Title:Mink Car By: They Might Be Giants Released by: Restless Records Released on: 2001 Rating (out of 10): 9 Date: 11/13/2001
They Might Be Giants, Masters of Reinvention
Thanks to the recent rash of publicity They Might Be Giants have received due to the popularity of “Boss of Me,” their theme song for Malcolm in the Middle, you may have caught wind of some of their Internet ventures with the mp3 subscription-service eMusic.
The band have, for the past 9 months, been releasing what was billed as rare and unreleased material through a service called TMBG Unlimited. As it turns out, much of what was released through TMBG U was a preview, mostly in demo form, of their latest album, Mink Car.
Judging from the reaction of some of the hardcore fans, you’d think TMBG had broken every commandment (and then some) instead of creating one of the most fun and original pieces of pop music in recent history, let alone their own career.
This is nothing new, however; each of their albums has been criticized by those who think they have abandoned their iconoclastic new-wave roots. The truth is, TMBG have never allowed themselves to be pigeonholed into any particular genre, regardless of expectations. Each of their albums is a testament to their relentless pursuit of diversity and what interests them, and Mink Car is no exception.
I have to admit that when I first heard that Mink Car was the chosen title for this album, I was a bit disappointed since other possibilities I’d heard (Unreliable Narrator, Secret Mountain Laboratory) seemed so much cooler.
However, after hearing the album, I have to say that the chosen title is very appropriate indeed; Mink Car denotes an image of indulgence and excess. It's definitely over the top, and happily so.
Throughout their remarkably long careers, founding TMBG members John Flansburgh and John Linnell have demonstrated a gift for absorbing the musical styles of their era as well as reaching back in the past and combining it all to create something unique.
They did this with new-wave in the 1980s and early '90s, the grunge sound with John Henry in 1994, and now with Mink Car they have done it to dance pop in its many forms.
Yes, Mink Car is their most “danceable” album to date, from the pogo-ready beat of the opening track, “Bangs,” to the thumping techno riff (stolen from “Funkytown”) of “Man, It’s So Loud In Here,” to the scratching and popping scattered throughout “Wicked Little Critta.”
Since each song is so different, it isn’t possible to describe Mink Car without mentioning each of the 17 tracks. It starts off very strong, with “Bangs,” a catchy pop love song…and the catch is, it’s a love song to a girl’s hairstyle.
You can almost picture the girl raising a doubtful eyebrow at lines like “And in case you think I’m here ‘cause I like making chit chat/Just remember what I said, the money’s under your hat.” But it would be difficult to resist a line like “A proscenium to stage a face that needs no makeup.”
Next is the powerhouse “Cyclops Rock,” juiced up even more than previous versions, with more bells and a rather frightening interlude featuring Cerys Matthews of the British band Catatonia yelling out the names of various dances and ending with a piercing scream.
You’ll either find it a total hoot or highly annoying. The only crime this song commits is having “I’m sick, like Nixon was sick” replaced with “I’m sick like Chucky was sick.” It’s an easily forgivable sin; the song still beautifully captures the feelings of betrayal and alienation that accompany a nasty breakup.
The momentum doesn’t let up a bit for the next song, “Man, It’s So Loud In Here.” This song was previously recorded as a rock number, but the change to techno, though a bit startling at first, definitely fits the song better.
The speaker complains about not being able to even think about what he wanted to say due to all the noise. It perfectly re-creates the feeling of finding oneself somewhere totally unfamiliar and uncomfortable. The rolling drum-machine beat just before the chorus is priceless.
This is followed by arguably the weakest song, “Mr. Xcitement,” which isn’t so much a TMBG song as collaboration with a bunch of friends that the Johns happened to contribute just a bit to.
The lyrics were written and are rapped by Mike Doughty of Soul Coughing, who makes TMBG’s lyrics seem positively simplistic. The constant yelling of “Mr. Xcitement!” gets old after the first 10 times, but the song does have its pleasures, namely the line that mentions “Flansy in a soda can” and the spaced-out ending oddly reminiscent of Mono Puff’s “To Serve Mankind.” In fact, this song would have felt very much at home on a Mono Puff album.
Next is a welcome, mellow interlude in the form of “Another First Kiss,” originally a fast-paced rocker and can be heard in its original live form on TMBG’s “greatest-hits live” compilation, Severe Tire Damage.
TMBG have recorded many covers of sappy love songs (“New York City,” "We’ve Got a World that Swings”), but this is the first straight, unironic love song they have ever written themselves, even less ironic than “She’s an Angel,” and, thanks to Flansburgh’s winsome delivery, it works (although those who cringe at the thought of a “sincere” TMBG song may feel otherwise).
Yes, it disrupts the hyper tone just a bit, but then every party needs a “cool down” number. And even as you feel Mink Car begin to slow down, the raucous “I’ve Got a Fang” picks things right back up again.
Previous versions were very simple, emphasizing the funny lyrics, but this version is full of little extras to round it out, including a cymbal loop (when have you ever heard one of those before?), trumpets, and a fake slow down/start up again ending.
If “Hovering Sombrero,” another cool-down number, feels like something from another TMBG era, that’s because it is. It was written around the same time as the Flood songs, and has just now found its way to a proper album release.
Its charming simplicity and poetic lyrics don’t quite fit in with the rest of the slick, deliciously overproduced tracks, but it’s such a sweet little gem that it would seem almost mean to resent its inclusion here.
Then it’s back on the dance floor for a sax-and-guitar-driven cover of “Yeh Yeh,” originally recorded by Georgie Fame, a song impossible to sit through, with a rising chorus similar to “Til My Head Falls Off.”
“Hopeless Bleak Despair” gently eases the listener down from the frenetic energy of “Yeh Yeh” with its midtempo pace and somber lyrics. TMBG have been accused of being too obvious in their lyrics lately, but I beg to differ. Yes, the story in this song seems pretty straightforward—speaker discovers despair, which follows him until he dies. But is he happier in hell without the despair than in life with it? Could his “death” actually be an allegory for hitting rock-bottom and finally overcoming his addiction? And why did the despair go to heaven anyway? Like so many of their songs, there could be more here than meets the eye. And if you happen to be listening in the right frame of mind, the “choir of angels” that briefly accompanies the line “but my despair had ascended to heaven” is chill-inducing. This would have been a perfect closing track.
Those who miss the irony in “Man, It’s So Loud In Here” will probably think the next track, “Drink,” is a killer drinking tune. It’s actually one of the best, most scathing anti-drinking tunes ever written, although it sounds enough like a classic bar anthem to inspire spontaneous air-glass raising when performed live.
What follows is perhaps the most ingenious bit of track placement ever; a song about drinking too much is followed by a song about paralysis. “My Man” is an extended simile in which the speaker compares his paralyzed body to a ship that is anchored to the bottom of the sea and unable to move, its connection to the message center having been severed. In true TMBG style, this sad tale is accompanied by Linnell’s deadpan delivery and a bouncy synth beat, with some bongos thrown in for good measure.
If “Another First Kiss” and “Hovering Sombrero” slow the party down, the next tune, “Older,” threatens to bring it to a screeching halt. This song should be all too familiar if you’ve seen TMBG live in the past 2 years or have seen either of their two televised performances. Superior to the Long Tall Weekend/Malcolm in the Middle-soundtrack versions but inferior to the original version intended for Factory Showroom, it is the only track I would say really didn’t need to be on Mink Car (even more so than "Mr. Xcitement"), but the Johns must obviously think highly of it to have recorded and released it so many times, and when all is said and done, it does deserve a proper album release.
The title track comes next, bringing the album into the home stretch, with a Burt Bacharach-style tune and featuring oh-so-cool flugelhorn work by Jim O’Connor, and Flansburgh’s smooth vocals crooning lyrics like “And the silver chauffeur says that it’s all in your head/When you’re 24 carat dead.” Perfect.
But don’t pack up to leave the party yet! There’s still a lot of boogie left in Mink Car, and the next track, “Wicked Little Critta” is unabashedly silly and, like “I’ve Got a Fang,” seemed almost primitive when I first heard it on TMBG’s Dial-A-Song service. In fact, I didn’t like it much at all when I first heard it, but it really does grow on you, especially the perfectly harmonized, accordion-accompanied chorus.
The final trio of songs begins with the synth-pop rocker “Finished With Lies.” Like “Another First Kiss,” this one was also redone, except in the opposite direction. It began life as a slow, almost dirge-like march. Although the original was more emotionally powerful, this version is certainly album-worthy, and as a bonus they made up for omitting the best lines of two other songs by adding a great line to this one (“I’ll prove you were wrong about me/Move the needle telepathically”).
The version of “She Thinks She’s Edith Head” which follows is a bit of a puzzle; this song was already released twice, once on Long Tall Weekend and on the McSweeney’s disc, and the only difference on Mink Car is that Flans delivers the vocals a full octave lower.
It doesn’t seem worth the trouble of rerecording it just for that, but thankfully it doesn't hurt the song at all; it’s still a great little character study.
Finally, “Working Undercover for the Man” brings Mink Car to an end, all too soon even for an album with 17 tracks. Although this version has been harshly criticized for the touch of disco TMBG added to the chorus, it goes along well with the song's '70s detective-show vibe.
And thus concludes the musical adventure that is Mink Car. For those with rigid expectations of what TMBG should be (as if there is such a thing), it may be a disappointment, but for those who enjoy TMBG's music for the spirit of experimentation and unpredictability they have always embraced, it is another welcome treat from the hardest-working band in music today.
You'd be hard-pressed to name any other band who have managed to keep their sound so fresh for so long. So put on your dancing shoes and enjoy.
