the file and movie have a good time their 25th 30th anniversaries this 12 months, we thought it could be enjoyable to have Aukerman mud off the album and chat about what makes this larger-than-life file so rattling grand. Within the phrases of the Joker, “Gents … let’s broaden our minds.”

I do know you’re nuts about Prince. Didn’t you catch a number of consecutive Prince exhibits final 12 months in LA?

Yeah, I noticed seven or eight of them. I purchased a ton of tickets however missed one present for no matter motive.

That’s wild. Prince simply did a 60-song LA set in March. Have been you a Prince fan earlier than the film?

Sure, I used to be a extremely large fan of Purple Rain. That was certainly one of my favourite information. I wasn’t allowed to purchase it as a result of the imagery was too controversial for my dad and mom, so I needed to sneak take heed to it.

After I obtained to be round 16, I snuck out and eventually purchased a replica. I cherished Purple Rain and all his singles, however I believe Batman was solely the second file of his that I ever purchased.

The Batman soundtrack was launched forward of the movie. Did you get the file earlier than the film got here out?

I purchased it the primary day it got here out! I keep in mind it got here out in the summertime, as a result of I simply began doing a manufacturing of Jesus Christ Famous person after I was 19 at a local people school. On the second day of rehearsal, the director determined that each one the actors and actresses would do an train the place everybody stood in a circle and he would play some music after which one individual would go into the circle to do an interpretive dance.

Then a second individual would come out and they’d dance collectively, after which the primary individual would go away. After which the second individual would dance by himself till a 3rd individual would exit, and so forth. The Batman soundtrack had simply come out, and he used that. It was a big group, so we ended up enjoying the file right through 4 occasions.

That’s fairly surreal. I learn that the studio initially wished Danny Elfman, who scored the movie, to collaborate with Prince. That may have been so weird. As an alternative the rating and the soundtrack got here out individually.

I used to be additionally an enormous Danny Elfman fan. Pee-wee’s Massive Journey is certainly one of my favourite films of all time, so it was attention-grabbing for me to see two such disparate information come out. I keep in mind going to a Tower Information and the individual had written “the actual Batman soundtrack.” So snobby. I imply, these Prince songs are barely within the film!

Solely 5 Prince songs made the reduce! Have been you additionally a fan of Elfman’s band Oingo Boingo?

Oh yeah, that was the primary live performance I ever noticed. It was 1985, on their Halloween tour on the Pacific Amphitheatre. I used to be into them since I used to be 14. When Pee-wee’s Massive Journey got here out in 1985, I used to be tremendous into that. One of many causes I noticed the movie was as a result of I caught Pee-wee Herman on Letterman, and he was actually humorous. After I discovered that Danny Elfman did the soundtrack to that, I believed “nicely, that sounds good to me!” I form of collected all of Elfman’s early movie scores, till he did manner too lots of them. [Laughs.]

Elfman is nice. His output is ridiculous although. Did you ever get to see “Batdance” stay? Does Prince even play it?

No, I don’t suppose he has ever performed that stay. I think about it could be very troublesome to do. I’d like to see him get out the gun microphone he used within the music video.

Scorching Chip parodied that video some time again.

Oh yeah, that music “Prepared for the Ground” is predicated on the Batman film! There’s lyrics in it taken immediately from the film.

Have you ever ever heard the unreleased observe “Dance with the Satan”? Prince thought it was too darkish, so it was reduce it from the album. There have been some bizarre copyright points with it.

I really might need it. I wished to do that interview within the workplace the place my all music is, however we’ve obtained some guys engaged on the constructing proper now. I believe probably the most attention-grabbing piece from the file is “Scandalous”. That single principally simply layers Kim Basinger’s softcore porn moaning over the music. [Laughs.]

One of many sound mixers got here in after Prince recorded that music and mentioned there was honey all around the mixing board. Anyway, Scott I seen that you’re a large follower of common and modern music. Did you get into music at a younger age?

I’ve been actually fascinated with music ever since I used to be 10 and obtained my first radio. I used to be younger and would sustain with The High Forty and all that. The whole lot from Blondie to Joe Dolce, I’ve simply all the time been a giant collector. I really like discovering everybody’s bizarre B-sides and unreleased stuff. Happily, I didn’t do what everybody else did and cease creating my music style after graduating school. I nonetheless handle to get quite a lot of new stuff each week, so I’m tremendous into new music as nicely.

It actually exhibits on the podcast, when you may have company like Matt Berninger from The Nationwide. Invoice Callahan was additionally on, which was fairly humorous in a fish out of water form of manner. It didn’t appear to be Invoice actually wished to play ball.

Oh, he wished to play ball. Invoice really instructed me. I requested him, “you understand what you’re entering into right here?” And he principally mentioned he thought of it, and simply thought, “Why not?” I believe he was having a very good time. Invoice is the brother-in-law of our director of images for CBB season three, and he or she shared that he had fun. I used to be simply laughing since you so hardly ever meet an individual who doesn’t like to speak. It was so humorous to ask him questions and get one phrase solutions.

Have you ever all the time mixed comedy and music?

Sure, we used quite a lot of musicians on the stay present we’d produce. Particularly on the Largo in LA, I’d meet tons of musicians, like Aimee Mann and Jon Brion. There’s a very good custom with musicians mingling with comedians. If I had a musicians on the present each week, I believe folks would develop bored with it, however I nonetheless like doing it! It’s a pleasant change of tempo. I believe the number of the present is what makes it cool.

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