Music and cartoons go hand-in-hand. Spongebob sings. So did The Smurfs. The Jackson 5, The Beatles, New Kids On The Block; they all had their own animated series.  Fictional cartoon bands were once a TV staple from Josie & the Pussycats to The Impossibles to Alvin & the Chipmunks.

Now that cartoons are acceptable viewing for a much wider audience than in previous decades I am surprised at the lack of cartoon shows, whether broadcast or online, featuring real-life bands.

Here are five groups I think would make for a good cartoon show. Who would you like to see animated? Leave your ideas in the comments below!

1. THE BEATLES – I know it’s been done, but this is a band who keeps getting reinvented, decade after decade, by every new generation of music lovers who discovers them.  Their music and image remain as relevant as ever, and I think that playing with them in a modern context would be a lot of fun.
2. WU-TANG CLAN – Their image has become sufficiently iconic that you can put them in any situation and have it still be authentic.  Wu-Tang in Space?  Wu-Tang under the sea?  It all works.
3. THE DONNAS – These ladies were once offered a cartoon series and turned it down for fear of the general public mistaking them for a spin-off of the series.  That was pre-Web 2.0.  Had the ladies been born six years later, and been releasing Turn 21, Spend the Night, and Get Skintight now, this would be a slam dunk as a web series.
4. KANYE WEST – Cartoon wonder-worlds are so central to his creative vision, and he’s such a chameleon with his image, that I’m surprised this hasn’t happened already.  I picture it as a hip hop Yellow Submarine crossed with Tron and Star Wars.
5. UBIQUITOUS SYNERGY SEEKER – Of all of the indie bands emerging out of the Canadian music scene, none have such an iconic or boundary-pushing image as this duo, and I’m not just saying that because they’re friends of mine.  Amongst our circle of peeps, we’ve been cross-pollinating each other for years and it’s been exciting to see the levels they’ve taken the vision to as darlings of the music industry.

What band or performer do you think would make for an awesome cartoon show?  Let me know in the comments below!

Tags: bands, cartoons, Free Music