Can there be too much of a good thing? Perhaps. Fans of The Simpsons have likely been asking themselves that question for years now, given that the beloved Fox TV show has been on the air for 25 years now and, arguably, past its best for quite some time. But for the past week, we've also been indulged to the fullest by FXX's brilliant idea to air a marathon of all 552 of the show's episodes back-to-back, beginning last Thursday, August 21.
Being the diehard Simpsons fans that we are here at DC9, we couldn't help but get in on the fun. Some of the show's most memorable moments have included cameos from famous musicians, so we decided to round up our favorites. But, in the spirit of the marathon excess, there was just too much to choose from. So today is the first part of our list of the the show's 30 best musical moments. Check back in tomorrow for the conclusion.
30. Bravo Combo - "Co-Dependents Day"
Blink and you'll miss them, but the DFW mainstays provide the entertainment at the Springfield Oktoberfest. As an added bonus, they did a cover version of the show's theme that played over the end credits of the episode.
29. Flight of the Conchords - "Elementary School Musical"
At the peak of their powers (well, the peak of Brett's pre-Oscar-winning powers) The Flight of the Conchords parlayed their HBO-fueled fame into basically owning an entire episode of The Simpsons, completely hijacking it from Fox's chosen members of the cast of Glee. It's very 2009-10, but hey, nostalgia can be cool.
28. Tony Bennet - "Dancin' Homer"
Tony Bennet is actually the first guest star to ever play himself on an episode of the Simpsons, and he barely show's up for a second, but his reworking of "New York, New York" into "Capitol City" drives home the weight of Homer's move from the minors of dancing like an idiot in Springfield to the majors of Capitol City.
27. Lady Gaga - "Lisa Goes Gaga"
An entire episode dedicated to Lady Gaga and her "weirdness," this might be the most "Ugh, The Simpsons used to be good" episode of all time, except for the repeated jokes about what goes on on Gaga's tour-train. Also, this is why we got the Gaga/Muppets Christmas special, which single-handedly proved the theory of advancement.
26. Sigor Rós - "The Saga of Carl"
Sigor Rós scored an entire episode of The Simpsons, including the band covering the shows theme song. Try to control yourselves, hipsters, and really try not to smoke too much. 25. The Moody Blues - "Viva Ned Flanders"
The Moody Blues are pissed at Homer and Ned for leaving their Vegas marriage wives, so they go into the usual groan-inducing Moody Blues lyrics till they decide to just kick some ass. Also, Ray Thomas has a flute/knife.
24. Aerosmith - "Flamming Moe's"
For some reason the early '90s decided to revive Aerosmith, because "FUCK IT" and we got Aerosmith quoting Wayne's World while recording lines for an episode of The Simpsons. There's a Phantom of the Opera reference thrown in for good measure, because why the hell not.
23. Sting - "Radio Bart"
Bart supposedly falls down a well, the city of Springfield freaks out, and Sting shows up to do a charity song for the issue. But, that doesn't really matter, because, bro, Sting's abs. Like for real, tantric sex makes you be in great shape, and one hell of a digger.
22. Linda Rondstadt - "Mr. Plow"
Barney and Homer became rival snow plowmen (it was the '90s; global warming wasn't a thing) and got into a vicious commercial battle where each one tried to one-up the other, leading to Barney hiring Linda Rondstadt to help sing his Plow King theme. BONUS NOSTALGIA NOTE: This was the first episode of The Simpsons I ever saw, and that was only due to my father's love of Linda Rondstadt.
21. Phish - "Weekend at Burnsies"
Homer was a "Pot heed" in this episode about medicinal marijuana, so of course the world's most boring band to see sober, Phish, shows up to give the episode some "white dudes who smoke" cred. 20. N*SYNC - "New Kids On The Bleech"
Yvan eht Nioj, Yvan eht Nioj, Yvan eht Nioj...sorry, I got distracted. This is the infamous boy band episode, where Bart and friends made music on behalf of the government to help up recruitment quotas via subliminal messages. In usual Simpsons fashion, all this unravels, and a famous person -- in this case N*SYNC -- shows up to explain it all. The show ends with J.C. being dragged away because Lance and crew signed him up for the Navy.
19. Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Krusty Get Kancelled"
So ueo to decades-ahead-of-itself viral marketing, Krusty the Clown gets pushed off the air by a ventriloquist dummy and is forced to retire. Then in a fit of anger he decides to recruit a bunch of his media friends and host a comeback special, including a performance by RHCP who were saved from playing a show at Moe's Tavern.
18. Peter Frampton, Smashing Pumpkins, Cypress Hill, Sonic Youth, Rover Hendrix - "Homerpalooza"
Homer becomes a sideshow freak by happenstance when he attends a "hip" music fest with Bart and Lisa in an attempt to regain the coolness of youth. He goes on tour with bands that confuse him, gets shot with a cannonball repeatedly, and meets Jimi Hendrix's aging dog at a vet's clinic. Also, this episode gave us two of the greatest Simpsons lines of all time: "I used to rock and roll all night and party every day. Then it was every other day... now I'm lucky to find half an hour a week in which to get funky." And, of course, "Are you being sarcastic, dude?" "I don't even know anymore."
17. Spinal Tap - "The Otto Show"
No one is bigger in the "garia's" than Spinal Tap, and no one has benefited from the fall of communism more than the group who had no idea they were in Springfield and incited a riot.
16. Tito Puente - "Who Shot Mr. Burns 1 & 2"
First off, Maggie the baby shot Mr. Burns because he tried to steal her candy. Ok, now that, that's out of the way, we can discuss how Latin Jazz legend was brought on to teach music at Springfield Elementary after the school struck oil, and then once Mr. Burns stole the oil was let go. Puente swore revenge, and when Mr. Burns was shot he was a prim suspect, but there was a catch. Puente's revenge was a brutal take down of Burns via song.
