On this Sunday’s episode of The Simpsons, musician Tom Waits, who has coughed up phlegm cooler than you or I, will guest star as a…eh, it doesn’t really matter, does it? It’s a season 24 Simpsons episode, so expect him to be awkwardly shoehorned into the episode as a truck driver or taxidermist for for about 15 seconds, never to be heard of again. Still, this news is noteworthy because Tom Waits is the best, whether he’s singing (Rain Dogs or GTFO) or acting (Mystery Men, Coffee & Cigarettes, etc.)
In honor of Waits’ Springfield cameo, here are 10 other “hip diggity dog,” as the kids say, musicians who have appeared on animated shows over the years. (Only chose clips that are on YouTube, which excluded, say, when Big Boi was on King of the Hill.) Honorable mention goes to David Bowie (that’s good) on SpongeBob SquarePants (that’s bad), but don’t worry, we won’t subject you to that.
Show: Futurama
Musician(s): Beck
Show: South Park
Musician(s): Radiohead
(Remember when Radiohead had a sense of humor? That was nice.)
Show: Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Musician(s): Danzig
Show: King of the Hill
Musician(s): Green Day
(Remember, this was during season two in 1997, right after Green Day released Nimrod. They were still cool.)
Show: Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Musician(s): Pavement
Show: Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Musician(s): Metallica
(Space Ghost gets two spots because, obviously.)
Show: Home Movies
Musician(s): They Might Be Giants
Show: Boondocks
Musician(s): Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, and Nate Dogg
Show: Metalocalypse
Musician(s): Dave Grohl
Show: The Simpsons
Musician(s): The Ramones
(There are about a million choices here, but let’s just go with the Ramones.)
