Tag Archives: they might be giants

My iPod #346: They Might Be Giants – Exquisite Dead Guy

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“Exquisite Dead Guy” is a weird song. It’s weirdly mysterious and dramatic at the same time even though not a lot happens in it. The only overdubs present are those on Linnell’s voice, and apart from that there some cellos, a bass and drums for most of its duration. As a result the track sounds a bit empty, always feeling like something additional needs to be added. But I like it like that. Maybe that’s what attracted me to it.

There are some thories about the ‘exquisite dead guy’ in question being Jesus Christ, and the ascending ‘ba-da-ba’ vocal line is meant to represent Morse code. Those things go way over my head. The song is one ‘of admiration of a departed hero‘, so that’s what I’ll go ahead and see it as.

It’s quite the unconventional track. If the aforementioned ‘ba-da-ba’ scat vocals are the chorus, then those make up the majority of the two minutes the song lasts for. And when those stop Linnell, in a low register, sings about seeing this dead man wherever he goes. Things become surprisingly introspective during the middle part, but the song then returns to repeat the vocal line twice more before coming to an abrupt end.

On a side note, the ‘E’ section finishes tomorrow. Time has flown. What song is next? Wait and see.

My iPod #345: They Might Be Giants – Experimental Film

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During all the years you are at primary school, you are free to do whatever you want. No exams, or pressures of having to go and work bothered you. Nothing matters. You have all the time in the world. I used that time to watch the television, and go on the Internet. It was on the latter that I found Homestar Runner one day when I was nine. I visited that website for the next five years until production died and the creators went on a hiatus from it. But I was always entertained by its hilarious characters, Strong Bad ‘SBEmails’ and toooons. Good times. I hear activity on the website is gonna start again soon. Can’t wait. Bring it on.

At that point, I didn’t know who They Might Be Giants were. So I pretty much watched the “Experimental Film” without thinking too much about it. It was an alright track, but I thought ‘They’ were just a random band who were friends with The Brother Chaps who asked them to do a video. It wasn’t until later on when it really hit me that my favourite Internet cartoon had collaborated with one of my favourite bands. Pretty weird. But I’m glad it happened.

Away from all the back story, “Experimental Film” starts off They Might Be Giants album “The Spine“. Written by John Linnell, the track is about a guy who is working on an experimental film. Quite obvious. He’s got it all planned out, and nobody knows about it. But during the chorus he reveals that everyone (friends, family, listeners?) will be involved in the making of this film alongside celebratory “YEAH” backing vocals, and is very ambitious about it’s outcome even if the film is beyond his own understanding.

Great way to begin an album. A standard three minute track with a very welcoming and happy tone about it. Homestar Runner has good taste.

My iPod #340: They Might Be Giants – Everything Right Is Wrong Again

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They Might Be Giants are known to be unorthodox when it comes to making music. The two Johns seem to be able to use any instrument or find some weird recording technique to produce a song. And they will never disappoint in giving you something different with each album they come out with. But most importantly every album of theirs is a fun and entertaining listen, and nothing sums up those two adjectives then They Might Be Giants’ debut album. Look at this album cover and tell me you don’t feel just a bit happier after looking at it.

It all began with this track. “Everything Right Is Wrong Again”, is about exactly what the song title tells you. Everything is going bad and the narrator only wants to know when things get better again. And while this may be a bit dire, this is all sung against some of the happiest music that’s been written. Sometimes it reminds me of that kind of music that would be a theme tune to a comedy show or something (there’s just something about that chord progression during the “all the dishes” part that makes me feel it should be in a cartoon). Or it may just be the reference to a comedy film that is made in the refrain.

I think if you were to ask me what track I thought really depicted what They Might Be Giants are all about, it would probably have to be this one. Most of the themes the group use are covered in the two-and-a-half minutes “Everything” lasts for and the track is cleverly written with humorous lyrics and busy rhythm. It slows down only for the middle section before resetting back to its original pace for the last chorus, where the keyboards rise in volume and perform the most joyous, almost-classical sounding piece of music bringing a triumphant end to a brilliant opening track. The fun carries on for eighteen more songs after.

The post is over now.

My iPod #327: They Might Be Giants – The End of the Tour

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“The End of the Tour” was a track I heard around the same time as I heard “AKA Driver“, “Dinner Bell“, “Ana Ng“, “Destination Moon“, and many other They Might Be Giants songs for the first time. And that was when, if you’ve read my posts on those few songs you will know, when I was on Yahoo’s Launch site.

I’ve never really cared to think about what this song is about, or what it could mean. I feel very sentimental when I listen to it. Even though I wasn’t alive when this song first came out in 1994, it somehow makes me want to reminisce about friends from the past and other unforgettable moments.

This song is about the end of something…. not just a tour. I think the whole ‘tour’ is a metaphor of life, actually. Whatever. Nothing to care that much about.

It’s a very relieving and comforting way to end the hour-long smorgasbord that is “John Henry”, especially as it comes after the monster “Stomp Box” where you wonder where the album could possibly go afterwards.

My iPod #313: They Might Be Giants – The Edison Museum

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“The Edison Museum” is They Might Be Giants’ “endearing” tribute to the Thomas Edison National Historical Park, which is actually in New Jersey. I put endearing in quotation marks because the the track is quite the opposite. The lyrics and music make it out to be one of the creepiest and mysterious places to exist on the face of the Earth. The track even uses a line from the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film, which I only just realised and makes this track a bit more comedic than I thought it was.

The use of only horns, a keyboard and a vibraband mimicking the sound of a sped up voice recording give the track a very eerie and spooky atmosphere. That’s also emphasised by radio DJ Nick Hill’s vocal. He sang  “I Hear the Wind Blow” in the “Fingertips” track on “Apollo 18”, if you didn’t know. His low voice guides the listener through the dusty corridors of the haunted building, which is apparently used as a threat to children if they don’t stop arguing and yet is still a wondrous place which amazes the many people that lay their eyes on it.

This track may be hard to talk about. It’s not one that would be regularly requested for the band to play at their shows that’s for sure. But it is still an interesting one to listen to nonetheless. It’s the last song on the band’s album “Long Tall Weekend“. It brings a very abrupt end to it; I can remember listening through the album for the first time when this song finished expecting something to follow it up. The last line is sung, and then it just stops – that is the end of the album. But that’s due to the fact that the track was originally much longer, but was cut down to the final version that was released.

It is unusual. But that’s what They Might Be Giants do occasionally.