THE BEST OF 2009: PHINEAS AND FERB

THE BEST OF 2009: PHINEAS AND FERB

by Kapani Kirkland

Duality. To opposites. To clashing harmonies. You utter this one word, and one album comes to mind, an album representing extreme polar passions of hatred, love, and everything in between: Phineas and Ferb, the 2009 compilation.

The album opens with Bowling for Soup’s ‘Today’s Going to Be a Great Day,’ an optimistic ode to the limitless opportunity of a summer day, and moves into ‘Busted,’ a darkly groovy song with themes of Lady Macbethian vengeance. Its finale ‘You Snuck Your Way Right into My Heart’ is a heart-warming and nostalgic 80s love ballad. The depth of this album is unprecedented, through its subtle societal commentaries on xenophobia (My Nemesis, Queen of Mars), safe-sex and STD prevention (Squirrels in my Pants), and the dangers of political structures that inhibit the individual from living an active, creative life (Chains on Me).

This is, ultimately, a series of love letters to summer. It creates a breathless, buoyant feeling, like feet-barely-touching-the-ground and popsicle-dripping-down-thecracks-of-your-fingers. From Jeremy’s tenor dreaminess to Perry the Platypus’ theme of oh-so-smooth jazz, Phineas and Ferb’s premiere album touches nearly every genre and leaves you winded from a rollercoaster of emotion.

And me? I fell in love with pringle and blender head many moons ago. Maybe it was their dashing looks. Maybe it was their music. But mostly I fell in love with the way Phineas and Ferb made me feel. I lost my Phineas and Ferb virginity on one fateful afternoon in 2011 at my cousin’s house, and when I fell, I fell hard. I watched and rewatched every episode, downloaded the songs on my iPod Nano, plugged in my earbuds, and ripsticked down my driveway to ‘Ain’t Got Rhythm.’ [NF]