― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:09 (seventeen years ago) link
― Mr. Que (Mr.Que), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:14 (seventeen years ago) link
― gabbneb (gabbneb), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:15 (seventeen years ago) link
I'm more interested in an overview of their ouevre/"schtick", their songwriting, and the issue of their "dorkiness" (particularly how that has limited their appeal and why that is). Also how, at least on their first three albums, they fit into that 80s tendency of nerdy white guys appropriating and using explicitly non-nerdy white guy idioms - folk, reggae, world music, dance music (see also David Byrne, Paul Simon - I wanna throw Pere Ubu's 80s records in here too for some reason).
I think they've written a lot of great songs, but have a tendency to retreat behind a wall of schtick that makes any kind of emotional connection with their music problematic. But some stuff, if you peel away the levels of forced irony and wordiness, is really quite bleak and despairing, genuinely moving even. (see "They'll Need a Crane", for ex.)
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:27 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:30 (seventeen years ago) link
x-post um have you seen the movie about them? 100% "serious critical evaluation".
― the doaple gonger (nickalicious), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:32 (seventeen years ago) link
― the doaple gonger (nickalicious), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:34 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:37 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:39 (seventeen years ago) link
― polyphonic (polyphonic), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:43 (seventeen years ago) link
Look at cast list in link provided! Jon Stewart! Dave Eggers! Paul Simon! Sarah Vowell! Etc!
― the doaple gonger (nickalicious), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:44 (seventeen years ago) link
― Mr. Que (Mr.Que), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:47 (seventeen years ago) link
― zeus (zeus), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:58 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 21:31 (seventeen years ago) link
They Might Be Giants [Bar/None, 1986]Two catchy weirdos, eighteen songs, and the hits just keep on coming in an exuberantly annoying show of creative superabundance. Their secret is that as unmediated pop postmodernists they can be themselves stealing from anywhere, modulating without strain or personal commitment from hick to nut to nerd. Like the cross-eyed bear in the regretful but not altogether kind "Hide Away Folk Family," their "shoes are laced with irony," but that doesn't doom them to art-school cleverness or never meaning what they say. Their great subject is the information overload that lends these songs their form. They live in a world where "Everything Right Is Wrong Again" and "Youth Culture Killed My Dog." A
Lincoln [Restless/Bar/None, 1988]XTC as computer nerds rather than studio wimps--change for chord change and beat for irrelevant beat, they're actively annoying even if intelligence is all you ask of your art-pop. Except maybe on the antiboomer "Purple Toupee," side one's hooks begin and end with "Ana Ng," a beyond-perfect tour de force about a Vietnamese woman they never got to meet; until "Kiss Me, Son of God," which closes the album and could be anti-Castro if they let it, side two's are cleverness for cleverness's sake. And damned clever they are. B+
Flood [Elektra, 1990]tunes, aarghh, tunes--please not more tunes ("Dead," "Your Racist Friend") **
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 21:32 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 21:34 (seventeen years ago) link
Classic.
― everything (everything), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 21:40 (seventeen years ago) link
― Mallory L . O'Donnell (That Bitch Camille), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 21:44 (seventeen years ago) link
LincolnFloodApollo 18
OPO:
Tough call. I'll go with "Ana Ng" for now.
― Mallory L . O'Donnell (That Bitch Camille), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 21:48 (seventeen years ago) link
"I'm gonna die / if you touch me one more timeWell I guess that I'm / gonna die no matter what"
― Mallory L . O'Donnell (That Bitch Camille), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 21:49 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 21:51 (seventeen years ago) link
― everything (everything), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 21:55 (seventeen years ago) link
― everything (everything), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 21:56 (seventeen years ago) link
― gabbneb (gabbneb), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 22:05 (seventeen years ago) link
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 22:06 (seventeen years ago) link
So these days, as a grown-up non-wacky non-fanboy, my picks would be:
Spiralling Shape. A very OTM song about novelty fixation and the race to hip, and the fact those things don't bring any happiness. "Nobody knows what it's really like, but everyone says it's great".
I Can Hear You. Recorded on an old wax cylider, it's just a small handful of two-line vignettes about different forms of communications technology, and the lengths people will go to to find new ways of just talking to each other. It can move me to tears. First time I heard it, I immediately ripped it to mp3 and emailled it to somebody, because that just made sense.
Four of Two. From the first kids' album, a little nonsense song which is in fact a sneaky allegory about how easy it is to think you'll one day meet your ideal partner, but then wake up one morning to realise that you're old and your life's flown by and it's too late...and yet to still think you're bound to meet them, soon.
She's An Angel. A very sweet and simple first love song, which is amazed and shocked by the way it feels, and is too shy to say "I really like you", so hides behind random tangents and adolescent surrealism...but doesn't manage to hide its real message very well, in the end.
Till My Head Falls Off. Drug addled suicide note. Which rocks.
Dr. Worm. Possibly their most archetypically TMBG sounding chorus ever, and the words are about a nice old man who's always wanted to be a famous jazz drummer and thinks he still can be, one day, if he just practices a bit more. Beautiful.
I could probably go on for a while, but I won't.
― JimD (JimD), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 23:20 (seventeen years ago) link
Nowadays, their childrens albums are about fifty billion times better than their "real" ones.
― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 23:23 (seventeen years ago) link
oy
― Major Alfonso (Major Alfonso), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 23:26 (seventeen years ago) link
"road movie to berlin," from "flood," was the first song my wife ever saw me sing in public...we've been married over 13 years now. I totally credit John and John of TMBG. Thanks, nerds!
-chadly con Queso
― chadbeck (squirrel boy), Wednesday, 2 August 2006 00:04 (seventeen years ago) link
I wish no particular harm on TMBG. Flood is a nice album.
― Racist Friend (Roger Fidelity), Wednesday, 2 August 2006 01:00 (seventeen years ago) link
― Jonas Bronck (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 2 August 2006 01:21 (seventeen years ago) link
― Jonas Bronck (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 2 August 2006 01:24 (seventeen years ago) link
― zeus (zeus), Wednesday, 2 August 2006 06:12 (seventeen years ago) link
― sovietpanda (sovietpanda), Saturday, 5 August 2006 22:11 (seventeen years ago) link
I'm conflicted about "Shoehorn with Teeth": either it's meaningless and infuriating or it's wonderfully oblique. I can't make up my mind.
― The Mad Puffin (The Mad Puffin), Saturday, 5 August 2006 22:43 (seventeen years ago) link
Wonder if anyone's heard their newer records? The Else was surprisingly good. Very straightforward but just a good rock record. I actually kind of enjoy the kids stuff. I'm a dork.
I mostly bumped this to say that "Narrow Your Eyes" may be their best song ever. The lyrics on that one kill me - "I get off the bus/ride past our stop/and though I'm late/I can't get off/I just can't bear/to tell you some lies/so narrow your eyes" **shudder**
― frogbs, Thursday, 24 February 2011 19:24 (thirteen years ago) link
i've heard most of their later albums and while there are definitely some good songs here and there, the children's albums are by and large better than the 'regular' albums. also the bonus disc for The Else is more fun than the proper album.
but yeah "Narrow Your Eyes" is great, they can kill you with occasional sincere moments.
― some dude, Thursday, 24 February 2011 19:27 (thirteen years ago) link
I'm a dork.
also this sentence is just kind of assumed when you're posting on a TMBG thread, no need to type it
― some dude, Thursday, 24 February 2011 19:30 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah I was surprised by the amount of effort they put into those kids albums. They remind me of the earlier stuff but with somewhat dumber lyrics. I don't know if they're better than The Else but some of it is very good. "Can You Find It?" and "C is For Conifers" are just oddly touching, I guess
― frogbs, Thursday, 24 February 2011 19:39 (thirteen years ago) link
the kids stuff is fun. for the most part, not all that diff (musically at least) from their regular stuff. and kids do indeed love it.
― tylerw, Thursday, 24 February 2011 19:41 (thirteen years ago) link
the bonus disc for The Else is more fun than the proper album
Oh, fer sher! "Why the Christ, why the Devil, Why did you grow a beard?!?"
Of the later stuff, "Mink Car" is brilliant but "The Spine" is their absolute nadir, just completely unredeemable.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Thursday, 24 February 2011 20:03 (thirteen years ago) link
Oh, and Tyler I wanna party with you, always find you on my fave threads. :-)
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Thursday, 24 February 2011 20:05 (thirteen years ago) link
Really really liked "Brain Problem Situation", "We Live in a Dump", "Yeah, the Deranged Millionaire" and "Cast Your Pod to the Wind". I don't think it's better than the main disc but it's a great bonus. TMBG were really a band built for these types of podcasts.
Agree that "The Spine" is the worst. I mean it is fairly decent in spots but I really hate how every song on the first half sounds like every other song on the first half. I really liked "Broke in Two"
― frogbs, Thursday, 24 February 2011 20:11 (thirteen years ago) link
haaa right back atcha, gerald. and i agree about the spine -- i remember listening to that a bunch and deciding it really was *bad*. or just completely lifeless.
― tylerw, Thursday, 24 February 2011 20:12 (thirteen years ago) link
So these guys are releasing a new album this year and will be touring the US in September. Which is when I was thinking of visiting. They've already announced a few cities and SF and ATL are among them so now I am really really wondering I cant only get over but get to see the beloves Johns live again woo!
― berk psychosis (Trayce), Thursday, 24 February 2011 20:17 (thirteen years ago) link
Here was my review:
"John Flansburgh, attempting to describe why "Sensurround" was left off of Factory Showroom: "For me, I think of every song as its own thing. I think it's interesting to see the shape of an album after it's put together; you can create a different listening experience depending on how you stack up the songs. The most discipline that we ever apply to an album sequence is avoiding like-sounding songs. If we have too many mid-tempo songs, we'll leave a couple of them off. Or if we have a better example of a song than another, we tend to leave the second-rate one off." Ignoring the fact that I find “Sensurround” to be perhaps the best song of the Factory Showroom era, I really do like the sentiment behind this statement. So it's a little disappointing to find them pretty much ignoring their old values - here comes The Spine, a disc that fills nearly the entire first half with mid-tempo rockers, of which only “Experimental Film” makes an impression. No, none of these songs are bad in isolation, but stacked one after another gives the album a really bland feel, completely atypical of what we’ve come to expect from these guys. The experimentation is toned down – there’s auto-tune on “Bastard Wants to Hit Me”, and one song that’s reminiscent of Flood but only about half as catchy (“Stalk of Wheat”). Other than that, they’ve almost fully transformed into your typical rock band, although the lyrical puzzles are still abound – Linnell sings about resignation from life (“Memo to Human Resources”), drug addiction (“Thunderbird”), and bizarre strings of cause-and-effect relationships (“Wearing a Raincoat”). The unfortunate thing is that the lyrics are the really the only interesting parts of them. I’m not exactly sure what happened here – maybe they purposely decided to write a more “adult” album to offset the kids’ one – but this group never really did the “mature adult rock” thing in the first place. The saving grace of the album is that side 2 has a few legitimately great tracks - “Museum of Idiots” gets by on a strong and punchy horn section, “Damn Good Times” is an energetic slice of power-pop with an accelerating guitar solo ending, and “Broke In Two” rides a wonky guitar line into the stratospheres of catchiness that this group was always capable of. But other than those tracks (and “Experimental Film”), there’s little on here you’ll want to hear again. So give it credit for those few great songs and making an album that’s at least listenable all the way through, but you know the band can do better than this. It's funny to hear them sing on "Stalk of Wheat" that they're "out of ideas", but less funny when it actually seems true."
― frogbs, Thursday, 24 February 2011 20:18 (thirteen years ago) link
I stil havent got round to hearing some recent albums. I love "Sensurround", its a great song.
― berk psychosis (Trayce), Thursday, 24 February 2011 20:22 (thirteen years ago) link
i've heard most of their later albums and while there are definitely some good songs here and there, the children's albums are by and large better than the 'regular' albums.
"The Spine" is their absolute nadir,
agree with all this
― yesterday's twat (sic), Thursday, 24 February 2011 22:38 (thirteen years ago) link
i covered "narrow your eyes" for a fan-assembled TMBG tribute album when i was like 16
― congratulations (n/a), Thursday, 24 February 2011 22:40 (thirteen years ago) link
At parties some of us have been known to break out into spontaneous acapella barbershop renditions of "Kiss me, son of god".
― berk psychosis (Trayce), Thursday, 24 February 2011 22:43 (thirteen years ago) link
...I have really nerdy friends :(
Weird, I really like The Spine but could never penetrate The Else. Kids' albums, meh – most of what I've heard annoys the hell out of me, but then I don't have kids so
xp awesome, that song entirely lends itself to spontaneous a cappella barbershop renditions
― Head goes goes goes (Schlafsack), Thursday, 24 February 2011 22:49 (thirteen years ago) link
I was so glad that when I saw them live, it was an unplanned, last-minute second show where they decided on spec to do the whole "Flood" album end to end. This was really before all the "dont look back" trend, as well.
Seeing them do "Fingertips" live was a spinout.
― berk psychosis (Trayce), Thursday, 24 February 2011 23:02 (thirteen years ago) link
I've seen them three times..."Fingertips" is indeed pretty awesome live
If you can see them at a traditional rock venue (as opposed to something more "family friendly") it's way worth it. Flansburgh has a pretty wicked sense of humor.
― frogbs, Thursday, 24 February 2011 23:17 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah this was a rock show - for "Man its so loud in here" they dropped all the stage lights and lit up a disco ball (prob more to hide the fact its all DAT tape and they have noting to play haha), and then at the shows end they shot 2 cannons full of silvery confetti into the crowd, which was freaking awesome.
― berk psychosis (Trayce), Thursday, 24 February 2011 23:18 (thirteen years ago) link
And then Paul McDermott walked on, right?
― Head goes goes goes (Schlafsack), Thursday, 24 February 2011 23:24 (thirteen years ago) link
Swap everyone else's opinion of The Spine with Mink Car and yup.
― Morcheeba, simply happening. (PaulTMA), Thursday, 24 February 2011 23:35 (thirteen years ago) link
I like Mink Car! It has "Mr XCitement" on it!
― berk psychosis (Trayce), Thursday, 24 February 2011 23:45 (thirteen years ago) link
"Mink Car" is possibly their third best, after the debut and "Flood". It's certainly my most-listened albums of theirs over the last ddecade (not counting the kids albums - I do have kids and TMBG is the only band they request by name). It just goes from strength to strength, I mean out of the gate with "Bangs" and "Cyclops Rock" they've got the humor AND the rock chops in spades. "Wicked Little Critta" is quite funny as I grew up with kids that talked like that, and the guest appearance by Mike Doughty is great. Not a skippable track on the whole thing.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Friday, 25 February 2011 03:47 (thirteen years ago) link
ugh Mink Car has a few good songs but some real duds. like i said upthread, the recent albums have their moments but i feel like they're one of those bands whose studio output has dropped off to the point that pretty much all of the first 6 or so albums beat anything since then.
― Dr. Frogbius (some dude), Friday, 25 February 2011 03:51 (thirteen years ago) link
Not a skippable track? I dunno I like some of the album but it kills me how much better it could have been. If you were obsessed wtih the band and got the TMBG Unlimited + the web release you can hear a lot of the Mink Car songs in their original versions and a lot of them are much, much better. Especially "Cyclops Rock", "Older", "She Thinks She's Edith Head" and "Another First Kiss". Plus a lot of awesome material didn't even get used like "I Am 40". I really have no idea how they compiled that album. Kinda agree with the above though I feel like The Else is about as good as Factory Showroom was. The first 4 or 5 are untouchable though. Just spin tunes like "Puppet Head" or "Number Three" or "We Want a Rock" again...nobody else writes songs like that
― frogbs, Friday, 25 February 2011 14:09 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah the Severe Tire Damage version of "First Kiss" isso much better. Mink Car seemed like it had way too long a gestation period because they weren't sure how to approach doing a new studio album post-Elektra and so they had time to fiddle with the songs too much and cast aside perfectly good ones.
― some dude, Friday, 25 February 2011 14:11 (thirteen years ago) link
Exactly, I mean they used different producers for each song and that really threw things off, I still think the album's alright in itself but it could have been one of their better albums had they used the better songs and the best takes.
― frogbs, Friday, 25 February 2011 14:44 (thirteen years ago) link
From Facebook:
Huzzah! In support of our next album They Might Be Giants are planning a 45 city US tour starting in September. Two shows in England in July. Album preview ep on iTunes in April, LP later--release date not nailed down yet.
Well it's about time!!
Also, I just found out that Yukihiro Takahashi was the engineer for The Else. What a bizarre piece of trivia...how the hell did that happen? AFAIK he doesn't even engineer his own albums.
― frogbs, Friday, 25 February 2011 14:49 (thirteen years ago) link
have you guys heard the new album yet?
it's pretty good - supposedly a return to the Flood era but most of the tracks are guitar/bass/drums which few of the early songs were
still, after a few listens, it's really growing on me. is almost definitely their best since, say, Factory Showroom, or maybe even Apollo 18
― frogbs, Monday, 25 July 2011 14:09 (twelve years ago) link
bought it, haven't listened yet. last one i heard (the spine?) was kind of awful, but i'm optimistic about this one. and anyway, they're a staple in my house because i have a little kid who likes the kids records.
― tylerw, Monday, 25 July 2011 14:43 (twelve years ago) link
I don't think there's any shame in abandoning the tired and stale grown-up records in favour of the fun & delightful kids records at this stage
― Booger T. Jones (sic), Monday, 25 July 2011 15:01 (twelve years ago) link
yeah, there's a lot on those kids records that could've easily been on flood and no one would blink an eye.
― tylerw, Monday, 25 July 2011 15:17 (twelve years ago) link
yeah I don't think TMBG is anything more than "decent" as a real rock band. the kids albums are actually pretty good and play to their strengths a lot more. the ABCs album is a lot better for adults than I thought it would be. there's a lot of humor on there that's pretty subtle. that said, Join Us is definitely worth a few listens - it doesn't have the colorful, lush arrangements of the first few albums but the songs are pretty addictive. kind of sounds like a mix between The Else and the collection of Podcast songs that came with it.
btw Tyler - The Spine is definitely one of their worst so don't let it discourage you
― frogbs, Monday, 25 July 2011 15:34 (twelve years ago) link
"Can You Find It?" is such a great song. One of Linnell's very best. These songs used to be about unrequited love or the destruction of a relationship and now it's about finding letters on a graphic. But it sure is beautiful.
― frogbs, Monday, 25 July 2011 15:41 (twelve years ago) link
hate to triple post here but I have "Celebration" on repeat and it totally rules.this new album is great.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 26 July 2011 20:08 (twelve years ago) link
haha was gonna post "rip frogbs" when i saw this thread was revived
― yelling "free dom passy" til you know i'm aspie (some dude), Tuesday, 26 July 2011 21:40 (twelve years ago) link
my immediate favorite on first listen is "When Will You Die," which i have weird feelings about because it was obviously written before Osama Bin Laden's death but listening to it so soon after it's hard not to think of how it could easily be interpreted or appropriated as not at all ironic or comedic in that context
― yelling "free dom passy" til you know i'm aspie (some dude), Tuesday, 26 July 2011 21:44 (twelve years ago) link
"2082" is working for me in it's subtle way.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Tuesday, 26 July 2011 22:23 (twelve years ago) link
i don't think "when will you die?" is about anyone in particular, but it fits so well with OBL, as people actually were celebrating on the streets when he was killed
― frogbs, Thursday, 28 July 2011 14:35 (twelve years ago) link
also, i think it may be the best song here. can't get enough of it
― frogbs, Thursday, 28 July 2011 14:36 (twelve years ago) link
Persevering with this. It might be too early to speak (The Else has only just grown on me ffs) but it really does seem like Linnell's songwriting is severely outpacing Flansburgh's, e.g. Let Your Hair Hang Down is one of my favourite TMBG songs of all time and Cloisonné is so self-conscious (even by their standards) that I can't stand hearing it.
― the internet and its bountiful crop of aphex twin (Schlafsack), Friday, 2 September 2011 04:37 (twelve years ago) link
Linnell's songwriting is severely outpacing Flansburgh's
isn't this basically true of their entire catalog to different extents though?
― some dude, Friday, 2 September 2011 11:08 (twelve years ago) link
It is, but on this album it feels like Linnell's at his peak and Flansburgh is just phoning it in, I mean a really really stark difference.
― Autumn Almanac, Friday, 2 September 2011 11:23 (twelve years ago) link
i actually thought Flansburgh was less annoyingly broad on this album than he'd been on the last few
― some dude, Friday, 2 September 2011 11:34 (twelve years ago) link
Join Us is really holding up for me, definitely their best since John Henry or Factory Showroom.
― Colin Allstations (PaulTMA), Friday, 2 September 2011 13:59 (twelve years ago) link
yeah i;ve been enjoying it, haven't listened to it too much, but it seems pretty strong.
― tylerw, Friday, 2 September 2011 15:05 (twelve years ago) link
Have we done a TMBG albums poll?
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Friday, 2 September 2011 17:57 (twelve years ago) link
nah...i always felt like the consensus on their best albums is so obvious that it'd almost not be worth it. maybe non-Flood or post-Flood only would make it slightly more interesting?
― some dude, Saturday, 3 September 2011 00:45 (twelve years ago) link
I was always about the gimmicky TMBG but John Henry completely flipped my perception. Such a surprise coming as it did after "Why Does the Sun Shine?" Now I'd rate The Spine above Flood. Yes I know.
― Autumn Almanac, Saturday, 3 September 2011 00:53 (twelve years ago) link
(ironically I once flipped a car while listening to John Henry)
― Autumn Almanac, Saturday, 3 September 2011 00:54 (twelve years ago) link
John Henry was the last of the early albums i heard and i've just never warmed to it
― some dude, Saturday, 3 September 2011 00:55 (twelve years ago) link
It's great! It's the first time they really allowed themselves to be properly melodic at the expense of silly noises. It even declines properly at the end like a real album </geir>
― Autumn Almanac, Saturday, 3 September 2011 00:59 (twelve years ago) link
I remember buying it at launch (off the back of "Why Does etc etc" as mentioned above, so thinking "ugh this can't end well") and being completely blown away.
This week I read that Factory Showroom is Flansburgh's favourite album, which makes me warm inside because I absolutely adored it from start to finish.
― Autumn Almanac, Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:02 (twelve years ago) link
yeah FS is much more my speed, the only album where i forgive them for not stuffing 18+ songs onto the record
― big spiritual hat club (some dude), Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:05 (twelve years ago) link
The Spine is nowhere near as terrible as 'the worst evah TMBG album' should be
That's 'Mink Car's job
― Colin Allstations (PaulTMA), Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:20 (twelve years ago) link
Now I'd rate The Spine above Flood. Yes I know.
Ugh, that's just crazy talk!! I mean, really... If you said "Mink Car" above "Flood", I'd be down with that, though. ;-)
It doesn't sit well in my mind, either - "Factory Showroom" has higher highs (but is a bit inconsistent).
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:22 (twelve years ago) link
― Colin Allstations (PaulTMA), Saturday, 3 September 2011 11:20 (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
Mink Car always grated on me a bit because I read some early press touting it as a return to Flood. That's always dangerous, especially in this case because it pronounces just how hard the album is trying to be Flood. It's got some great songs, but as a piece it just doesn't hold up that well, and it really tails off at the end. Ending with "Working Undercover for the Man"? Seriously?
― Autumn Almanac, Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:29 (twelve years ago) link
Absolutely. The Spine seemed to be a huge return to something resembling TMBG sanity after Mink Car, when even Linnell was writing drivel like Wicked Little Critta. Any album with 'Mr Xcitement' on it can only be the lowest of the low.
― Colin Allstations (PaulTMA), Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:38 (twelve years ago) link
imo any of the first 6 albums is better than any of the albums since, they're kind of stuck in a perpetual chamber of diminishing returns
― big spiritual hat club (some dude), Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:45 (twelve years ago) link
I suppose if you go there for the novelty you're going to be let down by the new stuff. Linnell's songwriting is sharper than ever imo.
Any album with 'Mr Xcitement' on it can only be the lowest of the low.
This probably contradicts what I just said but fuck it: That song I don't mind so much, probably because it's a new idea, and it's always a joy to see what these guys do with new ideas. The Spine is relatively bereft of ideas but my god is it a well-crafted album.
― Autumn Almanac, Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:52 (twelve years ago) link
But yeah, Wicked Little Critta should have been a B side.
― Autumn Almanac, Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:53 (twelve years ago) link
The Spine is not even remotely shit. It's good!
― Colin Allstations (PaulTMA), Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:54 (twelve years ago) link
i like a lot of the new stuff (and as said upthread am pretty into Join Us) fwiw, also way to go on being presumptuous AND condescending about me on liking the band for "novelty" songs just because i prefer the early stuff
― big spiritual hat club (some dude), Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:56 (twelve years ago) link
The last song on the new album "You Don't Like Me" is stunningly good.
― kornrulez6969, Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:58 (twelve years ago) link
yeah that's great
― big spiritual hat club (some dude), Saturday, 3 September 2011 01:59 (twelve years ago) link
"you like... cutting with a fork" is great. btw is there an albums poll? I can't find one.
some dude: I did make a wrong assumption and I'm sorry for that, I had no intention of hanging you out to dry. Some people do just want novelty from TMBG but that's cool too.
― Autumn Almanac, Saturday, 3 September 2011 02:02 (twelve years ago) link
i think hardcore fans just tend to overreact to the band being widely seen as a 'comedy' act or 'weird' or w/e. i respect the songcraft and the subtleties and emotions of what they're doing but i think the humor and left field absurdity and kitchen sink instrumentation and sound effects are also an important and inseparable part of the whole package.
― big spiritual hat club (some dude), Saturday, 3 September 2011 02:07 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah, and as TMBG fans I think we all get a bit tired of being seen as novelty chasers. I gave up talking up the depth of their music a long time ago.
― Autumn Almanac, Saturday, 3 September 2011 02:09 (twelve years ago) link
You Don't Like Me initially struck me as a really weird closer, though I know appreciate the way the album winds down. It's very unlike other TMBG albums.
― Colin Allstations (PaulTMA), Saturday, 3 September 2011 02:12 (twelve years ago) link
*now
yeah at this point it wouldn't be hard to make like a mix CD of their best 'serious' or 'straightforward' songs but it feels like wasted effort to overstate that side of their music (xpost)
― big spiritual hat club (some dude), Saturday, 3 September 2011 02:13 (twelve years ago) link
That would be awesome! It'd also be inevitably loaded with Linnell songs but meh
― Autumn Almanac, Saturday, 3 September 2011 02:16 (twelve years ago) link
hey Flans has "Narrow Your Eyes" and arguably "Pet Name"
― big spiritual hat club (some dude), Saturday, 3 September 2011 02:18 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah, the Linnell/Flans ratio would be similar to the Partridge/Moulding ratio imo
― Autumn Almanac, Saturday, 3 September 2011 02:19 (twelve years ago) link
"Careful What You Pack" is a Flans, yeah?
― Autumn Almanac, Saturday, 3 September 2011 02:20 (twelve years ago) link
yeah...was just listening to that the other day, good one
― big spiritual hat club (some dude), Saturday, 3 September 2011 02:25 (twelve years ago) link
http://tmbw.net users rank every song (you can see what ranking each song has) but I can't find a full chart anywhere.
― Autumn Almanac, Saturday, 3 September 2011 02:32 (twelve years ago) link
Birdhouse is #1, Ana Ng is #2
― Autumn Almanac, Saturday, 3 September 2011 02:33 (twelve years ago) link
here it is: http://tmbw.net/wiki/Special:Ratings
pretty cool, especially since they're not really popular enough on ILM to justify a ballot poll (although maybe i'll take the top 50 tracks from that list to do an automated poll or something)
― big spiritual hat club (some dude), Saturday, 3 September 2011 11:09 (twelve years ago) link
I kind of wish TMBG would do a full CD of the old Dial-A-Song shit. That's p much the best stuff they ever did.
― delmar dillinger (Whiney G. Weingarten), Saturday, 3 September 2011 12:12 (twelve years ago) link
a lot of it is on the Then collection, isn't it? but yeah that would be cool, it was kind of annoying that they did a CD called Dial-A-Song that was just a straight-up best-of.
― big spiritual hat club (some dude), Saturday, 3 September 2011 12:19 (twelve years ago) link
Those bonus tracks on Then are pretty weird and Residentsy, is there supposed to be much more that kind of thing in the vaults?
― Colin Allstations (PaulTMA), Saturday, 3 September 2011 12:25 (twelve years ago) link
Aw, I like mr xcitement! :(
― Silent Hedgehogs (Trayce), Saturday, 3 September 2011 12:43 (twelve years ago) link
― big spiritual hat club (some dude), Saturday, 3 September 2011 21:09 (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
Brilliant. You/we/I should totally kick off a poll for that top 50.
Super-annoying to see Dr Worm at #4, I hate that song. #5, #6, #8 (!!!!!!) and #13 are nice surprises though. As expected Linnell smashes it.
― Autumn Almanac, Saturday, 3 September 2011 13:22 (twelve years ago) link
(not doing the poll now because I'm going to bed and we have fathers day tomorrow for some reason)
― Autumn Almanac, Saturday, 3 September 2011 13:23 (twelve years ago) link
Tons - some website used to be up where you could download a ton of them, lost those MP3s years ago but there were some serious gems. I think they've mined it a few other times -the aforementioned "Wicked Little Critta" was a Dial-A-Song in some form, and "Cyclops Rock" got reworked (and worsened), but I remember just, like, dozens of little thirty-second songs. This could be way off though.
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 3 September 2011 17:12 (twelve years ago) link
Lol @ some dude trying to school me on Then, tho
― delmar dillinger (Whiney G. Weingarten), Saturday, 3 September 2011 17:15 (twelve years ago) link
I have the TMBG Unlimited series, that's got lots of odds and ends as well, including works-in-progress and outtakes.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Saturday, 3 September 2011 18:47 (twelve years ago) link
Oh, and for the curious, here's a list of all the Dial-A-Songs: http://tmbw.net/wiki/Dial-A-Song
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Saturday, 3 September 2011 18:51 (twelve years ago) link
I had the TMBG fleece from that, though it sadly went missing somewhere unknown. :(
― Colin Allstations (PaulTMA), Saturday, 3 September 2011 18:52 (twelve years ago) link
And a bit more googling led me to this site but you need to jump through some hoops to download: http://wallywashis.name/mp3/They+Might+Be+Giants/%5Bnon-album+tracks%5D/
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Saturday, 3 September 2011 18:59 (twelve years ago) link
at this point i think i'd be willing to argue that factory showroom is their best album. or my favorite, anyway. i remember in high school making fun of my friend for buying it (i had gotten into "cooler" music i guess) but finally listening to it and loving pretty much every song. tons of great melodies on there.
― tylerw, Saturday, 3 September 2011 19:07 (twelve years ago) link
This is Dan, and that's DanAnd that's Marty on the drums to complete the bandAnd I am John and he is also JohnAnd all of us are wondering when you're gonna die
^ best lyric in tmbg history
― Autumn Almanac, Tuesday, 13 September 2011 12:28 (twelve years ago) link
I was really big into the band back then (I was also 15) and found this album to be a disappointment, but looking back it's really not so bad. If you really get into what they were doing ever since Factory Showroom - like, listen to all the TMBG Unlimited releases, the McSweeney's releases, the internet-only stuff, etc., I really don't think that they lost any talent, they just didn't throw anything away and let the fans see everything they'd done, warts and all. Then when it came to cutting an album they severely overthought everything, put 'new' cuts of 'old' songs that were limp compared to the originals (or demos), and seemed to miss a bunch of their greatest material. You can really make a killer 20-track album from their 1996-2001 output, but Mink Car isn't it.
― frogbs, Monday, 26 September 2011 15:32 (twelve years ago) link
"Working Undercover For The Man" is one of my favorite later songs!
but yeah it seemed like after they got dropped from Elektra and took those 5 years issuing stopgap projects and kind of figuring out where the next proper album would come out they kind of cycled through a lot of material in different incarnations and ended up with something that just wasn't close to ideal.
― some dude, Monday, 26 September 2011 18:10 (twelve years ago) link
― delmar dillinger (Whiney G. Weingarten), Saturday, September 3, 2011 1:15 PM (3 weeks ago) Bookmark
a post w/ a question mark in it is probably not making any haughty attempt to "school you" fyi
― some dude, Monday, 26 September 2011 18:11 (twelve years ago) link
new album did not sound good to me. they still have some songwriting chops but the arrangements were weak (too much guitar-based stuff) and the lyrics have gone from weird and clever to straining to be funny. it's like they heard themselves described as a joke band so many times that they started to believe it.
― congratulations (n/a), Monday, 26 September 2011 18:13 (twelve years ago) link
IMO the only one that really 'strains' is Cloisonne, which I'm not really a big fan of anyway. I think it takes a few listens but if you think it's a "joke" record you're probably paying attention to the wrong things.
― frogbs, Monday, 26 September 2011 18:20 (twelve years ago) link
This is really the first album that shows them doing the things they used to do so well. Like writing good harmonies ("Let Your Hair Hang Down") or neat little lyrical puzzles - "Lady and the Tiger" is really quite brilliant, the lyrics are odd but they make sense and almost become profound the more you think about them (unless you don't know the classic Lady and Tiger story), which the band hasn't really done in a while.
― frogbs, Monday, 26 September 2011 18:22 (twelve years ago) link
According to Flans it looks like the 'other' tracks from the Join Us session are coming out according in another "B-sides and other stuff" type collection. Really looking forward to that, a lot of those recent comps like "Cast Your Pod to the Winds" and "Venue Songs" have been great
― frogbs, Tuesday, 4 October 2011 16:18 (twelve years ago) link
Cloisonné is one of the highlights for me. That song makes me laugh when my mind should be concerned with other things (including listening to other bands)
― Peas, Ants, Pigs & Astronauts (PaulTMA), Tuesday, 4 October 2011 22:23 (twelve years ago) link
just saw 'em in Milwaukee on Friday, awesome night - I've seen them after the release of their last three adult albums, and the "so we've got a new album out, and it's called xxxxx" line got such a huge reception this time. there was 6 or 7 new songs which all went over well, a lot of classic old stuff from the first 4-5 albums, including "Ana Ng", which is incredible since they're finally playing it at the same tempo as the studio version. only disappointment was no "Puppet Head" which I've always wanted to see. they brought out sock puppets for "Spoiler Alert" which was amazing. also both the guys (especially Flans) are really, really funny.
― frogbs, Sunday, 30 October 2011 22:52 (twelve years ago) link
― frogbs, Tuesday, October 4, 2011 12:18 PM (3 weeks ago) Bookmark
this is being released on Tuesday under the title Album Raises New and Troubling Questions btw
― mylo & xylotis (some dude), Sunday, 30 October 2011 23:33 (twelve years ago) link
"The Sun is a Mass (of Incandescent Gas)" has been in my head for days, god, liked that song once upon a time but for an earworm it's pretty shrill. Tension, apprehension, and dissension have begun.
― drawings by teen cultists (Crabbits), Wednesday, 22 August 2012 13:24 (eleven years ago) link
never much cared for the EP studio version but the live version is always fun imo.
― some dude, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 13:29 (eleven years ago) link
sometimes it's justthe sun is hotthe sun is hotthe sun is hotthe sun is hotthe sun is hotthe sun is hotthe sun is hoton my head in a loop akjabgfui;abgving
― drawings by teen cultists (Crabbits), Wednesday, 22 August 2012 13:30 (eleven years ago) link
THE SUN IS SO HOT (mental torture)
― drawings by teen cultists (Crabbits), Wednesday, 22 August 2012 13:31 (eleven years ago) link
yeah the Severe Tire Damage version is just stupidly catchy. the original kind of sucks.
In 2004 I worked in a factory over the summer and "She's an Angel" was literally stuck in my head practically every day I was there. Because I'd work at one machine and it would play in my head and then every day afterwards looking at that machine would re-trigger the memory. Like now I still kind of marvel at how many stupidly catchy parts they were able to cram into a two-minute song, but even so, it was like a curse
― frogbs, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 13:35 (eleven years ago) link
Listening to "Join Us" now in honor of this thread -- bought this when it came out but never really got into it.
Cliche but correct OPO is "Ana Ng."
Less obvious members of the POX: "Rhythm Section Want Ad," "It's Not My Birthday," "Nightgown of the Sullen Moon," "Pet Name," "Till My Head Falls Off," "Fingertips." But nothing post-Factory Showroom, as far as I'm concerned.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 22 August 2012 17:01 (eleven years ago) link
Claim for purposes of discussion: Linnell's 1999 solo record _State Songs_ is as good as any TMBG album.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 22 August 2012 17:03 (eleven years ago) link
love all those songs, eephus
― some dude, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 17:05 (eleven years ago) link
The problem with State Songs is that it's cheaply made and doesn't really try to be anything. The songwriting is there though. I just don't really like the high school band feel of it.
My POX would be - She's An Angel, Ana Ng, Don't Let's Start, Narrow Your Eyes, Spiralling Shape, Puppet Head, Birdhouse, We Want a Rock, Sensurround, and See The Constellation. I do feel bad that there's nothing from the last 15 years there as their albums have been pretty good lately, but that early stuff is just ridiculous.
― frogbs, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 17:09 (eleven years ago) link
i enjoy singing "Doctor Worm" at my dog, with "Hen" subbed in for worm. After writing them off for years, "You Don't Like Me" off of Join Us is killer grade A material for these guys imo.
― O_o-O_O-o_O (jjjusten), Wednesday, 22 August 2012 17:11 (eleven years ago) link
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, August 22, 2012 1:01 PM Bookmark
OTM - "Nightgown of the Sullen Moon" would be my OPO. Would have a really hard time with an only-pick-ten but damn that is one amazing track.
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 17:16 (eleven years ago) link
"The Sun is a Mass (of Incandescent Gas)"
really annoys me that the internet gives the impression they wrote this song
― Shameful Dead Half Choogle (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 22 August 2012 17:24 (eleven years ago) link
"A Self Called Nowhere" and "Whistling in the Dark" not getting any love on this thread is baffling to me.
― cwkiii, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 17:29 (eleven years ago) link
It pains me to say this, given how much I love this record, but "Apolo 18" is surely TMBG's "New Jersey"
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 22 August 2012 17:54 (eleven years ago) link
Love that record. Not sure it really qualifies for New Jersey status (was it an "event" really?), but it is the point where, if they'd just retired right then, it'd be hard to knock anything in their catalog. John Henry and Factory Showroom both have plenty of great tracks but there's something missing, and I've had no interest at all in checking out the stuff post-Severe Tire Damage.
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 18:14 (eleven years ago) link
I don't think anyone really cares that they didn't, especially as the original is nothing special (their studio cover is very close to it and it's pretty dull)
Doctor Casino you should really check out Join Us, it's not *quite* up to the level of TMBG/Lincoln/Flood/Apollo 18, but it's closer than anything else they've done, and it holds up over many listens. Most of it is really good but I really have to nominate "Judy is Your Vietnam" as maybe the best sub-1:30 song they ever did.
― frogbs, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 18:56 (eleven years ago) link
yeah Join Us is so good
― some dude, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 18:57 (eleven years ago) link
Listening to that plus the B-sides collection they quickly came out with afterwards was like wow, they finally put all the best songs on the actual album!
― frogbs, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 19:02 (eleven years ago) link
all right, what the heck, checking out Join Us now!
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 19:13 (eleven years ago) link
'"The Sun is a Mass (of Incandescent Gas)"really annoys me that the internet gives the impression they wrote this song'
this is better than the impression that barenaked ladies wrote this song, which seems to be what chuck lorre was going for with that terrible theme to big bang theory.
― Philip Nunez, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 19:21 (eleven years ago) link
lol
― some dude, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 19:22 (eleven years ago) link
The best post-Factory Showroom song is "A Certain Person I Could Name". That would be in my POX for sure.
― justfanoe (Greg Fanoe), Wednesday, 22 August 2012 19:30 (eleven years ago) link
Obviously, that's "Certain People I Could Name". Whoops.
― justfanoe (Greg Fanoe), Wednesday, 22 August 2012 19:37 (eleven years ago) link
you guys have all heard "Sensurround", right?
― frogbs, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 19:50 (eleven years ago) link
Sensurround is top 10 for me.
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 19:55 (eleven years ago) link
it's v good
― some dude, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 19:57 (eleven years ago) link
I remember being a little upset at Flansy for saying "we didn't put it on the album because it was too close to Spiralling Shape (another excellent tune)", then they put out The Spine which had like, seven or eight songs in a row that were basically all the same
Again, this is what I'm really liking about Join Us, every song is its own thing and nothing really sounds like anything else. Right now I'm obsessed with the one that sounds like a Pure Guava-era Ween outtake ("Dog Walker")
― frogbs, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 20:00 (eleven years ago) link
After a couple listens, seriously digging "Can't Keep Johnny Down" - which is to say, I really dig "Here Comes My Baby" by Cat Stevens. Generally an enjoyable listening experience although few things are really jumping out at me - there's something generally flat and even about their sound these days, not sure how to describe it...just sort of "clean studio rock band" or something. Not sure it needs to be 18 tracks. But I'm gonna keep it in rotation, I suspect there's some growers here....
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 21:02 (eleven years ago) link
the disconcertingly clean sound of Join Us is actually one of its strengths imo, struck me as off-putting at first but then i realized how well it served the lyrics
― some dude, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 21:07 (eleven years ago) link
"Join Us" may just be my jumping off point for these lads. It just hasn't made an impression at all. I liked "The Else" though I can't remember much from that either. The kids albums were all much catchier and fun for me.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Wednesday, 22 August 2012 22:40 (eleven years ago) link
I was so disappointed State Songs was original songs and not Linnell just singing the official state songs. Really wanted him to bust out the old accordion for the nice waltz that is "Here We Have Idaho." I just couldn't listen to the album because of flase advertising!
― drawings by teen cultists (Crabbits), Thursday, 23 August 2012 00:08 (eleven years ago) link
It's just kind of weird, like... these guys used to be able, just the two of them, generate a really full and interesting sound. And yet with a full band they either do kind of generic uptempo stuff in the general sonic territory of "Boss of Me," or, inexplicably, something like "Cloisonne" which just seems totally lazy, demo-button-on-the-keyboard stuff. I mean, even "Which Describes How You're Feeling" has a more interesting and surprising arrangement.
Don't get me wrong, though, the good songs on this are probably the best songs I've heard from them in over a decade, although I guess I didn't really give this many listens to the other post-Factory Showroom records. Definitely a lot of good stuff to cherry-pick from this. Still think it could be pruned and tightened a bit, although at least at 47 minutes it doesn't overstay its welcome.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 23 August 2012 00:37 (eleven years ago) link
I basically cosign every word uttered by Doctor Casino itt
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 23 August 2012 01:42 (eleven years ago) link
Picking this album back up again, still liking it okay, still convinced it's got too many tracks, or too many things that feel like they'd make solid endings. I would happily cut "Three Might Be Duende," "Cloisonne," and "Protagonist," and there's a few others that are good but not that good. Just kind of dilutes the impact of what could be a pleasant, chewy platter of songs a la Factory Showroom.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 30 August 2012 03:06 (eleven years ago) link
incidentally, pulling out Factory Showroom - - - how did this cover art get so bad? Really one of the ugliest things I've ever seen.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 30 August 2012 03:08 (eleven years ago) link
tbf NOBODY had a good album cover in 1996
― some dude, Thursday, 30 August 2012 03:09 (eleven years ago) link
Has our burgeoning 90s rock revival hegemony yet produced a "worst album cover of 1996" poll? Because that would be HARD if this one wasn't in the list.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 30 August 2012 03:11 (eleven years ago) link
no but that would be a competitive poll
― some dude, Thursday, 30 August 2012 03:19 (eleven years ago) link
But the Factory Showroom artwork is good
― Supper's Burnt (PaulTMA), Thursday, 30 August 2012 11:49 (eleven years ago) link
If you feel like doing some looking, I know he sang a whole bunch of the real state songs when he did his solo tour around that time.
― ENERGY FOOD (en i see kay), Thursday, 30 August 2012 12:20 (eleven years ago) link
he did stuff like "California Uber Alles" too, which is hilarious
― frogbs, Thursday, 30 August 2012 13:54 (eleven years ago) link
the whole "State Songs" project was really one of the least ambitious albums of all time and I love it for that. here's a quote from Linnell himself:
"I don't think that the songs are liable to be adopted as the state anthems of the actual states, sadly. I was thinking initially that that might be a nice thing, but thinking about it I think songs like 'Oregon is bad' are not likely to go down very well in Oregon."
― frogbs, Thursday, 30 August 2012 13:55 (eleven years ago) link
frogbs, i'm curious what you mean about "high school band" and "least ambitious" and "cheaply made" re State Songs -- to me the recording is indistinguishable from TMBG records of the same period
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 30 August 2012 14:05 (eleven years ago) link
oh the arrangements are definitely more spare than live band era TMBG (and less polished and drum machine-driven than early TMBG)
― some dude, Thursday, 30 August 2012 14:09 (eleven years ago) link
It's similar to some early stuff, but there are more horn players, and none of the musical parts are tricky like, say, "Puppet Head". IMO it's very distinguishable from Apollo 18 and beyond. I have no idea if it really was cheaply made, but the synthesizer sounds all make it seem that way; most of the musicians really do sound like high schoolers. As far as the ambition goes, I can't speak for Linnell, but to me it's always felt like he was doing it because TMBG was on break, the only concept was "I'm going to write a bunch of songs titled after states, that are only vaguely about those states", y'know, just to keep his muse strong or whatever. It's very charming.
― frogbs, Thursday, 30 August 2012 14:33 (eleven years ago) link
yeah it was during that long period after they got dropped from Elektra where they seemed to be actively avoiding doing a new studio album until they knew if they were going to another major or whatever; live album, internet-only rarities album, EPs, side projects, endless tours, etc. also feels like the beginning of them just picking a theme to write tons and tons of songs around (Venue Songs, Here Come The ABCs/123s/etc.)
― some dude, Thursday, 30 August 2012 14:41 (eleven years ago) link
They wrote a lot of good tunes in that period; it's a shame that so few of them ended up on Mink Car (and the ones that did were often in inferior versions). I think I've been a fan since '97 (as an 11 year old!) and I remember how frustrating it was for the "new" TMBG album (Long Tall Weekend) to be basically inaccessible. It was pioneering in retrospect but having no physical product was a pretty bad idea at the time.
― frogbs, Thursday, 30 August 2012 14:46 (eleven years ago) link
Yeah, that was exactly the period where I fell off as a fan, and I don't know if that's because the content was really in decline, or because it felt sort of ephemeral and stopgap, or because my own tastes were shifting or what.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 30 August 2012 15:00 (eleven years ago) link
see i only bought Flood like less than a year before Factory Showroom and saw them live for the first time '98 so that was a whole period of me getting into the band and exploring the back catalog. although by the time Mink Car came along i'd kind of exhausted my interest in them and didn't cop it or see them live for a few years.
― some dude, Thursday, 30 August 2012 15:12 (eleven years ago) link
2 of 70 people found the following review helpful1.0 out of 5 stars Hmmmm! Time to make lemonade!, November 23, 1999By Bruce Richardson (Herscher, IL United States) - See all my reviewsThis review is from: State Songs (Audio CD)(Updated from previous review after some more listening)I was sent to this album through a link on the State Song Web Site. Even though I recognized the TMBG name as something I wouldn't normally buy, I was totally unprepared for the disappointment I was soon to feel. They are far from the Official state songs, as one would be led to expect from the title, etc.
I was hunting for a reference recording to use with my music students. I now have a recording for when I want to play Crazy music for my 1st graders. This music should prove very enjoyable to those fans of Barney and Teletubbies.
Can you tell I am sincerely disappointed in this album. My colleague sympathized with me on this Dog purchase
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 30 August 2012 21:17 (eleven years ago) link
That's pretty much OTM, and I like the album
― frogbs, Thursday, 30 August 2012 21:20 (eleven years ago) link
haha the album really does serve a nice function as a rickroll
― some dude, Thursday, 30 August 2012 21:21 (eleven years ago) link
I love the line on the first song: "The songs of the 50 states/The songs of the 50 states/I'm not gonna say they're great/I ain't gonna say they ain't"
― frogbs, Thursday, 30 August 2012 21:24 (eleven years ago) link
I feel like any album that serves well as "Crazy music for 1st graders" is a must-buy for me
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 30 August 2012 21:26 (eleven years ago) link
one of the main reasons State Songs is great is that Flans didn't write any of the songs
― * The "no hands" rule can be compared to socialist tax policies (Autumn Almanac), Thursday, 30 August 2012 22:29 (eleven years ago) link
I have nothing against him, but especially lately his melodies haven't exactly been setting the LPs alight
Melody wise Linnell's always been at the front for me anyway...most of the early singles etc
― Master of Treacle, Friday, 31 August 2012 02:37 (eleven years ago) link
Linnell definitely has the stronger melodic gifts of the two. Flansburgh is no slouch, and makes up for it in ideas and personality, he's just a bit less consistent or subtle by comparison.
― some dude, Friday, 31 August 2012 02:47 (eleven years ago) link
Well "Judy is Your Vietnam" off Join Us is definitely a highlight. Agreed that Linnell usually writes the better melodies (he has a superhuman gift for that) but I can't talk shit about the guy behind "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head", "Narrow Your Eyes", and "See the Constellation"
― frogbs, Friday, 31 August 2012 04:17 (eleven years ago) link
what i'm saying
Flansburgh being better than usual is i think what made the difference in Join Us being an improvement from other later albums
― some dude, Friday, 31 August 2012 04:19 (eleven years ago) link
This is all reminding me of an incomplete project I began sometime in the late 90s with the intent of "proving," Paul-Is-Dead-style, that John Flansburgh conspired to have John Linnell murdered and replaced by a robot duplicate, all of which was spelled out in their songs before, during, and after the crime.
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 31 August 2012 05:34 (eleven years ago) link
Man, I got a lot further along with this than I thought!
March 1992: Apollo 18 (1992) This bleak, darkly-shaded album is the core of the entire murder theory. It seems apparent that the attack and switcharoo took place directly after the completion of these recordings, which are top-heavy with references to death, murder, and duplication. There is little of the (admittedly black) humor that made "Miscellaneous T" so easy to swallow; Linnell has reached the nadir of his Hamlet-like state of inaction, writing and performing songs which refer without much artifice to his own very imminent doom. As a final general note, the album's cover art is again significant here: a whale and a giant squid are depicted locked in mortal combat, with a spaceship floating nearby. So it was with the band: the original duo was stalemated, and a machine waited in the wings to take the place of one of them.The songs themselves, up until the Fiingertips Medley that concludes the album with a barely-concealed murder song-cycle, trade more than usual in images of death, from both singers. In fact, the two sing together more than usual, perhaps again due to Linnell's resignation. They cooperate on the scene-setting album-opener "Dig My Grave" (could it be any more obvious?), as well as "The Statue Got Me High," in which an automaton (statue) "makes" Linnell "fry" and "die."We must linger on the extended narrative of "Turn Around"...
The songs themselves, up until the Fiingertips Medley that concludes the album with a barely-concealed murder song-cycle, trade more than usual in images of death, from both singers. In fact, the two sing together more than usual, perhaps again due to Linnell's resignation. They cooperate on the scene-setting album-opener "Dig My Grave" (could it be any more obvious?), as well as "The Statue Got Me High," in which an automaton (statue) "makes" Linnell "fry" and "die."
We must linger on the extended narrative of "Turn Around"...
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 31 August 2012 05:46 (eleven years ago) link
Linnell seems to recognize that Flansburgh will kill him, but wants to leave a final message to his one-time friend: After you kill me, don't forget me. Look behind you and see my skull on the ground. Flansburgh would later throw this request back in the metaphorical face of his deceased collaborator by titling the band's next major release Back to Skull - by implication refusing to turn around and behold Linnell's legacy.
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 31 August 2012 05:48 (eleven years ago) link
yes, and now the Linnell-bot is going to murder Flans, hence "When Will You Die?"
― frogbs, Friday, 31 August 2012 13:42 (eleven years ago) link
Flood book coming: 33 1/3 Series of books
― some dude, Friday, 31 August 2012 21:44 (eleven years ago) link
YES, will buy without hesitation.
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 31 August 2012 23:09 (eleven years ago) link
screw the 33 1/3 book, I want Doctor Casino's Linnell-is-dead book!
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Saturday, 1 September 2012 00:14 (eleven years ago) link
hahaha, I wish I still had a really stupid, geeky, cornucopia-of-random-articles type website, it's kind of hard to think of what venue this sort of thing belongs on...
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 1 September 2012 00:21 (eleven years ago) link
The Awl? =
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 4 September 2012 13:18 (eleven years ago) link
Sure I saw some John-on-John slash fiction once
― Supper's Burnt (PaulTMA), Tuesday, 4 September 2012 13:58 (eleven years ago) link
these guys are another one of those 80s bands - kind of like the Cure - who I have a hard time thinking up clear antecedents for. Spike Jones? a bit of Devo?
― what's up ugly girls? (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 12 September 2013 16:12 (ten years ago) link
Sparks?
― MarkoP, Thursday, 12 September 2013 16:13 (ten years ago) link
I think the answer's even simpler than that, IMO they pretty clearly date back to the power pop era of Big Star, Todd Rundgren and even XTC, but their combination of Apple II-level production (in the early days) and an affinity towards oddball lyrical concepts makes them seem a lot more gonzoid. I'm sure they were huge fans of Sparks too!
― frogbs, Thursday, 12 September 2013 16:18 (ten years ago) link
i know their image is goofy jokesters but if you listen to the early stuff they're more clearly part of the NYC '80s art-rock scene
― congratulations (n/a), Thursday, 12 September 2013 16:18 (ten years ago) link
Sparks! of course.
I don't hear any Big Star. Rundgren I'm not familiar enough with. And XTC was only ahead of them by a couple years, right? They seem more like peers, but I agree there's some similarities in the aggressive nerdiness dept.
NYC '80s art-rock scene
I know that's where they came out of, but who else was doing drum-machine-and-accordian with the occasional fuzz guitar art-pop in that scene?
― what's up ugly girls? (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 12 September 2013 16:22 (ten years ago) link
Sonically, I don't know but in attitude/humor this is right on. Especially in the minor tracks and Dial-axSong only material, there's a self-conscious fakey weirdness ''LISTen to the SOUND...of my VOICE'' which is very Laurie Anderson. Talking Heads also have to be huge here.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 12 September 2013 16:33 (ten years ago) link
i don't know about that scene to say specifically who, but asking who else was using their specific instrumentation seems like a different question from who their antecedents were
― congratulations (n/a), Thursday, 12 September 2013 16:34 (ten years ago) link
They were kind of a poppier version of bands like Fish & Roses and Orthotonics maybe, if that means anything to anyone.
― Addison Doug (Matt #2), Thursday, 12 September 2013 16:47 (ten years ago) link
I just relistened to an old tribute album I had sitting on my hard drive: "Hello Radio: The Songs of They Might be Giants"
Hearing these songs performed by other bands has been eye-opening. They sound totally unnatural; most of these bands (OK Go and The Wrens for two) sound like rather standard indie/alt-rock groups, most of whom try to add some quirks to match the kind of thing that TMBG does, but nearly all of them struggle to figure out how to cram so many syllables into a mostly standard 4-chord rock song. Like no one can get the timing right. Nor figure out how to transition between the verses and the choruses which are often wildly different from each other. It's as if they're trying to cast these as more "normal" rock sounds to reveal how profound they really are minus the "jokey" arrangements but in the process kill most of the profundity that the songs had in the first place.
― Maggie killed Quagmire (collest baby ever) (frogbs), Thursday, 9 October 2014 15:23 (nine years ago) link
TMBG are pretty singular. I'm glad I never knew they had a tribute album.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 9 October 2014 15:46 (nine years ago) link
TMBG seems like a band who would be on a lot of tribute records of other acts; dont think it works the other way around
― Master of Treacle, Thursday, 9 October 2014 15:59 (nine years ago) link
I'm still quietly lobbying for them to be Colbert's house band when he takes over for Letterman, btw.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 9 October 2014 16:26 (nine years ago) link
YES
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 9 October 2014 16:39 (nine years ago) link
I mean, yes, this is a great idea, not Yes should be Colbert's house band
Although....
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 9 October 2014 16:40 (nine years ago) link
TMBG used to do a thing in their live show where they'd try to find a bunch of local radio stations and would play along to whatever they found. They definitely have the talent to fit whatever the show needs. I would imagine Colbert is a fan.
― Maggie killed Quagmire (collest baby ever) (frogbs), Thursday, 9 October 2014 16:41 (nine years ago) link
They're already tied into the Daily Show universe by having done the current incarnation of the TDS theme music.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 9 October 2014 16:55 (nine years ago) link
I have a theory that TMBG do a lot of TV/commercial music without anyone knowing. I think Flansburgh has referred to this in a few interviews; they're listed in the Daily Show credits and for the kids shows they do but I believe they do a lot just as working musicians. I remember an interview long ago where they were asked what they thought when fans accused them of "selling out" - their response was "it's our dream to sell out"
― Maggie killed Quagmire (collest baby ever) (frogbs), Thursday, 9 October 2014 17:46 (nine years ago) link
Like, Tim and Eric do a bunch of commercial work but nobody knows it's them
https://www.tmbgifc.com/apparently the future of music is what TMBG used to do
― Steve 'n' Seagulls and Flock of Van Dammes (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 11 November 2014 04:27 (nine years ago) link
Three CDs, 1 DVD, 1 T-shirt, weekly new songs in mp3 format all year, random swag and tickets for two to a show for a hundred bucks.So let's say $20 per ticket, $20 for the shirt and $15 a disc; all eminently reasonable prices and the swag and MP3s are free and you get to directly support the band. It's an equitable deal.
― Steve 'n' Seagulls and Flock of Van Dammes (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 11 November 2014 04:33 (nine years ago) link
Oh hmph. THey've booked a spring tour, so I guess my Colbert dream will remain a dream.
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 11 November 2014 04:36 (nine years ago) link
Wait, all the shows are in Williamsburg, so the dream is alive!
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 11 November 2014 04:37 (nine years ago) link
I realize I'm just having this conversation with myself, but the band just posted this on their fb page in response to someone's inquiry about what cities they were playing: "April-May means Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Minneapolis, Madison, Cleveland, Albany, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Diego, Salt Lake City, Boise, Seattle, Portland OR, San Francisco, Dallas, Austin, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, Columbus OH"
Makes it kind of hard to be a late night show's house band if you're doing that much touring.
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 11 November 2014 05:10 (nine years ago) link
they would be a good late night house band. but maybe darnielle will step up
― Steve 'n' Seagulls and Flock of Van Dammes (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 11 November 2014 05:16 (nine years ago) link
Johnny Fever, I think you should take your Colbert dream public ... or if you already have, then, like, MORE public. Start a campaign! It's a brilliant idea and should happen. The spring tour is just a bump in the road, doesn't mean it can't happen.
Just this morning I was randomly thinking about how many times I saw TMBG as a teenager (6 or 8?) and how many of their shirts I owned (probably 4 or 5?). I love these guys forever, even if I stopped paying attention.
Might have to hit that tour.
― alpine static, Tuesday, 11 November 2014 08:35 (nine years ago) link
the Colbert idea really is great. he's supposedly not starting on CBS until around September, so there's still time that it's plausible!
― nakhchi little van (some dude), Tuesday, 11 November 2014 09:14 (nine years ago) link
I'd love to see that too, I think what's kind of lost on a lot of people who haven't seen them live is that they're both really funny in person, especially Flansburgh.
― Abstinence Hawk (frogbs), Tuesday, 11 November 2014 13:33 (nine years ago) link
Oh, September really? The dream is alive!
― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 11 November 2014 14:20 (nine years ago) link
they'd seriously be perfect for the job. personable, talented and versatile, very funny/quick-witted, quirky but can rock if necessary, based in NYC, probably not super expensive?
this has to happen. someone start a tumblr or something
― alpine static, Tuesday, 11 November 2014 16:30 (nine years ago) link
RIP early TMBG booster and showbiz legend Joe Franklin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFRjVXh9_8E
― touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 25 January 2015 22:59 (nine years ago) link
new video by Mark Marek!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okT-EgXUD0M
― Maybe in 100 years someone will say damn Dawn was dope. (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 24 March 2015 15:30 (nine years ago) link
these lyrics from "Answer" made me laugh out loud:
You wanted tall I came in under 5'4 Then you asked for dark I tend to sunburn a lot As for handsome, well Can't help you there So make of it what you will It may take an ocean of whiskey and time To wash all of the letdown out of your mind And I may not be the one you expected but I am the answer to all your prayers
It may take an ocean of whiskey and time To wash all of the letdown out of your mind And I may not be the one you expected but I am the answer to all your prayers
― frogbs, Tuesday, 23 June 2015 01:45 (eight years ago) link
Dud.
― You’re being too simplistic and you’re insulting my poor heart (Turrican), Tuesday, 23 June 2015 01:53 (eight years ago) link
like 'em, don't like 'em, at least watch their cover of Bills, Bills, Bills
it's good!!
http://www.avclub.com/video/they-might-be-giants-covers-destinys-child-221191
― frogbs, Tuesday, 23 June 2015 04:28 (eight years ago) link
i love that song and that band too much to ever watch that
― some dude, Tuesday, 23 June 2015 04:29 (eight years ago) link
^
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 23 June 2015 05:20 (eight years ago) link
They'll need a crane
― kurt kobaïan (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 23 June 2015 07:10 (eight years ago) link
This is really really good!
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 23 June 2015 17:09 (eight years ago) link
stop waving that thing around, i'm not clicking on it
― some dude, Tuesday, 23 June 2015 17:10 (eight years ago) link
LOL
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 23 June 2015 17:12 (eight years ago) link
Hahahahaha!
― You’re being too simplistic and you’re insulting my poor heart (Turrican), Tuesday, 23 June 2015 17:50 (eight years ago) link
New album Phone Power is quite good - a few songs sound like obvious duds but there's like 13-14 really solid tunes there. Kinda weird that there's another version of "Black Ops" on there but it's better than the original. As usual the Linnell songs are generally better, two in particular are really really great - "ECNALUMBA" and "Shape Shifter".
― frogbs, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 03:46 (seven years ago) link
Didn't even know about this; will check it out
― Nhex, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 03:49 (seven years ago) link
It's just another collection of last year's weekly Dial-A-Song songs
― glandular lansbury (sic), Wednesday, 6 July 2016 04:07 (seven years ago) link
there was another one? i haven't heard any news since Glean came out
― Nhex, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 04:14 (seven years ago) link
yeah, but if you haven't heard it yet you wouldn't know. it plays like any of their albums and the songs are consistently good. I'd say it's about as good as Glean, maybe better, so if you like that one...
― frogbs, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 04:22 (seven years ago) link
ohh i didn't even realize till now that Glean was a DAS comp. and i thought that was their best album in over a decade!
― Nhex, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 04:32 (seven years ago) link
seconding phone power. i bought it back when it was a non-streaming release (early march?) and it's great. not groundbreaking, but quite albumly sequenced and a lot of really good songs (the first seven tracks are faultless imo).
― Autumn Almanac, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 05:16 (seven years ago) link
ohh i didn't even realize till now that Glean was a DAS comp.
The most recent kids album Why?, as well as being a sequel to No!, is also largely / sort of a compilation from last year's Dial-A-Song project - they did a song a week as a tiered subscription download or freebie youtube thing.
― glandular lansbury (sic), Wednesday, 6 July 2016 06:49 (seven years ago) link
I haven't heard any of the kids albums since No! actually... but you've got me interested
― Nhex, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 10:00 (seven years ago) link
Hate to say it, but found Glean to be their worst since Mink Car. Phone Power is a lot better yet still bitty. They were on a huge roll with Join Us and Nanobots though - best albums since the 90s
― PaulTMA, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 15:13 (seven years ago) link
I lionize the early stuff as much as anyone, but I think this is just as good - it seems to follow the pattern of the best TMBG albums where it's just one great song after another until the final third where things get a bit weird. It's even got those songs that pass you by on the first couple listens until one day you just feel like listening to them on repeat.
― frogbs, Thursday, 7 July 2016 16:16 (seven years ago) link
new song today. I like it a lot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-1SqAJHhFc
― frogbs, Wednesday, 6 December 2017 03:37 (six years ago) link
― kurt kobaïan (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, June 23, 2015 3:10 AM (two years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Yes
― ur-oik (rip van wanko), Wednesday, 6 December 2017 04:07 (six years ago) link
not sure I like the new song, but I like when they sing together. it's also a bit outside what they usually do, kind of going back to the sound on John Henry
― Vinnie, Wednesday, 6 December 2017 07:05 (six years ago) link
i forgot which tab i had open and for a second thought this was track four on River of Dreams
― the pleather of pleather paul (Doctor Casino), Wednesday, 6 December 2017 14:13 (six years ago) link
the lyrics to "When Will You Die?" really reminding me of a certain person right now
― frogbs, Monday, 8 January 2018 15:17 (six years ago) link
seriously
I'm so tired Of your lies And the evil things You're doing behind my back Are there crimes That you have never committed? I doubt it, sometimes I wonder When will you die? You're insane You are bad You wreck everything you touch And you're a sociopath But there's one thing That everyone's wondering When will you die?
Are there crimes That you have never committed? I doubt it, sometimes I wonder When will you die?
You're insane You are bad You wreck everything you touch And you're a sociopath
But there's one thing That everyone's wondering When will you die?
― frogbs, Monday, 8 January 2018 15:18 (six years ago) link
We've all known a few
― PaulTMA, Monday, 8 January 2018 16:24 (six years ago) link
one of my faves
― Nhex, Monday, 8 January 2018 19:09 (six years ago) link
has anyone ever written a review of TMBG (in recent-ish years, I mean) that basically says "Linnell still writes good songs, but Flansburgh does not"?
feel like it's been this way, more or less, for 20 years...just not sure if it's ever been acknowledged.
― alpine static, Friday, 19 January 2018 21:46 (six years ago) link
disagree! there have definitely been times where Linnell gets stagnant, as does Flansburgh, but they both eventually come back
― Nhex, Friday, 19 January 2018 23:06 (six years ago) link
hmm...if you can point me to some great late-era Flans songs, i'm all ears
― alpine static, Saturday, 20 January 2018 01:49 (six years ago) link
IDK it's pretty much always been Good Linnell > Good Flansburgh > Bad Flansburgh > Bad Linnell for me. I can't think of a single album where John F. outshines John L., outside of Apollo 18? It's tough to compare the two since Linnell's songs usually outnumber Flans 2:1. Kind of a Patridge/Moulding situation. Though when you see them live, Flansburgh clearly comes off as the frontman.
As for great late period Flanses..."Judy Is Your Vietnam" (basically the perfect Flans song), "In Fact", "Darlings of Lumberland" (which I think succeeds in the area "Cloissone" fails in), "Let Me Tell You About My Operation" and "Impossibly New" are all pretty great to me. I like more than that but those are the big ones.
― frogbs, Saturday, 20 January 2018 03:40 (six years ago) link
Good Linnell > Good Flansburgh > Bad Flansburgh > Bad Linnell
― Nhex, Saturday, 20 January 2018 05:36 (six years ago) link
I've always thought of Linnell as having the better songs overall, but I also think he has the better voice, which certainly plays a hand in it
― Vinnie, Saturday, 20 January 2018 06:17 (six years ago) link
New album is pretty good - especially if you've gotten burned out on them recently, since this is much more an album proper. It's probably their darkest set of lyrics yet; compared to the "fight the power" message of The Else this is more of a "everything sucks and we're all gonna die soon" type of album. Only listened twice but I think "Last Wave" is gonna go down as one of their greatest songs - feel like this is their "Wheel and the Maypole"
― frogbs, Wednesday, 24 January 2018 15:14 (six years ago) link
also "The Greatest" has one of the best opening lines in TMBG history : "They call me the greatest/'cause I'm not very good and they're being sarcastic"
State Songs >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mono Puff
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 24 January 2018 15:20 (six years ago) link
When I listen to Underwater Woman and Let Me Tell You About My Operation I get to understand how life sounds through the ears of people who hate They Might Be Giants when they hear their best material
― PaulTMA, Wednesday, 24 January 2018 19:39 (six years ago) link
what does that meanthose songs are great btw
― Nhex, Wednesday, 24 January 2018 19:46 (six years ago) link
this new album is pretty great, top to bottom. i'm kinda stunned.
― alpine static, Thursday, 25 January 2018 03:38 (six years ago) link
fun fact about Last Wave - the lyrics were written to sync up to the Run DMC/Aerosmith "Walk This Way" video, which is why they make no sense in a vacuum
― frogbs, Thursday, 22 February 2018 21:50 (six years ago) link
Had me in stitches.
https://vimeo.com/253025437
― Pyschocandles, Friday, 23 February 2018 02:33 (six years ago) link
ok that's amazing
― na (NA), Friday, 23 February 2018 04:20 (six years ago) link
hilarious
― Nhex, Friday, 23 February 2018 06:02 (six years ago) link
oh damn I didn't know that was online
amazing how they can still manage to sound exactly like they did 33 years ago if they want to
― frogbs, Friday, 23 February 2018 14:26 (six years ago) link
Now that was hilarious. Thanks for making my morning.
― VyrnaKnowlIsAHeadbanger, Friday, 23 February 2018 14:34 (six years ago) link
omg
― anatol_merklich, Friday, 23 February 2018 23:41 (six years ago) link
can't breathe
― Global Arming's Terrifying Old Math$ (Hunt3r), Saturday, 24 February 2018 00:53 (six years ago) link
Beautiful
― President Keyes, Saturday, 24 February 2018 03:04 (six years ago) link
in case anyone missed it, but has a bookmark here, there's a great big ballot poll going on: Hope That I Get Polled Before I Die: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS 1982-2002 POLL - Voting, Campaigning, Discussing
― My Gig: The Thin Beast (sic), Tuesday, 9 October 2018 18:12 (five years ago) link
too hard to decide for me. they have like hundreds of songs by now
― Nhex, Tuesday, 9 October 2018 19:31 (five years ago) link
The poll only covers 1982-2002, per the title, and excludes not-formally-released songs, so there are a mere 431 eligible.
(It says 430 in the thread, but somehow I missed Stomp Box from John Henry.)
― My Gig: The Thin Beast (sic), Tuesday, 9 October 2018 20:01 (five years ago) link
An all too easy one to forget about though now I'll surely be made a fool of when it hits top 10.
― justfanoe (Greg Fanoe), Tuesday, 9 October 2018 20:14 (five years ago) link
like hundreds of songs by now
They have released at least 170 songs just in the last six years; only 22 of them are for children.
― My Gig: The Thin Beast (sic), Friday, 12 October 2018 07:52 (five years ago) link
Results rolling out: YOUTH CULTURE POLLED MY DOG: They Might Be Giants (first 21 years) POLL RESULTS
― Get The Many Big Hits (sic), Monday, 22 October 2018 19:04 (five years ago) link
anyone who liked last year's album should really check out My Murdered Remains, a 16-track collection of outtakes and Dial-a-Song tunes that's basically I Like Fun 2. maybe even a little better actually. TMBG seem to do this thing a lot where they write two fairly similar songs and chuck one out for the album, often booting out the better song. if you've listened to ILF a lot you can definitely tell which ones those were here. either way despite not getting much fanfare, it's basically a brand new TMBG album, and a quite good one in fact.
― frogbs, Thursday, 7 March 2019 20:12 (five years ago) link
My Murdered Remains has its own outtakes album, More Murdered Remains
― steven, soda jerk (sic), Thursday, 7 March 2019 22:02 (five years ago) link
^ it's essential for the "Starry Eyes" cover alone, which I'd somehow forgotten about
― frogbs, Thursday, 18 July 2019 18:34 (four years ago) link
Roky or The Records?
― Ask Heavy Manners (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 18 July 2019 18:38 (four years ago) link
The Records
― frogbs, Thursday, 18 July 2019 18:40 (four years ago) link
The Records: http://tmbw.net/wiki/Starry_Eyes
― quelle sprocket damage (sic), Thursday, 18 July 2019 18:40 (four years ago) link
Cool. One time I struck up a conversation with a guy on the subway because his headphones were leaking that.
― Ask Heavy Manners (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 18 July 2019 18:41 (four years ago) link
Never heard this cover version before. Pretty good.
― Ask Heavy Manners (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 18 July 2019 18:52 (four years ago) link
this song is so good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvteQ8kW41A
― frogbs, Friday, 27 December 2019 17:56 (four years ago) link
sic's campaigning/voting thread (linked above) is probably (still) the most, um, encyclopedic such thread I've seen. Bless.
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Sunday, 29 December 2019 11:58 (four years ago) link
and it only covers the first 20 years (which I think now was a good call). and they've only been MORE prolific since then, I'm pretty sure
― Vinnie, Monday, 30 December 2019 02:23 (four years ago) link
its hard to tell, they weren't able to release outtakes albums every 3 years or so like they are now
― frogbs, Monday, 30 December 2019 02:54 (four years ago) link
didn't they put out like 3 albums last year not even counting the John Henry demos
― Nhex, Monday, 30 December 2019 04:41 (four years ago) link
Three studio albums plus an outtakes disc plus a live album plus the remastered John Henry Demos
weren't able to release outtakes albums every 3 years or so like they are now
I didn't track '80s and '90s Dial-A-Songs that never turned into released tracks in that poll, though. Balance may have been more even with those in.
Even with things like releasing a song a week in 2015 and 2018, writing and performing a new song at every venue on a 2004 tour, my feeling is that the eMusic era is still their most consistently prolific:
The first 17 years of this poll saw about 280 songs released; the next four see another 130 or so, not counting dozens of cues and miniatures for Malcolm In The Middle.
The cascade of music this year (2001) included 75 new songs. Lennon/McCartney wrote 121 in a decade.
Once or twice a month I open and poke at the spreadsheet for a 2003-2019 listening thread, and all of a sudden it's seven hours later and I'm A-B-C-D-E-ing two people's rips of Clock Radio tracks against a tape transfer and a streaming rip of the same song in Dial-A-Song form and the ParticleMen upload, and making notes in ID3 tags on which ones are different or more listenable and my hips hurt
― don't care didn't ask still clappin (sic), Monday, 30 December 2019 06:35 (four years ago) link
(quick count looks like 78 songs in 2004, including covers and TV themes and Homestar Runner collabs. Only 44 new songs last year, plus one they wrote for the third album but ran out of time to record.)
― don't care didn't ask still clappin (sic), Monday, 30 December 2019 06:48 (four years ago) link
Picture disc 30th anniversary reissue of Flood.
The A-side features the original Flood album cover art and the B-side is a brand new animated psychedelic zoetrope image of TMBG ephemera created by Paul Sahre. You will need a phone and a glass hookah to experience it in its full psychedelic glory! (Viewing instructions are included on the LP jacket.) Buy two and sell the second on eBay for the price of both!
― don't care didn't ask still clappin (sic), Wednesday, 8 January 2020 05:14 (four years ago) link
ok that is p cool
― Suggest Banshee (Hadrian VIII), Wednesday, 8 January 2020 05:51 (four years ago) link
In the series "lyrics snippets that haven't aged all that well":
Why is the world in love again?Why are we marching hand in hand?Why are the ocean levels rising up?
― anatol_merklich, Wednesday, 8 January 2020 08:02 (four years ago) link
ok yeah I had to order that
― frogbs, Wednesday, 8 January 2020 14:37 (four years ago) link
The free download of FLOOD LIVE IN AUSTRALIA has been reposted on our website’s Downloads page but it leaves on February 1 (for something else free!). https://found.ee/freedownloads
― don't care didn't ask still clappin (sic), Thursday, 16 January 2020 06:25 (four years ago) link
Thanks!
― Nhex, Thursday, 16 January 2020 12:15 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt1V5gD4GoE
lmao "gonna tell my kids this was Animal Collective"
― frogbs, Monday, 9 March 2020 14:29 (four years ago) link
Restreaming a previously subscriber-only concert from 2015 this evening on youtube, for pandemic party times.
The TMBG Watch Party goes up at 11pm London, 7pm Eastern US, 4pm Pacific US, 10am in Sydney, 8am Tokyo. We will be streaming a performance of a Brooklyn show from October 2015, and as it streams you can chat in real-time with other TMBGers.
For spoilers, here's the setlist for this "Horntoberfest"-themed gig.
― Dollarmite Is My Name (sic), Friday, 27 March 2020 18:33 (four years ago) link
whoa, that's an awesome setlist
saw them on this most recent tour where they were doing Flood in its entirely, one of their last gigs before they all got cancelled in fact. without coming off too fanboyish they really do seem to get better every time I see them. the wonky "Spy" improv included a sample of The Eagles "Take It To The Limit" which was one of the funniest things I've ever seen them do
― frogbs, Friday, 27 March 2020 18:44 (four years ago) link
I'll be watching the Steven Universe finale but will probably catch up with that later
― Nhex, Friday, 27 March 2020 18:53 (four years ago) link
Suspect it won't be archived, but should run longer than Steven Universe to join in when you get a chance.
― Dollarmite Is My Name (sic), Friday, 27 March 2020 22:54 (four years ago) link
For spoilers, here's the setlist🕸 for this "Horntoberfest"-themed gig.guessing they’re starting with set 2
― karmic blowback for dissing pip and jane baker (Autumn Almanac), Friday, 27 March 2020 23:09 (four years ago) link
First set was probably a tech rehearsal, given some of the glitches still in the first few songs here.
― Dollarmite Is My Name (sic), Friday, 27 March 2020 23:31 (four years ago) link
yeah, it’s a mess, i bailed
― karmic blowback for dissing pip and jane baker (Autumn Almanac), Friday, 27 March 2020 23:48 (four years ago) link
I kept it on for background listening once the audio settled down, but gave up on looking at it almost immediately.
― Dollarmite Is My Name (sic), Saturday, 28 March 2020 00:24 (four years ago) link
I put a playlist together of my favorite Glean/Phone Power songs:
1) Erase2) Apophenia3) I Love You for Psychological Reasons4) Music Jail, Pt 1 & 25) Answer6) ECNALUMBA7) End of the Rope8) All the Lazy Boyfriends9) It Said Something10) Impossibly New11) Unpronounceable12) I'll Be Haunting You13) I'm a Coward14) Aaa15) Shape Shifter16) Let Me Tell You About My Operation17) I Wasn't Listening
I think, when listened to this way, it would be maybe their strongest single album ever?
― frogbs, Wednesday, 27 January 2021 20:27 (three years ago) link
don't suppose you've got that put together on a streaming service somewhere, do ya?
― alpine static, Wednesday, 27 January 2021 21:41 (three years ago) link
worth noting, i guess, that apparently TMBG has to move all its merch from one warehouse to another, and as a result they've put lots of stuff on mega-sale. some stuff 30% off, some 80%, some in between. i grabbed a couple of LPs and some stuff i don't really need (keychain, air freshener, etc), but was bummed because the FLOOD picture disc sold out while it was in my cart.
the shipping costs are expensive, but YMMV
― alpine static, Wednesday, 27 January 2021 21:45 (three years ago) link
if I can remember my Spotify login I could throw it in a playlist
I noticed that sale too, kinda funny cuz I just ordered the 2 LPs I was missing last week
for whatever reason they seem to be really overstocked on Nanobots, it was a free throw in with any other LP for a while and now it's just 10 bucks. its a really good album too, people should buy it
― frogbs, Wednesday, 27 January 2021 21:53 (three years ago) link
I ordered the John Henry demos and My Murdered Remains, but put back the reissue of the debut when I saw how much shipping was.
One of these days, I should really listen to the albums that came out between Factory Showroom and I Like Fun. I don't think I've ever listened to any of them, at least not more than a song or two.
― alpine static, Wednesday, 27 January 2021 22:23 (three years ago) link
see if this works for you:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6E4745G3aaX6shYJEazCZo
the band definitely stumbled around a bit after Factory Showroom, I think Mink Car & The Spine are probably their two weakest (excluding the kids albums which you can't really judge). Everything after that is pretty solid though. I like The Else a lot but I think for most fans Join Us is where they really came back
― frogbs, Wednesday, 27 January 2021 22:33 (three years ago) link
their first 3 releases are the best as are their label mates the dead milkmen first 3 releases!
― xzanfar, Thursday, 28 January 2021 01:13 (three years ago) link
Mink Car def a low point - probably the only TMBG album I never want to listen to again
They're still incredible songwriting machines after all this time though, still love 'em
― Nhex, Thursday, 28 January 2021 04:49 (three years ago) link
when i was super into TMBG - 25 years ago, in my teens and early 20s - i didn't really differentiate between the two johns, who was singing what, who had obviously written what, etc. i just enjoyed the band.
these days, i approach their music differently and it has become clear to me that John Linnell is one of the greatest rock 'n' roll songwriters of the past half-century.
that playlist worked, frogbs, thanks! and thanks for the post-Factory pointers. i'll start with Join Us and The Else.
― alpine static, Thursday, 28 January 2021 16:36 (three years ago) link
I used to listen to their albums nearly every day on my paper route and it never occurred to me that there were two singers
totally agree about John Linnell - I'd love to read an actual musician explain what makes his songwriting so unique, his progressions sound very distinct to me but I can't quite peg why. I remember some long article about Flood where a lot of their peers talked about how deceivingly complex "Birdhouse" was, that it had way more chords than your typical pop song and that's why it's so memorable. for example, a song like "Unpronounceable", it's not particularly experimental or strange but it's got his unique stamp on it. if any other artist did it I think I'd recognize it as being influenced by him.
― frogbs, Thursday, 28 January 2021 16:54 (three years ago) link
totally agreed about john L's largely unappreciated genius. i spent a lot of time and words in the ballot poll threads realizing this and trying to articulate some of it... but yeah, would love to hear someone who really "gets" songwriting examine his stuff.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 28 January 2021 17:44 (three years ago) link
i'm not a theory expert, but even his songs without complex chord progressions have hyperactive, tricky melodies (i'm particularly thinking of "she's an angel," which only uses I IV V in E (the simplest guitar chords imaginable) but manages to use every note in the scale in many different interval combinations. it's also kind of weird how the intro and verse of the song is built around the V chord, which adds a mounting sense of unease and tension before the comedy of linnell's situation comes through with the tonic in the pre-chorus and chorus
― tiwa-nty one savage (voodoo chili), Thursday, 28 January 2021 18:05 (three years ago) link
i'm realizing now that there's a minor chord in the chorus of that song but whatever. the chorus melody could be a bach minuet.
― tiwa-nty one savage (voodoo chili), Thursday, 28 January 2021 18:06 (three years ago) link
If we're doing "John Linnell as unrecognized songwriting genius of the late 20th / early 21st c." then I am once again asking you to listen to his incredible solo record, State Songs
https://www.theymightbegiants.com/state-songs
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 28 January 2021 18:17 (three years ago) link
oh i very much include State Songs in my assessment of him
literally once every six months i look up its release date so i can think about pitching a 20-year anniversary piece somewhere (to be rejected, of course). and every time, i realize (again) that i missed it.
― alpine static, Thursday, 28 January 2021 18:21 (three years ago) link
apologies if this has been posted before, but i watched it a while back and really enjoyed it. the grainy quality gives it a serious "unearthed treasure" vibe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozYJ7zi8cyk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga9nI_qeQa8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6igO_fLQbSE
― alpine static, Thursday, 28 January 2021 18:22 (three years ago) link
I assume he has been asked 100 times over the years if he will ever do another record of state songs. Anyone remember his answer?
― alpine static, Thursday, 28 January 2021 18:45 (three years ago) link
I loved how he performed other "State Songs" during those shows like "North to Alaska" and "California Uber Alles"
― frogbs, Friday, 29 January 2021 03:47 (three years ago) link
my copy of I Like Fun arrived today, man does "By The Time You Get This" feel very relevant right now
― frogbs, Friday, 29 January 2021 03:53 (three years ago) link
new album finally came in the mail, only listened once but I really liked it. maybe the only TMBG album where I thought every song was good on the first spin.
I just found out that apparently if you join their fanclub at the highest tier they will record a custom ringtone for you with your name in it. I guess when you have the ability to write a tune in 15 minutes you might as well make some money off it
― frogbs, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 18:37 (two years ago) link
their first 3 releases are the best but they lost me after that pretty much except Can't Keep Johnny Down is good!
― xzanfar, Wednesday, 17 November 2021 19:12 (two years ago) link
as usual the new album made me Google a bunch of stuff, "If Day for Winnipeg" is a pretty cool slice of history. weird to hear them doing overtly political stuff like this now
― frogbs, Tuesday, 23 November 2021 20:57 (two years ago) link
I think they're completely excellent up to and including John Henry, and there's lots of rad stuff in amongst the rest, but it's definitely an "in small doses" thing for me past that point.I say that as someone with all the releases including bonus CDs and whatnot, and for some reason even a member of the current Instant Fan Club.I've moved on, but they're still a nice place to visit.
― raven, Wednesday, 24 November 2021 11:26 (two years ago) link
thats all accurate
― When Young Sheldon began to rap (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 24 November 2021 23:10 (two years ago) link
idk if I just burned myself out on the early stuff when I was younger but I actually get more mileage out of the newer albums these days. Join Us, Nanobots, Phone Power, I Like Fun, Book...maybe the high points aren't as great but overall I think these albums are more solid track-for-track. in part I think this is because I get to see them live a lot, and hearing the new songs alongside the old helps you appreciate how good some of them are. I actually don't think their songwriting has changed a whole lot in the last three decades.
that said getting into those first 4-5 albums as a teenager is the sort of thing you can't really replicate, idk if I'll ever again just slam an album on repeat for a few weeks the way I did with Flood and Apollo 18. but when I'm in the mood for them I always seem to pick something new
― frogbs, Wednesday, 24 November 2021 23:25 (two years ago) link
So I'm guessing you guys would say NOT to buy that package of BOOK
― Nhex, Friday, 26 November 2021 18:08 (two years ago) link
I have the BOOK of BOOK and it's very pretty and has recent lyrics and things in arty fashion.It's definitely a fan thing. I am not quite at the level but enjoy the fun inherent in the Instant Fan Club.
― raven, Saturday, 27 November 2021 05:19 (two years ago) link
this bit from a JL interview is fascinating (the getting pulled off YouTube part...I didn't know it could do that):
We seem to specialize in finding complicated things to do, although sometimes we do simple things, and that works really well. Last year we learned how to play one of our songs, “Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love,” backward. We taught the band to play all the notes in reverse order, and John and I learned to sing the song phonetically in reverse order. It took weeks. But not only did we pull it off, we played it live just just before the COVID lockdown started up. We were on tour and we got to play it a few times. Somebody took a video of it, and then whatever the robot is that figures out what songs are under copyright heard our backwards version and could tell what song it was, and tried to ban it from YouTube. Once we start touring again, we’re hoping to revive it, because we spent so long learning how to do it.
― frogbs, Wednesday, 1 December 2021 04:07 (two years ago) link
sheesh...right after their first post-pandemic show
An important message from John L. pic.twitter.com/S3YHMdrH7N— They Might Be Giants (@tmbg) June 9, 2022
― frogbs, Thursday, 9 June 2022 15:24 (one year ago) link
Oh no, poor John F. When I'm back in the US, I really hope to see these guys again
― Vinnie, Thursday, 9 June 2022 15:40 (one year ago) link
Oh man, that tour is cursed. I was going to see them Saturday for a show that had been postponed mutiple times due to COVID.
― Antifa Sandwich Artist (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 9 June 2022 20:19 (one year ago) link
Feel so lucky I got to see them back in March of 2020, when it was just an uneasy air of “this may be the last thing we do for the next few weeks”
It was a great show by the way. The Flood set was good but the second set was even gooder. All the best to Flans.
― frogbs, Thursday, 9 June 2022 21:05 (one year ago) link
Damn this sucks
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 9 June 2022 21:20 (one year ago) link
I am thinking about their feelings and about fan disappointment, but my hard-headed son asked a good question; is this going to be OK for them financially? I have no concept of what the business of being They Might Be Giants looks like.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 9 June 2022 21:21 (one year ago) link
I kind of feel like Gloria from the Dial-A-Song answering machine: "But what kind of money does he make? It don't make no sense. Well, he don't make any money, right?"
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 9 June 2022 21:23 (one year ago) link
I am purely speculating here, but I would hope/guess/think they will be fine. Smart guys, at it for many years (hopefully they learned long ago and have been doing it right for a long time), made many licensing / royalty deals, played many sold-out shows, etc.
The two Johns, I mean. The rest of the band obviously would be different.
― alpine static, Thursday, 9 June 2022 21:49 (one year ago) link
They had already (re-)re-scheduled the 2020 Flood tour into a series of 2-3 week regional tours stretching into 2023, to limit the financial liability of any one mini-leg getting cancelled by covid. In that light, it seems plausible that this will be a major financial hit to the business and their band/crew seasonal employees.
― Vance Vance Devolution (sic), Thursday, 9 June 2022 23:48 (one year ago) link
They Might Be Broke
― alpine static, Friday, 10 June 2022 00:03 (one year ago) link
Sad to hear about John F, hope he recovers quickly
― Nhex, Friday, 10 June 2022 02:43 (one year ago) link
Someone uploaded the recent show to D1m3adozen, and included this link, which may be of interest -
"PS, I've got a google drive fulla older (mostly TMBG) cassette bootlegs I've recently obtained and digitized. I don't have enough time in the world to try and put all on here individually. Feel free to share these wherever. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1H9ICuR0cjVNBph3kbuqWzEomc2EGQAqQ "
― Maresn3st, Saturday, 11 June 2022 13:01 (one year ago) link
very good link, thanks!
― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 12 June 2022 18:04 (one year ago) link
I'm listening to a Jan & Dean compilation I made years ago but never put on again until now...I grew much more familiar with They Might Be Giants in the interim, and listening to these Jan & Dean cuts now it sounds like they both could've been the same band had they never aged and left behind surf and California culture after moving to Brooklyn. Their musical sensibility and even the physical character of their voices sound eerily similar. It's even more amusing when I realize the biggest TMBG fan I personally know lives in Pasadena.
― birdistheword, Thursday, 7 September 2023 19:40 (seven months ago) link