The album cover says, "Music inspired by the Powerpuff Girls." This is a lie. The Powerpuff Girls inspire 30 minutes of glued-to-the-set, TV-watching action. Nothing more. Why do marketing executives stretch truths like this? My personal favorite example of this kind of blatant dishonesty came with Atlantic Records' release of Music from and Inspired by Jesus. Jesus, if you'll recall, served as last year's annual biblical mini-series extravaganza. The music on the soundtrack was not from Jesus, himself, as the title implied, but rather, from LeAnn Rimes and DC Talk. How disappointed Jesus' fans must have been when they discovered he didn't perform his legendary vaudevillian opus, "Just a Closer Walk with Me."

The mistruth on the packaging of Heroes and Villains is somewhat more forgivable: these songs were not inspired by the Powerpuff Girls; they were commissioned by the Cartoon Network. I find it difficult to believe that Frank Black and Cornelius were viewing, say, the "Monkey See, Doggie Do" episode of this lovable children's show, and became so moved by the eloquent metaphors and bright colors that they simply could not resist the urge to make music.

That said, this companion piece to the animated series is riddled with indie rock references, as series creator Craig McCracken is a big music fan. The title, Heroes and Villains, was inspired by the Get Up Kids' vanity label of the same name. You know, the people who brought you such top-shelf releases as Reggie & the Full Effect and the Anniversary. The record also features songs by the Apples in Stereo, Shonen Knife, Cornelius, the Olivia Tremor Control's Bill Doss (performing here under the guise of The Bill Doss), and appropriately, Kindercore recording artists Dressy Bessy.

The disc opens with "The Powerpuff Girls (Main Theme)" (just in case you absolutely had to have it on CD), before launching into Devo's hyperactive "Go Monkey Go," written in honor of the primary Powerpuff bad guy, the simian Mojo Jojo. It makes sense that Devo would appear on this album, since frontman Mark Mothersbaugh has been penning cartoon music for "Rugrats" and other series since the mid-1990s. Of course, Devo are laughably past their prime, and this track is just another nail in the coffin. Yes, it's time to disband. Again.

Frank Black's "Pray for the Girls" marks his first track featuring actual production and overdubbing since 1995's The Cult of Ray. It also heralds the addition of Eric Drew Feldman-- producer of Black's self-titled solo debut and Teenager of the Year-- to his backing band's line-up. By far the greatest song on Heroes and Villains, "Pray for the Girls" perhaps offers a glimpse into Black's next album. The song is insidiously catchy, and gives these characters his trademark lyrical treatment with lines like, "Downtown to have a talk with the mayor/ He told my masters, uh-oh, can't you see/ What we have here is a prophecy/ Cross your fingers, people, say a prayer/ I'm not a religious dog but I say that/ Better pray for the girls/ Ain't no other hope in this whole world." If Black can toss off a song this great about a topic as restrictive as Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles, his next album has the potential to parallel some of his earlier work.

The Apples in Stereo offer "Signal in the Sky (Let's Go)," a track that's not nearly as awful as some of their recent work. However, cringe-worthy lyrics abound, especially during the chorus when Robert Schneider sings, "A signal in the sky-oh/ That's when you know you have to fly-oh." But let's be honest-- this soundtrack is targeted more at kids than teenagers and adults. Little kids aren't going to give a shit about the lyrics. Plus, they'll eat up the song's simple melody.

You know what the Shonen Knife song sounds like. We'll skip that one.

As for The Bill Doss, I'm sorry, Bill. You have to practice pitch before you start singing on your own records. It's not endearing. Even infants will be sent running in terror from this one, as Doss howls tunelessly over warbled piano and a drum machine beat sporting all the creativity of a metronome. Also, the kids will disagree with the lyric, "Mojo Jojo's making evil plans.../ He'll only win in the end/ When he can begin to be friends." Bill, watch an episode of this show before you write a song about it. Mojo Jojo never wins, for any reason. And the Powerpuff Girls would never befriend him because he's evil.

Bis close out the record with "The Powerpuff Girls (End Theme)." Now, I hate Bis as much as the next cynic, but I have to give them this one. I mean, sure, it doesn't take a lot of talent to write a catchy song-- the Promise Ring have proven this time and again. In fact, "catchy" often has a repellent effect. But for some reason, I kind of enjoy Bis' super-charged cartoon anthem. It's one of the better TV theme songs going right now. I also kind of enjoy the theme to "Diff'rent Strokes" and the one from "The Jeffersons," but I wouldn't listen to them in my car. The same holds true for Bis, of course, but as far as theme songs go, this one's up there with "WKRP in Cincinnati."

Now, I'm not going to encourage you to buy this album, especially not for your own personal use. It's the Powerpuff Girls! Did you honestly need my input on this? However, it is a lot better than I suspected it might be. I will say that if you have children in elementary school, they will love this. But since parents account for a very small percentage of the Pitchfork readership, I can really only recommend this to die-hard Frank Black worshipers and you creepy Kindercore fanatics out there.

-Ryan Schreiber