So you may have heard the first hip-hop single from Jonathan Liebesman’s forthcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie has dropped. Boasting more artists’ names than “We’re Sending Our Love Down The Well” (Juicy J, Wiz Khalifa, Ty Dolla $ign, and featuring Kill The Noise & Madsonik), the new track actually has a pretty sick beat, and definitely feels much better than the generic dubstep stuff that’s been in the previous trailers.
With the debut of the track, it seems as good a time as any to chronicle the musical history of the TMNT. The Turtles films have had a pretty interesting relationship with hip-hop in particular. Hell, this isn’t even their first “Shell Shock” themed CGI movie tie-in rap song.
Despite being a massive, encyclopedic Turtles fan and having a soapbox to stand on, I’ve been pretty quiet so far on the upcoming film. I don’t want to prejudge it, and I know that my megafan status probably makes me both overly critical and overly excited. But Turtles music? I can talk about that pretty objectively.
Punk. Alternative. Indie. Heavy metal. These terms probably bring to mind genres of rock music, but the same terms can be used to describe specific kinds of comics as well, and it was in the world of black and white alternative/indie comics that the Turtles began their journey. Their popularity, and to a lesser extent that of their longtime ally, Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo, paved the way for resurgence of black and white comics in the mid 80’s.
The original Turtles comics series published by Mirage were definitely flavored by the rock and roll leanings of their writers and artists over the years, many of whom are obvious punk and metal aficionados — certainly Kevin Eastman, Eric Talbot, and Ryan Brown, and later on Rick Remender and Trystan Jones, and probably many others. So enamored was Eastman with Heavy Metal (the aesthetic, the music, and the illustrated science fiction magazine) that he later purchased and ran the Heavy Metal publishing group.
Throughout the Mirage run of comics, particularly in the early years, many writers and artists have slipped in all kinds of references to rock music. Usually these came in the form of t-shirts, graffiti, posters, and similar background elements, but even some of the characters’ names — Shredder, Metalhead, and later Rocksteady in the cartoon — seem to have been informed by this aesthetic as well. Also plentiful is rock-associated imagery of skulls, street punks, fantasy art, and even Norse and Viking themes. Nowhere was this independent spirit more visible than in non-canonical contributions such as pin-ups and guest issues, which took these references even further, having the Turtles rocking out or wearing punk attire just for fun.
Some of the rock bands that have been name-dropped in the pages of TMNT include The Misfits, The Cramps, Motörhead, Skid Row, Van Halen, U2, and Tool, though one band in particular appears to have been the top played in the Mirage Studios offices.
So with this strong rock and roll heritage, what happened?
This guy.
By the late 80s, Turtlemania was riding high on the success of the animated series and Playmates toy line which developed into the huge marketing behemoth we know and love. Originally indie and underground, the Turtles were now mass-marketed in the biggest way possible. What else was hot with the kids? Rap! MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice were both huge rising stars and hip-hop was never hipper.
I can’t find the interview or I’d link it here (if somebody has it, please post it in the comments), but Steve Barron, the director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) has stated that the film actually had an unused original score ready to go, which was axed in favor of John Du Prez’s playful and rock and hip-hop flavored soundtrack. While I’d absolutely love to hear the original music and see it screened, the fact is that I completely adore the Du Prez score. I guess that’s to be expected when the movie’s been one of my absolute favorites for a quarter century.
(Pauses for that to sink in, weeps.)
The Du Prez score, by the way, has never received a commercial release so be sure to carpet-bomb Mondo with requests. Do your thing, Internet.
The first TMNT film boasted a track from MC Hammer, “This Is What We Do”, which played during the Foot Clan warehouse/funhouse scene, as well as “Spin That Wheel” by Hi Tek 3, but most importantly to our collective development, Partners In Kryme’s inimitable “Turtle Power” over the end credits, which was the song of choice at recess and which I may or may not still listen to in my car at full volume with the windows rolled up. Rap was the order of the day, but the film does nod in the direction of rock by having character Danny Pennington wear a Sid Vicious shirt for what I can only assume is several weeks.
The Turtles kinda-sorta returned to their rock roots with the “Coming Out Of Their Shells” Live Tour which conquered arenas all over the country. The music was garbage pop of the most generic and ear-bleeding kind, but the Turtles at least tried to look like punk/glam-rockers which is massively awesome imagery no matter what other problems the concept had.
In the months after the first film’s release, both MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice had their biggest hits, “U Can’t Touch This” and “Ice, Ice, Baby”. Now it would be Vanilla Ice’s turn to be turtley enough to join the Turtle Club, with a famous/infamous appearance in the second film which unleashed “Ninja Rap” on the world. Depending on who you ask, this surreal scene is either the best or worst part of the film. It certainly does date the movie and is regarded by many as the moment in which the series jumped the shark. I guess it’s all a matter of perspective. It used to really bug me but now I just find it charmingly appropriate to the era in the same way that I have come around to enjoying the cartoons again after being a snobby comics purist for years.
Aside from some new TV show themes, things were quiet for awhile until the 2007 animated feature TMNT, directed by Kevin Munroe. If you’re one of the many people griping because Michael Bay is producing the new flick, but you didn’t watch the 2007 movie in its theatrical run, your opinion is invalid. Where were you when the Turtles needed you? I’ll bet you were watching Wild Hogs. You were, weren’t you? You Wild Hogs watchin’ son of a bitch.
Ahem.
Anyway, TMNT’s sound track was decidedly more varied than the previous films. The score by Klaus Badelt is more of a traditional orchestral set while the seemingly random, shockingly mellow, not-very good soundtrack features a mix of pop, rock, and hip-hop tracks. Even so, there are a couple standout tracks. A remix of POD’s “Lights Out” accompanies the Turtles’ fast-paced battle with the Foot Clan, and Gym Class Heroes at least attempt to tie their song to the film (instead of just attaching a crappy B-side like most of the other artists on the disc) with the groovy track “Shell Shock”, not to be confused with the new film’s “Shell Shocked”.
The Nicktoon animated series, which debuted in 2012, managed to absolutely nail the theme song: a rap-infused reworking of the original theme which incorporates the general melody and chorus of the classic 1987 series while adding new lyrics and a heavier beat. Good stuff as cartoon themes go.
Which brings us full circle. It’s 2014 and once again, a movie called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is about to hit the screen.
Please, please don’t suck. (Author’s Update: It did. Horribly.)
Here’s Vanilla Ice again.
The idea for this article was suggested by Joshua Wille.
All comic images were personally scanned from my own collection.
A/V Out.
