Bumpers: HBO

During the short period that my parents actually paid to get HBO, I didn't really watch anything on the network, except for an occasional episode of Fraggle Rock. However, the awesome bumpers they used before the movies definitely piqued my interest, possibly even more than Fraggle Rock did.

This one from the 80s is probably among the most memorable. Yes, I'm talking about that awesome outer space one. They used this well into the 90s. To this day, I think that's the coolest thing ever. Plus, it's neat that HBO has kept the same logo after all these years. Most of the other cable networks have changed theirs at least once.

A Cappella Nickelodeon Theme Songs

This isn't an actual TV show or commercial, but it was too awesome NOT to post. In this video, the men's glee club at University of Michigan performs a medley of Nickelodeon songs. I wish we would have done something that cool back in my choir days.

Theme songs performed include:

Double Dare
Salute Your Shorts
Doug (and "Killer Tofu"!)
Angry Beavers (which was after my time)
Hey Dude

Sesame Street: Numero Comparsa and Sun Sun Babae

In the 1980s, the legendary Celia Cruz was among the many guest stars on Sesame Street. Her songs always rocked. I only appreciate their awesomeness even more as an adult.

"Uno, dos, tres. CUATRO."

"Numero Comparsa" is definitely one of THE best Sesame Street songs ever. I listened to it four times before even typing this entry. I so want to add it to my playlist.



In this next video, Ms. Cruz sings "Sun Sun Babae" with a little help from Big Bird. I used to try my damndest to sing along, but at four years old I wasn't exactly proficient in Spanish.

Prevue Guide

Before the TV Guide network exploded into the flashy superficial mess that it is today, it was known as Prevue Guide. Back then, you could view TV listings without having to listen to Joan Rivers or some flaming queen screech about what Sarah Jessica Parker wore to the Oscars.

When I was a kid and there was nothing on, I used to sit and watch Prevue Guide just to hear that catchy music. Sad, huh?

Here's a clip of Preview Guide from 1991. Man, that music takes me back. It's cool to see all of the old TV lineups and defunct channels. A couple of notable shows I noticed on the guide in this video were David the Gnome and Zoobilee Zoo.

DTV

In the late 80s, NBC aired DTV, a series of specials featuring "music videos" of Disney cartoons set to popular music. It was also used as filler material on the Disney Channel, back when there were no commercials or music videos by talentless pre-pubescent brats. Man, times have changed. It's truly disheartening that kids today would rather see Billy Ray's meal ticket Hannah Montana's horse face, instead of Mickey and Goofy.

Just think, if DTV never existed, Youtube would save TONS of bandwidth on those annoying AMVs that plague the site.

The clips I'm posting are from "DTV Doggone Valentine". My dad actually taped this episode for me when it first aired (in 1987!) and I continued to watch it for years. I never did find out what happened to that tape.

This first video features "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham!, "You're the One That I Want" from Grease, and "I Only Have Eyes for You" by The Flamingos.



Since I don't want to post all six parts in one entry, I'm jumping to the end. This one features "Lets Hear it for the Boy" by Denice Williams and "Stay" by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs.