150-101 - Phineas and Ferb Song Ranking
300-251
250-201
200-151
Tier 6: Songs Which Tickle My Fancy
150. Summer All Over the World
One of this song’s unfortunate obstacles is Phineas and Ferb Save Summer itself, it being unquestionably among the worst 45-minute specials. Another obstacle is the redundant nature of its content. “Summer Belongs to You,” “Summer (Where Do We Begin?)” and even “Today Is Gonna Be a Great Day” are among the iconic odes to the season of summer and to making the most of it, and all of those numbers will be found later (and in some instances, much later,) on the list. The funky little bass opening is one of the most defining qualities of “Summer All Over the World,” and the chord progression in the chorus: I - II - bVII - IV, stands out to me as being unique and interesting. If you can pull it out of the shadow of some of the far superior summer anthems, you should be able to enjoy it greatly. If not, you’ll be wondering why you’re listening a lengthy list of items in the lexicon of summer set to a mediocre melody, when you could be listening to a lengthy list of items in the lexicon of summer set to the melody of “Summer (Where Do We Begin?)”
149. Ring of Fun
If anyone can tell me exactly which Beach Boys song this melody plagiarises, please let me know. It won’t make me enjoy it any less; I’m just curious.
148. Surfin' Asteroids
Speaking of The Beach Boys, go listen to the countermelody in the chorus of Surfin’ Safari. The “come on, babe, we’re surfin’ safari” part or whatever the lyric is. Then listen to the first line of this song: “Grab a space board and catch a wave.” It is practically the same. Is this a coincidence? Of course not! Both songs are about surfing! That melodic nugget is exactly the ideal size to be recycled in a thoughtful homage, surrounded by Beach Boys style chords and vocals.
147. Talk to Him
Speaking of thoughtful homages to artists whose names start with B, go listen to Billy Joel’s Tell Her About It, and then listen to “Talk to Him.” They might as well have written a direct parody. The meter, tempo, melodic shape, background vocals, song form, mixolydian flavour, and of course, the lyrical themes, are so overtly drawn directly from that one song. Does that bother me? Nay! Tell Her About It is a banger, and therefore, so is a song that bears to it many similarities.
146. Mix and Mingle Machine
It’s quite unusual for me to like a song with no melody in the verses, but several qualities regarding “Mix and Mingle Machine” counteract this. Most obviously is the lyrical makeup of the verses, including a great joke about a rooster, and a satisfying rhyme of “Rex” with “next.” Another is the fact that the verses themselves are short. It’s rare for a Phineas and Ferb song to include three verses and three choruses, but this one squeezes it all into less than two minutes, thanks to how short they all are, mirroring the rapid-fire nature of the mix and mingle machine itself. It is odd however that one ought to make sure that their underwear is clean for the sole purpose of making a good impression in the mix and mingle machine. Of course it is always a good idea to have clean garments, but if you only have a second to make a good impression, the chances are very slim that any details pertaining to one’s underwear would come into play.
145. Van Stomm's Rule One
In some ways, this song exemplifies exactly why the music of Phineas and Ferb is so exceptional overall. Beneath Buford’s raspy voice, and the absurdly specific lyrics about how the most crucial law of Buford’s family is to set their alarm clocks at the right time, (as if there would be a family who left ambiguous whether it would be advisable to wake up punctually,) is an arrangement with tasteful switches in the rate of harmonic change, a groovy bassline, a ton of 7-extensions on chords, an augmented chord, and some of the best backing vocals Danny Jacob has ever laid down. This song is the epitome of “they didn’t have to go that hard.”
144. When Will He Call Me?
This strikes me as a long-lost relative to Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain, or to a song called Vitamin A that was playable on the computer in my kindergarten classroom, which I’ve never been able to find since. At points during the song, its direction seems unclear, and bordering on lazy, especially when the line “When will he call me?” is repeated three times near the end. But it’s all tied together nicely with the reiteration of “Should I check my watch, my calendar, or phases of the moon?”
143. Step Into the Great Unknown
I did briefly consider omitting this song from the list entirely, the key word there being ‘briefly.’ The fact that “Step Into the Great Unknown” was cut from Candace Against the Universe due to an arbitrary time limit should not have an impact on its status as a Phineas and Ferb song, especially since Dan and Swampy themselves did their very best to keep it in the film. It’s not hard to see why. It makes use of the heroic-sounding ‘borrow’ chords, as does “To War,” (which I mentioned several parts ago,) but its swung rhythm and standard instrumentation balance out - or rather, would have balanced out - this brave moment with light-hearted optimism, as was - or rather, would have been - appropriate for this early stage in the movie.
142. Adulting
Some have described Candace Against the Universe as being written with the conscious knowledge that most fans of the original show had grown into adults. This comes through the main story in a significant way, with Candace’s journey of self-doubt and all that, and it comes through in a less significant way in “Adulting,” where Dr. Doofenshmirtz shows himself to be incompetent. So relatable! I could do without his Goofy-the-dog-style hijinx; it’s Isabella, and specifically Alyson Stoner’s performance, and specifically, the lack of egregious adjusting to her voice, which make this song great. Isabella never sounded this good, and I’m looking forward to hearing her in this timbre for two more seasons.
141. Weaponry
This song is generally very well-liked if only for the fact that it is the sole instance of Norm singing rather than rapping. John Viener shows himself to be brilliantly good at it, and yet, I completely understand why it was only done this one time. It’s nearly impossible to compose a melody that is both lively and ‘robotic,’ and “Weaponry” might be as close as it gets. The percussive rhythm of lines like “Never mind the fatalities / when there’s municipalities” nails this challenge to a tee. On the other hand, motion like near the very end of the song, which approaches the very top of Viener’s range, make Norm sound *almost* human, which I’m guessing was not the intent.
140. Yodel Odel Obey Me
The blatancy of: “Let me tell you my evil scheme / I’m gonna enslave your minds with a predictable melody,” accompanied by a happy crowd rocking back and forth, causes “Yodel Odel Obey Me” to pose a serious threat to “Robot Rodeo” on the question of the greatest opening line. But the blatancy of those lines would not be nearly as effective without the showstopping vocal performance of Jeff Gunn, whose calm and silky-smooth singing is spot-on, and successfully fuses both country and western music!
139. Set the Record Straight
I’ve soured slightly on this Jeremy-feature lately. Everything in its base, that being underlying harmony, melody, rhythm, and concept, ranges from good to great, but with a song like this, whose gag is that Jeremy never completes his thought, one would expect the music to reflect this incompleteness. Instead, “what I like about you is,” always resolves to the tonic, and feels like a complete musical phrase in and of itself. Thus, I’m never left with the impression that we will find out what he ‘likes about you.’ The suspense is absent! And the joke unfortunately falls apart in quick order.
138. Fireside Girls Anthem
Through this national-anthem style snippet, complete with a clever utilisation of the dominant of the dominant, and a humorously abrupt ending, I feel like I know everything about the Fireside Girls that I will ever need to know.
137. Hail Doofania!
Through this national-anthem style snippet, complete with a clever utilisation of the dominant of the dominant, and a humorously abrupt ending, I feel like I know everything about Doofania that I will ever need to know.
136. Serious Fun
The opening number in the incredible Last Day of Summer is greatly overshadowed by every other song in the finale, but it fulfills its purpose successfully nonetheless. That purpose is not to be a life-changing song in and of itself, but to lay the groundwork for this special episode, and give the sense, through its musically foreboding chorus especially, that big things are about to happen. Even the title “serious fun” is an oxymoron which perfectly encapsulates the diverse weight of the episode.
135. Wedding Adventure
No song was more difficult to rank than this one. Should I rank the opening section and closing section alone? They would land in the top 30. Should I rank the middle section alone? It would land in the bottom 30. For reasons I don’t have time to explain, my first exposure to this song was in this video of Josh Bassett and his sisters performing at their sister's wedding. They wisely neglected to include the abysmally unfunny and altogether shockingly intolerable middle portion, or any variation of it, and by the same token, they proved the majestic capability, of the final bars especially, to instill, through its outstanding cohesion and musical beauty in general, a sense of peaceful closure and love, almost like a magic potion. No song has ever contradicted itself so thoroughly.
134. It's Candace
Candace and Jeremy’s relationship is one of the very few parts of Phineas and Ferb which actually follows some kind of timeline, even if its logic is only self-contained. In this episode, Jeremy has finally asked Candace to come *hang out.* This is the best moment of Candace’s life. Does it not track that she would bike down the street, in her special new alternate outfit, on cloud nine? “It’s Candace” comes across as her internal dialogue, or internal soundtrack, if you will. The manifestation of her joy! So theatric!
133. I Really Don't Hate Christmas
This song’s greatest quality is its importance. Phineas and Ferb: Christmas Vacation is the great beneficiary of Doofenshmirtz’s inability to hate Christmas, and Doofenshmirtz’s inability to hate Christmas would have been far less memorable without a song to express such “burning indifference.” The room for improvement in the melodic dimensions is secondary to substance added to the episode.
132. Backyard Beach
We are entering an awkward part of this countdown. We are entering the part in which I have to review songs which I like, but which I like significantly less than most other people. Thus, I feel inclined to share negative thoughts about entries like “Backyard Beach,” even though I don’t actually dislike it at all. Besides the theme song, this is actually the very first Phineas and Ferb song which ever aired. Is this one of the reasons for its totally disproportionate popularity? Yes. Or rather, it may be the sole reason. If “Backyard Beach” were released somewhere deep in season three, I struggle to imagine that it would be looked upon any more favourably than, say, Spa Day. The steel drums are a very nice touch, but the backup vocals sound as though they were thrown together in half a minute, and even Danny Jacob’s singing could have used an extra take or two. Such are the kinks to work out in a show’s earliest days!
131. Forever Summer
Songs like this, which present themselves almost like background music, tend to fly under the radar for that reason. But it’s hard not to enjoy this jazz-lounge, almost tongue-in-cheek, almost slam-poetry-esque, 37-second amalgamation, meant to represent the clothes of Phineas and Ferb themselves, for whom it is literally (virtually) forever summer.
130. Go Go Phineas / Go Candace
I have a soft spot for the extremely early days of Phineas and Ferb, in which Phineas would occasionally act like a dirtbag. This is the song which represents that brief version of him. He carelessly plays celebratory guitar while other drivers dangerously fly around the area, and while his fans cheer him on, and while a dominant chord is sustained for a full four measures before the singing begins. And what great words they are! I like “Go Candace” exactly as much as I like the original, not just because it’s pretty much the same, but because of the humour of juxtaposing a 10-year old in a Nascar race with a 15-year old trying to get a bunch of girl scout patches.
129. Tour de Ferb
Much like “They Left Me Standing Outside,” it’s the melody of this song’s filler-vocal hook which is most memorable and which grabs the listener’s attention. Gold was struck with the “da da da da da da…” riff, and that motif, thankfully, informs the rest of the song. Bonus points are awarded for being one of the phenomenally rare instances in which a rhyme with “Ferb” does not feel forced. This is a bike race, it makes total sense to stick to the curb!
128. Let's Spend Half a Day
I just looked up Kate Pierson, who sings this song, and I learned she’s actually a famous person, who founded a group called “The B-52’s.” Who knew? I can’t help but pick up on a slight disconnect between a singing style which is clearly very well-suited to rock music, and a song about cheese sandwiches and the zoo. This one might have benefitted from being sung by, say, Danny Jacob, and Kate Pierson’s strengths might have been better served on a song like, say, “F-Games.”
127. A-Prime Calypso
The Under the Sea DNA is impossible to ignore, but unlike “Talk to Him” and “Surfin’ Asteroids,” I struggle to find any specific themes which were lifted directly from the inspiration. The singing style is roughly similar, and of course, the steel drums are featured, but the melodic and harmonic progression seem to me to stand pretty strongly on their own two feet. My favourite part of the song is the deceptive cadence at around 0:26, and the ‘backdoor 4-5-1’ at the very end is also an appreciated element of deviation.
126. Today Is Gonna Be a Great Day
In this entry, I am accounting for the full song, embedded here, and I am also accounting for the shortened version, i.e. the theme song, which includes the “as you can see…” section, which the full song, curiously, does not include. Those who know me well may have seen this ranking coming, which for others, might be surprisingly low. I am actually wont to skip the theme song whenever I watch an episode of Phineas and Ferb. Is this due to the overplay factor? Maybe slightly. But I never skip the Milo Murphy's Law theme song when I watch that show, nor Gravity Falls, nor many other shows whose theme songs I have heard many times.
"Today Is Gonna Be a Great Day" was written by the CSWPF before they had their heads wrapped around what Phineas and Ferb would become. In failing to be as clever as the show itself is, it winds up as an unfortunate victim to Disney Junior Fever. "So stick with us, cuz Phineas and Ferb are gonna do it all," strikes the same tone as something out of My Friends Tigger and Pooh. It is a profoundly uninteresting way to break the fourth wall. Jaret Reddick’s singing and the heavy fullness of the electric guitars all lend to a lack of polish, which is not at all in accordance with most of the greatest music from the show’s catalogue. This makes it all the more surprising that throughout Phineas and Ferb’s seven-year run, not only was the theme song never re-recorded, but even the visual sequence remained completely unchanged!
The full song includes a chorus whose existence most casual fans tend to forget, and I am dumbfounded by the decision not to include this chorus in the actual theme song. Put aside the choice to rhyme ‘day’ with ‘day,’ and you’re left with an excellent melodic contour, cool drum fills, and some very nice backup vocals, especially the ‘oohs’ behind the ‘make every minute count’ section. Without these choruses to pull this entry up, “Today Is Gonna Be a Great Day” likely would have appeared quite a while earlier than this.
125. Come on, Kids
An extremely select number of songs underwent as meteoric a late rise up the list as “Come on, Kids,” perhaps better known by its unofficial title: “Squirt That Gelatin Monster.” I maintain a general dislike for Day of the Living Gelatin, but I have seen the light regarding its musical moment. Some entries on the list have been criticized for having Disney-Junior-esque qualities, but I praise “Come On, Kids” for the same reason. It carries those qualities intentionally and unapologetically. Perhaps even satirically. It has been said that you don’t need a lot of lyrics to make a great song. Just take a look at some Beatles’ classics like Why Don’t We Do It in the Road? and I Want You (She’s So Heavy). The CSWPF was wise to take a note from this ideology, (regarding both “Go Go Phineas” and “Come on, Kids.”) “Come on kids, let’s squirt that gelatin monster, yeah, come on kids, let’s squirt that gelatin monster, uh-uh-uh-uh-uh, ooh, ooh, squirt that gelatin monster.” And so on. The secondary dominants in the verses and the bridges get a chance to shine through, as do Danny Jacob’s once-again masterful harmonies, specifically the parallel fourths on the word “monster” in the bridges. Jacob, in general, is almost in disbelief at the uncomplicatedness of the lyrics he’s singing, painting his performance with unnecessary high voices and low voices, making abundantly clear the tasteful irony living nestled up in the lyrical simplicity.
124. The Ballad of Klimpaloon
That opening guitar riff is panned all the way to the right, making one wonder if their headphones are broken, and making the entry of the rest of the band, which fills out the ears, that much more satisfying. The verses are relatively strong in and of themselves, but the choruses, which don’t actually sound a lot like choruses, are the high points of this song. The chords under “magical old-timey bathing suit…” are coloured with very rich extensions, supplemented once again by the backing “oohs.”
123. Tree-Related Wish
It should come at no surprise that my instinct is to praise this song’s melody and humour. I want to emphasize that much of the humour does come from the fact that dream-Jeremy doesn’t even come close to cracking a smile throughout this entire song.
122. Doof's Evil Hideout Vacation Swap
It’s one thing to write a parody of a James Bond theme song. It’s another crazy thing entirely to have Shirley Bassey sing it! That would be like writing a parody of Phineas and Ferb, and having Dan Povenmire, Swampy Marsh, and Vincent Martella perform in it!
121. Hemoglobin Highway
Although this song is not really within striking distance of the top 100, it remains a great emblem of the entire Phineas and Ferb discography. Chill summer vibes, vaguely educational, and extremely weird. The satisfying musical resolution literally lands on the line: “hang a left at the spleen.”
120. Only Trying to Help
Every element of nature is working against this song. My appreciation for it is miraculous. Mission Marvel, as I’ve already stated, is very, very bad, and one key piece of this badness is that Isabella and Candace are fed scraps from the garbage can. Clearly, the writers struggled to come up with a way to fit these two girls into their superhero story, and ironically their solution was to have the characters themselves struggle to overcome the fact that… *checks notes* … it’s hard for girls to fit into superhero stories. Isabella sulking after being underestimated is extremely out of character for her; she’s typically one to prove the doubters wrong without a moment’s hesitation, see Candace Against the Universe. As for Candace, she’s typically one to struggle with self-doubt for reasons that are completely regardless of gender! See Candace Against the Universe. Ashley Tisdale and Alyson Stoner sound incredible together. It’s a real shame their only opportunity to do so was in a sad ballad in an insufferable episode. And yet, when looking past the muddled lyrical content, and the episodic context, one can’t help but appreciate the harmonic sequence, which appears to lift parts of both Summer Belongs to You and Hotel California, and impose them on a power-ballad tempo, underneath creative melodies and vocal harmonies. I bet I would enjoy this song more if I didn’t understand the lyrics. This is why I have just now sought out a translated version to see if it truly would tickle me a little fancier, and I found this Japanese version, for your listening pleasure.
119. Runnin' from Love (in a Bear Suit)
Few Phineas and Ferb songs so successfully strike the balance between content which could so clearly be part of a ‘regular mainstream’ song (i.e. ‘Runnin’ from Love,’) and which is so clearly niche to a severely high degree (i.e. ‘in a Bear Suit.’)
118. S.I.M.P. (Squirrels in My Pants)
Among the reactions to my choice to rank “There’s a Platypus Controlling Me” at #224 was Brian Koch’s: “I had a feeling you were going to treat the song like this. And I just want to say… thank you. Every fan is so happy for its mainstream success that they’re not brave enough to admit the truth… it will never be S.I.M.P.” I am in agreement with the overall sentiment, but I do believe that the same logic can be applied to “S.I.M.P.” itself, perhaps even on a higher level, (although the song is clearly miles better than “Platypus Controlling Me.) What about this song makes it so dearly beloved? What lent to its Geek Music cover, whose vocalists don’t even seem to understand what makes the song good in the first place, finding such incredibly high, albeit fleeting, popularity as a TikTok trend? A major ingredient is luck. Another ingredient is the little person-in-my-hand dance move or whatever, which just so happened to coincide with it, which I suppose could also fall into the category of luck. Another ingredient is the fact that many people, even the most casual fans, probably remember this song from having watched Phineas and Ferb; it’s that unforgettable in its uniqueness. Another possible explanation is that it was a plant to get people thinking about Phineas and Ferb in advance of its reboot announcement, but I personally don’t know enough to buy that theory. Just thought I’d throw it out there.
I have complained in previous entries about nonsense-lyrics being justified by rhymes (see: “Funhouse,”) but in “S.I.M.P.,” these nonsense-lyrics as a vehicle for rhymes are overtly self-aware, and exist primarily as a means to poke fun at “freestyle rappers,” or at least at some fictionalized idea of incompetent “freestyle rappers” who are more confident than they should be. Even with this, breaks from the constant rhymes with “pants” are appreciated, in favour of, say, the rhymes with “P,” starting at around 0:56. Likewise, the “down, down on the ground” section at 1:10 is an extremely necessary sip of water which keeps this song afloat. In conclusion, the song is good, but it’s not all it’s made out to be. Every fan is so happy for its mainstream success that they’re not brave enough to admit the truth… it will never be “Gitchee Gitchee Goo.”
117. Little Brothers
I used to consider myself a disliker of “Little Brothers,” but as you can see, I’ve changed my mind. I still have a bone to pick with the line: “little brothers, ‘cuz you’re younger, we’re related, and you’re boys,” that bone being that specification of them being her *siblings* would actually be necessary in order to conclude beyond doubt that they are “little brothers,” not just of them being related. But I am no longer immature enough to allow this minor blunder to cloud my entire listening experience. The song very clearly has a vision of sweetness and delicacy in mind, and by layering a flute on top of a piano on top of an acoustic guitar, it nails this schmaltzy vision unmistakably.
116. You're My Better Best Friend
Here we see a great execution of “greaser shoo-bee-doo-wop” music, from a different angle than either “What Does He Want?” or “You’re Going Down.” It’s in 12/8, at nearly an identical tempo to Beauty School Dropout. This number is very heavy in vocalisations, whether it’s the “bom bom boms” or the “oohs,” both of which are nearly constant. It establishes its own texture thereby, and just when it begins to feel redundant, and maybe even overstimulating, it’s all stripped back for Buford’s little monologue. A full version which reiterated the verse after this brief break would have been nice.
115. He's Eviler
This song is so stupidly delightful. Those three singers are a Little Shop of Horrors parody, I think, and against all odds, I enjoy their (Olivia Olson’s) singing about as much as I enjoy Doofenshmirtz’s interjections. “Well not a plan, so much,” he explains, admitting that the singers are giving him too much credit. He has no program besides childish guerilla naughtiness, and his sneaky steps down the street always land perfectly and percussively on the offbeats. The massive moon and muted brass wail enhance the atmosphere tenfold.
114. She's Candace
Not to be confused with “It’s Candace,” “She’s Candace” is an under-the-radar knockout from the early staple: Candace Loses Her Head. In just over thirty seconds, the listener experiences two divergent but close-knit sections. The first is a slow crooner swooner type situation, whose references to Venus and a praying mantis are sincere enough to be funny, and whose melodic contour moves shrewdly upward. The second is a fast crooner swooner type situation, that would have likely gone on longer if Perry didn’t so rudely interrupt it.
113. The Good Life
Indeed, my favourite song from Phineas and Ferb Get Busted is by far the least known. This 34-second piece combines about three unrelated melodic fragments, and fuses them together in a tiny musical package, without ever feeling sporadic. Sure, the song could have been longer, but why would it have to be? Its big melodic leaps, and its piano block chords, and of course, Danny Jacob’s backup vocals, give us everything we need, tied up in a neat little box.
112. Boat of Romance
I listened to the Love Boat theme song. Unlike “Boat of Romance,” it is CRINGE, and it is NOT tongue-in-cheek, and its lyrics are TOO spaced out, and it’s too LONG, and above all, its visuals commit the unforgivable crime of listing the cast in alphabetical order.
111. Space Adventure
It’s like “Boat of Romance,” except a ton of details have been changed to make it sound outer-spacey, and therefore cooler.
110. I'm Feelin' So Low
Clearly, there is no Phineas and Ferb song like this one. That funky electric keyboard intro alone waves hello to the soul, and then Olivia Olson starts to sing. There’s an alternate reality where a bass guitar joins in at around the 1:00 mark, followed by a quiet drum set, and the song builds into a 5-minute power ballad. Instead, the sublime opening sits inside itself until it can’t go anywhere anymore, and decides to end on its own terms.
109. Double Dutch Song
TOUWTJE 👏 SPRINGEN 👏 WAT 👏 LEUK 🥳
108. Charmed Life
From my perspective, this Doofenshmirtz “showstopper” hides beneath some of its superior counterparts, which we will encounter in the coming weeks. Much like Milo Murphy’s Law has been criticized for refusing to separate itself from Phineas and Ferb, “Charmed Life” seems determined to replicate the success of hits like “My Goody Two-Shoes Brother,” rather than to stand on its own. This is most evident in the final note, held with precisely the same intention and intensity as the last note in “Goody Two-Shoes.” In taking it for what it is, the melodic contour does have some unique moments, like when it dips down low to the root of the dominant chords, like on “sweet” at 0:18 and “admit” at 0:46.
107. Frenemies
I choose to believe that Baljeet and Buford spent time rehearsing this number beforehand, just in case the opportunity to perform it ever arose. This is one of three songs which I see as definitively and exclusively Baljeet / Buford songs, and although it’s my least favourite of the three, it’s clearly the one which puts forward their dynamic in the most simple terms. Through its straightforward melody, (and video,) anyone can get a clear picture of this symbiotic relationship with little effort, and for that alone it’s a success.
106. I Need My Letter Back
Despite the studio frosting slathered all over Alyson Stoner’s voice in season 4, “I Need My Letter Back” is a catchy Isabella feature. On this episode of The Fireside Girls Try To Do Crimes, we chill in a minor key, and in a melody which begins with arpeggiations of the chord progression itself. The song resolves to the relative major at the end of lines like: “spell out my emotion that way,” sits there for a second, and then neatly resolves back to its minor key. And as far as Phinbella angst goes, this song is rivalled by few.
105. Mysterious Force
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension is one of the greatest Disney soundtracks ever made, (although it fails to even challenge Teen Beach Movie for number one.) All eight songs featured in the movie will be in the top 100 of this countdown, and the only song on the soundtrack outside the top 100, “Mysterious Force,” was cut from it. The chromatic motion in the choruses is pretty snazzy, but what grabs my attention most is this song’s accidental-meta, mirrored by the accidental-meta of the “mysterious force” plot in the movie itself. Candace is meant to look stupid for thinking that there’s a mysterious force controlling her life, but she is actually the smartest one of them all! For she is correct! The mysterious force is called the writers of Phineas and Ferb.
104. Hey Ferb
It was not intentional but it is very fitting that song #104 is the prolongation of the catchphrase: “Ferb, I know what we’re gonna do today.” Every quick nod to a famous musical is enjoyable, or at least those which I understand are. The chorus, which repeats “Hey ferb, I know what we’re gonna do today,” seemingly indefinitely, constantly resolves to the sixth scale degree, which immediately walks down to the fifth and the fourth. It isn’t until the very final repetition, after which the incredible countermelody offered up by: “boredom is something up with which I will not put” has already made itself known, that resolution to the tonic is finally achieved, and a beautiful stamp is smashed onto this solid opening number.
103. I'm Me
There are hundreds of odd details about this song which make it endlessly interesting. I’m inclined to start at the beginning, where we come across an example of a meter so ambiguous, that even studying it intently doesn’t make it any less offputting. The opening beat sounds like a downbeat, as is very common, and this perspective is reaffirmed when the snare drum strikes on the beat after, the presumed second beat of the bar, and then the presumed fourth beat of the bar, like normal. Proceeding to count in 4/4 this way, one is thrown askew when Olivia Olson begins to sing; “do it” is evidently the downbeat, and so the listener is left with the retroactive impression that these lyrics were preceded by a bar of 5/4. It is unusual, but it is understandable. Such an impression is thrown askew once more when the opening riff repeats itself at the song’s tail end, starting at timestamp 1:46. It is essentially copy-pasted, guitars, drums, and all, only this time, Olson is singing on top of it. And only now, it is overwhelmingly clear that those initial snare drum strikes land not on the second and fourth beats of measures, but on the first and third beats! How disorienting! With this knowledge, one is inclined to listen to the beginning of the song again. They can understand that there is no bar of 5/4 after all, just a single beat of pickup. Despite this understanding, they may still struggle immensely to feel the extraordinarily complicated pulse as it was intended to be felt. Another detail which makes this song “endlessly interesting” is that the gain on Olson’s singing is higher than normal. Her voice clearly “spikes” at certain points, making it sound like a rock ‘n’ roll song from the 60s or 70s or something, with raw vocals that were belted with maximum intensity at 3 in the morning, with the band high on pepperoni pizza and chocolate milk. No frills, no tune-ups, just swagger 😎
102. That's the Norm
Ferb TV is a work of genius and mastery. No one should be surprised that the theme song of this fake sitcom would tickle my fancy so successfully. Nice movement in the contour, nice usage of the word “misinformed,” nice character dynamics. I want to see more, and that’s what a theme song is all about!
101. Sith-Inator
“But Alex,” you say, “you have gone to great lengths to frown upon Doofenshmirtz’s voice in the later seasons, specifically in season 4! Not to mention, this song spends most of its time scraping the bottom of Dan Povenmire’s range, meaning that he barely sounds like classic Doofenshmirtz at all! What gives?” Your points are valid. I will tell you what gives. I had the choice to embed here either the scene from Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars, or merely the song’s audio accompanied by a still of the album art. As you can see, I chose the latter, because I believe the song is better enjoyed on its own, without the accompanying visuals. To take it a step further, I believe the song is better enjoyed when I can almost forget that Dr. Doofenshmirtz is meant to be the one singing. Normally, I would not be so generous with my interpretation, but with regards to the Star Wars special, I am. This is partly because “none of this is canon.” This is partly because there are a few references to Star Wars, which, for the record, I do not get. Like the one about choking, and the one about Alderaan. Clearly these were fun to write, and fun for Dan himself to perform, regardless of whether he was doing so through Dr. Doofenshmirtz. I choose to see the Star Wars special as a fun little side-project, or a passion project, if you will, for the Phineas and Ferb crew, and imagining Dan Povenmire enjoying himself in studio is therefore a defensible lens through which to derive great pleasure from “Sith-Inator.”
To be continued
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