Rather like those Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons are a cultural phenomena that I never really got into. I'm not sure why - in 1991 the hype and merchandise was everywhere and unavoidable, but the cynic in me saw it more as self generated promotion for the fledging Sky TV service, a 2look at what you're missing" message that gave a hard sell for the only place you could see the show. Less exclusive these days, I've since watched many episodes yet although I've enjoyed them all, I've never felt the urge to plough through those box sets disc by disc.So maybe that's why I see 'Do The Bartman' as a strange sort of single. Reputedly written by Michael Jackson, it's not a comedy song about The Simpsons - rather, it's a fourth wall breaking, first person rap by Bart Simpson, the idea presumably being that the kindergarten Eminem had popped into Springfield recording studio and cut it. It's also remarkably unforgiving in its wordy narrative - if you were a regular viewer then fine, but the non scene setting lyric required a familiarity with the show to bring it to life ("Til Lisa starts blowin' her damn saxophone"). Yet even then the absence of any of The Simpson's trademark one liners (or jokes at all), means there's nothing about 'Do The Bartman' that rewards repeated plays - any goodwill is derived from knowing it's Bart Simpson singing along to a brittle groove that twangs like a plastic ruler plucked against the edge of a desk. If you're a fan of the show then you'll probably enjoy, but if you don't then this is going to leave you colder than a dead fish.
No comments:
Post a Comment