From: owner-tmbg-list To: tmbg-digest Subject: They Might Be Giants Digest V1 #13 Reply-To: tmbg-list@tmbg.org Errors-To: owner-tmbg-list Precedence: bulk They Might Be Giants Digest Thursday, 28 September 1995 Volume 01 : Number 013 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Matt Powers Date: Thu, 28 Sep 1995 09:18:14 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: cha, right Re-interp of certain lyrics, now that I understand who the prodigal son is: If that honey would come back we would throw such a party Drink and cook the prodigal son Fondue forks for everybody. Okay, first I thought that the drink and cook referred to wine and dine. After all, that sort of wordplay is common enough with They. Then someone pointed out that it might refer to the Communion. So I followed that train of thought. But now I'm back to "wine and dine." The prodigal son has not apparently ever referred to Jesus (Christianity is not my forte', obviously). BUT I still think the song is about Jesus. Here's my re-interp of the above lyrics: If Jesus came back We'd throw a big party We'd even celebrate the return of the prodigal son, because Jesus would be back in town. Fondue forks for everybody See, I think the idea is that nobody celebrates the return of the prodigal son anymore. But if Jesus returned, people would be as forgiving as the father (God) in the parable. And even the people we didn't like could have some fondue. How's that for a quick recovery? m@t ------------------------------ From: Robert Bird Date: Thu, 28 Sep 1995 12:15:22 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: cha, right At 10:16 AM 9/28/95 -0500, you wrote:>> >> Yes indeed, but the prodigal son is not Jesus. See below. > >Thank You!!!!! I was going crazy here (driving people in the computer >lab insane, I might add) screaming about how the prodigal son is not >Jesus. The prodigal son is a parable about how God will take sinners >back into the fold with open arms (throw themm a party even) Somehow, >I doubt Jesus would go around getting drunk and buying any little >piece of flesh he could pick up off the street. He seems a much nicer >guy than that. > And I'm Catholic. So some of us learned it right. > >Cathy > You're right, the BIBLICAL prodigal son was not Jesus. Ah, but could the prodigal son being referred to in the song be Him? He DID go away (according to the bible), and I would assume that there would be some celebration upon his return. The assumption that Hot Cha = Jesus seems (IMHO) to make the rest of the song fall right into place. Going away (twice), everybody's eyes being closed, drinking and cooking, they all seem to make sense in that context. I'm sure all of this has already been said, but I just wanted to point out that some of us with this interpretation also "learned it right". :) Bob - -- (c)1995 Robert Bird rbird@utk.edu http://cobweb.utcc.utk.edu/~bird University of Tennessee, Knoxville Materials Science and Engineering I speak only for myself and a few other selected split personalities. THIS DISCLAIMER IS NOT REQUIRED BY LEADER KIBO. beable beable beable ------------------------------ From: apf@caess1.cae.aro.allied.com (Adam P. Fistler) Date: Thu, 28 Sep 95 12:33:18 EDT Subject: Re: Particle - What products do NyQuil make. > all I can say is "Excellent Smythers" but can you tell me > what NyQuil makes or what product it is. Well Nyquil is a cough syurp. But I don't know what a Nyquil driver is..... ------------------------------ From: apf@caess1.cae.aro.allied.com (Adam P. Fistler) Date: Thu, 28 Sep 95 12:35:02 EDT Subject: Re: cha, right Somehow, > I doubt Jesus would go around getting drunk and buying any little > piece of flesh he could pick up off the street. But I thought he was a big fan of wine. ------------------------------ From: zen kitty Date: Thu, 28 Sep 1995 11:47:53 -0500 Subject: Re: Particle - What products do NyQuil make. At 12:33 PM 9/28/95 EDT, you wrote: >> all I can say is "Excellent Smythers" but can you tell me >> what NyQuil makes or what product it is. > >Well Nyquil is a cough syurp. But I don't know what a Nyquil driver is..... > Nyquil, the nighttime snuffuling sneezing aching stuffyhead fever so you can rest medicine, has the effect of virtually knocking you out cold. It contains a large ammount of alcohol, and puts you to sleep very fast when you take it. So, if you put away a bottle of Nyquil before heading out on the road, it would probably affect your driving. If you saw a Nyquil driver coming towards you in the other lane, you'd probably want him to get out your way. paul ------------------------------ From: "The Princess Bridesmaid" Date: Thu, 28 Sep 1995 12:56:20 EST Subject: Re: cha, right > You're right, the BIBLICAL prodigal son was not Jesus. Ah, but could the > prodigal son being referred to in the song be Him? He DID go away > (according to the bible), and I would assume that there would be some > celebration upon his return. The assumption that Hot Cha = Jesus seems > (IMHO) to make the rest of the song fall right into place. Going away > (twice), everybody's eyes being closed, drinking and cooking, they all seem > to make sense in that context. I'm sure all of this has already been said, > but I just wanted to point out that some of us with this interpretation also > "learned it right". :) > > Bob My problem was not with people saying, for interp's sake, that the Johns were referring to the prodigal son as Jesus, but that people were saying the prodigal son WAS Jesus, when Jesus was the one telling the story. But also, assuming that Hot Cha=Jesus is different than the prodigal son=Jesus. There is nothing in the song to make one say "oh! so Hot Cha is the prodigal son" unless you go with Ben's theory that "drink and cook" means wine and dine. If you subscribe to the communion theory, that brings up the Prodigal son=Jesus thing that I have a problem with. Basically what that long explanation means is that I don't agree with the most recent theory that "drink and cook the prodigal son" is referring to the Catholic belief in transubstantiation. I think that there is a logic problem there. I'll go and listen intently to Hot Cha tonight, and see if I can come up with something better, to use as an alternative. (could always be referring to canabalism) Cathy ******************************************** "I am not the only dust my mother raised" They Might Be Giants Catherine Gurry catherine.gurry@Agnes.ScottLAN.edu ********************************************* ------------------------------ From: "The Princess Bridesmaid" Date: Thu, 28 Sep 1995 12:57:38 EST Subject: Re: cha, right > Somehow, > > I doubt Jesus would go around getting drunk and buying any little > > piece of flesh he could pick up off the street. > > But I thought he was a big fan of wine. > Everybody back then drank wine because it was safer than the water. The key is Moderation. Remember, Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins. Cathy ******************************************** "I am not the only dust my mother raised" They Might Be Giants Catherine Gurry catherine.gurry@Agnes.ScottLAN.edu ********************************************* ------------------------------ From: john@msd.measurex.com (John Pletikapich) Date: Thu, 28 Sep 95 13:04:54 EDT Subject: NyQuil and other topics > > all I can say is "Excellent Smythers" but can you tell me > what NyQuil makes or what product it is. > > I envisage that it is a feather pen from the NIKE corporation! > I'll speak up on this one if that's okay. NyQuil is a nighttime anti-histamine/decongestant. It really knocks some people on their butts -- there is now DayQuil which is less soporific. If anyone needs detailed info on these or any products made by Procter and Gamble, just ask. My wife works there and has easy access to a staggering amount of info on their products. Opinion: I think P&G has a little more to worry about than a cute little song by our two heros. Just off the top of my head: lawsuit against Bankers Trust for mismanaged securities; lawsuit against Business week for right to publish facts re: previous lawsuit; continuing tangles with animal rights groups re: product testing; continuing PR campaign to combat wackos who say the company is run by Satanists... The list goes on. But, hey, I'm not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV, so feel free to take that all with a grain of salt. - -- John J. Pletikapich john@msd.measurex.com ------------------------------ From: "The Princess Bridesmaid" Date: Thu, 28 Sep 1995 13:00:54 EST Subject: Re: cha, right > I can't believe that no one here seems to get the "joke"... Just > because Jesus was not the son in the parable does not necessarily mean > that the Johns aren't calling him that for humorous/political reasons ;) That's absolutely true. My problem is that it sounded like people weren't assuming that it was yet another example of the Johns having fun with christianity, but that this was really true. I have no problem with your assumption, except that I still don't get the joke. Sorry I keep going off on this, but my priest just used that parable in church like last week, so it's very fresh in my mind. Cathy ******************************************** "I am not the only dust my mother raised" They Might Be Giants Catherine Gurry catherine.gurry@Agnes.ScottLAN.edu ********************************************* ------------------------------ From: Paul Leonard Date: Thu, 28 Sep 1995 12:07:48 -0500 Subject: Re: Particle - What products do NyQuil make. At 04:39 PM 9/28/95 +1000, Mark Sehler wrote: >all I can say is "Excellent Smythers" but can you tell me >what NyQuil makes or what product it is. Well, I'm not particle, but i DO know what NyQUil is -- it's the nighttime sniffling sneezig coughing aching stuffy-head fever so you can rest medicine. (it also contains a fair amount of alcohol in its liquid form.) paul - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ----- [BBC] Is it true that you're a connoisseur of the classics? [George Harrison] No. It's just a rumor. ------------------------------ From: Particle Date: Thu, 28 Sep 1995 13:17:09 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: Particle - What products do NyQuil make. On Thu, 28 Sep 1995, zen kitty wrote: > At 12:33 PM 9/28/95 EDT, you wrote: > >> all I can say is "Excellent Smythers" but can you tell me > >> what NyQuil makes or what product it is. > > > >Well Nyquil is a cough syurp. But I don't know what a Nyquil driver is..... > > > > Nyquil, the nighttime snuffuling sneezing aching stuffyhead fever so you can > rest medicine, has the effect of virtually knocking you out cold. It > contains a large ammount of alcohol, and puts you to sleep very fast when > you take it. So, if you put away a bottle of Nyquil before heading out on > the road, it would probably affect your driving. If you saw a Nyquil driver > coming towards you in the other lane, you'd probably want him to get out > your way. > > paul What he said. :) Particle (rgauthie@ic.sunysb.edu)__/_\__ __/_____\__ Truth is Paradox __/_________\__ __/_____________\__ ------------------------------ From: Matthew James Date: Thu, 28 Sep 1995 13:52:58 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: Particle - What products do NyQuil make. > > To particle > > all I can say is "Excellent Smythers" but can you tell me > what NyQuil makes or what product it is. > > I envisage that it is a feather pen from the NIKE corporation! Hey hey, Don't have any Nyquil down there in Oz? I like the feather pen from NIKE idea, that's funny. Actually, Nyquil is a product of some company (I can't remember who) and it is the stuffy head, aching, headache relieving cold medicine that makes you VERY drowsy. What is "Excellent Smythers"? (is that like Mr. Smythers from the Simpsons or something like that?) Talk to ya later. - -- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Matt James mjames@love.loyola.edu, elrond@charm.net Loyola College "I'm not the only dust my mother raised."--TMBG "Look at the size of that thing!"--Wedge "Hail to the king, baby"-Ash Anything Box--U.S. synthpop claim to fame Warsaw-Joy Division-New Order - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ From: Russ Josephson x722 Date: Thu, 28 Sep 95 11:57:02 MDT Subject: Super-Fueled Freaksicle SUBJECT: They Might Be Giants TO: tmbg-list FROM: Russ Josephson 1217 N Aspen Dr. Berthoud, CO 80513-1040 HOME: 970-532-0453 WORK: 303-516-4722 DATE: 09/28/95 FAX: 303-581-1088 FILE: EMAIL: russj@btc.adaptec.com =============================================================================== It's too bad that the 2nd B-sides compilation was shelved. I was eagerly waiting to purchase it. I'm still not going to buy "Why does the sun shine" EP, although I love the song. It is available in lo-fi mono on the TMBG web site as an .au file. By the way, last Doctor Demento played the original version of "Why Does the Sun Shine" by Tom Glazer on his show of September 10, 1995, as well as "Particle Man", which is on his 25th anniversary double-CD release on Rhino records. ------------------------------ From: Keith Hyman Date: Thu, 28 Sep 1995 13:32:25 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Back to Boat of Car Ben or Been suggests the following be interpreted if possible. I agree it is somewhat daunting in its nonsense, but here goes: (Lyrics as provided by his truly, B or B:) >I took my boat for a car I took by boat (and traded it in) for a car >I took my car for a ride (Speaks for itself.) >I was trying to get somewhere but now I'm following >The traces of your fingernails >That run along the winshield on the >Boat of Car I was trying to get somewhere (i.e., I was driving my (new) car but now (my eyes) follow The marks your fingernails made on the (not-so-clean) windshield on my (was boat, now) car. Okay, fine. But how did the fingernail marks get on the windshield? And I don't have the disk insert here to check further for lyrics. Alright, you needed to yawn anyway. ================================================================================ Keith Hyman | Nobody tells; everyone understands it's everybody Nashville TN 37221 USA | For Nobody. Anyone for anybody? hymankk70@ccvax.mmc.edu| I will be responsible For Nobody. | ...Gentle Giant/The Missing Piece ------------------------------ End of They Might Be Giants Digest V1 #13 *****************************************