I Can See Clearly Now

by Brendan Halpin

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.

Genres: Fiction, Music

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

I grew up in Cincinnati, went to college in Philadelphia, and also lived in Taipei and Edinburgh along the way. I've lived in Boston since 1991.

I became a professional writer in 2000, writing about my late wife Kirsten's breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Kirsten died in 2003, leaving me and our daughter Rowen. I married Suzanne in 2005 and got her kids Casey and Kylie in the deal too. Bargain! Suzanne and I live with our three kids and dog in the shadow of Franklin Park in Jamaica Plain, best neighborhood on earth.

Reviews

[Rev. Nyarkoleptek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well. It wasn't awful. Just the sort of book that would get a warm review in People magazine. There's enough dope smoking and casual sex to lock in the types of readers who feel compelled to read out of a sense of cultural obligation.

Oh, and I was planning on giving this book four stars because of the way Halpin portrayed each character's internal dialog and thereby keeping up the level of soap-operatic suspense. But I see that the author himself has written a glowing review of his own book and given it five stars. Wow. So here's three stars to even it out.

Halpin, if you're reading this (and based on the fact that you're inflating the ratings of your own book, I expect you will), I'd just like to say this: Lose the review of your own book. You might have hoped that Goodreads users that came across it would consider it cute and amusing, but, man: it smacks of ballot-stuffing desperation. Drop the review, and I'll restore the extra star that the book truly deserves.

[Nadin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hardly finished it at all - a barely existing story line full of clichés and boring, obvious characters. Go grab something else!

[Gerri Leen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if the people behind "Schoolhouse Rock" (oh come on, you all remember that, right? Saturday mornings. More fun than the 'toons! "Conjunction Junction, what's your function..." and all the other gems. Okay, if you weren't a kid in the 70's, I'll give you a pass on the classics.) Anyway, what if those had been written by some just-out-of-college kids who were into music and needed money and smoked a lot of weed while recreating their own mini Summer of Love? Add in the "brains" behind the thing--a sort-of-famous folk singer--who has her own agenda, and the supporter who is tired of supporting, and you have a mix of love, sex, and office politics--even if the office in this case is a basement filled with mary jane smoke. Fun book. Very fun. Not as deep, if you will, as some of Halpin's others, but still very, very hard to put down.

Rated: A-

[Jenn Estepp · Rating 3 out of 5]

remember that book street gang, about the behind the scenes of sesame street in the 70s? i was so looking forward to it, and then couldn't even get through the first chapter, so dry and academic and humorless was it. thank goodness, then, for halpin's effort that takes a fictionalized look at the behind the scenes escapades of an educational tv song/series, a la schoolhouse rock. fun and light, with lots of sex and drugs and not-quite-rock-n-roll. tons of fun, although my gripe is that things seem to more *really* fast, although maybe that's just what it was like in the seventies?

[Jules Vilmur · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first "light reading" I've done since my daughter's death two months ago and there was something really lovely about getting sucked in and floating through it. It was more of a guilty pleasure book than some of Halpin's others (the kind you take to the beach or curl up with on a rainy weekend) but definitely a tasty nostalgic treat for anyone who grew up in the 70s or otherwise survived them.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun premise and a semi-strong start with sex, drugs and saturday morning conjunction junction. By the latter part of the book I was quite tired of all the whining. I just wanted to finish it so I could get my adult summer reading program prize...

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light read that focuses on a group of musicians hired to make educational children's cartoons (a la Schoolhouse Rock) in the early 70's. I liked the different perspectives and personalities that made the book such a fun, easy read. I would have liked even more 70's references and NYC vibe.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refreshing to read a fun, light book from a guy who so often writes about grief and death. Great beach book, and lots of fun for anyone who was a kid in the 70's.

[Ray Charbonneau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, nothing special.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect popcorn book. Not too deep but fun. A quick read.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful story inspired by the creation of the "Schoolhouse Rock" series of educational cartoon shorts.

[Richmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

A totl hoot - parpdy of the crew that created all the sat morning educational cartoons like "I'm Just a Bill." Funny with sex and drugs! Also vintage NYC.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A novel about a group of penniless songwriters in the 1970s who are hired to write "Schoolhouse Rock" type educational songs for children. Very interesting and entertaining.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

despite the horrible cover, this book was really funny and clever.

[Jenn]

Loved this easy read. One of my new favorite authors and he was also a HS teacher. I love that he writes fiction, young adult fiction, and nonfiction. Check him out!

[Keri Ault · Rating 3 out of 5]

Totally light, fun, summer read.