BRAINS!

"BRAINS!"
Song by Voltaire from the album Boo Hoo (Plus others, see below)
Released 2002
Genre Dark cabaret
Length 5.14
Label Projekt Records
Producer Voltaire/George Grant

"BRAINS!"[1] is a song by the dark cabaret artist Voltaire. It has been described as having a 1940s swing sound, which is in contrast to the much more European folk sound of many of Voltaire's older songs.[2] It is also sometimes incorrectly entitled "Brains!".[3] It was written for an episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy.

The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy

The song was written by Voltaire for the Cartoon Network show The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and aired in the episode "Little Rock of Horrors". Voltaire also wrote another song for the show, "Land of the Dead",[4] used in the opening credits of Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure. This song appeared in his 2007 album Boo Hoo.

The song is also featured in the video game based on The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. It is featured in the story mode end-boss battle, which is based on the "Little Rock of Horrors" episode.[5]

Episode plot

Billy has nobody to play with late at night, and so he wishes upon a star for a friend. The star falls into his backyard—but it isn't a star, it is a brain-eating alien meteorite. First, he tries to eat Billy's brain, but there's nothing in Billy's head. The meteorite (through song) uses Billy to get all of the brains in town, while Billy is thinking that it is all just a game, and that the meteorite is his friend, who oddly gives Billy a zoot suit to wear (taken from one of the creature's victims). Eventually, there was only one brain left in the town—Mandy's. When she comes over to see what's going on, the meteor eats her brain, but with unexpected consequences. Once the meteorite eats Mandy's brain, he melts away, screaming in pain, resurfacing as a pink brain, shaped as Mandy's head. Mandy explains that her brain was too spicy, and commands Billy to go and fetch more brains.[6]

An interesting note; during the alien meteorite's song when it lists off "Big ones, fat ones, short ones, tall ones..." the tall person whose brain the alien steals bears a striking resemblance to a cross-eyed Voltaire, drawn in the Billy & Mandy/Grim & Evil animation style, with glasses.

Albums

The song is featured on four albums — it was first released on Boo Hoo, Voltaire's third album.[7] It later appeared on Deady Sings!, Voltaire's greatest hits album.[8] It also featured on Projekt: The New Face of Goth, a compilation album released by Projekt Records, which displayed their most popular artists.[9] A live version of the song is also available on Voltaire's live album, Live!.[10]

Its latest inclusion was in the kid-suited album Spooky Songs for Creepy Kids.

Sources

  1. ↑ "Projekt: dakwave - 'Boo Hoo'". Projekt Records. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
  2. ↑ Raggett, Ned. "Boo Hoo > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
  3. ↑ "CD Baby: VOLTAIRE: Boo Hoo". CD Baby. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
  4. ↑ "Voltaire June Newsletter". Voltaire's blog. Myspace. 2006-06-14. Retrieved 2007-02-11. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  5. ↑ "Wii Reviews : THE GRIM ADVENTURES OF BILLY AND MANDY Wii-view". Nintendo Central. 2006-12-08. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
  6. ↑ The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Little Rock of Horrors on YouTube, Cartoon Network
  7. ↑ "Projekt: darkwave - 'Boo Hoo'". Projekt Records. Archived from the original on 10 March 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
  8. ↑ "Projekt: darkwave 'Deady Sings!'". Projekt Records. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
  9. ↑ "Projekt: darkwave - 'Projekt: The New Face of Goth". Projekt Records. Archived from the original on 10 March 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
  10. ↑ "Projekt: darkwave - 'Live!'". Projekt Records. Archived from the original on 10 March 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-11.