 This is the SF Productions podcast network Conjunction Junction, what's your function from pop culture bunker? I'm Indy and I'm Mark You can check out our audio podcast how I got my way through your comics on iTunes or on our website SF podcast network comm For anyone in our generation well and younger. Yeah, I suppose because they've been replaced school Education was enhanced by a strange interstitial shown between Saturday morning cartoons Known as schoolhouse rock. Yes, and it started at not surprisingly an ad agency In the early 1970s David McCall noticed his son could not remember multiplication tables easily, but knew Rolling Stones lyrics by heart So he brought in musicians who wrote the first song three as a magic number and a kid's record was produced Tom Yohe also at the agency created some doodles based on the song There were plans to create educational materials directly for schools, but that fell through So McCall pitched it to a young Michael Eisner later to run Disney who is at the time VP of children's programming at ABC The result was the three-minute shorts We all remember starting in 1973 and produced through 1979 Interestingly enough they were originally called schoolastic rock. Oh, I did read that But they had to change it obviously because of Scholastic publishing said you can't use that name. Yes now. There were four different sets of the original interstitials multiplication rock 11 episodes grammar rock 7 America rock 10 and science rock 9 a Second series was created in the mid 90s. Yep, two more for grammar rock two called America rock and eight called money Rock, I don't remember money rock I don't think and a third series in 2009 Called earth rock with 12 episodes Now that was for home video because by that point Saturday morning cartoons were just a memory Yeah, you know, they're there but not in the same way. They were right 20 30 years ago So so I thought we just go through Each one and just our memories of them now Multiplication rock was never really my favorite ones of this scholastic rock. I don't know why I like math, but They were my favorite of the set starting with my hero zero very catchy song I always remember it as zero my hero. So I must be I don't know Elementary my dear which is about twos Not nearly as as memorable. Yes, three is a magic number. That's a very plaintive song almost. Yeah, it's very sweet Yes, I just I didn't remember that too much. I went back and listen to it And a woman had a little baby. Yeah, I did They had three in the family Yeah, and then they go into the multiplication tables right and some of them I noticed really like almost immediately go into the multiplication tables without even setting up a story Yes, no prologue the four-legged zoo another one Ready or not here I come is that five. Yeah. Yeah, I got six Which is that is a really great rhythm? I think Lucky seven Samson. I don't remember this. I that's like and he was lifting dumbbells up Maybe I don't think so. No, huh, okay figure eight which I think is it rather haunting song Yes, it's about this girl He was thinking about ice skating and it's like whoo. It's really kind of a haunting song And at one point she falls into a frozen pond. Yeah Naughty number nine, which is a really great blues song the good eleven and Little twelve toes, which is rather wistful. I think and it taught me The idea of having different number bases because the person had six fingers on each hand And so they would they would go in in powers of twelve instead of powers of ten Yes, and it really taught as I said it taught me different number bases Which were useful is very useful in computer programming. Yes, because you do hex code So then we move into grandma rock. That's my favorite We start with Conjunction junction. What's your function? And that's one of the classics of the schoolhouse rock with Jack Sheldon doing the voice He did several of probably the most memorable ones unpack your adjectives Kind of remember that I really think they should still be showing these in school because kids today don't know what their parts of speech are Lolli lolly lolly get your adverbs here Now what's interesting? This is there's one singer playing three parts in that And then we have interjections Interjection show excitement or emotion. They're usually set apart from the sentence by an exclamation point or by comment The feeling's not as strong and really great animation there. I think Rufus Xavier sasperilla Which is about pronoun now. Yes Verb that's what's happening. Mm-hmm, which really swings And a noun is a person place or thing which is a country song and that's probably the one that I remember the least Going on to America Rock Elbow room which is about manifest destiny. Yeah, that would certainly not be probably appropriate Today but fireworks the great American melting pot, which is a little preachy. I think Probably the best-known song of Schoolhouse Rock. Yeah, I'm just a bill probably the best-known one ever. It's been satirized. I mean there's been So many things about that and it is it's really cute because there's the little bills and they're sadly on the steps of Capitol Hill And they the Simpsons did a parody of it about amendments about amendments to the Constitution Mother necessity about inventors, right? No more Kings, which is kind of a pre Hamilton The preamble and this is how everybody in our generation knows the preamble to the Constitution I bet if you asked them to recite it, they'd have to sing with the people in order to form a more perfect union Establish justice ensure domestic tranquility The shot heard around the world Suffering till suffrage. Yes women suffer. I don't really remember that one No, and three ring government and this was not released for several years after it was made right because the Networks thought people might thinking they think they were saying that the government was a circus, you know and ABC was worried that Their FCC license would be in danger. Yeah This is back when the networks used to worry about things like that. Yeah, and now everybody calls the government Then we move on to science rock the body machine. I don't remember many of these. Yeah, do the circulation Electricity electricity, which really swings but also repeats a lot electricity The energy blues, which is an early energy saving message Jack Sheldon also sang on that Interplanet Janet. That's the one of these. I really do remember. It's really catchy Telegraph line them not so dry bones and a victim of gravity Yeah, so that yeah, I don't remember many of those so Now Disney bought schoolhouse rock in the 90s and there are several VHS and DVD releases and apparently the first time It came out. They did these they did it with like some intros with Clarice Leachman and some kids and One of the writers the Yohi yeah said That Clarice Leachman was totally hideous and just completely against what they wanted with these things I thought that was kind of interesting Now of course, they're mostly available on YouTube There's also schoolhouse rocks a tribute album by alt rockers and I have that album Yeah, and schoolhouse rock live a musical theater version of the show that was made in the in the 90s And I think that there are still schools who put on schoolhouse rock I wouldn't but I'll be surprised. So, I mean, you know, you'd have lots of good parts And you know a little vignette kind of things I think that would be fine. And as you said, they should still be showing this in schools Yeah, it's neat to learn their multiplication tables, right? Yeah, and they're parts of speech Again, it's so frustrated So you can check out our audio podcast I got my wife treat comics on iTunes or on our website as a podcast network comm from the pop culture bunker I'm Indy and I'm Mark. Thanks for watching You