The First Synthpop Song, Part Two

Popcycles’ 1982 cover presents perhaps the freshest version of the song since the early 70s, with a sound reminiscent of M’s “Pop Muzik.” This is followed by Magic Men’s funkier, heavier take in 1983 that oddly enough, has a rather Giorgio Moroder vibe. In 1987 there are more Moroder-esque versions by the M & H Band featuring such hilarious titles as the “Jiffy Corn” and “Butter” remixes (puns on the word popcorn increase exponentially in remix version titles starting in the late 80s). For some unknown reason, the “Swedish” remix includes creepy laughter and scratching.

Image from
Popcorn-Song.com

Unfortunately, the “Big 80s” virus infected all renditions of “Popcorn” until about 1990, when Star Inc. presented us with a somewhat uncluttered and heavy techno version. This paves the way for a long stream of danceable and intriguing house versions (with only a few missteps) until Treble Spankers and Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet provided two different surf versions in 1995.

Despite these daringly different renditions and a few which sound strikingly like the original Kinglsey and Hot Butter versions, “Popcorn” lingered in dance music and DJ territory for a while. There were a few odd blips like 1998’s Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra spin and the horribly-offensive-to-Native-Americans Cab City Combo version from 1999. Not to be outdone, Kingsley himself came back in 2000 with a reinterpretation, one which sounds like Enigma’s “Sadeness, Part One.”

Bim Skala Bim dumped a horrid ska atrocity on us in 2000, but after that we were treated to a few genuine innovators, not all of them enjoyable, but many of them daring. We find versions filtered through rap (“we’re dangerous and serious and we could come for you”), “rock,” metal, trance, dancehall, dub, and sikhut, as well as instrumentation by marimbas, pan flutes, trumpets, steel drums, banjo, vocal samples, video games, beer bottles, and breakbeats. Didier Friso created new lyrics in 2004 for someone referred to as the “Popcorn King”:

Listen to the sound of the popcorn-king
Heal me, don’t let love go by.
Heal me, cause it makes me cry.
I wanna eat you, never ask me why.
Heal me, since my soul may die.
One more time

There are a few mash-ups, (far too) many Crazy Frog versions, a live piano cover by Ben Folds, a bizarre interpretation by a German folk trio, a Russian surf rendition, one with Persian lyrics, and “Popcorn for kids” (avoid this one at all costs). Clearly the new millennium has provided some new inspiration for the tune.

After being inundated by “Popcorn,” it seemed like it was time to look into Chicory Tip and figure out once and for all, which was the first synthpop song.

Read Part One here.
Read Part Three here.

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