Stage Announcements - 1/7/11

Ugo.com has posted a countdown of their 50 favorite TMBG songs. I can't say I 100% agree with their choices, but some of their comments are funny. And I am pleased to see they didn't just stick with the most well known tracks, but they certainly made some interesting choices. I can think of at least a half dozen tracks right off the top of my head that I am really surprised weren't in there. Check it out for yourself and see how many you agree with.

They Might Be the 50 Best They Might Be Giants Songs

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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!

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.

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.

Stage Announcements - 11/5/10

I have absolutely nothing new to share today. Not even any pictures from last weekend's shows have turned up. Slow week in Giant land.

So reaching back into the vault, I am sharing this radio interview/performance on WAMC's Performance Place from last year. This is the same one I linked to recently but the link wasn't working at the time. Now I believe it is. I referenced this interview in a recent entry and I am about to do so again in the recap that will be appearing later today, so I want to make sure everyone knows what I'm talking about. It's a lovely little interview with some nice in studio performances. Fair warning though, it's pretty long.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wamc/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1558758

And while you are there, you can also listen to their interview with Flansburgh from 2008. Haha, bifurcated. I had forgotten how attached to that word Flansburgh was that year.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wamc/news.newsmain/article/0/0/1261223/Performance.Place/John.Flansburgh.-.They.Might.Be.Giants.(aired.41508)


All B-52s, all the time!

Stage Announcements - 10/29/10

I'm a little backlogged on this since I was still on vacation and away from my computer last Friday (in case you've been wondering, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios is well worth it!).


Here we have a review of the shows in Port Washington from the Port Washington Patch which includes some pictures:

http://portwashington.patch.com/articles/they-might-be-giants-kicks-off-the-landmarks-season

And a review of the Morristown shows from the Morristown Patch with some cute shots of the pint size audience:

http://morristown.patch.com/articles/they-might-be-giants-family-show-fun-for-all


Then in more recent news, we have this interview with Linnell from New Times discussing tomorrow's shows in Fairfield, writing music for children and the upcoming album:

http://www.newstimes.com/entertainment/article/They-Might-Be-Giants-in-Fairfield-for-2-shows-724779.php


That's it for this week. I'll see a bunch of you tomorrow in Fairfield. Don't forget to say hi :-) Happy Halloween to the rest of you!

Stage Announcements - 10/15/10

Well, I already shared my biggest news for this week. Look, here it is again in case you missed it (which you didn't because I posted it EVERYWHERE).

http://portwashington.patch.com/articles/speaking-with-the-band-danny-weinkauf-of-they-might-be-giants


There was also this little interview with Linnell (and isn't it odd that most of the interviews that have been coming out lately are with Linnell?).

http://morristown.patch.com/articles/here-come-they-might-be-giants-2

I thought the funniest thing about that one was Linnell, once again mentioning the soundtrack to Urinetown. I guess he hasn't listened to anything else in the last year because I was just re-listening to an interview from this time last year where he mentioned it as well. You can try listening to that interview/performance at the following link but at the moment it doesn't seem to be working.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wamc/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1558758


And lastly, it seems that former TMBG drummer Brian Doherty is penning his memoirs, including a section on his time with TMBG. He plans on releasing excerpts from that section on his blog and has posted the first one. I am honestly not sure how I feel about this. Part of me is eager for a behind the scenes look but part of me would like to avoid the tell-all nature of his narrative. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

http://briandoherty.net/me-and-tmbg/


I will be on vacation next week and away from my computer. I will do my best to get recaps of the four shows I am attending this weekend up via my phone. That is going to be in lieu of Audience Participation again. I'll try to get a picture for Wednesday ready before I go but no promises (unless any of you has something you'd like to submit?). And Stage Announcements will depend on what kind of news there is for the week. Any pictures from this weekend will be up next weekend when I return. I'll see many of you tomorrow in Port Washington!

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Happy They Day everyone!

Please allow me a few moments at the beginning of this entry to totally squee.

A few weeks ago, Danny sent me a message on Facebook asking permission to use one of the photos I had taken of him in an upcoming newspaper interview he was giving about the band's Long Island show this coming weekend. I, of course, said yes (and engaged in a moderate amount of fangirlish freakout).

I didn't say anything about it here at the time because I wasn't sure anything would come of it. But, sure enough, the interview appeared in today's issue of the Port Washington Patch online, complete with not just one but two pictures by yours truly.

http://portwashington.patch.com/articles/speaking-with-the-band-danny-weinkauf-of-they-might-be-giants

I will admit that the photo quality isn't great, especially on the second one, (I did offer to send him higher resolution versions than the ones on Facebook but I never heard back and I didn't know which ones he wanted to use) but that is greatly overshadowed by the thrill of seeing my photos in print (so to speak).

I was especially curious to see which picture he chose and was very pleased that he selected one of my favorites for the primary picture. I've always loved that shot of Danny hypnotizing the audience with the spiraling purple lighting and it is one of my very earliest shots of the band in a collection that now includes thousands. It's a nice contrast to the other very recent picture from the Life is Good Festival a few weeks ago (which really is a much nicer picture than that version would lead you to believe).

I am extremely flattered that Danny chose to use my pictures out of all the gadgillions of photos of him that are out there in the world. He really is just the nicest guy on Earth :-)

If you're interested here is a better quality version of the second photo included with the interview. Also, I couldn't help thinking, while reading the part where he says that people who attend both the family and rock shows are usually in the front rows, "yup, that's me!"




Since I have photography on the brain tonight, I'm using that as the basis for Audience Participation as well. What are some of your favorite pictures you have taken of the band? Hunting down live concert photos after a show is one of my favorite past times and I know I've looked on shots many of you have produced in awe. My very favorite concert shots were all taken by other people, many of whom I know are reading this. But I'm curious which ones you are particularly proud of? Posting links in the comments seems to work best for photo sharing.

If you want to participate but don't have any pictures of your own, I'd be very interested to see which of my photos are your favorites. I know which ones I prefer but I am always curious to see what appeals to others.

I've probably shared these a million times already, but these are a few of my favorite moments I've captured.


This is the shot I discussed above. It really is one of my long time favorites.




There is something about the expression in this one.




Curt, looking blown away as he blows us away.




Ralph may have only been with the band for one tour but he was a great subject.




I have so few really good pictures of Marty and the resolution on this one is crummy but I do enjoy it.




One of my rare shots of multiple band members.




This is one of my two all time favorite Linnell pictures. I really like the lighting.




Seems fitting that one of my favorite shots of Danny is from the show I got to meet him.




This one never fails to make me giggle.




I think as it stands, this may be my second all time favorite picture.




This is the other Linnell shot, as much for the story as for the picture.




I don't know why it always turns out that all my best pictures are of Flans.




I actually kind of adore this one and I don't know why.




I only have 15 bazillion pictures of Danny from this show but this was the winner.




The most recent of the bunch where Flans puts his thumb in his eye.




And this will probably remain, forever more, the best picture I have ever taken.




I have a life goal to get what I consider a "perfect" shot of each member of the band. I've already nailed Flans and Dan. I've come close with Linnell and Danny but I know I can do better. And Marty, I'll probably be working on for years to come.

I look forward to seeing your favorites.

Stage Announcements - 10/8/10

Just one new interview to share today, though if you are a photo lover like myself, it would be worth your while to do a search for They Might Be Giants on Flickr. There have been several nice sets from last weekend's Kennedy Center concert posted as well as a stunning set from the Life is Good Festival. All are copyrighted so I don't want to link here without permission but they shouldn't be hard to find.

As for the interview, it's a Linnell one with Brightest Young Things conducted in advance of the Kennedy Center gig.

http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/articles/they-might-be-giants-interview.htm

Also, if you haven't watched it yet (and I know you all have) said Kennedy Center gig is available to watch at the following link. Twas, a fantastic show and is well worth watching. Let me know if you can decipher the last couple of missing lines of Canajoharie from this performance ;-)

http://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/videos/?id=M4408

Stage Announcements - 10/1/10

Notable items of the week:


A lovely gallery of photos from the Life Is Good Festival from They Will Rock You. Pictures of our guys are at the end.

http://theywillrockyou.com/2010/09/concert-gallery-life-good-festival-canton-ma/

Some pictures of John, John and Marty in the studio at WBUR in Providence, RI last Friday before the show at Lupo's. If anyone knows where I can find the interview that goes with these, please let me know.

http://blog.wbru.com/2010/09/25/they-might-be-giants-in-wbru-studio/

John Linnell sat down for this interview with The Settler. There is some great insight into their work on Coraline. I would LOVE to hear all the other songs that didn't make it into the film.

http://media.www.settleronline.com/media/storage/paper1223/news/2010/09/27/Entertainment/They-Might.Be.Giants.John.Linnell.Talks.To.The.Settler-3937403.shtml

A columnist for the Cornell Daily Sun contributed this beautiful essay on being a They Might Be Giants fan. This girl put into words things that I so often try to explain to people and fail. And I tried to tell her so but the website wont let me comment. I did have to snicker a little at her being embarrassed by attending five shows though.

http://www.cornellsun.com/section/arts/content/2010/09/29/they-might-be-fanatic

And finally, the band has just released this new video for We Live In A Dump which is pretty much the best thing ever.




If you are attending the show in DC tomorrow have fun and be sure to bring back lots of pictures and stories for those of us stuck at home. Oh, and enjoy Canajoharie. It rocks.

Stage Announcements - 9/24/10

Most of the news from this week came out early so I am sure you have already seen it, but I'll reiterate here anyway.


Linnell is the Geek of the Week over on Geek Girls on the Street. You can read their interview with him here. (I especially like the part about Hot Dog! for some reason.)

http://geekgirlonthestreet.com/2010/09/20/john-linnell-they-might-be-giants/

Linnell was also interviewed on the Lab Out Loud podcast this week. It's a great interview, very science heavy with some good insights into the creation of Here Comes Science.

http://laboutloud.com/2010/09/episode-49-science-we-can-listen-to/

DC Urban Dad interviewed Flansburgh and managed to get pretty much the best quote ever in answer to the question "If you had to sum up your life to date in three words what would they be?"

http://mattnando.typepad.com/dcurbandad/2010/09/im-still-kinda-in-shock.html

In a slightly odd tidbit, it seems that the Johns and Marty played a private event last weekend at party celebrating the opening of a bakery called The Cupcake Corral in Maplewood, NJ. I would have liked to have been there if free cupcakes were available. There is a picture from Twitter here: http://yfrog.com/n0bwykj.


This weekend is our big 4 TMBG show bash. Three new songs promised tonight and tomorrow and three never played before kid songs on Sunday plus an appearance by Robin whom I have never seen before. I am so excited I am almost vibrating. Stay tuned here throughout the weekend for write-ups, etc. I'll update the wiki too if someone else doesn't get there first.

In the words of John Flansburgh, "Rock, Rinse, Repeat."

Stage Announcements - 9/17/10

Yay, I actually have stuff to share today :-)

The band appeared on WERS radio station last Saturday. It was a lovely little interview which sadly, they have not posted online as best as I can tell. However, they have given us a few nice photos and a couple of videos from the Life Is Good Festival last weekend and a few bonus interview questions on their website.

http://wersmusic.wordpress.com/2010/09/12/life-is-good-update-they-might-be-giants/

 http://www.wers.org/music/artists/interviews/they-might-be-giants-interview.cfm


Boston.com also had a short interview with the Johns right before their show last weekend with some promising tidbits about the new album. I've also included the link to their review of the Life Is Good Festival because I like the quote about TMBG rocking harder than some of the headliners.

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2010/09/14/two_day_life_is_good_festival_proves_fun_for_all_ages/

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2010/09/14/two_day_life_is_good_festival_proves_fun_for_all_ages/


And finally, in case you missed it, Flansburgh has promised us new songs at both the Lupo's and Mohegan Sun shows next weekend!! Woohoo! You can not even comprehend how excited I am about this. Oh, wait. You are all crazy TMBG fans. You probably can :-P

Stage Announcements - 9/10/10

I've been so mixed up about what day it is this week I almost forgot to do this.


For anyone interested in the story behind the Many Hands collection that TMBG contributed to, check out this interview with Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child host Bill Childs.

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/09/kid-friendly-rock/


Also, for all of you who are unable to attend this Life is Good festival this weekend, the music performances are going to be webcast. Reports seem to be mixed on whether that is going to include the family stage on which TMBG are performing. I'm thinking no, but it might be worth checking out the stream at http://www.lifeisgood.com/festivals/. At the very least, you can watch one of my other favorite bands, OK Go on Sunday at 3:00pm.

Stage Announcements - 9/3/10

You've all seen this video by now right? Because this is the only thing of any real note to come out of this week. It's funny even if you have never seen The Avatars of They but funnier if you have because they do all the same little jokes with the camera that they do on stage. Like flipping the back of the coffee cup around for the audience to read and sticking their eyeballs in the camera. I was watching it last night and laughing so hard I cried, until I realized I wasn't quite sure I was crying because I was laughing or because I've been so miserable lately and I really miss the band.  Which I guess is neither here nor there.

The video.




Mt favorite part is when the Green Avatar appears to pass out after the gloriously long Guatemala and the Blue Avatar glances down at him as if to check that he is going to get back up. Kills me.

Stage Announcements - 8/27/2010

All reports seem to indicate that the band had an excellent trip to the West Coast last weekend.

There is a review of the Napa show with a few pictures here:

http://spinningplatters.com/2010/08/23/show-review-they-might-be-giants-with-oona-at-the-napa-uptown-8212010/

There are pictures from Stern Grove from Flickr user michaelz1 here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelz1/sets/72157624799031290/

And check out this cute story about an awesome marriage proposal the band helped to orchestrate. I would like this to be me someday.

http://missionmission.wordpress.com/2010/08/22/they-might-be-giants-facilitate-epic-marriage-proposal-at-stern-grove-concert/

And it case you missed it (and I doubt anyone did since they already have 6,533 followers), They Might Be Giants now have a Twitter account. You can follow them here: http://twitter.com/tmbg

Stage Announcements - 8/20/2010

Two pieces of news today.

First, Flansburgh offers some quotes to this article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Unfortunately, the rest of the article reads like it was culled from Wikipedia.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/entertainment/ci_15823585

And second, They Might Be Giants have written a possible theme for Madeleine Brand's radio show on NPR. She's collecting comments on the theme and seems unconvinced as to whether it is appropriate for a morning radio show. Take a listen and see what you think.

http://www.scpr.org/blogs/brand-new-day-madeleine-brand/2010/08/18/they-might-be-giants-theme/


If any of you are in California and planning to attend any of the three TMBG shows this weekend, I would much appreciate setlists, show reports and most especially pictures. I would pretty much give my right arm to be there right now.

Oh, and don't forget to tune in to Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child tomorrow to hear the new theme song TMBG has written for them. 8:00am Eastern.

Stage Announcements - 8/13/2010

Actually have a new interview for you today with some exciting tidbits about puppets. I am really looking forward to this :-)

http://goodtimessantacruz.com/santa-cruz-area-music/music-features-reviews-interviews/1548-they-might-be-giants-puppet-talk.html

And if you live in the UK, make sure to download your copy of Birdhouse in Your Soul, so we can see how high it can make it in the charts (mostly thanks to a shoe ad no less).

Stage Announcements - 8/6/2010

Ok, I admit it. I forgot to do Friday's post before I went off on my day's adventures. There wasn't any news to report anyway but you can have this tiny belated post as consolation.

Interesting bit of trivia from my day: I saw Iggy doing lights at the free outdoor OK Go show I went to in Providence this evening. I came around a corner and there he was. He was on the phone but we had a brief "hey, I know you" moment and waved at each other. It was an excellent show too, even though I couldn't see very well.

On the subject of stage techs, I found this article interesting. Vince was the sound guy on the leg of the Fall TMBG tour that we road tripped.

http://blog.greenlightgopublicity.com/2010/08/other-side-producer-vince-casamatta.html


And one from the retro files:

http://gothamist.com/2007/05/15/john_flansburgh.php

Enjoy.

Stage Announcements - 7/30/10

Hello, hello.

We are going retro again today as it's been another slow news week.

I've picked out this 1998 interview with Flansburgh because it seems to talk about a time period in band history that Erin brought up in the comments of monday's post. And also because I was thinking of his answer to one of the questions when I was watching Flans watch Jonathan Coulton last week.

http://www.popculturecorn.com/music/issues/oct98/interview-tmbg.html


And you also get this one, just because I like the interview.

http://www.guitar.com/articles/truly-gigantic-interview-they-might-be-giants


Finally, this seems like a pretty worthy cause to get behind and help our guys support. (Not trying to get all politically motivated here, so if you don't agree don't yell at me, just don't watch the video.)


Main PSA (7.14.10) from TakePart on Vimeo.