The Simpsons Sing The Blues Classic or Dud?

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I think this may be the first album I ever owned, copied onto tape from a schoolfriend's sister. I am listening to it again and some of it's okay (apart from the two Bart hits). Marge's "Springfield Soul Stew" is quite good and Lisa's rendering of "God Bless The Child" is surprisingly poignant. Best of all is Mr Burns and Smithers's "Look at all those Idiots".

― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 13:38 (8 years ago) Permalink

It's pretty damm bad. Nowhere near the quality of Songs in the Key of Springfield.

― Rufus 3000 (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 13:52 (8 years ago) Permalink

but its a different thing! songs in the key is all stuff from the show, right? i feel like hearing simpsons sing the blues would trigger a STRONG nostalgia attack if i heard it these days. homer's "born under a bad sign", "deep trouble" - i mean, i think they were all probably bad, but also probably hard-wired into my brain.

CLASSIC.

― peter smith (plsmith), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 13:55 (8 years ago) Permalink

Bart:
Let me start at the start, then take it away
My name is Simpson, Bartholomew J.
That's Bart with an "art" and a capital "B"
Then "simp" plus "s-o-n" that's me
Introductions aside, let's move right along
You can all sing along at the sound of the gong
Once upon a time, about a week ago
All of the sudden, trouble started to grow
Alarm was buzzin', I was snoozin'
Supposed to get up now, but I was refusing
To let reality become an intrusion
'Cause in dreamy-dreamland I was cruisin'
But the buzz kept buzzin', my head kept fuzzin'
Gave the radio a throw and heard an explosion
I opened up my eyes to my surprise
There stood Homer and his temperature rised
I will chillin', he was yellin'
Face all distored, 'cause he was propellin'
I said I'm real sorry, but that didn't cut it.
I started to protest, but Dad said

Homer:
Shut it! Get up, mow the lawn! Move it on the double!
'Cause if you don't, you're in deep, deep, trouble!

Back-up Singers:
Trouble! Deep, deep trouble!
Wanted to snuggle! Deep, deep trouble!

Bart:
So I'm in the front yard mowing like crazy
Sweating like a pig and the sun is blazy
Homer's in the driveway, gettin' in the car
With Mom and Lis, I hope they're going real far
Then Dad yells ---

Homer: Bart!
Bart: And I go, "Yo!" He goes ---
Homer: You done yet?
Bart: And I go, "No." So he goes ---
Homer: Oh, your're too slow!

Bart:
So I step on the gas, speed up the mow
Didn't see that sprinkler underneath that tree
Wham! Keee! Pisssssh!
Rainin' on me! I go, "Whoa!" Homer goes ---

Homer:
D'oh! Now you can't go, to the boat show!

Bart:
Soaked to the bone, standin' in a puddle...
No one needs to tell me I'm in deep, deep trouble...

Back-up Singers:
Trouble! Deep, deep trouble!
One! Two Trouble! Deep, deep trouble!

Bart:
As soon as they're gone, I'm stretched on a lawn
Looking at the sky with my sunshades on
Now I never ever claimed that I was a smarty
But inspiration hits me: "Let's have a party!"
I called up my posse. They were here in a flash
They brought all their pals, we started to thrash!
There was rompin', and stompin', an occasional crash
A fist fight or two, and Nintendo for cash
We raided the fridge, dogs raided the trash
I got a little worried when the windows got smashed
The next thing you know Mom and Dad are home
The kids disappear, and I'm all alone
Everything is silent except for my moan
And the low bluesy tone of a saxophone
They look at me, then they go into a huddle
Get the sinking sensation I'm in deep, deep trouble

Back-up Singers:
Trouble! Deep, deep Trouble!
You're in trouble! Deep, deep trouble!

Bart:
There's a little epilogue to my tale of sadness
I was dragged down the street by His Royal Dadness
We rounded the corner and came to a stop
Threw me inside Jake's barber shop
I said, "please sir just a little off the top..."
Dude shaved me bare, gave me a lollipop
So on my head there's nothing but stubble
Man, I hate bein' in deep, deep trouble!

Back-up Singers: Trouble! Deep, deep trouble! (repeated)
Bart: Oh, come on man

― Stingy (stingy), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 14:04 (8 years ago) Permalink

I think I heard this record exactly once. I do remember that there is a mildly funny spoken bit in the middle of "Look at All Those Idiots."

Burns: Where are all the instruments? Smithers: I believe they call this a "breakdown." Burns: We can't have that--play a guitar solo.

― The Mad Puffin, Wednesday, 11 May 2005 14:08 (8 years ago) Permalink

When I was in elementary school I wrote a political parody of "Do The Bartman" called "Do The Bushman." It wasn't heavy.

― miccio (miccio), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 14:10 (8 years ago) Permalink

TS: "deep deep trouble" vs. "parents just dont understand"

― peter smith (plsmith), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 14:11 (8 years ago) Permalink

I seem to remember attempting to memorize Deep Deep Trouble back in the day. The video was totally awesome as well. These lyrics are timeless.

― Stingy (stingy), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 14:12 (8 years ago) Permalink

t/s: young miccio vs. mark russell

― Gear! (can Jung shill it, Mu?) (Gear!), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 14:29 (8 years ago) Permalink

i think they were all probably bad, but also probably hard-wired into my brain.

So so true!

The funniest line in retrospect is "If you can do the Bart you're bad like Michael Jackson"

― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 15:16 (8 years ago) Permalink

haha

― $V£N! (blueski), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 15:19 (8 years ago) Permalink

michael jackson wrote the song!

― a banana (alanbanana), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 15:24 (8 years ago) Permalink

he wrote "do the bartman"? or he wrote "bad"? both?

― peter smith (plsmith), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 15:26 (8 years ago) Permalink

bartman

― a banana (alanbanana), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 15:35 (8 years ago) Permalink

they shoulda done a cross-promotion and had Bart perform the song on "In Living Color", backed up by the Fly Girls...

― kingfish maximum overdrunk (Kingfish), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 15:39 (8 years ago) Permalink

That's why the line "If you can do the bart, you're bad like Michael Jackson" is in there...

Also, this was the CD that brought me out of cassetes and into CDs

Also, D.

― Whiney G. Weingarten (whineyg), Wednesday, 11 May 2005 15:49 (8 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

i just saw the "do the bartman" video for the first time ever! totally classic.

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Sunday, 10 September 2006 10:00 (6 years ago) Permalink

taking sides: the simpsons sing the blues vs. the collection of teenage mutant ninja turtle-themed songs given away for free at pizza hut entitled coming out of our shells

― spastic heritage (spastic heritage), Sunday, 10 September 2006 10:26 (6 years ago) Permalink

i'm going with the simpsons sing the blues. glancing at the ninja turtles entry on wikipedia, i can only half-remember like three songs on coming out of our shells. although i'm sure it has a much greater ratio of unintentional hilarity.

― spastic heritage (spastic heritage), Sunday, 10 September 2006 10:30 (6 years ago) Permalink

egad!!!
what sorta Simpsons induced mania brought this on??!
oh, wait... the fact that EVERY kid in the 6th grade had a Simpsons shirt and for 3 years after it continued in varying hues.
btw- totally D, but classic for nostalgia factors, which are VERY high w/ this one!

― edde (edde), Sunday, 10 September 2006 15:01 (6 years ago) Permalink

Classic when I was a kid, even moreso after I heard King Curtis.

― Jordan (Jordan), Sunday, 10 September 2006 15:20 (6 years ago) Permalink

I had Songs In the key of Springfield, and that was a DUD

― Thomas Mehlt (Tokyo Ghost Stories), Sunday, 10 September 2006 15:46 (6 years ago) Permalink

i'm old enough to have thought this was a mighty dud at the time

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Sunday, 10 September 2006 15:52 (6 years ago) Permalink

haha amateurist since yr younger than me i find that hard to believe

― john cougar thornton melloncamp (dubplatestyle), Sunday, 10 September 2006 16:17 (6 years ago) Permalink

unless you mean "an old soul"

which i believe

― john cougar thornton melloncamp (dubplatestyle), Sunday, 10 September 2006 16:18 (6 years ago) Permalink

jess i don't think i'm younger than you but i'm not sure.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Sunday, 10 September 2006 16:24 (6 years ago) Permalink

wait, how old are you? 28?

― john cougar thornton melloncamp (dubplatestyle), Sunday, 10 September 2006 16:31 (6 years ago) Permalink

i am terrified to realize i can still do the bart/homer back-and-forth quoted above in "big big trouble." i also remember how "look at all those idiots" goes. good lord.

― john cougar thornton melloncamp (dubplatestyle), Sunday, 10 September 2006 16:34 (6 years ago) Permalink

they make personal phone calls
on company TIME!
they xerox their buttocks
and guess who pays the DIME!

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Sunday, 10 September 2006 23:37 (6 years ago) Permalink

I think I'm amateur!st's age, ball park at least. I'd be basically on the same page as him. I thought "Do the Bartman" was great at the time (figures M. Jackson wrote it), and Lisa's version was (ashamedly) the first I ever heard of "God Bless the Child" and I was blown away by the songwriting even then.

Most everything else is pretty embarrassing, though. Especially that version of "Hail Hail Rock & Roll."

― Eric H. (Eric H.), Sunday, 10 September 2006 23:43 (6 years ago) Permalink

"do the bartman" is still great! i'm tempted to dig up the michael jackson POX thread (i assume there is one) and put it in my list.

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Sunday, 10 September 2006 23:46 (6 years ago) Permalink

Is this for real or is it some kind of Denny Vertigo put-on?

― Run Ruud Run (Ken L), Monday, 11 September 2006 00:12 (6 years ago) Permalink

coming out of our shells

― OMFG (Tommy), Monday, 11 September 2006 00:41 (6 years ago) Permalink

Something I never understood:

"Look at all those idiots
Look at all those fools
An office full of morons
A factory full of..."

full of what? It sounds like "boules"!

― wogan lenin (dog latin), Monday, 11 September 2006 07:41 (6 years ago) Permalink

ah, it's "boobs"

― wogan lenin (dog latin), Monday, 11 September 2006 07:56 (6 years ago) Permalink

i think it's

"look at all those idiots,
look at all those boobs,
an office full of morons,
a factory full of fools!"

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Monday, 11 September 2006 07:58 (6 years ago) Permalink

3 years pass...

dug this out again while doing the washing up. the production is typical of that "positive vibes" rock we've been talking about recently.

― dog latin, Monday, 22 March 2010 12:42 (3 years ago) Permalink

The second Compact Disc™ I ever owned. First was Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em.

Why were Simpsons tie-ins so popular back then? It seems strange to me now, even though the show is still (frequently) brilliant.

― Sam Weller, Monday, 22 March 2010 12:52 (3 years ago) Permalink

because it was a massive phenomenon at the time. sky was in its infancy so people aspired to getting satellite and being able to watch the simpsons. plus back then, it was Bart, not Homer who was the figurehead for the show, so it was firmly being marketed at kids.

― dog latin, Monday, 22 March 2010 12:57 (3 years ago) Permalink

lol 1991

― Everybody Annabel Chong Tonight (King Boy Pato), Monday, 22 March 2010 13:14 (3 years ago) Permalink

I never had this, but I had a soundtrack album with like 40 tracks on it.

Total classic.

― Davek (davek_00), Monday, 22 March 2010 13:55 (3 years ago) Permalink

The soundtrack was Songs In The Key Of Springfield and was exactly what people wanted: the "hits" from the show.

Sing The Blues, on the other hand, is the classic example in my mind of why record labels do cutouts, when I think back on all the unwanted copies of Sing The Blues collecting dust at the end of the Tower clearance section in 1992. I mean that literally. Part of my job was to dust them. It didn't help their sales any.

Groening should set up a reunion show for this at the next ATP.

― dad a, Monday, 22 March 2010 14:41 (3 years ago) Permalink

Why would Bart want to go to a boat show?

Also, lyrics like this

Now I never ever claimed that I was a smarty
But inspiration hits me: "Let's have a party!"

could be used as evidence for Will Smith destroying rap music

― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Monday, 22 March 2010 15:00 (3 years ago) Permalink

it's funny cos this must have come out right when the show was just coming out and none of the characters had been fully developed. A boat show? Seriously? Plus is that supposed to be Homer singing on "Hail Hail Rock'n'Roll"? And there's more made of Bart and Lisa not getting on, whereas were it made today it would be songs about Homer and Bart.

"Mr Burns, you make Muddy Waters sound shallow and cheerful"

― dog latin, Monday, 22 March 2010 15:13 (3 years ago) Permalink

DJ Jazzy Jeff produced Deep Deep Trouble, haha. between his stint with the Fresh Prince and this, is he the most wasted talent in the history of music?

― dog latin, Monday, 22 March 2010 15:15 (3 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

Could someone explain to me this possible joke, from the track listing to Songs in the Key of Springfield?

"The Day the Violence Died" (Medley) - from the episode "The Day the Violence Died"
Not Jazz Chor, but Sad Chor"
Krusty the Clown
The Amendment Song (by John Swartzwelder)
Jack Sheldon with Kid
Bart
Lisa
Cast

Chor? Is this a ref to something? The only thing I can think of is "Chorus", but even then. Why did they name a track this?

― defriend the undefriendable (how's life), Sunday, 5 August 2012 21:44 (9 months ago) Permalink

bump

― spanky hotel frogstrot (how's life), Thursday, 9 August 2012 16:36 (9 months ago) Permalink

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