USA, 1988, indie pop / alternative rock
They Might Be Giants – Lincoln: After the bitter divorce from Ana Ng, he’s off to Cowtown! Looks like he’s gotten over things, turning over a new leaf and all that. I mean, as long as you’ve got your good friend the cow, who needs a psycho bitch? Turns out, it’s all bluster. The divorce has fucked him up more than he would admit–so he goes on prescription drugs to keep his hands from shaking, to keep him in a good mood, to “disintegrate his ever-troubled mind”. On the uptick, he gets a good idea: a total change of image. A purple toupee! Yeah, that’ll do the trick. That’ll turn things around, that’ll show the way. As far as I can tell, this is where the narrative (that I just made up) ends. I guess the purple toupee worked out for him? Or he blew his brains out, which is why the narrative ends. The album continues with a collection of songs of unassailable, acerbic wit. “Kiss Me, Son of God” might just be the best album closer of all time.
