Rap, like most other forms of music, has always been ripe for parody, with CB4 and Weird Al’s “Amish Paradise” as the standouts that come to mind. The past year has seen all of pop culture’s quadrants taking aim at Drake’s monster hit “Hotline Bling,” but the most recent Simpsons episode went back a few years (naturally) and used the Canadian artist’s “Started From the Bottom” to poke fun at the generally excessive nature of rap videos.
Okay, so nothing about this video is timely. But that doesn’t make it any less successful in its purpose. When you’re a kid, coming into any sum of money is worthy of a celebration set to music, and what better way to expand that glee than through a montage showing off the plethora of crap than a kid can sling a few bucks at and be happy about it. I mean, the 99¢ Store (which is even cheaper in Springfield) is a smorgasbord of temporary time-wasters that won’t destroy a wallet. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen two stamps sold together like that, though that would be a solid purchase for a child who writes to a penpal twice a year.
While a lot of candy stores these days are of the high-end boutique variety where you drop a tenner on five bites of chocolate and caramel, you can still find the old school shops where you can scoop and dump all the sugar your heart and gut can handle for mere coinage. And who among us hasn’t ever thought about being in the middle of a candy rainstorm where it doesn’t hurt when the candy hits your face?
Something tells me this is the kind of behavior that The Simpsons’ voice actors get into whenever they go through money demands during contract negotiations. Just going around town flashing chewing gum and getting served lunch from people who wear gloves when they touch the food. Ah, the life of the wealthy and the privileged.
The episode this montage aired in, “Gal of Constant Sorrow,” saw Bart taking in a homeless woman named Hattie (played in part by Kate McKinnon and Natalie Maines) who also happens to be a folk singer. There was another musical moment in there from Hattie that easily ranked up there with classic Simpsons tunes from the past 2,036 seasons. Way to go, guys.
The Simpsons, which is gearing up to go live for an upcoming episode, airs Sunday nights on Fox.
