Tag Archives: they might be giants

#652: They Might Be Giants – It’s Not My Birthday

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‘It’s Not My Birthday’ is a well-loved song among the most dedicated of TMBG fans. Originally released as a B-Side on the ‘They’ll Need a Crane’ single in 1989 – it was given wider circulation in 1991, placed as the seventh track on the band’s compilation Miscellaneous T.

I heard it for the first time….. think in early 2011 when I was studying for my GCSEs. I had been a major follower of They for years up until then, but it was around that time that I actually got to listening to their albums in full. Those were good times…. But anyway – got around to listening to Miscellaneous T and although these were all B-Sides they nevertheless had the same authentic quality of any track that made it onto their ‘official’ albums. Some would say this track in particular should have been on Lincoln. That’s just the way things go sometimes, I guess.

It’s less than two minutes in duration but is packed with so much that you at least feel satisfied when it’s over. There’s a briskness to it, led by a bouncy rhythm and general upbeat vibe in the music. However, it’s another one of the group’s that has an looming hint of sadness to it. Mainly in the lyrics. I’ve always had that feeling towards it though I’ve never known why. They’re quite hard to fully interpret. But I think it’s about a person who is just going through life without any real purpose and is just waiting for an end with each day. Though that’s just me.

#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.

#606: They Might Be Giants – I’ve Got a Match

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Lincoln is the second album by They Might Be Giants, released in 1988 – two years following their debut. Comparing the two, I’ve always felt that Lincoln is a lot warmer in tone than its predecessor. The band’s first album contains a majority of tracks with massive drums slathered in reverb and, I guess some would say, dated production in general. It’s my personal favourite of theirs. But there’s none of that on Lincoln. Instrumentals are virtually stripped back allowing to really let the band’s lyricism and melodies shine through. There are also a lot of sincere songs concerning romantic relationships on Lincoln which tend to detail the downfalls and break-ups that can occur. ‘I’ve Got a Match’ is one of them.

Whenever They Might Be Giants write about relationships they tend to skip the melodrama that comes with a lot of standard love songs. No over-exaggerated lyrical clichés or musical elements. Sung by John Linnell, ‘I’ve Got a Match’ details a relationship that begs to wonder how it even started – one that totally lacks in sympathy, trust and commitment. Its verses consist of overbearing demands and backhanded insults before building into a chorus that denounces love as ‘smelly’ and states the futility of the couple’s romance.

Musically, the song is characterised by a quiet verse/loud chorus dynamic. The first verse its just Linnell’s lone vocal, John Flansburgh’s soft guitar chords on the right, a synth-harp (I’ll guess) on the left and the rhythm section. Then just as Linnell finishes the last line, the track suddenly bursts into a soaring chorus with the introduction of an accordion, vocal harmonies and a pulsating drum rhythm. Linnell also belts out the highest note of the whole track during this time too. It’s a very cathartic release that comes after the agitated vibe of the verses.

It’s a real gem. I almost feel like it could have a been a single in its day. The group have rarely ever played it live because the two Johns supposedly got too burned out on it. Perhaps they spent a lot of time trying to perfect it in the studio? It came out rather well if that’s the case.

#581: They Might Be Giants – I Should Be Allowed to Think

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Happy new year everybody! 21 days in…. I’m sorry, but I’m now officially a working man. I just haven’t had the time to get back into this. Well, there have been weekends obviously…. but I just haven’t had the inspiration and energy to write. 10am-6pm is a long day, I tell you! I’ll try and get back to the once a week thing on here. Emphasis on ‘try’. Though it will more than likely be a sporadic post here and there.

And so the first track of 2018 is one by They Might Be Giants, who coincidentally just released their 20th(!) album entitled I Like Fun on Friday. Haven’t heard the whole thing yet apart from its title track and ‘I Left My Body‘. I probably should. I leave you a link to its iTunes page where you can buy it for a reasonable price.

‘I Should Be Allowed to Think’ is on the band’s fifth album John Henry, released way back in 1994. Their longest album by a mile, almost an hour in length, it was the first where they performed as a full band with bass guitar and percussion backing John Linnell and John Flansburgh. Thinking on it, I personally see it as their way of showing that they were still able to provide their usual versatility and unique style of songwriting even without their drum machines and backing tapes of the past.

Like many other of the group’s songs, it’s told from a viewpoint which you can look at in two ways… You can listen to the narrator and take their points at face value… or they’re lying and something else is up. Knowing They Might Be Giants, it’s usually the latter. This narrator in particular feels injustice from seeing these rubbish bands advertised anywhere, and sees this as reason to say whatever they want and have their ideas heard by anybody – no matter how stupid they may be. They feel as if there’s this big conspiracy against them, when really they’re probably just thinking about it a bit too much.

This is a great song, another mainly penned by John Linnell though Flansburgh sings in the bridge. I do find myself humming along to its bass line when hearing it, particularly the second half of the chorus. Fair play to Tony Maimone, who plays the bass a fair few of the songs on John Henry. It’s a standard rock song I would say, although it’s not really because it’s They Might Be Giants. There’s always something a bit different when it comes to them. In a good way.

‘I Should Be Allowed’ was recorded on the band’s home equipment and could be listened to on the phone through their Dial-a-Song service before the song was officially released. Thanks to the Internet, that demo version can be heard all the time. It is below.

#579: They Might Be Giants – I Palindrome I

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I may or may not have mentioned that They Might Be Giants are one of my favourite musical acts bar none. I enjoy a large majority of their songs and many of their albums hit that sweet spot. I wrote my dissertation on them that’s how much I find their material so interesting. I’ve made many a post about their songs in the past, and there are many more to come in the future. Surely I must have said why I enjoy them so much and how much their music means to me and how they came into my life by chance. I can trust you to look back for me.

‘I Palindrome I’ can be found on Apollo 18, the fourth album by Brooklyn alt-rock band They Might Be Giants. Another display of infectious melodies and witty lyricism packed into just over two minutes, the John Linnell written composition kicks in straight after the abrupt ending of Flansburgh’s ‘Dig My Grave‘ which starts the album off.

I don’t really know what to say about this track. I know I like it. It’s not even one of my favourites from the album, though it is in general for many a fan of the band. But every time Linnell comes in with that “Someday Mother will die and I get the money” line with the peppy rhythm and guitars behind him, I’m always singing along. He and Flansburgh are simply great at writing a sequence of notes that are meant to be sung, I can’t say much else.

Here are a few clever/funny things about the track that could interest you:

It is 2:22 minutes long – a numerical palindrome.
John Flansburgh sings two palindromes at various points in the track – Seek ’em out.
The bridge is a form of antimetabole…. quite the fancy word.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas.