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.
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"Maybe I Know" is my absolute favorite cover of theirs. I love Lesley Gore, and I love the MTV clip of Flans singing it while Linnell plays accordion in the background.
ReplyDelete"I Never Go To Work" is another favorite, mostly because of the live versions I've heard. I like Linnell's harmonizing, and when Flansburgh invites Curt to come down from his ice cream castle to play, and when they change it to "oh yes, yes, practice saxophone every day" if Stan is playing instead of Curt.
"Georgy Girl" because it requires the Flans falsetto.
And an honorable mention goes to that time they played "The Kids Are Alright" during sound check in Boston, because that ruled.
Wow, I'm surprised to learn that a few songs I didn't know were covers..were! I knew Istanbul, NYC, WDTSS, and Maybe I Know were covers, as well as a handful of others that aren't mentioned here. But I had no idea that We've Got A World That Swings, Shooting Star, and I Never Go To Work were covers. I think my ignorance on that subject has mostly to do with the fact that I haven't yet bought the albums those songs are on. With the albums I have bought, I always read the liner notes and see who played on what song and whether it was written by TMBG or not. The exception is Maybe I Know, whose album I haven't bought yet, but I first heard it on the YouTube video Megan mentioned and they say that it's a cover.
ReplyDeleteHaha, and I must say that I'm glad Savoy Truffle was on your list because I just went to listen to Podcast 5a to hear it (I know I've listened to some of this podcast before, but it's been a while and I don't remember hearing all of it) and discovered (She Was A) Hotel Detective In The Future Commentary for the first time. Hahaha. Good stuff. X]
(And now I've got It Never Fails stuck in my head..) :]
I just looked up Georgy Girl on the wiki and now I really want to hear that one. Especially since Megan mentioned it involves Flans falsetto. And I'm also going to have to look up their cover of Frankenstein. We had a old Halloween CD purchased at Wal-Mart years ago called Monster Hits that contains this song, and I've always liked it. I would also LOVE to hear Linnell sing a full version of You Are My Sunshine, but that seems unlikely. :}
Ok, now that I've written a boatload of things that aren't even an answer to this audience participation, I suppose I'll attempt to list my favorites. I should really probably do a little more research first, but here they are for now (in no particular order) --
ReplyDeleteIstanbul (Not Constantinople) -- I know, I know. Typical. Especially for a "newbie". We're supposed to get sick of it. We're supposed to prefer more obscure covers. But I don't care, I love this one. :)
Maybe I Know -- There's just something really appealing about it. It's sad, and I like the the way Flansburgh sings it. I love the MTV clip Megan referred to as well.
We've Got A World That Swings -- Now that I know this is a cover, I suppose I can include it in my list. :] I really, really like this song. I agree with everything you said about it and I've always thought it sounded like something written in the 60's (which I just realized was true, after going to the wiki page for it).
I Never Go To Work -- Another one I can add to this list after learning it's a cover. I love this song, musically and lyrically. The video is adorable and very entertaining. I would love to hear this live.
New York City -- This is actually one of those few TMBG songs I can get kind of tired of. I really do like it, though. Sometimes I'll skip it several times, and other times I love to listen to it every time it plays. It was pretty fantastic live. It's not one of my very favorites as general TMBG song favorites go, but I like it, and it definitely makes it into my favorite covers they do.
What Is A Shooting Star? -- Again, adding to this list after learning it was a cover. I really like this one, and I LOVED hearing the puppets perform it last year. :)
In The Middle -- I also just learned this was a remake. Definitely one of my favorites from the kids' albums. Gets stuck in my head for days. :D
The Guitar -- I don't know that this one really counts, but I love it. :)
Mosh Momken Abadon -- Most certainly one of my favorite instrumentals. I'd love to find the Egyptian pop song original version.
Yeh Yeh -- Another great one that gets stuck in my head for long periods of time. :) I love Mink Car.
There are several others I've heard they've done or have just seen on the wiki page that I'd love to hear, but those are the ones I know of that I can include on my list of favorites. :)
I just checked out the official remakes list. What fun! So many songs on there that I never knew TMBG ever covered (probably because I've only been to live shows in the past year and haven't listened to many of the podcasts either -- that seems to be where a lot of the covers can be found). I would really like to hear them cover We Are the World and The Sign. LOL
ReplyDeleteAnd I didn't know Shooting Star was a cover either! Guess I never looked at the liner notes on that one, and just assumed it was an original since I'd never heard it before.
Anyway, here are some of my favorites:
Maybe I Know -- My top pick hands down. Love the MTV live video, love the accordion, love the song.
Yeh Yeh -- This one took awhile to grow on me, but I really enjoy it now. I love what Flans did with it.
Up The Junction -- I heard them do this one live during a radio interview and it was fantastic. I love Squeeze, and TMBG's cover made the song all the sweeter.
25 O'Clock -- I've really enjoyed discovering TMBG covering other bands I liked during high school. Dukes of Stratosphere -- how cool is that? I have encountered this cover several times on Clock Radio, but would like to get a copy of it.
Savoy Truffle -- I don't have this one either, but have heard it several times on Clock Radio.
I Never Go To Work -- Great stick-in-your-head tune.
In The Middle, In The Middle -- Takes me back to the old PSA that ran on TV during my childhood. Also gets stuck in my head.
I Hear A New World -- I don't know the original version of this song, but I like TMBG's version.
Guess it's 8 for me too!
Oof. Savoy Truffle is wonderful. No other words.
ReplyDeleteAnd you know I love New York City. I don't think that requires a further explanation.
I really love their cover of Caroline, No. I think Flansburgh's voice is... just... I don't know. Fantastic?
I've always loved Yeh Yeh. Perhaps because, the sax part is unbearably catchy and I sort of want to learn to play it.
You know I'm not a big Istanbul fan, but still... I can't deny its prominence in the TMBG world.
...Can we talk about how I didn't know In The Middle[...] was a cover? Or Shooting Star, which I adore. [/shame]
Can't deny Maybe I Know. I have a thing where I'll watch mid-80s TMBG TV appearances late at night. It's kind of comforting. Maybe I Know always turns up.
And if we're talking solo projects... Will You Love Me In December As You Do In May? We can't forget that.
Just looked up Zilch. Wonderful.
I just discovered that one of my favorite Englishmen, Jim Dale, wrote the lyrics to Georgy Girl! In case anyone who happens to read this doesn't know who Jim Dale is, I'll tell you: he's got one of the most magnificent voices on the face of the planet! He narrated Pushing Daisies and played a goofy villain in the magnificent 1977 musical Disney film Pete's Dragon! He also narrates the books-on-CD in the Harry Potter series. (I haven't actually heard the latter, but I've been told he does a fantastic job!)
ReplyDeleteI know all of this has VERY little to do with the topic at hand, but I was excited when I found out and it just seems like such an interesting coincidence for reasons that I can't explain.
:)