If you are between the ages of, say 30 and 45, no doubt you know all the words to the Preamble to the Constitution. You do not know this because you were in elementary school during the Bicentennial and American history education had reached frenzy. You do not know this because the 200th anniversary of the greatest document in our country’s lifespan was looming on the horizon. You know all the words to the Preamble because it was set to a song in one of the most popular installments of ABC’s “Schoolhouse Rock.” Those fantastic four-minute musical cartoons that aired between “The Oddball Couple” and “Hong Kong Phooey, number one Super Guy”.
You know how a bill becomes a law because of “Schoolhouse Rock.” You know the sign for infinity because, after the little girl makes her figure eight they let us know that, if you put an eight on it’s side it’s “The symbol meaning . . . infinity . . . !”
You know this because Dave McCall of McCaffrey & McCall Advertising lamented that his son couldn’t remember the multiplication tables but knew all the words to a Rolling Stones song. You know this because mnemonics is strong and Bob Dorough and Tom Yohe, commissioned by McCall, created lasting visual images and songs and pitched it to a young exec at ABC named Michael Eisner who bought it. You know this because it was someone’s civic duty to use television to promote education and not just as a tool to sell toys and product and synergy.
You are lucky you know this. And, like me, you might lament that there isn’t such a thing out there for our kids today. Sure, there’s Noggin, which promotes connected learning. Or Dora and Blue and a bunch of others that are educational and fun. Heck, even Barney has some use. The babysitters as teachers, I guess.
But the power of the three-minute song. The craft of pop music. Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, this is so magical in the way it bores into your psyche and becomes part of you.
I prefer to think about music the way Stephen Sondheim talked about it a few years ago. He went on and on about how music is really all math. Puzzles and math. It’s no secret that, besides being one of the greatest American composers of all time, he is also a master puzzler. Music crosses the barrier of the brain from right to left, and back, I think. It uses math to create itself and be interpreted but, without the art and soul, it would be lifeless and no one would listen. THAT is why it’s the universal language. THAT’s why “Schoolhouse Rock” works.
Now you can buy the entire collection of “Schoolhouse Rock” cartoons, including a brand new cartoon/song explaining the Electoral College, for $20 bucks at your favorite DVD store or online. Disney has released the quintessential set and you should buy it. Whether you have rugrats or not.
The layout is great. They’ve included some neat features like the ability to choose a selection of songs as a playlist and just play those tunes. I think about four or five seems to be the amount a kid can take before they overload. After all, these just aired, one at a time, between the crapola like “Laff-A-Lympics” and “The Brady Kids” and “The New Adventures of Gilligan.”
The second disc is chock full of extras: Behind the scene footage, commentaries, four of the alt rock redux from the ‘90s album of “Schoolhouse Rock,” some it’s fun, some of it isn’t, but it’s not the bonus disc you are buying, is it?
I have the entire collection of CDs that was released for the 20th anniversary but it only got listened to once or twice. My wife has the re-release of the cartoons on 5 cassettes on VHS. Really, VHS? This new collection is, well, it’s perfect. Every single “Schoolhouse Rock” song and cartoon on one disc. For a song! He he he…
One word of caution: while “Lolly Lolly Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here” is catchy and fun, I still only half understand what the hell an adverb is. And (dammit, there I go, starting sentences with a conjunction) included on this disc is “Money Rock.” “Money Rock?” Does anyone remember this? I don’t think money rock got as much airtime as “My Hero, Zero.”
“As your body gets bigger. Your mind will flower. It’s great to learn, cause Knowledge is Power!”
True dat.
*If you have the time and/or the inclination, the extremely offensive and hilarious animated program “Drawn Together” had an episode a few years back where “Foxy Brown” uncovered the dastardly plot of “The Board of Education.” He was a wooden plank who sounded spot on like the voice of “Conjunction Junction,” Jack Sheldon. Catch it, it’s hysterical.
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