return to “Big J in Greater New Orleans” index

previous entry .......... next entry

It’s Tricky (the A.M.C.)

written Saturday 11/29/2008
(song/animation completed 11/26/2008)

My graphics were inspired by (sampled from?) Run-DMC images below

My last rhythmic romp back to the eighties was so much fun that I had to venture back to my childhood once again.

A couple weeks ago, shortly before the weeklong Thanksgiving break, I mentioned to two other math teachers that I had just registered our school for the American Mathematics Competition. The “A.M.C.” is the nation’s largest and most recognized contest for middle and high school students, and it was one of my favorite math competitions from my high school days. I suggested to Mr. Wenstrup and Ms. Brown that we should start hyping the contest after the vacation. Mr. Wenstrup joked to Ms. Brown that I would be asking her to co-star in a song about the A.M.C. I replied that perhaps a new song was indeed in order, and that all three of us ought to participate. The collective group name of Run-A.M.C. immediately came to mind, in honor of the pioneering rap group Run-DMC. Their 1986 song “It’s Tricky” seemed an obvious source for a spoof song about a challenging math contest.

Mr. Wenstrup was game, although Ms. Brown was less enthusiastic. Within the hour I shared the chorus and a couple verses with him, and he agreed to write almost all of his own verses. I expanded the scope to include “guest spots” from Ms. Brown and the other math teachers, Ms. Greco and Mr. Dagate. I rushed to record most of their contributions during spare moments throughout Friday. Over the weekend I met with Mr. Wenstrup to drop our verses, and the day before Thanksgiving I even got my arch nemesis Mr. Depp to contribute a line. With the first major vacation of the school year underway, I indulged some free time into the song and accompanying animation 100% guilt-free. The final result, if I do say so myself, is “not bad meaning bad but bad meaning good!”


It’s Tricky (the A.M.C.)

Click image to play full song/animation by Mista Whizz-ite
(Flash animation file will play from a new browser window)

Other versions:

It’s Tricky

Click image to play one-minute clip from the song by Run-DMC
(mp3 file will play from a new browser window)