Scissor Sisters Enlisted for ‘Fraggle Rock’ Movie

Many children of the 80s fondly remember Fraggle Rock, the Jim Henson series running from 1983 to 1987 that urged kids to “dance your cares away.” Even some of us born close to or during its run have undoubtedly seen the show in some form or another—its reruns have become classics, just like Sesame Street and The Muppet Show.

Now, The Guardian reports that the electro-pop group Scissor Sisters have been picked to compose the soundtrack to a forthcoming Fraggle Rock movie. Singer Jake Shears and multi-instrumentalist Babydaddy of the group are set to write songs for the Henson Company film.

Pairing the colorful world of the Fraggles with the sexually-charged pop of the Scissor Sisters may not be everyone’s first thought when creating a Fraggle movie soundtrack, but that’s just what Harvey Weinstein and the Jim Henson Company plan to do. Spirit Music, the band’s publisher, first broke news of the deal to Music Week.

“By working with [Henson] right from the start it means we can make music an integral part of the film,” Spirit’s managing director said. “[We can make it] as important and as emotionally effective as the film-making.”

This isn’t the first time a Fraggle movie has been considered. Frank Zappa’s son Ahmet was first picked to write a film adaptation in 2006, but producers at the Weinstein Company later replaced him with writer/director Cory Edwards. In 2010, Edwards spoke out against the producers as well, claiming that they were planning to replace him because his script wasn’t “edgy” enough.

“Not to be too alarmist,” Edwards said on his blog, “but I am struggling to stay in control of my own movie at this point. The Weinstein Company gives me no confidence these days. Why? For starters, they have begun the search for a new writer, presumably to rewrite my entire script from scratch.”

In March, Edwards reported that he had not received further word from the company.

If Harvey Weinstein is looking for edgy, he’ll definitely find that in the Scissor Sisters. The band got their start in the Brooklyn electroclash scene, and openly gay frontman Jake Shears is known to perform in extremely sexual costumes that don’t leave much to the imagination—he was also once a go-go dancer at gay clubs. Walmart refuses to stock their 2004 debut album, and conservative groups are certainly not fans.

Still, the group has worked with Muppets before. At the 2005 Brit Awards, the group performed “Take Your Mama,” backed by a cast of Henson puppets and singing watermelons. From the looks of it, perhaps they’ll fit the over-the-top Henson world after all.

This article was originally published on AllMediaNY.com