Explain This, Clarissa

March 1, 2012 2:40 PM

Clarissa Explains It All: The Album (via)

This video includes all 7 tracks from the 1994 CD (click on the noted times to jump to that song in the video):

1. Na Na (0:00)
2. O-Brother (5:42)
3. Wishing for Rain (10:38)
4. P.E.A.C.E. (14:54)
5. I Want a Car (20:13)
6. Walkin' in the Cemetery (24:43)
7. Dandelion (29:59)

posted by nadawi (19 comments total)

(click on the noted times to jump to that song in the video)

1. Na Na (0:00)
2. O-Brother (5:42)
3. Wishing for Rain (10:38)
4. P.E.A.C.E. (14:54)
5. I Want a Car (20:13)
6. Walkin' in the Cemetery (24:43)
7. Dandelion (29:59)

(track-skipping enabled for the CD generation)
posted by koeselitz at 2:52 PM on March 1, 2012 [4 favorites]

At first I thought that this was about becoming a better chess player, Caïssa being the godess of chess.
posted by WalkingAround at 2:52 PM on March 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wow, it's like the lost Alice In Chains sessions.
posted by lumpenprole at 2:52 PM on March 1, 2012

excellent post title
posted by nathancaswell at 2:55 PM on March 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

Of course, the title should link to this.
posted by lumpenprole at 2:56 PM on March 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Continuing in the vein of posts this month here's SplitSider's "Inside Clarissa Explains It All with Creator Mitchell Kriegman" (which has a brief mention of this album).
posted by cyphill at 2:59 PM on March 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

I heartily approve of this trend of 90s Nickelodeon posts. I call for an AAAHH! Real Monsters post next.
posted by Gordafarin at 3:13 PM on March 1, 2012 [7 favorites]

Angry Beavers!
posted by The Whelk at 3:16 PM on March 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

The most amazing person that you would never guess worked on the show was [The Hunger Games author] Suzanne Collins. She was the quietest, nicest person. Like having JK Rowling working on your show!

That's pretty awesome. And I had forgotten about all the They Might Be Giants references in the show (animated Johns in the first 30 seconds of the series!).
posted by Gordafarin at 3:25 PM on March 1, 2012

I thought this might be a reference to The Number 12 Looks Like You.
posted by Dark Messiah at 4:02 PM on March 1, 2012

Weirdly, it hasn't aged as well as "Killer Tofu".
posted by maryr at 4:49 PM on March 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

The beginning of Track 3 even drops in an obscure Beatles reference with Squiggly screaming, "I've got blisters on me fingers!" This is way better than it had to be.
posted by jonp72 at 5:33 PM on March 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

(Way cool!)
posted by Spatch at 6:40 PM on March 1, 2012

A reference to "Helter Skelter" is obscure?
posted by kenko at 6:40 PM on March 1, 2012

There's no anti-vax hysteria angle to this?
posted by xmutex at 7:04 PM on March 1, 2012

A reference to "Helter Skelter" is obscure?

Probably to the 90s tweens that the Clarissa CD was aimed at.
posted by jonp72 at 7:14 PM on March 1, 2012

Good point. Well made.
posted by kenko at 7:24 PM on March 1, 2012

A reference to "Helter Skelter" is obscure?

Depends on what you're into. As a pretty standard "yeah, I like the Beatles but not with any depth" type, I have no idea what "I've got blisters on me fingers!" means. You say it's from "Helter Skelter," I say "Huh. I guess I don't know that song very well," then try to hum it and move on to Manson jokes.
posted by Mayor Curley at 4:32 AM on March 2, 2012

~A reference to "Helter Skelter" is obscure?
~Probably to the 90s tweens that the Clarissa CD was aimed at.

This. Kids back then, if they knew anything about the Beatles, knew the pop hits. Helter Skelter was definitely not on their radars.
My kids were smack-dead in the target audience for the show back then. They loved it, but I also found it fun to watch with them.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:31 AM on March 2, 2012