Awesome Music / The Simpsons

"Get up! Mow the lawn! Move it on the double! 'Cause if you don't, you're in Deep, Deep Trouble!"

In a show that focuses on the never-ending adventures of a dysfunctional nuclear family, who thought it would be this musical?

Series

• The Simpsons is stuffed to bursting with awesome music, starting with Danny Elfman's main theme (with movie remix by Hans Zimmer!), and continuing on from there.
• From Season 10's "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken," the impromptu and show-stopping Kids/Adults. It adds a whole 'nother layer of awesome when you realize that most of the characters that get a chance to sing in this song are performed by at least seven core cast members.
• When Bart is declared a faith healer in Season 11's "Faith Off", he rallies his followers with the outstanding Gospel Revival Number "Testify! Testify! Come on up and testify!"
• From the end credits of "Homer at the Bat", "Talkin' Softball". A sort of recap of the episode's events told through a cheerful tune with plenty of Lyrical Dissonance.
  With Roger Clemens clucking all the while, Mike Scioscia's tragic illness made us smile!
• Sally Stevens singing Barbra Streisand's "People" over the montage during the first half of the end credits of "The Homer They Fall". Also, the choral music set to the Deliberately Monochrome boxing montage earlier in the same episode.
• Season 6's "The Springfield Connection" gives us a beautiful rendition of the ending credits, which pays homage to the Hill Street Blues theme song. Fans of either or both shows may get a bit misty-eyed listening to it.
• For an illustration of how much Alf Clausen's score added to the series in its first several decades, look no further than the music of the famous "Land of Chocolate" scene of "Burns Verkaufen Der Kraftwerk", an enchantingly whimsical piece that perfectly follows Homer's movements through the dreamlike chocolate landscape.
• Mr. Burns may be the perfect example of a Corrupt Corporate Executive, but the man has serious singing chops:
  • The Season 6 episode "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds" has the hilarious parody of "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast in which Burns shows off his vast collection of clothes made from animal skins. See...my...vest! See my vest! Made from real gorilla chest!
  • Look at All These IDIOTS! (even though that was on the Simpsons Sings the Blues album and not on a particular episode). Also has Smithers playing a Frank Zappa like guitar solo.
  • In a Season 24 episode, we have another song from Mr. Burns, this one about villains. It's a High to be Loathed.
• The incredibly creepy Dark Reprise of the main theme that played over the credits of "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part I)".
• From "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part II)", "Señor Burns". Nothing gets the blood flowing like Tito Puente's slanderous mambo.
• The two epic Bond theme parodies: Scorpio" (He loves German BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRR!), and McBain's theme, "Blessed be the Guy That Bonds". Honorary mentions to "You Only Live Once" from YOLO and "600" from Treehouse 27.
• Season 7's "A Fish Called Selma" includes, somewhere in the lower depths of Troy McClure's career, a musical version of Planet of the Apes with McClure as Taylor and the classic song Doctor Zaius, Doctor Zaius...
• Lisa Simpson's version of "Baker Street", over an emotional montage of her sax playing over the years. Notably it's recorded with Lisa's baritone saxophone, rather than an alto saxophone as in the original song, providing a deeper tone.
• Lisa's version of "Jazzman" by Carole King. Yeardley Smith really went all out with the vocals for this song, adding onto the Heartwarming Moment.
• The Stonecutters Song from "Homer the Great": Who controls the British crown? Who keeps the metric system down? We do!!! We do!!! So much so it was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
• Who needs the Kwik-E-Mart? A rousing tune sung by the entire Simpson family to lift Apu's spirits after Homer gets him fired from the Kwik-E-Mart in "Homer and Apu" from Season 5. (A pity his lifted spirits very quickly sink again.)
• When you have Michael Jackson guest star on an episode, it's only necessary that he contribute an example of this trope: "Lisa it's Your Birthday".^note The version heard in the episode was done by soundalike Kip Lennon, though Jackson did provide the vocals for the song's demo.
• Many of the Be Sharps' songs in "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" from Season 5 are awesome, but none more so than the (in-universe) Grammy winner Baby on Board!!
• "Marge vs. the Monorail" from Season 4 features the first rate parody of "Ya Got Trouble" from The Music Man in which Lyle Lanley, the parody version of Harold Hill, gets the town behind the idea of spending the settlement money from the nuclear power plant on a... Monorail! Monorail!! Monorail!!!
• Season 4's "Duffless" features a simultaneously funny and solemn "It Was a Very Good Year" parody in "I Drank Some Very Good Beer", sung by Homer as he pours his beer down the sink and flashes back to his first time buying beer with an obviously fake I.D., and not getting caught or denied service.
• Hail to Thee, Kamp Krusty... The campers at the title camp in the Season 4 opener sound about as enthusiastic as you'd expect when their "activities" amount to child labour, their diet consists of imitation gruel, and the counselors are school bullies Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney.
• Mr Sandman, it's that good.
• We put the "spring" in Springfield!, a very funny Crowd Song in protest against tearing the burlesque house down. It remains one of only two songs on the show to have won an Emmy.
• We also can't forget this awesome parody of over the top car commercials.
• Season 4's "Selma's Choice" has the Duff Gardens equivalent of "It's a Small World", which is almost as catchy as the original. "Duff beer for me, Duff beer for you. I'll have a Duff, you have one too."
• Dan Castellaneta provides an awesome singing voice to Homer in "Homer of Seville", where Homer becomes an incredible singer while lying on his back. In particular, there's his rendition of "If Ever I Would Leave You".
• The score for "Apocalypse Cow", especially the part with Lou's training. Bart's combining, too.
• In "That 90's Show," there's no denying that Sadgasm's Margerine is amazing (not to mention a Tear Jerker).
• The music from the original end credits to "Mother Simpson".
• The background music in "Separate Vocations" when Snake tries to run over Bart with his car. The way the music matches with Bart trying to shoot Snake makes it more chilling.
• From Season 3's "Radio Bart" and featuring special guest vocals from Sting, "We're sending our love down the well..." Such love and care Springfield was showing for a boy who doesn't exist.
• "All Singing All Dancing" starts with a wonderful parody of the western musical Paint Your Wagon: "Gonna paint our wagon, gonna paint it good, we ain't braggin', we're gonna coat that wood!"
  • "Here comes Lee Marvin! Thank God! He's always drunk and violent!"
  • "Gonna paint your wagon, gonna paint it fine, gonna use oil-based paint, cuz the wood is pine!"
• "Just Don't Look" from "Treehouse of Horror VI". It's even got Paul Anka's guarantee.^note  guarantee void in Tennessee
• Another Treehouse of Horror example, the Couch Gag Villain Song from the intro to Treehouse of Horror XXIV, where Bart, Lisa and Maggie are trick or treating and encounter some ghouls. The song has a vibe similar to Oggie Boogie’s song and "You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch", and coupled with the great animation courtesy of John K., rocks.
• All of the songs from "The President Wore Pearls". Especially Lisa's very moving version of "Don't Cry For Me Argentina".
• "Colonel Homer":
  • Lurleen Lumpkin's "Your Wife Don't Understand You".
  • I finally bagged me a Homer!
• Grown-Up Halloween from the "Halloween of Horror" episode (not the yearly "Treehouse of Horror"), which is a huge tribute to Rocky Horror Picture Show.
• In Season 7, Episode 4, "Bart Sells His Soul", Bart swaps the hymn "In the Garden of Eden" with "In a gadda da vida" by Iron Butterfly. The result is both hilarious and epic. Special mention to the elderly organist playing the beat for over 17 minutes on the church's organ.
  Lovejoy: Wait a minute! This sounds like rock and/or roll!
• The season 14 episode "Large Marge" has "You're A Bunch of Stuff," the song the restaurant patrons sang about Marge when she got breast implants, comparing her to all the great things in their lives.
• Also from season 14, the song "Everybody Hates Ned Flanders" from "Dude, Where's My Ranch?" is a hilarious diss track Homer wrote towards his least favorite neighbor. After David Byrne produces and sells it, the whole city (Flanders included) sings along.
• Barney's surprisingly serious and moving performance of "Danny Boy" at the funeral for Moe's Tavern in "Mommie Beerest".
• All the songs from "My Fair Laddy", where Groundskeeper Willie proves his singing voice is great when he tries. Special mention goes to the episode's final song, "Longing for the Shack".
• In "Cape Feare", Bart tricks Sideshow Bob into singing the score of H.M.S. Pinafore to buy time. Sadly we don't get to hear the entire show but what we do hear is truly delightful.
• All the songs by the Party Posse in "New Kids on the Blecch" are catchy auto-tuned songs.
• Do The Bartman, a slick 90s rap song co-written (supposedly) and produced by the legendary Michael Jackson, with slick vocals.

Games

• In their earliest games, the music was rather annoying: typically a looping, low-quality hissing of the theme. However, in more recent games, they've actually used, for example, orchestrated scores. Example: The orgasmically awesome soundtrack to The Simpsons Game.
• Bart Simpson (and others) from The Simpsons Hit & Run (which is a very underrated game) has some pretty rockin' themes as well.
• The arcade game had some good music as well, with a notable example being the downtown Springfield theme.
• The Simpsons Wrestling, while considered a terrible game for its poor balancing, visuals and overall quality, has some excellent tracks. Mr. Burns' mansion theme makes a fine example.