Could "This Twink I saw on Swap Meat would be perfect for Daddy Types!" possibly sound any more like a gay chatroom conversation? I don't think so.
Oh wait, what if there was a vintage Fisher-Price Grand Piano with rainbow-colored keys? The only thing left is to stick it on the bumper of a 3-series convertible.
But seriously, folks, Twink is Mike Langile, a Boston-based musician who collaborates with an eclectic range of artists to create an even more eclectic range of music--from cartoon soundtracks to Sonic Youth covers to electronica remixes--using toy pianos and other kiddie instruments.
It's all kind of weird, but it's pretty catchy. Toy pianos are largely relegated either to yard sales or to the concert hall confines of a John Cage concert. Twink definitely expands the repertoire of serious/fun music that the instruments can actually produce.
I can't tell which of Twink's many albums to start with. The sample tracks on each are pretty varied, with both playful jingles and dance tracks. "Slush Bunny" [mp3], a track on the newest album, Ice Cream Truckin', was performed with Milk Monster, and it sounds a lot like Yaz, Ultravox, or any other number of the New Wave synth pop bands that filled my early high school ears.
If you don't think you'll be able to take the music, it can still make a great gift. And you gotta admit, the "Welcome to the Jingle" t-shirt, with bunny skull-and-carrot crossbones, is pretty awesome.
Twink! The Toy Piano Band [twink.net via coudal's swap meat]
"Welcome to the Jingle" t-shirt, in kid-sizes, too, $16 [twink.net]
Previous toy piano posts on dt
My kids LOVE his album "The Broken Record" - that's definitely the most kid-friendly, and my wife and I really enjoy it too.
http://www.angelfire.com/stars/twink/info_broken.html