They Might Be Giants - Mink Car

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Free Music Notes for Mink Car

Free Music Review: New and different, and still good
Hit: 5 Stars

Mink Car blew me away by being an entirely new sound, and that new sound is really good. A few tracks are not spectacular, but the really good ones make up for it, and it's neat to hear TMBG experimenting with so many different styles. This CD has restored my faith in the Johns.

I can't pin down what quality there is to this new sound, because the tracks are so different. Perhaps it's the fact that they use all kinds of different instruments.

The beginning of the CD is a bit worrisome. There is nothing memorable about "Bangs" (not even the lyrics), and the chorus of Cyclops Rock is rather grating on the ears. Then "Man, It's So Loud In Here" comes along. It may be "just" dance music, but I can't remember the last time I really heard dance music with a coherent memory that sticks in my mind. It's a great lead-in to the good part of the CD.

"Mr. Xcitement" is another complete surprise - this is TMBG, and they're basically rapping. I hate rap. I don't hate "Mr. Xcitement". That's quite an accomplishment.

I found the original "First Kiss" annoying; "Another First Kiss" makes it much subtler and nicer. "I've Got A Fang" sounds like both classic TMBG and new TMBG simultaneously - the combination works - and the lyrics are great. "Hovering Sombrero" is too much like classic TMBG, though, and didn't especially catch my interest - but then, I've already said I'm sick of classic TMBG, so I'm in no position to judge.

Has anybody noticed that those little stickers that come on the CD case usually advertise a rather unremarkable track? This is the case with "Yeh Yeh" (mistitled on the promotional sticker as "Yeah, Yeah"). It's pretty good, but there's some quality to it that makes it obvious that they were making the song for the Chrysler commercial. Perhaps the song came first, but I'd be rather surprised.

"Hopeless Bleak Despair" is rather like classic TMBG in the beginning, then the sound changes partway through. It's a neat effect. "Drink!" surprised me - it sounds like the lyrics actually have a point. (The tune itself is more classic TMBG, which I'm in no position to judge.) While I was recovering from this shock, "My Man" came along. This song works a lot like "She's an Angel", having a chorus that sounds totally different from the verse, except in TMBG's new style. The verse is what sticks in my mind, and each time I listen to the song the chorus comes as a wonderful surprise.

"Older" takes the idea of trying different instruments to an extreme. I have no idea what instrument that is. It is interesting, though not entirely pleasant, to listen to.

"Mink Car" is great. I never would have expected TMBG to try soft jazz, and they were so successful at it that this song has permanently lodged itself in my head.

"Wicked Little Critta" is again different from everything. The lyrics are a different kind of nonsense than the usual TMBG. In the beginning it sounds not like TMBG at all, but in the middle the accordion comes in as a hint that you really are still listening to the same CD. Something about it compels me to keep listening to it over and over - perhaps it's the abrupt and amusing ending.

"Finished With Lies" and "She Thinks She's Edith Head" are both re-makes of TMBG's MP3 releases. I can't say these are the high point of the CD, but they did manage to make something good out of the earlier versions of these songs, which were pretty crappy. In "Working Undercover" the digitized voices singing in harmony lend a very nice touch to the song. If this song had been on, say, John Henry, it would stand out and shine - here, it's overshadowed by the catchy tunes you find elsewhere.

If you want classic TMBG, most of this CD is not for you. Go buy "Then". If you already have "Then", listen to it until it starts to get on your nerves, and then you'll be in the perfect mood to listen to "Mink Car".

I want to give the CD 4.5 stars. There are a couple of pointless tracks - but then again, they've crammed so much music onto this CD that it's not so much of a problem. But I'll give 5 stars to compensate for the reviewers who missed the point of the CD.

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