Signal in the Sky

A News Blog for Friends of the Elephant 6 Recording Company

Published Thursday, June 15, 2006 by Jeff | E-mail this post

In 2000, when the Powerpuff Girls were at the height of their popularity, creator Craig McCracken asked some Elephant 6 bands to participate in what he hoped would be a hipper-than-your-average kid's cash-in album. In addition to Frank Black of The Pixies, Shonen Knife, and Komeda, McCracken recruited E6 notables Apples in Stereo, Dressy Bessy, and The Sunshine Fix, here credited as The Bill Doss, since the Cartoon Network thought "sunshine fix" was a drug reference. (Reportedly, McCracken has asked The Olivia Tremor Control to participate, but they had recently broken up, so Doss took the lead.) The standout track was undoubtedly "Signal in the Sky," by the Apples in Stereo, the video of which was produced by Will Vinton Studios in Portland (Will Vinton was responsible for The California Raisins and other 80's Claymation specials). Here's the video.

(Incidentally, if you want to own this video, it's on the Powerpuff Girls: Meet the Beat-Alls, a DVD compilation that features a great Beatles-reference episode. But there's also the Powerpuff Girls episode "Superfriends," which features numerous references to the Apples, and includes this song!)