Burning The Ground Exclusive 1984
“I Wanna Rock” is a song written and composed by Dee Snider and performed by his band Twisted Sister. It was released as the second single from their 1984 album Stay Hungry. The record reached No. 68 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
MUSIC VIDEO
Like the earlier “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, the video features actor Mark Metcalf, best known as the abusive ROTC leader Douglas C. Neidermeyer from the movie National Lampoon’s Animal House.
In the video, he plays a teacher with a similar personality to Neidermeyer, who harasses a student for drawing the Twisted Sister logo on one of his textbooks. He chastises the student by shouting, “What kind of a man desecrates a defenseless textbook?! I’ve got a good mind to slap your fat face!”, which echoes a line from Animal House (“What kind of man hits a defenseless animal [a misbehaving horse]? I’ve got a good mind to smash your fat face in!”).
Metcalf’s character reprises his question from the “We’re Not Gonna Take It” video, “What do you want to do with your life?!” This provides a lead-in for the track, as the student answers with the first line of the song, “I wanna rock!”, after which he and four of his classmates are instantly transformed into Twisted Sister’s five members.
The abusive teacher’s repeated attempts to stop his rock-loving students not only fail; they also backfire on him. He crawls into the school principal’s office, only to be confronted by the principal, played by Stephen Furst, who played Kent “Flounder” Dorfman in Animal House, opposite Metcalf. Furst’s character, who suddenly approves Twisted Sister and its music, reprises one of his lines from the movie, “Oh boy, is this great!”, before he sprays water from a seltzer bottle at the teacher, who collapses in defeat.
“We’re Not Gonna Take It” was the lead single taken from the LP Stay Hungry by American Rock band Twisted Sister the single was released in May 1984.
The single reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, making it Twisted Sister’s only Top 40 single. It is the band’s highest-selling single in the United States, having been certified Gold on June 3, 2009, for sales of over 500,000 units. The song was ranked No. 47 on 100 Greatest 80’s Songs and No. 21 on VH1’s 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s.
In 1985, it received criticism when the Parents Music Resource Center included the song on its “Filthy Fifteen” list for alleged violent lyrical content, allegations that were repudiated by lead singer Dee Snider.
MUSIC VIDEO:
The music video was directed by Marty Callner with an emphasis on slapstick comedy. The video begins with a disobedient son, played by Callner’s son, Dax, playing Twisted Sister songs in his bedroom while the rest of the family is eating dinner. The father, “Douglas C.”, played by Mark Metcalf as a character similar to his Douglas C. Niedermeyer from the 1978 film Animal House, goes to the boy’s room and scolds him for being interested only in his guitar and Twisted Sister.
At the end of the speech, he screams “What do you want to do with your life?”, to which the son replies “I Wanna Rock!”. He strums his guitar and the sound blasts the father out of a nearby window. The boy transforms into Dee Snider, and the music begins. Snider sings to the other children, who turn into the rest of the band, and they wreak havoc on the family.
The father gets the worst of the band’s mischief, as he repeatedly tries and fails to get back at the band members, getting knocked out of more windows and even a wall. Still, even after a series of the father’s failed retaliations, his wife happens by to awkwardly recover him, such as throwing a bucket of water onto him, dropping a first aid kit onto him, and even spraying his face with a hose.
This U.S. 12″ promo includes the introductions from the music videos for both tracks.
SIDE A:
I Wanna Rock (Video Intro Edit) 4:31
Arranged By – Tom Werman, Twisted Sister
Producer – Tom Werman
SIDE B:
We’re Not Gonna Take It (Video Intro Edit) 6:31
Mixed By – Geoff Workman
Producer – Tom Werman
Recorded By – Geoff Workman
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | We’re Not Gonna Take It | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #21 |
| 1984 | We’re Not Gonna Take It | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | #7 |
| 1984 | I wanna Rock | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #68 |
| 1984 | I wanna Rock | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | #35 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Atlantic – PR 666
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Rock
Style: Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Glam
NOTES:
Promotional Copy Not For Sale
Side A: Featuring the Introduction from “We’re Not Gonna Take It” Video Vocal/Edited Version
Side B: Featuring the Introduction from “I Wanna Rock” Video Vocal/LP Version
Includes 8.5″ x 11″ radio programmer insert printed on glossy paper.
Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!
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