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Pop Culture

Danny Elfman performed an incredible version of 'The Simpsons' theme song in concert

The festival's oldest performer is giving the youngsters a run for their money.

danny elfman simpsons song coachella

The festival's true MVP.

While many might be flocking to Coachella this year to catch Harry Styles or Billie Eilish, composer Danny Elfman is quickly becoming the music festival’s show stealer. Of course, as a huge Elfman fan (even his Oingo Boingo days), I could be biased.

For starters, Elfman, who used to look like this:

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Now looks like this:

A sort of punk rock Ron Weasley in the best way. Oh, did we mention he is 68 years old?!

And then there’s his live version of the theme song from "The Simpsons." In full cinematic glory.


Danny Elfman credits the award-winning, legendary theme song as being “The easiest thing he’s ever done.” In an interview with Vulture, Elfman revealed that he came up with the tune on the ride back home from an interview with Matt Groening, the show’s creator.

Ever the avant garde-artist, Elfman told Groening, “If you want something contemporary, I’m not the guy for that. But if you want something like a crazy Hanna-Barbera that never was, then I think I’m the right guy.”

And crazy it was (and is). Elfman came up with a song that has a bit of everything: a crazy amount of musical variations, an epic saxophone solo, something called the devil’s interval … all within the span of 90 seconds.

The very next day after sending the proposed track, the song got the green light. And the rest is a 33-season history.

“I didn’t think [The Simpsons] would last more than one season, if it even lasted one season,” Elfman told Vulture. “So I did it purely for fun. That silly moment would become this major defining moment in my life. It’s amazing. It’s ironic.”

If there’s any doubt as to what a symphonic masterpiece this theme song is, just watch the video from Coachella. It has everything the original had. Only bigger and badder.

Danny, please save some genius and sheer coolness for the rest of us. Actually, one second thought: Just continue being your wild, unhinged, brilliant self.

A pitbull stares at the window, looking for the mailman.


Dogs are naturally driven by a sense of purpose and a need for belonging, which are all part of their instinctual pack behavior. When a dog has a job to do, it taps into its needs for structure, purpose, and the feeling of contributing to its pack, which in a domestic setting translates to its human family.

But let’s be honest: In a traditional domestic setting, dogs have fewer chores they can do as they would on a farm or as part of a rescue unit. A doggy mom in Vancouver Island, Canada had fun with her dog’s purposeful uselessness by sharing the 5 “chores” her pitbull-Lab mix does around the house.

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Representative Image from Canva

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This seemed to be the case for one soon-to-be mom on the Reddit AITA forum recently. Apparently, she was second-guessing her vehement reaction to her husband’s, ahem, avant garde baby name for their daughter, which she called “the worst name ever.”

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Kudos to the heroes who had 90 seconds to save lives in the Key Bridge collapse

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The workers who responded to the Dali's mayday call saved lives with their quick response.

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Courtesy of University of Idaho

The Idaho Vandals answered the call when Yale needed a pep band.

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