Apollo 18

People, April 1992
by Craig Tomashoff

This Brooklyn-based duo of John Flansburgh and John Linnell are like the high-school science nerds who grew up listening to Hits of the 70's collections. They deserve a different kind of critic. With that in mind, let's imagine possible reactions to the Giants:

"This record is more fun than a barrel of anthropoids, with simple, catchy pop tunes that tackle issues of substance. 'Mammal' is a perfect example, with a bouncy organ riff to accompany the words, 'So the warm blood fods/ With the red blood cells, lacking nuclei/ Through the large four-chambered heart/ Maintaining the very high metabolism rate they have.'" -- Darwinian Daily

"It's got a great beat and you can dance to it. I give it a cube root of 941.492. Especially the song 'Fingertips,' which manages to cram nearly two dozen different types of pop standard, from ballad to folk to ad jingle, into one regular-length number. This is like getting two records for the price of one, a savings of roughly $11.98 per purchase, depending on state tax laws." -- Mathematician Monthly

"These mellifluous melodies are exactly our cup of beverage made by soaking leaves of certain plants. What other maestros make hummable entities of such verbiage as 'palindrome' in 'I Palindrome I' or 'He had the same obsequious manner/ That was the reason I had him killed' in 'Turnaround'?" -- Wordsmith World

"The record is totally cool.": People

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