Tag Archives: they might be giants

My iPod #240: They Might Be Giants – Dark and Metric

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“Dark and Metric” is a track from the album “Long Tall Weekend” by They Might Be Giants.

Again, I’m left with little to say about this one. If only I actually knew more about music like modes, and steps etc. etc. I would be able to tell you a lot more. But there’s something about the way it sounds that didn’t feel right when I first listened to it. There’s no phasing, panning or any special effects, just the vocal, keyboard and the rhythm section which are then joined by a slide guitar nearing the end. It leaves the song sounding a bit empty, and quite uneasy. It grew on me eventually.

The melody’s perky but matched with lyrics about living in a town where nothing happens; the narrator puts on a brave face but inside knows that they will become miserable at some point.

See ya.

My iPod #236: They Might Be Giants – Damn Good Times

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When I started listening to They Might Be Giants properly in 2004, they had just released their latest album “The Spine“, and were due to release this album where each song was dedicated to various music venues located in states of the USA.

“Damn Good Times” can be found on “The Spine”, and its video above was able to be viewed on the band’s official website. It is animated, a bit weird and oddly similar to the plot of Twilight.

John Flansburgh normally writes the rockers in They Might Be Giants, and this song is no different. The rhythm section of Danny Weikauf and Marty Beller are really on point, there’s a lot of crash cymbal action during the verses and the bass slide during the chorus and accompanied with the lyrics about concerning a naturally talented lady, the tune is very uplifting.

The actual song finishes about a minute and a half in before transforming into this slow jam with a guitar solo which gradually builds pace before coming to an end. 58BPM to around 130 apparently.

Yep, TMBG never disappoint.

My iPod #230: They Might Be Giants – Cyclops Rock

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This is the end… for now. I’ve come to the last of the ‘Cs’, and starting from tomorrow there won’t be posts for a while. I enjoy typing these; I hope you like reading them. I may come across as a bit repetitive or just silly in general, telling you how I feel about songs and trying to ‘review’ them without having technical music knowledge is quite challenging, but it gives me something to do everyday… so it’s all good.

“Cyclops Rock” is a tune from They Might Be Giants’ album “Mink Car” from 2001. After John Linnell’s track about a mesmerizing hair cut comes John Flansburgh’s about….. I’m not so sure. I don’t want to say the lyrics are nonsensical or random because there probably is a clear meaning behind them…. I can’t tell. What does “cyclops rocking” entail? How is it different from plain rocking? I’m only joking.

It doesn’t really matter when it comes TMBG. All of their songs have that sort of thing about them. Who cares what the song is trying to say when it rocks as hard as this. Starting with three chimes of tubular bells, “Cyclops” launches into life with Flansburgh shouting the chorus at you along with some great guitar playing and sliding saxophone notes by Linnell on the side. Full of energy, very quick, a cameo by Cerys Matthews in the bridge (which was actually meant for the late Joe Strummer at one point). Three things you can expect from this song.

Well, that’s it. Cs are done. Bring on the Ds.

See ya.

My iPod #215: They Might Be Giants – Cowtown

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“Cowtown” is the second song from They Might Be Giants’ second album “Lincoln”. I first heard the track on the old LaunchCast radio/website that Yahoo used to own. I won’t go on about that; I’ve talked about it before in many posts that I can’t be bothered to link into this sentence.

I was probably about nine/ten and what instantly struck me, apart from the galloping clarinet introduction, was the overall tone and mood of the song when John Flansburgh starts singing the chorus and the rest of the instruments come in. There is something very warm, inviting, and full of pride about it. Almost got me thinking Cowtown was an actual place that existed somewhere, and if it didn’t could someone think of a plan to construct it right away.

Although primarily written by Linnell, both Johns sing the track which is great because their voices work of each other so well. And with so many rhymes in the lines and lyrical wordplay, it is a shoe in with the many They Might Be Giants tunes that rely on those kinds of things on… well, almost all of their albums. But the first four especially.

My iPod #209: They Might Be Giants – Contrecoup

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Today’s track is brought to you by They Might Be Giants, a band I have written about many times in the past. This time, it is “Contrecoup” from their 2007 album “The Else” that I will be typing about for today’s entry.

They Might Be Giants seem to be able to come up with songs about just about anything. Shoehorns with teeth, spiraling shapes, stomp boxes, you name it. Even though those things all sound silly to the ear, those are tunes that you better believe have a lot of thought put into them. You wouldn’t be able to create with a song that is from the perspective of a nightlight in a child’s bedroom. That idea would never occur.

This song however was made really easily, and was created way before its proper release in 2007. Two years prior, John Linnell was on a radio show. The show said, make a song using the words ‘contrecoup’, ‘craniosophic’ and ‘limerent’. The track was made then and there. It was changed up a bit for “The Else”, but that is the story of how “Contrecoup” was born.

Musically, the song is quite calm. It chugs along at a sturdy pace driven by an acoustic riff with light guitar and keyboard vamps. The song does troll you nearing the end when it suddenly starts to build pace…. it fades out to silence, but I’m still left satisfied.