14 rock songs that were featured in The Simpsons – Kerrang!

Music is a vital part of The Simpsons. From the song Monorail and See My Vest to Baby On Board and Who Needs A Kwik-E-Mart, everyone’s favorite yellow family has spent the past three decades singing and dancing across Springfield. They’ve had countless cameos from rock and pop stars (although the less talked about about the Lady Gaga episode the better), but some of rock’s greatest tracks have also featured in some of our favorite scenes. You can probably think of more examples than below – let’s face it, there have been 688 episodes of The Simpsons at the time of writing – but these stand out in our memory. Relive some classic Simpsons moments below.

In the 300^e episode of The Simpsons, Bart moves into his own apartment and ends up living under professional skater Tony Hawk (naturally). But the Birdman isn’t alone in his half-pipe-filled house, wink-182 blur All The Small Things on a stage in the corner. They plan to drop the party, but only after getting paid.

The 250^e The episode also features some big names in music, this time in the form of seminal hard rockers The Who. When a new area code is introduced, the city is thrown into disarray and a giant wall is built to separate the new and the old Springfield. The Who ended up demolishing the barrier using the power of RIFF of I will not be mistaken. The animation team decided to include Keith Moon as a tribute drummer.

It might only be for a few seconds, but Green Day‘s American Idiot appears in The Simpsons Movie. Yes, you might remember them playing the Simpsons theme on a barge that ended up sinking in the polluted lake, killing the band, but at their funeral, a special organ version of American Idiot blared through the ‘church. Moments later, Abe barges in screaming about the impending end to set up the rest of the movie.

In 2014, Judas Priest appeared in The Simpsons to perform their iconic track Breaking The Law – reimagined to obey the rules. However, twice in the scene Priest is called death metal which we all know is incorrect. Following fan backlash, next episode opens with Bart’s writing ‘Judas Priest Are Not Death Metal ‘repeatedly on the blackboard.

We know Otto is a huge fan of Metallica, but it turns out that Hans Moleman is an even bigger lover of the Four Horsemen (and has slept with Lars Ulrich’s grandmother before). When Metallica’s bus breaks down, Otto offers them to get on the school bus – until Bart steals him, leaving him stranded with his heroes. They decide to leave with Moleman while blowing up Master Of Puppets in the back of his truck.

Technically, it’s not played by Poison, but Cyanide – a loving tribute to Poison – who needs a homecoming. Their classic rock smash plays at Otto’s wedding as Becky prepares to walk down the aisle, before revealing that she hates heavy metal music. Whaaaaaa ?! Fun fact: Otto suggested that Becky play Poison’s powerful ballad, Every Rose Has Its Thorn, from her boombox.

Not only setting up one of The Simpsons’ most famous gags, Smashing Pumpkins are also one of the bands that play the Hullabalooza festival in 1996 (alongside Sonic Youth and Cypress Hill). As the alt.rock titans walk through Zero on stage in Springfield, Lisa notices that the ““dark” music “really happens to the crowd, ”to which Bart responds with the always true “Making teens depressed is like shooting a fish in a barrel.

Another name on the Hullabalooza lineup is Peter Frampton, who isn’t having the best time – with Cypress Hill flying his symphony orchestra and Sonic Youth eating his watermelon. It was actually one of Peter’s malfunctioning inflatable pigs that led Homer to be recruited into the festival’s freak show. The ‘70The rocker is shown throughout the episode, performing Do You Feel Like We Do with a talkbox, while Otto watches a chat in his own shoes.

Back 1992, in the episode The Otto Show, Bart and Milhouse attend their very first concert, with the powerful Spinal Tap headlining. The legendary British steelworkers open their set in the ice rink with Break Like The Wind, the title track from their second album, but the concert is cut short after Nigel Tufnel is hit in the face with a laser.

One of the many names to join Krusty’s comeback special is the California-loving Red Hot Chili Peppers. Hired to play their 1991 press Give It Away, Krusty asks them to change the lyrics of ‘What I have, you have to put it inside you, ‘ To ‘What I like is that I would like to kiss you and kiss you, ”in a pastiche by Ed Sullivan asking The Doors to change the words to Light My Fire.

Aerosmith were the first rock band to feature in The Simpsons, and they did it in style, appearing in one of the greatest episodes of all time. When Moe’s Tavern becomes Springfield’s cultural hotspot with its Flaming Moe drink (stolen from Homer, of course), it attracts rock legends from the arena, who perform an impromptu Walk This Way in exchange for free pickled eggs. . Their song Young Lust also plays on the end credits.

It sounds like rock and / or roll. In a Bart’s signature prank, he trades the Sunday Service hymn sheet with this deceased ‘60A psych-rock tune, under the guise of In The Garden Of Eden by I. Ron Butterfly. Sure, 17 minutes and an epic organ solo later, Reverend Lovejoy realizes what happens when a beach ball bounces off his head.

In 2006, The White Stripes were one of the hottest bands on the planet, so it stands to reason they would make an appearance in Springfield. When Marge and Homer attempt to channel Bart’s reckless behavior into learning the drums, he suddenly finds himself in a makeshift video for Hardest Button To Button, which crashes into Jack and Meg White who are stranded in the street. . The duo continue to the beat of the music, but the song ends as they attempt to jump a bridge.

As mentioned earlier, Cypress Hill stole the London Symphony Orchestra from Peter Frampton. It’s not intentional, they just don’t remember not doing it and assume they must have done it “perhaps when it is high ”. The hip-hop trio and LSO join forces to play Insane In The Brain behind the scenes, to the delight of a visiting Marge. Years later, both groups would ignite the Simpsons fandom actively talking about a collaboration on Twitter.