Dream Meave Meczup mediafire Medialunas Medicine Medicine Boy Meeks. Pet Knives Petal Head Pete Fij & Terry Bickers Pete International Airport Pethau. Plumarino Plushing Poble Pola Polar Lows Polaris Mine Policenaut Polidoro.
'Hey Sandy' is a song by the American indie rock band Polaris which serves as the theme song for the Nickelodeontelevision showThe Adventures of Pete & Pete. It's well-known by fans of the show and the band alike that its lyrics, which are not only nearly indecipherable in the first place, but also have generated considerable debate as to their meaning.[1]
Missing lyric[edit]
The full lyrics were a subject of speculation for several years until they were (mostly) revealed to fans by band members. One line, the third and the most difficult one to understand, was purposefully left a mystery by head songwriter Mark Mulcahy.[2][3] The song may have referenced the Kent State shootings and Sandra Lee Scheuer (being the eponymous 'Sandy' of the song), although the actual meaning of the song is in debate.[4]
On the DVD set, the subtitles render the third line as 'Can you settle to shoot me?', but are not claimed to be an official interpretation of the song's lyrics.
On the DVD commentary for season 2 of The Adventures of Pete and Pete, one of the show's creators, Chris Viscardi, mentions the missing lyric and says, 'I've actually become very passionate about keeping that line a secret.' There has been a lot of speculation about the missing line, and most people guess that it was originally kept a secret because Pete & Pete was a family show.
Additions[edit]
The full album version of 'Hey Sandy' contains an introduction with a man, Sorrell Booke, speaking the following words:
- Jupiter, or Thor, is perfect. We need Atlas for our long-distance stuff. The Titan will be even better. They shouldn't have canceled Navaho. Wait 'til you see our submarines with Polaris.
Besides a reference to the band's name, this sound bite is in fact discussing United Statesballistic missiles designed during the Cold War:
- the intermediate-range Jupiter and Thor IRBM
- the Atlas ICBM, the first successful US intercontinental ballistic missile (for 'long-distance stuff')
- the Titan family of ICBMs, successors of Atlas
- the cancelled SM-64 Navaho, an experimental cruise missile developed by the U. S. Air Force
- the UGM-27 Polaris, a submarine-launched ballistic missile
The initial sample is abruptly cut off and followed by another sample of a radio transmission, ostensibly from a military base:
- Attention all personnel, this is CVTS. Base vehicle pre-count operations will start on my mark in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...
Both samples are taken from 'To The Moon: A Time-Life Records Presentation'.
There is a cover version of 'Hey Sandy' by the New Jersey band Mister Behavior, as well as by Californiamath rock band Tera Melos on their covers EP Idioms, Vol. I
References[edit]
- ^Ufberg, Max (October 3, 2014). 'Why a Fake Band From a 1990s Kids' Show Decided to Tour This Year'. Wired. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- ^Lloyd, Robert (April 24, 2015). 'Polaris rising: Mark Mulcahy's 'Pete and Pete' band comes to town'. latimes. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- ^Danton, Eric R. (July 8, 2016). 'How Nostalgia for 'The Adventures of Pete & Pete' Revived Miracle Legion'. Pitchfork. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- ^Hey Sandy by Polaris (Songfacts, 2017)
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hey_Sandy&oldid=890286403'
Polaris in concert at College Street Music Hall, May 2015 | |
Background information | |
---|---|
Origin | New Haven, Connecticut, US |
Genres | |
Years active | 1993–1996, 2012, 2014–present |
Labels | Mezzotint |
Associated acts | Mark Mulcahy, Miracle Legion |
Website | http://www.mezzotint.com |
Members | Mark Mulcahy Dave McCaffrey Scott Boutier Henning Ohlenbusch |
Polaris is an independent rock band that was formed as a one-off musical project in the mid-1990s involving members of the New Havenindie rock band Miracle Legion. They were commissioned specifically to produce music for the Nickelodeon television show The Adventures of Pete & Pete, which was later compiled into the group's first and only album.[1] Nearly twenty years after the show was cancelled, Polaris reemerged with its first tour and a cassingle of two new songs.
History[edit]
Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi, the show-runners of The Adventures of Pete & Pete, were fans of Miracle Legion and approached the band to write original music for the series. Miracle Legion was at the time suffering from long-running legal issues with their label, Morgan Creek Records, and lead guitarist Ray Neal, disillusioned by the experience and recently married, opted out of the television project.[2][3]
The remainder of the band - frontman Mark Mulcahy, bassist Dave McCaffrey and drummer Scott Boutier - moved forward with the project under the name Polaris. As the show's 'house band', Polaris produced twelve songs over Pete & Pete's three seasons including the theme song, 'Hey Sandy.' These tracks included occasional guest contributors such as Joyce Raskin, Dennis Kelly, and Buell Thomas.
Describing itself as 'that band that lives in your TV,' the members of Polaris took on 'TV names': Mulcahy was 'Muggy', Boutier was 'Jersey', and McCaffrey was 'Harris Polaris.' In addition to appearing in the opening credits of each show, the band featured prominently in the episode 'A Hard Day's Pete', in which Little Pete (Danny Tamberelli) is mesmerized by a garage band's song (Polaris' 'Summerbaby') and forms his own band to keep the tune in his memory.
The group's first release was a 1995 cassette mini-album titled 'Happily Deranged' that contained three songs from the television show, including the television show's title song, 'Hey Sandy'. The other two songs were 'Staggering' and 'Coronado II'. The versions of these songs differed in both running time and mix from the versions later released on their full album. The cassette also contained two additional rare tracks, an introduction and closing comments by the older of the two Pete's from the television show. This cassette was released by Nickelodeon/ Sony Wonder and only available by mail as a promotional tie-in with Frosted Mini Wheats cereal. The offer was heavily promoted during Nickelodeon's SNICK (Saturday Night Nickelodeon) anthology series.
After the show was cancelled in 1996, Miracle Legion produced a final album released by Mulcahy's own label, Mezzotint Records. In 1999, the label released Music from The Adventures of Pete & Pete, containing all twelve of the Polaris tracks and serving as the group's only album.
Following the disbandment of both bands, Mulcahy focused on a solo career. From 1997 to 2003, Scott Boutier and Dave McCaffrey played drums & bass for Frank Black and the Catholics.
On August 28, 2012, Polaris reunited for a concert at Cinefamily's Everything Is Festival II as part of a Pete & Pete reunion event, adding Henning Ohlenbusch (dubbed 'Penny Polaris') to their roster on guitar, keyboard, and backing vocals. The band claimed it was their first live performance ever. For one song at this concert, the group was joined by Rain Phoenix on vocals.
On August 26, 2014, Polaris announced their first tour, Waiting for October, with nine shows in cities such as New York City, Chicago, and Philadelphia.[4]
In October 2014, the band released their first new material since the Nickelodeon show in the form of a digital and cassette single, thus ending their status as a 'one-off project'. The cassingle, consisting of 'Great Big Happy Green Moonface' (also its title) and 'Baby Tae Kwon Do' was made available through the Mezzotint website. It was produced by new member Ohlenbusch. In addition, an animated music video was produced for 'Great Big Happy Green Moonface'.
Polaris continued touring into 2015, their sets including all fourteen Polaris songs and selections from the Miracle Legion discography. On April 18, 2015, Polaris released both a vinyl edition of Music from The Adventures of Pete & Pete and the double-CD album, Live at Lincoln Hall, a recording of their concert of October 26, 2014 at the Chicago venue. In 2016, the Miracle Legion discography received a digital re-release and the band planned a brief reunion tour of their own.
Discography[edit]
- Happily Deranged (cassette, Nickelodeon/Sony Wonder, LAT-6688, 1995)
- Music from The Adventures of Pete & Pete (CD, 1999; vinyl, 2015)
- 'Great Big Happy Green Moonface'/'Baby Tae Kwon Do' (cassette; digital, 2014)
- 'Live at Lincoln Hall' (CD; digital, 2015)
References[edit]
- ^Lloyd, Robert. 'Polaris rising: Mark Mulcahy's 'Pete and Pete' band comes to town'. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- ^Zaretsky, Mark. ''Pete & Pete' house band Polaris will be at Ballroom at Outer Space'. New Haven Register. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
- ^Mills, Fred. ''HEART STILL ATTACHED: Mark Mulcahy & Miracle Legion'. Blurt Magazine. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^Eakin, Marah. 'Polaris, the band from The Adventures of Pete And Pete, is going on tour'. The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
External links[edit]
- The Mezzotint Label - Record label for Polaris, Miracle Legion, and Mark Mulcahy
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Polaris_(band)&oldid=865844381'