A lost Simpsons joke obscured for 31 years can finally be heard thanks to the audio-processing magic performed by a loyal fan of the show.
Audio editor Ewzzy Rayburn shared an updated clip from The Simpsons' Season 3 episode "The Otto Show," which reveals the joke for the first time. In the clip, Marge tries to lecture Homer about rock concerts, but the ringing of Homer's tinnitus drowns out her voice.
"That's the joke," as Rainier Wolfcastle would say, but there's another joke beneath the sound processing that has remained hidden until now.
So what was the joke? To find out, Rayburn used Adobe Audition to remove the effects and boost her voice, letting everyone finally hear Marge say what they wanted to hear for over three decades: "Well alright, but make sure [Bart and Lisa] don't pick up any of the band's attitudes toward, liquor, religion, politics... really anything."
I used my audio editing skills to recover a buried @TheSimpsons joke. #Simpsons pic.twitter.com/H0gD1qO7vF
— Ewzzy Rayburn (@ewzzy) April 19, 2023
Further down in his Twitter thread, Rayburn shared screenshots showing the green soundwaves and spectrogram before editing the audio and after. He explained that the spectrogram measures the audio track's volume by color and pitch by height, so he relied on that to find the tones, erase them, and boost the remaining audio, which was Marge's voice, resulting in her nearly crystal clear joke to Homer about ensuring the kids don't absorb much of the content Spinal Tap is singing about.
According to the DVD commentary provided in the same clip, the producers said that Marge's line, funny as it was, took them a long time to write, so they had to mix it down to prevent anyone from hearing it at the time it aired. Hence, Homer's tinnitus.
The rest of the episode finds Bart inspired to become a rock star, prompting his parents buy him an electric guitar that he struggles to play. During the bus ride to school, Otto plays an impromptu rock song behind the wheel, causing him to crash the bus and get suspended without pay until he earns his driver's license. After getting evicted from his apartment for failure to pay rent, Bart begs Marge and Homer to let Otto stay at their house until he gets back on his feet.
As for The Simpsons itself, the series is still on the air and indeed may never get canceled. It was renewed for Seasons 35 and 36 back in January, and will surpass the 800 episode mark in 2025.
Cristina Alexander is a freelance writer for IGN. She has contributed her work to various publications, including Digital Trends, TheGamer, Twinfinite, Mega Visions, and The Escapist. To paraphrase Calvin Harris, she wears her love for Sonic the Hedgehog on her sleeve like a big deal. Follow her on Twitter @SonicPrincess15.
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