Today's song is...
Doctor Worm
For all the credit I give The Mesopotamians and Nine Bowls of Soup for being the songs that made fall in love with the band, this song is my oldest favorite. It's the only one I distinctly remember enjoying from that first in-store performance I saw TMBG play (not that I didn't enjoy the others, this just made more of an impact). I love the whimsy of the song. I like the idea of a worm playing the drums, especially since they don't have, you know, arms. It speaks to an incredible amount of optimism and spunk on the part of our favorite wormy narrator. And the melody is so god damn upbeat, you can not help but be cheered by this song.
This is also one of my favorite songs to hear live. I just never get tired of it and I think it's probably pretty high on the list of songs I've heard most frequently. I am still genuinely excited every time I hear those opening chords.
They do so many little things on stage with this song that I just adore that it becomes one long series of favorite moments. It's a great example of Dan's goofy singing faces and I, for some reason, find the cheesy horn synth he uses on the keyboard when they don't have a horn player quite endearing. Linnell's tendancy to preface the solo by subbing in Rabbi Flans. The poses Flans and Danny assume when playing said solo, guitars raised in the air. The pop of the confetti canon as it showers the crowd in rainbow hued paper. And of course Danny's traditional leap at the end, be it straight in the air or right off the horn riser, is one of my favorite parts of any show.
I have so many specific good memories of performances of Doctor Worm I could probably fill 10 entries with them. The ones that stand out the most for me right this second are the Accordion John and Dinosaur John intro from Morristown and Danny's rock god leap in our faces in Richmond but there are surely others.
This is one of a few songs (Birdhouse and The Guitar would be other examples) that truly embody what I love about TMBG shows and why I keep going back over and over again. Because someday somebody else will call him by his stage name and I want to be there to see it.
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Oh man. This song is responsible for two of my absolute favorite show moments: "Dinosaur John" and "Worm Doctor." (I think everybody's heard about Dinosaur John ad nauseum but remember in NYC when Flansburgh said "this song is about a doctor who thinks he's a worm" and Linnell deadpanned "it's called Worm Doctor" and the band burst into the song and then Linnell made them stop so he could explain to the kids that it's actually called Doctor Worm? I laughed for like ten minutes. It was awesome.)
ReplyDeleteI never, ever get tired of hearing this. I like how half the front row always sings the AHHHs with Flans and Dan during the chorus. And the music video is totally gold because of that one part where Linnell is singing "but I can handle criticism" and he giggles and his nose gets wrinkled and it's the most adorable thing he's ever done. (It was so adorable that it made me get all publicly gushy about Linnell. SO CUTE.) I love Rabbi Flans and the bass/guitar solo and how sometimes when Linnell sings the "good morning how are you I'm Doctor Worm I'm interested in things" after the bridge he puts his hand up in the air and sings it like it's a scale and he starts at the top and goes down step by step and AUGH I NEED TO GO TO A SHOW RIGHT NOW. RIGHT. NOW.
Wow. This song brought up some intense feelings. Good entry.
That "Worm Doctor" story is some funny stuff.
ReplyDeleteI prefer this song live. As I do with a lot of well-known TMBG songs.
ReplyDeleteI've had a few non-TMBG fan friends fall in love with this song. I don't understand that. I love Doctor Worm but come on, non-TMBG fan friends, you can pick better (and less odd-sounding to the non-TMBG ear).
I quite like this video. Especially the nose-crinkle that Megan mentioned.
Aw, now I want to belt this song out now. The new album information put me in a TMBG mood. <3
Behind Istanbul, this is probably the song I've heard most often live. Studio or live, it just makes me happy. How can you not love a lively song about an inspired worm?
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