They Might Be Giants has a new album coming out next month: Here Comes Science, a science themed album for kids, with songs like The Ballad of Davy Crockett (In Outer Space), and Photosynthesis. It’s hard for me to explain here how excited that makes me, since you can’t see me bouncing up and down. (And no, video is not an option.) The portrayal of science and scientists in US media is generally very stereotypical, with nerdy white boys, old white male professors, or the occasional hot young woman who’s very smart but has no common sense. And in all cases, science itself is far too geeky to be interesting. And hard, let’s not forget hard. How can that cultural perception not contribute to the astounding percentage of adults in this country who are unfamiliar with basic science facts.
Maybe if those facts are embedded in a catchy pop tune they’ll stick.
(Better-quality mp3 here.)
Granted, dinosaurs have always been cool, but this album spans basic biology, physics, astronomy, environmentalism, and chemistry. Based on the bits that have appeared on YouTube already, TMBG has done an excellent job of portraying their subject material at an appropriate level without making it dorky or dull.
