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2008

May

The Best Cartoon Bands

SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2008 (11:14 PM)

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The Best Cartoon Bands

(I'm feeling okay)

Virgin Records
Gorillaz (1997- ): Not only are they the Most Successful Virtual Band in the “Guinness Book of World Records,” they’re the only cartoon band that tours. The four-member outfit gets its post-apocalyptic good looks courtesy of “Tank Girl” comic co-creator Jamie Hewlett and its triple-platinum sound via Damon Albarn of Britpop band Blur. Seriously cool hologram technology enables Gorillaz to appear live -- as witnessed at the 2006 Grammys when it performed its hit “Feel Good Inc.” with De La Soul and mashed “Hung Up” with Madonna. Like most cartoon bands, Gorillaz have adventures -- albeit seedier than the typical crime-thwarting efforts. Bassist Murdoc Niccals, for example, was banned from the Playboy Mansion for stealing ashtrays.

Urban Works
Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids Junkyard Band (1969-1984): They didn’t have real instruments. They never solved mysteries. Unlike most cartoon bands, they never ventured into space. But the the Junkyard Band got a lot of sound out of otherwise useless junk lying around the city dump. Okay, Rudy had that pink imitation Stratocaster with the big “R,” but you know he never learned how to play. Meanwhile, Dumb Donald, Weird Harold et. al, jammed on moldy mops and rusty metal, never once contracting tetanus. And when each song ended, we were all a little smarter about smoking, stealing or just the importance of being polite.

UAV Corporation
Groovie Goolies (1970-1972): Long before Gwar’s gory stage act or Slipknot’s freaky masks, there were the Groovie Goolies. This band of real-live cartoon monsters was one of several musical acts to emerge from the “Archie” universe. The Goolies were, naturally, friends with Sabrina (of teenage-witch fame) and featured an assortment of underworld characters. The core band, however, included Frankie (Frankenstein’s Monster), Drac (Dracula) and Wolfie (a werewolf, who despite the band’s name, was the only hippie in the bunch.) Sure, the Goolies sounded like every other Saturday morning band with a laugh track. But their unique look set the group apart.

Hasbro
The Misfits (1985-1988): Not to be confused with the flesh-and-blood outfit featuring Glenn Danzig, the Misfits were archrivals of fellow all-girl cartoon band Jem & the Holograms. While Jem and her pastel-wearing posse of goody two-shoes played namby-pamby songs such as “Only the Beginning,” “Music is Magic” and “Like a Dream,” the Misfits kicked out the jams with “Takin It All,” “Outta My Way” and “Makin’ Mischief.” Sadly, this bad-girl group misspent nearly every episode on failed attempts to out-fabulous Jem & Co. So Jem had a secret identity and ran a home for wayward girls -- big deal. The Misfits were true rock 'n' roll.

Turner Home Entertainment
Josie & the Pussycats (1970-1974): A precursor to riot-grrrl feminism, the Pussycats were the first animated outfit to break the cartoon color barrier. The band, another "Archie" spinoff, featured two white musicians (Josie, guitar and Melody, drums) and one black musician (Valerie, tambourine). While developing the series, Hanna-Barbera wanted all-white Pussycats. Happily, the music production company responsible for creating that great Pussycat sound threatened to walk. Valerie stayed as she was, making her the first black cast member on an animated series. (Fat Albert didn’t arrive until 1972.) Sadly, it wasn’t until the 2001 live-action movie that she finally ditched that stupid tambourine and picked up the bass.

Category: Music

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