For his fifth comedy special, writer and standup comedian
John Mulaney
sends up classic live-action children's television -- think Barney and Sesame Street -- with
John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch
. Alongside a cast of 15 children between the ages of 8 and 13, some of them scene-stealers, it's a musical comedy featuring songs by composer
Eli Bolin
, a veteran of children's TV, theater, and comedy series like Documentary Now! The lyrics were supplied by
Mulaney
and fellow Saturday Night Live alum
Marika Sawyer
, who also co-wrote the special. Though not all of the sketches are musical, there were enough songs in the show to justify a soundtrack, with its ten tunes clocking in at just under 30 minutes. A few of the special's many adult-targeted celebrity references spill over into the songs, which feature guest performers including
Andre De Shields
("Algebra Song!"),
David Byrne
("Pay Attention!"), and
Jake Gyllenhaal
, who plays a hapless actor with mostly bad examples of objects that make noise for the epic closing number, "Music, Music Everywhere!" ("When you tap a pen on a paperback book/Not too loud but you get the point/Toss a dress shirt in a laundry sack..."). Viewers are bound to have their own favorites based on whether they identify with being a picky eater, not getting enough attention, or thinking math might be pointless, but melodic highlights include the soul-tinged "Grandma's Boyfriend Paul" and the '60s teen pop-evoking "Do Flowers Exist at Night?" A more showtune-y entry, "I Saw a White Lady Standing on the Street Just Sobbing (And I Think About It Once a Week)" is carried by kid cast member
Alexander Bello
, who redeems some of the program's sillier moments with a
Joan Didion
-referencing tale of concern and compassion. Not present on the soundtrack are interview segments interspersed throughout the hour in which the kids relay their biggest fears; as irreverent as some of material is,
never strays far from its empathetic center, including the closing moments of "Music, Music Everywhere!," in which
and the Bunch join in song to lift
Gyllenhaal
. ~ Marcy Donelson