 Various Artists Fifteen years ago, "Schoolhouse Rock" was a reasonably obscure bit of nostalgia for American kids born after like 1967 or so, guaranteed to get a big laugh in a crowd as people suddenly realized they remembered these catchy little songs from Saturday morning cartoons. Even now, it's still a guaranteed laugh-getter, but at this point it's trickled down to the lowest common denominator, and every Tom, Dick, and Harry Fratboy can count on social success with the proven icebreaking magic of "Schoolhouse" songs like "Conjunction Junction" and "I'm Just a Bill." Weirder still is that the phenomenon has been passed down to the next generation of high schoolers, who were born too late to experience "Schoolhouse Rock" firsthand yet were too old by the time it came back around in the 90s to see it as children, so they ape the nostalgia of their older siblings. I don't understand it at all. I suppose the point is that by now, "Schoolhouse Rock" doesn't belong to anyone in particular … it's firmly entrenched in the cultural fabric, familiar now to almost anyone under 40. As one of the old-schoolers who enjoyed "owning" "Schoolhouse Rock" back in the mid-to-late 80s, I've watched its 90s rebirth with a mixture of excitement and sadness. On one hand I feel like one of "my" things has been taken from me, though ultimately I enjoy that the mass popularity has resulted in the easy availability of some of the best pop music ever written. Back in the day, you could only find videos of "SR" in the kid's section of certain stores – videos, by the way, that the company didn't know the value of, as they attempted to make them more "hip" by tacking on footage of a very 80s-looking Cloris Leachman introducing each clip with a group of annoying child actors. It was considered a passé thing, sort of like Star Wars was around 1989. Audio copies of the songs could only be gotten by dubbing off the videos (the vinyl was nowhere to be found). So in the end, screw people like me with aimless tears for stolen hipness, and appreciate the music and the memories. The "Schoolhouse Rock" songs are now available in a number of ways – the "complete" box set, four individual volumes separated by subject, two tribute CDs, and now The Best of Schoolhouse Rock, which is as solid as it gets. While surely there will be inevitable cries of "But they left off (fill in favorite omitted song)," it's hard to argue with the track selection of this CD, all killer, no filler – a grand celebration of Bob Dorough, Lynn Ahrens, Blossom Dearie, Dave Frishberg, Jack Sheldon, and everyone else involved in crafting these perfect didactic-pop songs. The CD includes three songs each from the mathematics, grammar, history, and science sets, plus the "Schoolhouse Rocky" theme and four "Money Rock" songs previously unavailable on CD. The flow is terrific – "Three is a Magic Number," "My Hero, Zero,' "Figure Eight," "Unpack Your Adjectives," "Conjunction Junction," "Interjections!," "No More Kings," "The Preamble," "I'm Just a Bill," "The Body Machine," "Interplanet Janet," "Telegraph Line" … it gives a good picture of the great talent at work here. These are wonderful songs, performed with a great sense of humor (that means you, Sheldon: "Move to the rear of the mouth!!!"). Bob Dorough's songs are timeless, and this format even more than his jazz songs might be his ideal context. Lynn Ahrens' songs are probably the most underrated from the series, but among my favorites: you can't beat "Interplanet Janet" and "Telegraph Line," brother. For those that own no "Schoolhouse Rock" music, this is the best one CD to get if you want to get only one. Actually, even if you own all the other releases, this is still worth having because it's so consistent. There are literally no fast-forward-over tracks. I declare this the Bona Drag of children's music. The only quibble I have is that I'd love to see specific musician credits for these songs (there are only songwriting credits here), as I don't think enough people recognize the great artists that were behind the music. That is the only remaining frontier in "SR" appreciation, now that we've ehausted the comic value inherent in simple "SR" references. "Darn, that's the end!" (Lame "Schoolhouse Rock" reference tacked on purely for an ending.)
Review by Gina Jetlag |