described by the band themselves as a "career-defining opus", "lil' beethoven" saw the duo move into a more classical-influenced sound, with a heavy reliance on repetitive lyrics and piano lines, synthesized orchestration and multi-tracked vocals in place of percussion. opening track "the rhythm thief" is an overall introduction to the band's new direction by declaring "say goodbye to the beat". "my baby's taking me home" largely consists of the title repeated over 100 times with no other words being used, other than a spoken interlude. similarly, "your call is very important to us" uses a corporation style call-hold message: "your call is very important to us. please hold" which is then sung with some additional words: "at first she said your call is very important to us, then she said please, please hold." the only other lyrics in the song are "red light", "green light", "i'm getting mixed signals" and "sorry, i'm going to have to put you back on hold". these elements are layered with a simple piano line to create a highly textured effect.