Podcasts | CMGcasts

XLIV

By Scott Reid | 6 October 2008

Yeah. Strawberry Shortcake. I know.

Let me explain. In 1984, the year North America was introduced to Apple computers and crack cocaine, my parents bought this Sweet Songs: Over the Rainbow story vinyl for my older sister. When she grew out of it—presumably seconds after first hearing it—the record somehow trickled its way through twenty-odd trashless years in my parent’s basement until my father’s record collection one day became mine, this and Sladest and all. Listening to this out of curiosity in 2008 is 1) totally unnecessary, yes, but 2) interesting in how branders-slash-writers approached creating a fictional world to entertain if not outright teach kids in the early ’80s, where…well, I’ll let the story slowly tell itself, but this explains a lot.

For those not up on inconsequential ’80s fads, a little context: this tat was initially devised as greeting card fodder but quickly evolved, inexplicably, as a series of homely dolls. Years later those homely dolls came to life on vinyl with elaborate storylines exploring their own (self-described) “magical world.” This apparently didn’t creep the living bejesus out of children, and so, to squeeze even more green out of shit characters invented to wish you a “berry great” birthday, here we are. Some of the greatest voice actors of their time collected to detail this awful wonderland—where a French snail (named Escargot, natch) is a slave chauffeur, where kidnapping tiny people is just a minor inconvenience, and where naive childlike characters are preyed upon and constantly tricked out of things by a giddy perv named Mr. Pieman. Seriously. In this chapter specifically, the freaky group of dolls are given a “special” book of songs, only to trade it away to the Perv Pieman in turn for a cage with kidnapped people in it. Gather ‘round, kids!

Anyway. This podcast is thanks to the artists and labels involved, as always, but also to my sister, who 24 years later surely doesn’t remember Over the Rainbow at all, and who will probably think this podcast is weird.

Download mp3 (192kbps)

[58:27]

Clip: A Song Book

1. Terrible Twos: “No New Thing”

  • (0:01 – 4:17)
  • from Terrible Twos (X!/Criminal IQ; 2008)

Clip: All Of Your Other Ideas Have Sucked, That One’s Not Bad

2. Crystal Antlers: “Owl”

  • (4:18 – 7:31)
  • from Crystal Antlers EP (Touch & Go; 2008)

Clip: So Much Fun!

3. The Raveonettes: “Aly, Walk With Me”

  • (7:32 – 12:40)
  • from Lust Lust Lust (Vice; 2008)

Clip: Jump Into the What? And Do What _With You?_—or—I ♥ Surprises

4. The Kills: “U.R.A. Fever”

  • (12:41 – 15:20)
  • from Midnight Boom (Domino; 2008)

Clip: Just Think!

5. Max Tundra: “My Night Out”

  • (15:21 – 17:47)
  • from Parallax Error Beheads You (Domino; 2008)

Clip: Oh, You’ll Learn

6. Shugo Tokumaru: “Future Umbrella”

  • (17:48 – 20:04)
  • from Exit (P-Vine; 2007, re: Almost; 2008)

Clip: The Not Music

7. Chad VanGaalen: “TMNT Mask”

  • (19:49 – 23:10)
  • from Soft Airplane (Flemish Eye/Sub Pop; 2008)

Clip: His Heart is Crammed in His Cranium and It Still Knows How to Pound

8. Samiyam: “Rap Intro”/“Segue”

  • (23:17 – 24:51)
  • from Rap Beats Vol. 1 (Self-released; 2008)

Clip: These Words:

9. Noah23 f/ Wormhole: “Crystal Palace”

  • (24:52 – 27:10)
  • from Rock Paper Scissors (2nd Rec; 2008)

Clip: Humming Inside the Motorcar, Oh No!

10. Invincible: “Sledgehammer!”

  • (27:11 – 30:13)
  • from Shapeshifters (Emergence; 2008)

Clip: _On Request of Mr. Pieman_—or—The Angels Hum Their Heavenly Song

11. Why?: “The Fall of Mr. Fifths”

  • (30:14 – 33:28)
  • from Alopecia (Anticon; 2008)

Clip: Liked It? I Loved It!

12. Paavoharju: “Kevätrumpu”

  • (33:29 – 37:24)
  • from Laulu Laakson Kukista (Fonal; 2008)

Clip: The Most Musical Music

13. Restiform Bodies: “Bobby Trendy Addendum”

  • (37:30 – 41:30)
  • from TV Loves You Back (Anticon; 2008)

Clip: I’ll Give You Mine If You Give Me Yours

14. Leila f/ Terry Hall: “Time to Blow”

  • (41:31 – 44:52)
  • from Blood, Looms and Blooms (Warp; 2008)

Clip: The New You?

15. Final Fantasy: “Spectrum”

  • (44:53 – 47:13)
  • from Spectrum 14th Century EP (Blocks; 2008)

Clip: The Pieman’s Prisoners

16. Brightblack Morning Light: “Oppressions Each”

  • (47:14 – 51:04)
  • from Motion to Rejoin (Matador; 2008)

Clip: Our Pleasure

17. Laura Barrett: “Wood Between Worlds”

  • (51:05 – 53:29)
  • from Victory Garden (Paper Bag; 2008)

Clip: _Get Back to Where You Once Belonged_—or—Come Visit Us in Our Nightmarish Land Where We Were Just Kidnapped and Held Against Our Will in a Cage, Won’t You?

18. High Places: “Papaya Year”

  • (53:40 – 54:52)
  • from High Places (Thrill Jockey; 2008)

19. Azeda Booth: “Be It”

  • (54:53 – 58:27)
  • from In Flesh Tones (Absolutely Kosher; 2008)

Clip: All of Our Days Are Delicious Days

19. Azeda Booth: “Be It”

_
from _In Flesh Tones
(Absolutely Kosher; 2008)

    Clip:* All of Our Days Are Delicious Days