So what would happen if an oversexed, over-drugged, female
folk singer got carte blanche to spearhead a musical
children's show in the 70s? That's exactly the question
explored in the multi-perspective flashback narrative of
the social and musical experiment of Pop Goes the
Classroom.
With no single protagonist, I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW provides
a unique look at the way people viewed their music,
relationships and their professional aspirations in a
specific era. A certain naiveté permeates the work despite
the emphasis on sex, drugs and -- of course -- rock and roll.
Although set primarily in 1972, the work is universally
relevant, as aspiring musicians, aging musicians and anyone
with a dream of being allowed to turn one's avocation into
a vocation can relate to the trials and passions of the
characters. Anyone who has ever had a childhood television
show song stuck in his or her head, particularly ones about
parts of speech or governmental procedures, can fantasize
that perhaps this book got it right. A fun, heartfelt read,
I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW is a lovely and enjoyable work.
It’s a revolutionary idea: use cartoons to actually teach
something to the kids of America. In the summer of 1972,
the suits at a major television network bring together a
motley crew of songwriters and musicians to work on Pop
Goes the Classroom, a series of short, catchy, educational
songs that will air during Saturday-morning cartoons. And
so four young, talented songwriters find themselves in the
basement studios of ATN, at the height of the Age of
Aquarius, tasked with writing the songs that will come to
define an entire generation’s childhood.
Led by free-loving folk legend Pamela Sanchez, the
self-styled prefab
four–naïve, sweet, sheltered Sarah; Peter, a struggling
Bob Dylan wannabe; Julie, who cut her professional teeth
on commercial jingles; and Levon, a bassist most recently
known by the stage name Apollo Von Funkenburg–struggle to
stifle their uncertainty and tap into their creativity.
With the help of an enormous amount of pot and a little
sexual innuendo, they eat, sleep, drink, smoke, couple and
uncouple–as they work to change the world, one song at a
time.