In case you haven't heard, South Park is better than ever in 2015. Celebrating its 19th season, the long-running Comedy Central staple has tackled everything from gentrification to Whole Foods to PC principals gone mad. But tonight (October 28) Trey Parker and Matt Stone took it up a notch by diving into the art of yaoi and used the Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs classic "The Book of Love" to get there.
What's yaoi, you ask? Well, it's an increasingly popular type of Japanese manga also known as Boys' Love (or BL) that focuses on romantic or sexual relationships between male characters, with it all being aimed at a female audience and typically created by female authors.
Well, in the case of South Park, the story of yaoi was told through a budding gay relationship between characters Craig and Tweak, and overall, the episode got downright touching at times. It was perhaps most so, though, when Parker and Stone used Stephin Merritt's "The Book of Love" during a heart-stirring montage.
However, this wasn't Merritt's rendition from 69 Love Songs, but rather the orchestral-heavy cover by Peter Gabriel. It was very fitting, to say the least, especially when you consider that Merritt is openly gay.
Unfortunately, at this point, you'll have to watch the episode to see how the cover is used, but you can hear Gabriel's rendition and revisit the Magnetic Fields original at the bottom of the page.
UPDATE (10/29, 11:30 a.m.): You can watch the full episode now over here on MuchMusic. The "The Book of Love" appears at the 4:49 mark.
Of course, this is hardly the first time South Park has crossed into the world of music, with the show even tapping Sia to help cover Lorde last season.
In related news, 69 Love Songs is about to be pressed back onto vinyl on November 6 through Merge.
What's yaoi, you ask? Well, it's an increasingly popular type of Japanese manga also known as Boys' Love (or BL) that focuses on romantic or sexual relationships between male characters, with it all being aimed at a female audience and typically created by female authors.
Well, in the case of South Park, the story of yaoi was told through a budding gay relationship between characters Craig and Tweak, and overall, the episode got downright touching at times. It was perhaps most so, though, when Parker and Stone used Stephin Merritt's "The Book of Love" during a heart-stirring montage.
However, this wasn't Merritt's rendition from 69 Love Songs, but rather the orchestral-heavy cover by Peter Gabriel. It was very fitting, to say the least, especially when you consider that Merritt is openly gay.
Unfortunately, at this point, you'll have to watch the episode to see how the cover is used, but you can hear Gabriel's rendition and revisit the Magnetic Fields original at the bottom of the page.
UPDATE (10/29, 11:30 a.m.): You can watch the full episode now over here on MuchMusic. The "The Book of Love" appears at the 4:49 mark.
Of course, this is hardly the first time South Park has crossed into the world of music, with the show even tapping Sia to help cover Lorde last season.
In related news, 69 Love Songs is about to be pressed back onto vinyl on November 6 through Merge.
