Reviews: The Oddities of They Might Be Giants

They Might Be Giants fuses modern technology with college Rock 'n Roll

One of my old-time / all-time favorite band, They Might Be Giants, combines irony with college Rock and Roll for those looking for a taste of something different. As like others, They Might Be Giants originated in the artsy New York City borough of Brooklyn, and began the band in 1982. Consisting of two members, John Flansburgh and John Linnell (pictured above), have also been known as "TMBG", "John and John", or "the two Johns".

Apart from producing top CDs, They Might Be Giants is also known for the songs produced for television shows such as their version of the Daily Show theme song, "Dog on Fire", and the theme song of Malcom in the Middle, "Boss of Me", which won a Grammy Award.

The Johns met as teenagers in Massachusetts and wrote some songs but never formed a band. It was not until, when they moved to the same Brooklyn apartment on the same day, that they began their musical career as a group.

As for most people, the Early Years are always a tough period. The duo had a hard time getting a recording deal, all Flansburgh's guitars were stolen, and Linnell broke his wrist biking. To compensate for their losses, the band created "Dial-A-Song", a system that when someone called, their answering machine picked up and began playing one of their most popular songs. This invention got them a review in People and they were noticed by Bar None Records.

Thier first album, released in 1986, became a huge hit in college radio music, and the music video, "Don't Let's Start", got on to MTV, earning them a more noticable spot in the human eye. Lincoln, the second recording released in 1988, caught fans eyes with the album artwork by Brain Dewan, who also performed with They Might Be Giants.

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I approached the 2005 released, Apollo 18, with a interested attitude, wondering what the TMBG Labs created this time. I am quite glad with what was produced. Twenty out of the total thirty-eight were under one minute long, eleven of them being less than ten seconds long. I'll admit that the "less than ten seconds" songs were all from the "Fingertips" "suite". My favorite of the bunch being "Please Pass the Milk".

Please Pass the Milk lyrics (figured out by Noah Bulgaria)
Please pass the milk please

Please pass the milk please

Please pass the milk please

Please pass the milk please

You may not think anything of this work besides "Broken record!, but it probably took some courage to write and publish an eight-second song.
Think about it! How many artists do you know that make such great songs?!

These music-creating geniuses show their intelligence and hard work in the lyrics of songs such as Mammal. You can find their political thoughts in the song, My Evil Twin, when they sing at 1:30:

Who cut the arm of the voodoo doll that resembles our Republican president...

Space Suit includes an accordian solo that works well with the rest of the song.

Reviewer, Mark Twain "Sam", from Amazon.com, says this about Apollo 18.

This cd is beyond belief. Beyond all known things. Beyond imagination of the imaginable imaginative. I have listened, and have found, that time and space are now a mystery to me. You MUST for your own health,safety,and sanity, purchase this beautiful display of words placed in no certain order. On a scale of one to ten, this cd is awesome.

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Album Rating: 5/5

Artist Rating: 4/5

Album Peaks: "Please Pass the Milk", "Spider", "Dig My Grave", "Catching Fire", "Mammal", "Turn Around"

Album Notes: TMBG brews talent, creativity, and intelligence into one outstanding blend. One of the cleverest bands out there, the group work their magic on people listening to their songs, and magically make them hum the tune for the rest of the day.

Can't get enough?:

Offical Site
iTunes TMBG Index

[Image courtesy of TMBG.com]