Talking Simpsons - Lisa's Pony With Mike Mitchell

One late comment - cartoonist Jim Engel designed the Looney Tunes DC Happy Meal toys. He said something to the extent that they needed a Wonder Woman for representation and Petunia Pig was literally the ONLY option, hence her inclusion.

Thad Komorowski

One thing worth noting about My Ding-A-Ling is that it's far from the being an outlier as a dirty novelty song in early rock and roll. Little Richard's Tutti Frutti was just a cleaned up ode to the joys of Greek sex, for instance. Chuck Berry, like Richard, was one of the few black artists that enjoyed some mainstream success in the Golden Age of rock. The reasons for this include not only the landscape of American racism at the time, but also the peculiar origins of the genre. Rock and roll is jazz slang for sex, but the music emerged from the black Gospel tradition beginning with Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Because "negro stations" (this is the correct term in context, similar to Negro League baseball) often played Gospel as their core focus, they were reluctant play anything that would upset that audience. This made room for white artists, like Elvis, who weren't necessarily wise to the baudy themes and lingo, coopt the sound and bring it to white audiences. Really changes how you hear Perry Como's take on Rock Around the Clock.

Ron Sterling

As not only a band director, but also someone who plays on a reeded instrument (clarinet), the fact that Lisa is 8 and plays on a Bari Sax with a size 4.5 reed has to be a joke. The thickest size I've played on is 4, and most days, even that is like trying to make a sound on a block of wood.

That Pamela Hayden story was so nice.

Steve D

Really fantastic guest! I loved hearing Mike's stories throughout the episode, especially in the beginning. I'm happy Talking Simpsons was able to have him on this episode!

Those toys really were amazing! The Petunia Pig as Wonder Woman was the first time I realized how few female characters there were in the LT universe (I think I had to ask my grandma who this "girl pig" was) but snapping those costumes on and off was just so, so fun.

Kat Heagberg

I never entered a talent show at school, but during elementary/grade school they did hold the auditions during class times, and then everyone had to attend the talent show as a half-day event (all of this would be in the last 2 weeks of school or so). Some of the kids were good at whatever they did, or at least TRIED, but there was always stuff that was painfully unfunny or just embarrassing, even by kid standards. I have one memory burned into my brain of a kid trying out by "singing" DAY O! by Harry Belafonte, but by singing, I mean he mumbled quietly while the song was played off a CD player, and he stood there unmoving very awkwardly, in the way that all white kids mastered at some point in their life. Unlike Skinner, the teachers in charge of both auditions and the show itself were good at filtering out inappropriate stuff, so we never really got any laughs unless it was PG, pre-approved jokes/choreography.

Dylan (batmanboy11) Freitag

Happy you guys were finally able to get Mitch on!

Neil L

Probably once a year I recall how awesome those Looney Tunes x DC Superheroes Happy Meal toys were and I jump on eBay and consider rebuying them. They were the perfect Happy Meal toy as far as I was concerned: recognizable characters, fun gimmick, and they could be played with or placed on a shelf and actually look pretty cool. It helps that there has been little in the way of Looney Tunes figures over the years that those things still retain a great deal of charm 30 years later. This is an episode that if I watch it with my kids makes me look like a bad dad because when Homer shamefully realizes he doesn't have a picture of Lisa in his wallet my kids ask why I don't have pictures of them in my wallet. The answer is obviously because my cell phone is loaded with them, but it reminds me that the wallet photo is kind of dead at this point. And yet, you still get a bunch if you order school pictures that just accumulate in a drawer somewhere.

Joe Hodgson

Hey guys, your editor might want to double check the levels on this episode. It sounds like Mitch had no compressor or normalizer applied to his track. His levels vary considerably, are way higher than Bob/Henry's, and he has several high peaks that were extraordinarily loud. Made listening with headphones really tough. The episode promo was also extremely quiet. Levels aside, Mike was a great guest. Loved his stories about being a PA and he plays off Bob and Henry really well.

Dan Vincent

Henry didn't have the heart to tell Mitch the intro quote is traditionally from the episode you're covering.

burro

SPOOOOON!

CMatt

Even if Homer got the reed in time he shouldn't have been able to get in.