What you gonna do when Electric Zombie Runs Wild on you Brother?

(Editor's Note: I started this article/review about four weeks ago 

and since then many of the products covered in this article have 

sold-out or been discontinued. In that regard this piece becomes 

more a review of the designs and their connection to popular culture. 

Check products for availability.)

Back in the day, when I was just a little Strange,  I was really into professional wrestling. While I drank up major brands like the upstart World Championship Wrestling and the notoriously violent Extreme Championship Wrestling I was always true-blue to the World Wrestling Federation. From the superhero characters of the golden era all the way to the assholes of the attitude era, I've always had a love for the titans of "sports entertainment" and most youths of the 80/90's can agree.  I'm not sure what it's about males from my generation but we loved two things growing up: the WWF and Dragon Ball Z. 

Funny, I don't see any connections between the two.

  Eventually I grew bored of the storylines and moved on, but I still have all those nostalgic memories. Which is why when Electric Zombie revealed it's newest line I was transported straight back to my early days of attempting the sharpshooter leg hold on friends and peers (yep, we were those idiot kids who tried it at home). Thus, I'm proud to review:

Where We're Going We Won't Need Disc Drives (because of...I don't know...the cloud?).

Some songs and themes are superimposed on our memories. A important part of our popular culture is the use of music to accompany visuals, film being one of the most powerful. Sometimes the themes used in certain films become more memorable than the film itself (and in turn, the theme relevance saves the film from total obscurity). We may at times even forget where the musical cue originated from but the connection is so powerful we still associate the film's mood with the score.

I once had a professor who played the 'Halloween' theme on a piano to illustrate the use of suspense through tone. He choose that particular piece not because it was a particularly frightening selection of music but more because most of us connect it to a foreboding sense of tension, even if we don't instantly recall which film it came from. We just "know that tune".

Not my professor, but the point is illustrated. Video by Ibish Comedy.

The same can go for the like of the 'Jurassic Park' theme or Singin' in the Rain, these songs are ingrained in our collective memories. Being part of our collective memory makes them easier for use to recognize when used in different contexts. Artists can play with this by taking these songs and reconfiguring them in unique mediums. Look at all the 8-bit chiptunes or a cappella renditions of cultural standards that are so plentiful on the internet. 

Well, today we bring you another interpretation made possible through the application of technology. The tune? The 'Back to the Future' theme. The mode for the delivery? Disk drives. 

Video by Arganalth.

May the 4th Be With You

 I was going to right up a nice tribute to some aspect of Star Wars fandom today but I didn't get a chance to due to other work commitments. Maybe next year. Instead I'll leave you with this:  

Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984)