the fate of the state, season 1

I don't post much here, mostly because there are not a lot of things I feel particularly qualified to discuss. Indiana Jones is one exception; The State is another. A good chunk of my high school life was spent watching, re-watching, and re-enacting sketches from the show with other drama nerds. I taped every episode I could, even after my parents banned MTV from our house. (The last straw, as I recall, was a particularly suggestive ad for button-fly jeans.) In college, I used my newfangled Internet connection to

locate other fans who could help complete my collection, and
harass members of the State who were foolish enough to publish their email addresses.

Eventually, this combination of activities led to requests from a number of State alums (David Wain, Tom Lennon, Kerri Kenney, and Kevin Allison) for copies of my recordings, which was pretty thrilling. For a good fifteen years after The State went off the air, it was almost impossible—even for its stars—to watch it. Unless you knew me.

Well, my reign of terror officially ended this summer, when, after a decade of teasing fans about an imminent DVD release, MTV finally released a box set of the entire series. And, by gum, it was worth the wait. Commentary on every episode, tons of unaired sketches and outtakes, pristine image and sound . . . and it's as funny as ever. If you don't have it, go get it!

But as great as the new box set is, it's not perfect. When the show first aired, MTV's deal with the record labels gave the show total freedom in terms of its soundtrack. The group took full advantage of the opportunity, peppering their sketches with the best alternative/pop music the mid-nineties had to offer. Unfortunately, this generous licensing agreement did not extend to home video, so a good portion of the broadcast soundtrack had to be replaced for the DVD. The new music does a reasonable job of recreating the feel of the broadcast music, considering—but it's just not the same.

Even worse, the original music track was occasionally coupled with dialog or narration; in such cases, scrapping the music meant scrapping this unrelated audio, which then had to be re-recorded. And of course, quite a few logos and photos of famous people had to be digitally obscured to avoid trademark and copyright dust-ups.

Bottom line: a lot has changed in the home video release, and not all for the better. I am cataloging these changes as specifically as possible, to help fans remember the show as it was. The analysis is split up by seasons, starting with season 1 below. Through the magic of YouTube, the original songs I've been able to identify are embedded on the left hand side below each banner; mystery songs are to the right. If you know any of the mystery songs, contact me or drop a clue in the comments; I'll update the page and give you credit.

Let's crunch the numbers:

Season 1 is comprised of 61 sketches total.
Of these, 35 sketches (57%) are identical to their broadcast version.
In the 26 altered sketches, 70 songs from the original broadcast have been replaced or otherwise excised.
Of these, 43 songs (61%) are identified below.

Lenny Lipton Show (S1.1.02)

ID'd songs:

Spin Doctors: "Two Princes"

Mystery songs:
none

Hops Plus (S1.1.05)

ID'd songs:

The Romantics: "What I Like about You"

Mystery songs:
none

Chip's Party (S1.1.07)

ID'd songs:

	Dr. Dre: "Fuck Wit Dre Day (and Everybody's Celebratin')"
	Ren and Stimpy: "Happy Happy Joy Joy"
	Nirvana: "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
	The Black Crowes: "Hard to Handle"
	Jane's Addiction: "Mountain Song" (Thanks Josh!)
	Spin Doctors: "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong"
	Salt N Pepa: "Push It"
	Spandau Ballet: "True"
	Lenny Kravitz: "Let Love Rule"
	Pink Floyd: "Comfortably Numb"
	Genesis: "Tonight Tonight Tonight"

Mystery songs:

S1.1.07B

Eating and Swimming (S1.1.11)

ID'd songs:

David Byrne: "Make Believe Mambo"

Mystery songs:

S1.1.11B

Old Fashioned Guy (S1.2.04)

ID'd songs:
none

Mystery songs:

S1.2.04A

Mouse Problem (S1.2.06)

ID'd songs:

	Guns N Roses: "Sweet Child O Mine"
	Guns N Roses: "Paradise City"
	Guns N Roses: "November Rain"
	Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Suck My Kiss"

Mystery songs:
none

Capt. Monterey Jack (Lights) (S1.2.08)

ID'd songs:

	Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Soul to Squeeze"
	Aerosmith: "Cryin'"
	Soul Asylum: "Black Gold"

Mystery songs:

	S1.2.08A
	S1.2.08B
	S1.2.08C

Old Fashioned Guy II (S1.2.09)

ID'd songs:
none

Mystery songs:

S1.2.04A

Louie (S1.2.11)

ID'd songs:

Sade: "Smooth Operator"

Mystery songs:
none

Capt. Monterey Jack (Shoes) (S1.3.02)

ID'd songs:

R.E.M.: "Everybody Hurts"

Mystery songs:

	S1.3.02A
	S1.3.02B
	S1.3.02C
	S1.3.02D
	S1.3.02E

MTV Sports (S1.3.05)

ID'd songs:

	KMFDM: "Liebeslied"
	Stone Temple Pilots: "Plush"
	Blind Melon: "No Rain"
	Smashing Pumpkins: "Cherub Rock" (Thanks Shalmoli!)
	10000 Maniacs: "Candy Everybody Wants" (Thanks, Shalmoli!)
	Tool: "Sober" (Thanks, Josh!)

Mystery songs:

	S1.3.05A
	S1.3.05B
	S1.3.05D
	S1.3.05E
	S1.3.05F
	S1.3.05I

Antonio (S1.3.07)

ID'd songs:

	Right Said Fred: "I'm Too Sexy"
	Enya: "Caribbean Blue"
	Enya: "Book of Days"

Mystery songs:
none

Ride (S1.4.03)

ID'd songs:

Lenny Kravitz: "Are You Gonna Go My Way"

Mystery songs:
none

Doug & Principal (S1.4.04)

Notes:
The link that introduces this sketch originally featured Doug's gang singing Pearl Jam's "Alive" a cappella, mirroring the screams that ended the previous sketch, "Ride." This footage was cut from the DVD release, but Doug's comment about their singing ("Sounds good, though,") remains.

ID'd songs:

Pearl Jam: "Alive"

Mystery songs:
none

Old Fashioned Guy III (S1.4.07)

ID'd songs:
none

Mystery songs:

S1.2.04A

Pants (S1.4.08)

ID'd songs:

The Breeders: "Cannonball"

Mystery songs:
none

Capt. Monterey Jack (Cheese) (S1.4.09)

ID'd songs:

En Vogue: "Free Your Mind"

Mystery songs:

	S1.4.09A
	S1.4.09B
	S1.4.09C

$240 Worth of Pudding (S1.4.11)

Notes:
Tragically, this is one instance where MTV couldn't replace the music without scrapping the original dialog in its entirety. Both Michael Ian Black and Tom Lennon re-recorded their parts for the DVD, and the results are less than stellar. Lennon especially—in the original, his voice is as soft and smooth as the velvet suit he wears; in the new version, he just sounds like Lt. Jim Dangle.

ID'd songs: