Alvin and the Chipmunks Look to the Skies in The A-Files: Alien Songs

Alvin and the Chipmunks is one of the first bands I ever fell in love with. Sure, the trio of rodents is fictional and, by all accounts, rather ridiculous. But I’ve never lost my fondness for the high-voiced fellas: timid Theodore, brainy Simon and trouble-making frontman Alvin. Every once in a while I find an album of theirs that I haven’t heard before. This week, the library led me to The A-Files: Alien Songs.

This very thematic album came out in 1998, at a time when Men In Black was a recent blockbuster, The X-Files was still on prime time and The Phantom Menace was looming as one of the ultimate pop culture events of the decade. Extraterrestrial life was a hot topic, as well as one that could easily be exploited for the purposes of silliness, so the Chipmunks went to work. At times, they stretch the theme a bit, but I would say that all ten tracks fit the album well.

1. Purple People Eater - The track begins with a narrator introducing Simon, who gleefully announces that he has made contact with an alien. He then launches into this song, which I’ve always found entertaining. The Chipmunks’ rendition is fun, though it’s odd to hear them singing in voices so similar to the one adopted by the alien in the original version. This time, the purple people eater sounds more robotic, with a metallic voice somewhat reminiscent of Short Circuit’s Johnny Five, though considerably higher. Also, the whole thing is extremely techno-fied, which grates on me after a while.

2. Men in Black - Strange spacey sound effects abound in this fairly faithful rendition of the theme song to the Will Smith / Tommy Lee Jones blockbuster. Alvin does a lot of rapping, to the accompaniment of regular human back-up singers, who sound a little odd behind him.

3. X-Files Theme - This is more of a skit than a song, with just Alvin and head Chipette Brittany talking over top of the X-Files theme music. Alvin is Moldy, who firmly believes in his irrational hunches, while Brittany is Scuzzy, his practical, scientifically-minded pal. The two most overbearing characters in the Chipmunks franchise bicker throughout the track, with one claiming the right of “I Told You So” by the end. I love the Chipmunks more for their comedy than their harmony, so I like this track quite a bit.

4. Rocket Man - At first, my Elton John-loving sensibilities were rather shocked by this techno-ish rendition of his classic, complete with very strange-sounding mechanical noises, but toward the end of the first verse, the familiar exasperated voice of Chipmunk guardian Dave Seville pipes up with an irritated, “Alvin, the guys at NASA are very upset...” At which point I realized that Alvin has somehow managed to snag a rocket and head off for an intergalactic adventure. While Alvin and his brothers croon away, seemingly oblivious, Dave interrupts with ever-more-agitated transmissions. A very fun track.

5. Venus - I never much liked this hard-rocking song, and it’s even more grating than usual when the Chipettes sing it. A skipper for me.

6. The Time Warp - Not too crazy about this one either. The Chipmunks and Chipettes join forces on this one, which is even weirder than the original version.

7. People Are Strange - This one picks up where the first track left off, with the alien bemoaning the fact that most people on Earth don’t seem very friendly. Though the song certainly wasn’t originally written to be literally about extra-terrestrials, the lyrics work very well in this context, especially with the added dialogue.

8. Star Wars - Cantina Band - Another skit with familiar music as the background. The Chipmunks stop by the Cantina for a bit of R & R, and Alvin can’t stop bragging about how he and “Hans” Solo are best buddies. Alvin receives no response to his attempts to prove his claims are true, but that doesn’t stop him from going on about his tight friendships with George Lucas and Luke Skywalker...

9. Mr. Spaceman - I wasn’t previously familiar with this song, but it fits the album very well. Probably my favorite of the dialogue-free tracks.

10. Destination Unknown - The Chipettes are back again for this album ender. I think it might have made more sense to end the album with People Are Strange, since it feels like a bookend to Purple People Eater, but as Chipettes songs go, this song, one of the more thematically tenuous tracks, isn’t bad, and the concluding bit is fun.

This is one of several Chipmunks albums that feels like they might be trying a little too hard to be hip. My favorite of their releases features their take on a series of traditional songs like She’ll Be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain and Home on the Range, with a few originals thrown in. Most of these songs, by contrast, are fairly contemporary pop hits. I could also definitely do with a bit less techno. Nonetheless, several of the tracks are entertaining, especially the ones focusing primarily on comedy. The A-Files is a strange album, but if you have a high tolerance for Dave Seville’s squeaky trio, I recommend it.