SpongeBob SquarePants Creator Stephen Hillenburg Has Died; Here’s the SpongeBob Theme Song with Blast Beats

CNN reports that Stephen Hillenburg, creator of the animated children’s show SpongeBob SquarePants, has died. He was only 57 years old and revealed last year that he had been diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. The show has run on Nickelodeon continuously since 1999.

I was just a little too old to have gotten into SpongeBob when I was the appropriate age, but to the children only a couple of years younger than me —  and an entire generation since — the show was hugely important. SpongeBob memes are currently all the rage on the internet, a testament to the show’s enduring popularity.

Completely unrelated to Hillenburg’s death, Decrepit Birth drummer and YouTube musician Samus Paulicelli posted a metal cover of the show’s theme song earlier today. Insane timing. Enjoy that below as you reflect on Hillenburg’s legacy.