Time Travel Tuesday: They Might Be Giants
John Flansburgh and John Linnell of TMBG
Since we're on the subject of They Might Be Giants, I'm taking the opportunity to time-travel back to when Indie Mom and I first started listening to them.
In the early 90's both my daughters and I used to watch a lot of MTV. Those were the days when the channel actually played music videos instead of stupid reality shows. Some of you will be amazed to know that.
We became fascinated with a video that featured two strange guys jumping around with huge fake heads to an even stranger song called "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head." Soon we found "Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)" and the Giants' Dial-a-Song. This band definitely stood out from the crowd in a lot of ways, a position they have never forsaken.
In the light of the latest Radiohead news, it's interesting to note that in 2004 TMBG created one of the first artist-owned online music stores, at which customers could purchase and download MP3 copies of their music, both new releases and many previously released albums.
Indie Mom had their self-titled first CD for a while, and that's where I got completely hooked on "She's An Angel." The lyrics may be a bit off-kilter, but it's still a tender song about the wonder of falling in love. I was amazed when TMBG pulled that one out at last Friday's concert (see Indie Mom's concert review).
She's An Angel from They Might Be Giants (1986)
However, the first CD was rapidly overshadowed in our lives by the brilliance of Flood (1990) and Apollo 18 (1992). One of the good and bad things about TMBG is that they are so incredibly prolific. They have released 12 studio albums, 6 live albums, 25 EPs and singles, not to mention their other projects. Since those two old favorite albums, I have not been able to keep up with their ability to churn out huge piles of quirky tunes packed with clever wordcraft. Their music requires the listener's attention more than a lot of music does.
It was interesting to me to see which songs had withstood the test of time: which ones the two Johns wanted to perform and which had been the most popular with other fans. "Birdhouse In Your Soul" and "Particle Man" from Flood were expected, but "Twisting" and "Mammal" (Apollo 18) were surprises. In the light of TMBG's huge catalog, I suppose these songs were considered a proper representation of the older albums. The cover of "Mr. Tambourine Man" was a very nice surprise too, and I've discovered since that they play it often.
We both would have loved to hear "I Palindrome I" from Apollo 18, or "Dinner Bell," or "We Want a Rock," or...uh oh, now I want to hear all of them.
Dinner Bell from Apollo 18 (1992)
Everything you ever wanted to know about TMBG: Wikipedia | TMBG Knowledge Base
Future: TMBG will be providing original songs for the soundtrack to the Henry Selick-directed movie of Neil Gaiman's Hugo Award winning children's book Coraline.
MySpace | Website | Label: Idlewild Recordings/Universal
Buy at TMBG Store, iTunes, Amazon.com, and eMusic
Show Schedule:
They Might Be Giants are currently on tour across the U.S. until Thanksgiving. Check their MySpace page for dates and venues.
1 comment:
i first heard TMBG on a children's radio show, the song was "birdhouse." i always loved it and assumed they were a kid-oriented band. i only found out later that they were a "real" band.
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