About

Simpsons Boombox (New vs. Old) is a series of video remixes that compare new generations of music to their older counterparts using a clip from an episode of The Simpsons. In the clip, a pair of young men walk into the frame listening to music on a boombox. Then a pair of elderly men walk by listening to music on a large, high-fidelity stereo system. Online, memers replace the music to reflect influence the musical styles on display.

Origin

On April 25th, 2004, Fox aired the The Simpsons episode "Catch 'Em If You Can."^[1] One part of the episode involves the characters Bart, Lisa, and Grandpa Simpson visiting the South Beach of Miami, Florida, in an attempt to find Homer and Marge, who snuck away for a vacation alone. Bart and Lisa dash off on their own, leaving Grandpa behind in the process. Grandpa uses his free time to attempt to woo the elderly ladies there. The show then cuts to a parody of the 80s television crime procedural Miami Vice. In the scene, a pair of younger men walk down the street holding a boombox playing a hip-hop beat. Not much later a pair of elderly men walk past them carrying an antique record player on their shoulders playing the 1941 song "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by The Andrews Sisters.

Roughly a decade later, on August 14th, 2014, YouTuber SomeoneST posted the earliest known remix of the scene, comparing modern music against older Russian music. The post received more than 80,000 views in less than seven years (shown below).

Spread

The meme did not begin its spread until several years later. On April 13th, 2018, YouTuber Blinker 182 posted "Video Random: Reggaeton Now vs Before," which received more than 100,000 views in less than three years (shown below, left). The video inspired more variations of the remix series. On September 5th, for example, YouTuber BeatSnoop posted a version entitled "2000'S Rap Vs. 90'S Rap." The post received more than 100,000 views in less than three years (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

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External References