Spongebob is unironically a great case study of leitmotif. Specific music tracks were used in similar situations so often that putting several music tracks one after the other can effectively create a basic plot synopsis to an episode that doesn't exist. It's no accident that spongebob music is often used as the bgm for memes to convey a certain emotion.
Isn't leitmotif more the manipulation of a musical device, particularly melody, that tie an album or other work together? I immediately think of Undertale's OST.
@Nelson Nicholson leitmotif is defined as a recurrent musical theme that is associated with a particular concept. An entire song can still be leitmotif under certain circumstances.
The "original music vs. new music" montage gave off the same vibe as that episode where the crowd cheered for Spongebob at the talent show but went dead silent when Squidward appeared on stage lmao
Yeah, I loved the part where he compared songs that have COMPLETLEY different contexts, and used songs that were literally used twice in the whole show, yet tried to make a valid argument
One piece of sound design that I really miss is the water swooshing and bubble sounds when the charterers would run of wave their hands around. It really solidified the fact that the show took place under water.
i like it and i wasn't even a fan of the show lol. it reminds me a little bit of some of the tracks in the Hylics games (mainly New Muldul from Hylics 2)
The end credit theme’s erasure is actually kind of sad. I mean I understand why it’s gone, no one really uses DVDs or VHS’ anymore so there’s no use in having an end credit sequence, but man it kind of sucks that it’s gone forever.
On the topic of sound design, I'm surprised you haven't mentioned just how generally noisier the whole show has gotten. A lot of character movement used to be paired with light water swooshing sounds to reinforce the characters were underwater, but now there's an excess of stock sounds that pile on top of each other and give very little breathing room for any of the water ambient noises, along with characters often making little yelps and grunts with every little movement. It's gone from making things feel pretty unique to somewhat overwhelming in certain cases, and the little noises the characters keep making don't let the humorous drawings and animation speak for themselves and sometimes remove from their comedic value.
I just find it disturbing that the spinoff shows began releasing soon after Hillenberg's passing, leading me to believe he was a "hurdle" for Nickelodeon's production. Great vid as always Greg, love ya
In all fairness to Nick, it wasn’t like Stephen said “fuck spin-offs we won’t ever do any spin-offs” he just said that he wasn’t interested. That was also a 2005 interview. Also keep in mind that workers at Nickelodeon say both spin-offs were in the works before Stephen became sick. In the end, the shows still suck, so I guess it doesn’t matter. And Mr. Hillenberg isn’t alive, so we don’t know what he truly thought.
I feel like the Patrick Star Show got way too much backlash because of the change of characters. I thought it was pretty funny in my opinion. Heck, even better than most of the current episodes of the main show. Plus, the sound design and music fits well for the spinoff than the actual series.
Actually, Stephen never saw any of the spin offs. He was sick at the time, one of the people on the team of Kamp koral lied that Stephen saw the spin off. Plus, if you do some research, you'd know that if Stephen did see it. His ALS would've made it difficult for him to actually say something about the spin offs.
I think one other underrated aspect of SpongeBob‘s musical identity was the one it had outside of the show. Stephen Hillenberg was a huge fan of a lot of 90s alt rock groups, and he let that show. There are obvious examples like Ween doing the loop the loop song and letting him use ocean man in the movie, but there were other instances of him having Violent Femmes record a cover of the SpongeBob theme, and having Motörhead re-record you better run with SpongeBob centric lyrics. In an interview one time, he had stated that Nickelodeon wanted him to use a big-name artist of the time like Justin Timberlake to write the credit song for the first SpongeBob movie. His response was “I don’t like Justin Timberlake. I like Ween and The Flaming Lips, and that’s who we’re going with because this is my show.” Outside of just being a good show, it almost garnered a weird little punk rock identity that gave it legs with all of the alternative kids during that era. Nowadays when SpongeBob has a guest star it’s somebody big. So I guess that component of the shows musical identity is gone too.
Yep, this is all very true as well! I wanted to stay focused on the background music specifically, but Stephen's musical influence on the show in the original run definitely shaped a lot of its identity as well. Kind of sad to see that degrade, like how the newest SpongeBob film has a bunch of licensed pop songs in it
The spongebob movie unironically has one of yhe hardest soundtracks with motorhead, flaming lips, ween, and even twisted sister And fun fact, pantera recorded a song for the episode hibernation (aka the ep where sandy and spongebob do extreme sports before sandy goes to hibernate)
@@mothcloth815 yeah. I know SpongeBob was just this massive juggernaut of the thing even back then, but Stephen Hillenberg always had the energy of that cool cousin that you only saw maybe once or twice per year who taught you to skate and got you into all these obscure bands. Innoway it kept the show kind of grounded and made it feel like a show for everybody, completely unlike the corporate Cashcow it’s seen as now.
One aspect of SpongeBob's sound design I've never heard anyone mention was just how common echoes were used in season 1 when a character is far away or yelling loudly. It's one of my favorite details that got dropped early on as the series went on. As far as the production music aspect of this video, which is most of it, I absolutely love SpongeBob Production Music and I'm so happy to see someone finally make a video on it!
I also loved the ambient nautical sounds that also mostly were dropped after season 1 :( although S2 and 3 still feel far more nautical than anything after lol
@@GregCubed Oh snap, you're right, I remember that sound! The ambient water noises were always so calming to me. I've heard rumors that the sound is still in the show but its volume has been lowered so low that it's nearly impossible to hear... but I don't know if I believe it.
10:22 THIS track in particular I distinctly remember associating with later SpongeBob episodes as a kid and I always remember being distinctly annoyed by it. I had no idea the entire soundtrack for the show had been replaced, though. Interesting video, it was neat to see someone shine a light on this.
When i hear it I just think of how BORIIIING the later season episodes were. These tracks weren't helping with the pace of the episodes either. They sub consciously made them such a pain to sit through.
Yep I didn't know when they started using that song back when I watched seasons 5, 6, 7, and 8 on the air but I remember hating that one more than any of the others. There's just like a certain air of stupidity and events playing out that could have easily had a different outcome that I associate it with. I'm not up in arms over how things changed, but I'm glad to be validated in recognizing that something was different with the episode music after a while. It's cool to know why!
Part of me is glad the later seasons don't use the same old tracks anymore, but that's only because it makes the old seasons stand out more. If they had kept using the same tracks I think the music could've lost its charm and gotten old as using them for 12+ seasons long does that. Now they are still kinda fresh and of course nostalgic as we associate them with the old seasons.
It's ironic how many tracks from various TV music libraries that were originally made to be show/movie agnostic and aplicable for a miriade of different projects are now forever tied to Spongebob in the mind of a generation.
Yeah. I remember watching Scaredy Squirrel on Cartoon Network and hearing the music, I thought: "This is SpongeBob music.". Eventually I just thought it was CN's version of SpongeBob.
Let’s not forget the wide array of musicians to be on SpongeBob: 1) Loop de Loop by Ween 2) Pre-Hibernation by Pantera 3) Livin in the Sunlight by Tiny Tim 4) Underwater Sun by The Cramps (as the Bird Brains)
The Boo-Womp is, beyond a doubt, the best piece of sound design in any show ever. It conveys so many emotions in a single boo and then follows up with the womp, making it a true masterpiece.
@@jankington216 I can cherry pick too, I love the scene in Fools in April where Spongebob is tortured to the point of tears to Squidward’s enjoyment. I’m not denying that there are bad episodes past season 3, that is undeniable, but to immediately say that EVERYTHING after season 3 isn’t even the “actual series” is disingenuous and tells me you just listen to RUclips reviewers to make your opinions.
@@jankington216 I do respect him. Maybe more than anyone else. Which is exactly why it’s preposterous to say that everything after season 3 isn’t the “actual series” and is a MASSIVE spit in the face to Hillenburg, who had involvement in the production of the series in some way until his unfortunate passing, and even had involvement with the show up until Season 12 (which was in the writing stages before he died) AS WELL AS KAMP KORAL, which he SAW A PROTOTYPE OF AND APPROVED, so yeah, I do respect Hillenburg, you clearly do not.
Here's something interesting you may not have known. During a few episodes of season 12, a variety of different music editors were used instead of the usual one, Nick Carr. And in the eight or so episodes the substitute editors did, a TON of the original tracks (some of which hadn't been used since seasons 4 or 5) made appearances. Just listen to the soundtrack of Gary's Got Legs in particular, and point out how many old stock tracks you can recognize. A bunch of them all aired in the same week of 2019 and the SpongeBob music community was absolutely buzzing that whole week. Things returned to normal after a while, but it was nice for those few episodes to get a bit of a throwback soundtrack.
Original track names for anyone wondering 9:56 - Skipping to School 10:22 - Goofy Conversation Continued (Also known as Unknown Goofy Cue 2) 10:40 - Nautical Hijinx 2 11:04 - Tip Toe Through the Seaweed Outro - Earls Revenge
Spongebob is the reason I’m a Marine biologist today, I’m graduating in a week, and it’s because of Stephen Hillenberg’s SpongeBob. This show literally shaped my life Edit: SpongeBob didn’t prepare me for physics 2 tho lol Update updated: I graduate tomorrow, and I haven’t finished my senior thesis on penguins so I guess I’m pulling one last all nighter this week who the hell needs sleep 👌
@@Anonymouseyoutuber I barely did, I actually didn’t I failed it once lolll, it was during Covid only saving grace, we also had to go through orgo 2 my hell rn is Physics 2 and my senior thesis, which I need to present in a week and the data analysis is gonna take me 36 hours lollll who needs sleep I sure haven’t in 3 days. *edit: I think I failed orgo 2 as well lol
As someone who grew up in the 2000s on this show, for years i’ve been looking into why the new seasons are so hated. I think part of it is the overuse of saturated colors and bouncy animation. I’ve always loved the old, chill surfer music but I’ve never even considered the new music and why it factors into why the show isn’t as good anymore. The old music is definitely more appreciated because of its nostalgic quality, but it’s almost like it moved us entirely subconsciously. It’s cool that you were able to notice and explore this and bring it forward to our attention
I don't have a problem with the music, tbh. If anything, I really love how they finally used Jean Jacques Perrey music more often. (Though, The Mighty B fits well with this music a bit more, since that series had a more comedic tone.)
I personally find anytime I end up seeing a new SpongeBob episode the first thing to come to mind is the plot and writing. Some of it is on Elsagate levels if you remember what that was.
@@kootunesscrewy No like genuinely some of them have that exact same fetishy undertone. The only difference I’d say is that the quality is higher and there’s less crossovers
new spongebob bg music sounds saturated and manufactured while old spongebob music sounds chill and organic, like you can actually listen and vibe to. New spongebob music sounds like you need to be in a specific situation to fully enjoy it.
From the examples he gave i honestly couldn't tell which was which until i went back to them, the modern ones are more generic but i can still picture them distincly as spongebob, i think is less of a problem more just a downgrade
@@mlmfshjm7962 yea i agree. The new music is ok and fits spongebob but there is something so special about the original music. Both are good but if i had to choose og spongebob music for sure.
This video really sturuck a chord with me. As someone who grew up with both the early and mid seasons of the show I remember wondering why the music felt different after seasons 4. The newer compositions sounded more cartoony and almost distracted me from the overall episode. I also have multiple memories of realizing the show hadn't done a unique song in quite a while or at least not a memorable one,. The earlier seasons were full of these unique vocal tracks (Sweet victory, this grill is not a home, Very first Christmas)
Something ironic with the old vs new montage I noticed is the new music is trying so hard to be zany and fun, but they all just sound so hollow. The older music is much more fun because it’s so full of life and character. They tried to add energy, and in turn, stripped all of it away
Soundtracks and sound design should always be distinctive for any piece of media. This is especially true for cartoons. The best ones you can recognize by sound alone.
I think the big difference between the new and old music for me is that a lot of the examples you showed the newer ones are more like loops made for the Short clips they would be in, rather than a clip from a full length song. Sad to see how many of some of the best early songs have been completely phased out.
I admittedly never noticed the music change that much but I think it subconsciously added to my annoyance of the later seasons. A lot of the new songs I associate with the really bad episodes and when I hear the old ones I get a wave of nostalgia and think of all the good episodes. Ngl the credits them almost made me tear up bruh idk thinking of it as Spongebob the characters theme is really wholesome to me.
SpongeBob was the only kids show that ever made my dad lol and that sticks with me decades later. I read on the wiki that 40% of viewers were aged 18-34 in those golden years, and I went back and watched and I see why. Super funny pacing, imaginative animation, and subliminally dark themes. The music also stood out to me maybe that’s why this video was recommended. Now I think I’ll make a Surf Dusters playlist for my next study sesh
If I were to guess, Hillenberg/the early production crew were genuine fans of surf rock music, and recognized the importence its presence lent to each episode. But once it got taken over by corporate ghouls, likely attention was only paid to musical impact insofar as its marketability to kids.
it should also be noted hillenburgs taste in music had a big influence on the show’s entire existence, if it wasn’t for weens the mollusk (ocean man album for those unfamiliar) the whole show wouldn’t exist. hillenberg was a huge fan of surf rock and psychedelic rock like the beach boys and the flaming lips as well as jam bands like ween and primus. these genres had a big influence not only on the sound design of spongebob but the show as a whole. i will continue to use ween as an example as they fit perfectly. weens sense of humor can be seen (illbeit in a much more general audience friendly tone) throughout the show. the underwater nautical vibes of the mollusk in particular are a clear influence on the show. the album uses sea shanties, surf rock, Hawaiian style instrumentation, watery synths and guitars, really anything vaguely aquatic, just like spongebob. plus, hillenburg would often interject his actual favorite bands into the show, wether it be ocean man to end the first movie, the tie your shoes song (also by ween) a flaming lips song in the second movie, or a instrumental of panteras death rattle in the episode pre-hibernation.
I would love a follow-up video discussing the music choices inspired by Hillenburg's/other production members' tastes; been thinking about this a lot lately!
While a lot of the post movie music can be bland and boring, not all of it is bad. I think the track "Slide Whistle Stooges" is actually really good, it sounds goofy and silly but pulls it off in way that's not boring sounding, it's fast paced with a lot of instruments and decently complex musically.
Man you mentioning it's been 14 years since Truth or Square hit me like a truck. I can still remember being hyped for that episode's release when they were advertising it as a "Special" and being only _somewhat_ disappointed it was basically just a clipshow episode.
This was a fantastic video! Last night I went to the "Big Bubble Rave" on their OKC leg, and I realized that night just how much people who grew up with SpongeBob connect to its music. Whenever the music stopped to just play one of the Krusty Krab themes, Gary Come Home, or the Ripped Pants song, everyone in the room stopped bouncing around and sang along earnestly. It was incredible to witness. I share that experience because you are absolutely right, SpongeBob's cultural impact is rooted heavily in the music composed for the show, original or otherwise. Also I will say, don't feel like you need to apologize for coming off "crazy" when you talk about your interests in SpongeBob. Hyperfixation is awesome, and I guarantee that the people watching this are as invested in this topic as you are. Keep doing what you're doing!!
this is one of my favorite videos ive seen in a while. Theres something so special about the early spongebob aesthetic that I love, especially with how well paired the music is with the art direction. From surf rock, to calming Hawaiian vibes, sea shanties and pirate sounds and even some very out there tracks from the same time that could get mysterious or melancholic tracks like lonely stranger. It all worked to give spongebob a beautiful identity that I love and carry with me to this day.
Don’t worry, you’re not the only one who hyper-fixates on production soundtracks. I LOVE THEM TOO! I was such a freak when I was little, I had memorized the titles of all the episodes (seasons 1-3 at least, the rest was hit or miss), memorized scripts, I knew the lyrics to all the songs… I downloaded the entire soundtrack a few years back. I love SpongeBob, man. SpongeBob deserves to go down as the legend it was back then, not this husk it is now. Thank you for your video, you’re preaching real shit. P.S I’m also gonna give love to the original and commercial songs that had a lot of identity. Ween- Loop De Loop, Tiny Tim- Living in the Sunlight, Loving in the Moonlight, Doing the Sponge, Richard Myhill - Surfin Summer, Give it all You’ve Got, etc. I’ll stop rambling, Ty again.
This was weirdly nostalgic for me, as part of the unfortunate group of ‘people who grew up with SpongeBob when they aired a mixture of pre-movie and post-movie episodes’. Funnily enough, I completely forgot the tunes for most of the post-movie episodes’ songs, and this video is what it took to unrepress them!
Such a fresh look at such a stale topic. I always realized that the music is different but I didn't actively think about it until now. I think it definitely influenced my music tastes, and now that I'm a musician I can genuinely hear how much fun those guys had playing their instruments. When I hear that steel guitar I just picture the player with a smile on his face (like at 9:39). That's what makes it so great to me, the music is ALIVE! It's like their soul is singing through their instrument. Great video and rest in peace Mr. Stephen Hillenberg, we will forever appreciate you and your work🧽❤
this is a fantastic video, i genuinely have so much respect and adoration for the early Spongebob seasons. i personally consider them the absolute pinnacle of goofy children's cartoons, not just because of its perfectly unique musical direction, but also because its written for all ages and audiences, and treats it viewers with a mutual respect and understanding that theyll get the more sophisticated and multilayered jokes. im nearing 20 years old and still watch the old episodes whenever i can, they will never get old or stop being as funny as they are. truly a timeless era
Spongebob had such a unique "identity" for a show. I loved how they used their own nautical swears/euphemisms. "Holy shrimp!" "Tartar sauce!" "Fish paste!" "Fish sticks!" It makes sense that sea creatures would see terms for seafood as being very vulgar and use them, effectively, as swears. That's a detail I think most people don't notice. They know Spongebob uses sea themed expletives, but they probably don't know it's for the reason I just stated!
I always felt like SpongeBob sorta lost its ocean themed identity as it went on. Even compared to the later season three episodes the pilot feels way more foreign.
No cause I don't think it was emphasized enough A lot of the songs were from other composers yes, but a person could live their whole life without ever knowing that because the music selection was that damn good, the thematic consistency between each of the songs is so strong you'd think they were all made by the same composer but no, Hillenberg's vision for Spongebob was so strong he made connections between songs that in any other universe would have nothing to do with each other but each and every person who watched Spongebob as kids will immediately will connect The Lineman to Mermaid Man despite the song having been written as a half-time signifier in Football. Mad fucking genius istg
This articulates something I think I subconsciously knew but never actually fully realized as a child If I didn’t recognize the different art style in season 4 - onwards, id know I was watching an episode post-movie because of the soundtrack, and that’s how I knew to not watch whatever episode was airing and change the channel to CN Its so soulless sounding, it genuinely sounds like if the Minions were condensed into Hawaiian sounding music Absolutely wonderful and thoughtful video 10/10
I think one of the reasons the commercial music worked so well is because it encapsulated the feeling of the beach and the ocean. The songs were designed to fit the ocean theme. The newer songs don't really try to fit that motif anymore and just seem to try to appeal to kids who want slapstick humor.
My girlfriend and I went on a binge a year or so ago, watching SpongeBob from the beginning up until we couldn’t stomach it anymore. And let me tell you, we only got up to season 8. The show changed so much.
You should've skipped the middle seasons (seasons 6-8) and went straight into season 9 starting with "lost in bikini bottom" it gets alot better because the middle seasons were awful.
That's farther in than I would have been able to stomach. I finally turned out around season 5 or 6, but that was after years of reconciling that Spongebob would just never be as good as seasons 1-3 again.
Wow, someone who's obsessed with the Spongebob production music as much as me! I have a playlist with over 200 songs used for Spongebob that I always love listening to. It even includes songs with lyrics like Sweet Victory and Tiny Tim's Livin' in the Sunlight that I associate HEAVILY with Spongebob. I just love the variety of genres they use. Hawaiian, Surf, Maritime, Elevator, even some Heavy Metal like when Spongebob works out with Sandy or when Patrick and Spongebob prepare to go jellyfishing. Just so many amazing tastes by the sound team. Edit: I forget to mention, a lot of the music in the playlist is mostly from the early seasons. I completely agree, the music in the later seasons are very much inferior.
Theres (i think) a few songs in SpongeBob that come from the old NFL Films that aired back in the 70s and 80s, i think they mostly appeared when mermaid man and barnacle boy were introduced. The songs from the NFL Films were made specifically for the NFL Films, so ot was surprising to me when i listened to some of the old NFL films songs and managed to find some songs i already recognized from SpongeBob lmao Great vid! Keep up the good work
I've always been such a nerd about spongebob production music, and have definitely noticed this drop in musical quality as well, so seeing a video about this is awesome, sick vid!
Dude, I could listen to you ramble about the background music in a kids cartoon all day! I've never seen any video from you before, but you honestly made me care about the music in the show I grew up with more than I thought I would... I don't need therapy, I swear!
agree 100%! he's got my sub for sure, I've always loved and appreciated and focused on the music from these cartoons I watched when I was little, I also really liked fairly oddparents tracks tbh
I make music and am part of a music production class. one of our assignments was to think about our earliest musical memory and make something out of it. the only thing i could think of was the stock music from spongebob. the music is genuinely important to me as silly as it can be. i love it
It's not just the music, but even the voice acting is grating. Like Tom Kenny's post movie Spongbob is louder, higher pitched, and borderline whiny at times. I do understand that voices age, but it wasn't a gradual thing. It was immediately changed and it's evident in the first movie at times.
Now, in the current season, Tom Kenny struggles with his voice as SpongeBob due to age. SpongeBob now sounds like he's finally hitting puberty. As for Spyro, he sounds considerably off, almost as if the voice direction for SpongeBob as you mentioned before spilled over to Tom Kenny's Spyro voice, which can heard in Spyro Reignited Trilogy and Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled.
Can’t beleave I actually did find a video essay about SpongeBob soundtrack… I couldn’t beleave my eyes when I saw it 🥹 about time somebody did a video like this, loved it soo much. I pretty much needed it ❤ thank u soo much bro 🙏🏻 Greetings from Madrid, Spain 🤟🏻 keep it up pal
They also used many tracks from, of all places, NFL Films. Had no idea as a kid, but as much as I love football that music always reminds me of SpongeBob.
As much as I would agree with you, I still think there are many great modern spongebob tracks too. I do agree with some of your takes like: the new krusty krab music doesn't hold up to the original, nor the police music (though you really exagerated that) But I still like some of the new tracks: like porous pursuit I miss the old tracks too, but the new ones aren't terrible. It is a cartoon afterall. (PS. I prefer the original seasons too, I just don't think modern spongebob music is garbage)
The way they used Good-bye Samba in the episode "Suds" is one of my favorite moments from the earlier episodes. Music to Drive By is my second favorite ❤
10:22 holy fucking shit i never truly knew how pissed off this song made me as a kid until now. Also great vid man, never even realized how bad the music from season 4 onwards was when i was younger. Watching this and viewing your words about this as an adult makes me appreciate seasons 1-3's music more now. Those side by side comparisons rlly have a great example of the contrast between old sb and newer sb
This is amazing. I've always wondered this myself but never deep dived it... Also thanks for making me feel old at 13:29. I remember when that came out like it was yesterday. Damn
I never really realized, but SpongeBob is the only show/cartoon I know where you can show me a background track and 9/10 times I can tell you where the setting is and what's happening. Namely with the location themes like the Krusty Krab or Goo Lagoon. Kinda crazy if you think about it.
Fantastic video! I'm surprised you didn't mention just how much time was dedicated to original music numbers during those original three seasons, especially the first two. To name a few: Ripped Pants, the Stadium Rave from Jellyfish Jam, Sandy's Texas song, Loop de Loop, This Grill is Not a Home... Sweet Victory! Hell, when the pilot episode had a licensed musical number in the form of Living in the Sunlight by Tiny Tim, you know it's integral to the show's DNA.
As a member of the SpongeBob community, I can confirm that when old production music comes back in newer episodes, it's a very exciting moment that you will tell your grandkids when your older. LOL Fantastic video!!
Also don't forget the apparent genuine love for harder rock, in the earlier episodes and movie, like Sweet Victory and the Pentera 'cameo'. When the Goofy Goober rock blasted at the end of the first movie, it really felt like a fitting finale and a nod to that always shown love.
Great video, although I would like to add that in some cases the lack of authentic music in later seasons isn't fully the fault of the show. The Surfdusters tracks in particular were taken off the main music libraries (APM & CPM) used for the show sometime in Season 6, making them unusable going forward, which is why they haven't been used since then. This also applies to many (but not all) of the iconic Krusty Krab tracks, with some tracks like "Oyster Girls" being removed as early on as Season 2. I agree with you that the sound design has suffered in recent years, but it's not fully the fault of the show. Solid analysis though, I wish more people would talk about the background music in the show because it's a very important factor.
I found an old DECCA record album. Simple put a book full of 78s (first mainstream record discs) and it was Hawaiian music from the 1940s. I played the discs on my gramophone and my first reaction was “this sounds like something from SpongeBob!” Which shows how important music choice is for a show.
The premade hawaiian music really stood out to me as a kid and still does today to the point where when I got a vinyl record of hawaiian music from the 60s, my first thought was "This would be perfect for a Spongebob episode". It's kinda up there with the production music used in Ren and Stimpy in terms of how iconic it is.
Great video! As someone who also is into the SpongeBob music, I was very impressed with the presentation. The only thing that’s usually written incorrectly by most sources is the Surfdusters album. Save The Waves is a 2011 compilation album. The music is taken from various Surfdusters releases, but it’s a pretty irrelevant detail. Keep up the great work!
I think the difference between the old tracks and the new tracks is they feel composed. It's clear that they're written by film composers, people who are used to writing music that's meant to blend into the background. Because of that, the music sounds similar to other film and tv soundtrack incidental music. You can tell the pastiche is there, but hearing a pastiche after experiencing the real thing is never gonna be the same. Conversely, the old music stood out so much because it wasn't written to blend into the background at all. It feels a bit more diagetic because of that, and stands out way more. Also, doesn't hurt that it was played along iconic episodes, I'm sure we wouldn't all remember those songs as well if they were all introduced post-movie.
Wow!! I've always loved the original spongebob soundtrack (especially being a surf rock fan) and it was really interesting to hear about where the original songs came from!! I was totally shocked that the newer episodes haven't used them in so long!! Thank you for gathering all this info into such a well put together video :)
The credits theme is severely underappreciated, in season one it was THE prelude to Spongebob's tomfoolery. The most memorable appearance for me was in episode 4, the one where Squidward ingests a fork, you know the one, it plays right as he starts observing Spongebob and Patrick's literal speech bubbles shenanigans. That moment and its sound design has stuck with me for years and i feel it defines perfectly what Spongebob is.
Awesome video! As someone whose childhood television consumption was almost entirely Nick/Spongebob and NFL/NFL Films, I wanted to mention that a lot of the iconic background music that was not mentioned here, were actually from old NFL Films soundtracks, mostly composed by Sam Spence. So songs that my dad grew up watching under the voice of John Facenda on NFL Films, I also grew up with watching Spongebob too. 'Ramblin' Man From Gramblin', The Lineman, West Side Rumble, Up She Rises, and even more; all iconic songs that Spongebob fans would instantly recognize, are also remembered by a generation of football fans.
I’m SO glad to see someone talking about this in such depth. I love soundtracks, and SpongeBob’s has always been one of my favorites. Somehow, I get the feeling I could have a really in-depth conversation with you about this sort of thing! ^_^
The Surfdusters Save the Waves compilation album came out in 2011 (not 1989, that's the year the band formed). The album has all their songs used in the show aside from one, that being Sharkskin. It even references the fact that many of the songs are featured in the show on the back of the CD. All the songs used in the show do appear between 2 albums of theirs, Raincoast Rumble (1996), and Surf After Dark (1998). The music of SpongeBob is very important to me, and I have a substantial collection of production music CDs that have songs used in the series. This is still a great video and I'm glad to hear somebody talking about the music in such a way. PS Ren & Stimpy is probably the only other show that really compares to SpongeBob in terms of musical identity. Many of the songs used in SpongeBob were first used in Ren & Stimpy.
I think it isn’t fair for the one at 9:56 to be lumped in with the rest. It still retains the nautical theme and serves its purpose. I still think SpongeBob when I hear it vs the other late stage SpongeBob tracks
you talk about your interest in this being unhinged but I promise you, you’re not the only one who’s felt this way. thank you for doing the research for us & presenting it so concisely bc YOURE RIGHT. im sure a lot of us, myself included, would’ve watched this vid even if it was twice as long!
Thanks for this video again. I find myself randomly trawling through old SpongeBob music, and it’s pretty amazing I can remember most of the episodes that had a particular music playing on.
Early SpongeBob, like Hey Arnold or Samurai Jack, is just a show that oozes with vibe. With how fast-action. in-your-face, and instant some children shows can be in my childhood (and I ate it all up to be fair) Early SpongeBob is a show I saw and just get magnetized to for half an hour. It plays by its pace, lets you soak in every audio and visual, and takes you in with it. It doesn't need your attention, it earns your attention. Something most shows, or hell even most content creators, seem to never understand.
This is a great video! Now you’ve got me thinking bout other shows with good background music design and how they’re similar or different to SpongeBob! The main two shows with bgm I can hum or play on piano from memory would be the original seasons of both Pokémon and scooby doo. Pokémon and SpongeBob have a similar strategy of using preestablished songs, although where SpongeBob directly samples them, Pokémon does upscale arrangements of the songs from the games. Most of which playing at points where they would in the games, while later being repurposed for other fitting moments as the plots diverged. Scooby doo is as far as I know originally composed for the show, but most of the tracks are extremely short (SpongeBob has ~1 minute loops, scooby doo only does around 30 seconds). However, almost all of the tracks use the same one or two leitmotifs, at different tempos, with different instruments, etc. but none overstepping the general groovy sixties instrumentation the show was going for. (Also fun fact the gang was originally going to be a band in the same line as the Archies, and scooby was originally a sheepdog who played the bongos). Shows that pick a vibe and stick with it tend to be the most successful
Imo, I personally find the original tracks pretty good. Especially stuff like Honolulu Choo Choo and South Pacific Smile. And there are reasons why Nostalgic Hawaii and all of the pre movie Krusty krabs tracks got replaced.
S4 is unwatchable? Lost mattress? Krusty towers? Where Gary? Dunces and dragons? Fear of a kraby patty? Shell of a man? Mrs puff you're fired? Patrick smart pants? Krabs vs. Plankton? Ghost host? Skill crane? Mm&bb VI? Enemy in law? New leaf? Selling out? However I agree with the rest of the video.
I forget what I said in the video at this point but you're right it's not unwatchable lol, I do however think it's incredibly noticeable most of the show's soul was gone at that point. There's a creative consistency to the original run that was gone after the movie, most of those episodes you listed are fine children's television but they don't really transcend it the way the original seasons did.
@@GregCubed yeah you're right, I think the only reason s4 was good, is because most or all those episodes I listed were made for and during s3, and for whatever reason weren't used. Thank u for your video btw
@@7Kazi7Nah, season 3's production was done for a while when season 4 started, season 3 even got extended a few times to cover the hiatus of the series
@@darealepic I meant it feels like it's meant to be part of s3, cause the ep quality is nearly identical, (and the music🤭) though obv the animation is very different
I think the main difference, in my opinion, between the old Spongebob tracks and the new ones is that the old ones felt more *ambient* and *experimental* as well as having more emphasis on the chill vibes which definitely matched the feel of the pre-movie seasons, especially Season One since it was pretty much the foundation of the show's universe. Hillenburg really had a raw vision for the show which the music that accompanied each episode truly demonstrated. The new tracks in the later seasons really do feel too zany and cartoony, which, yeah I know, it _is_ a cartoon, but also it kinda feels... samey? Idk how to explain it, but when you hear a new track, it just kinda feels empty, as if the sole purpose of it is to just play over a scene in an episode rather than putting more emphasis on the vibe of the environment in the scene. (idk if i said it correctly lmao)
NGL the new music is still pretty good imo. While different, the music team was clearly skilled. The vibe is different, but not necessarily "bad". I personally appreciate goofy sounding music just as much as charming/more chill music.
Glad to know I'm not the only one frustrated by how the police theme changed after Season 6, I'm also always like "come on horn section, where are you!?"
This is a fantastic video, and one we've been needing for a very long time now. Though I'm surprised you didn't mention Gregor F. Narholz, one of the pillars of the SpongeBob SquarePants Score, with songs from the 1950's to the early 2000's if you count the (and in my eyes the only) movie.
This is a really interesting and fun video, and I came in agreeing that a lot of the old music was really good and sad to see it leave, but as someone who grew up with the post movie seasons just as much as the original seasons, when you directly compared the old vs new I actually think I recognized the new tracks more than the old ones and was more nostalgic for them, associating them with spongebob more, so thats interesting to say the least
First time visiting here and I didn’t realize that Dougie from The Curse had a RUclips channel. Jokes aside, I really appreciate the discussion on this topic! I went to college in southeastern Idaho and the winters in the area are pretty brutal, so once it started getting nice out, it was always a big deal. One one such occasion when we had our first sunny day in a while, I opened up the windows at my shared apartment, let the sun in, and put on a playlist of the music from those first three seasons. My roommates came home later in the day and we all ended up just vibing together in the living room for a little bit. Really shows you how thought out the usage of those tracks were!
Spongebob is unironically a great case study of leitmotif. Specific music tracks were used in similar situations so often that putting several music tracks one after the other can effectively create a basic plot synopsis to an episode that doesn't exist. It's no accident that spongebob music is often used as the bgm for memes to convey a certain emotion.
Ye
Isn't leitmotif more the manipulation of a musical device, particularly melody, that tie an album or other work together? I immediately think of Undertale's OST.
@Nelson Nicholson leitmotif is defined as a recurrent musical theme that is associated with a particular concept. An entire song can still be leitmotif under certain circumstances.
Basically why Undertale and Deltarune won indie games due to the writing and music writing
@@theotherjared9824so like when people use Freebird for " full send it" moments?
The "original music vs. new music" montage gave off the same vibe as that episode where the crowd cheered for Spongebob at the talent show but went dead silent when Squidward appeared on stage lmao
📠
📠
📠📠
:steel:sting:
Yeah, I loved the part where he compared songs that have COMPLETLEY different contexts, and used songs that were literally used twice in the whole show, yet tried to make a valid argument
One piece of sound design that I really miss is the water swooshing and bubble sounds when the charterers would run of wave their hands around. It really solidified the fact that the show took place under water.
They still use those sounds, lol.
One Piece?
@@SunnyyDayzz no, moby dick we're talking about here dude try to keep up 👎
@@SunnyyDayzzlol
ONE PIECE??????
The SpongeBob Closing theme is a beautiful composition. I’ve been obsessed with it’s vibe since I was a little kid.
i like it and i wasn't even a fan of the show lol. it reminds me a little bit of some of the tracks in the Hylics games (mainly New Muldul from Hylics 2)
Always a surprise when it'd pop up in the episode itself as well.
And I
@@Trolling4Jesus i dna
Idk why but it always gave me an eerie vibe, like not Silent Hill levels of eerie but I remember not liking the song too much as a child lol
The end credit theme’s erasure is actually kind of sad. I mean I understand why it’s gone, no one really uses DVDs or VHS’ anymore so there’s no use in having an end credit sequence, but man it kind of sucks that it’s gone forever.
It’s still in episodes on On Demand
I still buy DVDs, and so should you. Physical media is important if you do not want to let the past die! Some really do still use DVDs.
i would use vhs’s if I had a player
@@Adamkalb1 exactly!
@@Adamkalb1 I do too, always makes me happy when I get a new box set or when I go to the thrift store!
On the topic of sound design, I'm surprised you haven't mentioned just how generally noisier the whole show has gotten. A lot of character movement used to be paired with light water swooshing sounds to reinforce the characters were underwater, but now there's an excess of stock sounds that pile on top of each other and give very little breathing room for any of the water ambient noises, along with characters often making little yelps and grunts with every little movement. It's gone from making things feel pretty unique to somewhat overwhelming in certain cases, and the little noises the characters keep making don't let the humorous drawings and animation speak for themselves and sometimes remove from their comedic value.
I forgot the show was set underwater.
it was such a chill show just chill underwater vibes but they fucked it up!
The sound design in ur games did cartoony noise better than the latest SpongeBob seasons imo
Tiktok generation moment. Gotta have the goofy ahh sound effects to get clipped and shared online and hopefully go viral
im so glad someone else is bringing this up😭😭
I just find it disturbing that the spinoff shows began releasing soon after Hillenberg's passing, leading me to believe he was a "hurdle" for Nickelodeon's production. Great vid as always Greg, love ya
In all fairness to Nick, it wasn’t like Stephen said “fuck spin-offs we won’t ever do any spin-offs” he just said that he wasn’t interested. That was also a 2005 interview. Also keep in mind that workers at Nickelodeon say both spin-offs were in the works before Stephen became sick. In the end, the shows still suck, so I guess it doesn’t matter. And Mr. Hillenberg isn’t alive, so we don’t know what he truly thought.
@@Beavis-ej3ny I heard somewhere that Stephen Hillenburg was actually shown an early version of Kamp Koral
I feel like the Patrick Star Show got way too much backlash because of the change of characters.
I thought it was pretty funny in my opinion. Heck, even better than most of the current episodes of the main show. Plus, the sound design and music fits well for the spinoff than the actual series.
@@kootunesscrewy Same! People should give it a chance
Actually, Stephen never saw any of the spin offs. He was sick at the time, one of the people on the team of Kamp koral lied that Stephen saw the spin off. Plus, if you do some research, you'd know that if Stephen did see it. His ALS would've made it difficult for him to actually say something about the spin offs.
I think one other underrated aspect of SpongeBob‘s musical identity was the one it had outside of the show. Stephen Hillenberg was a huge fan of a lot of 90s alt rock groups, and he let that show. There are obvious examples like Ween doing the loop the loop song and letting him use ocean man in the movie, but there were other instances of him having Violent Femmes record a cover of the SpongeBob theme, and having Motörhead re-record you better run with SpongeBob centric lyrics. In an interview one time, he had stated that Nickelodeon wanted him to use a big-name artist of the time like Justin Timberlake to write the credit song for the first SpongeBob movie. His response was “I don’t like Justin Timberlake. I like Ween and The Flaming Lips, and that’s who we’re going with because this is my show.” Outside of just being a good show, it almost garnered a weird little punk rock identity that gave it legs with all of the alternative kids during that era. Nowadays when SpongeBob has a guest star it’s somebody big. So I guess that component of the shows musical identity is gone too.
Yep, this is all very true as well! I wanted to stay focused on the background music specifically, but Stephen's musical influence on the show in the original run definitely shaped a lot of its identity as well. Kind of sad to see that degrade, like how the newest SpongeBob film has a bunch of licensed pop songs in it
Hillenberg basically telling nickelodeon to fuck off and that they wouldnt use justin timberlake because it was his show. Rip to a legend ❤.
The spongebob movie unironically has one of yhe hardest soundtracks with motorhead, flaming lips, ween, and even twisted sister
And fun fact, pantera recorded a song for the episode hibernation (aka the ep where sandy and spongebob do extreme sports before sandy goes to hibernate)
The Flaming Lips are so good thanks for the info
@@mothcloth815 yeah. I know SpongeBob was just this massive juggernaut of the thing even back then, but Stephen Hillenberg always had the energy of that cool cousin that you only saw maybe once or twice per year who taught you to skate and got you into all these obscure bands. Innoway it kept the show kind of grounded and made it feel like a show for everybody, completely unlike the corporate Cashcow it’s seen as now.
9:38 One of the greatest travesties of SpongeBob in general is how they've only used this song like twice. Its one of my favorites.
Yeah same here, it's only been used 3 times across 2 episodes but it's such a pleasant listen
@@GregCubed Title card of Home Sweet Pineapple, classic montage of SpongeBob and Patrick building SpongeBob's new home, and the iconic MORE scene.
It’s such a banger
🔨😃
🤚🏼🔨😫 OWWWWW
🤚🏼🔨😫 OW
🤚🏼🔨😫 OOOOWWWWW
Can someone says it’s name
One aspect of SpongeBob's sound design I've never heard anyone mention was just how common echoes were used in season 1 when a character is far away or yelling loudly. It's one of my favorite details that got dropped early on as the series went on.
As far as the production music aspect of this video, which is most of it, I absolutely love SpongeBob Production Music and I'm so happy to see someone finally make a video on it!
I also loved the ambient nautical sounds that also mostly were dropped after season 1 :( although S2 and 3 still feel far more nautical than anything after lol
@@GregCubed Oh snap, you're right, I remember that sound! The ambient water noises were always so calming to me. I've heard rumors that the sound is still in the show but its volume has been lowered so low that it's nearly impossible to hear... but I don't know if I believe it.
“AM I THE BIGGEST LOSER ON THE BEACH???”
@@mrpizza_5139 I can practically HEAR that line and its echo in my head.
MR KRAABS! I WANNA GO TO BEEEDDD!
10:22 THIS track in particular I distinctly remember associating with later SpongeBob episodes as a kid and I always remember being distinctly annoyed by it. I had no idea the entire soundtrack for the show had been replaced, though. Interesting video, it was neat to see someone shine a light on this.
When i hear it I just think of how BORIIIING the later season episodes were. These tracks weren't helping with the pace of the episodes either. They sub consciously made them such a pain to sit through.
Yep I didn't know when they started using that song back when I watched seasons 5, 6, 7, and 8 on the air but I remember hating that one more than any of the others. There's just like a certain air of stupidity and events playing out that could have easily had a different outcome that I associate it with. I'm not up in arms over how things changed, but I'm glad to be validated in recognizing that something was different with the episode music after a while. It's cool to know why!
It sounds like a fucking baby cartoon show on nick jr soundtrack.
Same I always think this I'm glad someone else commented this, also the one at 10:40
It sounds like my stomach after Taco Bell
Part of me is glad the later seasons don't use the same old tracks anymore, but that's only because it makes the old seasons stand out more. If they had kept using the same tracks I think the music could've lost its charm and gotten old as using them for 12+ seasons long does that. Now they are still kinda fresh and of course nostalgic as we associate them with the old seasons.
It's ironic how many tracks from various TV music libraries that were originally made to be show/movie agnostic and aplicable for a miriade of different projects are now forever tied to Spongebob in the mind of a generation.
True
I’ll say! When I found out that the iconic “Now That We’re Men” song from the movie is a straight-up APM track they put lyrics over… my mind exploded
Yeah. I remember watching Scaredy Squirrel on Cartoon Network and hearing the music, I thought: "This is SpongeBob music.". Eventually I just thought it was CN's version of SpongeBob.
Let’s not forget the wide array of musicians to be on SpongeBob:
1) Loop de Loop by Ween
2) Pre-Hibernation by Pantera
3) Livin in the Sunlight by Tiny Tim
4) Underwater Sun by The Cramps (as the Bird Brains)
underwater sun is such a fucking bop
We’ve Got Scurvy by P!nk is another great example!
@@goobert5485what sucks is that she doesnt like the song
Who did "Back in Encino"?
@@jackpijjin4088Nicolas Carr and Steve Marston completely wrote and performed the song.
The Boo-Womp is, beyond a doubt, the best piece of sound design in any show ever. It conveys so many emotions in a single boo and then follows up with the womp, making it a true masterpiece.
Ween's "Ocean Man" and the rest of their The Mollusk album helped inspire the show, and it's the last thing you hear from the actual series
“Actual series”
The first three seasons are the best ones, but let’s not act like there are no good episodes afterward. Grow up.
@@thepsycheduck you're right, the squidward toenail scene was dope
@@jankington216 I can cherry pick too, I love the scene in Fools in April where Spongebob is tortured to the point of tears to Squidward’s enjoyment.
I’m not denying that there are bad episodes past season 3, that is undeniable, but to immediately say that EVERYTHING after season 3 isn’t even the “actual series” is disingenuous and tells me you just listen to RUclips reviewers to make your opinions.
@@thepsycheduck You just can't get over the fact that people respect stephen hillenburg as the writer of the show.
@@jankington216 I do respect him. Maybe more than anyone else. Which is exactly why it’s preposterous to say that everything after season 3 isn’t the “actual series” and is a MASSIVE spit in the face to Hillenburg, who had involvement in the production of the series in some way until his unfortunate passing, and even had involvement with the show up until Season 12 (which was in the writing stages before he died) AS WELL AS KAMP KORAL, which he SAW A PROTOTYPE OF AND APPROVED, so yeah, I do respect Hillenburg, you clearly do not.
Here's something interesting you may not have known. During a few episodes of season 12, a variety of different music editors were used instead of the usual one, Nick Carr. And in the eight or so episodes the substitute editors did, a TON of the original tracks (some of which hadn't been used since seasons 4 or 5) made appearances. Just listen to the soundtrack of Gary's Got Legs in particular, and point out how many old stock tracks you can recognize. A bunch of them all aired in the same week of 2019 and the SpongeBob music community was absolutely buzzing that whole week. Things returned to normal after a while, but it was nice for those few episodes to get a bit of a throwback soundtrack.
Yeah
They should rehire them if they haven’t already! At least when they make a new amazing modern episode like ‘My Leg!’
hmmm
that name in the second sentence is sus
@@BinglesP they shouldn’t, their editing sounded sloppy and a lot of music usages did not fit the scenes they played in
Original track names for anyone wondering
9:56 - Skipping to School
10:22 - Goofy Conversation Continued (Also known as Unknown Goofy Cue 2)
10:40 - Nautical Hijinx 2
11:04 - Tip Toe Through the Seaweed
Outro - Earls Revenge
Ignore the 1 in-front of Goofy Conversation Continued it’s supposed to be a - but I don’t feel like editing the comment
9:56 is called Skipping to School
@@flashdawnx I always mix them up for what ever reason
Do you have 10:50?
Do you have 10:50?
Spongebob is the reason I’m a Marine biologist today, I’m graduating in a week, and it’s because of Stephen Hillenberg’s SpongeBob. This show literally shaped my life
Edit: SpongeBob didn’t prepare me for physics 2 tho lol
Update updated: I graduate tomorrow, and I haven’t finished my senior thesis on penguins so I guess I’m pulling one last all nighter this week who the hell needs sleep 👌
that was the intention last i recall :)
congrats !!!
I want to go into marine biology
Bro Im doing the same thing, how'd you get thru Orgo? 😂
@@Anonymouseyoutuber I barely did, I actually didn’t I failed it once lolll, it was during Covid only saving grace, we also had to go through orgo 2 my hell rn is Physics 2 and my senior thesis, which I need to present in a week and the data analysis is gonna take me 36 hours lollll who needs sleep I sure haven’t in 3 days.
*edit: I think I failed orgo 2 as well lol
The fact that the old stock music is so recognizable to me that I can instantly imagine the scenes in which they were used.
As someone who grew up in the 2000s on this show, for years i’ve been looking into why the new seasons are so hated. I think part of it is the overuse of saturated colors and bouncy animation. I’ve always loved the old, chill surfer music but I’ve never even considered the new music and why it factors into why the show isn’t as good anymore. The old music is definitely more appreciated because of its nostalgic quality, but it’s almost like it moved us entirely subconsciously. It’s cool that you were able to notice and explore this and bring it forward to our attention
I don't have a problem with the music, tbh.
If anything, I really love how they finally used Jean Jacques Perrey music more often. (Though, The Mighty B fits well with this music a bit more, since that series had a more comedic tone.)
I personally find anytime I end up seeing a new SpongeBob episode the first thing to come to mind is the plot and writing. Some of it is on Elsagate levels if you remember what that was.
@@Emery_Pallas I wouldn't put wacky cartoons with Elsagate.
Elsagate is something else...
@@kootunesscrewy No like genuinely some of them have that exact same fetishy undertone. The only difference I’d say is that the quality is higher and there’s less crossovers
@@Emery_Pallas I see it more in the way of Zig and Sharko, Larva or Pencilmation to me. But I respect you
new spongebob bg music sounds saturated and manufactured while old spongebob music sounds chill and organic, like you can actually listen and vibe to. New spongebob music sounds like you need to be in a specific situation to fully enjoy it.
From the examples he gave i honestly couldn't tell which was which until i went back to them, the modern ones are more generic but i can still picture them distincly as spongebob, i think is less of a problem more just a downgrade
@@mlmfshjm7962 yea i agree. The new music is ok and fits spongebob but there is something so special about the original music. Both are good but if i had to choose og spongebob music for sure.
I can't tell which one is old and which one is new.
This video really sturuck a chord with me. As someone who grew up with both the early and mid seasons of the show I remember wondering why the music felt different after seasons 4. The newer compositions sounded more cartoony and almost distracted me from the overall episode. I also have multiple memories of realizing the show hadn't done a unique song in quite a while or at least not a memorable one,. The earlier seasons were full of these unique vocal tracks (Sweet victory, this grill is not a home, Very first Christmas)
haha, "chord"
haha, “chord”
Something ironic with the old vs new montage I noticed is the new music is trying so hard to be zany and fun, but they all just sound so hollow. The older music is much more fun because it’s so full of life and character. They tried to add energy, and in turn, stripped all of it away
Soundtracks and sound design should always be distinctive for any piece of media. This is especially true for cartoons. The best ones you can recognize by sound alone.
I think the big difference between the new and old music for me is that a lot of the examples you showed the newer ones are more like loops made for the Short clips they would be in, rather than a clip from a full length song.
Sad to see how many of some of the best early songs have been completely phased out.
i think you really hit the nail on the head with this
I admittedly never noticed the music change that much but I think it subconsciously added to my annoyance of the later seasons. A lot of the new songs I associate with the really bad episodes and when I hear the old ones I get a wave of nostalgia and think of all the good episodes. Ngl the credits them almost made me tear up bruh idk thinking of it as Spongebob the characters theme is really wholesome to me.
SpongeBob was the only kids show that ever made my dad lol and that sticks with me decades later. I read on the wiki that 40% of viewers were aged 18-34 in those golden years, and I went back and watched and I see why. Super funny pacing, imaginative animation, and subliminally dark themes. The music also stood out to me maybe that’s why this video was recommended. Now I think I’ll make a Surf Dusters playlist for my next study sesh
If I were to guess, Hillenberg/the early production crew were genuine fans of surf rock music, and recognized the importence its presence lent to each episode.
But once it got taken over by corporate ghouls, likely attention was only paid to musical impact insofar as its marketability to kids.
it should also be noted hillenburgs taste in music had a big influence on the show’s entire existence, if it wasn’t for weens the mollusk (ocean man album for those unfamiliar) the whole show wouldn’t exist. hillenberg was a huge fan of surf rock and psychedelic rock like the beach boys and the flaming lips as well as jam bands like ween and primus. these genres had a big influence not only on the sound design of spongebob but the show as a whole. i will continue to use ween as an example as they fit perfectly. weens sense of humor can be seen (illbeit in a much more general audience friendly tone) throughout the show. the underwater nautical vibes of the mollusk in particular are a clear influence on the show. the album uses sea shanties, surf rock, Hawaiian style instrumentation, watery synths and guitars, really anything vaguely aquatic, just like spongebob. plus, hillenburg would often interject his actual favorite bands into the show, wether it be ocean man to end the first movie, the tie your shoes song (also by ween) a flaming lips song in the second movie, or a instrumental of panteras death rattle in the episode pre-hibernation.
I would love a follow-up video discussing the music choices inspired by Hillenburg's/other production members' tastes; been thinking about this a lot lately!
I think the flaming lips song was in the 1st movie
While a lot of the post movie music can be bland and boring, not all of it is bad. I think the track "Slide Whistle Stooges" is actually really good, it sounds goofy and silly but pulls it off in way that's not boring sounding, it's fast paced with a lot of instruments and decently complex musically.
Man you mentioning it's been 14 years since Truth or Square hit me like a truck.
I can still remember being hyped for that episode's release when they were advertising it as a "Special" and being only _somewhat_ disappointed it was basically just a clipshow episode.
This was a fantastic video! Last night I went to the "Big Bubble Rave" on their OKC leg, and I realized that night just how much people who grew up with SpongeBob connect to its music. Whenever the music stopped to just play one of the Krusty Krab themes, Gary Come Home, or the Ripped Pants song, everyone in the room stopped bouncing around and sang along earnestly. It was incredible to witness. I share that experience because you are absolutely right, SpongeBob's cultural impact is rooted heavily in the music composed for the show, original or otherwise.
Also I will say, don't feel like you need to apologize for coming off "crazy" when you talk about your interests in SpongeBob. Hyperfixation is awesome, and I guarantee that the people watching this are as invested in this topic as you are. Keep doing what you're doing!!
this is one of my favorite videos ive seen in a while. Theres something so special about the early spongebob aesthetic that I love, especially with how well paired the music is with the art direction. From surf rock, to calming Hawaiian vibes, sea shanties and pirate sounds and even some very out there tracks from the same time that could get mysterious or melancholic tracks like lonely stranger. It all worked to give spongebob a beautiful identity that I love and carry with me to this day.
Don’t worry, you’re not the only one who hyper-fixates on production soundtracks. I LOVE THEM TOO! I was such a freak when I was little, I had memorized the titles of all the episodes (seasons 1-3 at least, the rest was hit or miss), memorized scripts, I knew the lyrics to all the songs… I downloaded the entire soundtrack a few years back. I love SpongeBob, man. SpongeBob deserves to go down as the legend it was back then, not this husk it is now. Thank you for your video, you’re preaching real shit.
P.S I’m also gonna give love to the original and commercial songs that had a lot of identity. Ween- Loop De Loop, Tiny Tim- Living in the Sunlight, Loving in the Moonlight, Doing the Sponge, Richard Myhill - Surfin Summer, Give it all You’ve Got, etc. I’ll stop rambling, Ty again.
This was weirdly nostalgic for me, as part of the unfortunate group of ‘people who grew up with SpongeBob when they aired a mixture of pre-movie and post-movie episodes’. Funnily enough, I completely forgot the tunes for most of the post-movie episodes’ songs, and this video is what it took to unrepress them!
Such a fresh look at such a stale topic. I always realized that the music is different but I didn't actively think about it until now. I think it definitely influenced my music tastes, and now that I'm a musician I can genuinely hear how much fun those guys had playing their instruments.
When I hear that steel guitar I just picture the player with a smile on his face (like at 9:39). That's what makes it so great to me, the music is ALIVE! It's like their soul is singing through their instrument.
Great video and rest in peace Mr. Stephen Hillenberg, we will forever appreciate you and your work🧽❤
The new background music might try using similar instruments but are WAY less nautical sounding, that's what it feels like
this is a fantastic video, i genuinely have so much respect and adoration for the early Spongebob seasons. i personally consider them the absolute pinnacle of goofy children's cartoons, not just because of its perfectly unique musical direction, but also because its written for all ages and audiences, and treats it viewers with a mutual respect and understanding that theyll get the more sophisticated and multilayered jokes. im nearing 20 years old and still watch the old episodes whenever i can, they will never get old or stop being as funny as they are. truly a timeless era
Spongebob had such a unique "identity" for a show. I loved how they used their own nautical swears/euphemisms.
"Holy shrimp!"
"Tartar sauce!"
"Fish paste!"
"Fish sticks!"
It makes sense that sea creatures would see terms for seafood as being very vulgar and use them, effectively, as swears. That's a detail I think most people don't notice. They know Spongebob uses sea themed expletives, but they probably don't know it's for the reason I just stated!
Barnacles is now forever in my "holy shit-ish" vocabulary
That's Smurfed Up
The coolest thing for me about old spongebob is seeing C.H. Greenblatt the creator of chowder in the opening credits.
Honestly same, he wrote/boarded a lot of the best episodes too (including Band Geeks)
I always felt like SpongeBob sorta lost its ocean themed identity as it went on. Even compared to the later season three episodes the pilot feels way more foreign.
No cause I don't think it was emphasized enough
A lot of the songs were from other composers yes, but a person could live their whole life without ever knowing that because the music selection was that damn good, the thematic consistency between each of the songs is so strong you'd think they were all made by the same composer but no, Hillenberg's vision for Spongebob was so strong he made connections between songs that in any other universe would have nothing to do with each other but each and every person who watched Spongebob as kids will immediately will connect The Lineman to Mermaid Man despite the song having been written as a half-time signifier in Football. Mad fucking genius istg
THANK YOU, I remember noticing this as a kid and wondered how apparent this was to everyone!!! Thank you for bringing this to further light!
This articulates something I think I subconsciously knew but never actually fully realized as a child
If I didn’t recognize the different art style in season 4 - onwards, id know I was watching an episode post-movie because of the soundtrack, and that’s how I knew to not watch whatever episode was airing and change the channel to CN
Its so soulless sounding, it genuinely sounds like if the Minions were condensed into Hawaiian sounding music
Absolutely wonderful and thoughtful video 10/10
I think one of the reasons the commercial music worked so well is because it encapsulated the feeling of the beach and the ocean. The songs were designed to fit the ocean theme. The newer songs don't really try to fit that motif anymore and just seem to try to appeal to kids who want slapstick humor.
My girlfriend and I went on a binge a year or so ago, watching SpongeBob from the beginning up until we couldn’t stomach it anymore. And let me tell you, we only got up to season 8. The show changed so much.
You should've skipped the middle seasons (seasons 6-8) and went straight into season 9 starting with "lost in bikini bottom" it gets alot better because the middle seasons were awful.
That's farther in than I would have been able to stomach. I finally turned out around season 5 or 6, but that was after years of reconciling that Spongebob would just never be as good as seasons 1-3 again.
Wow, someone who's obsessed with the Spongebob production music as much as me! I have a playlist with over 200 songs used for Spongebob that I always love listening to. It even includes songs with lyrics like Sweet Victory and Tiny Tim's Livin' in the Sunlight that I associate HEAVILY with Spongebob.
I just love the variety of genres they use. Hawaiian, Surf, Maritime, Elevator, even some Heavy Metal like when Spongebob works out with Sandy or when Patrick and Spongebob prepare to go jellyfishing. Just so many amazing tastes by the sound team.
Edit: I forget to mention, a lot of the music in the playlist is mostly from the early seasons. I completely agree, the music in the later seasons are very much inferior.
Theres (i think) a few songs in SpongeBob that come from the old NFL Films that aired back in the 70s and 80s, i think they mostly appeared when mermaid man and barnacle boy were introduced.
The songs from the NFL Films were made specifically for the NFL Films, so ot was surprising to me when i listened to some of the old NFL films songs and managed to find some songs i already recognized from SpongeBob lmao
Great vid! Keep up the good work
I've always been such a nerd about spongebob production music, and have definitely noticed this drop in musical quality as well, so seeing a video about this is awesome, sick vid!
When you talked about Goo Lagoon I realised that this location as a whole doesn't appear much in the series since season 4.
Dude, I could listen to you ramble about the background music in a kids cartoon all day! I've never seen any video from you before, but you honestly made me care about the music in the show I grew up with more than I thought I would... I don't need therapy, I swear!
agree 100%! he's got my sub for sure, I've always loved and appreciated and focused on the music from these cartoons I watched when I was little, I also really liked fairly oddparents tracks tbh
I make music and am part of a music production class. one of our assignments was to think about our earliest musical memory and make something out of it. the only thing i could think of was the stock music from spongebob. the music is genuinely important to me as silly as it can be. i love it
It's not just the music, but even the voice acting is grating. Like Tom Kenny's post movie Spongbob is louder, higher pitched, and borderline whiny at times. I do understand that voices age, but it wasn't a gradual thing. It was immediately changed and it's evident in the first movie at times.
Now, in the current season, Tom Kenny struggles with his voice as SpongeBob due to age. SpongeBob now sounds like he's finally hitting puberty. As for Spyro, he sounds considerably off, almost as if the voice direction for SpongeBob as you mentioned before spilled over to Tom Kenny's Spyro voice, which can heard in Spyro Reignited Trilogy and Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled.
Can’t beleave I actually did find a video essay about SpongeBob soundtrack… I couldn’t beleave my eyes when I saw it 🥹 about time somebody did a video like this, loved it soo much. I pretty much needed it ❤ thank u soo much bro 🙏🏻 Greetings from Madrid, Spain 🤟🏻 keep it up pal
They also used many tracks from, of all places, NFL Films. Had no idea as a kid, but as much as I love football that music always reminds me of SpongeBob.
Yesssss finally a video focused on spongebob's music
As much as I would agree with you, I still think there are many great modern spongebob tracks too. I do agree with some of your takes like: the new krusty krab music doesn't hold up to the original, nor the police music (though you really exagerated that)
But I still like some of the new tracks: like porous pursuit
I miss the old tracks too, but the new ones aren't terrible. It is a cartoon afterall. (PS. I prefer the original seasons too, I just don't think modern spongebob music is garbage)
The way they used Good-bye Samba in the episode "Suds" is one of my favorite moments from the earlier episodes. Music to Drive By is my second favorite ❤
10:22 holy fucking shit i never truly knew how pissed off this song made me as a kid until now.
Also great vid man, never even realized how bad the music from season 4 onwards was when i was younger. Watching this and viewing your words about this as an adult makes me appreciate seasons 1-3's music more now. Those side by side comparisons rlly have a great example of the contrast between old sb and newer sb
I always loved the end credits music but it hits different when you’re watching a dvd late at night in your room alone
This is amazing. I've always wondered this myself but never deep dived it... Also thanks for making me feel old at 13:29. I remember when that came out like it was yesterday. Damn
I never really realized, but SpongeBob is the only show/cartoon I know where you can show me a background track and 9/10 times I can tell you where the setting is and what's happening. Namely with the location themes like the Krusty Krab or Goo Lagoon. Kinda crazy if you think about it.
Fantastic video! I'm surprised you didn't mention just how much time was dedicated to original music numbers during those original three seasons, especially the first two. To name a few: Ripped Pants, the Stadium Rave from Jellyfish Jam, Sandy's Texas song, Loop de Loop, This Grill is Not a Home... Sweet Victory! Hell, when the pilot episode had a licensed musical number in the form of Living in the Sunlight by Tiny Tim, you know it's integral to the show's DNA.
As a member of the SpongeBob community, I can confirm that when old production music comes back in newer episodes, it's a very exciting moment that you will tell your grandkids when your older. LOL
Fantastic video!!
Great video and work going over a publically underappreciated yet notable aspect of one of TV's most revolutionary series. 10/10!!!
Also don't forget the apparent genuine love for harder rock, in the earlier episodes and movie, like Sweet Victory and the Pentera 'cameo'. When the Goofy Goober rock blasted at the end of the first movie, it really felt like a fitting finale and a nod to that always shown love.
Great video, although I would like to add that in some cases the lack of authentic music in later seasons isn't fully the fault of the show. The Surfdusters tracks in particular were taken off the main music libraries (APM & CPM) used for the show sometime in Season 6, making them unusable going forward, which is why they haven't been used since then. This also applies to many (but not all) of the iconic Krusty Krab tracks, with some tracks like "Oyster Girls" being removed as early on as Season 2. I agree with you that the sound design has suffered in recent years, but it's not fully the fault of the show. Solid analysis though, I wish more people would talk about the background music in the show because it's a very important factor.
I found an old DECCA record album. Simple put a book full of 78s (first mainstream record discs) and it was Hawaiian music from the 1940s. I played the discs on my gramophone and my first reaction was “this sounds like something from SpongeBob!” Which shows how important music choice is for a show.
The premade hawaiian music really stood out to me as a kid and still does today to the point where when I got a vinyl record of hawaiian music from the 60s, my first thought was "This would be perfect for a Spongebob episode". It's kinda up there with the production music used in Ren and Stimpy in terms of how iconic it is.
Great video! As someone who also is into the SpongeBob music, I was very impressed with the presentation. The only thing that’s usually written incorrectly by most sources is the Surfdusters album. Save The Waves is a 2011 compilation album. The music is taken from various Surfdusters releases, but it’s a pretty irrelevant detail. Keep up the great work!
I think the difference between the old tracks and the new tracks is they feel composed. It's clear that they're written by film composers, people who are used to writing music that's meant to blend into the background. Because of that, the music sounds similar to other film and tv soundtrack incidental music. You can tell the pastiche is there, but hearing a pastiche after experiencing the real thing is never gonna be the same. Conversely, the old music stood out so much because it wasn't written to blend into the background at all. It feels a bit more diagetic because of that, and stands out way more. Also, doesn't hurt that it was played along iconic episodes, I'm sure we wouldn't all remember those songs as well if they were all introduced post-movie.
Wow!! I've always loved the original spongebob soundtrack (especially being a surf rock fan) and it was really interesting to hear about where the original songs came from!! I was totally shocked that the newer episodes haven't used them in so long!! Thank you for gathering all this info into such a well put together video :)
Thanks to you, I have a new obsession now !
Great video^^
The credits theme is severely underappreciated, in season one it was THE prelude to Spongebob's tomfoolery. The most memorable appearance for me was in episode 4, the one where Squidward ingests a fork, you know the one, it plays right as he starts observing Spongebob and Patrick's literal speech bubbles shenanigans. That moment and its sound design has stuck with me for years and i feel it defines perfectly what Spongebob is.
I knew you looked familiar, I had astronomy with you freshman year ha! Nice video!
Hey thanks! I remember you too lol when he cancelled the very first class for the eclipse
Awesome video! As someone whose childhood television consumption was almost entirely Nick/Spongebob and NFL/NFL Films, I wanted to mention that a lot of the iconic background music that was not mentioned here, were actually from old NFL Films soundtracks, mostly composed by Sam Spence. So songs that my dad grew up watching under the voice of John Facenda on NFL Films, I also grew up with watching Spongebob too. 'Ramblin' Man From Gramblin', The Lineman, West Side Rumble, Up She Rises, and even more; all iconic songs that Spongebob fans would instantly recognize, are also remembered by a generation of football fans.
I’m SO glad to see someone talking about this in such depth. I love soundtracks, and SpongeBob’s has always been one of my favorites. Somehow, I get the feeling I could have a really in-depth conversation with you about this sort of thing! ^_^
The Surfdusters Save the Waves compilation album came out in 2011 (not 1989, that's the year the band formed). The album has all their songs used in the show aside from one, that being Sharkskin. It even references the fact that many of the songs are featured in the show on the back of the CD.
All the songs used in the show do appear between 2 albums of theirs, Raincoast Rumble (1996), and Surf After Dark (1998).
The music of SpongeBob is very important to me, and I have a substantial collection of production music CDs that have songs used in the series.
This is still a great video and I'm glad to hear somebody talking about the music in such a way.
PS
Ren & Stimpy is probably the only other show that really compares to SpongeBob in terms of musical identity. Many of the songs used in SpongeBob were first used in Ren & Stimpy.
love the concept of the video man. great work💪🏻
I think it isn’t fair for the one at 9:56 to be lumped in with the rest. It still retains the nautical theme and serves its purpose. I still think SpongeBob when I hear it vs the other late stage SpongeBob tracks
Thank you for taking your time to research and produce this video, i know this took a long ass time to do. Thank You again!!!!!!!!
you talk about your interest in this being unhinged but I promise you, you’re not the only one who’s felt this way. thank you for doing the research for us & presenting it so concisely bc YOURE RIGHT. im sure a lot of us, myself included, would’ve watched this vid even if it was twice as long!
Thanks for this video again. I find myself randomly trawling through old SpongeBob music, and it’s pretty amazing I can remember most of the episodes that had a particular music playing on.
Early SpongeBob, like Hey Arnold or Samurai Jack, is just a show that oozes with vibe. With how fast-action. in-your-face, and instant some children shows can be in my childhood (and I ate it all up to be fair) Early SpongeBob is a show I saw and just get magnetized to for half an hour. It plays by its pace, lets you soak in every audio and visual, and takes you in with it. It doesn't need your attention, it earns your attention. Something most shows, or hell even most content creators, seem to never understand.
This is a great video! Now you’ve got me thinking bout other shows with good background music design and how they’re similar or different to SpongeBob!
The main two shows with bgm I can hum or play on piano from memory would be the original seasons of both Pokémon and scooby doo. Pokémon and SpongeBob have a similar strategy of using preestablished songs, although where SpongeBob directly samples them, Pokémon does upscale arrangements of the songs from the games. Most of which playing at points where they would in the games, while later being repurposed for other fitting moments as the plots diverged. Scooby doo is as far as I know originally composed for the show, but most of the tracks are extremely short (SpongeBob has ~1 minute loops, scooby doo only does around 30 seconds). However, almost all of the tracks use the same one or two leitmotifs, at different tempos, with different instruments, etc. but none overstepping the general groovy sixties instrumentation the show was going for. (Also fun fact the gang was originally going to be a band in the same line as the Archies, and scooby was originally a sheepdog who played the bongos). Shows that pick a vibe and stick with it tend to be the most successful
Spongebob is the only show ever that I know every single track by heart, absolutely legendary
RUclips algorithm doing me right for giving me this video. Really good stuff dude, 100% subbing
season 4 wasn't bad, it was still pretty good.
the dark age really started with season 5.
Imo, I personally find the original tracks pretty good. Especially stuff like Honolulu Choo Choo and South Pacific Smile. And there are reasons why Nostalgic Hawaii and all of the pre movie Krusty krabs tracks got replaced.
Hey man! Just found your channel. Keep up the amazing work! You are a hidden gem on this platform and I hope you get the recognition you deserve.
S4 is unwatchable? Lost mattress? Krusty towers? Where Gary? Dunces and dragons? Fear of a kraby patty? Shell of a man? Mrs puff you're fired? Patrick smart pants? Krabs vs. Plankton? Ghost host? Skill crane? Mm&bb VI? Enemy in law? New leaf? Selling out? However I agree with the rest of the video.
I forget what I said in the video at this point but you're right it's not unwatchable lol, I do however think it's incredibly noticeable most of the show's soul was gone at that point. There's a creative consistency to the original run that was gone after the movie, most of those episodes you listed are fine children's television but they don't really transcend it the way the original seasons did.
@@GregCubed yeah you're right, I think the only reason s4 was good, is because most or all those episodes I listed were made for and during s3, and for whatever reason weren't used. Thank u for your video btw
@@7Kazi7Nah, season 3's production was done for a while when season 4 started, season 3 even got extended a few times to cover the hiatus of the series
@@darealepic I meant it feels like it's meant to be part of s3, cause the ep quality is nearly identical, (and the music🤭) though obv the animation is very different
In the video he said it's "not unwatchable", unlike newer seasons I guess
I think the main difference, in my opinion, between the old Spongebob tracks and the new ones is that the old ones felt more *ambient* and *experimental* as well as having more emphasis on the chill vibes which definitely matched the feel of the pre-movie seasons, especially Season One since it was pretty much the foundation of the show's universe. Hillenburg really had a raw vision for the show which the music that accompanied each episode truly demonstrated.
The new tracks in the later seasons really do feel too zany and cartoony, which, yeah I know, it _is_ a cartoon, but also it kinda feels... samey? Idk how to explain it, but when you hear a new track, it just kinda feels empty, as if the sole purpose of it is to just play over a scene in an episode rather than putting more emphasis on the vibe of the environment in the scene. (idk if i said it correctly lmao)
SpongeBob: made for the love of the ocean
Later SpongeBob: made out of obsession of SpongeBob
NGL the new music is still pretty good imo. While different, the music team was clearly skilled.
The vibe is different, but not necessarily "bad". I personally appreciate goofy sounding music just as much as charming/more chill music.
Glad to know I'm not the only one frustrated by how the police theme changed after Season 6, I'm also always like "come on horn section, where are you!?"
i could watch a eight hour deep dive of this. amazing video
This is a fantastic video, and one we've been needing for a very long time now. Though I'm surprised you didn't mention Gregor F. Narholz, one of the pillars of the SpongeBob SquarePants Score, with songs from the 1950's to the early 2000's if you count the (and in my eyes the only) movie.
This is a really interesting and fun video, and I came in agreeing that a lot of the old music was really good and sad to see it leave, but as someone who grew up with the post movie seasons just as much as the original seasons, when you directly compared the old vs new I actually think I recognized the new tracks more than the old ones and was more nostalgic for them, associating them with spongebob more, so thats interesting to say the least
First time visiting here and I didn’t realize that Dougie from The Curse had a RUclips channel.
Jokes aside, I really appreciate the discussion on this topic! I went to college in southeastern Idaho and the winters in the area are pretty brutal, so once it started getting nice out, it was always a big deal. One one such occasion when we had our first sunny day in a while, I opened up the windows at my shared apartment, let the sun in, and put on a playlist of the music from those first three seasons. My roommates came home later in the day and we all ended up just vibing together in the living room for a little bit. Really shows you how thought out the usage of those tracks were!