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Screen shot from The Beatles (TV series from the United States) (Carl Savich/Wikipedia Commons)
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Animating Music
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From Alvin and the Chipmunks and the Beatles to Gorillaz and Studio Killers, animated bands have come a long way since the '60s. Joining us to discuss the evolution of cartoon rock is Ben Greenman of the New Yorker. And to give us a taste of what it's like to be the voice behind an animated musician, we'll be joined by Britta Phillips, the voice of Jem from Jem and the Holograms, and Brendon Small, the creator of and musician behind Dethklok from the Adult Swim program Metalocalypse.
Check out Brendon Small, creator and musician behind Metalocalypse's Dethklok, and Britta Phillips, the singing voice behind Jem of Jem and the Holograms, in action below.
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Soundcheck® is WNYC’s on-air and online destination for new music, live performances and engaging conversations with artists, critics and tastemakers. Listeners start the conversation at Soundcheck.org and continue it with host John Schaefer every weeknight at 9 p.m. on 93.9 FM and WNYC.org.
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Comments [12]
easy to laugh at "sugar sugar". but as a young kid at the time,it had a little lilting cadence, that you could,yes,get on the dance floor, and get down to. i only expect john schafer,to not like it. dancing, would not have been the forte, of a rock snob from queens. plus,i've seen, your lack of moves on "soundcheck", john. sorry guy....
Brett, are you thinking of Kidd Video?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidd_Video
I took piano lessons in first and second grade from a teacher at her home. she taught classical music, and I only played pieces by the great composers. However, her kids all the Alvin and the Chipmunk albums which were displayed all over the house
METAL ON SOUNDCHECK! A dream come true.
1 segment to go--are you going to get into Rocky & Bullwinkle at all? It was years before I realized their theme song was a cartoony version of Peter's theme from "Peter and the Wolf"!
And what about Mighty Mouse? He was downright operatic!
Why do all the new songs like those in ' modern toons like JEM sound exactly the same as the last one? You can substitute any vice, or any "lesson teaching word" into them and it works. Jealousy, gluttony, lust...tweak the tempo, etc and its one song all the time. No talent to write, no talent to sing.
Does anyone remember a Saturday morning cartoon fro the mid-80s about a human teenage band who morph in cartoons in the opening credits?
I highly recommend the CD "Saturday Morning Cartoon Greatest Hits".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_Morning:_Cartoons'_Greatest_Hits
Sure, "Sugar Sugar" is insipid pop pap in the original Archies version, but did you ever hear Wilson Pickett's version? There's nothing kiddie-cartoonish about Wicked Pickett's rendition.
How would you classify the Gorillaz? I mean we all know who they are in real life, but the band personas are cartoons?
Yeah, "Conjunction Junction" is what I remember too! Saturday morning as a kid!
Also, "AAAALLLL-VVVVIIIIIIIIINNNNNNN!!!!!
Plus "Josie & the Pussycats"
Don't forget "Schoolhouse Rock," a favorite Saturday morning dose of grammar and (eventually) math principals. Tunes like "Conjunction Junction (what's your function)" or "Three Is a Magic Number" brought funky bass and zingy electric guitar riffs to little ones AND their older siblings.
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