The Simpsons: Songs in the Key of Springfield -- Various Artists

8/10

Ah, The Simpsons. It's been shuffling along like a zombie for longer now than it was actually good. It's quite easy to forget that its first decade, give or take a year, provided some of the finest television in history. It was so good, it became an institution. It entered the zeitgeist almost immediately, due to its "edginess," yet in the years afterward, as the second, third, fourth, and fifth seasons rolled along, it felt like it was only getting better, episodes so funny, and so well plotted, it was as if they had always existed. I knew my notoriously media-strict mother would never go for the show in its first few years, but when it went into syndication after the fourth season, it starting airing daily on our local Fox affiliate.  Glorious latchkey kid adolescence, with no parents home after school, and the TV shining gloriously against the afternoon sun, my brother and I propped ourselves in front of the TV everyday at four o'clock, and laughed ourselves into a stupor. Eventually, I made it to high school, and decided there was no reason to hide it anymore. After that, it was The Simpsons all the time, most wonderfully on Sunday nights, when new episodes aired.
The Simpsons was now a constant presence in my life. When I flew in a plane for the first time in April of 1997, the same year I turned 16,  I was just glad my class trip to Washington D.C. wasn't going to take up one of my precious Fox Sundays. The Simpsons/King of the Hill/The X-Files lineup that night was indestructible! For the trip, I had some precious spending money in my wallet (maybe $75), and when we went to the D.C. mall, I immediately blew it all at the Sam Goody/FYE/Tower Records/Whatever Media Chain Store Was at that Mall. Of course, this being a mall store, I spent relatively close to $75 on just two just-released CD's. One was The Empire Strikes Back: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Special Edition) in the foldout digipak, which ended up being one of the best purchases I've ever made--when the chips are down at the end of this series, it might end up being my favorite album of all time, and the edition that I purchased is now somehow worth more than the exorbitant price that mall store charged me. The second was Songs in the Key of Springfield, an album that features music and audio clips from the first eight seasons of The Simpsons' run.
I listened to The Empire Strikes Back CD so much, I kind of forgot about the Simpsons disc. If there was one thing I liked even more than the Simpsons, it was Star Wars. Song in the Key of Springfield hung out with the rest of my CD's for two-and-a-half years. Then I went to Washington D.C. again. I've been there twice, over that 2.5 year span, and then never again, which is a shame, because I love that city. This trip was more personal, though. Only my friend Rob and I went, representing the fine state of Louisiana at some kind of youth rally for smart kids. I made some awesome temporary friends, and had an absolute blast. Of course, it helped that 1999 was the best year of my life, and that this mid-December trip was topping it all off. At the end of that trip, I hung out in the airport with a grunge-buddy I'd met from Montana (Rob's flight left earlier). He had a binder full of Nirvana and Soundgarden and Nine Inch Nails, and he wore all black. I thought he was great. He even had a sheet in his CD binder that said "In memory of Nevermind," because he had played that album so many times, it had snapped in half. Man, that music was still existing in its home decade, where it belonged. I love the 90's. I also had a Discman and CD binder with me. Man, Discman's just never worked as well as Walkman's did. If you moved around with them on your hip, the dang CD's skipped. The cassettes seemed to play perfectly, even if you were bungee-jumping into a barrel of Mountain Dew. I wasn't bungee-jumping into Mountain Dew, though. I was sitting in the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, watching the sunset, next to my buddy, who lied on the airport carpet jamming 90's rock, as my favorite decade neared its close. I decided I'd listen to some tunes, too, and noticed my Songs in the Key of Springfield disc had somehow tagged along. I gave it a listen, and soon Tony Bennett was blasting "Capitol City" into my ears (from the episode, "Dancin' Homer"), and everything was serendipitously right on God's beautiful, golden Earth.
As I listened to the entire album, I marveled at its ability to give me essentially the experience of watching the show's best moments. With Songs in the Key's mix of songs from The Simpsons' first eight seasons, and corresponding audio clips, along with various different versions of its theme music, I could easily visualize the TV screen in my parents' living room, my brother and I cramming ice cream and potato chips into our yaws during the rare moments we weren't laughing hysterically.
I cannot give this album an unbiased review, as I have no idea how it will play to those who haven't watched the first eight years of the show. I assume they would be amused by the ridiculous lyrics of  the Planet of the Apes musical, or feel a strange, warm and comforting nostalgia when Homer Simpson wistfully sings, "When I was 17...I had some very good beers." I know, being 17 (for most of 1999), I did, and I didn't even drink any beers.
Yeah, it's a wash. I give it an eight. If you remember the early seasons of the show fondly, get it now. It's $1.25 on Amazon because no one listens to CD's anymore, not even this troglodyte. If you don't, or didn't watch them...er...go watch the American version of The Office, I guess, cuz that's your Simpsons?


1997 Rhino Records
1. The Simpson Main Title Theme by Danny Elfman 1:38
2. We Do (The Stonecutters' Song) by Alf Clausen / John Swartzwelder 1:18
3. Dancin' Homer Medley: Crosstown Bridge/Capitol City by Alf Clausen feat: Tony Bennett 1:43
4. Homer and Apu Medley: /Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart?/Who Needs the the Kwik-E-Mart (Reprise) by Alf Clausen / Greg Daniels 1:56
5. 'Round Springfield Medley: Bleeding Gums Blues/A Four-Headed King/There She Sits, Brokenhearted/Jazzman by Alf Clausen 2:55
6. "Oh, Streetcar!": White-Hot Grease Fires (Prologue)/Long Before the Superdome/New Orelans/I Thought My Life Would be a Mardi Gras/I Am Just a Simple Paper Boy/Stella/She Flies/The Kindness of Strangers by Alf Clausen / Jeff Martin 4:03
7. Jingle Bells by James Pierpont 0:45
8. Springfield Medley: The Simpson End Credits Theme (Big Band Vegas Version)/Gracie Films Logo by Danny Elfman / Jeffrey Townsend 0:54
9. "Itchy & Scratchy" Main Title Themeby  Robert Israel / Sam Simon 0:23
10. "Itchy and Scratchy" End Credits Theme by Robert Israel / Sam Simon 0:17
11. The Day the Violence Died Medley: Not Jazz Chor, But Sad Chor/The Amendment Song by Alf Clausen / John Swartzwelder 1:50
12. Señor Burns by Alf Clausen / Josh Weinstein feat: Tito Puente 1:16
13. The Simpson End Credits Theme (Afro-Cuban Version) by Danny Elfman feat: Tito Puente 0:49
14. Your Wife Don't Understand You by Jeff Martin 1:35
15. Kamp Krusty Medley: South of the Border/Gracie Films Logo, End Credit Suite #1 by Michael Carr / Jimmy Kennedy / Jeffrey Townsend 2:19
16. The Simpsons End Credits Theme (Australian Version) by Danny Elfman 0:53
17. The Simpsons End Credits Theme (Hill Street Blues Version) by Danny Elfman 0:47
18. The Simpsons End Credits Theme ("It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" Version by Danny Elfman 0:49
19. Treehouse of Horror V-Medley: Controlling the Transmission/The Simpsons Halloween Special Main Title Theme by Alf Clausen / Danny Elfman 1:22
20. Honey Roasted Peanuts 1:01
21. Boy Scoutz in the Hood-Medley/ Saved Be the Bell/Jackpot/
Springfield, Springfield (Parts 1 & 2)/Remember This?/Another Edwardian Morning by Alf Clausen 3:43
22. Two Dozen and One Greyhounds-Medley/ The Pick of the Litter/See My Vest by Michael Scully 1:59
23. "Eye on Springfield" Theme 0:47
24. Flaming Moe's by Jeff Martin 1:01
25. Homer's Barbershop Quartet-Medley One Last Call/Baby on Board by Les Applegate /George Economou / Danny Jordan / Jeff Martin 1:37
26. TV Sucks 0:34
27. A Fish Called Selma-Medley/Troy Chic/Stop the Planet of the Apes/Dr. Zaius/Chimpan-A to Chimpan-Z by Jack Barth 3:07
28. Send in the Clown by Stephen Sondheim 1:06
29. The Monorail Song by Jeff Martin / George W. Meyer / John Swartzwelder / John Vitti 1:50
30. In Search of an Out of Body Vibe 0:23
31. Cool by Josh Weinstein 0:42
32. Bagged Me a Homer 2:18
33. It Was a Very Good Beer by Ervin Drake 0:39
34. Bart Sells His Soul-Medley/ From God's Brain to Your ... Alf Clausen / Doug Ingle 2:06
35. Happy Birthday, Lisa by Michael Jackson  1:20
36. The Simpsons Halloween Special End Credits Theme by Danny Elfman 0:49
37. Who Shot Mr. Burns?, Pt. 1: Medley/ Who Dunnit?/The ... Danny Elfman 0:55
38. Lisa's Wedding-Medley/ The Simpsons End Credits Theme (Renaissance Version) byDanny Elfman / Jeffrey Townsend 0:53
39. The Simpsons End Credits Theme (Dragnet Version) by Danny Elfman 1:05