Thursday, December 22, 2011

Fame and Fortune

In the early 90s, I was quite prolific in my use of the VCR for recording things off TV. One of my most watched tapes was my TBS Christmas collection, which consisted of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Christmas Carol (1938 colorized, because Ted Turner loved him some piss poor colorization), and Frosty the Snowman.

Rudolph was always my favorite, and I can sing along to every song on there just as good as Mellon Collie. Which is why I felt emotionally molested a few years ago when I discovered that starting in 1998, they removed one of the best songs, "Fame and Fortune," in favor of the THIRD rendition of the Misfit song. I assume the powers that be didn't like the ominous message of Hermie and Rudolph feeling empowered and optimistic for the first time in their lives, and striving for success despite what authoritative figures had always told them. Better to just encourage any misfit kids at home watching that it's easier to keep whining about being different than to try to make something of themselves despite the odds.

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