Tag Archives: join us

#1066: They Might Be Giants – Protagonist

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Every once in a while, it comes to a point where I have to write about yet another song from They Might Be Giants’ Join Us album from 2011. I think that album’s just swell and, if any of you readers have been with me on here for a long time, you’ll probably know my positive opinions on it. I think I may have just mentioned them on every post from Join Us that I’ve done The last post I did for a song on here was a number of months ago for ‘Old Pine Box’, the album’s third track and one that’s also written and sung by John Flansburgh. And coincidentally today’s song ‘Protagonist’ was also written by the man, this time arriving as the tenth number and opening the record’s second half.

Thinking to back to my initial reaction when I first heard it as a 16-year-old, I recall making fun of Flansburgh’s abrupt change in vocal delivery between his soft, gentle tone for the first two lines and the somewhat sterner, almost robotic tone for the lines that follow. He alternates between those two styles for the majority of the song. But it wasn’t too long before realizing that the changes were meant to reflect a switch in the narrative voice. You see, ‘Protagonist’ tells the story of someone who’s girlfriend has left them for another man, but that whole situation in itself appears to be the subject of a script, with locations and characters involved in the break-up being noted in… I guess what would be called the script notes. If any screenwriters could assist with the jargon. So Flansburgh captures these two voices by changing up his vocal style, taking on the roles of both the brokenhearted man and the detached script. Also a brief moment during the bridge where he takes on another voice as a sort of passive narrator who passes on some wisdom onto the listener, even poking fun at the unusual manner that the lyrics have been set out in the process.

Musically, it doesn’t sound too far off from something that you would find in one of those old-school musical films or Broadway shows. Considering the whole purpose of the song’s lyricism, I’d have to think that the choices must have been intentional. Instead of the familiar sound of drum sticks hitting the snare, finger clicks keep the rhythm swinging alongside sweeping brushes on the snare. Smooth ‘ooh’ harmonising backing vocals arrive at points to add some more melodic hooks Keyboard-manufactured strings are performed pizzicato style, arriving into the mix during the bridge, and are then followed by the inclusion of some trumpets that make their welcome for only a brief moment before never being heard from again. Elements are added bit by bit as the track goes along, subtly but very much effective. When it comes down to it, ‘Protagonist’ is a sweet, sweet song about heartbreak though with a little twist in its setup, which I can only give props to John Flansburgh for trying out. Moves like that only show why TMBG are as great as they are in my books.

#968: They Might Be Giants – Old Pine Box

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‘Old Pine Box’ arrives as the third track on They Might Be Giants’ 2011 album Join Us and is also the first time that listeners will hear the sweet, sweet voice of John Flansburgh on there, due to the preceding two numbers being primarily sung by John Linnell. In my case, I was somewhat accustomed to the track as it had been available to hear on a four-song EP, released by the band about three months in advance of the album’s official release. The track brings another of those instances where I can’t exactly remember where I was and how I felt on that first listen. I do want to say that I would have heard it on YouTube first though. I do recall being generally excited for Join Us to arrive. The previous two albums had been tailored towards children, so to hear new adult-oriented music by the band… just felt like everything was making sense again.

As stated by Flansburgh in 2011, the song is “about a burnout but it’s not sung by a burnout.” And reading the lyrics, that sounds about right. It’s from the perspective of someone looking in at another person who just doesn’t know when to call it quits. This ‘old pine box’ goes around punching policemen, unnecessarily pulling fire alarms and generally engaging in behaviour that’s just not right for someone of their time. And still, there’s still something you’ve got to admire about them. At no point in the track does Flansburgh make this character out to be an ass. Their mother thinks they’re a bit crazy, but otherwise it’s a case where people just kinda watch and admire the energy this person has. I feel like there could possibly be a bit of self-commentary hidden in there somewhere. At that point TMBG were approaching 30 years as a band. Maybe Flansburgh was writing about himself in another person’s eyes. Just speculation.

It’s a mainly acoustic number, but produced in a way that the acoustic guitars have this large presence in the mix and provide a proper warm feeling to the proceedings. A nice boom-boom-clap “We Will Rock You” type rhythm comes in to give the track some oomph. And if you listen hard enough, you’ll make out a bass guitar that’s really low in the mix, but it has just enough of a frequency to it that you can make out some of its melodies. Things slow down for the bridge where some vocoder comes in alongside a rapid drum roll, before returning to the boom-clap of the earlier verses and fading out. The track truly does all it needs to in the minute and 50 seconds it lasts for. In the context of the album, it keeps things rolling along smoothly. On its own, just a delightful treat to pass the time.

#678: They Might Be Giants – Judy Is Your Viet Nam

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They Might Be Giants’ 2011 album Join Us turns 10 next year and, to me, it was the group’s best record they released in the last decade. I like a lot more songs on there than on say, Nanobots or Glean. It was released during a time when I was quite happy with the way things were going in life. As much as things can go when you’re 16. Either way I can’t believe that time has gone by so quickly. It’s still one of my favourite albums by They, and this song is a great offering from it.

‘Judy Is Your Viet Nam’ is the 11th track on Join Us. Sung by John Flansburgh, ‘Judy’ originated as something of a Christmas song. Lyrics from that initial idea can be heard in the background during the “Who knew she could be so reckless?” verse. Somewhere along the line the song’s intentions changed, transforming into a rowdy rocker led by a Keith Moon-esque drum performance by Marty Beller.

It tells the story of ‘Judy’ who was something of a free spirit in the 90s before time eventually caught up with her and life changes had to be made as a result. It’s a weird one to describe because the narrative is in the second-person, so Flansburgh sings as if you knew Judy yourself. We probably do know a few Judy’s as depicted here, honestly.

I think this song’s great. Really enjoy it. Enough to satisfy in the 80 seconds it lasts for.

#621: They Might Be Giants – In Fact

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To any They Might Be Giants fan who may be reading this, hello. There are dozens of us. It’s hard for TMBG fans to agree which album is the group’s best. I have my personal favourite (their debut), people may suggest Apollo 18, some Factory Showroom, really you can’t go wrong. I believe though that Join Us released in 2011, and their first ‘adult’ album in four years at the time, is one of their best and I can’t believe that it’s been almost ten years since it’s been out. I was sixteen, just finished my GCSEs, went on holiday to the USA and it was released during my time there. I think I had heard samples of all the songs somewhere before. And ‘Can’t Keep Johnny Down‘ had premiered a few months prior. It was a good time to be alive.

‘In Fact’ is the eighth track on Join Us. Sung by John Flansburgh, it’s another playful tune on the album that takes a lot of strange musical turns. A blaring trumpet – played by Curt Ramm – begins it all and wilts away before a train-like rhythm gets going and the lyrics come in. I’ve always appreciated the little details in this song. The little climbing guitar line that plays while Flansburgh sings, that *bink-bink* noise that you can hear in every other line, the way Marty Beller improvises his percussion at some parts. It’s a great song to enjoy listening to. There is a large presence of horns as well, if you like those.

Like many other TMBG songs it’s understandable to not be able to quite understand what either John Linnell or Flansburgh are specifically singing about in their songs, just because of the wordplay and surreal imagery they tend to use in their lyrics. It is no different here. What it comes down to, I think, is that the narrator is ‘a mess’ and ‘isn’t right’ (as is repeated throughout) and Flansburgh uses all of this imagery of chess pieces and mice to illustrate the absurdity of it all. I think that’s a good way to look at it. And just when you think the song is over it turns into this huge 6/8 groove with guitar feedback and a horn freak-out ending which comes out of nowhere. (It’s actually foreshadowed by the lone trumpet right at the beginning) All of this in two minutes and twenty seconds.

My iPod #289: They Might Be Giants – Dog Walker

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On This Might Be a Wiki – ‘the premier TMBG knowledge base’ – “Dog Walker” is the lowest rated track from “Join Us“. Out of the known 764 They Might Be Giants songs, “Dog Walker” is positioned right near the bottom at 731. I can kind of understand why. With its strange vocal manipulation and laid-back instrumentation, it is one that is hard to get your head around when listening to it for the first time. “Dog Walker” is weird.

Buuuuut there’s something oddly infectious about it. John Flansburgh sounds like he breathed in helium before doing the take but the vocals don’t sound as annoying or grating as they probably should. I think that is helped by the aforementioned instrumentation. Everything’s played at a cool rate. The keyboard, guitar and the rhythm section with extra percussion are all there, but are not overplayed to the extent of ruining the track’s groove.

“Dog Walker” is smooth, man. It took me a few listens to get into in. More so than any other track from “Join Us”. It has now been a favourite for a while, and is a very underrated song in a vast catalogue of material.