How I Spent My Strummer Vacation
Encyclopedia
"How I Spent My Strummer Vacation" is the second episode of The Simpsons
' fourteenth season. The episode was first broadcast on November 10, 2002. It was intended to be the season premiere, but "Treehouse of Horror XIII
" was moved ahead for Halloween. This episode was heavily promoted due to its list of high-profile guest stars, and is the last episode written by Mike Scully
. This episode is also the last to be produced in traditional cel animation. 3 weeks later, "Helter Shelter
" became the last traditional cel animated episode to air.
has no money to pay for his beer and Moe will not give him any freebies. As a result, he goes around town doing alternate things to feel drunk, such as breathing thin air on top of a mountain, licking toads and giving blood. Moe feels guilty about earlier and gives Homer a free beer, but Homer is already heavily intoxicated. Moe, Lenny and Carl put Homer in taxi
to take him home. He is secretly being videotaped on a reality show called Taxicab Conversations, and what he says on tape are some unpleasant things about Marge
and the kids, as well as his dream of being a rock star. His family is not impressed with him, but soon realise that they do somewhat burden him. To make up for this, the family takes Homer to a Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp
, run by The Rolling Stones
. At the camp, Homer and a bunch of other Springfield
citizens learn about rock music, with Mick Jagger
and Keith Richards
, Elvis Costello
, Lenny Kravitz
, Tom Petty
, and Brian Setzer
. Finally, the wannabe-rockstars have a mock rock concert, with Homer as the lead guitarist and singer.
However, it does not last long as the camp was actually a one-week only camp. Homer's dream is shattered and he does not want to leave. That is, until Mick Jagger offers Homer a chance to perform at a benefit gig, the "Concert for Planet Hollywood
". Homer, excited, gets passes for his friends so they can see him at the concert. Homer is shocked when he is asked to perform the duties of a roadie. When he goes on stage to test the microphone, seeing his family and friends out there rooting for him, he sings a rock song and steals the show. This angers the rock stars, who attempt to run Homer off the stage with a big mobile fire-breathing devil's head. The devil's head goes out of control and plows into the audience.
The performers, feeling sorry about their actions, offer Homer an opportunity to perform at another benefit concert
(for the victims of the recently messed-up gig), but he declines and prefers to perform at home instead. However, at the end of the episode he replaces his car with the big devil's head (given to him by the band) using it to take Bart
and Lisa
to school, much to the fascination of the kids there. Principal Skinner then tells Homer that he is not supposed to stop his car in the school bus zone. In retaliation, Homer activates the devil's fire breath, burning off Skinner's clothes, much to the delight of the kids.
. The title of the episode, How I Spent My Strummer Vacation, is a play on words, referencing Joe Strummer
of The Clash
. The couch gag is a visual pun of the slang term, jump the shark
, which describes when a TV show has reached its creative peak and is slowly declining in quality. In addition, when the camp is over, Mick Jagger tells Homer to cheer up, "it's only rock and roll camp", and Homer responds, "but I like it." This is in reference to the Rolling Stones song "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I like It)". The songs include "Rip This Joint", "Start Me Up
", "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)", and "She's So Cold
", all by the Rolling Stones, "Are You Gonna Go My Way
" by Lenny Kravitz, "Pump It Up
" by Elvis Costello and "The Last DJ
" by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. The name of the camp is a reference to Bad Company
song Rock 'n Roll Fantasy.
named the episode her all-time favorite Simpsons episode. The same year, writers of Entertainment Weekly
listed it as the twenty-second best Simpsons episode of all time. They elaborated that "You've gotta admire a show that lands the greatest names in rock and then gives them as much respect as a brown M&M. [...] While rockers have always shone in 'Simpsons' solos, the Stones so giddily mock their hall-of-fame status it makes "Strummer" the series' Woodstock: a classic-rock show even Disco Stu could get behind." Robert Canning of IGN
in a Flashback Review gave the episode a 8.6 saying it was "Great" and also stated " In a season that I generally see as ho-hum ("Pray Anything" is the only other episode I rate highly), "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation" simply rocks". In 2007, Simon Crerar of The Times
listed Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Elvis Costello and Lenny Kravitz's performances among the thirty-three funniest cameos in the history of the show. In 2011, Kravitz revealed that his greatest achievement was the appearence on The Simpsons in the eyes of his young relatives. He explained that "To my nieces and nephews appearing on 'The Simpsons' was when I actually made it. All the other stuff doesn't count."
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
Treehouse of Horror XIII
"Treehouse of Horror XIII" is the first episode of The Simpsons fourteenth season, as well as the thirteenth Halloween episode. The episode aired on November 3, 2002, three days after Halloween...
" was moved ahead for Halloween. This episode was heavily promoted due to its list of high-profile guest stars, and is the last episode written by Mike Scully
Mike Scully
Mike Scully is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school...
. This episode is also the last to be produced in traditional cel animation. 3 weeks later, "Helter Shelter
Helter Shelter
"Helter Shelter" is the fifth episode from the fourteenth season of The Simpsons that aired December 1, 2002.-Plot:After Homer is hit by a falling metal beam at work and suffers a serious head injury, Mr. Burns smartly buys him off with tickets at a luxury sky box at a hockey game as compensation...
" became the last traditional cel animated episode to air.
Plot
On a visit to Moe's, HomerHomer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
has no money to pay for his beer and Moe will not give him any freebies. As a result, he goes around town doing alternate things to feel drunk, such as breathing thin air on top of a mountain, licking toads and giving blood. Moe feels guilty about earlier and gives Homer a free beer, but Homer is already heavily intoxicated. Moe, Lenny and Carl put Homer in taxi
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
to take him home. He is secretly being videotaped on a reality show called Taxicab Conversations, and what he says on tape are some unpleasant things about Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and the kids, as well as his dream of being a rock star. His family is not impressed with him, but soon realise that they do somewhat burden him. To make up for this, the family takes Homer to a Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp
Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp
Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp is an interactive musical event that takes place in various cities throughout the United States, London, England, and the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. The events range from 3 to 6 days. Attendees play, write and record music in a recording studio alongside famous...
, run by The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
. At the camp, Homer and a bunch of other Springfield
Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its...
citizens learn about rock music, with Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
and Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
, Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
, Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
, and Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He first found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly revival group The Stray Cats, and revitalized his career in the late 1990s with a jazz-oriented big band.-Career:Setzer was born in Massapequa, New York...
. Finally, the wannabe-rockstars have a mock rock concert, with Homer as the lead guitarist and singer.
However, it does not last long as the camp was actually a one-week only camp. Homer's dream is shattered and he does not want to leave. That is, until Mick Jagger offers Homer a chance to perform at a benefit gig, the "Concert for Planet Hollywood
Planet Hollywood
Planet Hollywood, a restaurant inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood, was launched in New York on October 22, 1991, with the backing of Hollywood stars Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.-History:...
". Homer, excited, gets passes for his friends so they can see him at the concert. Homer is shocked when he is asked to perform the duties of a roadie. When he goes on stage to test the microphone, seeing his family and friends out there rooting for him, he sings a rock song and steals the show. This angers the rock stars, who attempt to run Homer off the stage with a big mobile fire-breathing devil's head. The devil's head goes out of control and plows into the audience.
The performers, feeling sorry about their actions, offer Homer an opportunity to perform at another benefit concert
Benefit concert
A benefit concert or charity concert is a concert, show or gala featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. Such events raise both funds and public awareness to address the cause at...
(for the victims of the recently messed-up gig), but he declines and prefers to perform at home instead. However, at the end of the episode he replaces his car with the big devil's head (given to him by the band) using it to take Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
to school, much to the fascination of the kids there. Principal Skinner then tells Homer that he is not supposed to stop his car in the school bus zone. In retaliation, Homer activates the devil's fire breath, burning off Skinner's clothes, much to the delight of the kids.
Cultural references
The cab videotaping Homer is a parody of Taxicab ConfessionsTaxicab Confessions
Taxicab Confessions is a television series of hidden camera documentaries that have aired on HBO since January 1995. In segments taped in New York City and Las Vegas, the taxi drivers are also producers who steer both the vehicle and the conversations with passengers.When passengers enter the cab,...
. The title of the episode, How I Spent My Strummer Vacation, is a play on words, referencing Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
of The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
. The couch gag is a visual pun of the slang term, jump the shark
Jump the Shark
"Jump the Shark" is the 197th episode and the ninth season's fifteenth episode of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States and Canada on April 21, 2002 on Fox, and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom. It was written by executive producers...
, which describes when a TV show has reached its creative peak and is slowly declining in quality. In addition, when the camp is over, Mick Jagger tells Homer to cheer up, "it's only rock and roll camp", and Homer responds, "but I like it." This is in reference to the Rolling Stones song "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I like It)". The songs include "Rip This Joint", "Start Me Up
Start Me Up
"Start Me Up" is a song by The Rolling Stones featured on the 1981 album Tattoo You. Released as the album's lead single, it reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on the UK Singles Chart.-Writing and recording:...
", "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)", and "She's So Cold
She's So Cold
"She's So Cold" is a song recorded by The Rolling Stones, released on 19 September 1980 as the second single from the album Emotional Rescue.Recording on the song started in early 1979...
", all by the Rolling Stones, "Are You Gonna Go My Way
Are You Gonna Go My Way (song)
"Are You Gonna Go My Way" is the first single to be released by Lenny Kravitz from the album of the same name. It was released in March 1993. It was written by Lenny Kravitz and Craig Ross...
" by Lenny Kravitz, "Pump It Up
Pump It Up (Elvis Costello song)
"Pump It Up" is a song by Elvis Costello. It originally appeared on Costello's second album This Year's Model which was the first he recorded with The Attractions.- Lyrics :...
" by Elvis Costello and "The Last DJ
The Last DJ
The Last DJ is the eleventh studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The tracks "The Last DJ", "Money Becomes King", "Joe", and "Can't Stop the Sun" are attacks on the greediness of the music industry....
" by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. The name of the camp is a reference to Bad Company
Bad Company
Bad Company were an English rock supergroup founded in 1973, consisting of two former Free band members — singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke — as well as Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell. Peter Grant, who, in years prior, was a key component of...
song Rock 'n Roll Fantasy.
Reception
In 2003, Annie Alleman of The Herald NewsThe Herald News
The smaller of the two main newspapers in Massachusetts' South Coast, The Herald News is a daily newspaper based in Fall River, Massachusetts, USA...
named the episode her all-time favorite Simpsons episode. The same year, writers of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
listed it as the twenty-second best Simpsons episode of all time. They elaborated that "You've gotta admire a show that lands the greatest names in rock and then gives them as much respect as a brown M&M. [...] While rockers have always shone in 'Simpsons' solos, the Stones so giddily mock their hall-of-fame status it makes "Strummer" the series' Woodstock: a classic-rock show even Disco Stu could get behind." Robert Canning of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
in a Flashback Review gave the episode a 8.6 saying it was "Great" and also stated " In a season that I generally see as ho-hum ("Pray Anything" is the only other episode I rate highly), "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation" simply rocks". In 2007, Simon Crerar of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
listed Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Elvis Costello and Lenny Kravitz's performances among the thirty-three funniest cameos in the history of the show. In 2011, Kravitz revealed that his greatest achievement was the appearence on The Simpsons in the eyes of his young relatives. He explained that "To my nieces and nephews appearing on 'The Simpsons' was when I actually made it. All the other stuff doesn't count."
External links
- "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation" at The Simpsons.com