With 20 studio albums over 36 years, I won't be able to cover the collective works of this band within the bounds of this post, or even every album, but I'll give you the highlights, and my favorites. And I'll mostly skip the last decade, because those albums aren't really in my rotation. This is a band that has been a part of my life's soundtrack for 28 years, and they're still going strong. This is Music Monday, and we're talking about They Might Be Giants.
In 1990, a song started to appear on the radio. I was in the army, doing my mandatory service, and we didn't have shazam. So it took me a while to discover that the song was by a band with the unlikely name "They Might Be Giants." It was off of their third album, so we'll get to it in a bit. But that was when I became a fan, which I have remained for lo these many years.
The Early Days and Dial-A-Song
John Flansburgh and John Linnell, who founded TMBG and have remained the core members throughout the band's existence, formed the band in 1982. After their gigs in and around their native NYC made them an audience, the pair created the innovative, and somewhat weird, "Dial-A-Song" service, in which they would record their song in an answering machine and people would call in and listen. While the phone number has long been disconnected, the band still releases a new recording every week on dialasong.com, which you can join for $30 (lifetime).
Self Titled Album and Lincoln
TMBG's first two albums were They Might Be Giants and Lincoln. Both were popular in college radio stations. The first album included the song that would get the band's first music video. This is a song about a fight, about frustration and darkness. This is Don't Let's Start:
Sample lyric:
No one in the world ever gets what they want
And that is beautiful
The next song from the self titled album - also called "the pink album" is a song about falling in love with a woman so wonderful, you can't believe. Or it is literally about falling in love with an angel. You decide! This is She's an Angel:
Sample lyric:
These things happen to other people
They don't happen at all, in fact
Jumping to Lincoln, the very first song on the album was also the first single released from it, and a solid hit for the band in indie circles. It's a song about falling in love with a woman you've never met. A woman who literally lives on the other side of the world. This is Ana Ng:
Sample lyric:
Ana Ng and I are getting old
And we still haven't walked in the glow of each other's majestic presence
The second song from Lincoln I want to feature is a breakup song, which is sad and weird and wonderful. Also, it may not be a break up song, as the very end leaves room for interpretation. It's ambivalent, okay? This is They'll Need A Crane:
Sample lyric:
And there's a restaurant we should check out
Where the other nightmare people like to go
I mean nice people—baby wait
I didn't mean to say nightmare
Flood
Why is the world in love again?
Why are we marching hand in hand?
Why are the ocean levels rising up?
It's a brand new record for 1990
They Might Be Giants' brand new album Flood
That's how TMBG's third album starts. This is the album where I fell in love with the band. And it features the song I first fell in love with, which is also one of the songs you may have heard, as it has been an enduring favorite. It is a song that's sweet and funny, and sung to a child by his or her blue bird night light. This is Birdhouse In Your Soul:
Sample Lyric:
There's a picture opposite me
Of my primitive ancestry
Which stood on rocky shores
And kept the beaches ship wreck free
Though I respect that a lot
I'd be fired if that were my job
After killing Jason off
And countless screaming Argonauts
While John and John of TMBG are prolific writers, not all of their better known songs are original works. Their most well known cover can be found on Flood. It is the story of a city that used to have one name, and now has a different name. Yup, this is Istanbul (Not Constantinople):
Sample lyric:
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks
The next song is one I think about a LOT. Because, well, we've all been there, with a friend who has a racist - or sexist, or ableist, or homophobic - friend. And they're damn right. That is where the party ends. This is Your Racist Friend:
Sample lyric:
Can't shake the devil's hand and say you're only kidding
The next song is about four beings: Particle Man, Universe Man, Person Man, and Triangle Man. Person Man is the worst. This is not a very happy song, but it is funny. This is Particle Man:
Sample lyric:
Is he depressed or is he a mess?
Does he feel totally worthless?
Who came up with Person Man?
Degraded man, Person Man
This next one is about individuality, but also about how it can suck sometimes. It is also, as many TMBG songs are, composed of some idea fragments and images. This is Whistling In The Dark:
Sample lyric:
A man came up to me and said
"I'd like to change your mind
By hitting it with a rock," he said
"Though I am not unkind."
The next song isn't as well known as most I feature here, but it is a personal favorite because it has a catchy tune and very clever lyrics. It's about... reproduction? This is Women And Men:
Sample lyric:
Now there's nothing unexpected
About the water giving out
"Land's" not a word we have to shout
Apollo 18
The band's next album was about space, so you know I loved it. Okay, it was only sort of about space. It was designed to be listened to on shuffle, which was a new thing at the time. So it had a song (fingertips) comprised of 21 different short bits that were meant to be heard all over the album. But I'm not here to talk about that song. I'm here to talk a song about palindromes. Well, about the concept of palindromes, ideas that go front and back. This is I Palindrome, I:
Sample lyric:
Someday Mother will die and I'll get the money
Mom leans down and says, "My sentiments exactly
The next song is a nice song about a woman who is, in fact, actual size. But it is most well known for the live version with the super long, super impressive drum solo. And hey, here's that version! This is She's Actual Size:
Sample lyric:
She's actual size, but she seems much bigger to me
Squares may look distant in her rear view mirror
Statues are a lot more dangerous than you may think. Long before Doctor Who's Weeping Angels made statues terrifying, TMBG gave us this song about a dude standing in front of a statue and spontaneously combusting. This is The Statue Got Me High:
Sample lyric:
The statue got me high
The monument of granite
Sent a beam into my eye
TMBG Are Educational
Let us take a break from the band's work for adults, and look at their extensive work making music for kids. It all started with a cover of a song from 1959, a cover that was released as a single and as the lead track in EP, and appeared on the show " Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World." This is Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)
Sample lyric:
The sun is a mass of incandescent gas
A gigantic nuclear furnace
Where hydrogen is built into helium
At a temperature of millions of degrees
Now, this song had some scientific inaccuracies. So when the band released their educational cd/dvd "Here Comes Science," they issued, alongside the original song, a correction. This is Why Does the Sun Really Shine? (The Sun is a Miasma of Incandescent Plasma):
Sample lyric:
The sun is a miasma
Of incandescent plasma
The sun's not simply made out of gas, no, no, no
In their fifth studio album, John Henry, TMBG had another highly educational - and highly amusing song. A song about one of Belgium's most famous painters. Nope, not René Magritte. Or Rubens. Or Jan Van Eyck. Nope. This is about a painter John Flansburgh really dug in art history class. This is Meet James Ensor:
Sample lyric:
Meet James Ensor
Belgium's famous painter
Dig him up and shake his hand
Appreciate the man
The band continued its educational ways in a song from the Factory Showroom album, which was about the USA's one and only successful single term president, the guy who achieved his goals in 4 years and didn't run again. Yup. This is James K. Polk:
Sample lyric:
Having done all this he sought no second term
But precious few have mourned the passing of
Mister James K. Polk, our eleventh president
That One Song From That One Show
Birdhouse In My Soul is probably the band's most well known song by people who know who they are. But there's one song that's been heard by way more people, because it was the opening theme for a fairly successful sitcom. The sitcom was "Malcolm In The Middle," and the song was Boss Of Me:
Sample lyric:
Life is unfair
So I just stare at the stain on the wall
Where the TV'd been
The Mid-90's albums
I've already mentioned the educational songs from TMBG's John Henry (1994) and Factory Showroom (1996). But they also have some non educational songs I really like! When John Henry came out, I was writing for a Tel Aviv weekly paper, and even though music wasn't my beat, they let me write a review of the album. Note to friends: Don't write your first album review about an album by your favorite band. It wasn't good. It wasn't published. They didn't ask me for another. It was years before I wrote about music again. One of the songs I enthused about is one I still absolutely love, for its dreamy, trippy vibe. This is AKA Driver:
Sample lyric:
We can't fly like birds in the air
We could walk but we'd never get there
Taking off from an Alan Ginsberg poem, the next song is a protest song for people who don't really have anything to protest about. This is I Should Be Allowed To Think:
Sample lyric:
I saw the worst bands of my generation
Applied by magic marker to dry wall
The album ends with one of the most weary songs I can think of, and it's one of my favorites. It's about the exhaustion and emptiness one hits when a great thing ends. This is The End Of The Tour:
Sample lyric:
I was sailing along with the people
Driving themselves to distraction inside me
The first song I want to feature from Factory Showroom is one about stigma, about being accepted, and about singing like a girl. This is How Can I Sing Like a Girl?:
Sample lyric:
How can I sing like a girl
And not be stigmatized
By the rest of the world?
I didn't know this next song is a cover until researching this post! Unlike the previous two featured here, the original isn't from the 1950s, It was released in 1995, a year before this album. The band made some changes to the lyrics, because, well, they're from the city this song is about, and the original writers and performers (Canadian indie band "Cub) aren't. This is New York City:
Sample lyric:
You said, "It's snowing, it's snowing! God, I hate this weather"
Now I walk through blizzards just to get us back together
The final song from the album I'll feature here is another break up song, one's that's bitter and sad and has a beautiful melody. This is Pet Name:
Sample lyric:
And we
Almost figured out how we'd get along
And given time we'd
Find it strange to
Be alone and
The Turn of the Century
In 1999, TMBG released "Tall Weekend" exclusively on online music service eMusic. Now, this is a burst of nostalgia, because I was an eMusic subscriber! Until they got bought out and became utter crap. But in the early days, it was a great service to hear independent music, and TMBG were a big part of that. However, that exclusivity kinda killed the album. Fortunately, the best song in it is also in the band's next album, 2001's Mink Car. So let's just skip to that, shall we? We shall!
The first song of Mink Car is about a very specific haircut. One that the band strongly supports. It's got a super great sound. Is so fun. This is Bangs:
Above your eyes your hair hangs
Blow my mind your royal flyness
Next up is a song that's kinda educational, but not as straight forward about it. It's a song from the point of view of a classic villain from Greek myth, the Cyclops from the Odyssey. This is him, super bummed out, after the fact. Oh, this is the band's loudest song. If you're listening along, note your volume. This is Cyclops Rock:
Sample lyric:
Gotta find a new place to hang out
Because I'm tired of living in hell
The next song is possibly the sweetest TMBG song ever. It's a song about a relationship that's slowed down, but is reinvigorated with a wonderful idea. It's Another First Kiss:
Sample lyric:
As she runs out of things to say
And grabs my coat to walk away
"How about another first kiss?", she said
"How about another first kiss?", I said
Finally, we get to the song that was rescued from "Tall Weekend." This is a song that is literally always true. As long as one is alive, the truth of this devastating and hilarious song remains. This is Older:
Sample lyric:
You're older than you've ever been
And now you're even older
And now you're older still
No!
I could go on. I really could. But this post already super long, and while there are individual songs I like in some of the albums I didn't get to, these are definitely my favorites. So I'm going to end this with the title song from the band's first album explicitly for kids. While they've written educational songs before and since, no song they've ever written has ever had as important a message, and one I am so glad is in an album for kids. This is No!:
Sample lyric:
No is no
No is always no
If they say no, it means a thousand times no
Listen to more TMBG
I've got a playlist playing the bands compilation album Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants, over at the Deskflip and Chill discord server.
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