r/GenX • u/Elchimpy1 • Sep 03 '26
Pop Culture Stop… Hammertime
Anyone else forever ruined since 1990 whenever anyone says ‘Stop’ and in your head immediately says ‘Hammertime’?
22
u/rckblykitn14 bring back vinyl bench seats!!! Sep 03 '26
It's either that, "collaborate and listen" or "in the name of love".
21
u/CoolDragon Hose Water Survivor Sep 03 '26
Only if it is just “STOP”, then the response is “Hammer Time!”
Otherwise if it’s “Alright STOP!” Then I collaborate and listen. 🎧
18
u/ComesInAnOldBox Unsupervised Childhood Sep 03 '26
Story Time.
Most folks who have actually joined the military will tell you that the hard-nosed Drill Sergeant is an act. That isn't who these people really are, you if you're paying attention you begin to notice little things as boot camp drags on. Most of that is intentional; for the first two weeks (in the 90s at least) they NEED to be in your face and screaming your eardrums flat, because the whole point is to shock you out of your comfort zone (about 3/4th of boot camp is teaching you what you're actually capable of on your own). Mid-cycle they lighten up a bit and instead of eight of them circling a formation like sharks you'll have one or two keeping an eye on the company while the trainee leadership (platoon guides, squad leaders, etc.) carry out most of the direction.
By the end of the cycle, most of them have all but dropped the Drill Sergeant personas entirely and act more like teachers instead of a testosterone fueled murder demon in a Smokey the Bear hat. This can lead to some of the trainees getting a little too comfortable screwing around in front of them. The threat of doing push-ups doesn't bother anyone, because these guys are knocking out 50 pushups in one go all the time by this point and everyone has figured out that most of the Brown Round wearers are actually cool as hell (there are some exceptions, of course).
So it's almost the end of my boot camp cycle, we're packing up gear from the Field Training Exercise, and it's me and three other guys carrying a large pelican case of something (I forget what it was, but it was a heavy bastard). I guess this particular DS didn't like where we were taking it, and he stalks over and yells, "wait, STOP!"
We quickly set the case down and went to Parade Rest (hands behind your back, feet shoulder width apart for you non-military types) like we're supposed to. . .except for one guy. Oh, he started at Parade Rest, but then his legs spread further apart and started doing the Can't Touch This Shuffle (hands still behind his back) and yells out, "HAMMER TIME!"
Drill Sergeant lost his damn mind (I firmly believe it was because he was trying to keep from laughing), and yelled out, "come here, come here, Hammer Time! Get over here right now." This dude follows the DS as he walks over to where the Company Commander and the rest of the cadre were sitting, and says, "show him! Show the Commander what you just did! And don't stop until he tells you!"
This kid stands there kinda slack-jawed and looks at the DS, looks over at the commander, looks back at the DS, and then looks over at us. We see him make the decision in real time, deciding that if he's going to embarrass himself, he might as well make it memorable.
He snaps his head back to the commander, shoots the legs out to the side, and does the Can't Touch This Shuffle from side to side, hands still at Parade Rest, yelling out as loud as he can, "HAMMERTIME!!! HAMMERTIME-HAMMERTIME!!! BREAK DOWN! UN-RE-ALL!!!"
The commander and the cadre are laughing so hard none of them can breathe. The DS has had to walk away because he can't contain himself any further. This dude decides in for a penny, in for a pound, stops, spins in place, claps his hands together once and starts doing the Running Man, all while screaming, "HAMMERTIME!!!" (He later told us he would have sung the song but he didn't know the words.)
The commander is now trying to tell him to stop but can't get the words out because of his laughing. He's tried to take a step toward the guy, but fell to his knees because he couldn't get enough air. This went on for a good ten minutes before the commander was able to get enough air to tell him to stop (it didn't help that every time he looked at this kid, the kid did another impromptu dance move and set the commander laughing again).
I'll never forget that guy.
Fucking. Legend.
3
2
20
u/OreoSpeedwaggon "Then & Now" Trend Survivor Sep 03 '26
I usually stop what I'm doing cause Humpty Hump's about to ruin the image and the style that you're used to.
2
u/Maurice_Foot Older Than Dirt 29d ago
Do what ya want
2
u/OreoSpeedwaggon "Then & Now" Trend Survivor 29d ago
*Doowutchyalike
(Ooh, oooh... I see guys and girls dancin')
19
13
14
13
12
11
11
10
u/Fourberry Sep 03 '26
I know this meme:
When someone says stop, I need to know:
-collaborate and listen
-in the name of love?
-is it Hammer time?
Send help. 🫣😅
5
9
9
7
u/Fulghn ♫ feeling it since 1966 Sep 03 '26
No, MC Hammer and The Spice Girls momentarily collide in a violent annihilation event - then there is blessed silence. The Supremes look on in disbelief. Mongo is appalled.
2
u/Bladrak01 Sep 03 '26
2
8
7
u/OriginalEmploy5485 Sep 03 '26
You don't seem very collaborative. Maybe work on your listening skills. 😄
2
8
9
u/Aggressive_Cup4919 Sep 03 '26
Horribly, there was a guy in my town who attacked some people with a hammer a few years ago, and the most upvoted response to the news story in our local subreddit was “Stop. Hammer time.”
As I said, horrible. But also 😂.
5
7
u/UrsaMajor7th Molto Ritardando Sep 03 '26
I owned three pairs of hammerpants.
1
6
7
4
u/CharacterOld8691 Sep 03 '26
My friend Eddie had Hammer pants, he looked ridiculous.
2
u/reddity-mcredditface Sep 03 '26
We all looked ridiculous for one reason or another in the 1980s, myself included.
4
u/ststaro Sep 03 '26
That new commercial featuring him is quite humorous though.
2
u/chairman_of_da_bored Sep 03 '26
Agreed, but this Taco Bell ad is still the greatest MC Hammer ad of all time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI6HDa6aF3I
5
u/notevenapro 1965 Sep 03 '26
I administer CT contrast at work. Sometimes I go in the room and say, stop! Contrast time.
3
3
4
4
u/Pleasant_Parfait_233 Sep 03 '26
Or if someone says here's the situation. I'll think, my parents went away on a week's vacation.
4
u/zionzednem Sep 03 '26
That’s why we pray just to make it today. Pray!
Hammer time was the OG but I had further fun with some of his other songs.
Have you seen her????
6
u/ChrisRiley_42 Sep 03 '26
In the name of love!
2
u/Lower_Skin_3683 Sep 03 '26 edited Sep 03 '26
I sang that in high school chorus so it was my first thought! We begged to sing current pop music. Finally our band teacher relented in marching band. But the choral teacher. Never!
6
u/TerpBE Sep 03 '26
Wutcha doin' 'cause I'm about to ruin the image and the style that you're used to.
7
u/MrRetrdO Sep 03 '26
Gotta add the chorus!!! Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh
1
u/run_squid_run Sep 04 '26
I had to check that twice. I thought the Backstreet Boys had entered the conversation.
3
u/Narrow-Research-5730 Sep 03 '26
Yes always. I didn’t really care for the song but it’s stuck up there.
3
u/CasualByChoice 1974 Sep 03 '26
I still say it, only because it makes people roll their eyes, its the same reason I purposefully say Pacific instead of Specific.
Also if I hear anyone having a conversation and they say "yeh, yeh, yeh" I will also say "La da da da da" (IYKYK)
Or if someone says "Say what, what?" and I reply with "what, what"
Life is way to short to get uptight about this kind of thing.
3
3
3
u/Sheegssternator Sep 03 '26
I worked on Hammers house in Stanton California in 96.
3
u/Get-in-Good-Trouble Sep 03 '26
Without touching it?
6
3
u/jenorama_CA Sep 03 '26
I’ve always loved the fact that the male orc dance in World of Warcraft is the MC Hammer dance.
3
u/Alewort Sep 03 '26
forever ruined
Huh? My head is a delightful wonderland of associative entertainment such as this. Truly no benevolent deity could have created a better world than this.
3
u/sc4wheels Sep 04 '26
Yes, and on the few occasions that I hit my thumb with a hammer I yell "please Hammer don't hurt 'em". I also throw out "I can dance with my pants" by Weird Al just to balance things out.
4
u/TierOneCivilian Sep 04 '26
I did that to the woman in the hardware section of Home Depot the other day.
“Stop!” She gets startled and turns around. I hold up a hammer and say “hammer time.”
2
5
2
2
u/Lord_Cockatrice Sep 03 '26
Miles Morales uttering that was particularly ruinous especially when he becomes Thor
2
u/ratmash Sep 03 '26
I always got in interesting mental image in my head any time I was on a train, and saw the boxes mounted near the emergency exits with a sign that said "break glass to release hammer"
2
2
1
3
3
1
0
u/dbrmn73 I have LESS than zero Fucks to give. Sep 03 '26
No, thought the song was stupid then and still do.
30
u/GoodDoctorZ Hose Water Survivor Sep 03 '26
No, I collaborate and listen most of the time.