Welcome to a Walkman-melting, battery-sapping countdown of teen comedy soundtrack cuts assembled by Mike “McBeardo” McPadden, author of TEEN MOVIE HELL: A Crucible of Coming-of-Age Comedies from Animal House to Zapped! Every note on this masterful mixtape assaults the ears like the snap of a keg tap, the frenzy of a ferocious food fight, and the squeal of a wicked sax solo played by a dog wearing sunglasses. This is your Teen Movie Hell mixtape. Crank it carefully—and use it extremely unwisely!
Track 5. Adam Roth and His Band of Men, “I Just Wanna Have Some Fun” from Beach House, aka Down the Shore (1982)
A prime example of the grimy, dawn-of-the-decade moment when the Ramones somehow constituted “surf rock” along the coastlines of Long Island and the boardwalks of New Jersey, Adam Roth and His Band of Men infused the goombah-accented almost-home-movie “down da shore” boogie-board romp Beach House with this perfect no-messing-around/sweet-tooth crystallization of the highly localized zeitgeist.
As indicated in this video (and the movie) by the decal letters on their bass drum, Roth and the BOM break out the blowdryers and bang on some classed-up gear from the Pleasantville Music Shoppe to pump out Garden State greatness built on three fuzzy chords and a paper bag full of AM-radio bubblegum structures. It’s a million miles away from Malibu Beach, but you’re in luck if Blue Cheer and the Ramones play your idea of summertime fun anthems.
Adam Roth and the Band of Men released an album including all their songs for the movie in 1981 on micro-label ACM Records, featuring ten songs intended to knock the swimsuits off any revelers within earshot of the New Jersey Turnpike. The always hosanna-worthy Hozac Records is slated to put out a proper Beach House soundtrack album in 2019. Crank it up and see who loses what.
Get ready for summer—read the book TEEN MOVIE HELL already!
