They Might Be Giants charges electric cars with our future happiness
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As one of many kids of the ‘70s, when we wanted to get our dose of education via quirky music videos, we memorized every word to the now-retro ‘Schoolhouse Rock,’ but today the category belongs to double Grammy-winning nerd rock band, They Might Be Giants. Best known for creating the theme song to the ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ TV show (‘Boss of Me’), TMBG has found an even younger audience with its last three CDs dedicated to helping kids learn their ABCs and 123s in a highly entertaining way. Their new CD, which comes out next week, is called ‘Here Comes Science’ and tackles scientific topics, many of which are considered somewhat controversial -- evolution, scientific theory and, yes, the superiority of electric cars. The song ‘Electric Car,’ sweetly sung by Robin Goldwasser, wife of band member John Flansburgh, celebrates a bright future of electric cars with lyrics like, ‘No diesel, steam or gasoline, how can you deny an electric car?’
The band should be trusted to know something about cars because for the last 20 years, they’ve been managed by Jamie Kitman, a columnist for Automobile Magazine and BBC’s Top Gear Magazine. Kitman’s opinion on the song is that it hearkens back to a time when American automakers were full of optimism and projected an appealing view of the future. ‘I think young people these days are reflecting more optimism in general for the environment than we ever did as youngsters.’ Kitman admits that the topic of electric cars is still a ‘charged issue,’ because the final die has not yet been cast as to which eco-friendly type of car will actually come out a winner in the race to become less dependent on foreign oil. He does, however, believe that electric cars top the list in terms of straight efficiency. ‘Of all the new technologies, the electric car is more efficient in terms of the total spend and has a long history that dates back to the turn of the century,’ Kitman says.
Perhaps to throw in a tiny disclaimer, the lyrics include the little phrase, ‘electric car, so good so far.’ In any case, the youth of America will certainly be singing along to this little ditty, imagining a future in which ‘happiness resides in an electric car.’
-- Joni Gray
They Might Be Giants will perform Saturday, Nov. 14 at UCLA’s Royce Hall with a family show at 3:00 p.m and an adult show at 8:00 p.m. Their new CD ‘Here Comes Science’ can be found on iTunes and Amazon.
YouTube video of ‘Electric Car’ by TMBG