They were driving, not sailing. The Plymouth is most likely a van, and they were probably crossing a bridge over the Mississippi River, and they broke down near Olympia, Washington. As for Mary Timony, she's a musician - she sang in a band called Helium, she does solo work, she appeared on a song by Stephen Merritt's The Sixths, and so forth. My guess is that they (whoever "they" are) were listening to Mary Timony as they drove. Not a clue as to her being "smaller than a superball," though.
They were driving, not sailing. The Plymouth is most likely a van, and they were probably crossing a bridge over the Mississippi River, and they broke down near Olympia, Washington. As for Mary Timony, she's a musician - she sang in a band called Helium, she does solo work, she appeared on a song by Stephen Merritt's The Sixths, and so forth. My guess is that they (whoever "they" are) were listening to Mary Timony as they drove. Not a clue as to her being "smaller than a superball," though.
The chorus to the Helium song "Superball" is "I'm small/Like a Superball" and it is sung by Timony
The chorus to the Helium song "Superball" is "I'm small/Like a Superball" and it is sung by Timony