I often get asked, “Yo dawg what’s up with this marmalade nonsense?” or, “Marmalade cream?! That sound GAH-ROSS!” So I have decided to take the time and explain the logic/name behind this blog.
*I have never been asked these questions, but let’s pretend the first one was asked by American Idol’s Randy Jackson.*
The Adventures of Pete and Pete is most likely my favorite TV show of all time. It was a TV show that was shown to kids but it was really for adults. It blended the surreality, bizarre happenings, adventures, feelings, and memorable characters of growing up.It took place in a perfect little town called Wellsville and always had cool music in a magical mid-1990s setting. This show was extremely funny and creative and it captured the magic of growing up perfectly. The undercurrent theme of nostalgia is pervasive throughout the series all too short three season run.
In the episode titled, ‘Hard Days Pete’, young Pete ‘Thunderball’ Wrigely starts a band in a quest to figure out and play his favorite song. He also discovers the perfect guitar chord to make an innie belly button an outtie. Miss Fingerwood, Pete’s math teacher, is on the bass, the meter man (played by Berkeley, Michigan’s own Marshall Crenshaw) on second guitar and Clem on the drums. The band, The Blowholes, decide to play a radio-thon on WART Radio to try to find the song. During the show a caller requests ‘Marmalade Cream’. The band, to the tune of ‘Mississippi Queen’ sung by 60’s power-trio Mountain, belt out: “Marmalade cream / so sweet in between / marmalade cream it’s a tangerine dream / marmalade cream / it’s a real cool thing.” Ultimately it does not make much sense, but when does rock ‘n’ roll ever make sense? Eventually Pete would find his song and the Blowholes would rock out into the night.
So not only can Pete and Pete explain the name of this blog but I aim to keep the general spirit/philosophy the same. The setting was weird, the subject matter bizarre, but the jokes always funny and relevant. In the words of Pete Wrigley, “Read it and weep, fungus-lick!”
