Tonight, I will be doing one of three things: high-fiving a million angels, working on my night cheese, or crying out of my mouth. I might even do them all at the same time. Why? Because tonight, the first episode of the final season of 30 Rock airs. While I’m looking forward to the new season, I’m devastated that it’s over. In times of great strife like these, I feel that I must turn to music and/or dairy products for consolation. Luckily, BUST covergirl Tina Fey provided us with plenty of hilarious musical stylings over the past few years, both for her and her castmates. Here are my five favorites, sure to get all of us through these emotional times (and all the Anna Howard Shaw days to come).
1) Workin’ on my night cheese
This short but sweet moment is one of my personal favorites. It has everything: a snuggie, cheese, and Alec Baldwin’s growling at the very end. Tonight, when I raise my sharp cheddar square, I will toast you, Tina.
2) Liz Lemon gets angsty…everywhere. Here are just a few of the best impromptu songs that Liz broke into over the years. The best? Singing “I’m a bitch” as she jogs. That is precisely how I feel when exercising, LL.
3) Werewolf Bar Mitzvah
While this song was not written by Tina, it was written by her protege, Donald Glover. At the time, he was writing for 30 Rock and laying down tracks at NYU as Childish Gambino. Thankfully, Tina realized that he could use all of his talents on the show, and asked him to craft this gem. Best line? “We had a lot of fun, making circumsion jokes!”
4) Weird Al “Knapsack” and 30 Rock theme
In a beautiful tribute to backpacks, Weird Al parodies a Jenna Maroney song, lamenting the broken zipper on his knapsack. In an even more beautiful tribute to 30 Rock, Weird Al gets really weird with the musical score. If I had the money to commission Weird Al to just record an entire album based on 30 Rock, I would.
5) Muffin Top
This has to be the absolute best musical number to ever come out of 30 Rock. In this hit single (not in the US, of course), Jenna explains why we all know that the top of the muffin is the best part. In the above clip, Jane Krakowski goes from a sentimental solo to a full-fledged, Jenna-style rendition of “Muffin Top.” Tonight, I won’t really want to dance. I might just want to laugh, and cry, and eat cheese. But thanks to Tina, Jane, and the whole cast & crew, I can always count on these poignant lyrics to brighten my day:
My muffin top is all that
Whole grain, low fat,
I know you want a piece of that
But I just wanna dance
And, if it all doesn’t work out, I can always just do this…Lemon style:
