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
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
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.
"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.
Friday, May 2, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Commercials: Burger King Kids Club
Until 1990, Ronald McDonald and the gang dominated the kid-friendly fast food commercial racket. However, that changed when some new mascots emerged: The Burger King Kids Club Gang.
This group of kids was even more PC than Captain Planet's Planeteers. Burger King was determined to cover every demographic. Here's a rundown:
Boomer, the tomboy: The jock of the group, who always wielded a hockey stick and never took off her roller blades. I could make a joke about her eventually replacing her blades with Birkenstocks, but she seemed pretty enamored with Lingo in one of the commercials I posted...
I.Q., the stereotypical nerd: Pocket protector? Check. Glasses? Check. Wild hair? Check. Huge vocabulary? Check.
Jaws, the token black guy: His shtick was his incredible appetite. His only other memorable quality was his hightop fade.
Lingo, the token ethnic kid: Wow, that name isn't exactly PC. Anyhoo, Lingo was probably the most three-dimensional of the Kids Club gang. He was a bilingual (English and Spanish) artist. I had a slight crush on him back in the day.
Wheels, the token disabled kid: Yet another hilariously unfortunate naming choice. This kid had one pimp wheelchair. He probably tricked it out himself, considering that he was the mechanically inclined member of the gang.
Snaps, the "hot" girl: Blonde, of course. Other than her interest in photography, she exhibited absolutely no personality.
Kid Vid, the "cool" kid/leader of the pack: Most likely the Zack Morris of the group. Was into video games and techie stuff. Eventually he was the lone member of the Kids Club Gang to be used in the commercials.
J.D., the animal mascot: Um... he was a dog.
According to Wikipedia, Token Ethnic Kid #2 was added in the early 2000s: Jazz, an Asian musician (trumpet seems to be her instrument of choice). I had no idea that the The Kids Club Gang still existed at that point, but it's apparently still going strong in the Middle East.
I just realized that there's one missing demographic: the token fat kid. However, from a business standpoint, the omission of such a character is understandable.
The early commercials were pretty high quality, both animation-wise and music-wise. Here's a sampling:
You thought that one was good? This one was featured on the promotional Ninja Turtles VHS movies that came with the kids meals:
And finally, to make up for the lack of my beloved Lingo in the last video, here's his debut:
This group of kids was even more PC than Captain Planet's Planeteers. Burger King was determined to cover every demographic. Here's a rundown:
Boomer, the tomboy: The jock of the group, who always wielded a hockey stick and never took off her roller blades. I could make a joke about her eventually replacing her blades with Birkenstocks, but she seemed pretty enamored with Lingo in one of the commercials I posted...
I.Q., the stereotypical nerd: Pocket protector? Check. Glasses? Check. Wild hair? Check. Huge vocabulary? Check.
Jaws, the token black guy: His shtick was his incredible appetite. His only other memorable quality was his hightop fade.
Lingo, the token ethnic kid: Wow, that name isn't exactly PC. Anyhoo, Lingo was probably the most three-dimensional of the Kids Club gang. He was a bilingual (English and Spanish) artist. I had a slight crush on him back in the day.
Wheels, the token disabled kid: Yet another hilariously unfortunate naming choice. This kid had one pimp wheelchair. He probably tricked it out himself, considering that he was the mechanically inclined member of the gang.
Snaps, the "hot" girl: Blonde, of course. Other than her interest in photography, she exhibited absolutely no personality.
Kid Vid, the "cool" kid/leader of the pack: Most likely the Zack Morris of the group. Was into video games and techie stuff. Eventually he was the lone member of the Kids Club Gang to be used in the commercials.
J.D., the animal mascot: Um... he was a dog.
According to Wikipedia, Token Ethnic Kid #2 was added in the early 2000s: Jazz, an Asian musician (trumpet seems to be her instrument of choice). I had no idea that the The Kids Club Gang still existed at that point, but it's apparently still going strong in the Middle East.
I just realized that there's one missing demographic: the token fat kid. However, from a business standpoint, the omission of such a character is understandable.
The early commercials were pretty high quality, both animation-wise and music-wise. Here's a sampling:
You thought that one was good? This one was featured on the promotional Ninja Turtles VHS movies that came with the kids meals:
And finally, to make up for the lack of my beloved Lingo in the last video, here's his debut:
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