Song of the Day - Day 46

Today's song is...


Cabbagetown


Not a song I have ever paid much attention to. But listening to it again now, it does have lovely saxophone and accordion parts. But it's sad. Like, really a pretty major downer. Which probably explains why it's never been high on my list of favorites, because I don't tend to like the really dower tunes. But I do like that sax.

Song of the Day - Day 45

Today's song is...


Man, It's So Loud In Here


This was bound to turn up sooner or later. Looks like it's sooner.

In case you have either a) not been following this blog for very long, or b) don't know me very well, this is, hands down, my very, very favorite TMBG song. I love absolutely everything about it, from it's impossible not to bounce around to dance beat, to it's incredibly manufactured rhythm track. The modified vocals at the beginning immediately make me grin. I love that it is essentially a song about not being able to talk in a nightclub because it is too loud. It has the humor and absurd subject matter that are what first attracted me to the band. And, in fact, this was one of the first songs I really loved at first listen. I remember vividly that I was sitting in the parking lot of a Target listening to it in the car. I think my boyfriend knew I was going to like the song because he made sure I was paying attention before he started it. Oh boy, was he right. There is something about the rhythm and melody and lyrics of a favorite song that gets you right in the core of your soul and creates an instant emotional response. This never fails to make me happy. The lyric "They revamped the airport completely, now it looks just like a nightclub, everyone's excited and confused" just makes me grin.

At the very top of my list of songs I would most like to hear live, you will find this song. My boyfriend has heard it twice, which makes me eternally jealous. But I missed out by several years since it was last played in 2003. If they ever decide to play it again, the screaming you will hear from the front of the stage as the song starts will be me. I will then probably spend about a minute holding my breath in shock and just starring at Linnell with a stupid grin on my face before I snap out of it and dance through the rest of the song. Then it will take all of my restraint not to fling my arms around the feet of the nearest band member in a hug of most profound gratitude. There might even be tears. You just wait and see if that isn't exactly how things play out. That is if they ever play the song again. Please?

There's A Picture Opposite Me - 12/29/10

This week we have our first entry from John (aka jpreale). Thanks for getting in on the game, John, and what a great picture to start things off with. Enjoy!




"It's a new year, careful what you pack" - Careful What Your Pack - They Might Be Giants


Please send submissions to theroommustlistentome@gmail.com

Song of the Day - Day 44

Today's song is...


Words Are Like




"Words are like kaleidoscopes" is my favorite lyrics from this song. Other than that it never made much impression on me. But there is a picture of Flansburgh's cat at the end of that video, so that's cool.

Song of the Day - Day 43

Today's song is...


Kids Are Different Now


This sounds remarkably like something I played in Rock Band recently, though I can't put my finger on what. I quite like it musically and the lyrics are entertaining. Not my absolute favorite of the Battle of the Bands tunes but it's up there. And have you talked to a kid recently? The song is right. They ARE different now.


P.S. Yes, I completely forgot Audience Participation yesterday. I'm going to do it later today. Sorry about that.

Song of the Day - Day 42

Today's song is...


(Since You Joined) The Corporation


There is an element of this song that rings disturbingly true for me. And while I occasionally enjoy Flans' falsetto, this is a little too much falsetto for my taste.

Song of the Day - Day 41

Today's song is...


It's Kickin' In


Terrible fan confession: I recently realized I have no idea what the words of this song are. Which is sad since, being someone who usually prefers Linnell's songs, this is one the Flansburg songs that I particularly enjoy. It has just been suggested that I need to listen to the song while reading the lyrics so that I can learn the words. This is not a half bad idea.

Song of the Day - Day 40

Today's song is...


Christmas Cards
Merry Christmas to everyone out there in TMBG-land! Here's hoping you all have a safe and happy holiday where none of your Christmas cards are stolen :-)

Song of the Day - Day 39

Today's song is...


Triops Has Three Eyes





"Everything with eyes has some amount of eyes." Awww, this song is adorable as is the video. The scene with the little scientist hugging the tripods' leg? Awwww! And I like the Lil's Giants comic book. I would totally read that!

The other day I was shopping at Newbury Comics and saw a "grow your own triops" kit. Sort of like a sea monkey tank. Somebody is SO getting that for a present someday.

Song of the Day - Day 38

Today's song is...


Turn Around


This song has some of the most fantastic imagery. I especially love the second verse and the idea of someone doing interpretive dance in a graveyard. Plus, how many songs do you know with "obsequious" in the lyrics?

The only downside is that they kept playing this on the spring tour when I wanted them to play Subliminal.  Linnell would go and pick up the accordion and I'd get my hopes up for a minute, then it would turn out to be this again. Not complaining. Just mildly disappointing.

There's A Picture Opposite Me - 12/22/10

Sorry this one is so late. It has been a crazy day. This is from Jamie.




"You saw my injury, You can tell just by looking at my skull" - Contrecoup - They Might Be Giants


Please send submissions to theroommustlistentome@gmail.com

Song of the Day - Day 37

Today's song is...


Dirt Bike


A song I have no particular feelings about what so ever. It remains a song that my boyfriend has seen live and I haven't. And there was a drunk guy behind us at the Flood show in Albany who yelled requests for it repeatedly until Stacy got fed up and yelled at him that they were playing Flood. And I loved her forever for it :-) That's all I've got.

Song of the Day - Day 36

Today's song is...



Robot Parade


Has anyone else seen that adorable YouTube video of the kids having the actual robot parade all dressed up as robots in cardboard box costumes and there is a dog in costume too? And this song is playing, of course. Wait, here is is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrkzLe5Eq1I. It's adorable.

I admit, I kind of prefer the adult version. At least live anyway. I like Flans doing the "boom shakalaka" part and yelling "give me a R, give me another R, give me another R, what does that spell?" "RRRRRR." But I did used to enjoy when they would close shows with the quiet version and Flans would go around saying "good night, Robot Marty, good night, Robot Dan, good night, Robot Danny, good night, Robot John" before they all left the stage. I think there was at least once they all mimed shutting down like robots as he said it. I hope I'm not making that up.

I Think I've Heard This One Before

They Might Be Giants have covered a lot of songs by other folks over the years. In-show features like Stump the Band and Spin the Dial contributed some memorable covers, many of which were documented in some form for us later generation fans to enjoy. And still more remakes have made it all the way to official recordings, including some pretty popular tracks for the band.

In today's Audience Participation you get to talk about your favorite TMBG covers (the band covering other bands, not other bands covering them - that's a whole other ball game). They can be live tracks or recorded tracks or whatever you want, as long as the tune wasn't written by TMBG.

I pulled up the TMBG Remakes page on the wiki to assist me in my selection process, to make sure I didn't forget about anything, and I think I found as many songs I would really have loved to have heard the band cover as songs I actually have heard (and if anyone can provide me with a recording of the band doing Baba O'Reilly I will be eternally grateful as the concept of my favorite band doing my favorite Who song kind of blows my mind).

But anyway, here is what I came up with.


Zilch - This is probably the only cover that isn't one of the usual suspects (Istanbul, NYC, WDTSS, Shooting Star, etc) that I have heard live A LOT. Actually, come to think of it, I was there the first time they did it. And it never fails to crack me up. The expression on Dan's face as he says "Never mind the furthermore, the plea is self defense" is priceless. When they execute this well it sounds like a speeding train at the end and when it bombs it sounds like a train wreck. I love it either way.

To All The Girls I've Loved Before - I have a recording of this but I've also seen it performed live once. By puppets. And it is that performance that earns it a place on this list. Because watching Linnell trying to play the keyboard with one hand and operate a sock puppet with the other and sing is an experience that deserves to be on any "best of" list.

You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling - This is in one of my live show recordings in a Spin the Dial segment. Spin the Dial songs typically feature Flans on the vocals but on this one, Linnell enthusiastically joins him on the "Baby, baby" portion of the song with superb results. A+ boys.

Jessica - And we are back to the instrumentals again. One of my favorite things about the old Stump the Band recordings is hearing all the songs played on the accordion. This song benefits from that same thing. And I just like the melody.

Frankenstein - Rock! I've heard bits of this live as a puppet intro but I also have a whole batch of recordings of it and they all rock. Especially the ones with horns.

We've Got A World That Swings - I really like the lyrics to this song and Linnell's vocal performance is lovely. Plus, toy piano!

New York City - I actually really love the lyrics. "Now I walk through blizzards just to get us back together." At least among songs that I can immediately think of, this is the only out and out love song the band plays. But if I were to apply it to my own life, it wouldn't really be about a boy/girl relationship but rather about my relationship with the band. The majority of my trips to NYC in the last five years have been to see TMBG. "The best thing about New York City is you and me."

Savoy Truffle - We do not need to have a discussion about how good Linnell's voice sounds on this song do we? Didn't think so. Thus I don't need to explain why it's on the top of my list? Right. Good. Excellent. Thank you.

There. I don't know why there are eight songs on my list. I guess five was too few and ten too many. I look forward to seeing others selections.

Song of the Day - Day 35

Today's song is...


Dig My Grave


Short and wonderful. When played live this song sometimes achieves momentum akin to a runaway train. There is some great stuff going on in this little tune musically and I really enjoy it as an album starter. I think my favorite performance of it I've seen was it's surprise appearance in Asheville. After Linnell decided he was not yet vocally ready for West Viriginia, which was next on the setlist, and asked for a different song, Flans whipped this one out. I've also seen it done as the last song of the night, which is a little jarring because the song gets you all revved up for more and then, oh wait, the show is over.

Song of the Day - Day 34

Today's song is...


I'm Just A Note


How appropriate. I was just watching the Home Movies episode. Well, the beginning of it anyway. This song is pretty adorable. Especially when paired with the visuals. Then it makes me laugh. And yet it actually does a pretty decent job of representing rudimentary music structure, in it's own way. Good job, junior counselors!

Song of the Day - Day 33

Today's song is...


Token Back to Brooklyn


I wish I could say that my favorite memory of this song was of the band opening with it at the Factory Showroom show they did at Mohegan Sun a couple of years ago, but at the time I was too new a fan and completely unfamiliar with the song so the significance of the event passed right over my head. At least I can say I was there.

I like the drums. Drums good.

Song of the Day - Day 32

Today's song is...


The Guitar


Believe it or not, I used to not care for this song overly much. It has definitely grown on me. A lot. Especially live. The live version is one of my favorite things ever. There is nothing like being in a crowd of people while this song is being played. The energy is through the roof.

I am still kind of so-so on the recorded version. I do like Laura Cantrell's voice. It adds a nice quality to the song. And, I am sorry to say, I think this is one of my least favorite videos. I just can't deal with the length of Linnell's hair. Very superficial of me but there it is.

But, oh my god, the live version! Just don't get me started on the waving.

If I remember later I'll add in one of the videos with one of Danny's kick ass bass solo's in it. Not to be missed.

Song of the Day - Day 31

Today's song is...


What Am I Doing Hangin' Round?


I debated whether or not this should count, since it's a cover and not even one that the band has recorded or is well known for. It is the existence of THIS VIDEO that made me decide to go with it. Because the video is silly and entertaining and this gave me an excuse to link to it. I rather <3 the Quick Cam vids because they are basically just the Johns having fun with a video camera. And I like that Linnell is playing an organ in this one. It pleases me for some reason.

Song of the Day - Day 30

Today's song is...


Meet James Ensor


My boyfriend and I have this long standing joke about the part of Gigantic where Ira Glass is talking about asking the Johns why they wrote about James Ensor and all they would say was "He's a really great painter." It dates back to the very first time we watched the movie together. It comes up every now and then and I still find it funny. Just something about that story really amuses me and I love the quote.

I found a book on James Ensor at work the other day, and while, as far as I could tell, it made no mention of the song, the title of the introduction was Meeting James Ensor so I feel quite certain the author was familiar with it.

I have heard this live a few times but I have to admit, I am much more amused by the recordings of performances of it without the band where the Johns replicate the little guitar part towards the end vocally. Cracks me up every time :-)

There's A Picture Opposite Me - 12/15/10

This is exciting! Today we have our first submission from Rebecca! Three cheers!




"In the corner of your eye, do you see that scribbled word?" - Now Is Strange - They Might Be Giants


Please send submissions to theroommustlistentome@gmail.com

Song of the Day - Day 29

Today's song is...


Letterbox


Ooo, one of my favorites. This is definitely in my top 25. This song as a whole has some of my favorite lyrics in the whole catalog. So much so that it is hard for me to pick out my favs. Oddly, I think my favorite line might be "'Cause a little bird never tells me anything I want to know, she's my best friend, she's a sparrow" and that has everything to do with the way the line sounds and very little to do with the meaning. I'm also quite fond of the bridge. This song is pretty much everything I love about Linnell's writing. The way the words flow together is just brilliant and it has a beautiful melody.

And going way, way back to one of my very first non-recap entries on this blog, the beat of silence in Letterbox is one of my most favorite things ever. When executed well it gives me chills. And when executed poorly it just makes me laugh. I have this great memory of them playing it at one of the Flood shows and getting into that silent moment and Dan Miller accidently twanging his guitar too soon. I am still laughing about it. He looked so sheepish.

I'll let some of the Flans fans out there gush about him harmonizing in falsetto.

This Song Is An Instrumental And Has No Lyrics

I had meant to do an Audience Participation on They Might Be Giants instrumentals ages ago and then I completely forgot. But since someone so kindly reminded me, here it is.

TMBW has 129 songs labeled as instrumentals. A quick pass through my iTunes turned up 30 and that wasn't counting any Mono Puff, House of Mayors, State Songs, live only tracks or any of the songs from Partly Cloudy Patriot, which all seem to make up a majority of the remainder of the 129 (and which, for the most part, are all also in my iTunes, I just skipped them). I also skipped a few things that were technically on the list because I considered them to have just a little bit too much vocal presence to be an instrumental. It seems to be a lot of theme songs and incidental music from Malcolm in the Middle that I am missing, for the most part.

So here follows my list of favorite instrumentals, which I declare to be accurate, as far as I know, because I have not actually heard all 129 songs, merely most of them.


Be Kind and Gentle - A short but rich little track from the McSweeney's album, also know as Budnitz #1 from Unlimited. It features lovely guitar instrumentation, an interesting keyboard part and a simple bass line to carry it from one end to the other. And it's got a nifty little ending.

Severe Tire Damage Theme - Horns! Yay, horns! It's so peppy. I wonder if I put this on my alarm clock if it would energize me when I wake up in the mornings?

Drinkin' - Wonderful sax and guitar parts. This has a very retro feel to it. And I enjoy songs with beats of silence for some reason.

Theme from McSweeney's - There is so much going on in this song. I really like the quote about it on the wiki about Linnell switching on to something with this song. That is so accurate. I would have loved to have seen the rest of the guys faces when he presented this to them. Hello. Wake up. Get your fingers movin'.

Too Cool Girls - This makes me want to swing dance. And I don't even know how to swing dance. Horns. Happy, happy horns. Snappy drums. And don't even get me started on the bass part. My only complaint about this song is that it is too short. I could listen to this all day!

All right, there is my two cents. Anybody else want to take a stab?

Song of the Day - Day 28

I am breaking the random rule on Song of the Day, just this once, to share with you this fabulous video that John, aka, jpreale, has made.


Therefore, today's song is...


On Earth My Nina


And here is the video.



I was particularly surprised by how faithful the second section is to the original song. You can clearly hear the word Thunderbird and the melody is right there. Nifty.

Can I also just tell you that we have characters in Rock Band that are all named after obscure TMBG references and that my girl is called Nina after this song.

Song of the Day - Day 27

Today's song is...


Istanbul (Not Constantinople)


And the streak is back on! I could have hit random page for a year without coming across this and instead I get it in the first month.

I know this is one of the songs that fans in general, and frequent concert goers in particular, often get sick of, but I have to admit, I never tire of it. Not the recording, not the live version, not anything about it. It's a classic.

As it stands I have been to 66 shows and I believe I have seen this performed at 64 of them. I need to double check; it might be 63. (EDIT: Nope, I checked. It's 64.) But either way, it is the song I have more often than any other. And I love it every single time.

I love (LOVE) watching Dan do his guitar intro. I love seeing the horns do it when it is their turn. I love the way Linnell messes about with the pronunciation of the lyrics in a way that speaks to having performed it, literally thousands of times. I love nearly getting kicked in the face by Flansburgh as he hops on one foot. I love getting buried in confetti by the blizzard cannon. I loved watching Ralph Carney slide across the stage on his back on the tour last fall. And just lately, I love hearing Flans yell "They say we have do go, but we don't want to go" as he leads the band into one false ending after another.

Are you getting how attached I am to this live? I kind of feel like it hasn't been a proper show if I haven't seen this. The recorded version is great but it just isn't the same.

I've also been listening to these ancient live show recordings lately from the late '80s which frequently include this song and I've been enjoying Flansburgh's incoherant yelling in the chorus. Good stuff.

Song of the Day - Day 26

Today's song is...


Contraption


Hmm, my random selection roll appears to have ended. I admit I actually had to go play to Podcast 23A in order to listen to this song. I'm not entirely sure I had ever heard it before. My terrible fan confession of the day: there are a whole bunch of podcasts that I have never listened to. They were at 32 when I got into the band enough to subscribe to the podcast. I went back and started listening to the earlier ones, but I only got up into the early teens. I don't know that I ever listened to any of the 20s.

This is kind of my new favorite thing though. It's short and silly and yet packs a TON of instruments into 30 seconds. Makes me wonder if was just something silly they put together or if it had a purpose but didn't get used. Someone on the wiki suggested it might be a rejected Dunkin Donuts tune. I'd buy that, or some other similar explanation. But man, it makes me smile :-)

Song of the Day - Day 25

Today's song is...


The Statue Got Me High


Man, I have gotten a run of good songs this week. Can we talk about how much I enjoy the concept of a statue blowing someone's mind to the point that they disintegrate? And how much I love the lyric "The truth is where the sculptor's chisel chipped away the lie." And also what a great video this song has. It never makes it onto the top of my list of videos, but then every time I watch it I think, "Wow, what a great video." Someday I would like to hear this live outside an Apollo 18 show. Just because.

Song of the Day - Day 24

Today's song is...



Where Your Eyes Don't Go


Great guitar part. Really great guitar part. I think I've always felt a little like this is one of the songs I just don't quite "get" so I don't try and just sit back and enjoy the guitar and the twisty, turny lyrics.

There's A Picture Opposite Me - 12/8/10

Another kind of silly one.





"I like the stories about angels, unicorns and elves. Now, I like those stories as much as anybody else." - Science Is Real - They Might Be Giants

Please send submissions to theroommustlistentome@gmail.com

Song of the Day - Day 23

This was going to be today's song until yesterday's song became today's song. So I was going to make this tomorrow's song until I realized that it wont be topical anymore tomorrow. So you get a bonus song today, to make up for the missing one.


In honor of the last day of Chanukah, today's (bonus) song is...


Feast Of Lights





This is pretty damn, dark for a holiday song, but then what do I expect from TMBG. And it joins a great tradition of depressing holiday songs with the unique aspect of being about Chanukah rather than Christmas. Plus, it has always made me idly curious if any of the members of the band are Jewish.

Song of the Day - Day 22

Oh wow. I just realized I totally forgot to post yesterday's song. Sorry people. My bad.

Today's song is...


Hypnotist of Ladies


I think I've actually known this guy. You know, the guy who manages to get all the girls to like him even though he's a douche but later they can't remember what was so appealing about him? Yeah, that guy. I always hated that guy. But I like the music behind the song.

These Might Be Side Projects

I guess this would more properly be titled, Side Projects and Previous Gigs. In today's edition of Audience Participation, I am compiling a brief list of my favorite tracks from the various side projects and previous gigs the various members of They Might Be Giants have been involved in over the years. The catch is, I'm not just gonna list my very favorite tracks in general because then, the list would either be really long or completely dominated by State Songs. (I think I'll have to devote one of these to State Songs at some point.) Instead I'm just gonna pick five favorites, one each from five different projects.

For Audience Participation purposes you can include anything any member of the band (I'll even take past or present) has been involved in. And you can totally pick all of your tracks from one project if you want to. I just wanted a little variety in my list. Basically, anything goes. Do what you want. Oh wait, that's a different band. (Sorry, obscure joke.)

5. Processional #3 - This is my very favorite part of House of Mayors. It kicks some serious ass. It kind of reminds me of what I like about the Dropkick Murphys but without all the parts that I don't like (primarily the vocals). Rock accordion! My second choice off this album would be the title track. It reminds me of The Hall of Presidents at Disney World, as it is supposed to I believe.

4. More Than a Feeling - No, none of the members of the band were in Boston, but Marty was in a band called Meow with David Driver and they recorded this cover of More Than a Feeling that I kind of adore. Their version is a bit less synthesized than the original and the vocals are a little...harder I guess would be the word for it, but David can sure hit the necessary high notes. I'm not really sure why it appeals to me so much but it does. My second choice would be an original called Walk Me Home.

3. Backstabbing Liar - There are actually a lot of the Mono Puff songs that I enjoy but I'm pretty sure this one is my favorite. I have to admit though, a lot of Mono Puff just sounds like Flans' TMBG tracks to me. Regardless, this is a great song. Second choice: Don't Break the Heart.

2. Sucker - I was far too late to the party to ever experience Lincoln when they were together but fortunately for me their album lives on for me to enjoy. And enjoy it I do. Oddly, this tends to be the album I turn to when I am in a really bad mood. It helps. There is actually only one track on the album I don't care for, but among the others this is the one I love best. It's a close call but I think my second choice would be Unhappy.

1. South Carolina - It's a rock song about a bike crash. A really good rock song about a bike crash. This is kind of proof of my theory that John Linnell can write a great song about absolutely any subject if he puts his mind to it. I really will have to do a whole entry devoted to State Songs at some point but for now my second choice is West Virginia.


Your picks? Anybody?


P.S. I could really use some suggestions for future topics for Audience Participation, if anyone has any ideas. My brain has been running a little dry of late which is why these things keep being so late.

Song of the Day - Day 21

Today's song is...


Ooh La! Ooh La!





Does anyone still jump rope like this? I remember trying on several occasions as a kid and not being that successful, which is odd since I was a pretty good jump roper in single style. Anyway, cute silly song. I am amused by Flans singing jump rope rhymes.

Song of the Day - Day 20

Today's song is...


Down To The Bottom Of The Sea


This is an uber-ear worm song, primed to get stuck in my head. Down, down, down. Yup, there it goes.

Happy Birthday Danny!

What time is it? It's Danny Weinkauf time! That's right, it's time to wish our favorite bass player a very Happy Birthday! So pull out your red pants and honor the man in style while enjoying a few of my favorite pictures of the man himself.

























Happy Birthday Danny! Here's to another fantastic year! Keep on rockin' :-)

P.S. In honor of Danny's birthday, I went and made something silly. You can go check it out here if you dare and please, send me more stuff to put on it by clicking the SUBMIT button.

Song of the Day - Day 19

Today's song is...


She's Actual Size




I recently realized that I had almost never heard the album version of this song. There is a live version with the Dial-A-Drummer interlude on my Dial-A-Song collection and for several years that was all I heard. To the point where is sounds weird to me now without the Dial-A-Drummer part. I remember being a little disappointed when I saw it live that they didn't do that segment, but it makes sense since that was really Dan Hickey's thing anyway.

Outside of that, I don't have any particular feelings on it. It's not really a fav, but I like it well enough.

Animal! Animal! Animal!

Song of the Day - Day 18

Today's song is...


One Everything





I love this song. It is actually one of my favorites from Here Come the 123s. This is one of the kids songs that I feel like could survive on a rock album. The lyrics are insanely clever and, if you think about it, the concept is pretty advanced for little kids. I pretty sure at the age of five, my mind would have been boggled by the verse about drawing a giant circle around everything. Actually, it is still kind of boggled by that verse. And I love the presence of the monster and the random "please, clean your room." I must admit though, I find the singing globe and the boy with the oddly spaced eyes just a tad creepy.

So what do we think? If you drew a giant circle around everything, would there still be such a thing as an outside?

Song of the Day - Day 17

Today's song is...


Particle Man


Only 17 days in and my random song selector struck one of the big ones. I was recently shocked to discover that my boyfriend is what I call a Tiny Toons TMBG Fan, meaning he discovered the band via the episode of Tiny Toons that contained the Particle Man and Istanbul videos. I don't know how I had missed this fact for so long. Despite being the right age, I never watched Tiny Toons so I never saw those videos until I watched Direct From Brooklyn.

I have to admit, I have never been a Particle Man fan. I don't hate it; it's just not one of my favorites. However, I love what the band does with it live. Every time I think I am thoroughly sick of hearing the song, they do something else silly with it when they perform it so it's fresh again. I have a lot of good show memories associated with this song. I think my favorite is from the screwed up St. Louis Flood show that I talk about all the time. They had almost gotten to the end of the album, having already had to go back and insert Twisting, Your Racist Friend and We Want A Rock out of order because they forgot them, when Marty remembered they hadn't played Particle Man either. He leans down to tell Danny. Flans is in the midst of saying there are only two songs left when Danny starts waving at him going "Particle Man, we forgot Particle Man." Flans gives him this totally exasperated look (which he responds to with a "don't look at me, it was him" look and point at Marty) and corrects himself to say their are only 14 songs left. That show is going to go down in history as one of my favorites. Too funny. But as far as Particle Man performances go it is closely rivaled by Linnell conducting Flans and Danny on the keyboard at both The Stone Pony and that last show at the Quick Center. Both absurdly funny Particle Man moments as well.

Here Comes Science FTW!

It's official!! Here Comes Science by They Might Be Giants has just been nominated for the 53rd Grammy Awards! Congratulations guys! The album totally deserves all the praise it gets. Best of luck on February 13th! All of us out in TMBG land will be rooting for you :-) In this fan's personal opinion, the album deserves to win on these two songs alone, not to mention all the other stellar tracks.







Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There's A Picture Opposite Me - 12/1/10

This one might be a little lame. I'm sorry. I was in a hurry.





Please send submissions to theroommustlistentome@gmail.com

Song of the Day - Day 16

Today's song is...



Alienation's For The Rich




I am forever getting this song stuck in my head. Especially anytime I see an ad for Miller High Life. But also pretty much every time I hear the song. It's just really catchy. And lately the line "I ain't feeling happy about the state of things in my life" has been really ringing true so that seems to be the one my brain keeps latching onto as an ear worm. I was just listening, the day before yesterday, to the show mentioned on the wiki page for this song, where Flans says it was written by his dad. It made me laugh. I really enjoy the melody in the bridge of this song. And I think I'll have to add this one to my list of songs I would like to hear live because I think it would be fun to see Flans through himself into the vocals on this one. I'll probably have to add it to the "never gonna happen" category though.

Song of the Day - Day 15

Today's song is....



Hidden Track




The hidden track on Mono Puff's It's Fun to Steal to be more specific (though I guess technically, it is the only one actually called Hidden Track). This is rather appropriate since my boyfriend was just playing this for me in the car the other morning on the way to work. I can't remember if I had ever heard it before that. I don't think so. It is very odd and amusing. Flans sure does come up with some silly stuff when he's playing around with his computer. :-)

They Might Be Giants? Never Heard Of Them

It happens all the time. I'll be talking to some one and mention something about this band I follow. "Oh, what band?" they say. I answer, "They Might Be Giants." And nine times out of ten the person has never heard of them. Then I am faced with my inevitable dilemma. What TMBG song do I mention that this person might have heard but doesn't know is TMBG?

This is part one of Audience Participation. What do you use as your reference song for people who haven't heard of the band? Do you always use the same one? Do you tailor it to the person?

For my part, I usually start with Boss of Me. I figure even if somebody has never consciously heard TMBG, there is a pretty good chance they watched Malcolm in the Middle. Actually, and this had honestly never occurred to me until just now, I guess Boss of Me was almost (excepting Istanbul) the first TMBG song I heard, as I was certainly watching Malcolm in the Middle in college, several years before I met my boyfriend and began being introduced to the band.

If that doesn't ring any bells, I usually try Istanbul next. I guess I steer towards the songs I "knew" before I knew the band figuring if I knew them, then other people must too. If that still doesn't work, I'll typically try the Dunkin Donuts ads, or if I know the person has kids in the family, even Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Occasionally, I'll throw Birdhouse in their too, but I guess I generally figure if they don't know Istanbul, they wont know Birdhouse either. And if I haven't gotten them by that point, I tend to give up and accept that they have just not heard the band.

Now, part two of this Audience Participation. A friend expresses interest in hearing some of the band's music. They are either only familiar with one or two songs or have never heard them at all. What album (or collection) do you play them first?

I am often tempted to play a collection first, either homemade or the User's Guide or Dial A Song. But that, at least in my mind, always seems to reduce the band to their greatest hits which, especially in the case of TMBG, are not terribly representative of their entire body of work. There is just too much variety in the catalog. So instead, I always go with Flood. That may seem like the "easy" choice, but I have legitimate reasons for choosing it. First, if the listener has heard anything by the band before, it was probably Istanbul or Birdhouse and their presence on the album can help develop a pre-existing comfort level with the album. Second, it is TMBG's most popular album for a reason. It is really, really good. Over one million album purchasers agree. Third, it is a great showing of the range of They Might Be Giants songs. There is a little bit of everything on that album. Some great songs. Some weird songs. Fast songs. Slow songs. Songs with whips. There is really something for everybody. And lastly, whether the person likes the album is a great gage for whether they should delve further into the band. Because, while it is entirely possible to enjoy Flood, and then not enjoy much of the rest of the band's music, it is pretty unlikely that someone who dislikes Flood is suddenly going to like an entire different album. A song maybe, but probably not the whole album.

Agree? Disagree? What's your approach? And have you successfully developed any TMBG converts? I have one: my friend Marie. Though I suspect she enjoys the kids music better than the grown-up stuff which is handy since she is about to have a baby and I shall be converting him into a tiny TMBG rock fan at the first available opportunity.

P.S. Doesn't it feel good when you tell someone that your favorite band is They Might Be Giants and the person has actually heard of them? It happens so rarely for me, but is so very appreciated.

Song of the Day - Day 14

Today's song is....


Garden of Eden


Despite having listened to McSweeney's multiple times, I have no actual memory of this song. And the McSweeney's disc is pretty much the only one I haven't loaded into my computer so I can't go back and listen to it at the moment. Oh well. Has anyone actually tried listening to the disc while reading the MccSweeney's book to see how they correspond? I am curious. I've only ever listened to the music.

Song of the Day - Day 13

Today's song is...


S-E-X-X-Y


I am never quite sure how I feel about this song. It is a perfect example of a song that was almost ruined for me by reading other people's interpretations. My instinct, as it usually is, is to take the lyrics quite literally (which I realize is probably pretty naïve on this song in particular). But I read several interpretations of it and suddenly that was all I could think about when I listened. I think it particularly bothers me on this song because I can't decide if I agree with any of the interpretations or not. Basically, the song kind of baffles me, I guess. But I like the music.

Song of the Day - Day 12

Today's song is....


The Drinky Crow Show Theme


Here's one of the first (if not the first) song, I heard brand new when it was "released". I must have just started following the band regularly. And then I never heard it again until today when I hunted it down to listen to before posting this because I couldn't remember what it sounded like.  I never even watched the show. I guess the tune did not make that big an impression on me.

Song of the Day - Day 11

And today's song is....


Hot Cha


Most of my associations with this song have been with it live at Flood shows. I used to not like it that much but it's grown on me a little over time. Mostly, you say Hot Cha and I can immediately hear the buzzer coming out of Linnell's keyboard.

Song of the Day - Day 10

Happy Thanksgiving all!

I suspect the random page button secretly wants me to advertise for Dunkin Donuts, as we've got another DD ditty today.


A Ton of Stuff





This is what car trips with my parents were always like as a kid which is particularly sad, since I am an only child and there was only ever stuff for three people in the car. But never the less, the car was always packed to the gills. I used to joke that I never saw anything on the left side of the car on vacations because I could never see out that window. I vividly remember one vacation in particular, where my parents had purchased a large wooden boat model as a souvenir and it was kept sliding down from it's spot in the back of the car and hitting me in the back of the head. I like to think that I am a bit better about packing for road trips but I suspect Megan might disagree as she's usually the one in the back with all of the stuff ;-)

There's A Picture Opposite Me - 11/24/10

This is my favorite of the most recent batch Jamie sent me. I've been saving it :-)





"Always busy cooking up an angle, working on the tiny blueprint of the angle, sketching out the burning autumn leaves" - No One Knows My Plan - They Might Be Giants


Please send submissions to theroommustlistentome@gmail.com

(If any of the newer readers are confused about what is going on here, go back and read this post which should explain everything.)

Song of the Day - Day 9

Today's song is.......


Boat of Car


Let's all just take a moment to ponder, exactly what is a boat of car? I always kind of have this vision of a duck boat like they do tours in.

I don't have much else to say about this one unless anyone would like to weigh in on the "Daddy'll sing" vs "Daddy sang" debate?

Song of the Day - Day 8

I was excited to see this one pop up.

Today's Song of the Day is....



We Live in a Dump


I should make some sort of joke about this song being about my apartment, as I often feel like I live in a dump, but anyway. This is a song that I was initially ambivalent to and it grew on me over time. Now it's a song I adore but I don't think I ever remember to mention that fact. I think it's probably the most album worthy song on Cast Your Pod. For some reason, I particularly like the last few notes on the keyboard that end out the song. And it's a ton of fun live :-)

Hypothetical Live Album

They Might Be Giants are wonderful about indulging my love of the live concert experience, not just with their frequent and "reasonably" accessible touring schedule but also with the vast quantity of live shows they have made available for download (though I must admit I have not gotten to take advantage of those as much as I would like and now find that many of the ones I was interested in are no longer available. I frequently seem to be a little late to the party with these guys). They haven't, however, released a true live album since Severe Tire Damage.

So, your assignment for today's Audience Participation: what songs from the band's live show repertoire do you think should be included on a hypothetical future live album? What songs particularly shine in the live show setting or have something unique in their live performance?

Here are my suggestions:


The Guitar (with horns): This song is amazing live. You can't not dance and hop up and down while listening to this song at a show. The solos and the improv and the crackling energy this song creates are not to be missed.

Alphabet of Nations: The live version is practically a different song, what with the bridge and all and it very much needs to exist in an official recording as such.

Fingertips: This is going in so I can eternally enjoy Dan's guitar solo at the end and Megan can have Flans' ad-libbing during Heart Attack (which he will of course do in my hypothetical recording).

Withered Hope: I need this for the kick-ass bass part and the horn attack. But someone had better make sure the keyboard is turned up enough for me to hear my favorite riff without it being drowned out.

Seven: I love the adorable children on the recording but there NEEDS to be a recording of Dan saying "It's the green house at the end of the block."

Spy: Please, let Stan Harrison loose on that sax solo and then go nuts at the end. That it all.

West Virginia: I really think the TMBG version of this needs to be released into circulation. It's like the original x10.

Damn Good Times: This will give both Dan and Marty a chance to rock out.

Road Movie To Berlin: Odd choice, I know, but this is always one of my favorite parts of a Flood show. It's all quite and pretty, then the band explodes in with a surprise attack, only to retreat again into the background.

Why Does the Sun Shine? (Pirate Version): Not that this song needs another official recording, but this can't be helped. Let Linnell do any one of his ridiculous voices or just sing like a pirate with Flans, as long as the recorder is on, I'm happy.

Istanbul: Yes, we've all heard it a bazillion, million times, but I still think the current live version takes it to a whole other level. Let Dan go all Miller Time on the beginning and the horns take over the end. And if we could get Flans to scream "they say we have to go but we don't want to go" at the end too, it would make a perfect closer for my hypothetical album.


That's what I'm going with for now. I can think of a half dozen more that I'd include but I want to see what other people's ideas are. It has occurred to me before, to put together a sort of ultimate live show CD with live versions of my Dream Setlist culled from the various downloadable shows but I don't think I actually have shows with all the songs I would want to include. It's the problem of not having any shows post-'07 except for a couple of poor audio quality bootlegs. Maybe someday.

Have fun everyone!

Stage Announcements - 11/22/10

This one is just too bizarre, not to mention Thanksgiving themed, to wait until Friday. I'm not even going to try to describe. You need to see for yourselves.

http://gothamist.com/2010/11/20/david_byrne_loses_annual_turkey_mol.php



Enjoy!

Song of the Day - Day 7

Still a slightly obscure B-side but getting better.

Today's song is...


Become A Robot


This amuses me, as many things do. I've always enjoyed the humor of the "clang, clang, clang, whoops, too late" line. And then it gets kind of weird as many very early TMBG songs are wont to do.

Song of the Day - Day 6

Sorry, this one is so late. Another entry from the moderately obscure songs file. The random page generator is taking the word "random" to heart. But at least this one comes with a video :-)

Today's song is....


Pleather




Ok, not my most favorite of the Dunkin Donuts run, but I am a fan of the series of songs in general. They entertain and amuse me (but do not, strangely, make me want to buy coffee). In other news, "pleather" is a rather strange word if you think about it too long.  

Song of the Day - Day 5

Ok, the random page thing is determined to pick obscure tracks to start thing off. Here's another one.


Best Of Spin The Dial


Ok, I actually had to go back and listen to it again in order to say anything about it because I'd only heard it once prior to this. I only acquired Unlimited earlier this year so there in a ton of stuff in there I have barely heard. I like this one. It's funny. Honestly, I like anything live, because, as you might suspect, live is how I prefer my TMBG. And since I missed Spin the Dial entirely as a feature, it's nice to have it documented. Flans' improv is pretty hilarious (I especially like the first one and Cultural Paradox) and it impresses me how fast the band picks up the songs.


P.S. If anyone is trying to figure out what to get me for Christmas, I'll gladly accept any and all TMBG show bootlegs ;-P

Stage Announcements - 11/19/10

I guess I will keep doing this on Fridays until I come up with another idea I can make work.

Small news item today, that I thought was kind of cool. You may or may not be familiar with a series of books that has come out in recent years. There are a number of titles, all variations on 1001 ____ You Must ____ Before You Die: Books You Must Read, Video Games You Must Play, Movies You Must See, Albums You Must Listen To, etc.

The most recent volume in the series is 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die (link). And you know what song is included on page 646? That's right: Birdhouse In Your Soul by They Might Be Giants! The boys have officially been dubbed required listening, at least by the guy who wrote the book anyway. I thought that was kind of exciting.

Accompanying the listing is a short article about the song, mostly consisting of quotes from the Johns nabbed from various interviews, including the Rolling Stone retrosprective on Flood from last year. Probably not worth dozens of fans running out to buy the book unless you were interested in the other songs, but cool none the less.

Song of the Day - Day 4

I ran into a bit of a conundrum today when the song that came up was from House of Mayors rather than a TMBG track. I kind of forgot that was a possibility with my chosen method of song selection. So then I had to think about whether to include solo material in Song of the Day. I couldn't really get a consensus from the public. So I've decided to just go with it. It'll give me an excuse to include solo stuff I really love down the road when it comes up.

But for today your song is....


John Purroy Mitchel


Ok, not my favorite track from House of Mayors and there are some that I genuinely enjoy. This one is just a little too dissonant for my taste. Though I suppose it does have an impressive consistency in it's dissonance. Some of this record, I feel like, was just Linnell having fun making interesting sounding noise and recording it. I do remember, on first learning of it's existence, being very confused about why the songs weren't actually about the mayors if they were named after mayors. I got over it.

Song of the Day - Day 3

In an effort to keep selection completely random and not swayed by my own preferences at all, I have sworn to use the first song that comes up in my search, no matter what it is. Which I now realize is going to lead to some kind of silly songs being selected. Like this one.

Your They Might Be Giants Song of the Day is...


Goodnight My Friends


I <3 the puppets! The video of this is rather adorable.

Not the shortest song in the band's repertoire, but one of.

I can't say I have any particular feelings on the song, one way or another, but I did just learn from the wiki that Pat Dillett played keyboard on it, which I thought was interesting. That brings up something I have wondered before about the puppet videos. How did they go about recording them? I mean, I know AJ directed several of the ones on the DVD but did he do all the podcasts too and if not, who manned the camera on those? And in those instances where the puppets are singing with background music playing, was the music pre-recorded or was someone else sitting in the studio playing the music live while the puppets sang? The fact that Pat Dillett was drafted to play keys on this song, implies to me that he was perhaps playing live while they recorded, otherwise, why wouldn't Linnell just record the keyboard part and then play it back while they were doing the vocals? And, maybe I have considered this a little too much. But there is a part of me that sort of hopes that most of the music the puppets sang to was live, because I like the mental image of Dan sitting in the studio strumming on the guitar while the Johns put on a puppet show for the camera. It amuses me.

Song of the Day - Day 2

And your They Might Be Giants song of the day is...


It's Not My Birthday


Last year, the day before my birthday my boyfriend posted a comment of my Facebook page that just said "lunge". I didn't get it at first, but apparently since it wasn't yet my birthday he was lunging out at me. Haha.

This is one of a very few songs that I heard live a couple of times at some of the very first shows I saw (back when I didn't know the material well enough to appreciate them) and have never heard again. I'd really like to. This is also one of my go-to birthday post songs for my friends.

There's A Picture Opposite Me - 11/17/10

Jamie is single-handedly keeping this feature in business :-)





"Fogging the view, cupping face to the window, in darkness you make out a spiraling shape" - Spiraling Shape - They Might Be Giants


Please send submissions to theroommustlistentome@gmail.com.

Song Of The Day - Day 1

I have decided to go forward with this Song of the Day idea. Here is my plan. To ensure complete randomness, I am going to click on the random page thing on the wiki until I get a song. That shall be the song of the day (unless I decide to pick something particular in honor of a holiday or something of that nature). I'll share a few of my thoughts in the post. You can post whatever thoughts come to mind in the comments. With any luck, some interesting discussions will emerge.

Here it goes. Today's song is.........


Disappointing Show


Ok, I laughed a little when that was the first song that came up. I think when I first heard this song, I was like "what the hell is this?" and dismissed it for quite a while afterward. Now, I have a lot more appreciation for it because I can so easily picture the circumstances under which it was performed. I love the humor and spontaneity of it, and even more so that such an off the cuff little tune made it into somewhat mainstream circulation. And while I certainly wasn't at that show, I have been at "that" show if you know what I mean and I can so recognize that moment of "oh wow, this show is so fucked" when the frustration devolves into lunacy. I especially love the band intros in the middle. And I only just noticed that the wiki page compares the song to the This American Life segment Fiasco which is pretty much my favorite TAL piece they have ever done. Good job, whoever made that connection :-)

First Things First

I was all set to write an entry on a completely different topic and I had even started writing it when I realized it wasn't going to work. I was going to do an entry called "This song always reminds me of..." about memories we associate with specific songs but I realized that, while I was looking forward to reading other people's entries, I had none to share myself. All of my memories associated with specific songs are of things directly related to the band: the first time I saw it live, some funny piece of banter associated with it, an interview quote about it, some bit of Gigantic, etc. And those don't seem like they would be very unique memories to share. I attribute this to the fact that, with very little exception, I only ever listen to music in my car, so the only associations I have are of driving. I actually do associate specific sections of road with certain songs because they would always play at the same point in my commute. And a list of intersections in Massachusetts roadways permanently linked to They Might Be Giants songs in my head does not seem like a worthy Audience Participation entry.

I also realized, since I've decided to go forward with the Song of the Day idea, that all of your "this song always reminds me of.." comments can be saved for when those songs come up in the cycle, so the idea wont be totally abandoned.

This does, of course, leave me needing to pick a new topic for the, now terribly delayed, Audience Participation. I've decided to go with TMBG Firsts. I thought this might be kind of a fun "getting to know you" exercise since I have so many newer readers. And while it may re-tread some previously covered ground, hopefully I'll think of some stuff I've never mentioned before. I'm just going to list a whole bunch of my own personal "firsts" related to the band, with some explanations where appropriate. You can use as many of my prompts as you like or make up your own unique ones.

First song I ever heard: If we are talking "heard and knew it was TMBG," On The Drag. It was the 2nd song on a mix CD I borrowed from my boyfriend, probably two years before we were dating. In terms of "heard and later realized it was TMBG," I'm pretty sure I heard Istanbul in middle school.

First album I listened to in it's entirety: Factory Showroom, though again, I had no idea it was TMBG. I was painting what was to be my bedroom, in the most ill advised housing decision of my life, with a friend from college. She had become enamored with James K. Polk at a TMBG concert a bunch of my friends had attended in Boston a few years earlier and had bought Factory Showroom just for that song. I know the album was among those we listened to while painting because I remember her talking about the Polk song. I honestly couldn't tell you which was the first album I heard and knew it was TMBG.

First song I loved: Doctor Worm. They played it at my first show. I've loved it ever since. To this day, it is one of my favorites.

First show I attended: February 21, 2005 at the Borders in Braintree, MA. It was an in-store promoting Here Come the ABCs. I was completely unfamiliar with the band (except for On the Drag and She Was a Hotel Detective, the 2 songs on the previously mentioned mix CD). I went with my boyfriend and his girlfriend at the time. I only remember four of the songs they played and the full setlist has never been entered into the wiki. But it was fun.

First thing I ever said to John Flansburgh: "Can I have some stickers?" Very eloquent. But I still have those stickers somewhere.

First album I ever bought: Miscellaneous T. Odd, I know.

First picture I ever took of the band: (This is assuming the undetermined blob in the photo prior to this one is not actually a person. I can't quite tell, but I don't think it is.)

First song I really identified with: Damn Good Times. I can not fully explain this but, the first time I heard this on the album I knew I had heard it before. I've never figured out where. Probably just in the background in my boyfriend's car or apartment or someplace. But from that moment and despite the fact that, I am by no means a "natural dancer," I have always felt this song was describing me somehow.

First TMBG T-shirt I bought: The Flood shirt. I was at a Flood show. It seemed fitting.

First member of the band I met: Not counting Flans and the exchange with the stickers (which I don't since I couldn't even tell the Johns apart at the time), it was Marty. I got him to sign our setlist after a show last fall.

First internet friend I made because of the band: A guy named Armando. He sent me a message because he liked a slogan I had submitted to a contest the band was having on MySpace. I haven't talked to him in forever, but he, unlike most of the rest of the world, is still on MySpace.

First real life friend I made because of the band: Stacy! We met in the parking garage going to Linnell's 50th birthday show in Portland, ME. She's awesome :-)

First TMBG inspired tattoo: The bird from the Nine Bowls of Soup video. He rides around on my shoulder begging for soup.

First show I wore the pigtails to: I think it was the Northampton show on 10/24/08. I'm not positive. I know it was a weekend we went to two shows so it was either that one or the Lupo's show in January. Either way, I haven't not worn them since. They are tradition. And if you don't know what I am talking about, go back and look at the picture of me in the post on the Boston concert in April.

Songs for which I was present for the first live performance: I'm Impressed, Take Out the Trash, Upside Down Frown, The Shadow Government, Countrecoup, Withered Hope, The Mesopotamians, Why Does the Sun Really Shine?, I Am A Paleontologist, Science is Real, Canajoharie, Duende, Nonagon and How Many Planets?


Those are the only ones I can think of at the moment. If I come up with others I'll add them in the comments. Sorry about the extremely late post. I hope it's still fun, even if it wasn't what I originally intended. I'll start Song of the Day tomorrow.

Seeking Advice From The Audience

Greetings fellow TMBG fans!

As we stare into the void of a touring gap of undetermined length, this blog and I once again face the prospect of several months without live They Might Be Giants to enjoy and report on. My solution this summer was the creation of several weekly features to make the time go by a little faster. I've been enjoying these a lot and I hope they've been fun for you as well.

Heading into this new lull, I'd like to change things up a bit. I want to change Stage Announcements into an "as it happens" sort of thing rather than a weekly round up, meaning I'll post news as I find it rather than waiting until the end of the week. By the time Friday rolls around I often feel like I am reporting on old news and I've also been struggling to make interesting posts on slow news weeks like the ones we've been having lately. Hopefully, sharing news and interviews and such immediately will alleviate both problems, though if anyone has any strong feelings about leaving it as is I am happy to hear them.

This would leave Fridays open for a new feature. I have an idea but it relies heavily on the involvement of you, the people, so I need to know if anyone is actually interested before proceeding. I'd like to give all of you an opportunity to share your TMBG story in a feature called TMBG And Me. Tell us how you became a fan, what the music means to you, how the lyrics to your favorite song explain your soul, how making eye contact with Linnell at a concert changed your life, how the band led you to your future spouse, basically anything that shares your passion for the band. You can write an essay, a poem, sing a song, make a video, a piece of art, pretty much sky's the limit. My idea is that you would each sign up for a specific week, send me what you'd like to post and I'll put them up every Friday. Is this something that anyone would be interested in participating in? You don't have to be a regular follower of my blog. I'll take entries from anyone, anywhere.

I am also completely open to suggestions for other features. Does anyone have any ideas for things they'd like to see? I am willing to add in features for other days of the week if anyone has suggestions. Would anyone be interested in a Song of the Day discussion?

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. I look forward to hearing any suggestions and seeing what people think of my idea. Don't be afraid to tell me you aren't interested. I'm a big girl. I can take it :-)

Stage Announcements - 11/12/10

Flansburgh's been busy with iMovie again. Here are new slideshow videos for I Hear a New World and Words Are Like (the later of which I forgot to post last week).







And 7 seconds of silliness from Flans. "This is a whooooooooole lotta water." He cracks me up.

There's A Picture Opposite Me - 11/10/10

Another of Jamie's entries.





"No one knows these things but me and him, so I'm writing everything down in a spiral notebook" - Why Must I Be Sad? - They Might Be Giants

Please send submissions to theroommustlistentome@gmail.com

They Might Be Cake

As promised, this is a picture of the cake I made for my boyfriend's birthday yesterday.


"We want cake! Where's our cake?! Oh, wait. We ARE cake!"

I'll Scratch Your Record

I have a terrible confession to make. Until recently, I had barely ever listened to They Might Be Giants' albums in their entirety. Don't get me wrong, I listened to their music almost constantly, just not in the form of the individual albums. When I first got into the band, I borrowed all my boyfriend's albums one at a time in sequence, and listened to each one twice, almost ritualistically, in my car. Then I bought myself the Dial-A-Song collection and listened to nothing but that for several months. At some point after that I took my boyfriend's entire TMBG collection, uploaded it onto my computer and proceeded to make a series of mix CDs from them. The first was a two disc set of all my favorites that weren't on Dial-A-Song. The second was another two disc set of all the sort of next rung of songs that hadn't made the cut on the first set. And finally there was a three disc set of everything else I figured I'd care to listen to regularly.

I did gradually acquire a few albums of my own. My original intention was to get things my boyfriend didn't have on their own. I bought Misc T and Lincoln because he only had them on the Then collection. I bought the ABCs CD/DVD combo because he only had the individual discs without the bonus videos (at the time I was working on credits for the wiki and needed the bonus tracks in order to do their credits). I got the User's Guide solely to see the liner notes. I got Flood because a co-worker wanted to hear some of their music and I didn't have any with me. And for one reason or another, I bought Here Comes Science over and over and over again. Oh, and I got Factory Showroom for Christmas last year.

But just recently I have gone through a rash of album acquisition and have FINALLY started listening to the music in the order it was intended to be heard. Let me tell you, it was an eye opening experience (or rather ear opening) to realize the other day that I haven't heard the album version of She's Actual Size since my initial run through the albums two and a half years ago. I still don't have all of the records. I am missing No!, 123s, Severe Tire Damage and the Pink Album (gasp, I know). I've been rescuing poor abandoned used copies of the albums as I find them and haven't come across those yet. But I do finally feel like I am plugging up a gap in my fandom street cred that has been shaming me for years.


Of course this shameful admission is just the introduction to me talking about favorite albums for Audience Participation. I figured I'd use a nice traditional topic to get back into the swing of things on the participation entries since I have been so lax in doing them while I was writing beaucoup recaps.

So here follow my top five favorite They Might Be Giants albums.


5. Flood - How can you not love Flood? It's just a fantastic album. I've heard all the crap about how you're not a real fan if Flood is your favorite album but honestly, I think that's bullshit. Just because it is the most well known, doesn't make it any less brilliant an album. And it is a brilliant album. So many good songs. And I have a special fondness for it due to the number of times I've seen it performed live. Forward, backward, with pledge breaks, with puppet breaks, and hilariously mixed up the album if practically perfect anyway you arrange it.

4. Factory Showroom - For a long time, I thought this was my favorite album. In fact, I think my badly-in-need-of-updating wiki user page still says that it is. But I think that was because I hadn't listened to all of the albums enough. I love the album. It's just not my most favorite. I think I am more attached to individual songs on the album than the album as a whole. I believe I picked it originally because it had the greatest concentration of songs that I loved on it. And because it seemed like an underdog album that a lot of people didn't like as much. I am a sucker for underdogs.

3. TIE - Here Comes Science and Here Come the 123s - I know. I'm cheating. But I just can't chose between them. They are both wonderful. I will defend the awesomeness of the children's music to the death if I have to. There is a very good chance I would not have become a TMBG fan were it not for 123s. And I feel like HCS is the first album I saw to fruition as a fan. I think the albums would have made it onto this list for Seven, Nine Bowls of Soup, Meet the Elements and Paleontologist alone. Damn, those are some good tunes.

2. John Henry - Until I was about halfway through writing this post, this was going at the top of the list. But I was thinking about it and thinking about it and suddenly realized that just wasn't right. I love the bombasticness of John Henry and the sometimes jarring changes in tone between the songs. I love the full band sound and the horns and the way the album flows from Subliminal to End of the Tour. I love the shear quantity of fantastic songs on it. I love that it has so many songs on it, I regularly forget what's on the back half of the record. So guys? When are we getting our John Henry show?

1. The Else - I did not like this album the first few times I heard it. I actually liked the bonus disc better than the album. I came into the fandom with this album and I feel like we've matured together. Now I love it whole heartedly. It is more cohesive than any previous TMBG album, darker, grittier. I feel like this, even more than The Spine, is my band with my guys. And unlike any other album, there is not a single song on it that I don't care for. I love every single one. I put this in the stereo, crank up the volume and I am instantly in a better place. I am curious to see if the new album feels as much like my album as this one does. Who knows? Maybe I'll have to revise this list next year to include it ;-)


Before I sign off, I'd like to take the opportunity to wish a very Happy Birthday to my beloved boyfriend. You're older than you've ever been but getting better every day :-) Thank you for being you and for not giving up in trying to convince me that I really would like this band. I'll post a picture of the cake I made him after he sees it. I think you guys will enjoy it.

Participation commence!

The Mysterious Disappearance of Dan Miller

October 30, 2010 - Quick Center for the Arts - Fairfield, CT - Rock Show

Let's see. Now where were we.... Oh right, we had just left to get pizza with Kathy. I had read on the website for the venue that only the main entrance to Fairfield University was going to be open during the evening show so I was a little hesitant to leave campus because I wasn't sure how to get back in, having come in the other way. But Kathy drove so I figured we didn't have to worry about it. Fortunately, we decided to head back to the theater early because when we arrived at the main gate there was traffic backed up in both directions waiting to enter. I think we were lucky because we weren't coming from the direction of the interstate so there weren't too many cars in front of us. I couldn't even see the back of the line of cars coming the other way.

We could not figure out what was taking so long until we realized they were stopping every car at the security booth and IDing all the passengers. But we couldn't tell why. We were speculating that there was some event going on on campus for Halloween but that still didn't explain why they were checking IDs. It took us about 15 or 20 minutes of sitting in the traffic to get through the gate. Then when we got there Kathy told them we were there for the show and they just let us through without checking our IDs or tickets or anything. Quality security, that. "Oh, you're TMBG fans? In that case, go right on through."

We got around to the theater about a half hour before doors to find the place nearly deserted. There was one other couple waiting in the lobby, talking with the TMBG merch guy and a few theater employees discussing the traffic. It was clear from the moment we walked in that the traffic at the gate was causing big problems. It was already obvious to the staff that they were going to have to delay the show because half the audience wasn't going to be able to get in by 8:00pm. They were discussing possibly needing to go general admission (the place had assigned seats) because they only had two ushers as the rest were stuck out in traffic.

We got to overhear an entertaining cell phone conversation between the obviously panicked director of the theater and someone in the security office where he was trying to explain that he had 800 people coming to the theater in the next 45 minutes for two different shows that were happening at the same time and it was taking 2 minutes to check every car into the campus. I had to give the guy a lot of credit for remaining calm and not yelling when he was obviously FREAKING OUT. Apparently the director of the other show was out in the traffic along with all the ushers, causing even more problems. The guy was desperately trying to convince them to open another gate to allow the traffic to enter faster, meanwhile the few people who were trickling in were reporting that traffic was backed up all the way to the interstate.

We also learned from some of the students in the building, that the increased security was do to threats of gang activity on campus that they felt were probably bogus but had to react to anyway just in case. Really? Gang activity at a TMBG show? Now that's a first.

I was listening to all of this with half an ear, with the other ear tuned to the chatty merch guy who was gleefully spilling promising info about the new album to the other couple in the lobby. I'm not going to repeat here because I don't want to feed the rumor mill on that large a scale but I'll gladly share with anyone privately who cares to ask.

They let us into the theater about 10 minutes late and we slowly watched people trickle in every few minutes. I had had a horrible thought while standing in the lobby. "I hope the band didn't leave between the shows." Sure enough, we soon learned via Iggy that the Johns were in fact stuck out in the traffic with the rest of the fans. Guess there was no question about having to delay the show now. I have to admit, I was more amused by the whole situation at that point than anything else. There was a certain level of absurdity to it all.

When the theater was about half full and the show was about a half hour behind in starting, Scott and Iggy and Vince all appeared with arm loads of foam fingers. Because how to you appease a crowd of TMBG fans waiting for a delayed show? You give them free foam hands. Everybody got one. Even if you didn't want one you got one. Oh, and I fell out of my chair standing up to grab mine. Apparently those things collapse when you stand up. Actually went down on my ass on the floor. It was pretty embarrassing but I am reliving it here so my companions can have another good laugh about it at my expense :-P

They must have eventually opened that second gate the director was asking for because after about a half hour, there was a definite increase in the flow of people coming in. The show wasn't sold out but there were probably 200-300 people that had gotten held up by the security debacle.

Sitting in the theater, staring at the empty stage, I suddenly realized that Dan's keyboard was missing. Then I started looking around and realized his guitars were missing too. None of the guitars were on stage yet but even his stands weren't there and I could see the rack backstage and I couldn't see them on it. Then we started speculating wildly. Was Dan not going to be there? Why? He had been there earlier, where had he gone? How would they do a show without him? What would they play? Would Flans play his parts or would they play songs that they have alternate arrangements for without guitar? But most importantly, where was Dan?! I had actually worked myself into a pretty good panic about it by the time the show started. Somewhere in there I also realized that the electronic drums were gone too but that didn't phase me as much because I just assumed they weren't playing anything that used them. About the time the band took the stage, I was going through songs in my head that Dan doesn't play on ("Ok, they can do Don't Let's Start and Dead and James K. Polk...."), somehow still hoping that I was wrong and Dan would magically appear but actually knowing that he wasn't going to. By that point David had laid out the guitars and Dan's just weren't there.

Sure enough, when the lights went down and the intro music started, out popped Marty and Danny, then Flans and Linnell and that was it. Ok, says I, this is going to be interesting.

Flans started off with some jokes about the security issue. "Sorry about the delay folks. It wasn't your fault. Circumstances beyond our control. Everybody had their IDs checked? Everybody feel nice and safe?" Or something like that. I found it interesting that Flans thought that the audience might think they were at fault for the delay. I guess I can see thinking that people might believe they had held the show to allow time for the audience to get through traffic and thus people might blame themselves for the show being late because they were late. Anyway, interesting choice of words, Flansburgh.

They jumped into Meet the Elements. This wasn't so weird without Dan's guitar because they have so often done it with just the Johns and Marty on the radio and at in-stores and such. What was weird was hearing a mostly full band version without Dan's vocals. If there was ever any question of whether Dan's vocals are present on the recording you would only need to hear this version to say, "Oh hell yes, they are. That sounds totally different!" And I missed the funny face he makes while he sings.

They went straight from that into New York City. Jason yelled, "I love you John Flansburgh!" He replied, "I love you too dude. If there is time I want to tell every single person in the audience how much I love them over the course of the show."



Flans said there were a few songs off their upcoming album that they had learned to play but they were only going to do one of them for us tonight. Canajoharie, of course. I was very curious to see what they would do about the guitar solo. Linnell ended up making up something similar on the keyboard that wasn't too bad. He also either botched the first words of the song or purposefully changed them. Whatever he sang it wasn't what he has been singing. He changed another word here and there as he went through but he's been doing that every time. It hasn't been identical in any two performances. I have a pretty decent video of it and I can almost make out those last two missing lines but not quite. But damn, that is a good song.

Some general observations about the show before I go on. Thinking about it later, the band obviously knew that Dan wasn't going to be there for at least a little while before the show. All of his stuff had been packed up and either put away or taken with him before we ever even got in the theater. The setlist was obviously designed with the lack of Dan in mind so had been prepared knowing he wasn't there. Many of you have probably heard my theory on why Dan wasn't there but we will probably never actually know. They dealt with his absence in a variety of ways. They did play several songs that he doesn't play on anyway. Flans picked up the slack on some songs. They played a bunch that they have arrangements for with just the Johns and Marty for radio appearances and the like and just added the bass in. They covered up the lack of guitar with horns in a few cases. And on some songs they just played it like they always do, ignoring Dan's part and just letting it sound different. I do remember one moment in a song, something near the beginning, where there was a few bars of near silence where they had obviously forgotten to fill in something that Dan plays but other than that they did a really good job compensating.

I can't remember what it was in reference to, but at one point near the beginning Flansburgh said, "This show isn't just cursed, it's haunted." Aside from being a great quote, the fact that Flans was considering the show cursed leads me to believe that Dan's absence was being bundled in with the delay in his mind in the category of "Thing that have gone wrong with this show." Despite that, Flans seemed to be in pretty good spirits. I feared a Charlotte type scenario before they took the stage since Flans often does not react well to stuff going wrong, but he seemed to be finding the humor in the situation. And Linnell was being downright silly. Though he looks very tired in all of the pictures I took of him.

Whether he was trying to compensate for the missing man on stage, or just enjoying all the extra space to roam around in, Danny was rocking his butt off all night. I mean that pretty literally too. The man did not stand still all night long. He was jumping and bouncing and rocking back and forth from one side of the stage to the other and back again. I couldn't get a clear picture of him all night because he never, ever stopped moving. He certainly seems to have recovered from that leg injury that was plaguing him a month ago. And he definitely brought his A-game to the show. Withered Hope kind of blew my mind.

We were seated in the fourth row of the theater, left center. The seats were not bad at all because even right in front of the stage they were tiered. But I was still pretty bitter about not being in the front. I pre-ordered my tickets over the phone a month before they went on sale online and told them at the time that I wanted to be as close to the front as possible. Then the people who bought tickets later, when they did go on sale online, were able to select the front row seats. Tell me, how is that fair? There was no space between the front row and the stage for anyone to stand stage side except the people in those chairs so when we did stand up in was in our rows. All of that has no bearing on the show itself, but did serve to dampen my mood just a tiny bit.

Back to the actual setlist. Flans introduced Stan for Cowtown as Staniel Elliot Harrison, our 14th president who had returned from beyond the grave to play the clarinet (this very well may have been where the joke about the show being cursed and haunted came from). Flans asked Staniel to play a little and he played a short sequence of notes. Linnell leaned over and said something to him that I didn't catch but Stan replied that they had only had three notes back then. Flans then asked Linnell to play and he played one loud toot which Flans deemed perfect.



They breezed through We Live in a Dump (with Danny continuing to sing the ba-ba-bada-da part with no mic which amuses me to know end) and Birdhouse where Flans rocked as the solo guitar player.



Then Flans needed to stop and fix something on his guitar. He asked Linnell to talk about the next song. Linnell said there wasn't much to say about it. Flans said, "no really, what's the song about?" obviously trying to get Linnell to fill time. Linnell wasn't having it. "I think it's pretty self explanatory." Fortunately, someone in the audience saved him by yelling out, "Where's Dan Miller?" Linnell: "He's not here." Flans made some joke I didn't catch. Linnell: "He was throwing gang signs at the early show and they asked him to leave." They never did explain where he really was.

Flans said that this setlist was special because they were going to be playing one song off of each of their albums, including the new one, but that if we could figure out which album they skipped we would win a prize. He said something about all of us furiously thinking back on what they had already played. "Send us a message with the album we skipped to @kanyewest and you can win a brand new Sony iPad. Did I just make that up? I did, didn't I? Remember @kanyewest to win your fabulous Sony iPad." For the record, the album they skipped was 123s.

They played Turn Around, a fabulously Halloweeny song. I kept seeing peoples comments afterwards about how excited they were to hear it because it was pretty rare and I kept thinking, "Really? I don't think it's that rare. I've heard it a bunch." But then I realized that two of the times I heard it were at Apollo 18 shows and the other three before tonight were all on the spring tour down south so I guess for most people it is pretty rare. Huh. Go figure.

Then Stan came forward and they busted into Spy, which I was psyched about since they skipped it from the setlist in Port Washington. And oh, was this a glorious performance. Stan blew the roof off the intro at the beginning. Then, at the end, Linnell started directing the band to take turns making crazy music noises and then came out front and directed the band and the audience in a glorious cacophony of "woos" and music while making some incredibly ridiculous faces and hand gestures. He turned it over to Flans who took turns conducting the band and twanging his own guitar with this crazed look on his face.  It was epic. There is a video of it linked from the wiki. You should go watch it. It's really funny.





They played Meet James Ensor, double dipping on the John Henry tracks. Older took care of Mink Car. Flans made some more silly faces and very weird noises playing the beginning. They dumped about two tons of confetti on our heads and of course we were in the direct path of the cannon on our side and got blanketed. For a good portion of the beginning of the show I was plagued with a coughing attack (I get these stupid tickles in my throat sometimes, usually when I have a cold, that make me cough until I can't breath and my eyes water and I turn purple until I get some water but I wasn't about to leave the show to go find some) and let me tell you, having compressed air and tiny bits of paper blown at your face while you are already having trouble breathing is a kind of scary experience. Thankfully it cleared up soon after. By the end of the song Linnell had a piece of confetti stuck behind his ear which you can see in the picture below.





The Avatars came out, still with their colors all messed up. Meg Ryan came out and chatted for a minute until Flans told her it was time for her to go away. Blue Avatar asked Green Avatar what he was going to be for Halloween. Green said he was going to be a blur. "Not the band, the thing." Blue said he was going to go as pulp. "Blur and pulp. Those are great costumes." Blue said they had done the kids show earlier in the day and the swearing hadn't gone over too well. (I think he was kidding, I don't remember them accidently swearing at all.) He said what did go over was when he told them he was going to be a skeleton, then Flans ripped off the puppet again to show his bare hand on the screen again. He made some kind of joke about the kids being too sensitive. (The implication was, I guess, that the kids were traumatized by seeing that Blue was just a puppet on a hand.) Green cried, "Stupid kids." Then Blue said they only had one song to sing for us and asked Green what song they were going to do. "We're going to do a song from another They Might Be Giants album. I think it was called Fumbling Towards Ecstasy by Sarah McLachlan. That's the name of the They Might Be Giants album." They did Stalk of Wheat with a very rough, off-key start that made one of them laugh while singing. I think they were thrown off by Dan's missing keyboard cue.

Then we finally got to stand up for Clap Your Hands. We whooped it up for Marty, the next Lieutenant Governor of New York State then clapped and stomped and jumped like champs. And we stayed standing for the rest of the show which was a major energy booster.

They busted into Withered Hope and pretty much blew me away. As I said before, Curt blew the roof off and Danny was on fire. Jaw. Floor.



Don't Let's Start was kind of a given, being one of the few songs Dan doesn't play on anyway. Flans went kind of crazy with the guitar and at one point took it off and was strumming on it with it face down a couple inches from the floor. And both he and Danny were doing these exaggerated arm movements on the twangs on letters (D-world destruction, O-ver and overture, etc). The whole song totally rocked.

They surprised me by doing Au Contraire again. I wasn't expecting that. Then The Guitar, which was kind of ironic without the guitar player. Stan and Curt did some excellent wailing but they didn't drag it out as long as they did in Port Washington where the song just lasted forever.

Stan did another excellent sax solo on James K. Polk. We got one of those somewhat rare occasions of a show with both Don't Let's Start and Ana Ng. Fine by me. I will listen to the bass part in Ana Ng forever. It is my favorite.

Curt got another turn in the spotlight on Your Racist Friend. I didn't realize until I was writing it out now, how very horn heavy the show was.

What is labeled as Graveyard on the wiki was really the new tune Marty has concocted, played on the regular kit in lieu of the electric. They really need a name for that thing. It's groovy. My favorite part of the intros was while Marty was wrecking his kit with the lights flashing all over the place and Flans yelled, "We would like to report that Marty's shit is on fire."

Flans: "Here's a song we like to call...(to Linnell) just do it."

Linnell: "It's called Doctor Worm."

I definitely noticed the lack of Dan's vocals on this song too which was odd. They fled the stage after the song and when they came back Linnell and Danny crawled back in through the back of the horn stand just for the hell of it.

They introduced Alphabet of Nations with Linnell standing at the keyboard and my first thought was, "Oh no! He can't play that on the keyboard. I just listened to him try to do it on that radio show last year and he was messing up all over the place." And sure enough, Linnell should really not try to play keyboard on Alphabet of Nations. He is incredibly out of practice on it and was messing up chords left and right and having a hard time singing it and playing it at the same time. He accidently came in on one of Flansburgh's countries at the beginning. It was pretty funny though. And he had left his clarinet lying on the crowd in front of the keyboard and needed to use the sustain pedal so was having to stand at a kind of awkward angle over it until Danny came over and rescued the clarinet by moving it to the side.

Flans had this funny introduction before Asbury Park about how the song was about a club that they really enjoy playing in but you wouldn't know it from the song and he didn't want us to get the wrong impression.

Linnell picked up his accordion for Particle Man and Flans started telling everyone to clap but wasn't demonstrating because he was indicating to Linnell that he wanted to do the silly I Love to Sing keyboard/Kaoss Pad thing on the bridge, which was obvious from his miming of a finger on the Kaoss Pad. Thus the clapping was kind of all over the place and I was standing in the center clapping over my head feeling like it was my obligation to demonstrate proper Particle Man clapping to those behind me since no one on stage was. Flans eventually said, "It's on the back beat, people. The two and the four." They all got it eventually.

They played the song normally until the bridge when Flans and Danny moved to their positions on either side of the keyboard to await Linnell's directions. Linnell started to sing I Love to Sing but then stopped to say "Watch the clarinet" to Flansburgh who was stepping precariously close to it. This got a really good laugh from the audience. Megan leaned over to ask me if "watch the clarinet" was going to be the new "wait for Scott" in our circle. Yes, Megan, I think it is. Linnell then proceeded to direct the guys on one of the most ridiculous "I'm crazy" interludes I have ever seen. Flans was banging the keyboard with his fist and Linnell was making noises that sounded like he was choking to death while making the silliest faces. The horn players were just laughing at them. When Linnell finally moved on to the next line of the song, Danny stepped back from the keyboard so that when Linnell wanted them to go again he turned to Danny and did this exaggerated mime of putting his finger back on the pad. Then Flans started clapping again at the end and then, in my very favorite part of the whole thing, Danny started making fun of either Flans' clapping or someone in the audience I couldn't see. But he kind of clapped once and then was just smacking his hands all together. This got such a good reaction from the audience that he turned to face us and did it again. And I laughed forever. Thankfully, you do not need to rely on my description of this. It was all caught on a video that I'll include at the end. I keep watching it and laughing out loud every single time.









For the second encore they did Dead, other obligatory one as it's another one Dan doesn't play. And then they closed it all out with a pretty epic Istanbul with Stan on the intro, Curt on the outro, Flans on the "They say we have to go, but we don't want to go!" with the rest of the guys all shaking their heads, an ever so slightly botched beginning to the vocals and the confetti cannon drowning us forever so that there was confetti ankle deep on the left side of the room when they finished playing. Whee!



Total fail on getting the setlist again this time. David actually went so far as to "accidently" rip Linnell's in half before giving it to someone. Geez. But I got lots of confetti. Great show but I missed Dan. I actually kind of wish the last show of the year had been a little more familiar and routine so I'd feel a little better about the long gap between shows I'm about to have, but I can't really complain. The show rocked.

I'm including this fantastic video of highlights from the show taken by a couple I just connected with on YouTube and realized we have been to a ton of the same shows. Hi guys! There are a ton of great bits included but the Particle Man section is by far my favorite. It's towards the end.



If you go check out YouTube there is also another Particle Man video with more of the song but from the other side of the stage so you can't see the guys funny faces as well and a great Istanbul one from the same user.

I was not happy with the way any of my pictures from this day came out but there are a few additional ones on Flickr if you are interesting, including a few more in the Particle Man sequence.

Well, that's my last recap of the year. Who knows when the next show will be. I've pretty much decided at this point that I don't care where the next show is, I'm going even if it's in Alaska. I'm betting on March for the next tour but I still hope they might do something in January or February so I don't have to wait that long. We'll see. Until then I'll still be here doing my regular weekly entries whenever you need a TMBG fan fix. Cheers!