"just one kiss" || maria vidal || 1985

Eighties movie soundtracks are so cool. Many of them are gems that contain songs from scenes at high school dances, the kinds of songs that make you wish you had bands that cool playing at your high school.

Today's track is from the soundtrack to the 1985 Jim Carrey movie Once Bitten, which follows his virginal teenage plight to escape the fangs of a hungry vampira (played by '60s model Lauren Hutton), and, of course, get laid in the process. The soundtrack is ripe with the goofy '80s pop rock & new wave rock sound, pausing only for a funky electro number ("Makes Me Crazy") and the movie's title theme, which was very pleasantly included as the last track on the album.

The song I chose for today, though, is the one from the school's Halloween dance. Maria Vidal performs it live in the movie, complete with her backup band, as the costumed kids do their thing on the dance floor. After the song is over, the vampira shows up, Maria strikes up the band and a ridiculous '80s movie dance-off ensues between Carrey's character Mark, his girlfriend, and the fanged wonder. (Check out that scene here, complete with the very unusual live version of that song.)

This album is kinda tough to find. Beware of CD copies that circulate on eBay -- the only ones I've ever seen are bootlegs from Germany. I'm not certain that an actual MCA factory-pressed CD exists of this soundtrack. I got extremely lucky and found my first copy on cassette at a thrift store downtown. It still plays perfectly (I even listened to it just this morning)! I've seen several copies the LP on eBay, and I have a golden rule that it's much safer to buy an LP as the odds of your winding up with a bootleg in that case are slim to none. If anyone has info on whether or not a factory CD does exist of this soundtrack, information would be much appreciated.

Listen to it here.

Available On:
Once Bitten Soundtrack	MCA Records	MCA-6154	LP
Once Bitten / Just One Kiss	Ariola Benelux	107.918	7"