Let's play a game. When you hear the name of a rock group blurt out the first five adjectives you think of. Don't worry, the person next to you won't mind.
Ready? Here we go: They Might Be Giants.
OK, time's up.
So, if you had any idea that the phrase "They Might Be Giants" refers to a musical ensemble consisting of two guys named John (Flansburgh and Linnell), you're a step ahead of the next guy. Further more, if you are aware that their new album, "Mink Car," was released recently, then you've probably already bought it. But for those persons not yet "in the know," They Might Be Giants is the semi-famous, semi-underground, semi-band responsible for the theme song of the popular show "Malcolm in the Middle."
With their new album, "Mink Car," John and John team up with three guys named Dan (Hickey, Weinkauf and Miller) and a montage of other names including Mike Doughty of Soul Coughing. Together, these boys have recorded their first album in three years. In 2000 They Might Be Giants released the EP "Working Undercover for the Man," a title that appears as number 17 on this album's track list.
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They Might Be Giants has dedicated its 15-year career to producing what often is referred to as "geek rock," a silly combination of catchy tunes that can never be put into a single genre of music, but will be sure to stick in your head for the next 10 years.
This description falls true for the quirky "Mink Car." With its variety of tongue-in-cheek lyrics paired with a broad spectrum of melodies, "Mink Car" will - if nothing else - catch a listener's attention.
To introduce the band's bizarre lyrical topics, the first track on the album is "Bangs," a song entirely based on a women's hairstyle that was popular in the 1980s. Some other highlights include "Yeh Yeh" and "Mink Car." "Yeh Yeh" comes complete with a mambo bass line, catchy lyrics and an infectious need to tap your foot and bob your head.
The title track, "Mink Car," on the other hand, more resembles something Mr. Rogers might have created after a session with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. It brings to mind visions of happy Brady Bunch children holding a double "thumbs up" and swaying from side to side with a look of absolute tranquility. That is, until you listen to the lyrics, which chant, "I got hit by a mink car/hit by a mink car driven by a guitar/And the silver chauffeur says/that it's all in your head/when you're 24-carat dead."
Just when you thought the album couldn't get any further off the wall, "Wicked Little Critta" rolls in on his mini-bike, and "She Thinks She's Edith Head" pinpoints that high school girl who went on to develop a foreign accent to go with her ego.
Whether or not "Mink Car" is worth the $18 and change that you will shell out for it depends on how seriously you take it. If you pick up this album with hopes that a handsome young pop star will serenade you with his generic love ballads, then you may appreciate "Another First Kiss," but that will be about all.
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If you pick it up expecting songs similar to Depeche Mode's early '80s dance pop, you will be pleased with "Man, It's So Loud In Here," the album's techno-club tribute song. Furthermore, if you are among the ranks of individuals who just adore the movie "Child's Play," then you will coo at the endless references to Chuckie in "Cyclops Rock."
Whatever you want to hear, "Mink Car" has at least some of it. Everyone will be able to find one song on this album to call "great."
They Might Be Giants has created another concoction to crack a smile and tap a foot or two. If you like to be happy, buy this album. If you take joy in the quirks of life, buy this album. This is music for the sake of fun. This is music for the sake of laughter. These guys are serious about kidding around.
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