1990: Album of the year – Flood by They Might Be Giants.
Second place: GodWeenSatan: The Oneness by Ween.
Wow, the 90s are starting me off with some really great albums and a really tough choice. Anyone that knows me knows I have a deep, deep love for Ween and their debut GodWeenSatan is certainly a work of art. It’s crazy and zany, and one brilliant album. But in the end, I just had to hand this year’s title over to the fantastic Flood by the Johns of They Might Be Giants – an album just as off-the-wall, masterful, and oh so totally kick-ass.
If you’re just a casual TMBG fan and/or have heard but a couple of songs from them, chances are they came off of this album. Major hits such as Istanbul (Not Constantinople) and Particle Man were both popularized in the animated series Tiny Toons, and Birdhouse in Your Soul is another tune that garnered the duo some attention. But there are also many other great tracks on this album. Quirky, yet awesome tunes like Twisting, Your Racist Friend, and Lucky Ball and Chain really solidify this record. There’s also a handful oddball tracks like Minimum Wage and They Might Be Giants (I love it when bands have tracks named after themselves, and this is no exception) that might have you laughing at first, but before you know it, you’re humming along and the melody stays stuck in your head long after listening.
Throughout the band’s 20+ year career, they’ve experimented with many different sounds, but to me this album defines the quintessential They Might Be Giants. The majority of this album is composed of shorter songs that shy away from traditional rock standards and retain that “geek-rock” style they’ve become known for. It’s got its share of obscure references (as noted in Birdhouse and Istanbul), intellectual word-play (We Want a Rock and Birdhouse, again), and sillyness (Particle Man), but not to the point that their music comes off as a novelty – in fact, it’s anything but. This album is solid from start to finish and damn near perfect.
Best tracks: Birdhouse in Your Soul (quite possibly one of my favorite TMBG tracks ever), Particle Man, and the rest of the album (seriously… just listen to it, man).
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