‘Mr. Me’ from TMBG’s Lincoln is a whole ball of fun. It has quite a cartoon-ey feel about it in its delivery. I read a comment somewhere that likened it to the music you’ll hear in a Mario Kart game; just from the knowledge I’ve gained from playing Mario Kart DS, the comparison isn’t too far off. Those high whistle-like noises and trumpet sounds are very reminiscent of the sounds from those games. And in general, the track is just propelled onwards by these crazy drum-machine rhythms which give an odd, but strangely addictive bounce to everything that’s going on.

But then you see the lyrics, and it’s clear that it’s about the titular character who may just be suffering from severe depression. Mr. Me’s been feeling this way for a while, depression is the track is symbolised as a ‘misty sea’ that ‘Me’ has been lost in for some time, and the track is something like a cry or a call for someone to help ‘Me’, but to also be careful that they don’t become depressed as well. So, you know… very polarising elements of a song are present here. Have to say though, a song about a really sad man never sounded so upbeat and cheerful before. It wouldn’t be the last time the band did something to this effect too. They always seem to do it so well.

To sum up, I enjoy it. This is a track that is over in under two minutes, so there’s not much else that I can think of to say. John Linnell sings it, he does a good job, John Flansburgh provides the catchy ‘yo yo-yo’ backing vocals which are very hard to forget. Just a short sweet burst of happy/sad music. And to close out, here’s a live performance of the song from 1987.