U Can't Touch This: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
No edit summary |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Unreferenced|date=March 2007}} |
|||
[[Image:Stop_hand.svg|25px]] [[image:hammer2.jpg|25px]] [[image:Modern_clock_chris_kemps_01.png|25px]] |
[[Image:Stop_hand.svg|25px]] [[image:hammer2.jpg|25px]] [[image:Modern_clock_chris_kemps_01.png|25px]] |
||
{{Spoken Wikipedia|U Can't Touch This.ogg|2006-12-04}} |
|||
{{Single infobox | |
|||
Name = U Can't Touch This | |
|||
Cover = Hammer_Touch.jpg | |
|||
Artist = [[MC Hammer]], [[Rick James]], [[Alonzo Miller]] | |
|||
from Album = [[Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em]] | |
|||
Released = January [[1990]] in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]| |
|||
Format |
|||
Writer(s) = MC Hammer, Rick James |
|||
Producer = MC Hammer | |
|||
= CD, vinyl, and cassette | |
|||
Recorded = 1989 | |
|||
Genre = [[Rap music|Rap]] | |
|||
Length = 4:17 | |
|||
Label = [[Capitol Records]] <small>([[United States|US]])</small> | |
|||
Chart position = * #3 <small>([[UK]])</small> |
|||
* #1 <small>([[Australia]])</small> |
|||
* #8 <small>([[USA]] [[Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100]])</small> |
|||
** #1 <small>([[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs]])</small> | |
|||
[[Image:Stop_hand.svg|25px]] [[image:hammer2.jpg|25px]] [[image:Modern_clock_chris_kemps_01.png|25px]] |
|||
Reviews = *''[[All Music Guide]]'' [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:gjfyxqlrldse link] |
|||
}} |
|||
"'''U Can't Touch This'''" was [[United States|American]] rapper [[MC Hammer]]'s most successful single. It propelled sales of its album, ''[[Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em]]'' which became the biggest-selling rap album of all time, selling ten million copies.<ref>http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:6etqoawabijb</ref> The song heavily samples [[Rick James]]'s "[[Super Freak]]"; Rick James is credited as a co-author. The lyrics, written entirely by Hammer, are in the boastful self-promotional style common in [[old school hip hop]]. They describe the rapper as having "toured around the world, from [[London]] to the [[San Francisco Bay Area|Bay]]" and as being "magic on the mic," which Hammer says combines with Rick James's "beat that you can't touch" to create the perfect rap song. While some critics, especially in the [[gangsta rap]] community, disliked the song, enough people approved of it to secure the [[Grammy Awards of 1991|Grammys]] for [[Best R&B Song]] and [[Best Rap Solo Performance]], a brand new category at the time, for MC Hammer. |
|||
{{sound sample box align left|}} |
|||
{{multi-listen start|Audio sample of:}} |
|||
{{multi-listen item|filename=UCantTouchThisSuperFreak.ogg|title="U Can't Touch This" and "Super Freak"|description="U Can't Touch This" heavily samples Rick James's "Super Freak".|format=[[Ogg]]}} |
|||
{{multi-listen end}} |
|||
{{sample box end}} |
|||
<br style="clear:left;" /> |
|||
This song was parodied by [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] as "[[I Can't Watch This]]," and can be found on his album ''[[Off the Deep End]]''. It was also parodied in the |
|||
[[Family Guy]] episode called [[E. Peterbus Unum]] where Peter sings a parody called |
|||
"Can't Touch Me". Hammer also appeared in it when Peter sings how he can't sue him |
|||
for singing it. |
|||
==Song's occurrences in the media== |
|||
===Commercials=== |
|||
* [[Anti-bacterial]] hand cream [[Purell]]. |
|||
* Insurance firm [[Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company|Nationwide]] in a [http://www.tubespot.com/node/185 commercial]. Hammer himself also starred in the commercial, which spoofs his bankruptcy. |
|||
* [[Connecticut Light and Power]]'s television and radio ads, where "U can't touch this!" is used whenever power lines are mentioned (visually or verbally). |
|||
* Diet Pepsi/Pepsi One commercial, "I wanna kick it old school." |
|||
* [[Toyota]] commercial. |
|||
* Hand sanitizer commercial for [[Lysol (cleaner)|Lysol]] (U Can't Touch Germs!) |
|||
* [[Lay's]] chips |
|||
* [[Acura 3.2 TL]] commercial |
|||
* [[Citibank]] TV commercial for credit account. Aired in Norway 2006 |
|||
* [[Renault]] French TV commercial for Renault engines |
|||
=== Movies=== |
|||
* ''[[Class Act]]'' (1992) |
|||
* ''[[Hot Shots!]]'' (1991) |
|||
* ''[[Don't Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood]]'' (1996) One of the main characters, Crazy Legs, is asked if he has a dream. He thinks about the question for a second then the film dissolves into a dream sequence that features the crippled Crazy Legs performing a long, choreographed dance sequence wearing [[parachute pants]] to an instrumental version of "U Can't Touch This." |
|||
* ''[[The Right Connections]]'' (1997) (TV) |
|||
* ''[[The Master of Disguise]]'' (2002) |
|||
* ''[[Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle]]'' (2003) |
|||
* ''[[Shark Tale]]'' (2004) is frequently sung throughtout the film, and at the end of the bonus movie [[Club Oscar]]. |
|||
* ''[[White Chicks]]'' |
|||
* ''[[Bubble Boy]]'' |
|||
* ''[[Kung Pow: Enter the Fist]]'' |
|||
* ''[[Eurotrip]]'' In Bratislava, the old guy says "Stop, Hammertime!" |
|||
* ''[[American Dreamz]]'' (2006) |
|||
=== Television episodes=== |
|||
* ''[[The Cosby Show]]'' |
|||
* ''[[The Simpsons]]'', as "I Didn't Do It". When [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] is in the studio recording this single (in the episode "[[Bart Gets Famous]]"), Hammer is outside the booth. In the [[Treehouse of Horror IX]] segment "Hell Toupee", Homer (with executed criminal [[Snake Jailbird|Snake]]'s hair transplanted to his scalp) says "It's hammer time" when getting ready to bludgeon Bart. In the [[Behind the Laughter]] episode, Homer buys MC Hammer's house, knocks off an M and beats the A into a O on the gates creating "Homer Time". Bart then comments he found some of Hammer's pants and while wearing them dances Hammer's famous moves. |
|||
* ''[[Sesame Street]]'', parody ''You Shouldn't Touch This'' was used to warn children about touching things like [[electric fence]]s and [[raw sewage]]. |
|||
* ''[[Family Matters]]'' |
|||
* ''[[Fresh Prince of Bel Air]]'' |
|||
* ''[[Perfect Strangers (sitcom)|Perfect Strangers]]'', performed by the main characters |
|||
* ''[[Greg the Bunny]]'', the song is heard throughout the episode "The Singing Mailman", Dottie claimed that in college she made a tape of her stripping to "U Can't Touch This" for a dental school student she was dating, who was an M.C. Hammer fan. |
|||
* ''[[In Living Color]]'', [[Tommy Davidson]] portrays M.C. Hammer in a parody titled [http://thetravisty.com/In_Living_Color/wmv/Cant_Touch_This.htm "Can't Touch This"] |
|||
* ''[[Bo' Selecta!]]'', [[Avid Merrion]] performs a dance routine in front of [[Atomic Kitten]] |
|||
*''[[Dancing with the Stars (US TV series)|Dancing With The Stars]]''; [[Emmitt Smith]] and [[Cheryl Burke]] danced to this song in the Finale of the Third Season. |
|||
* ''[[Family Guy]]'': "[[E. Peterbus Unum]]"; [[Peter Griffin]] becomes [[president]] of [[Petoria]], and sings "[[Can't Touch Me!]]"; a song talking about how he has [[diplomatic immunity]] and abuses it to his own ends. He also mentions MC Hammer when he sings "I got diplomatic immunity/so Hammer, you can't sue". |
|||
* ''[[South Park]]'': "[[Simpsons Already Did It]]"; When [[Cartman]], [[Stan Marsh]], and [[Kyle Broflovski]] are searching the morgue, they tell [[Tweek]] to say "Hammer Time!" if someone is coming. When Tweek tells them he does not think he can remember that, they tell him to sing the song "U Can't Touch This," which he ends up doing when two [[mortician]]s are coming. |
|||
* ''[[My Wife And Kids]]'' |
|||
===Other=== |
|||
* Video game of the movie ''[[Shark Tale]]'' |
|||
* Performed live at the [[MTV Video Music Award]]s 2005 |
|||
* Rewritten version used in the Tumble Time [[Tigger]] plush toy |
|||
* In ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' as Orc Dance (male). |
|||
* In [http://www.guildwars.com/support/gamecontents/nightfall/skillspreview.php Guild Wars Nightfall] as a [http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/%22Can%27t_Touch_This%21%22 Paragon skill]. |
|||
* [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] made a parody of the song called "I Can't Watch This". |
|||
==Uses of the word "hammertime!"== |
|||
The word "hammertime" from the song (''"Stop! (one-beat pause) Hammertime!"'') has appeared in numerous other contexts: |
|||
=== Sports === |
|||
* The [[Detroit Pistons]] basketball team used "hammertime" as their slogan at one time. |
|||
* [[skateboarding|Skateboarders]] use the term to refer to a particularly courageous and [[extreme]] manoeuvre, also called "throwing down a hammer". |
|||
=== Video games === |
|||
* In the [[Half-Life]] [[Mod (computer gaming)|mod]], [[The Specialists]] there is a level called "Hammertime". The song plays from a radio in the level. |
|||
* In the MMORPG ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]'', one of the adventures involves a man coming up to the player carrying a hammer and saying, "Hey, man, it's hammer time!" |
|||
* In the video game ''[[Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars|Super Mario RPG]]'', the Hammer Bros. boss uses an attack called Hammer Time. |
|||
* In the video game ''[[Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos]]'' and its expansion ''[[The Frozen Throne]]'', Dwarf Griffon Riders, an Alliance unit, speak the phrase "It's hammer time!" upon completion of their training at the Gryphon Aviary building. The Paladin will also say this if clicked on repeatedly. |
|||
* In the video game Beyond Good and Evil, attacking a foe may prompt your partner to cry "Hammertime!" |
|||
* In the MMORPG "[[Guild Wars]]", there is an NPC called "Mac Snowhammer" who says "Snowhammer, don't hurt 'em!", "You can't dodge this!", and "Stop! Snowhammer time!" And there is a skill called "Can't touch this!" |
|||
* In the 1990 arcade game "Hammering Harry", a sample of MC Hammer saying "Hammertime!" proceeds each level. |
|||
=== Magazines === |
|||
* "Hammertime" often appears as a humorous caption to magazine articles. |
|||
=== TV === |
|||
*In the New Zealand Film "Sione's Wedding" the line "Stop!...Bolo Time" was used, Followed by a little dance. |
|||
*In an episode of ''[[Kenan and Kel]]'', Kenan says to Kel "C'mon, It's Hammer time!" and Kel replies "Kenan? Kenan? It hasn't been Hammertime for five years!" |
|||
* In the ''[[Seinfeld]]'' episode "The Baby Shower", Kramer convinces Jerry to steal cable TV by saying "Man, it's the nineties... It's Hammer time!" |
|||
* In the ''[[South Park]]'' episode [[Simpsons Already Did It]], while the boys search the lab for their "sea-men", Tweek guards the door with the code word being "Hammertime". However he forgets this, and starts singing the song to remember before screaming "Hammertime!" |
|||
* The phrase "And now, it's Hammer time!" was used by the title character in the satirical police sitcom ''[[Sledge Hammer!]]'' a full three years before "U Can't Touch This" was released (in the episode "State of Sledge," which aired [[January 10]], [[1987]]). |
|||
* In an episode of [[The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air]], Carlton attempts to gain [[Will Smith|Will]]'s acceptence by offering a high-five and saying "''Peace my brother, it's hammer time.''". |
|||
* In a [[David Letterman]] show, "It's hammer time !" is depicted as a possible thought of the president [[George W. Bush]] while a picture, showing him unable to correctly hanger a hammer, was taken.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24pdu7xzXJw&mode=related&search=</ref> |
|||
* In [[The Simpsons]], the episode "[[Behind the Laughter]]" shows Homer purchasing M.C. Hammer's house, with "Hammertime" on the front gate. Homer then removes an "m" and bends the "a" so it spells "Homertime". Episode 381, the 3rd episode of the 18th season, is called "Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'Em..." which is a reference to the album title. |
|||
=== Music === |
|||
* Comedian [[Jimmy Fallon]]'s ''The Bathroom Wall'' album features a song called "Hammertime" that cobbles together lyrics from several unrelated songs. |
|||
* In the [[Eminem]] song "[[Just Lose It]]" the line "Stop!... Pajama time!" is used (Eminem also parodies MC Hammer's dancing style in the song's [[music video]]). |
|||
=== Internet === |
|||
* The Angry Rooster website created a plugin to the web browser [[Firefox]] that causes the computer to respond "Stop, Hammertime!" whenever the "Stop" button is pressed.<ref>For the "Angry Rooster" plugin for the web browser Firefox, see [http://www.angryrooster.co.uk/hammertime/ this link].</ref> |
|||
==References== |
|||
<div class="references-small"> |
|||
<references/> |
|||
</div> |
|||
{{start box}} |
|||
{{succession box |
|||
| before = "[[Tomorrow (A Better You, A Better Me)]]" by [[Quincy Jones]] featuring [[Tevin Campbell]] |
|||
| title = [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs]] [[List of number-one R&B hits (United States)|number one single]] |
|||
| years = [[June 23]] [[1990]] |
|||
| after = "[[All I Do Is Think of You]]" by [[Troop (band)|Troop]] |
|||
}} |
|||
{{end box}} |
|||
[[Category:Graffiti and unauthorised signage]] |
|||
[[Category:Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one singles]] |
|||
[[Category:Songs parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic]] |
|||
[[Category:Number-one singles in New Zealand]] |
|||
[[Category:Funk-based hip hop songs]] |
|||
Revision as of 10:57, 21 March 2007
