By now you've probably heard the new Ghostbusters theme by Fall Out Boy ft. Missy Elliott, which means by now you probably wish you hadn't heard the new Ghostbusters theme by Fall Out Boy ft. Missy Elliott. Unlike bustin', this lifeless Spider-Man soundtrack reject of a song does not make you feel good. It kind of makes you want to give up listening to music.
Pete Wentz and company took Ray Parker Jr.'s immortal original, sucked out all the fun, and then corrected its grammar (too good for the word "ain't," Fall Out Boy?).
At least this is one bad thing about the new Ghostbusters that misogynistic movie nerds can't blame on women. The main cast is all women, so why couldn't this song have been performed by a woman? Just imagine "Ghostbusters" performed by, say, St. Vincent. That would rule.
Unfortunately, knowing how reliant Hollywood is on proven formulas, it would be easier to suggest someone who's already done a "Ghostbusters" song than fantasy music supervise it myself. So, for the inevitable Ghostbusters 2, here's who they could call to soundtrack the epic battle with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Woman.
In 1984, Huey Lewis was approached to write the theme for Ghostbusters. But he was busy with Back To The Future so they went with Ray Parker Jr., who had just a few days to write the song. After Parker's theme shot to number 1 and stayed there, Huey Lewis realized, hey, wait, didn't I write this? It was basically "I Want A New Drug" rewritten as a phony advertising jingle. (Listen to the mashup above). So Lewis sued and ended up with a nice payday.
But he wasn't exactly happy. On Behind The Music in 2001, he called it "symbolic of an industry that wants something – they wanted our wave, and they wanted to buy it. ... [I]t's not for sale. ... In the end, I suppose they were right. I suppose it was for sale, because, basically, they bought it."
And with those words, Lewis basically bought it right back. For busting the settlement's confidentially agreement, he had to pay handsomely.
In the grand, goofy tradition of wrestlers singing their own entrance songs, Jerry "The King" Lawler told the world (of Memphis wrestling) that he wasn't afraid of no wimps by jacking the whole instrumental track of "Ghostbusters." Lawler somehow not only didn't get sued, but got his rival Jimmy Hart's nickname changed to "The Wimp." Can you believe it J.R.?
Wait, is the new Ghostbusters set at a haunted Williamsburg vintage shop in 2006? I haven't seen it yet.
The Sweded version of Ghostbusters from Be Kind Rewind includes this little Jack Black ditty that, as soon as you hear it, you want the full version. Unless this new Ghostbusters already is the Sweded version.
Neil Cicierega turns internet hijinx into high art with this "Ghostbusters" remix, remaking it as the boner jam your 13 year old self always suspected it was.
Every band you like has a secret ska past, and that past invariably includes a cover of "Ghostbusters." It just does. Chances are if you were growing up in the age of Napster, you heard the version above. It was performed by Attaboy Skip (which includes at least one future member of The Killers), but your MP3 likely had it mislabelled as NOFX or Streetlight Manifesto or Reel Big Fish. And it fit probably fit nicely on your playlist between "Gin and Juice" by Phish, audio of SNL's "Celebrity Jeopardy," and "You Kicked My Dog."
What's better than 4 members of Fall Out Boy? 8 floppy disk drives.
Uhhh, actually maybe not.
8 artists Ghostbusters could have called instead of Fall Out Boy by Richard Trapunski | Chart Attack.
