They Might Be Giants - C/D, S/D, OPO etc

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I can't make up my mind.

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:09 (twelve years ago) Permalink

Awful band. Really, I can't understand the appeal. Sort of catchy (but not really) songs, inane lyrics. (The Statue Got Me High???) I bet their kids albums are great though.

― Mr. Que (Mr.Que), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:14 (twelve years ago) Permalink

Great band. Use the search function.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:15 (twelve years ago) Permalink

search function only turns up a random assortment of threads ("could they write a musical?" "change things about the band" etc.)

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 (twelve years ago) Permalink

they seem doomed to be a "cult" band - like Insane Clown Posse or Phish or something - where any kind of serious critical evaluation will never happen because they've built this protective wall of schtick+diehard fans around them that prevents it.

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:30 (twelve years ago) Permalink

Though they're not exactly PIONEERS of the "catchy melody/dark content" thing, they sure are accomplished practitioners. So many songs sneakily about death, divorce, etc.

x-post um have you seen the movie about them? 100% "serious critical evaluation".

― the doaple gonger (nickalicious), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:32 (twelve years ago) Permalink

Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns)

― the doaple gonger (nickalicious), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:34 (twelve years ago) Permalink

sources reported the movie was "boring" so I didn't bother. Who's providing the critical evaluation in the movie...? They make a lot of jokes/references to other bands in their early material, but they don't strike me as even being on the radar of most of their contemporaries/peers.

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:37 (twelve years ago) Permalink

(altho Linnell blows crazy sax on an early JSBX tune - that always struck me as an odd pairing of NY art rockers)

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:39 (twelve years ago) Permalink

They are the Dilbert of music.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:43 (twelve years ago) Permalink

Who's providing the critical evaluation in the movie...?

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 (twelve years ago) Permalink

Since you give the "Destroy" option above, I will choose Destroy.

― Mr. Que (Mr.Que), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:47 (twelve years ago) Permalink

Classic.

― zeus (zeus), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 19:58 (twelve years ago) Permalink

I don't think even Jon Stewart would consider his own opinion a "critical reevaluation"... I wonder what someone like Christgau has to say (he probably hates them)

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 21:31 (twelve years ago) Permalink

I stand corrected (at least in regards to the first three):

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 (twelve years ago) Permalink

well sorta - he calls them annoying twice...

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 21:34 (twelve years ago) Permalink

What's all this "serious critical evaluation" nonsense. They are about one tenth as dorky as ILM.

Classic.

― everything (everything), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 21:40 (twelve years ago) Permalink

C'est Classique.

― Mallory L . O'Donnell (That Bitch Camille), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 21:44 (twelve years ago) Permalink

Search:

Lincoln
Flood
Apollo 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 (twelve years ago) Permalink

Although "I've Got A Match" is tempting, given my emotional state...

"I'm gonna die / if you touch me one more time
Well I guess that I'm / gonna die no matter what"

― Mallory L . O'Donnell (That Bitch Camille), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 21:49 (twelve years ago) Permalink

that could almost be a Will Oldham line

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 21:51 (twelve years ago) Permalink

Search also: John Henry and about two-thirds of Factory Showroom.

― everything (everything), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 21:55 (twelve years ago) Permalink

They are better at writing miserable songs about dying, being dead or death in general that anyone else I can think of right now.

― everything (everything), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 21:56 (twelve years ago) Permalink

TMBG OPO
T M B G P O X

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 22:05 (twelve years ago) Permalink

ah, I didn't search for "TMBG" - thx

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 22:06 (twelve years ago) Permalink

TMBG were my favourite band, in 1990, when I was 15 or 16. They were my first ever gig, in 92. But I thought I'd grown out of them by the end of 94, and stopped paying attention. Then I caught up with them again in about 2001, and realised they'd never really lost it, but that if anything, they'd got a bit less wacky, which meant there were more sweet clever pop songs on the later albums (unfortunately this has changed again, more recently).

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 (twelve years ago) Permalink

"Birdhouse in Your Soul" is one of the greatest songs ever written.

Nowadays, their childrens albums are about fifty billion times better than their "real" ones.

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 23:23 (twelve years ago) Permalink

I think I scared a girl off with the sun song.

― Major Alfonso (Major Alfonso), Tuesday, 1 August 2006 23:26 (twelve years ago) Permalink

TMBG's first 5 or so records ruled!!!! The rest is not so great. "John Henry" (the first time they recorded w/an actual band) is brilliant and remains my favorite.

"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 (twelve years ago) Permalink

My friend's mom and stepdad had "Birhouse in your Soul" as their wedding song. That's pretty adorable, especially since they're old NPR nature-loving types.

I wish no particular harm on TMBG. Flood is a nice album.

― Racist Friend (Roger Fidelity), Wednesday, 2 August 2006 01:00 (twelve years ago) Permalink

they had a good run in the '80s and early '90s, and some of the children's stuff and one-offs were nice too, but tmbg are so beyond dreadful now i can't imagine they keep putting out music for any other reason than the money.

― Jonas Bronck (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 2 August 2006 01:21 (twelve years ago) Permalink

long tall weekend was good too.

― Jonas Bronck (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 2 August 2006 01:24 (twelve years ago) Permalink

Probably "Birdhouse In Your Soul" was the song which got me into contemporary pop music (before that I was listening only '60s music). Still a damn perfect song, though "Don't Let's Start" or "Snail Shell" are exceptionally great too, and they have loads of more great stuff. I haven't listened their post '96 stuff much, just their 2004 album, which was a disappointment.

― zeus (zeus), Wednesday, 2 August 2006 06:12 (twelve years ago) Permalink

"Ana Ng"

― sovietpanda (sovietpanda), Saturday, 5 August 2006 22:11 (twelve years ago) Permalink

OPO: Birdhouse definitely.

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 (twelve years ago) Permalink

four years pass...

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 (seven years ago) Permalink

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 (seven years ago) Permalink

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 (seven years ago) Permalink

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 (seven years ago) Permalink

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 (seven years ago) Permalink

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 (seven years ago) Permalink

Oh, and Tyler I wanna party with you, always find you on my fave threads. :-)

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Thursday, 24 February 2011 20:05 (seven years ago) Permalink

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 (seven years ago) Permalink

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 (seven years ago) Permalink

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 (seven years ago) Permalink

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 (seven years ago) Permalink

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 (seven years ago) Permalink

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 (seven years ago) Permalink

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 (seven years ago) Permalink

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 (seven years ago) Permalink

Skipping 192 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

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

― frogbs, Tuesday, 23 June 2015 01:45 (three years ago) Permalink

Dud.

― You’re being too simplistic and you’re insulting my poor heart (Turrican), Tuesday, 23 June 2015 01:53 (three years ago) Permalink

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 (three years ago) Permalink

i love that song and that band too much to ever watch that

― some dude, Tuesday, 23 June 2015 04:29 (three years ago) Permalink

― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 23 June 2015 05:20 (three years ago) Permalink

They'll need a crane

― kurt kobaïan (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 23 June 2015 07:10 (three years ago) Permalink

http://www.avclub.com/video/they-might-be-giants-covers-destinys-child-221191

This is really really good!

― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 23 June 2015 17:09 (three years ago) Permalink

stop waving that thing around, i'm not clicking on it

― some dude, Tuesday, 23 June 2015 17:10 (three years ago) Permalink

LOL

― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 23 June 2015 17:12 (three years ago) Permalink

Hahahahaha!

― You’re being too simplistic and you’re insulting my poor heart (Turrican), Tuesday, 23 June 2015 17:50 (three years ago) Permalink

one year passes...

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 (two years ago) Permalink

Didn't even know about this; will check it out

― Nhex, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 03:49 (two years ago) Permalink

It's just another collection of last year's weekly Dial-A-Song songs

― glandular lansbury (sic), Wednesday, 6 July 2016 04:07 (two years ago) Permalink

there was another one? i haven't heard any news since Glean came out

― Nhex, Wednesday, 6 July 2016 04:14 (two years ago) Permalink

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 (two years ago) Permalink

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 (two years ago) Permalink

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 (two years ago) Permalink

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 (two years ago) Permalink

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 (two years ago) Permalink

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 (two years ago) Permalink

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 (two years ago) Permalink

one year passes...

new song today. I like it a lot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-1SqAJHhFc

― frogbs, Wednesday, 6 December 2017 03:37 (eight months ago) Permalink

They'll need a crane

― 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 (eight months ago) Permalink

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 (eight months ago) Permalink

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 (eight months ago) Permalink

one month passes...

the lyrics to "When Will You Die?" really reminding me of a certain person right now

― frogbs, Monday, 8 January 2018 15:17 (seven months ago) Permalink

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?

― frogbs, Monday, 8 January 2018 15:18 (seven months ago) Permalink

We've all known a few

― PaulTMA, Monday, 8 January 2018 16:24 (seven months ago) Permalink

one of my faves

― Nhex, Monday, 8 January 2018 19:09 (seven months ago) Permalink

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 months ago) Permalink

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 months ago) Permalink

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 months ago) Permalink

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 months ago) Permalink

Good Linnell > Good Flansburgh > Bad Flansburgh > Bad Linnell

yeah, that sounds about right. i never really thought of albums being heavier on Flans vs. Linnell though - especially compared to their actual solo stuff (Mono Puff / State Songs, both quality stuff in their own right) their TMBG albums have a lot more synthesis of their qualities than is apparent, i believe

― Nhex, Saturday, 20 January 2018 05:36 (six months ago) Permalink

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 months ago) Permalink

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 months ago) Permalink

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"

― frogbs, Wednesday, 24 January 2018 15:14 (six months ago) Permalink

State Songs >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mono Puff

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 24 January 2018 15:20 (six months ago) Permalink

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 months ago) Permalink

what does that mean
those songs are great btw

― Nhex, Wednesday, 24 January 2018 19:46 (six months ago) Permalink

this new album is pretty great, top to bottom. i'm kinda stunned.

― alpine static, Thursday, 25 January 2018 03:38 (six months ago) Permalink

four weeks pass...

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 (five months ago) Permalink

Had me in stitches.

https://vimeo.com/253025437

― Pyschocandles, Friday, 23 February 2018 02:33 (five months ago) Permalink

ok that's amazing

― na (NA), Friday, 23 February 2018 04:20 (five months ago) Permalink

hilarious

― Nhex, Friday, 23 February 2018 06:02 (five months ago) Permalink

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 (five months ago) Permalink

Now that was hilarious. Thanks for making my morning.

― VyrnaKnowlIsAHeadbanger, Friday, 23 February 2018 14:34 (five months ago) Permalink

omg

― anatol_merklich, Friday, 23 February 2018 23:41 (five months ago) Permalink

can't breathe

― Global Arming's Terrifying Old Math$ (Hunt3r), Saturday, 24 February 2018 00:53 (five months ago) Permalink

Beautiful

― President Keyes, Saturday, 24 February 2018 03:04 (five months ago) Permalink

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