GUSTAFER YELLOWGOLD’S “INFINITY SOCK”
Who’d of thunk that the most human character in kid’s music would be, um, not a human being at all. In the story-arced “Infinity Sock”, Morgan Taylor’s 4th installment in the ongoing Gustafer Yellowgold saga, the yellow fella from the sun once again proves a sensitive, introspective chap who’s damn near impossible not to love.
This batch of curious songs is Taylor at his most tuneful, thoughtful, and at the pinnacle of his powers vocally. The contemplative “Question Marks” is a perfect example of this. The song is as philosophical as kid’s music gets while still remaining contextually significant to young people. In it, Gustafer is exhuasted from a seemingly pointless and never-ending journey. It’s here, while inactive for the first time in the “Infinity Sock” story, that our protagonist carves out time to question the traits that define him; specifically, his insatiable appetite to know, to see, to want, and to need. The lyric “Why do I want to see so much / why do I want to see / everything contained within a frame seems incomplete” is Taylor’s greatest reflection of his Yellowgold songwriting period. It’s fitting that, like life itself, there are no cute, easy answers to all this pondering. This is how, through his cone-headed character, Morgan Taylor shows respect for the bigness of life and for our (and our children’s) own complex and infinite journeys of self-discovery. Fear not, this is still kid’s music I’m talking about but like much of the best of this emerging genre, it doesn’t always wear kid gloves. This is the kind of song that can launch fascinating conversations between parent and child – it did just that in my house. “Question Marks” is a triumph, pure and simple.
While iSock’s narrative thread doesn’t quite come through when enjoying the audio alone, the songs stand up strong and make themselves memorable on their own. That said, the visual component is bright, bold and as brilliantly obtuse as ever. Together, it’s a package still unlike anything in kid’s entertainment.
A clothing store selling pizza capes and other items made of cheese (“Wisconsin Poncho”), an epic sold out rock concert inside a most unusual venue (“Beehive”), and a slithery formal dance party (“Snake Proms”) are just three of the situations you’ll witness and hear about on “Infinity Sock”, the finest Gustafer Yellowgold album to date.
*OWTK received a copy of Gustafer Yellowgold’s Infinity Sock DVD/CD for review. The opinions expressed above are unbiased and true. No arm-twisting took place in the review process.
