Song: Kitten Intro
Album: Then: The Earlier Years
Release Date: 1997
TMBG has made promotional material for their music a number of times, all of which can stand alone as regular songs as well as advertise the band. They also have a whole lot of really weird, unsettling music, strewn about their discography. From “Chess Piece Face” and “Hall of Heads”, all the way to “What Did I Do To You?” and “If Day For Winnipeg”, the band has a lot of spooky songs littered among the rest. Now when it comes to a song that, somehow, combines both of these more niche aspects of the Giants’ music, I can only think of one: “Kitten Intro”. I’ll preface this next part with the statement: I am a very dramatic person when it comes to personal tastes. When I listened to my beloved Then: The Earlier Years for the first time, I was digging the music. But all of the sudden, after the fun imagery of “Birds Fly” had ended, a chill ran down my spine, for “Kitten Intro” had started. I’ll get into how I feel about the song quickly, but long story short, this is one of the most unsettling songs I’ve ever heard from them. But at the same time, as any superfan of the band would, I still love this song.
Moments of Interest: So yes, this song gives me the heebie-jeebies. But that doesn’t change the fact that it has a very interesting sound to it. For one, the first half (performed by Linnell) is, according to Flans, “Based on a car commercial.” I think that Linnell got the voice down perfectly for this imitation, but instead of a normal car, he describes one with kittens painted all over it. Then, in the second half, Flans takes over with a deranged, barely-holding-it-together kind of voice — you know, the kind you might expect a knife-wielding maniac to use. With this second half, Flans’ psychopathic character repeats the word “No!” in response to beliefs that some people have of the band. He makes strange statements that might allude to “the truth”, like “They are not posing as an easy-listening Nazi rock band, trying to lure intellectuals into believing what they already know to be true.” Finally, the music for this song effortlessly wraps everything up into an efficaciously mysterious package. With numerous rumblings, bass lines, organ chords, and twinkles sparkled throughout, this whole thing sounds like it was performed by a full orchestra. I can’t fully explain why, but this backing track makes the whole thing much creepier for me, as opposed to a drum machine and an organ on Linnell’s keyboard, for instance.
Favorite Aspect: My favorite part of this song is the fact that it will never grow old. As a few of you may know, I listen to each song on repeat as I’m writing reviews. I started this review around 8:30 AM, and right now, at 9:20 AM, having heard this track over and over again, I can assure you that it’s still just as unsettling and entertaining as it has been. I think I can pin this effect on the orchestral sound of the track, because I feel like orchestras have a very full, multi-layered sound that keeps the listener enveloped in the music.
Score: Along with “What Did I Do To You?” and “Door to Door Minotaur”, this song is one of the creepiest tracks that the Johns have released. But just like those other two, I still love listening to them, for various reasons. For placing me on the fence about whether to avoid it or fully embrace it, “Kitten Intro” has gotten an 8/10 from me.
Upcoming: Your Own Worst Enemy (Dial-A-Song) [Power of Dial-A-Song II]
