Track for June 28, 2025

"Hey Arnold! (feat. JER, Patrick Bartley & Dom Palombi)" by Skatune Network

Listen on Apple Music

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What's your favorite song about friendship?

Oh what's that sound? The brass horn? The chant of Football Head's name? Sure, it's a TV show theme song, recreated by Skatune Network to be more ska-y, but if you know your ska, covers of TV themes has always been a fun thing that ska bands love to do. (Primarily Less Than Jake, even way before their "TV/EP" EP.)

I think Hey Arnold is often overlooked. It's not really the same kind of whimsical absurdism that the 90's cartoons were known for. It's more grounded in reality, it's focused on city-life, and, yes, friendship. I did a rewatch a few years ago. The last half of the first episode is a real kick to the gender dysphoria teeth where Arnold's secret admirer Helga deals with being misgendered brutally for 10 minutes. This show has a lot of sincerity where many other cartoons would have been nihilistic for laughs. A lot of the show could be boiled down to: everyone is weird in their own weird way and you should have empathy for them. That's not unique to Hey Arnold, for sure, but damn does it still hold up pretty well decades later. It's truly something special.