South Park (1999)

Admittedly, I wasn’t a fan of South Park in its early years. That changed in college, when I watched South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, drawn in largely by my admiration for Marc Shaiman—going back to his work with Harry Connick Jr. and When Harry Met Sally. It’s no surprise, then, that this title has been on my list for a long time. Seeing it in theaters last year for its 25th anniversary “sing-along” with my daughter kicked that desire into overdrive.
In addition to the sharp satire, the film is elevated by Marc’s contribution. Releasing The Wizard of Oz in 2020 helped connect me with Shaiman through my friend Dan Redfeld, who passed along a copy. After six years of back-and-forth emails, I’m proud to finally bring this project into the world—though not without setbacks.

The engraving process, while challenging, was made easier thanks to Elizabeth Kirkscey, who provided scans of the marked-up parts from Paramount. The biggest hurdle came when the William Morris Agency was sidelined by my request to interview Matt and Trey. Despite having a license, it took several exchanges—and a brief conversation with Matt himself—to clarify my work with their closely protected IP. I showed him the finished engraving of “Blame Canada,” explaining all the instruments as I sang the opening few bars. I was struck by the specificity of Matt’s questions: “Did you transcribe this by ear? What about the changes we made at the recording session to fit the picture?” In that moment, it was clear the effort had been worth it.

Enjoy!