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Ask most people in the United States what they did as kids between the hours of 7:00am and 11:00am on Saturday mornings, and they will answer you “I turned on the TV to watch Saturday morning cartoons.” No, not everyone enjoyed this blissful weekend activity, but for the (for everyone’s sake, hopefully) majority of Americans who did, the thought of Saturday morning cartoons brings a sense of nostalgia and happiness not easily replicated by many ideas. Whether they watched Nickelodeon, the Disney Channel, Kids WB, Fox, PBS, or local TV, most people think fondly of the times when they hurried to the couch at 6:58 and caught the end of a poorly-made infomercial. Though to most people, country music seems to evoke thoughts of trucks, beer, and romance, country music makes me think of the little things in life. I think of the commonalities people of different backgrounds share with each other, and of the things that can simplify our hectic lives. Is there anything that fits that description more than Saturday morning cartoons?
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I ran down every Saturday at 6:58 to avoid missing the opening seconds of Scooby-Doo. After Scooby-Doo, and Yu-Gi-Oh!, I ran to my room to get dressed and brush my teeth. I was a Kids WB guy, but I made sure to watch Fox when Digimon came on. After one episode on Fox, I returned to WB to watch Jackie Chan’s Adventures and, of course, Pokemon. Breakfast usually came in between Digimon and Jackie Chan’s Adventures, but I made sure to sit in position to watch the show while eating.
Although my TV schedule changed several times (I’m not even sure if the one written above is 100% accurate), I always loved cartoon time. Other shows that I remember liking are Transformers, Saved by the Bell, and especially Batman Beyond, so somehow and at some point those shows made it into the Saturday morning lineup. In a world in which not everyone enjoys the taste of beer and more and more people choose to drive environmentally conscious vehicles, country music is going to have to choose whether it is the music of the people, or the music of a people. Historically, it made the switch from “hillbilly music” to “middle class music” to become something with which more people can identify. Luke Bryan even wrote a song about country music’s ruralization. Certain songs by Kenny Chesney and Kip Moore have shown the more rural side of country music, but I for one do not identify with many of their all of their ideals. I’m a die-hard patriot so I identify with Patriot songs, but even having grown up in Texas, never had to work on a farm or . George Strait once sang about passing notes in class and Darius Rucker’s “Alright” and Phil Vasser’s “Just Another Day in Paradise” very much talk about the day-to-day activities that make life worth living. A song about Saturday morning cartoons would fit right in.
I would love to hear a country song about Saturday morning cartoons! It is definitely something many people in our generation can identify with, but might not resonate the same way with younger kids who are able to watch shows whenever they want. I am definitely interested to hear what you would want to be included in a country song about Saturday morning cartoons. Would it be more of a story about a kid waking up and running downstairs or would it be more about the cartoons themselves? It could also have commentary about the changing ways we watch television similar to Brad Paisley’s “Welcome to the Future”.
This was a very unique post, and I never would have thought about writing it. I would have liked to see a little bit more about country music, but I guess you really got that in at the end. This was an interesting read none the less. You wrote about something that I really related to, but I am curious as to what it would be like if I was a reader who didn’t watch Saturday morning cartoons. I think that this bridge was kind of a stretch, but I think you completed it none the less. An interesting read is what I could really say.
Really really cool post. I definitely can relate to waking up on saturday mornings and plopping on the couch to watch cartoons. It was definitely a right of passage and even just thinking about it puts me in a good mood thinking about the simpler times. I really enjoyed how you were able to relate the memories you have of watching cartoons as a kid to the nostalgia that many people feel while listening to country music. Overall I really enjoyed this post and now really just want to go and watch some cartoons instead of finishing my homework.
This was a cool post to read! I definitely remember waking up early in the morning (mostly against my will because my brother would wake me up to watch cartoons with him) and sitting in front of the tv. It’s so different these days because most kids now (at least the ones I know), aren’t waking up at 7 0r 8am to catch cartoons. They’ll just watch things on Netflix on their tablets and call it a day. But it would be really cool to have a country song about cartoons because it would definitely portray some nostalgia of a simpler time!
This is such an interesting take on the interpretation of how country music can relate to the simplicity of cartoons. You took a good spin on the leniency of our blog post instructions and made this a one of a kind read. Nowadays, instead of Nickelodeon or Disney Channel it is all about Netflix, which still in a sense serves the same purpose. Many people watch the same shows, the popular ones act as a common ground between friends, and I think that would has stayed the same since the early days of cartoons. As a child there wasn’t much to do besides watch some SpongeBob or Scooby Doo, and it brought a topic of discussion to the cafeteria table at school. You found a unique topic that has almost been forgotten about. Nice post!