Music » Cartoon Music

For fans of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, et al., this is the essential cartoon soundtrack as well as a monument to surrealism. During his 22 years as a composer for Warner Bros. animated shorts, Stalling invented the musical vocabulary of cartoons. Producer Hal Willner has lovingly assembled a sonic collage that showcases Stalling's compositional genius and uncanny ability to borrow a tune. It's a whirling collection of random moments, chock full of music you never knew you knew, from Bugs Bunny's theme from "Rabbit Fire" to Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse" to Stalling's own "Woo! Woo!" Also included in the mix: outtakes from recording sessions, and several complete scores. --Heidi MacDonald

Release Date: 1996-03-19, Audio CD, Geffen Gold Line Sp.

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Who said musical comedy was dead? Was it you? Fools! There are more shining moments in each of these 39 zippy little numbers than in the complete score of any bloated Broadway dud today. Peppered with original dialogue, and seven renditions of "The Simpsons Main Title Theme" (including Australian, Big Band, and Afro-Cuban), this disc includes beloved originals like "Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart?" Even better are the scathing parodies: "Oh, Streetcar!" (Tennessee Williams ? la community musical theater); "Dr. Zaius" (Falco-meets-Planet of the Apes); and "See My Vest" (Monty Burns's jaunty dissection of Disney's "Be Our Guest"). With celebrity cameos from Tony Bennett, Robert Goulet, and Beverly D'Angelo, Songs is a sparkling tonic to sustain you through the seven dreary days between Sunday evenings. --Kurt B. Reighley

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This collection has a split personality. On one side, there's the youth Moment, led by 12-year-old Aaron Carter, the younger brother of Backstreet Boy Nick, No Authority, and Jessica Simpson. On the other side, there are the established artists, who are true surprises. Sinead O'Connor? Cyndi Lauper? Isaac Hayes? So, it's a battle between bouncy pop with its hyperextended beats and clear skin and the ragged tone of world-worn former heroes. Things begin with a surprisingly mellow track from TLC's Tionne T-Boz Watkins (perhaps she can't figure which side of the fence to choose here). From there, the beats step up, and Aaron Carter, Baha Men, and Jessica Simpson all deliver the kinds of catchy tunes you expect. Sinead O'Connor hasn't abandoned her sententious beginnings. Even with the addition of hip-hop beats and a few random electronic noises, she still sounds as solemn as ever, whispering and singing softly. Former Spice Girl Gerri Halliwell updates Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots" without adding or subtracting much. A better novelty is Cyndi Lauper performing "I Want a Mom That Will Last Forever," a sentimental tune perfectly suited for her emotive reach. --Rob O'Connor

Release Date: 1996-10-15, Audio CD, Nonesuch

When champions of The Simpsons contend that the animated TV show is the best-written show on the small screen, they're referring as much to the songs that pop up in most episodes as the dialogue. Well, here's a springboard to the Springfield Sound that Simpsons supporters will find irresistible. The musical hotbed of indeterminate locale has drawn everyone from Sonic Youth to Tony Bennett, both of whom contribute original material to Go Simpsonic. But with a cast that includes the inimitable likes of Krusty the Klown ("Like Father, Like Clown"), Waylon Smithers ("Happy Birthday, Mr. Burns"), and Patty and Selma Bouvier ("We Love to Smoke"), who needs pampered VIPs? Toss in the spirited "Everyone Loves Ned Flanders," Kirk Van Houten's wrenching "Can I Borrow a Feeling?" and the Brothers Four (!?) parody "The Ballad of Jebediah Springfield," and you have a singin' and dancin' hullabaloo to last a lunchtime! --Steven Stolder

In the sometimes-twisted world of cartoons, Brak seems to fall someplace between Ren & Stimpy and South Park. Not quite as gross as the former and nowhere near as foul-mouthed as the latter, Valdemar H. Guerta (a.k.a. Brak) climbed to stardom on the back--or slippery ether--of his costar Space Ghost. Now the Brakster has gathered some truly unusual (and unexpected) guests for his first album. Like an audio nightmare cartoon gross-out of the skull, The Brak Album trots out many of his most obese obsessions: "Rock Candy" (great for causing cavities, as Brak duly points out), "Magic Toenail," "Big Fat Squid," "We Like Girls," and... well, you get the picture. Ireland's Chieftains appear here with "I'll Tell Me Ma," while WCW World Heavyweight wrestler Diamond Dallas Page does a cameo with "Evil Is Only Skin Deep." But it's Freddie Prinze Jr. on "Highway 40" who seems an even odder special guest than the Irish minstrels and the canvas crusher. Throw in the Brakettes and a backing band eager to funk it up and you've got a kids' record that redefines "weird" for today's Brakhead (and tomorrow's next generation of good, all-American citizens). --Martin Keller

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