SpongeBob Squarepants: Original Theme Highlights [EP] (CD - 2001)

SpongeBob Squarepants: Original Theme Highlights celebrates Nickelodeon's hippest cartoon in song, collecting the show's silly sea shantie theme, some of its funniest original tunes, and performances by special guest stars like Ween and Pantera. SpongeBob teaches Plankton the meaning of fun on the bouncy "F.U.N. Song" and deals with the embarrassment of torn trousers on the '50s-influenced "Ripped Pants." On "Loop de Loop," Ween gives a fun, countrified lesson on tying shoes; it's a far cry from some of their more outré material, but it still bears the group's playful sound. Junior Brown guest stars on "Texas Song," the sub-aquatic homesick blues of Sandy Cheeks, SpongeBob's scuba-diving squirrel and the show's token mammal. Pantera's adrenaline-laced "Pre-Hibernation" is the perfect soundtrack to the extreme sports marathon that Sandy takes SpongeBob on before she beds down for the winter, and the Ghastly Ones' "Spongebob Scaredy-Pants" offers a spooky, garage punk twist on the show's theme song. Though it's on the short side, SpongeBob Squarepants: Original Theme Highlights is an appropriately fun, creative album that should please SpongeBob fans of all ages. ~ Heather Phares

He's yellow, porous, and lives in the undersea community of Bikini Bottom. It's not a ripe piece of coral, but SpongeBob SquarePants, an animated sponge whose fans include tots, college students, and celebrities. SpongeBob's cult popularity exploded in 2001, surpassing the Rugrats as the most popular cartoon on Nickelodeon. Voiced by comedian Tom Kenny (best known as part of the ensemble that made up the cast of Bob Odenkirk and David Cross' HBO sketch program Mr. Show), SpongeBob is a goodhearted naif whose friends include the dimwitted Patrick Star and adventure-seeking squirrel Sandy Cheeks.

Chock full of offbeat humor reminiscent of Ren & Stimpy, The Simpsons, and The Uncle Floyd Show, it's no surprise to find an eclectic array of musical guests contributing to the cartoon's first two short seasons. Among the famous names are alt-rock pranksters Ween, their poppy PSA about learning how to tie shoes ("Loop de Loop"), Junior Brown's twangy ode to the Lone Star State ("Texas Song"), and Pantera's grind-core instrumental linked to Sandy's winter preparations ("Pre-Hibernation"). Other highlights include the show's sea chanty theme song and SpongeBob's duet with the nefarious Plankton on the infectious and hilarious "F.U.N. Song." minimize