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Mick Smiley Made the Best Ghostbusters Song, Then He Disappeared.
August 18, 2023 8:29 AM Subscribe
You know the scene in Ghostbusters where the power's been shut down, the ghosts have broken containment, and they start to run amok in New York? The distinctive, eerie song- "Magic" by Mick Smiley- that accompanies it exists only in the film and on the soundtrack; it was never released as a single and Smiley never released it himself. But who even is Mick Smiley? In 2016, Josie Riesman tracked him down and got his story.
posted by Pope Guilty (49 comments total) 41 users marked this as a favorite
I always liked that song. Stuck in my head since the 80's, despite only hearing it when watching the movie every 10 years or so.
posted by exolstice at 8:36 AM on August 18 [9 favorites]
That song slaps, its a bop and a vibe and I'm glad you posted this. Really cool.
posted by Fizz at 8:39 AM on August 18 [3 favorites]
That really is an interesting piece of music. Ghostbusters is one of those weird projects that look like they should be terrible on paper but every little choice made during production from direction to the music just came together to make a classic.
posted by AndrewStephens at 8:39 AM on August 18 [8 favorites]
I also love the music in that scene on the bridge. It stuck with me for a long time as like part of my musical vocabulary (where other songs would remind me of it). A few times I went to look up what song it was, only to be reminded it was just part of the score.
posted by Flaffigan at 8:49 AM on August 18 [10 favorites]
When Billy Idol crossed the pond to launch a solo career, Smiley says Forsey gave him his biggest gig yet: playing bass on Idol’s first EP, Don’t Stop. Though he wasn’t credited when the EP was released in 1981, it did bode well for the future.
ARGGGGGGHH. That kind of stuff makes steam come out of my ears. Credit the people who played on your @#&%@# record!
posted by grumpybear69 at 8:54 AM on August 18 [15 favorites]
This song is solid. Thanks for sharing this!
Since I can't think about Ghostbusters without thinking of Neil Cicierega's "Bustin", I am sharing it here, despite the fact that I am pretty sure it has been posted on Metafilter before.
posted by TheKaijuCommuter at 8:55 AM on August 18 [11 favorites]
Haven't seen Ghostbusters in years, but instantly recalled the song and scene from the post text. Perfect mic drop in the movie.
Watching the clip above, is it just me or did they make up Sigourney Weaver to look like a Patrick Nagel painting? Like maximum 1980s look going on there.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:11 AM on August 18 [12 favorites]
I was a weird kid who loved movie soundtrack albums. I felt like they let me indulge in having eclectic taste, not nailed down to a single genre, without the laborious and pricy prospect of hunting down and buying a bunch of stuff it turns out I’d dislike. (Then mp3 trading happened.)
I had the Ghostbusters soundtrack on cassette and nearly wore it out. Most of the upbeat non-title tracks made great driving around town music that I was only a little bit embarrassed of.
posted by neuracnu at 9:11 AM on August 18 [9 favorites]
Please. *Please* Plleeeeeeeaaaaaaassssseeeee
posted by BlunderingArtist at 9:13 AM on August 18 [7 favorites]
Since I can't think about Ghostbusters without thinking of Neil Cicierega's "Bustin", I am sharing it here, despite the fact that I am pretty sure it has been posted on Metafilter before.
bustin bustin bustin bustin
I was a weird kid who loved movie soundtrack albums.
You were not weird, 80s soundtrack tapes and LPs were awesome! I even liked the ones that had movie quotes mixed in like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Flash Gordon. Or. maybe we were both weird kids. Anyway, I think they were awesome.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:19 AM on August 18 [8 favorites]
You were not weird, 80s soundtrack tapes and LPs were awesome!
Agreed. I got the Back to the Future score on LP one Christmas and I was absolutely hype about it. Movie scores and soundtracks still make up a solid chunk of my listening.
posted by gauche at 9:25 AM on August 18 [3 favorites]
For anyone who wants to do some 8 Bit Ghostbusters Karaoke:
Okay, going 180 degrees here but, John Barry soundtrack for Out of Africa anyone? And Magic is definitely a jam.
Also, the Strange Brew soundtrack (Long live Bob and Doug McKenzie!)
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 9:39 AM on August 18 [1 favorite]
My first CD was a movie score: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
posted by mattgriffin at 9:40 AM on August 18
Also, the Strange Brew soundtrack
Tragically the B side wasn’t just an hour of coo loo coo coo, coo coo coo coo.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:49 AM on August 18 [3 favorites]
My first CD was the Godzilla (Broderick vers) soundtrack and Jamiroquai was the JAM
posted by BlunderingArtist at 9:55 AM on August 18 [5 favorites]
Tragically the B side wasn’t just an hour of coo loo coo coo, coo coo coo coo.
It definitely sounds like a song that would be right at home in a moody video game, and reminds me of a lot of moody video game music that's come down the pipe since, like this was some sort of low-key seed crystal.
Also: for some reason this reminded me of Mike Oldfield's "Sentinel". Low key vibe, vaguely ominous. apparently Oldfield did a bunch of others work I should look up, but none of it ever jumped out of the background at me like the Tubular Bells work.
posted by mhoye at 9:58 AM on August 18
Scenes like that one really helped blend the comedy aspects with the "elder gods are coming to destroy the world" plot.
Incidentally, those VFX still look great! Zero CGI.
posted by justkevin at 9:58 AM on August 18 [11 favorites]
(also to contribute to this aside: Demi Adejuyigbe as Ray Parker Jr singing a theme song for Disney's Haunted Mansion)
my contribution to this aside's aside: Key & Peele's sketch on Ray Parker Jr, It Turns Out the “Ghostbusters” Guy Has a Lot More Songs (yt)
posted by bigendian at 10:03 AM on August 18 [9 favorites]
The VFX weren't trying to be real, or perfect or even consistent. I liked the rotting zombie cab driver, too. They were just spooky movie ghosts! So great. And Sigourney Weaver is so damn beautiful. So many great performances. What a great movie.
I've seen it many times. No offense to the music in question (it's perfectly good!), but it never stood out to me.
posted by SoberHighland at 10:09 AM on August 18 [2 favorites]
For anyone who wanted to see the Key & Peele Ghostbusters sketch and hit the regional blocking, here's a version with no geographic restrictions.
posted by signsofrain at 10:12 AM on August 18 [1 favorite]
The alchemy of the original Ghostbusters is undeniable.
posted by Reyturner at 10:15 AM on August 18 [2 favorites]
Great article! Just when I think the mysteries from the depths of my childhood have all been mined, someone finds another one.
My brother and I had this soundtrack on vinyl. Worth it for the cover alone, the OG Ghostbusters logo on black, but had some super jams. That Bus Boys song is a banger, the Thompson Twins song is a classic, and Ray Parker Jr's song is an all-timer of bubblegum soul pop (If you'll allow me to coin a genre)
But yes! Also! Magic, particularly the second half, is great. I am happy to know a little more about it, and I am staggered thinking about what kind of money he/they must have brought in based on that one song. Every record pressed, every VHS, DVD, Blu Ray, etc. Good for him!
ALSO! It's pretty weird that Smiley worked with Billy Idol and then eventually wrote Kiss Me Deadly for Lita Ford (or at least wrote it and Lita made it into a big hit), because Billy Idol's band before he was BILLY IDOL, Generation X, had an album called Kiss Me Deadly, and also had a great song called Kiss Me Deadly on a different album, but it's NOT the song Lita did. There was still juice in the Kiss Me Deadly fruit, I guess.
posted by dirtdirt at 10:24 AM on August 18 [1 favorite]
"Kiss Me Deadly" also has a surprising amount of current pop culture heft; it was in Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers and Maria Rambeau do a karaoke version that's briefly glimpsed in flashback), and in the Peacemaker series it got used to excellent ironic effect.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:38 AM on August 18
The distinctive, eerie song- "Magic" by Mick Smiley- that accompanies it exists only in the film and on the soundtrack; it was never released as a single and Smiley never released it himself…
Are we sure? Here's video that claims to be the MTV video for what was presumably a single.
(I believe the article is saying that it wasn't released as a single for the Ghostbusters soundtrack.)
posted by ArmandoAkimbo at 11:18 AM on August 18 [1 favorite]
Never seen a metafilter post more aligned with my interests in a specific song on the original ghostbusters soundtrack.
posted by nutate at 11:48 AM on August 18 [3 favorites]
That seems like the right amount of "fame" for people. Just enough fame to get some foundational safety and not enough to prevent you from going to the grocery store or shoving a burger in your face.
(Also, yes, the song fits perfectly in that scene)
posted by drewbage1847 at 11:50 AM on August 18 [2 favorites]
So, I guess all of Zoolander’s looks came from that MTV video?
posted by snofoam at 11:51 AM on August 18
Wow, I've never heard the whole song before, and it's. well, to be polite it's not what I was expecting at all.
It sounds like the part they used in the movie is just the outro and maybe a slightly extended edit. It also kind of sounds like they pitched the movie version down just a little to make it sound darker and a little off key and atonal, which is perfect for what's going on in the movie.
I've also wondered about this track because it fits the mood in the movie so well as the pivotal point in the plot W-diagram and Hero's Journey part of the plot where things suddenly go from upbeat, fun and funny to super real and a lot darker.
posted by loquacious at 12:39 PM on August 18 [1 favorite]
This was a great read. That song always struck me when watching the movie. It's so eerie and evocative.
posted by UltraMorgnus at 12:43 PM on August 18
Are we sure? Here's video that claims to be the MTV video yt for what was presumably a single.
Per the main link Smiley does not believe it was ever actually played anywhere.
posted by Pope Guilty at 12:55 PM on August 18 [1 favorite]
Wait until we find out Billy Idol is behind producing that video without the artist's knowledge or consent. Curses, Billy Idol, Curses!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 1:12 PM on August 18
It's nice to see a "where are they now" article that ends with "in seemingly good health, not famous anymore but financially secure, had a rough bit but is generally doing OK", I feel like those are rare.
posted by mhoye at 1:21 PM on August 18 [6 favorites]
That Bus Boys song is a banger
It's OK, but I prefer their "The Boys Are Back in Town" from 48 Hrs. .
posted by kirkaracha at 1:28 PM on August 18 [2 favorites]
Ooh, soundtrack derail!
Long version of Cat People by David Bowie (more Giorgio Moroder below), re-imagined by Tarantino.
People know The Sounds of Silence, but they don't always know it was part of The Graduate soundtrack.
Giorgio Moroder was all over movies in the 70's and 80's.
posted by Chuffy at 2:10 PM on August 18 [6 favorites]
The Crow soundtrack yt made the movie.
The soundtracks to The Crow and Mortal Kombat were responsible for getting a lot of 90's kids into goth and industrial music.
posted by Pope Guilty at 2:14 PM on August 18 [4 favorites]
This whole sequence was filmed on Manhattan’s busy daytime streets which reminds me how deserted the 2016 movie felt on its soundstages. I’m convinced that the chemistry between the original cast members and the regular New Yorkers around them contributed to the first movie’s success.
posted by migurski at 2:17 PM on August 18 [2 favorites]
The soundtrack to Cool World 100% got me into electronic music.
posted by grumpybear69 at 2:33 PM on August 18 [4 favorites]
That Bus Boys song is a banger
I don't like the whole song that much, but that boogie woogie piano in the song rules.
posted by The_Vegetables at 3:09 PM on August 18
I played the soundtrack tape to death at the time, but not much since, so this post caught me off-guard - totally great tune!
posted by bookbook at 3:45 PM on August 18
For people interested in soundtracks, I heartily recommend the Norman Bates Memorial Soundtrack Show on KFJC. Broadcast/streaming from Foothill College in the S.F. Bay Area every Saturday from 9:00 to noon Pacific Time.
posted by JDC8 at 4:48 PM on August 18 [1 favorite]
I thought I made a comment about this song somewhere on MeFi but it's not in the FF thread for Ghostbusters so idk. It is haunting and it makes for an excellent little chapter interlude.
The first 80s soundtrack I bought was The Mission, though I remember being disappointed. The movie is so stirring, and the music is a huge part of it, but it's not meant to stand on its own. I think the movie made me hunger for some kind of limitless crescendo into spiritual orgasm or something.
posted by fleacircus at 5:59 PM on August 18
> Okay, going 180 degrees here but, John Barry soundtrack for Out of Africa anyone?
Anything by John Barry. I have to remind myself now and then that the great composer not only did Out Of Africa but Born Free, Dances With Wolves, and Goldfinger (one of like a dozen James Bond films he scored). His themes are iconic.
posted by lhauser at 8:36 PM on August 18 [1 favorite]
Does anyone else remember the liner notes/insert from Yo La Tengo’s album “I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One” - specifically the fake/gag ads for Matador albums? One of the fake albums is supposedly by Mick Smiley - called “All Smiles.” Any ideas on a connection there?
posted by niicholas at 11:24 PM on August 18 [2 favorites]
Tracked this song down maybe ten-fifteen years ago and at first thought I would never find it. The only song that seemed to be it sounded completely different. Then I actually listened to the entire song I found and not just the first thirty seconds or so of it, and it was the song. It completely switches gears halfway through.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 12:57 PM on August 19
The first 80s soundtrack I bought was The Mission yt , though I remember being disappointed.
The Mission Soundtrack holds up better in the film. Morricone was a genius.
Peter Gabriel's Passion is pretty amazing.
I may never have discovered Tangerine Dream if not for The Keep.
posted by Chuffy at 1:26 PM on August 19 [2 favorites]
Ooh we are talking about John Barry? His work on “Starcrash” is perfect.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 7:29 AM on August 21
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These stores tend to stock a range of accessories for different occasions, including witch hats. **Visiting a Halloween store or a party supply store closer to Halloween** can also be a good idea, as they often stock a variety of witch hats during the Halloween season. **Another option is to create your own witch hat**.
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This can be a fun and creative project, allowing you to customize your hat to your liking. **You can find tutorials and patterns online**, which can guide you through the process of making your own witch hat. **Finally, if you are in need of a witch hat for a specific event or celebration, you may consider renting one from a costume rental store**. This can be a cost-effective option if you only need the hat for a short period of time..
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