In 1990 Bobby Brooks, a talent agent, died in a helicopter crash along with Stevie Ray Vaughan. To honor him, MCA Records released a Nintendo-themed CD ("White Knuckle Scorin'") that included a whole host of songs and artists that had absolutely nothing to do with Nintendo or video games in general.
The first song, "Ignorance is Bliss" by Jellyfish is the only Nintendo-related track. It's set within the Super Mario World... world. Sung by Bowser, he tells the kids not to read. It's a clever case of that reverse psychology - the kids ARE encouraged to read, you see! I'm not sure how successful that was, considering that the kids are already into video games - that's time not spend reading - and all the time spent listening to a song on a CD is just more time not spent reading. So...
From there on, not only does it have no connection to Nintendo games, check out the hot artists that the kids love: Crosby, Stills and Nash; Dire Straits; Roy Orbison; Britny Fox; Sheena Easton among others.
The Roy Orbison track deserves a drill-down. "I Drove All Night" is a previously unreleased track and was also released posthumously, as Orbison had died in 1988. Releasing his music on Nintendo CDs is probably what he would have wanted, I guess. The music video features black and white footage of Jason Priestly making out with Jennifer Connelly, which makes it all-time peak 1991, as far as I'm concerned. The video also features old footage of Orbison and "subtle background references to the Mario series and the album's title" according to Wikipedia.
But does it contain subtle references? I see a sign that says "Princess" and a sign flashes on screen that says "White Knuckle Scorin.'" It's up there for about a tenth of a second, so I guess the claim is technically true. I guess. There's also a "Dino Dogs" sign that could be construed as referring to Yoshi. Seems pointless.
Having listened to the full album (time I could have spent reading, by the way), it just makes no sense. The artists are pretty stellar, the songs are generally good, it's just they don't belong together and the fact that they're released within a Nintendo context is just crazy.
Hey, I have an idea how you could make a CD with a collection of unrelated pop artists which would have a Nintendo/Mario connection AND it just so happens that my plan ALSO involves Roy Orbison.
As you probably remember, almost all of the Koopalings in Super Mario Bros 3 (and Super Mario World), were named and styled after some musician:
So there's your lineup. You've got your album right there. You're coming straight outta the gate with U2, then on to The Plasmatics, then some Iggy Pop, then Roy Orbison, then Motorhead and finally Beethoven. Then, since Bowser is the final boss, you can tack on the "Ignorance is Bliss" track. Going out on a bang. That's your absolutely absurd collection of bands/artists all on one compact disc that has the Nintendo label on the front. Sure, it'll appeal to no one but at least this one has a tenuous connection to Nintendo.
I don't know if you're in the market for a longform interview with SNL cast member Cheri Oteri but I saw this and said, "Yes, please."
I think it was already pretty known that the Rita Delvecchio character was based on growing up in Upper Darby but it was fun hearing about it. And SNL stories are always fun, especially when Christopher Walken is involved.
The boys watch 3 movies based on the randomization of a not-so-legally-distinct Plinko board.
Of interest to me, and perhaps to you, they watch "The Peanut Butter Solution" which I covered myself here. It's fun to see that our thoughts mesh well. Of particular note: we both compare "The Peanut Butter Solution" to "Rosemary's Baby," which is wildly specific.
