Stereophile: Pageant of the Transmundane

Now that we're perched upon the precipice of the Simpson Movie opening—at least a decade too late—I, by chance, I caught the Hullabalooza episode with the Smashing Pumpkins this week, the one where Homer becomes part of the "pageant of the transmundane," by being shot in the stomach with a cannonball.

For those who don't remember the show when it still had fertile ideas and good to great one liners, this half hour, with Sonic Youth re-recording the theme song just for this episode, was pretty special—at least to the musically inclined. For me it's always been about the one–liners, "Groucho’s Dream" is how I often refer to its early days, and this episode has a few beauties.

Homer: "Why do you need new bands? Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact," (followed by a blast of the opening riff of Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein.")

Marge: "Hmm. Record stores have always seemed crazy to me, but it doesn't upset me. Music is none of my business."

Billy Corgan: "Hey Cannonball, I like your statement: when life takes a cheap shot at you, you stand your ground. Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins." Homer: "Homer Simpson, smiling politely."

And the topper:

Homer: "Oh, Marge. I thought I had an appetite for destruction, but all I wanted was a club sandwich."

The movie is a disappointment waiting to happen. They should have done it years ago when they still had a stable of creative and funny writers. A shitload of celebrity voices a successful film does not make.

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