A couple of years ago, Craig McCracken found himself with a hit kids’ cartoon on his hands. The Powerpuff Girls managed to mix in enough witty references and style to appeal almost as much to adults as to the huge audiences of young children tuning in on the Cartoon Network. One great Cartoon Network had the girls smash into the patio door of a bachelor pad, leaving the two guys inside a little confused. “Buttercup, you okay?” “Naw, man, that’s Blossom.” “Hey Blossom. Want some water?”

Indie music and saturday morning cartoons have been close bedfellows for quite a while now. A compilation album filled with indie covers of Schoolhouse Rock! songs was only the beginning; it was the Powerpuff Girls soundtrack that broke things wide open. Suddenly seven-year-olds with hipster older siblings found the likes of Devo, Frank Black, Komeda and Cornelius in their stockings come Christmas day, and by golly, they liked it too. You can thank McCracken for the inspired pairing of the Powerpuff Girls and Frank Black; when it came time to put together the CD, he just picked a bunch of bands and artist he was inspired by while making the series. So if you ever hear a little kid singing along to Dressy Bessy or Optiganally Yours, you’ll know why.