Throwback Tracks -- April 27, 2017
David R. Smith
Whoops! Well I totally messed up last week. At about 20 minutes to 11:00 last Thursday, Shaun texted me, asking why there was no TBT in the queue. Straight up it was because I forgot. I was in tech for a show and legitimately just forgot that I even had to do it. I would have done it the weekend before but that was Easter and, well, I was nowhere near technology so that was out of the question.
So yeah. That's my bad. BUT to make up for it, this is going to be a big-ass Throwback Tracks. I'm giving you guys 10 songs this week to make up for last week's faux pas.
Also, because I needed 10 songs and I didn't want to just have 10 random songs, this week you guys get a theme! Every one of these songs has been featured at one point or another on an episode of the Simpsons. I figured if I was going big, I might as well go really big. Enjoy!
The Guys From do not hold the rights to any of these songs, it is more our hope to expose our readers to new (*cough*) and different retro music, or re-expose them to things they may have forgotten about.
At the top of each section, will be the song name, followed by the artists' name linked to their website (if possible...which is totally hit and miss with oldies), so you can fall down the rabbit hole, finding and supporting what you dig.
Gyspies, Tramps and Thieves - Cher
The Episode: One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish. It's the episode that Homer and the family go out for sushi and there's the karaoke bar attached to the restaurant. ("Right now it's empty but soon it will be crawling with drunk Japanese business men") Shortly after, this guy - who seems rather meek - starts busting out Cher.
This song is great. I'm not the world's largest fan of Cher's (despite the fact that I have used two of her songs in the past 2 months) but I really do love this song! I remember travelling with my parents when I was really young and this would be a song that frequently came on and man... it's just good!
Can't Get Enough Of Your Love - Barry White
The Episode: Whacking Day!
Who would want to harm the sexy snakes, especially when Barry White is singing, telling you not to? We all remember the end when they lure the snakes into the Simpson house by the vibrations of Barry White's voice as well as (magically) Lisa's bass...
I'm pretty sure that episode was actually my introduction to that song. My parents never really listened to Barry White, so as a result, why would I? I still don't listen to a lot of his stuff, but who can't help but melt a little when they hear this song?
I Love The Nightlife - Alicia Bridges
The episode: There's actually a few. In I'm With Cupid, Apu teaches a parrot to sing the lyrics to Manjula. Apparently Luanne sings it at some point during A Milhouse Divided. But the episode I mostly relate it to comes from Homer's Phobia.
It's the scene where John has come to the Simpson residence to see what of theirs has camp and what he could sell for them. He puts on the record and he and Homer start dancing in the living room. This, of course, is all before Homer finds out John is gay...
Speaking of Homer's Phobia...
Gonna Make You Sweat - C&C Music Factory
I mean... How could I not include this one? I could do at least 3 more lists of songs that came from the Simpsons, but I'd be remiss if I didn't include this one in the first with this theme. It might be one of the top-10 quintessential scenes from the Simpsons.
I'm not sure why it's mirrored. It's kind of weird. But you get the point. This scene is terrific. It makes me laugh every time. And I literally cannot hear this song without picturing hunky men dancing in a steel mill now...
Close To You - The Carpenters
The episode: Oh man. There are so many. This is basically Marge and Homer's song. Nearly any flashback episode from them in high school (so, like, the first 10 seasons before they had to start redoing the "how Marge and Homer hooked up" trope) has this song playing. There's another episode where Artie Ziff pays for one night with Marge and he recreates their prom and the song plays there.
This song is so tender, so kind and so hard to believe that the girl who sings it was such an incredible drummer. The world truly lost something when Karen Carpenter died!
Radar Love - Golden Earring
The episode: Bart on the Road and Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge. In Bart on the Road, it's playing on the radio as the boys are roadtripping to Knoxville. It's playing on the radio and Milhouse is messing with the dials. (So naturally Nelson smacks him.)
In Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge, it's the song that Fat Tony requests after he sends a threatening message to Homer via the radio. FYI, both these scenes are amazing in Spanish...
You know what's funny? I absolutely love this song, and yet it's not even Golden Earring's best song. I won't link to it today, because I definitely plan on posting it as another TBT track one day, but just know that there's a better one. But it never was played on Los Simpsons.
It's The End Of The World - R.E.M.
The episode: Homer The Moe. Oh god. This episode. Oh god. It's so good. It's on the newer side of episodes I watched regularly, but it's so funny. The first act where Homer takes over for Moe's bar is terrific, then the remade version of Moe's bar is even better. But then when R.E.M. is playing in Homer's garage? Priceless.
One of my favourite memories of this song was a couple years ago when the rapture was supposed to have happened. X92.9 here in Calgary programmed their station to play nothing but this song for the entire day. I remember getting into my vehicle, turning to X and hearing the tail end of the song, thinking "damn I love this track! I wish I could have heard it!" only to have it start over. I just assumed it was a programming error but wasn't going to complain. When the song started again, I got the joke and laughed and laughed!
Note: they also did this the day after the US election last year. Well done X!
Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple
The episode: Weekend at Burnsie's. Homer gets his eyes pecked by crows and gets marijuana prescribed for the pain. So then he smokes pot.
This is another one of the newer episodes I liked and, as far as new episodes go, one of my favourites.
This is also a song that almost everybody knows how to play on guitar. That opening riff is so, so easy. It was hands down the first song I ever learned to play on the guitar. I mean; the opening is simple but it gets so much more complex after that. This song really is a terrific work of art!
I Feel Good - James Brown
The episode: Bart's Inner Child. Who remembers Brad Goodman? He's the fella who tells Springfield that they should all be more like Bart because he does what he wants. And really, who doesn't like Roy? As a result, they have the "Do As You Feel" festival. (Which was a nice change of pace from the "Do As We Say" festival started by German settlers in 1946...)
Anyway, James Brown and his band are playing this song at the festival when the bandstand collapses (because, as the Godfather of Soul points out, it wasn't double bolted.)
This song is probably James Brown's most famous song. I think when I was in Jr. High I was in a production of Cinderella and for some reason this song was our curtain call music, because... reasons? Anyway, while it's not my favourite of his, I definitely love it. And really, any song featured in the Simpsons has to be good, right?
...
Feel Like Making Love - Bad Company
The episode: Skinner's Sense of Snow. Shaun and my favourite Christmas related Simpsons episode. If only because of the movie about the grinchy little character who tries to steal Christmas.
This song plays as Homer and Ned are driving to try and save the kids, using Flanders' car and a piece of his roof as a plow. As they're driving, Homer convinces Ned that he wrote this song as a tribute to Princess Di.
And honestly... Spanish Simpsons are the best:
Well there you have it, friends. 10 songs, all from the Simpsons. It's been a weird month for Throwback Tracks. I had that one repeat so I had to do a sixer a couple weeks back, then the void last week... Hopefully my brain will start working properly again next month and we get back on track.
But that's for future us to figure out. In the meantime, go listen to old playlists!
Throwback Playlist for Dec 16/Jan 17
October 2016 Throwback Playlist,
September 2016 Throwback Playlist
-D (@davidronn)