#tmbg
"But there's been a weird new phenomenon, which is that amongst very young people, there's a lot of interest in this song that was a really dark horse, “Stuff Is Way.” It was never intended to be a single. It's just a very deep album cut from probably a number of years ago … There's some young person who made an anime video for it, which references some cultural things that I don't even really know about. And it just went viral for some reason. And now, if you go on TikTok, there are something like 14,000 dance videos to this song, which is not even really a dance track, and it is one of our most popular songs on Spotify … And this is just like a really oddball track, not a pop song, not anything we were ever thinking of promoting, but now we're being forced to learn it. So we're going to be playing in the live show, because we have to, apparently."
– John Linnell of They Might Be Giants, interview on wbur.org December 2024.
Blues jays vs Grackle
Only one can survive
Today's Thursday Five List theme comes from @satsuma and it's "Five Kisses" - songs about significant kisses.
So, let's do this thing.
3OH!3 (pronounced "three oh three") ft Kesha - My First Kiss https://song.link/i/377809926
Pearl Jam - Last Kiss https://song.link/us/i/158051176
Dua Lipa and Blackpink - Kiss and Make Up https://song.link/us/i/1434849693
They Might Be Giants - First Kiss https://song.link/us/i/674893899
TRI.BE - Kiss https://song.link/us/i/1637029090
John L of #TMBG was briefly hospitalized, forcing them to reschedule a couple of shows. He's out and recovering well, say the band.
LISTEN UP 2025 YOU KEEP YOUR FUCKING MITTS OFF THE JOHNS OR I SWEAR BY THE HAIRY BALLS OF HADES I WILL BURN THIS WHOLE FUCKING THING DOWN SEE IF I DON'T
This week @reinodeboer gave us a Thursday Five List theme of "Songs About Food." Let's do this!
De La Soul - Bitties in the BK Lounge https://song.link/us/i/1664602263
Red Velvet - Ice Cream Cake https://song.link/us/i/977068453
They Might Be Giants - Dinner Bell https://song.link/us/i/1542969114
Webstar & Young B ft AG - Chicken Noodle Soup https://song.link/us/i/1467931272
Weezer - Pork and Beans https://song.link/us/i/1440865978
@davidr@hachyderm.io#TIL that the solo in Doctor Worm is played by Rabbi *Vole* not Rabbi *Bull*
But my real question was where is he when he's leaving the front unlocked (because he can't hear the doorbell)? His house/apartment? A music store?
@lexfri They have always been the hardest working pair in indie music. After all these years, simply in order not to have to give up the title, they are forced to THINK UP IMPOSSIBLE STUNTS TO DO LIVE JUST TO SHOW OFF.
I saw this live in Pittsburgh in May of last year and I had a nerdgasm
A VDay themed commission of Mister Flansburgh n his two current cats: Password1234 & MC Fresh Step I got from @scumsuck !!
—
please consider commissioning them and joining their sticker club!!
came up in my shuffle and, just, damn. between this and "minimum wage", #TMBG were doing quality consciousness raising on Flood
"Can't drive out the way we drove in" is a relevant lyric for the current shituation.
This week, @aspeed gave us a Thursday Five List theme of "5 Under 3" - five songs under three minutes in length.
Okay, I can manage that.
Busta Rhymes - Gimme Some More https://song.link/us/i/727414498
The Doors - People Are Strange https://song.link/us/i/640047588
Magnolia Park - Candles https://song.link/us/i/1703271297
MiSaMo - Identity https://song.link/us/i/1772136985
They Might Be Giants - Minimum Wage https://song.link/us/i/298111077
this friday i give a peek at what i’m currently working on
┈ ┈ ┈
A few #TheyMightBeGiants songs have been on my mind today for some reason... notably:
Kiss Me, Son of God
Sold My Mind to the Kremlin
If Day for Winnipeg
The Shadow Government
An Insult to the Fact Checkers
Upside Down Frown
The Communists Have the Music
The Bells Are Ringing
Aaa
Counterfeit Fake
Au Contraire
Your Racist Friend
Lyrics and commentary on the above to be found on the lovingly fan curated wiki:
Wow, it has been nearly 10 years since the family joined They Might Be Giants' Instant Fan Club for the first time for 2015.
I've been a fan since 1990 and found out about the Instant Fan Club in late 2014.
Signup is closed for 2024 and hasn't opened yet for 2025 but will be here when it opens:
https://tmbgifc.com/
Signing up helps the band have some guaranteed income for the year even if I don't get a chance to see them play in person or buy new music.
#Music #TMbG #InstantFanClub
Until 5 pm EST today, They Might Be Giants is giving away My Murdered Remains, their 2018 album.
Go grab the MP3s and maybe buy a Dr. Worm Venn diagram shirt.
https://bsky.app/profile/tmbg.bsky.social/post/3lffqaycsx223
I don't usually advertise for people, but They Might Be Giants is offering their album "My Murdered Remains" for free on their website. I already own it so I thought it would be worth mentioning #tmbg #TheyMightBeGiants
This week's Thursday Five List has a theme of "The Machine."
Hmmm.
AleXa - A.I. Trooper https://song.link/us/i/1502765257
Beck - The Little Drum Machine Boy https://song.link/us/i/1445065558
Bush - Machinehead https://song.link/us/i/1440946056
Deltron 3030 - 3030 https://song.link/us/i/288544316
They Might Be Giants - Robot Parade https://song.link/us/i/644676266
Like many my age, the first time I heard #TMBG was on an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures; the show aired a musical episode that contained animated music videos for Istanbul (Not Constantinople) and Particle Man. I loved the songs but didn't realize they were an actual band for quite a while. So when I heard Flood for the first time it was a revelation and I was instantly a lifelong fan.
Birdhouse in Your Soul is maybe the greatest opening track of any album ever. It relies on trickery: the volume increases when the drums kick in, making the song feel absolutely huge (a technique they credit to Elvis Costello). Dead is just two voices and piano but is a songwriting masterclass -- that descending chromatic line at the 2min mark gives me shivers. Your Racist Friend is a kaleidoscope of ideas, a sort of 80s Paul Simon meets metal meets mariachi thing? What even is happening? The record continues like this: bizarre, idiosyncratic songwriting, inscrutable lyrics, complex arrangements, non-traditional song structures, beautiful, blended harmonies often sung in close harmony...I mean holy shit. It's baffling.
Flood isn't perfect; Minimum Wage and Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love are more sketches of songs than actual songs -- which perhaps explains why they do such weird things to Sapphire Bullets when played live -- but it remains their biggest commercial success, and for many everything that came after was judged in its shadow. But the through line of the Johns' catalogue is an endless, restless creativity, a hunger to discover what's next This was a band that was never going to stand still.
