Whether they were crooning about muffin tops, werewolf bar mitzvahs, or just the all-American sport of tennis, the characters of the late, lamented 30 Rock sang an awful lot over the course seven seasons and 138 fast-paced, reference-heavy episodes. Now, thanks to Vimeo user Jyosef, fans of the sitcom can relive all of those musical moments in a 47-minute chunk of pop culture insanity called “The Singing Of 30 Rock.” This epic-length supercut is arranged in chronological order, so viewers can watch how the show and its music evolved over time. It’s no surprise that this compilation is dominated by Krakowski, whose attention-addicted character sings as often as possible, both as part of her job and during business meetings, parties, and casual social interactions. “The Singing Of 3o Rock” contains at least 50 such examples. But Krakowski’s castmates get their share of musical numbers as well. Tina Fey (of “Night Cheese” fame), Tracy Morgan, Alec Baldwin, and Jack McBrayer all have musical showcases of their own, with Fey emerging as the show’s second most prolific singer.
The show’s guest stars also get in on the act, so “The Singing” includes performances by Elaine Stritch, Will Forte, Jennifer Aniston, Julianne Moore, Bryan Cranston, Jan Hooks, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Elvis Costello, and more. Besides the show’s many original numbers, 30 Rock’s musical repertoire includes memorable renditions of such karaoke classics as “Love Is A Battlefield,” “Midnight Train To Georgia,” “It Takes Two,” “99 Luftballoons,” at least two selections from the Broadway musical Annie, and possibly the first and last spiteful version of Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl.” A whole spectrum of genres are represented, from show tunes to Christmas carols to mariachi to hip-hop. Fey raps more than once, and Baldwin is involved in at least two gospel numbers. Fans who want lyrics added to the show’s peppy instrumental theme are in luck, as this happened about five different times. It is fair to say that, by design or not, “The Singing Of 30 Rock” includes a decent cross-section of modern American music of the last half-century. And puppets.
The Singing of 30 Rock from Jyosef on Vimeo.