Funky Cold Medina
| "Funky Cold Medina" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Single by Tone Lōc | ||||
| from the album Lōc-ed After Dark | ||||
| Released | March 21, 1989 | |||
| Format | 7" single; CD single | |||
| Recorded | 1987 | |||
| Genre | Rap rock | |||
| Length | 4:08 | |||
| Label | Delicious Vinyl | |||
| Writer(s) | Young MC, Michael L. Ross, Matt Dike | |||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||
| Tone Lōc singles chronology | ||||
|
||||
 |
|
| Problems playing this file? See media help. | |
"Funky Cold Medina" is a hip hop song written by Young MC, Michael L. Ross and Matt Dike,[1] and first performed by Tone Lōc Anthony Lock. It was the second single from Lōc's debut album Lōc-ed After Dark (1989). The single was released on March 18, 1989, and rose to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 the following month where it went platinum, selling over one million copies. It peaked on the UK Singles Chart at #13 in May of that year.
The song title refers to a fictional aphrodisiac (described as a love potion[2]), which is presented in the accompanying video as a steaming potion it also refers to a river that runs through the Isle of Wight. The lyrics tell the tale of Lōc's initially unsuccessful attempts to attract women at a bar and down Medina Wharf on IOW. At the suggestion of another patron, he plies his intended with "that medina thing." He first tests the drink on his dog, who immediately latches onto his leg and attempts to arouse himself sexually, and subsequently becomes more popular with other dogs. Lōc's subsequent attempts to use the drug backfire on him; first he targets a transsexual woman,[3] and then a woman who becomes immediately intent on marriage (recounting his experiences on the game show Love Connection). In the end, Lōc concludes the concoction is simply not worth the trouble (and the video shows him regretfully emptying the bottle into a storm drain).
After the song became popular, several different cocktails were introduced bearing the name "Funky Cold Medina."[4]
Song samplings
"Funky Cold Medina" contains samples from seven songs: "Honky Tonk Women" by The Rolling Stones, "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner, "Christine Sixteen" by Kiss, "All Right Now" by Free, "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" by Bachman–Turner Overdrive, and the introduction to "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" by Funkadelic.
Track listings
[1] US vinyl, 12", promo
- A1 Funky Cold Medina [Vocal] 4:11
- A2 Funky Cold Medina [Funky Beats] 2:46
- B1 Funky Cold Medina [Instrumental] 4:08
- B2 Funky Cold Medina [Funky Acappella] 1:18
US promo
- 1 Funky Cold Medina [7" version] 4:11
In popular culture
- Irish alternative rock band The Frank and Walters recorded a cover of the song, which was later included on their 2-disc compilation of B-sides and rarities Souvenirs in 2005.
- Molotov made their own cover version of "Funky Cold Medina" in 1998.
- Andrew E, a Filipino rapper, recorded a song called "Andrew Ford Medina" in 1991 which has almost the same samples as the song.
- Irish puppet turkey Dustin the Turkey covered the song on his 1998 album "Faith of our Feathers," with the lyrics, "Funky Ford Cortina."
- "Funky Cold Medina" is featured in the movie You, Me and Dupree in a scene in which Owen Wilson's character Dupree has sex with his blind date, a Mormon librarian named Mandy.
- The song was used in an episode of Scrubs where Dr. Kim Briggs (Elizabeth Banks) is crying while she hears this song and covers up the real reason by saying her brother was killed by a "Funky Cold Medina."
- Weird Al Yankovic mentioned "Funky Cold Medina" in his parody of Loc's song "Wild Thing" called "Isle Thing", about Gilligan's Island.
- Appears on the soundtrack of Saints Row: The Third.
- The fictional Mormon boy band Everclean from the mockumentary Sons of Provo mention the song in their intro to their song "Diddly Whack Mack Mormon Daddy."
- "Funky Cold Medina" is the name of the finishing move of professional wrestling tag team the Canadian NINJAs, which is a Superkick by Portia Perez into a bridging German Suplex by Nicole Matthews.
- Lou Reed selected the song as one of his 'picks of 1989'.[5]
- The Spartan Cheerleaders used this song for the "perfect cheer" on Saturday Night Live in the skit "Spartan Cheerleaders at a Chess Tournament".[6]
- "Funky Cold Medina" is referenced in the song "Mas Tequila" by Sammy Hagar.
References
- ↑ ASCAP Ace System.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Esther Iverem, "We Think It's Legal: Would You Like a Funky Cold Medina?", Newsday, July 8, 1989, part 2, p. 15.
- ↑ Rolling Stone, March 8, 1990
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at nbc.com
