Update

I just acquired an ISBN # for No Setlist, and tomorrow I'll be ordering barcode stickers. This helps my chances of getting the book on actual bookstore shelves and is necessary to sell it on Amazon (awaiting order confirmation).

Taking at least one on my West Coast trip, for Names. Kegmama will have hers by then, and I have no idea if Chris wants one or not. As far as copies for the band...this is why I wish Patrick was going with me. He'd make me approach a member, likely Lee or Steve. He'd make me tell them who I was and what I had done and that's my Sonic Youth book on their Myspace, Facebook, and forum pages.

I don't know what scares me more: approaching them in person about this book, or the possibility they may not really be too concerned about it.

Every artist--and please understand I am not just some bum-ass fan with a hair up her ass, I have dreamt of being a published author since age ten--has fears. But they also need strength.

No Setlist On Sale Now

What do you do when you see your favorite band perform live 40 times over 11 years? If you're an aspiring author like Jenn Benningfield, you write a book about it. No Setlist is not just a compilation of Sonic Youth concert reviews covering the time period May 1998 to May 2009. It is more than anything else an unabashed love story--of the creative spirit, of friends, of discoveries, of life. Aided and abetted by 44 pages of tremendous color photos (some personal, most shots from select concerts), these journals immerse you into the experience of countless miles on the bus or plane, exploring the sights, and meeting numerous other Sonic Youth fans at home and abroad. No Setlist is a must-have for not only Sonic Youth fans, but also anyone seeking to understand the unique mindset of that beautiful beast, the "hardcore fan."

Visit this site to see more info and place your order.

This is my first book, and I'm beyond thrilled to finally have it out. This has been my dream since I was ten years old.

A No Setlist Update

I've found an online publisher and am now using Microsoft Word to transfer and modify (appearance only, not the actual text...I have to live with that) my manuscript. Afterwards, I'll create the cover using the provided template and collage photo by one Patrick S.

To elucidate: I've seen 40 Sonic Youth shows since 1998. This book is a journal of those shows and times.

To give you a little insight, here are the page counts of my chapters so far:

ABOARD A LEAKY VESSEL--20 pages
THIS EXPERIENCE BLUE--8 pages
SCENE--5 pages
SHE'S ILLIN'--6 pages
BANANAFISH--6 pages
SO LONG SUCCOR--3 pages
HOT DOGS AND COOL SHEEP--11 pages
NATTY BOHS AND RATTY CLOTHES--6 pages
NOT EXACTLY HUMAN--5 pages
ON DISPLAY NOW--4 pages
PUNCH N TARTS--11 pages
MY MOM THE MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST--3 pages
IGNOBLE CHATS--8 pages
STANDING AND STINKING--10 pages
THE OVERWHELMED UNDERGROUND--24 pages
EVERYBODY'S SWEATIN' AT ME--7 pages
THE FLYING ACE VS. THE 9:30 CLUB--12 pages
KILL TIME--45 pages (damn near a novella)
RARING ROCK--4 pages
LOVE SICK--8 pages
PIPELINE--15 pages
REBOARDING A LEAKY VESSEL--12 pages
YES SETLIST--4 pages
A DAY AT THE FACTORY--4 pages
THE LUCK OF DIRT--6 pages

So that's 247 pages so far...it looks like this will go between 300-320. Fucking coolness.

Live Blogging SY at Primavera Sound Festival

Thanks to WFMU's stream. They are a rare gem.

First hipped to this via the SYG, via one of my favorite people on there, then reminded a few hours later via Dave Markey's Facebook. The Internet helps us play.

The WFMU guys give us all the play-by-play as the band steps onstage. NPR wouldn't do that shit. They'd say Corin Tucker's son was a girl. Which they did. Apparently Corin had a daughter last year though, so it's all to the goodness.

--"Amish Heat", I mean "Brother James"! Steve is high in the mix. Thank Godfrey Jones. Kim just fucking showed every woman who steps in front of a microphone how to tear shit up, including the throat. Goddess.

--These pauses are fucking hot!

--Oh shit, I hear "Sacred Trickster" strumming. It must suck to be an SY fan at these festivals. Too many people, who stink, and the band is still working out the kinks. For these guys though, it's kinda doesn't suck, 'cause Kim just destroyed the planet Venus. I'll miss it.

--"Hey Joni", yes, of all DDN tracks to keep in the setlist, this was a brilliant choice. The new "Eric's Trip"? I sure hope so.

"K-k-k-kick it!" July hurry up. Please. Fuck Christmas.

What year is it really, dude? 2009. Sonic Youth are still so vital it hurts.

--"No Way". I still like it better on record. I remember seeing it in Brooklyn last year, and thinking it was a nice track, could definitely hear the Greg Sage-icity on it. Lee on the chorus with T-bone.

--"Calming the Snake". Also saw this in Brooklyn, and was far more impressed. No idea why they put the echo effect on Kim's vocals on the record. Well for the "chorus" yeah, it works, but totally unnecessary for the verses.

--Lee just put his "Delay King" crown atop his grey head and we go into "Antenna", probably my favorite off The Eternal. A little of the delicacy is lost live. Lee and Thurston sounding good together. Not like when they did "Unwind" live. I don't know what the hell was going on back then.

You know, if I wanted delicacy in my concerts I'd go see Moldy Peaches or some crap.

Lee is outta control.

--I didn't want the intro for "The Sprawl" to end, except I did, 'cause you know. They had the whole rest of the song. Those were the only parts that turned me on.

--"'Cross the Breeze". Sorry I'm not saying much, but I am at an utter loss when listening to beauty such as this. Such as them.

--"Once in a while, the guitars go out of tune."

Greenlight just posted the setlist on SYG. Kills the drama, but the dramas overrated.

"Anti-Orgasm" now and the hummingbird morse code "UH"s sound bliss.

Somebody just fucked up HARD. That whole second verse was anti-climax.

--"Leaky Lifeboat". Love the title, love the song, love Corso. I always called my body a "leaky vessel" after that phrase.

La la la la Thurston's jet-lagged.

Kim is the only one at this point. There she goes. Thurston, it's called DEVOTION, my dude. It's a lotion that Mark Mothersbaugh produces, USE IT ALL OVER YO' BODY.

--Lee's finest moment on the newie, finally. (And no, it's not "Walkin' Blue".)

No Kim on the chorus? Oh come on. I know she didn't sound ideal during the "Jools Holland" performance, oh here she is. Sounding better.

Lee just kinda mumbled that last bit. Haha, remember when Carrie Brownstein would just wing it during "Words and Guitar" at the last ever SK East Coast show? Haha, I'm bringing up Sleater Kinney 'cause that was a great show and they should come back 'cause music is 56% suckier without them. Resurrect the fucking Spells at least!

--Thurston is about to pass out. Was that "fuck for honesty"? I hope so. They've played "Tom Violence" 900 times and dude's blanking! Oh well.

--"Pink Steam" is interesting to bring back out. I'm on record as loving this song, and I do...'till Thurston starts in with that "lovely lover" shit. He won't forget these lyrics, trust. The instrumental passages though? Shiiiiiiit.

Wow, I don't recall "PS" being so...brash before. Thumbs skyward.

--Kim Gordon is ready to pounce someone. Thurston better hope it's him.

--Neil Young didn't give WFMU permission to broadcast his shit? What, you're better than them? You ain't even better than David Crosby, per Jim O'Rourke.

--Naomi just texted me. Just in time for "Bull in the Heather"!

--And now we're talking during "Expressway". Jealous much, bitch?

The Music and Heroes of America

AIRDATE: 5/23/89

Schroeder is ready to give the most fantastic school report on music ever, utilizing the same stage featured in It's Magic, Charlie Brown to teach his classmates about the rich history of American tuneage. While initially agreeing to let Snoopy help, the towheaded wunderkind had a change of heart when he remembered how performance-prone the pawed one was. It took the pleading of Charlie Brown and the hysterical tears of the wronged dog to sway Schroeder.

With a full band rocking shit (check Patty's bow in the crowd!), Schroeder is doing a great job entertaining his peers. When Lucy comes on the stage, however, he loses his crap. Almost literally. See, Lucy and the girls have a report of their own due: the heroes of America. The teacher on the scene (who sounds like a muted trumpet, to the thrill of those who were rendered apoplectic by the talking grown ups found elsewhere in the miniseries) deems that both reports shall take place onstage, with each giving equal time to the other. Lucy is beyond happy with the compromise, while Schroeder blood pressure shoots up to stroke level every time the girls are ready to present. He's so annoying.

ANIMATION: Disappointingly washed-out, without much life. Guess they thought the non-stop soundtrack could salvage it? 6

MUSIC: Well...pretty much it does. Ed Bogas and Desiree Goyette (Lou Rawls with the vocal assist!) get a 10 simply for the variety of songs on display.

"I Dream of Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair" - Stephen Foster
"O Susanna" - Stephen Foster
"America the Beautiful" - Katherine Lee Bates & Samuel Ward (which absolutely should be the American National Anthem)
"Stars and Stripes Forever" - John Phillip Sousa (best version not featuring Lisa Simpson on sax)
"I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy" - George M. Cohan (did anyone else have to watch Yankee Doodle Dandy in Music class? That shit took forever)
"Alexander's Ragtime Band" - Irving Berlin
"Maple Leaf Rag" - Scott Joplin
"St. Louis Blues" - W.C. Handy (I'm sure hockey nut Schulz appreciated these two back-to-back)
"When The Saints Go Marching In"
"Where Have All the Flowers Gone"
"Hound Dog" (not the Elvis version; the remake is bad, but brief)
"Linus and Lucy" - Vince Guaraldi (yes; Charlie Brown says this is his favorite song. You'll never hear a more 80s version of it, for better or worse)

VOICES: Erin Chase and Curtis Anderson get 7.5's for Charlie and Schroeder. They're about as dull as the animation. The latter in particular is trying way too hard, my dude.

8's for Marie Wise as Marcie and Jason Mendelson's Pep Pat (sounding here the most boyish the character ever would). Erica Gayle's Lucy brings up the rear at 6, while top honors are shared by Hakeem Abdul-Samad's Franklin and Brittany Thornton's Sally each earning a 9. The former sounds awesomely Gary Coleman-ish.

SONIC YOUTH

--The banjo is almost always the coolest instrument in any band. Unless someone else is playing the contrabass sax.

--Of course, Lucy's first heroes are great American women like Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, and Amelia Earhart. To celebrate the last of those, Patty gets her Ace on. I don't know if it was intentional, but after this segment, Schroeder and the boys talk about "America the Beautiful", one of the great accomplishments by a woman ever.

--

For what I believe is the only time in the history of the specials...the word "peanuts" is uttered.

MODEST MOUSE

Pretty much.

The Building of the Transcontinental Railroad

AIRDATE: 2/10/89

STORY: Remember trains, kids? This installment of This Is America, Charlie Brown is dedicated to the First Transcontinental Railroad, 1800 miles between Nebraska and California, completed in 1869. It's arguably the most involving and therefore moving story in the entire miniseries, and I recommend it most highly. Charlie Brown narrates this true tale in the straightforward manner it deserves, hailing the bravery and ingenuity of the many thousands of workers while not whitewashing over the difficulties initially faced by the Chinese workers who provided the greatest support of all.

Kids can get a real appreciation for what a feat this was. "Back in my day" is a hoary phrase intended to make younger generations somehow get it around their knuckle heads that what they see as hardships now are really not all that trying compared to the effort, will and risk required by such projects as this. The very idea of so much manual labor required will probably make your average Twittering teen pass out and break their Iphone.

It's also a good reminder of what can be great about America, and how much undeniable good its people have done in the name of unity. The competition between the Central and Union Pacifics captivated the country in a way that really only half-brain reality shows and overblown health risks can do nowadays.

There is of course much undeniable bad done in the name of patriotism. There are films out there that deal with those dark events. This is not one of them. 10

MUSIC: Harmonica-driven soundtrack that perfectly fits the visuals, but the stars here are the Winans, who harmonize such standards as "I've Been Working on the Railroad" and "The Battle Hymn of the Old Republic". It's very tasteful, and helps provide the viewer with a real feeling of the lesson in community that lies at the heart of this story. 9

ANIMATION: 9. Lots of nice color on the trains. Not exactly sharp drawing, but not slipshod either. The spike-driving "anvil chorus" is a recurring scene done superbly.

VOICES: Erin Chase as Chuck, Brandon Stewart as Linus, and Curtis Anderson as Schroeder all get 8s. All do well, especially Chase, who has by far the most to say of all the kids. I like how old-school Schroeder sounds, though.

THE GOLDEN SPIKE

--In addition to the usual array of original pictures from the various sites, the producers also reveal for the very first time who drove in that final golden spike in Utah. Shit is mad historically accurate!

--Must kill cactus! Weeee!

--The only real "hey don't forget this is a cartoon" silliness comes when Spike happens upon a saloon and treats the fellas to a harmonica gig. Promptly getting tossed out on his emaciated puppy ass when he knocks over a table.

PILES OF DEAD CHINESE WORKERS

--

I'm scared.

--This special shows the famed picture (shot May 10, 1869) of workers gathered at Promontory, UT to celebrate the railroads completion. Mention is made of the fact that none of the Chinese workers appeared in the picture, and it is suggested that racism was the cause of their exclusion.

This FAQ shines more light on the subject, citing several sources that claim the Chinese were not included because, simply, they were not there.

--You know what would be a great American project? Finishing I-70 so that it goes into California. Fuck Cove Fort.

It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown

AIRDATE: 4/16/84

STORY: What do you say about a 25-year-old special that was recently reborn on DVD?

Charles Schulz watches Flashdance, and dedicates a single solitary strip to Snoopy updating his classic dance style as "Flashbeagle". The drawing of a Bealsy beagle proved too tempting and within the next year the world would have It's Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown.

(This is a clear take-off of the Flashdance phenomenon, not disco, as some people have claimed. Certain scenes mimic Saturday Night Fever, but that's it. The music is not disco at all.)

The "story" is flimsy as a dryer sheet in a tornado. The first images we see are of a football game between Snoopy's smash squad and P. Pat's preteen pounders. After each TD, Snoopy dances hilariously. Apparently, the shaking of the groove thing has become an obsession for Snoop, 'cause when he gets back home, he pulls a boom box out of his doghouse and proceeds to burn up the grass underneath his feet.

Back to Peppermint Patty, in school with Marcie. She falls asleep, sits on her best friend's head, and gets her little Jimmy Durante nose caught in her binder. Straight from the strip are these vignettes, but if you're curious as to how this advances any sort of plot, well...it doesn't. Songs, not sighing existentialism, provides the beef of this show. You might be a vegetarian.

It starts with Patty leading the gang in an invigorating workout while warbling "I'm In Shape"; Lucy takes over a hoary party game and turns it into "Lucy Says"; then it's time to blow the filthy jug and do the "Pig Pen Hoedown".

Charlie Brown doesn't have his own song, but he does have a fishing rod up his ass--again--about Snoopy's independence and general un-dog tendencies. Go cry, round headed kid.

The culmination of all this randomness is one of the most extraordinary, hilarious sequences in Peanuts animation. It's enough to see Snoopy in the bathroom, blow drying his ears to Rage-worthy afro puffs. It's great watching him get dressed, turning an orange turtleneck into a hot dance outfit. But to witness this ineffably cool character moving his little John Travolta legs down the sidewalk as the soundtrack blares, stopping only to stomp his feet and clap his hands to either Franklin or Franklin's twin brother breakdance, then finally entering a club bursting with decidedly grown-up characters and just destroying that fucking game of Simon doubling as a dance floor, blowing everyone else away with impregnable arrogance, undeniable skill, unflappable cool--y'all, I don't know if it was the intention of Schulz and crew to encapsulate everything that was hysterically brilliant about the most O.T.T decade of human history but they did it. Fantastically.

In one final nod to the strip, Sally takes a beleaguered beagle to school for Show and Tell. It's all rather dull till some weird kid takes a boom box out of his desk and gets everyone dancing. Which pisses off Chuck when he finds out, but baby sister will hear none of his grief: "You just leave him alone. That's the first time I've ever got an A in Show and Tell." Snoopy is the coolest.

This is the most dated Peanuts special ever--and it's not even close. But later you'll read why I don't think that's a negative. 8.5.

ANIMATION: 8. Jittery in places, and the colors don't have much life to them. I'd rank it a 7 if not for the Flashbeagle sequence, where the animators seemed to put all their resources and energy.

For those not up on their 80s trivia, Marine Jahan was the real Flashdancer, performing all the moves in film while Jennifer Beals got all the credit. You just gotta love Schulz and 'em, 'cause if they were gonna do a goddamn show based on Flashdance, they were gonna get the real deal. Using Jahan's moves as their model, the animators used rotoscoping--the process of drawing a character over live action--to make Snoopy a dancing wonder. See some of the magic here.

MUSIC: I am an 80s freak. I was born in '77, and my childhood was MTV coming through the non-HD set late at night after my dad left for work and my brother busted out the illegal cable converter. Duran Duran, Michael Jackson, Prince, of course we loved the legends. But our hearts had room for the endless parade of one-hit wonders as well: Rockwell, A Flock of Seagulls, Big Country (any band that puts their name in the title of one of their songs is winning). I loved it then as a stupid kid, and love it now as a somewhat-wiser adult. Supra-pop, baby. So how do you think I feel about the tuneskis here?

The kids solo numbers are not as terrible as you may hear. (I have a Peppermint Patty fanatic friend who loathes these.) It's jarring to see Patty in leotards, but the idea is pristine: Jill Schulz was apparently quite the aerobicizer. "I'm In Shape" is innocuous fun, right down to that wholesale "Mickey" jack in the middle.

"Lucy Says" is the best of the bunch, because it fits the character totally. Lucy putting her peers on notice and bossing them around makes absolute sense.

"Pig Pen Hoedown", eh? Schulz never cared for the young filthmeister much; too one-note. Couldn't really get great ideas out of a kid whose whole schtick was he was just dirty all the time, and not just dirty but like spectacularly foul. Pig Pen made a fantastic impression by just being who he was, but name a great story in the strip with him. I can't. He had no unrequited love, no particular emotional quirk, he was just grubby. Awesome for giving nicknames to hippies, but little else. Also I've never been much on hoedowns unless Homer Simpson is leading them.

Then we have the theme song. Composed by future weddeds Ed Bogas and Desiree Goyette (the latter of whom shares singing duties with Joey "Last American Hero" Scarbury), "Flashbeagle" is not on the level of "Hungry Like the Wolf" (the pinnacle of 80s pop) but is definitely the superior of "(Don't You) Forget About Me" (the nadir of 80s soundtrack pop--apologies to those of you who still reminisce on your first broken heart to that song). It's a clear take-off on Michael Sembello's "Maniac"--peep those stabbing piano chords--and the lyrics are just unbelievably great.

He steps on the floor without making a sound
Then he starts feeling the beat
You would think the floor was greased
By the way he's moving his feet

He's a champion
He is the best
Impossible to tame
People say that he's obsessed
Listen to the sound of his name
They call him Flash- Flash- Flash- Flash- Flaaaashbeagle
When he goes around the whole room starts to reel
You know he's Flash- Flash- Flash- Flash- Flaaaashbeagle
When he jumps up high he glides like a wild eagle

Lightning flashes when he leaps up
He's got everybody shouting for more
Thunder crashes when he hits the ground
He's burning up the dancin' floor

(repeat chorus)

From the fur on his feet to the tip of his nose
He's got rhythm pumping all through his veins
He spins like a top that'll never stop
With the power of a hurricane

Just awesome. 9

VOICES: Brett Johnson is a rather workaday Charlie B. (7.5), but he's so put-on. Dog cooler than him, he has to sing Pig Pen's song. Aw man. Gary Goren does Schroeder, and I'm as impressed as you'd imagine. 5. Gini Holtzman (Patty) and Keri Houlihan (Marcie) are flawless as the best pair of buddies in the Peanuts universe (yep, even better than Snoop & 'Stock). Patty in particular steals what of the dialogue there is to steal: "I'm so dumb I wish all classes were gym" (said, mind you, with utter glee) and the ready-for-sampling "Art is next".

Stacy Ferguson as Sally. Yeah. You know that she grew up to become "Fergie", the chick in Black Eyed Peas, who certainly did not need her help to suck. Then she went on to great solo success. Far from feigning any sort embarrassment, Fergie actually openly talks about her Peanuts past.

BLENDER: WHAT'S THE COOLEST THING YOU'VE EVER DONE?

FERGIE: Being the voice of Sally for a Peanuts cartoon. I actually have a thing that Charles Schulz wrote me. He drew Snoopy and it says, "To our best Sally ever -- Schulz." That's cool! Schulz called me the best Sally ever.

I disagree with Mr. Schulz (the original Sally is still the best to my ears) but let not the future retroactively taint my opinion of a young girl wetting her beak in the hectic world of voice-over acting. God help us all, but Fergie's Sally is very cute and very fun. My humps my humps. Damnit! 9

But wait! There's more! Two more, in fact. There's additional "sung by" credits for four young'uns, but I only care about Brad Kesten as Chuck and Jessie Lee Smith as Lucy. Smith's star turn beats anything I've heard outta Fergie, and is exactly how I would imagine Lucy to sing: just belting it out living-room Broadway style. 9.5. Kesten is saddled with the worst of the songs, "Pig Pen Hoedown" but does his best (I assume). 7.5. Not really his fault.

(I'm always curious to find out what the adult versions of these kid actors thought about the whole Peanuts experience. For Kesten's take on Flashbeagle check out the Youtube comments here. "Sucked balls"? That's harsh, dude.)

AND STILL I NEVER REALLY LET GO OF THE DREAM

--Saw them open for SY in Milwaukee a few years back. They were like a bunch of Peppermint Pattys up on stage. Too bad the crowd was like all Thibaults and Mad Punters.

--

Nothing to say.

--"Dated" does not automatically equal "shit."

These days I fall asleep to reruns of The Golden Girls on the Hallmark Channel (yeah, they have a channel). TGG is another thing from the 80s that I loved--that a lot of people loved--that I can still enjoy now in the 21st century. (Of all the things that entertained my young self in that decade, sitcoms have aged the worst. By far.) Who wouldn't dig on four old broads bitching? And man is it dated. References to Dan Quayle, Jessica Hahn, Miami Vice. And the clothes! All puffy and bright, even more glaring than the Miami sun they studiously avoided. In spite of such era-defining elements, the show does not live and die by the period in which it was produced. There is a definite timelessness in oversexed Blanche and sweet-as-curry-dumb-as-rocks Rose.

You could say the same about Peanuts. The latest installment of The Complete Peanuts has a strip that references Johnny Horizon. Who? Don't forget other panels where Schulz namedrops Annette Funicello, Rod McKuen and the 30th birthday of Bob Dylan. What's positive about putting in references that threaten to alienate future readers/viewers/listeners is that just maybe you inspire them to find out what the hell you're talking about. Like when I searched the Internet for Johnny Horizon. I had to find out who the hell he was and why Schulz would put him in his strip.

--
"...and don't think I feel sorry for you 'cause your daddy died. My father came back from the Korean War with his brains so scrambled, he thought he was Jesus! They put him in a nuthouse for five years, when he came out, he didn't think he was Jesus no more, he thought he was God. Which made me Jesus. This shit got pretty heavy!"


--

To my mind, one of the top ten moments in Peanuts animated history. This is not comparable to Frankin's deathless rap in It's Spring Training. That shit almost made my brain ooze out of my eyes. It was obviously forced into the special. Flashbeagle is the special. This is an 80s thing, you'll either like it or you won't. It's no barometer of your overall intelligence or coolness no matter what side of the fence you sit on.

No matter how many years I log on this globe, how much harsh Japanese noise I listen to, my young girls soul will always be in front of the TV, eating a McDonalds Value Meal and watching Purple Rain.

FAMILY GUY IS AS FUNNY AS DANE COOK. NOW HERE'S THREE MINUTES OF CONWAY TWITTY.

See, I just dated this whole post.

--If I read one more review talking about how the Peanuts mythology (whatever the hell that is) was ruined by the presence of adults....

Flashbeagle was the not the first--or last--Peanuts special to show adults. She's a Good Skate actually had adults talking. Which these reviewers would know if they did research and actually understood their subject. Schulz had adults in the strip, the infamous "Lucy in the golf tournament" storyline. He later expressed regret over his decision, but so it was, right there in black and white. Know of what you speak. There is a whole rich history. Acquaint yourself with it if you choose to speak on the subject with such ambition.

The Simpsons do yearly Treehouse of Horror episodes wherein they use Halloween as creative license to go apeshit with their characters. People turn into monsters, die, the world ends, it's madness. The fans understand that the producers use TOH as a playground for their wildest imaginations, so no one bitches when Homer gets turned into a jack-in-the-box. I would urge anyone watching Peanuts specials to divorce them from whatever you know of the comics. Much as they may be inspired by the strips, they are not canon. Schulz made this abundantly clear in his lifetime. Thus, he could do stuff that would be verboten in the strip (which was held sacrosanct): give Franklin and Marcie last names, show redhaired girls, show and/or voice adult characters. It's pretty simple.

--Imagine if Schulz had watched Sophie's Choice and cooked up a story where the Van Pelts are approached by a mysterious stranger who makes Lucy choose which of her brothers to keep and which to hand over?

--So is the background supposed to pan backwards as Snoopy pounds the pave?

----------------------------------------------------------------

Flashbeagle is now on DVD, as a "bonus feature" on the Snoopys Reunion release. The soundtrack is available here, along with proof that not everyone thought this show was a wretched abomination. Wow, maybe it even made them laugh.

Anyone who thinks this is the worst Peanuts ever put on TV has never seen It's the Pied Piper. That review is gonna be painful.