Talk:Mink Car (Song)

Versions

i liked the Long Tall Weekend version better than this one... this one seems... kinda monotone. the LTW one is more interesting to me. less polished and it kinda reminded me of the earlier years. the mink car version, though, just seems boring, comparatively.

Uh... There was no Long Tall Weekend version.

This person was likely thinking of: the Unlimited version. So yes and no, there is a pillar and when you come out the other side, who knows! It's a Mink Car, and its not been topped all these years later. And I think that's interesting how it call

Leopold and Loeb

I don't know the source of the quote where Linnell discusses writing the song "in this Leopold and Loeb sort of way"... but the statement doesn't make sense. Leopold and Loeb were a pair of murderers in the 20's. I think he may have meant Lerner and Lowe, a famous songwriting duo. He either misspoke, or whoever wrote this entry on the wiki misquoted him. Anyone have any thoughts on this? --Oddjob 17:15, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

The source is given in the TMBW page, and it's from Electronic Musician (which by the way is an interesting interview to read). He probably did mean Lerner and Loewe, but instead suggested (subconsciously?...) that he and Flansburgh are a couple of intellectuals wholly dedicated to the underhanded butchering of music. With all the interviews the Johns have to give, I excuse it. ~ magbatz 19:30, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

To paraphrase Magz: don't suppose there's a chance he was aiming at being funny, right? --Luke 05:01, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

I doubt it... it's too obscure a reference in an otherwise very straightforward sentence in a very straightforward conversation. However I think it's great that Linnell would drop a reference to either duo in an interview like that. --Oddjob 13:50, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

Right, because obscure humor just doesn't fit the TMBG style. :b --Luke 16:51, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

Maybe he meant Leopold Stokowski and Lisa Loeb.--Anextrafacelol 05:42, 4 July 2008 (UTC)

Bacharach died of natural causes

This song is a meld of form and substance (as much as such fantas-tic lyrics are substantive). The musical style gently parodies Burt Bacharach from the 60s-70s. Evoking a lushness that is then mirrored in the lyrics. Which are not just surreal; they also lampoon the kind of lifestyle of (eg, LA) celebrities. A car made of mink, driven by a guitar, a 24 carat gold death.

ps - early in its public release I asked ChatGPT to nominate 'songs involving car accidents'. Its first reply was a bland list of mainstream (American, what else?) releases. So I asked if it had heard of 'a little band from Liverpool'. 'Oh, sorry. Yes, the Beatles "A Day in the Life" involves...' it replied. Then I asked about TMBG. 'Oh, sorry. Yes, "Mink Car" is about someone who is killed by a car that is covered in mink...' Then 'we' got into a discussion about how AI is trying hard to be factual, but partly because of that is even less able to interpret or speculate about poetry, art etc.