Working Undercover For The Man EP

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ALBUM INFORMATION

Total Tracks: 9   Total Length: 12:20

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Working Undercover for the Band

Marsilies

Another stop-gap measure released by eMusic to help satiate fans eagerly awaiting Mink Car, this EP featured a sneak peak of one track from that album, "Working Undercover for the Man," which sounds exaclty the same here as it does on Mink Car. "Rest A While" is a slightly longer version of a dial-a-song favorite. "I Am A Human Head" is quintessential Linnell pop while "On The Drag" is quintessential Flansburgh rock. "Empty Bottle Collector" is a jazzy instrumental from their work on Malcolm in the Middle. The "Robot Parade" featured here is not the version from No!, but is rather an inspired hardcore thrash metal version of the children's song. The "Radio TMBG" jingles are brief, but like the snippets from their song "Fingertips", are still enjoyable and memorable. A Final note: this release is 128kb encoded only, but tracks 1-5 can be found on other releases available on eMusic in higher quality. Tracks 1,3,4,5 are also on They Got Lost, while track 2 is on Mink Car.

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They Say All Media Guide

An inauspicious mp3 exclusive EP (although a limited number of real CDs were pressed and mailed to buyers in 2000), Working Undercover for the Man seems to be either a taster for the LP Mink Car or a promo plug for http://www.wildplanet.com’s TMBG radio or both. Or maybe neither. These tracks aren’t the best answer to fans’ questions about the band’s uncharacteristicly scant output from 1997-2000. “Boss of Me,” the first TMBG hit in eight years and the theme song to Fox’s Malcom in the Middle, isn’t here. Nor is the Austin Powers 2 track “Dr. Evil.” As it would happen, “Working Undercover for the Man” did feature on 2001′s Mink Car, but the track is hardly strong enough to stand as a first single. Most of the tunes on the EP could be described as club rock. It’s fairly straightforward guitar-oriented rock & roll, but with a hint of subversiveness and an eccentric display of chord theory. Still, “Robot Parade” is the only song to do justice to the musical mind’s eye of classic TMBG. The radio promos are superfluous. – Christian Huey

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  • 02.13.12 TMBG/@JonathanCoulton tour ends in NEW YORK CITY at Terminal 5 ON SALE http://t.co/SRC9qhwm 3/10 Dancing shoes, crash helmets recommended.
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