Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum

Surprisingly perfect eclectic 2000s rock. An excellent addition.

I submitted this, so of course I think it's a 5 star worthy album. But, really, it's a 5 star worthy album. Tally Hall creates interesting melodies and lyrics that range from thought provoking to goofy. They're the greatest and most popular band that never were. I saw them in a high school gymnasium early in their career and thought "these guys are going to be huge!". Then they ALMOST WERE. They signed a major record deal. They were touring on Good Morning America and shit. They had a song featured on The OC right when the OC was absolutely the biggest thing on TV. They had a hit youtube show back before Youtube shows were really a thing. And then they imploded an they all went their separate ways. Ross went back to school. Rob created one of the biggest internet memes ever with "Actual Cannibal Shia Lebouf". They doing music for children's television now. I still think back to this album and what could have been. I think Gen Z has sort of discovered them and now they're a popular Tik Tok thing? Good for them!

As interesting as the location of the album’s namesake, Marvin’s is one of my all-time favorites.

Oh god no how annoying. 2/5.

Pre-Tumblr internet forums absolutely popped off for this shit. They could barely handle this much condensed musical theater kid energy. Honestly, I had all but written off this album as "not my thing" while listening to it until Ruler of Everything; wasn't expecting a song that good to punch me in the face right near the end, but it was enough to earn it 3 stars.

I really appreciate how these User Albums expose us to a really diverse range of music that I would never otherwise listen to, sometimes they click but sometimes they don't. Unfortunately this one fell with a thud.

Wow! I live in Ann Arbor, have been to Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum many times, had heard of the band Tally Hall, but never really listened to them and didn't know this album existed. What a revelation to not only find an album that hits so close to home, but to top it off it's really, really good. Excellent, up-beat energy. 5 stars!

7/10. I went back on forth on whether I found this irritating or charming. I did laugh a bit at the "end rhymes are not my fort" line. Don't know that I needed a bonus track that, by the sound of it, features about 10 Muppet chickens but no one is making me listen to the bonus tracks I can stop whenever I want

I had no expectations of this. I've never heard of this band, and in my research, they are a college band from Ann Arbor, MI. Quirky and well produced. The lead singer made that Shia LeBeouf cannibal video from 10+ years ago. Nothing super memorable but it was enjoyable. Little to no re-listenability for me though. Still, enjoyable listen. 3.5/5, but rounding down to 3 because I rated many better albums than this as 4/5.

Rock

Whacky and silly from time to time. But very fun album

Sorta would rather listen to the "Simlish" version of the full album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r5r8yii6Rg

Like an American version of XTC or Squeeze.

An invitation into the museyroom has certain inevitable weight. Tally Hall branded maximalism has its charms in assault, not walking sounds or soft-spoken explanations. Though the album lacks a particular narrative thread, it avoids going off the rails in lingering; Excess in style is rather appealing.

Quand même pas de sens c'est un bon album. J'ai aimé et jamais je serais tomber sur ce.type de musique par moi même. 3.5

A little too high of a quirk factor for me, about consistent for a band with two ukulele credits. I'm also not convinced many of the lyrics meant much of anything, though I'm willing to entertain I'm too dumb or too lazy to figure them out. I can't fully trash it given the high technical acumen on display and I didn't hate it or anything.

Good sound but not my personal taste

I don’t really have a problem with Tally Hall, but while listening to this album I couldn’t help but think that they’re kinda AJR-adjacent, which tainted the whole experience for me. AJR sucks. 5/10

Never heard of this band before. Decent record, but nothing for me to get too excited about.

I thought this was pretty cool actually. Nice songs and a good vibe. What else do you need?

I was not aware of the band. Did not click on me, but thanks for suggesting

An amazing amount of 5s for what is a fairly insufferable album. I don't mind a comedy album if it's done well. This is just shite.

Ajr ass theater kid ass music even if I secretly enjoyed a couple tracks I hated the experience.

This is why I love this project. This album is a strange mix of 2000s indie rock, baroque pop, experimental rock, jazz, and Americana. The result is a whimsical album that isn’t afraid to explore its own weirdness while remaining accessible and memorable. It reminds me of a mix between Weezer and Beck though that doesn’t quite encompass what Tally Hall are doing. I will be listening to it again for sure.

I really love how insane this album is. Some of it works better, some of it falls completely flat on its face, but the one thing that's consistent, is that you have no clue what the next song is going to be. Gotta be the only album in existence to have both the "Baroque Pop" and the "Hip Hop" tags in its Wikipedia infobox.

Wasn't really sure what to do with this until learning that the Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf guy was part of this group. It's ~EcLeCtIc~, you see. I was a TMBG guy back in my youth, probably would have gone wild for this shit if I'd heard it when it came out

Not my cuppa tea. This is an inoffensive quirky album that never meant nobody no harm.

One of those cult-favorite, internet-loved oddities. It feels like a quirky student band, in the best and worst sense. colour-coded ties, barbershop harmonies, theatrical arrangements, and a kind of nerdy songwriting. Focusing on cleverness rather than emotion. It's fine for what it is.

Ah, the pop darlings of Ann Arbor! I’m surprised to find this slice of personal nostalgia here - I know some of the backup singers listed on this disc personally. It’s bubble-gummy in a quirky turn of the millennium kind of way. It makes me want some Zingerman’s. I’ve probably rated it higher than it deserves based on my bias. It’s cute.

It was certainly an eccentric album. I had never heard of the album, the band, or any songs previously. I do not have a need to revisit.

I hate theater kids.

If you’re listening to this and wondering what does any of this mean, then you perfectly understand what makes Ann Arbor great and awful at the same time. Mix in the quirky ness of weird comedy in the 00s, 5 artists from U of M and you get this album. It’s easy to see exactly why they didn’t maintain their popularity as the quirky comedy trope died in the 00s. And lastly, Go Green! Biased rating but this is rough. 2.5/10

Painfully hipster-y, nerd rap, video game samples, ukelele; I dislike a lot about this, 1 is a bit harsh but found myself either skipping or hoping every single song would end sooner. I got to "do you like how I dance, I have zirconium pants" and threw in the towel.

Fun and unexpected. Quirky, melodic and really enjoyable. Reminds me of something in the vein of Ben Folds, Jellyfish, Fountains of Wayne and Barenaked Ladies. Though some of the songs become a bit goofy, Banana Man, Two Wuv, they all have pretty good hooks which make the album a great surprise.

Some silly fun here… kind of reminded me of the Barenaked Ladies or something along those lines. I really liked “Just Apathy” then “Spring and a Storm” had me full on in love. I’m sold on this album. A love song to Mary-Kate and Ashley? I’m in! “Ruler of Everything” is fantastic. The bonus tracks were well worth a listen. I loved the chicken song “Mucka Blucka”. Loads of fun! Catchy and terrific!

Quirky and fun.

Great!

I loved being introduced to this. They do like to play it all. So much fun! Five stars for five neat guys!

This was very cool and perfect for the list. Eclectic, diverse, creative, thematic...

ok this is catchy. I have to give it a 5 cause i listened to it twice. maybe a 3rd.

TMBG fans take note, don't sleep on this one.

Songs from this album have been popping up in playlists based on songs I like in Spotify recently, so nice to get the album here.

It's got a lot of Ben Folds in it. Pretty decent album. Different than what the title implies. I'd listen to it again.

It's like TMBG for more modern theater kids

Hmm. There were bits I loved, especially when it went full 70s overblown fun. It was wildly varied as well. For ambition I'd give it five stars. However, none of the songs stuck in my brain or hit me emotionally, so it doesn't quite hit it. It's still glorious, but for me it's just got those final few inches to be five stars.

Somewhere between a quirky musical and pop rock record. Definite Sparks vibes. A lot of fun! Rating: 4 Playlist track: Good Day Date listened: 06/12/24

Reminder to come back and listen to this album again

Quirky, irregular music with a great vibe

The whitest music of all time? Quite possibly. A fun time? Hell yeah. I'm not too proud to enjoy this

Silly but fun, nice selection

I am into this! I vaguely remember listening to this after finding another Tally Hall album, maybe Good & Evil, definitely because of Turn the Lights Off ? A very cool and weird little album.

This album feels like one I shouldn't enjoy that much. I don't particularly enjoy a lot of the individual musical choices they made here. And yet, I kept finding myself enjoying it in spite of myself. It's just one of those things that ends up being greater than the sum of its parts because its incredibly well executed. Also, I'm a sucker for harmonies, and they use them to incredible effect here 4/5

A friend introduced me to this band in high school so I knew a few of the tracks here, but I had mostly forgotten the odd little niche this band has embraced with open arms. What you get out of this album depends on your affinity for tongue-in-cheek quirkiness – to me, this LP really toes the line between wit and embarrassing goofiness at times, but overall things work for a majority of the runtime. There are some fun instrumentals to be had, and love them or hate them, there are some clever lyrics here that fit the alt-rock vibe perfectly. While I don’t know if I would return to this as a full album, there are definitely some fun, creative tracks here I added to my library and I had a good amount of fun during my listen.

Good times I should have had already.

Reminds me of They Might Be Giants. Very quirky, amusing pop with guitar riffs, but a touch too much barbershop-style vintage vocals a bit like what Freddie Mercury and Queen liked to do.

lmao 3 4 wtf is banana man 3

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Taken for a ride, Be born

Alternative rock, indie rock, power pop, baroque pop, garage rock, psychedelic rock. Ni fu ni fa.

Skemmtilegt stöff, ansi original á sumum stöðum.

Weirdly, I could place what year this album was from by looking at the band's promo photo. The title and name gave me big 70s vibes, which, after listening, is definitely what they're going for: harmonies that remind me of the Beach Boys, and really swinging for the magnum opus-likes of "Sgt. Pepper's". Occasionally flits into musical theater territory. On a personal level, it reminds me of the band I Fight Dragons if they weren't video-game-dorks and were just regular-dorks. Overall feeling? It's fine. It swings into "bad" territory whenever any of the members try to rap (not that they can't, it's just that it's... earnest but cringe-worthy), and "Banana Man" for being a liiiiittle, well, you know. With all due respect, it makes me think of TV shows like The Office or How I Met Your Mother: twee, adorkable, and maybe just a little too saccharine. Favorite tracks: "Greener", "Just Apathy"

It's fine. It kind of reminds me of a less entertaining Ween in some regards. I could see how others would enjoy it.

Nice little album. While listening I enjoyed reading about Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum itself.

Never heard of this band. Within seconds I was like "these are a bunch of nerdy white guys aren't they?" Yes. It gives off the quirky vibe that is just... ehh. Listening to the rest of the album it's somewhat exhausting with the rapid shifts. Very musical theatre energy. Sometimes this style of music works with me but other times not. For example, Panic! At the Disco really give me those vibes (btw why aren't they on the list?) but it works for me. Ultimately this didn't resonate with me but I can see why it would. My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 3/5 Should this have been included on the original list? Sure why not. Replace one of the numerous garbage 90s acts. Even though I'm not a huge fan, at least it was interesting.

It was the right side of quirky for me. Enjoyed!

It was quite nice

Interesting album started off enjoying this but then got a bit irritated by it.

Quirky, and sometimes interesting, as a whole though not memorable

Quirky choice which is a bit "They Might be Giants." Wholesome and maybe a bit annoying. To be honest I dont know what to feel.

Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum is something of a whistle-stop tour of genres, like a 7/10 food buffet that tries to give you a taste of everything rather than focusing on a single cuisine really well. It's charming because of it but it has limited mileage as a result. Like there were times I got 80s glam rock notes, then stuff that sounds like ELO because of the vocoder/talk box stuff, then a bunch of it sounds like Weezer in their lighter moments, and we even get some sprinklings of ska/reggae and big band and nu-metal that sounds like Zebrahead :D It's chaotic without ever sensing like it's getting out of their control, it runs too long but I think it gets a low 3/5 because it's more interesting than 90% of what we've had on offer. Mental album.

This was a fun listen

Me: “AI- create an album by an imaginary band using the following prompts ‘Imagine if Weezer cover band tried to make something that sounded like Sgt. Peppers. But also make it sound like the band Barenaked Ladies somehow.’” AI: “processing…processing. Done. Please enjoy Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum by Tally Hall” Me (after listening): “It’s not bad but AI has long way to go before it can replace real music”

Frequently quirky, occasionally catchy and pleasant. Attempts to be lyrically clever fall flat more often than not. This feels like a band who took all the wrong lessons from a bunch of artists who are more talented than they are. I struggled a bit between the 2 and 3 on this one. It has its moments, and I generally appreciate Tally Hall's oddball sensibility. But, more often than not, I also find these guys to be pretty insufferable. Fave Songs: Greener, The Bidding, Spring and a Storm, Be Born

Just ok

Like a poor man’s Weezer

Gauge your eyes out type beat

Weird... parts of it want to be Weezer, other bits are just trying to be wacky

Yeah, this is a distillation of the nerd energy of TMBG, Jonathan Coulton, Flight of the Conchords and the like. It sounds amateurish, and I'm absolutely not surprised to read that they were relatively short-lived, producing only two albums and a few episodes of a web TV show. I suspect that the cross-over between people who watched the web TV show and people who watched Dr Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog would have been considerable, obviously the latter with a far higher viewership. It isn't unpleasant to listen to, but I just haven't got that switch that keys me into it.

Fountains of Theater Kids

Tally Hall are one of those bands I’ve heard about quite a bit but just never got around to checking out - and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Some of it was quite charming, and it’s a very eclectic baroque pop album - there’s a clear Queen influence and I’m getting some Sgt. Peppers-era Beatles as well - while also really feeling like it’s of that early YouTube scene with Lemon Demon etc. It experiments quite a lot with its style and some of it really works, while some of it really really doesn’t - the few rap sections here and there and the awkward reggae of Banana Man were difficult to get through. I’ve seen a couple of comparisons to AJR and I really get that - the ukulele-heavy tracks also reminded me of Twenty One Pilots at their most insipid. Still a lot to enjoy in places though - I appreciated the overall ambition and the Haiku song was cute, but it just didn’t work for me