Comments on: Gang Violence = Okay when the foe is Mr. Tooth Decay

Gang Violence = Okay when the foe is Mr. Tooth Decay

lord_wolf — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:44:53 -0800

Ali and His Gang Vs. Mr Tooth Decay

Although he had been soundly defeated by a certain mouse decades earlier, Mr. Tooth Decay re-emerged in the mid-1970's to once again threaten the youth of the world. Knowing that the potent combo of butterfly-floatin' and bee-stingin' alone wouldn't be enough, Ali recruited a gang (Side 1) to help him in the fight (Side 2). The post-fight photo is priceless.

By: jquinby

jquinby — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:49:40 -0800

Anyone else remember his Saturday morning cartoon show?

By: Spatch

Spatch — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:50:05 -0800

I had this record when I was a kid. The first song on the record is a total blast. It is a little-known historical fact that Muhammad Ali was responsible for not only putting the crack in the Liberty Bell, but also for dumping the tea in "Boston Bay". ALIIIIIIIIIII!

By: middleclasstool

middleclasstool — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:00:22 -0800

Oxford American included the theme song for this album on one of their annual music issue CDs a couple of years ago. I've been looking for mp3s of the rest of it ever since, so this is supremely awesome. I played the theme at my office the day after I got the OA sampler, and for weeks someone would ask something like "Hey, who normally does the maintenance on the LetterWriter app?" and invariably someone else would yell "Al-liiiiiiiiii, AL-LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" over the cube wall.

By: DU

DU — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:00:34 -0800

I can certainly understand why these fellows agreed to make such an important cultural milestone. After all Howard Cosell, Frank Sinatra and Muhammad Ali with their well-known short-lived, unimpressive careers, barely made any money. This post reminded me to do my once-every-3-years search for a recording of "Oral Hygiene" by Bongos Bass & Bob. Once again I have failed. The internets will not be complete until it is on there. I wonder if I still even have the mixtape I got it on...

By: porn in the woods

porn in the woods — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:02:05 -0800

Dude, I own a copy of this gem, after raremusic.com tipped me off a decade ago. Frank Sinatra's excellent as the storekeeper. The album says that next up, after tacking tooth decay, Ali and his gang were going to take on Peter the Pusher and his fat-cat friends. Start small, y'all. Ali's theme song is awesome - especially when you substitute "OJ" for "Ali" Ali's always getting blamed, For things he didn't do

By: dogwelder

dogwelder — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:08:44 -0800

I was just going to rip this!

By: Joe Beese

Joe Beese — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:15:52 -0800

If Ali could defeat tooth decay, he truly was the GOAT.

By: yhbc

yhbc — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:16:11 -0800

Perhaps the best thing about that site is that an anti-flouride truther showed up IMMEDIATELY to set the record straight about the poison that is flouride.

By: lord_wolf

lord_wolf — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:16:29 -0800

My goodness -- how did I miss that cartoon when I was digging up links for this post?! Thanks, jquinby!

By: Spatch

Spatch — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:27:04 -0800

Perhaps the best thing about that site is that an anti-flouride truther showed up IMMEDIATELY to set the record straight about the poison that is flouride. Who put the fluoride in the Crest? ALIIIIIIIIIII!

By: Joe Beese

Joe Beese — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:27:42 -0800

Perhaps the best thing about that site is that an anti-flouride truther showed up IMMEDIATELY to set the record straight about the poison that is flouride. I occasionally visit wingnut websites for laughs and I was astonished to see that they were still going on about flouride. [I guess compared to creationism, it's a low anti-intellectual hurdle to clear.] "Getting back to the roots of conservatism"... you're doing it wrong.

By: ricochet biscuit

ricochet biscuit — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:30:29 -0800

It's hard to convey what the seventies were like to anyone who wasn't around for them. This is surreal now, but it was par for the course in the old days.

By: Joe Beese

Joe Beese — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:37:33 -0800

This is surreal now, but it was par for the course in the old days. This was enjoyed without irony. Most people didn't know what "irony" was.

By: boo_radley

boo_radley — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:38:15 -0800

Why was I thinking it would be Ali G? I don't know.

By: dithered

dithered — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:39:26 -0800

I also first encountered this on raremusic.com. I loved that site. Still looking for an mp3 of the Guitar Ramblers' El Torito.

By: box

box — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:51:50 -0800

Ali doesn't get enough credit as a proto-rapper. I like the Julius Hemphill and the Last Poets and the Watts Prophets as much as the next guy (actually, probably orders of magnitude more), but I am the Greatest! has almost as much swag as Hustler's Convention. Also, like mct, I heard this on the Oxford American cd a few years ago. The OA is a pretty good magazine--check it out while you have the chance.

By: jquinby

jquinby — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:54:58 -0800

This was enjoyed without irony. Most people didn't know what "irony" was. As was this.

By: ford and the prefects

ford and the prefects — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:39:54 -0800

So the minute I saw this link, I zoomed up to yon search box and tried to 'previously' it. I was just damn sure that MeFi'd covered this before, or at least that it was so supremely MeFi-iable that it must have been on up here. Also, I've never 'previously'd' anyone. Looks like it's new. Furthermore, it's an excellent record to (re)introduce. And anything with Ali can only make the world a little better. ::grumble:: goodjoblordwolfyajerkyjerk

By: KevinSkomsvold

KevinSkomsvold — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:55:11 -0800

Mighty Mouse and the cavity fighting ingredient Gardol. Money shot at :25.

By: FatherDagon

FatherDagon — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:19:40 -0800

The tooth-brush rap PSA tradition continues to this day.

By: lord_wolf

lord_wolf — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:46:28 -0800

goodjoblordwolfyajerkyjerk I aim to please! :-D

By: marsha56

marsha56 — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 12:32:39 -0800

I first heard a clip from this on the When We Were Kings soundtrack. One of my favorite albums ever.

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:35:25 -0800

When I get to the molars, we gonna get it on, because we don't get along with plaque, I'm gonna brush 'em up.

By: msconduct

msconduct — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:59:44 -0800

Oxford American included the theme song for this album on one of their annual music issue CDs a couple of years ago. aaaarrrrggghhh!!!!!!!! dammit! i picked these things up faithfully until the big hiatus. then i'd buzz the bookstores & their web site periodically to see if it was resurrected. then i forgot all about it. and now they want $75 for southern music issue #2. godDAMMIT! thanks for reminding me it's still around. great magazine all around, and those music issues are amazing.

By: JennyJupiter

JennyJupiter — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 19:34:45 -0800

I got this from my dentist when I was a kid and listened to it a lot. I had totally forgotten it until now!

By: dr. fresh

dr. fresh — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 09:32:29 -0800

Whitney Matheson from USA Today's Pop Candy blog put the title track on her podcast when the Oxford American magazine came out. That set my musical stage for the next few months, I couldn't stop singing that tune. I got the magazine. I read more about the album online, mad that the good oral hygiene of my youth kept me away from this album. I bought a copy from E-Bay soon after, but no longer have a turntable. I like how some of the kids are incomprehensible. Richie Havens and Ossie Davis make appearances also. My favorite part is Howard Cosell doing rhyming commentary, I really hope he wrote it himself.