Search - Jonathan Coulton :: Thing a Week Three

Geek folk-rock cleverness at its absolute best

Timothy T. Sullivan | Suwanee, GA USA | 03/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is another collection from Jonathan Coulton's brilliant experiment in songwriting called "Thing-A-Week" in which he wrote and produced a new song every week for a year. Of the four albums in this series, this one is my favorite, most notably because of its inclusion of the computer programmer anthem, "Code Monkey", arguably Coulton's most popular tune. Coulton's music includes more than just clever lyrics, it is also highly melodic -- clearly, he has a talent for finding musical "hooks" that make his songs memorable. Further, the high quality of production is amazing, considering that he is recording this music in a makeshift studio in his own home. Not every song in this set is perfect, of course -- "Rock and Roll Boy" is a throw-away novelty, for example -- but most of this CD contains some of the most entertaining songs I've heard in a long time, with a great mix of humor, satire, irony and top-flight musicianship."