They Might Be Giants
Lincoln
Flood
Apollo 18
John Henry
Basically, TMBG consists of two New York geeks, John Flansburgh and John Linnell, who met up during high school or something, and began playing their own twisted variety of music throughout the ’80s, and eventually got signed on an indie label. After two very good albums and some college radio cred, Elektra snatched them. Their 1990 Elektra album Flood harvested a hit single in the UK and several songs even popped up on Tiny Toons! As the ’90s progressed, they fell off the musical map somewhat, despite finally assembling a band in 1993 (haven’t heard any of those albums yet) and various other side projects.
The music, as I said before, is geek-rock to the core. A lot of in-jokes abound, weird choices of instruments and lyrical matter, experimentation, and nasal voices. But when they really got down to it, they could come up with affecting, killer melodies. And they don’t appear to take themselves too seriously, so no need to worry about pretensions. The conundrum lies in how they are perceived. Apparently both Johns cringe at being labeled as novelty, as their sense of humor is more avant-garde than that of, say, Weird Al Yankovic. And beyond the Tiny Toons exposure, and some MTV exposure, they still remain a cult band that was never accepted in the mainstream. Not that they care. Anyway, here’s the line-up:
John Linnell - synths and probably a lot more instruments. Nerdy instrument of choice: accordion. Linnell more or less has his own style that he started with “Don’t Let’s Start.” He has his own twisted sense of humor, and his lyrics tend to be more biting and cynical. Then again, he was responsible for “Particle Man” and “Mr. Me. ”
John Flansburgh - synths and probably a lot more instruments. Nerdy instrument of choice: violin. Unlike Linnell, Flansburgh was a sucker for diversity. Surf-rock, jazz, country, you name it, he’s tackled it. His voice is a little more gentle than that of Linnell (much like Strummer and Jones of the Clash, it took me a while to assimilate the two vocalists), even if his lyrics were/are just as bizarre.
1986
Well! We all gotta start somewhere. The Johns’ first album here certainly does sound like a basement affair. A basement, that is, full of crazy-ass synths and electronic drums and an accordion. The production here is really bare, so these guys must not have had a big budget to record it. What about the songs? There are some on here, but you’re just as likely to come across a one-minute synth-speriment. There are several good melodies here, but you could tell that the craft wasn’t quite there yet.
There is definite promise, though...look at the first third of the album!!! It’s awesome!! “Everything Right is Wrong Again” opens things up with the most bombastic synth arrangement on here, but the way they alternate the same melody through different readings sure is int’resting. I’m more partial to the catchy-ass “Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head. ” I guess it is as Elvis Costello-esque as everyone says, with a not-as-corny arrangement and more biting lyrics it could be on This Year’s Model. “Hide Away Folk Family” is strangely moving, “32 Footsteps” is pure pure fun, and don’t forget their sorta-almost-semi-minor hit “Don’t Let’s Start” The arrangement is the best on the album, and the contrast between the happy-catchy vibe and Linnell’s bitter lyrics sure makes for a winner. It’s so good that Linnell repeated the formula again on Lincoln, but that’s later.
After the first six (almost forgot the cute, almost too self-consciously ‘funny’ snippet “Number Three”), experimentation takes over, making for a patchy listen. There still are good songs, like the bitching surf-rocker “Youth Culture Killed Me Dog, ” another nugget of funness in “Absolutely Bill’s Mood, ” and the strangely sincere love song “She’s An Angel. ” How about “ (She Was a) Hotel Detective”?? People say the Johns are aping Cheap Trick, or KISS, or whoever, but you know who I hear? DR. TEETH AND THE ELECTRIC MAYHEM!! I’m serious, Flansburgh strains his vocals to sound like Dr. Teeth, and the backing vocals and stomping beat also betray that sound. All they needed was a wild drum solo a la Animal.
Then you got those weird one-minute synth pieces. I don’t treat ’em as songs, per se, I’ll take them for what they are. “Chess Piece Face” is pretty much compiled of two synth loops converging and someone’s weird Aaron Neville impression, while “Boat of Car” even throws in a random Johnny Cash sample, of all things!! I like those two, but a few others are kinda lame, especially the stupid accordion piece “The Day. ” And some of the real songs aren’t too inspiring either. But hey, despite these flaws, TMBG show a lotta promise on their debut album. And they would clean up some of their kinks on Lincoln anyway.
1988
Here we go now!! Lincoln may not seem all that different from the eponymous debut on the surface. But if you listen harder, they put some more care into the sound and melodies their music, cutting down on the one-off synth fragments. You’ll notice that I’ll mention individual Johns more often in the upcoming reviews, as Linnell has a stronger presence here than on TMBG and Flansburgh goes deeper into genre experimentation. You may not care who sings what, but I’m anal like that.
As on the debut, the first six tunes are a gas!!! Linnell’s “Ana Ng, ” “Purple Toupee, ” and “Where Your Eyes Don’t Go” are all linked together in that they all have choruses radically different from their verses. “Ana Ng” starts with a clipped ’lectric guitar (the heaviest thing in the entire TMBG catalogue?) and some ominous lyrics about god-knows-what, and then shifts to a happier chorus. Good stuff. The warped history lesson “Purple Toupee” makes the transition from funk-like verses to an ’80s style synth chorus so damn seamlessly, it’s perfect. And “Where Your Eyes Don’t Go” has a nice circular verse melody that turns eerie in the chorus. Eyes in the back of my head?? No! Elsewhere, Flansburgh merges a country-esque melody with abrasive synth loops in “Cowtown” and goes all jazz on us in “Lie Still, Little Bottle. ”
The middle section is more spotty, with only the brilliant lounge-bossa nova “The World’s Address” and the unbelievably bouncy “Mr. Me” standing out. Things pick up at the end, with Flansburgh’s atonal-on-purpose “You’ll Miss Me” and the perfect pop of “Snowball in Hell.” They close things out with a surprisingly straightforward commentary on abuse of power (insert Bush administration joke here) on “Kiss Me, Son of God. ” But my favorite on Lincoln has to be Linnell’s “They’ll Need a Crane, ” that has the same format as “Don’t Let’s Start” but is even more depressing lyrically!! Not far behind is their best one-minute quickie ever in the catchy-catchy “Shoehorn With Teeth. ” Love those horns! When is a marching band gonna learn that one?
Like before, not all the songs move me. In particular, “Santa’s Beard” has a grating Mike Love-esque vocal delivery from Flans (however, it is a lot better than that horrible Beach Boys Xmas tune of the same name, speaking of Mike Love) and the other two one-minute snippets aren’t that good. But Lincoln makes for a more consistent listen than the debut, and their balance between wonderful pop melodies and weirdness has never been surpassed. Well done, John and John. A 9 for all.
1990
This would be They Might Be Giants’ major-label debut, as they signed with Elektra after initial underground success. With a major label comes a bigger budget, and the sound here is much more polished than on either of their previous albums. The songs...are a different story. It seems like TMBG tones down the bizarreness to a degree here, sounding more plain at times. And with the polished sound comes fresh-from-the-’80s synths that date some of the songs on Flood. The Johns had synths before, but those were more of the Casio kind. Despite these flaws, their musicality is still there.
As usual, Flood starts off strong. After the mock-choral intro, “Birdhouse In Your Soul” kicks things off rousingly. This is the song that got me into TMBG, and still may be my personal fave. The up-front synth arrangements are strong, and they bring out Linnell’s funny little account of a nightlight. Plus the melody can’t be beat!! This here tune even cracked the Top 10 in the UK. Well done. In the US, they had to settle for exposure on Steven Spielberg’s cartoon Tiny Toon Adventures where “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” and “Particle Man” were made into ‘music videos’ featuring the characters. Certainly the first time I ever heard of the group, way back when. I was shocked to learn “Istanbul” was an old ’50s cover, it’s done in typical TMBG style. “Particle Man” is ok, sort of a simplistic child-like tune not as good as “Mr. Me.”
Elsewhere on the first half, Flans makes amends for “Santa’s Beard” with a cool surf-rocker “Twisting, ” featuring much better Mike Love intonations. Linnell’s easygoing “We Want a Rock” is effortless catchy, and the mock-solemn “Dead” shows the Johns can even do a solo piano tune. Only the plain retro-rocker “Lucky Ball and Chain” and the uncomfortable, dated statement “Your Racist Friend” does not work.
And then, things fall apart in the second half. The spotty one-minute snippets have been replaced by dated synth tunes with no humor. “Sapphire Bullets,” “Hot Cha,” even “Someone Keeps Moving my Chair” all are blah. Flan’s “Hearing Aid” is probably the worst TMBG song ever...no melody, way too long, crap. I’m not as big on the interlude “Minimum Wage” as everyone else, as it makes its point in 5 seconds, but it’s still good for one laugh. Luckily, I can salvage the fast-talking “Letterbox” and the bouncy band theme(?)“They Might be Giants.” And “Whistling in the Dark” is a freaking hoot, as Linnell sings in his lower register over a stomping beat, and it is the catchiest thing ever. Almost as good as “Birdhouse.” But not quite.
So, despite being their apex of their popularity, Flood is something of a step back from the previous two albums, as technology and weaker songs start to pop up. But there are still some career-highs on here as far as I’m concerned. And on the next album, the Johns show that they can make a bigger budget and major label work. Now excuse me while I listen to “Whistling in the Dark” three more times.
1992
Oh good, signing with a major-label wasn’t the kiss of death for TMBG. Flood wasn’t bad, but it showed TMBG in a minor slump. Luckily, they have recovered enough on Apollo 18. This could be their most normal album to date, relatively, as a lot of the music is more pop than weird. There still are some reminders that, yes, this is the quirky band that brought us Lincoln (esp. “Spider”), but there’s also some hints at musical and lyrical maturity for the Johns.
The biggest strength of Apollo 18? Consistency. There’s nothing here of the caliber of “Birdhouse” or maybe even “Don’t Let’s Start, ” but not very many duffers either. The only tracks I don’t care for are the bookends: the opening shouter “Dig my Grave” and the closing synth-strumental “Space Suit, ” and those two are more pointless than bad. And a couple of others aren’t favorites of mine, but it’s uphill from there.
Good news for diversity lovers: Flansburgh’s back in that act after taking a relative break on Flood. He’s got more mellow-jazz numbers in “She’s Actual Size” and the sly “If I Wasn’t Shy.” His ballad “Narrow Your Eyes” sports a good melody, “Hall of Heads” goes from a gloomy instrumental to an almost-epic (but short) vocal section, and “Hypnotist of Ladies” adopts the Bo Diddley beat and...call me crazy, but Flans sounds like Gene Pitney here! Both “See the Constellation” and “The Guitar” are among my favorite Flans tunes; the former is another groovy little surf-rocker with a rare guitar riff, and the latter is one weird funk-lounge concoction. It even throws in the chorus from “The Lion Sleeps Tonight, ” with revised lyrics, and sung by some female. Much better than the Tokens tune, for sure.
In contrast, no major surprises come from Linnell. He’s got his usual bag of twisted pop tunes like the amazing “I Palindrome I, ” one of the best pop-rockers TMBG came up with. Egad, a base tone denotes a bad age! “The Statue Got me High” is similar and inferior, but still really fun. “Mammal” name-checks several mammal species over a gentle backing, and “Dinner Bell” name-checks a whole crapload of food items in the most bouncy way. “Turn Around” might be Linnell at his most devious, with a great mocking chorus.
But don’t you worry, TMBG does throw in a minute-long snippet for y’all: the brilliant non-music piece “Spider. ” I keep hearing my own mother when they say ‘get...rid of/spiiiiider. ’ Oooooh, and of course there’s the infamous medley “Fingertips, ” consisting of 20 10-second ‘choruses,’ and its craaaaazy man. I didn’t get the individual tracks, I obtained the entirety as one file, so I may miss out on the randomness. I won’t namecheck any segments, I haven’t gotten the chance to let all of them grow on me yet. But you should love it. And you should love Apollo 18. I still like Lincoln a little bit better than this one, but Apollo’s great pop tunes have grown on me enough to give out a 9. That and it’s a lot more constant than their debut.
1994
Here’s where They Might Be Giants finally gets a backing band. I couldn’t name any of the players, and I’m sure that it was something of a revolving door, but it’s a proper band. It’s a change in sound for sure, as the arrangements are more fleshed out. It doesn’t really work against TMBG, but a bigger bugaboo here is the Johns’ return to the Flood well of inconsistency. It makes John Henry a long listen, as I consider 10 songs filler. 10 songs out of 20! That’s half the album!
A note about the filler, there’s nothing here that’s super bad or offensive; TMBG doesn’t have many songs that are objectively awful. I can respect their attempt at a Gregorian chant (“O Do Not Forsake Me”), but the actual song is a bore. And neither Flans nor Linnell sang the lead part! Jerks! I LOVE how Linnell pronounces ‘organ’ in the ballad “A Self Called Nowhere” and he’s really sincere in “The End of the Tour,” but neither move me. Flans has some slow unfunny moments (“Dirt Bike,” “Extra Savoir Faire”), there are a few faceless mid ’90 rock tunes (“Out of Jail,” “Why Must I be Sad”), and some forgettable one-minute snippets as usual. Ehh.
BUT, not all is lost! Linnell provides an awesome one-two opening punch. “Subliminal” is accordion-drenched and pretty catchy, while “Snail Shell” has a slight funk sound and a backwards hook in the chorus. Don’t know if it’s a TMBG rewrite of “Thank You (Falettinme...)” that people say it is. “Thermostat” follows in Linnell’s series of ‘scientific’ songs along with “Mammal” and “Why Does the Sun Shine?” (wait, that was a cover). “No One Knows My Plan” is almost Flans-esque because of that brass. My favorites are his pop pieces “I Should be Allowed to Think” and “Destination Moon,” each with killer lyric hooks! The latter has one of his finest choruses ever. You gotta hear it to know.
Flans isn’t as prominent on Henry, and he has a few moments of pure filler on here, but it’s not all ehhh. his spy-music tribute “Spy” cooks, apart from that weird extended ending. “Meet James Ensor” is a snippet that works, it’s hilarious. “Sleeping in the Flowers” starts awkwardly with grungy verses, but they give way to a wonderful ‘60s-esque chorus. “AKA Driver” is the best, as the muffled funk verses are complemented with ANOTHER killer chorus. The pop sensibilities still win out on Henry, despite the invasion of filler. So it’s at least on par with Flood.