The Simpsons 10 Greatest Audio Engineering Moments
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We’ve got a special treat coming up later this week for our readers/viewers: the launch of our new video series called “Creative Profiles.” Today’s post is a hint at who will be featured as our inaugural CP guest (the obvious: this person works on “The Simpsons”). Before you enjoy your 4th, check out these 10 great examples of Audio Engineering feats from America’s favorite animated family.
The Simpsons 10 Greatest Audio Engineering Moments:
10. Homer demonstrates “sound for moving picture” with the jingle in his “Mr. Plow” commercial.
EPISODE: “Mr. Plow”
SUGGESTED COURSE: Though his initial attempt at college didn’t go so smoothly, Homer shows enough talent here to suggest that he might excel during the “Sound for Picture” unit in our AUDIO TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM (we’ll tell our instructors to bring extra donuts). Additionally, he does have decades of experience sitting in front of a board with lots of knobs and buttons.
9. Homer’s barbershop group, the Be Sharps, inks a record deal and hits the road.
EPISODE: “Homer’s Barbershop Quartet”
SUGGESTED COURSE: If only the fellas had taken SAE’s MUSIC BUSINESS PROGRAM, they wouldn’t have been so easily swindled by the ponytailed record executive, and they’d all still be millionaires with $10,000 in their bank accounts (despite titling their sophomore effort Bigger Than Jesus).
8. Bart re-imagines Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” as a church hymn.
EPISODE: “Bart Sells His Soul”
SUGGESTED COURSE: Bart has a knack for coining trendy slang, and the assured, cool demeanor of a true Hip-Hop head. His penchant for re-contextualizing the classics hint at a potential future as a sample-based producer. SAE’s BEAT LAB PRODUCTION program would help him channel his cleverness for more than just mischief.
7. “Michael Jackson” Writes/Produces a “Happy Birthday” song for Bart to give to Lisa.
EPISODE: “Stark Raving Dad”
SUGGESTED COURSE: Bart once again demonstrates some musical aptitude, playing percussion on a trash can and showing that his sister isn’t the only musically-inclined Simpson sibling. This “MJ”-helmed piano-and-wastebasket tune introduces Bart to the idea of instruments being layered in a mix, something he could further his knowledge of in ATP.
6. Roger Meyers Jr. elects to overdub Homer’s “Give Poochie a Chance” speech.
EPISODE: “The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show”
SUGGESTED COURSE: Mainstream America’s TV viewers just weren’t ready for the arrival of Poochie. But today, Homer could garner that elusive niche market of Poochie fans by developing his own “Poochie’s Planet” app with SAE’s iPHONE APP DEVELOPMENT course. No more dishonest TV executive middlemen, and no prior coding experience required (probably a good thing for Homer).
5. Krusty prematurely nails all of his dialogue for his talking doll in one take.
EPISODE: “Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy”
SUGGESTED COURSE: If Lisa really wants to learn about recording dialogue from a professional, she should have a chat with SAE SF ATP grad ALEX PETERSON, the dialogue editor for the Jurassic Park video game (she could bring Bart, so he can ask how they make the rib-cracking sound effects for Bonestorm and his fave: Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge).
4. Bart and friends find licensing loophole, get Robert Goulet to sing slightly-altered “Jingle Bells.”
EPISODE: $pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)
SUGGESTED COURSE: We already addressed Bart’s craftiness, but in getting the artist on stage, Nelson Muntz displays the thick-skinned attitude needed to deal with the sometimes-fragile personas of performers, telling the confused Mr. Goulet that his manager “said to shut up.” If he refines his attitude a bit, he’s a natural for the no-nonsense approach of our MBP (but he can leave the Lisa-approved sweater vest at home).
3. Homer and Chief Wiggum entertain the block with a cheap mic & keyboard combo.
EPISODE: “Two Bad Neighbors”
SUGGESTED COURSE: Homer and Wiggum do all right for a bit, but their tinny, non-immersive audio setup make even the arrival of George H.W. Bush seem more exciting. Yikes. They could do loads better with an upgrade in technique and technology with SAE’s ELECTRONIC MUSIC PRODUCTION course. Disco Stu would approve.
2. Bart, Lisa and Larry Barry White point speakers at the ground to rescue Springfield’s snakes.
EPISODE: “Whacking Day”
SUGGESTED COURSE: Perfect speaker arrangement, perfect instrument selection, perfect song choice… always gets the desired result. Seems like these two already graduated from ATP in this episode. Maybe Bart or Lisa won a SCHOLARSHIP, being that Homer specified that only one of them could go to college.
1. The Ramones use Marshall amps to wish Mr. Burns a happy birthday.
EPISODE: “Rosebud”
SUGGESTED COURSE: The Rolling St er, The Ramones, and the usually-parodic Simpsons writers, know, like the students in all of our COURSES do, that if you’re going to wish your favorite “old bastard” a truly hearty happy birthday, you may want the amps that GO TO 11.
Additional Nerd Note: Harry Shearer, the voice of Mr. Burns, Smithers, Flanders, Rev. Lovejoy, Kent Brockman, Principal Skinner, Otto, Dr. Hibbert, Lenny and Rainier Wolfcastle also plays Derek Smalls, Spinal Tap’s bassist.
Have a perfectly cromulent Independence Day, everyone!
Words, Graphic: Jesse Hagen
