Don't worry, you're in the right place. Go ahead and take a minute; I'll just wait here while you get your bearings. One of the reasons for this blog is to showcase the music that was intertwined with my youth. If you go back far enough, you'll find yourself in my living room on a Saturday morning where these animated shorts were a mainstay.
Today's kids will never know the joy of waking up on a Saturday morning, running into the living room while still in PJs, and enjoying the Saturday morning cartoon lineup. "But, Wayne, we've got the Cartoon Network - an entire channel where kids can watch cartoons 24/7." That's my point. It's not special anymore. Back in the day, for those few brief hours, every broadcaster catered their entertainment to me while I tucked into a bowl of cereal.
Along with the latest adventures of the SuperFriends, Fat Albert, or Scooby Doo, School House Rock tried to educate me. Looking back, it was pretty bold. "So let me get this straight. You're trying to teach me stuff? On my day off?"
It turns out original music and animation was a great educational medium. It didn't matter if the subject was grammar, math, science, or my favorite, history, I still remember a lot of the lessons. "Conjunction Junction, what's your function?" "Hooking up words, and phrases, and clauses," is the very simple, very correct answer. Comparing the human nervous system to a telegraph line? That's an incredibly apt metaphor. How about this. Forty years later, I can not only recite, I can sing the Preamble to the Constitution.
I've always loved history. The earliest reference in my life I can point to that presented history from an educational slant was Schoolhouse Rock, and "Preamble" was a part of this. "No More Kings", "Mother Necessity", and "I'm Just a Bill" were also some of my favorites. The one I remember most and getting the most excited about when it came on was "The Shot Heard 'Round the World". Have a listen while you're tucked into your own nostalgic bowl of cereal, and enjoy your Saturday.
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