Adventure Time
Come Along With Me
(Mondo Tees)
Kudos to Adventure Time for figuring it out. And by it I mean IT. It was a show that everyone could enjoy, because it was simplistic in its design but deep in content. It can be appreciated both at a superficial level, as the adventures of Finn and Jake living in a fantasy world, or as an exploration of human nature. The show moved quickly and looked great while doing it. It told funny jokes but also got dark. We’re talking way dark. Like, totalitarian dictatorship dark. So yes, it’s an easy show for kids to appreciate, but Adventure Time is clearly a show that when today’s target audience looks back on it 10 years from now they’re gonna say, “Whoa, I totally missed that.”
But all good things come to an end, and the least you can hope for is that they come to an end on their own terms. Adventure Time has done that: telling its story and finishing it when it wanted to. It should be lauded for all it’s done well. Interesting characters, deep story, beautiful animation, great acting, and wonderful music. And the music is definitely something the show has tried to underline throughout its run. It’s no coincidence that the most famous character aside from the main two is the musician Marcelibe. Adventure Time’s music is hard to describe: comparable to a child figuring out the synthesizer for the first time. It’s discordant, simplistic, improvisational and soothing all at once. There’s some strange and downright catchy stuff going on here. It’s like if Bjork and Kimya Dawson had a baby. It’s definitely not something your average kid would ever seek or get exposed to. Hell, it’s not something most adults would ever get exposed to, so props to Adventure Time for doing the lord’s work here. Anyone who appreciates any of this music gets it.
Mondo has done another bang-up job on the soundtrack, with a split yellow/blue 180g vinyl in a gatefold sleeve and a booklet with Jodorowsky-esque artwork. Again, much more interesting and adult than even most adults will ever see. This soundtrack is a celebration of a great show and delivers the sense of adventure it has tried to share with everyone from the very start. Those who get it are the ones who “get it.”
And get it while you still can right here.
