Errors-To: owner-tmbg-digest@tmbg.org Reply-To: tmbg-digest@tmbg.org Sender: owner-tmbg-digest@tmbg.org Precedence: bulk From: owner-tmbg-digest@tmbg.org To: tmbg-digest@tmbg.org Subject: tmbg-list Digest #2-271 tmbg-list Digest, Volume 2, Number 271 Friday, 4 October 1996 Today's Topics: CMJ Review Re: orders of albums Re: CMJ Review Ruprecht, Murphy's Law, and Malicious Michigan Re: Florida shows my first tmbg album Re: Bootlegs? Makers of NyQuil Re:Order of Albums my homepage part II Re: TMBG on Larry Sanders orders of albums Re: CMJ Review Stupid question Yet Another FS Review Re: CMJ Review Re: Yet Another FS Review Re: orders of albums Re: CMJ Review Re: Yet Another FS Review listen up, if you're around ann arbor (none) TMBG Video C'mon people, please (was: Re:CMJ Review) Re: orders of albums Re: orders of albums RE: CMJ Re: orders of albums Re: CMJ Review Escapades in Malicious Michigan: The Horrible Planet of the Apes Re: CMJ Review Re: Florida shows Way Behind The Times d'oh! RE: CMJ Re: tmbg-list Digest #2-270 RE: CMJ www.tmbg.com Re: Yet Another FS Review Re: CMJ Review Semi-Important News :) Re: C'mon people, please (was: Re:CMJ Review) official website WWW.TMBG.COM is UP! The Official Web-Site hootie without the giants Re: tmbg-list Digest #2-270 Administrivia: For all administrative issues, such as change of address, withdrawal from the list, etc., send a message to the following address: tmbg-digest-request@tmbg.org --------------------------------------------------------------------- The views expressed herein are those of the individual authors. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996 02:00:32 -0500 From: James Hall Subject: CMJ Review Hi All :) I just got my CMJ magazine in the mail, and they had a review of FS... It wasn't very positive, though *pout*... ---begin quote--- THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS / Factory Showroom / Elektra I have no idea if They Might Be Giants have any intention of breaking up any time soon, but Factory Showroom might be a good place to call it a day - to quit while they're still, barely, ahead. "I'm not dead/And I won't be 'till my head falls off," one of the Johns sings (12 years on, it's still impossible to tell Linnell and Flansburgh apart). But the quicksilver wit and unstoppable melodies of their early records are increasingly replaced by bludgeoning rock arrangements and unfunny whimsy ("XTC vs. Adam Ant/The future will decide"). They get points for covering Cub's "New York City," but lose them again for neutering the song's dizzy sexiness. And too many of their own songs here are the kind of half-a-joke knockoffs they used to stick on singles as bonus tracks - which, even more ominously, is where two of them first showed up, years ago. Still, parts of Factory Showroom incandesce brightly. "S-E-X-X-Y" is a funk parody with hysterical swooping disco strings; "I Can Hear You," recorded on Thomas Edison's original wax-cylinder equipment, is an elegantly condensed meditation on the history of lo-fi voice-transmitting equipment ("I can supersize that/Please bring your car around"). The reccord closes with "The Bells Are Ringing," a classic TMBG combination of rapid-fire patter, snare drum and tinntinabulation. Clever, clean and sad, it sounds like the end of something, and if we're lucky, maybe it is. DOUGLAS WOLK ---end quote--- I thought that was a pretty cruddy review, especially that last sentence. I've only heard the realaudio version of the whole CD, but I loved it. Maybe I like Them too much to be objective or something, but I don't see why that last sentence would've been deserved. James ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 03 Aug 1996 00:19:48 -0700 From: Colin Ferm Subject: Re: orders of albums Hi, I was on the list for a while a couple of months back, and I'm... well... back. Anyways. The first album I ever heard was A18 and I fell in love with They. I had to own every album shortly there after. I think, however, that if one can listen to and like the Self titled ablum then you should be able to like the more mainstream stuff, unless you like the wierd, which I do, though I like the later stuff just as much. I have no Idea what I'm saying. It's probably been mentioned, but has anybody seen Kicking and Screaming? It has "Don't Let's Start" playing in the background. It's a bad movie, and not even the one little part with TMBG in the background make it worth seeing. If you do see it, don't expect it to jump out at you. All you can hear is the bass and the drum beat in the background, as though it's comming from a room next door. Anyways... And that's all I got ta say about that. Colin *------------------------------------------------------- spud@hooked.net http://www.hooked.net/~spud/ "Trust your Hedges Only To A Trained Telecomunications Expert," -The Pacific Bell Spokesperson ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 04:46:14 -0400 (EDT) From: "Mike Rose, from Totonot" Subject: Re: CMJ Review On Thu, 3 Oct 1996, James Hall wrote: > Hi All :) > > I just got my CMJ magazine in the mail, and they had a review of FS... It > wasn't very positive, though *pout*... > > ---begin quote--- > THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS / Factory Showroom / Elektra > > I have no idea if They Might Be Giants have any intention of breaking up > any time soon, but Factory Showroom might be a good place to call it a day > .... it sounds like the end of > something, and if we're lucky, maybe it is. DOUGLAS WOLK > > ---end quote--- > This guy is obviously full of SHIT. You have to have your head up your ass to even suggest that this band should call it quits. On TMBG's worst day they're better than almost anything that passes for popular music these days. You've really gotta hate music or have extremely rigid tastes to suggest that ANY band with integrity should pack it in, cause the world needs tolerance and not this negative bullshit that really pisses me off. Douglas Wolk, you're an asshole. Oh yeah, he can't hear me through this thing. Mike. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 04:52:07 -0400 (EDT) From: Amy Subject: Ruprecht, Murphy's Law, and Malicious Michigan Well, I had the great fortune to meet the one and only Ruprecht and his one and only brother John tonight. I made it to Lansing, despite Ruprecht's "detailed" directions, and it was a great adventure, although good ol' Murphy was there, making everythign go wrong. I drove 3 hours to Lansing Michigan to see a Wally Pleasant concert, and of course to meet Rup and John, and Wally ended up not being there. He's been there for the last 3 months, and will be there for the next 3 weeks at least. But not the day I decided to drive 200+ miles each way :) Anyhow, a string of bad luck followed but it was a very memorable trip! And to make things even better, when we were driving around, James K. Polk came on the radio! We turned it up really loud, although it's not the kind of song you can "crank". It was the first time for me to hear the new version, and I think the "la" section should be put back in!!! The singing saw just didn't do it for me :) Anyhow, I urge you all to get to know Ruprecht. Even if he is rather sarcastic and instigates a lot of debates :) Amy :) cowtown@tmbg.org Half of the people in the world are below average. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Florida shows From: downmind@juno.com (Amanda G Douberly) Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996 06:12:45 EDT On Thu, 3 Oct 1996 00:20:28 -0400 NitpickR@aol.com writes: >There was a hint that Pearl Jam could be there Sunday, but I think it >was a joke. no, but George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars with be there with the Parlament Funkadelic, which is just about as funny! :) Amanda D. downmind@juno.com www.GeoCities.com/SunsetStrip/5578 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996 07:45:13 -0400 From: ntodd@uvm-gen.emba.uvm.edu (John Galt) Subject: my first tmbg album The first time I heard tmbg was when my best friend received Flood for his birthday. This made a gigantic impression on me, and was so strange because it was totally unexpected. I loved the cd immediately, although it took me a while before I aquired any more albums. My friend bought me Apollo 18 for my birthday, then i got tmbg, lincoln, misc t., & John henry, in that order. Now my fav. album is Apollo, followed close behind by Lincoln & TmBg, then Flood, then john henry, then misc. t. So what originally attracted me to Them (like many others I'm sure) is not what I consider their best stuff now. Unite under Persephone's banner! Nathan, advocate of the virtue of silly things. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> Penguins have a very odd method of telling jokes. First the penguin scampers up to you. Next he relates to you the most absurd tale he can imagine. After a minute of looking blankly at you, the penguin laughs hideously while frolupping about in a most ridiculus fashion. Finally, he most solemnly whacks you over the head with a frozen otter. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996 07:04:36 -0700 From: Linda Cowan Subject: Re: Bootlegs? NitpickR@aol.com wrote: > > Hello 41- > > I have posted several messages today, a new thing for me, but here is what I > was wondering... > > Does anybody have a copy of any of the shows at the Coronet Theater in > Evanston IL, Last year? I realize now that those were really good shows, and > I don't happen to have the tapes to any of them. I will more than compensate > you... > > AdamHmmm, unfortunately I didn't tape it, though it was a good show when I went because the night I went they played a mix of all the albums and not just old stuff or JH stuff like They said they would on the other nights. Out of curiousity, were you(Adam) there? Trillian P.S. The pasta place next door had good food and I think there was even a coupn for it with the tickets or something. ------------------------------ Subject: Makers of NyQuil Date: Thu, 3 Oct 96 8:06:20 EDT From: John Pletikapich >From: "David K. Lapides" > >So... whichever drug company that makes Nyquil (I think its >Parke-Davis) could argue that people are buying JH because it has >something to do with Nyquil. NyQuil is made by Richardson-Vicks, a division of Procter & Gamble. -- John john@msd.measurex.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996 07:11:14 -0700 From: Linda Cowan Subject: Re:Order of Albums Well, when I first heard Them it was on a dubbed tape (which was a dub, of a dub, of a dub, etc. that started at a military base somewhere) that had Flood and Apollo 18 on it so I don't think the album order relly matters because I loved Them immediatly as did all y friends the tape went through. Thanks to Mary, Amy, and Laura in Lexington, my formerly-fellow TMBGers until I moved to Indiana. Trillian ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996 08:21:28 -0700 From: John Lambert Subject: my homepage part II i received many requests for links like i asked for... all except for amy/seta and tim lloyd.. who's came in last after i had updated my page... don't worry you'll be in there really soon anyone else who wants a link? mailto:greenjello@tmbg.org -- Green Jello "Hammer down, rabbit ears!" - "Rabid Child" TMBG http://w3.one.net/~jkl/ ------------------------------ From: KdsInThHal@aol.com Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 10:46:38 -0400 Subject: Re: TMBG on Larry Sanders >>Did anybody tape this appearance. I'm working on the TMBG Video Bootleg, Vol. 2, but I don't have cable. If you have it, would you consider making a trade?<< The new episodes don't (let's) start til november 13th. I just saw Scott Thompson on the Conan O'Brian show (he plays the receptionist, Brian, who's almost never *on*..), and he said so. So ya got a little time. :) ~sarah http://members.aol.com/kdsinthhal/site.html "Dim the lights and break out the haikus!" - Bruce McCulloch, KITH ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 11:05:35 -0500 (EST) From: "StatuE (Wayde)" Subject: orders of albums Colin Ferm wrote: >The first album I ever heard was A18 and I fell in love with They. I had >to own every album shortly there after. I think, however, that if one can >listen to and like the Self titled ablum then you should be able to like the >more mainstream stuff, unless you like the wierd, which I do, though I like >the later stuff just as much. I have no Idea what I'm saying. I'd say I'm the same way except that I first heard Flood. Anyone know of any way to get the "baby" cd's THEY had? "I've got to let you know ... You're one of my mind!" A little They can do soooo much!!! 5:) -Statue et al ------------------------------ From: Matthew Coon Subject: Re: CMJ Review Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 10:41:11 -0500 (EST) [dumb review deleted] > I thought that was a pretty cruddy review, especially that last sentence. > I've only heard the realaudio version of the whole CD, but I loved it. > Maybe I like Them too much to be objective or something, but I don't see > why that last sentence would've been deserved. > > Well, considering that "12 years on" he not only can't tell the Johns apart, he can't even get the lyrics to the songs right, I would take this review with the lack of credence that it deserves. It is obviously just a half-baked first impression. Mr. Wolk apparently did not listen very closely to the record. m@t ------------------------------ From: Michael.N.Piastowski@lawrence.edu Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996 11:19:27 -0600 (CST) Subject: Stupid question Okay, I have a stupid question. I just got back to school and have heard tell of a new Giants album coming out soon. Is this true??? I would REALLY like to know the truth, not just rumors. Thanks a lot. "I'm shouting, I'm shouting, I'm shou...(crash)!" -Wadsworth from Clue Mike P. ------------------------------ Subject: Yet Another FS Review Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 14:04:47 -0500 (CDT) From: Chris Bongaarts Our campus newspaper ran a not-so-flattering review of Factory Showroom today. You can find it on the web at: http://www.daily.umn.edu/ae/Print/ISSUE45/soundeffects.html (lower left hand corner.) P.S. Please don't waste your time getting all bent out of shape over something a critic says about your favorite band. Most critics are people, and people have differing tastes and ideas about what music "should" be. No self-respecting critic I know would suggest that theirs is the only possible opinion one could have on a particular work. The proper response is "I disagree, and here's why", not "You're an idiot! I can't believe you would say mean things about the best band in the land!". P.P.S. My plans for a FS lyric page are on hold until after the Barenaked Ladies concert this Sunday. ============================================ Chris.Bongaarts-1@umn.edu Chris Bongaarts My opinions are my own, http://umn.edu/~cab Univ. of Minnesota and they are right. CBongo on EFnet IRC (#umn) GCS d-- s+:+ a22 C+++ ULHSX++++$ P++++ L++ E W++ N+ o+ K+++ w-- !O M+ !V PS+ PE Y-- PGP-- t+ !5 !X R tv b+ DI++++ D+ G++ e h- !r y? [GeekCode 3.12] ------------------------------ From: Joey@scott.net (Joey) Subject: Re: CMJ Review Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996 18:59:08 GMT On Thu, 03 Oct 1996 02:00:32 -0500, you wrote: > >I have no idea if They Might Be Giants have any intention of breaking up >any time soon, but Factory Showroom might be a good place to call it a day >- to quit while they're still, barely, ahead. "I'm not dead/And I won't be >'till my head falls off," one of the Johns sings (12 years on, it's still >impossible to tell Linnell and Flansburgh apart). But the quicksilver wit >and unstoppable melodies of their early records are increasingly replaced >by bludgeoning rock arrangements and unfunny whimsy ("XTC vs. Adam Ant/The >future will decide"). They get points for covering Cub's "New York City," >but lose them again for neutering the song's dizzy sexiness. And too many >of their own songs here are the kind of half-a-joke knockoffs they used to >stick on singles as bonus tracks - which, even more ominously, is where two >of them first showed up, years ago. Still, parts of Factory Showroom >incandesce brightly. "S-E-X-X-Y" is a funk parody with hysterical swooping >disco strings; "I Can Hear You," recorded on Thomas Edison's original >wax-cylinder equipment, is an elegantly condensed meditation on the history >of lo-fi voice-transmitting equipment ("I can supersize that/Please bring >your car around"). The reccord closes with "The Bells Are Ringing," a >classic TMBG combination of rapid-fire patter, snare drum and >tinntinabulation. Clever, clean and sad, it sounds like the end of >something, and if we're lucky, maybe it is. DOUGLAS WOLK > > This album is great. Until My Head Falls off is a great song, in fact there all great once you get used to a couple of them. Why are we pissed at this guy? I mean, think about. he's obviously not a fan of THEM. he gets paid to listen to an album and either praise it or slam it. In this case he slammed it. All of you on this list were scared that they were going to get popular. This is just a sign that it's not mainstream material. So, let's not worry about it. Instead just enjoy it. Joey "Good, Bad, I'm the guy with the gun." - Bruce Campbell (great actor) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996 16:06:25 -0400 From: John Drauss Subject: Re: Yet Another FS Review The high school radio station, which I was a member of until I graduated last year, got the new cd in and they played the whole damn thing for me last night. I will now imput my thoughts and reactions here: I Can Hear You - for some reason, even though I knew it was recorded on a wax cylinder, I didn't think the sound quality would be so poor. Until My Head Falls Off - Fun, fun, fun. THis has oh my god, a giant sandwich! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Oct 96 16:18 EDT From: kbrodbec@remcen.ehhs.cmich.edu (Kirsten Brodbeck) Subject: Re: orders of albums >The first album I ever heard was A18 and I fell in love with They. I had to >own every album shortly there after. I think, however, that if one can >listen to and like the Self titled ablum then you should be able to like the >more mainstream stuff Hmmm... I'm so proud of my penpal Jes. After listening to me rant and rave about TMBG for about a year and a half, she finally bought the pink album. Can you say, "Instant Gianthead?" I knew you could. And the best part is, she doesn't think they're a joke band. I don't think she even used the word "funny" to describe any of Their songs. And believe me, she gave me a review of *every* track on that cd. :) Yet another soul has seen the gloriousness of They. Kirsten -- ______________________________________________________________________________ "Pretend I *did* blow up the school. All the schools." -J.D. "Heathers" Kirsten Brodbeck AKA Crow kbrodbec@remcen.ehhs.cmich.edu ------------------------------ From: kucecj@sncils.snc.edu (Christopher J. Kucera) Subject: Re: CMJ Review Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 15:19:10 -0500 (CDT) > Instead just enjoy it. *sob* But I _can't_... I have had no contact with FS other than the few assorted sound files... I can only appease my longing for more TMBG by playing Spiralling Shape on my radio program every Sunday.... *sob* *angels, trumpets* But Lo! There apeareth upon the horizon.... SOON! I will be able to purchase my very on FS and be happy (probably) and content... Now if only I could say the same about getting my hands on the SEXXY single... *pout* -CJ, who's starting to feel rather odd.... I really need to update my .sig... "Within its deep infinity I saw ingathered, and bound by love in one volume, the scattered leaves of all the universe." - Dante ~""`"~"""~"~"~"'~"~"~~"~"`""`"<<>>"~~'`'"""~"""'~""'"`"~'`~"`' CJ Kucera - kucecj@sncac.snc.edu - http://www.atw.fullfeed.com/~pez ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Oct 96 16:26 EDT From: kbrodbec@remcen.ehhs.cmich.edu (Kirsten Brodbeck) Subject: Re: Yet Another FS Review >P.S. Please don't waste your time getting all bent out of >shape over something a critic says about your favorite band. Most >critics are people, and people have differing tastes and ideas about >what music "should" be. Y'know, it's always seemed to me that we could abolish all critics by just printing "It's okay if you like that sort of thing." Kirsten -- ______________________________________________________________________________ "Pretend I *did* blow up the school. All the schools." -J.D. "Heathers" Kirsten Brodbeck AKA Crow kbrodbec@remcen.ehhs.cmich.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996 16:45:17 -0400 From: susan lyon Subject: listen up, if you're around ann arbor um. hi. this guy i know who is a dj at the u-michigan radio station tells me that he will be playing all of factory showroom at 12:30 a.m. tonight/tomorrow morning on his show. it's 88.3 FM. don't kill me if it ends up not being played. i don't know this guy very well, but he knows i like tmbg and he could maybe just be being a jerk. i haven't tried looking for fs because i have no money to buy it with anyway, but getting it for free over the radio would be cool. um...bye soozen, who will go back to work now. *------------------------------------- yo ho ho and a bottle of diet vernors mozzer@umich.edu the.statue@tmbg.org *------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 13:52:04 -0700 (PDT) From: Liam Singer Well by now, everyones probably heard FS on RealAudio (if u havent, the adress is http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/rabroad/listeningparty.html) I, of course, love "When my Head Falls off", and I even like the slow songs on the album, whereas ones on previous albums have just bugged me (Unrelated thing, Narrow your Eyes). I also entered a contest on the site to win free TMBG stuff. All you gotta do is tell them how you liked the album. Adios for now, muchachos. Liam -"You know, CRANK IT UP FUCKERS!" The Talking Goat from Adam Sandler's album ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 17:24:45 -0400 From: cyberguy@netheaven.com (Dan Studnicky) Subject: TMBG Video EVERYBODY! I just saw Birdhouse in your soul On M2. YES!! This is the first time I've seen TMBG on T.V. Write to M2music@aol.com a request more of the Giants' videos. Who else saw it? *---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------ Son I am able she said,"Though you scare me". "Watch." said I. "Beloved," I said "Watch me scare you." Though, said she able am I son. TMBG *---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 17:25:51 -0400 () From: BlueDawg Subject: C'mon people, please (was: Re:CMJ Review) The blind faith is sickining. Every band gets bad reviews. It's only when they start becoming right that the fans get scared. I listened to FS on realaudio. I like it, but it doesn't seem to have the magic that the first two albums had. I'm of the mindset that maybe it would be good if they ended it. Linnell's solo stuff (read: State Songs) has much of the brilliance that has been missing from FS and JH. Flansburgh seems to be doing more by doing less. His song-writing ability is still strong, but he seems reluctant to play the guitar anymore. Eric isn't half the guitarist that Flansburgh is. I was disappointed with the lead guitar stuff on FS and the Mono Puff EP where Eric played. Calling it quits before it gets stale is always a good thing. S. M. Bergeron, idiotnot@visi.net, bluedawg@tmbg.org http://users.visi.net/~idiotnot Jeep Driver ObWittySig "Oh, kill me. I suck. I don't deserve air. I reek. I'm total waste of human flesh. I'll never be happy. I'm ugly. I'm bald. Someone hold me so I can cry."--Phil Bickel on Billy Corgan's Lyrics ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 15:09:53 -0700 (PDT) From: Nicole Carlson Subject: Re: orders of albums >Justin Higgins wrote: > >>Anyway, I'm just wondering if, had I heard the songs and albums in a >>different order, would I have liked them as much? For instance, when I >>first got A18 I played it for a friend, who wasn't really impressed. >>Same thing for John Henry. I get the feeling that perhaps one of the >>problems is that these last two albums, although they are still good >>(especially A18), may not have had the same kind of power as an album >>like Lincoln or maybe Flood to draw in more fans. > >The biggest TMBG fanatic I know, the immortal Scott, heard Apollo 18 first. >It is his favorite album. A lot of TMBG fans don't like TMBG as much >(myself excluded) and someone remarked that had they heard A18 first, they >would not have been drawn as much to TMBG. My point is that if more of an >"out-there" style ablum like A18 can hook you so much, then the other stuff >that's really catchy (in general opinion) will make a greater impression on >you then someone who just likes Flood. Sorry if that was confusing, I >don't understand it myself. I heard A18 first, too. It (especially the immortal "Fingertips", so serious and yet so goofy) was enough to make me an instant TMBG fan. A18 was the first album I got (at Streetlight, since I knew I wouldn't be returning it), and I still love it, even if Lincoln has superseded it in my mind. I have my own theory that TMBG-fandom is a very personal thing, completely unrelated to which songs you hear. I've noticed that of the people around me, everyone either loves TMBG or is underwhelmed by it--at first hearing. Submitted for your perusal are the strange cases of two friends of mine. In the first case, I went to her house to study and brought along JH and WDTSS? I popped WDTSS? into the cd player and waited. AND SHE LOVED IT. In fact, the sweet sounds drew her parents into her room... to make a short story shorter, TMBG got three new die-hard fans that day. In the second case, a friend of mine was at my house for a party. Someone put on WDTSS? His exact reaction, as I recall, was, "What IS that? It's terrible!" I'm not sure what this means so I'll go now. -nicole the wonder nerd who lucked out and got a fellow TMBG fan as a roommate *** "I resemble only half the things I say I don't. The other half resemble me." --James Thurber Visit the (badly dated) City of Nicolopolis! http://www.hooked.net/users/nnicole GCS/GL d?@ H++ s g+++ p?+ au--- a-- w++ v+++(*?) C++ L>++ N++ K+ W(--) M- !V -po+ Y+ t- !5 jx R G tv-- b+++ D-- B- e+ u++(*) h f+ !r n+ x? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996 15:31:50 -0700 From: Colin Ferm Subject: Re: orders of albums Nicole Carlson wrote: > In the second case, a > friend of mine was at my house for a party. Someone put on WDTSS? His > exact reaction, as I recall, was, "What IS that? It's terrible!" I know how that is. I used to work at a record store, and when it came around to my turn to play something I put on Flood. After it was over some customer yelled, "Thank God!" A severe beating was due, but we restrained ourselves. -- "would I spend forever here and not be satisfied," -Sarah Mclaughlin, Fumbling Towards Esctasy Colin Ferm Contra Costa Times (510) 977-8483 spud@ccnet.com spud@hooked.net spud@tmbg.org www.hooked.net/~spud/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996 18:47:59 -0700 From: Lou Fioritto/Braille Works Organization: Braille Works Subject: RE: CMJ Well, i was going to attack this moron Douglas Wolk, but Mike Rose said pretty much summed it up for me. (go read Mike's mail now) -Chakka, wondering what one would look like with their head up their ass. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996 19:27:25 +0000 From: Jonah Subject: Re: orders of albums Justin Higgins wrote: >>Anyway, I'm just wondering if, had I heard the songs and albums in a >>different order, would I have liked them as much? For instance, when I >>first got A18 I played it for a friend, who wasn't really impressed. >>Same thing for John Henry. I get the feeling that perhaps one of the >>problems is that these last two albums, although they are still good >>(especially A18), may not have had the same kind of power as an album >>like Lincoln or maybe Flood to draw in more fans. I dunno. I got flood first, and I loved it for a while, but now, after hearing every other album(except FS-no 28.8 modem=bad), I wiould have to say that, if I had to pick a least favorite TMBG album, it would be flood. My faves at the moment are the second and sixth TMBG albums(that's counting misc. T) I bought, A18 and Lincoln, respectively. I think it must be more personal taste than order bought in. And I've never seen A18 as an album which doesn't have the power of FLood or Lincoln. Just my 2 or so cents. -- "Get out of the car. Put down the phone. Take off that stupid looking hat you wear" -They Might Be Giants "Set the controls for the heart of the sun"-Pink Floyd Jonah ------------------------------ Subject: Re: CMJ Review From: superuprecht@juno.com (Ike L. Ruprecht) Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996 18:01:37 EDT On Thu, 03 Oct 1996 18:59:08 GMT Joey@scott.net (Joey) writes: >This album is great. Until My Head Falls off is a great song, in fact >there all great once you get used to a couple of them. A "good" album doesn't take getting used to. A good album is packed with tracks that you like on the first listening. I'm not saying just because you don't like it the first time go smash the CD. What I am saying is, ask yourself, "do I like this music?" ask yourself "Am I just saying to myself 'like this, damnit' because I've always classified tmbg as my favourite band?" I just really want to get across how mindless it is say you love something just because you loved something preceding it. >Why are we pissed at this guy? I mean, think about. he's obviously >not a fan of THEM. he gets paid to listen to an album and either >praise it or slam it. In this case he slammed it. All of you on this >list were scared that they were going to get popular. This is just a >sign that it's not mainstream material. So, let's not worry about it. >Instead just enjoy it. Had you read the article carefully, you would realize that he is what is called an "old school" fan of them. They had a very loyal following up to a point, that point was somewhere in 1994. This guy was able to semi-objectively look at what most of the people on this list will look at and say, "Yay, tmbg, I don't have to think about whether or not I like this". I don't think this is the review we're supposed to be thinking about in terms of popularity. It's magazines like Spin (AKA Alternateen Magazine) and Rolling Stone that actually effect a band's popularity. This is, I guess, more of a "Alternative" magazine, in that they don't have TV commercials and the like. As far as Factory Showroom is concerned, I have not yet heard the album. I do, however, plan to buy it and all singles ASAP. When I get the album I will take it, weigh it as a piece of art (or lack there of) and decide whether it deserves to be in my CD player for the next month. Perhaps when I hear the album I will think it is great, and I will decide that this interviewer was, by my tastes, very wrong, but perhaps not. From all the pre-album news I have heard, I'm not sure about how much I will be liking FS. I will be buying it though. =========================a spooky man named Ike========================= The Web: http://www.inca.de/user/ruprecht/ The E-mail: Ruprecht@tmbg.org The Annoying Quote: Lansing makes you want to leave - Paraphrasing Amy =================I wish that I could jump out of my .sig================ ------------------------------ Subject: Escapades in Malicious Michigan: The Horrible Planet of the Apes From: superuprecht@juno.com (Ike L. Ruprecht) Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996 18:01:37 EDT Hi Kids, Yesterday, the nicest gal you'll ever meet, Amy, came to Michigan and we had a smashing (look at me, I'm a brit!) good time... First, there were the lies. I wasn't particularly sure that I wanted to tell my parents I was going to meet someone I met on the internet, and Amy still hasn't told her parents about going to D.C. (are you reading this Mr. and Mrs. Green?) so, we lied. Second, there was a certain lack of "Wally-ness". We went over to the Cuppa Java, the lady told us Wally wasn't coming. We found out that even if I had called and checked tuesday, they would have told me he was coming. This is why Amy is so nice, she didn't even attempt to kill me at this point! Third, we went back to my house, we were trying to find this other guy from Utopia Parkway ("the" talker) but apperently he went to the Cuppa Java. So, we went back to the Cuppa Java to look for him. Around this time we heard James K. Polk on the college radio station and made the decision about the singing saw. Then "Whiterabbit" wasn't at the Cuppa Java so we went to Meijer because it was sort of one the way. For those of you who don't know, Meijer is the single greatest store on the planet. Meijer ranges from Michigan (the point of origination) Indiana and Ohio (grrr, [heheheh]). So in Meijer I got this black mask thing which I wore to my afternoon classes today. John (that's my brother) played with a frog toy, which was found rather amusing by all involved parties. So anyway, after admiring Faygo (also made in Michigan) and Vernors (found only in the general vicinity of the Great Lakes region) sodey pop we left Meijer. Fourth, we (that's John and I) decided it would be a good idea to take pictures at the light up fountain in downtown Lansing. So we drove to the fountain, and, following the course of the evening, it was not only not on, but it also had absolutely no water in it. We knew that someone somewhere was rather mad at us (or probably just me) at this point. Fifth, we decided to go find "Whiterabbit" at computer lab where he supposedly was. However, he wasn't there. So, we went wandering around his dorm for awhile, till we found a campus phone and dialed his room after a tussle with the operator. Brian (as is his real name) gave us his room number and we went up. [Amy had very much wanted to meet Brian, so I think you can assume at this point, anything happened] When we got to Brian's room, we found him crawling around the floor, looking for glasses screw and generally swearing up a storm, so we just had half a conversation with him while he improvised with a staple. I doubt that Amy found that to be a really great meeting... Sixth, we went _back_ to the Cuppa Java for the third time to take a picture with it in the background for the web page story I will soon enough write... Seventh, we went back to my house for the final time, said goodbye, took the final picture, and parted ways... To everyone, convince Amy that it's a good idea to drive hundreds of miles your state/country (Canucks ;). You will want to do it for these reasons: 1) She's the nicest gal you'll ever meet. 2) She'll give you high marks when your directions are only slightly better than mine. 3) Trust me [like that's going to happen] 4) It's not that hard to convince her. ;) This has been another Ruprecht top four list... See Amy's directions for more details... I have absolutely no justification for this post, but then, I'm not sorry either. =========================a spooky man named Ike========================= The Web: http://www.inca.de/user/ruprecht/ The E-mail: Ruprecht@tmbg.org The Annoying Quote: "Madness is all in the mind" =================I wish that I could jump out of my .sig================ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996 19:36:55 -0400 From: Jeff Morrow Subject: Re: CMJ Review >THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS / Factory Showroom / Elektra > >- to quit while they're still, barely, ahead. "I'm not dead/And I won't be >'till my head falls off," one of the Johns sings (12 years on, it's still >impossible to tell Linnell and Flansburgh apart). This reviewer is INANE. a) I believe it's "I'm not DONE / And I won't be ..." I could be wrong. b) It's not impossible. If that isn't Linnel, I will eat my CPU. >But the quicksilver wit >and unstoppable melodies of their early records are increasingly replaced >by bludgeoning rock arrangements and unfunny whimsy ("XTC vs. Adam Ant/The >future will decide"). "XTC vs. Adam Ant / HISTORY will decide" is what it sounds like from my CD. >They get points for covering Cub's "New York City," >but lose them again for neutering the song's dizzy sexiness. Thank you, inane reviewer, for comparing them. Take the song by itself, it is definitely one of the coolest songs around. >And too many >of their own songs here are the kind of half-a-joke knockoffs they used to >stick on singles as bonus tracks - which, even more ominously, is where two >of them first showed up, years ago. James K. Polk and....????? Since when was the Brain Candy soundtrack a TMBG single???? >"S-E-X-X-Y" is a funk parody with hysterical swooping >disco strings; Oh, yeah. I thought "Funny" when I first heard "S-E-X-X-Y," how bout all of you? >The reccord closes with "The Bells Are Ringing," a >classic TMBG combination of rapid-fire patter, snare drum and >tinntinabulation. The snare drum is only on, oh, the last 20 seconds of a 4 minute song. >Clever, clean and sad, it sounds like the end of >something, and if we're lucky, maybe it is. This just makes me mad. If you're gonna predict doom, pal, be ACCURATE!!!! I loved Factory Showroom and continue to love it. The boys haven't lost their style, just altered it. Were John Henry had horns, FS had strings and even revives the old synth (I CAN'T BELIEVE that this asinine reporter never mentioned Metal Detector). Ugh. It's frustrating. Jeff Morrow jmorrow@voicenet.com ------------------------------ From: kucecj@sncils.snc.edu (Christopher J. Kucera) Subject: Re: Florida shows Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 18:32:11 -0500 (CDT) > no, but George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars with be there with the > Parlament Funkadelic, which is just about as funny! :) I'm missing George Clinton????????????? *screams of pain* Curses... I never get to do _anything_ around here... *sniff* ;) "Gutter! Do you know _who_that_IS???????_" (guess where it came from for a few points...) I really need to update my .sig... "Within its deep infinity I saw ingathered, and bound by love in one volume, the scattered leaves of all the universe." - Dante ~""`"~"""~"~"~"'~"~"~~"~"`""`"<<>>"~~'`'"""~"""'~""'"`"~'`~"`' CJ Kucera - kucecj@sncac.snc.edu - http://www.atw.fullfeed.com/~pez ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 18:57:10 -0500 (CDT) From: Thomas St Francis Gibson Subject: Way Behind The Times I got John Henry Today!(Don't Laugh, some people can't buy every album they want when they want it.) I taped it off of an acquaintances CD (He never even listens to it, sad huh?) I'm Listening to it right now! I read a lot more than I post, But I want to share my joy with all you fellow Might Be Fans. It sure is different. What I want to know is, how many other people on this list DON'T have nearly every album the Johns have ever had a minute association with. Am I the only starving poor college student who is commercially impaired? The last half of JH rocks (Thermostat instantly impressed me) I still like my other three albums (Pink Album, Flood, Apollo13) better. I will buy FS soon, but enjoy the album's contents taunting me from my e-mail until then. Due to my lack of albums the boxed set thing really intrigues me. "May Evil Beware! And May Good Dress Warmly And Eat Lots Of Fresh Vegetables." - The Tick The Schools Supercomputer thinks my Name Is Thomas, But my Friend Calls me Frank. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 19:58:05 -0400 (EDT) From: susan lyon Subject: d'oh! please ignore my previous message about factory showroom being played on wcbn in ann arbor tonight. the dj guy i know played it last night and not tonight. i'm still hoping to scam a copy of fs off him, tho. sowwy. soozin <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> <*> my other brain is also a porsche <*> <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> <*> the.statue@tmbg.org <*> mozzer@umich.edu <*> <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 20:37:03 -0400 (EDT) From: "Mike Rose, from Totonot" Subject: RE: CMJ On Thu, 3 Oct 1996, Lou Fioritto/Braille Works wrote: > Well, i was going to attack this moron Douglas Wolk, but Mike > Rose said pretty much summed it up for me. (go read Mike's mail now) > > -Chakka, wondering what one would look like with their head up their ass. > Heh heh. Sorry, kids, I do tend to get a little carried away. It'll probably happen again. Mike. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Oct 1996 20:40:24 -0400 From: SENTINEL Subject: Re: tmbg-list Digest #2-270 >From: mjames@envy.loyola.edu (Matthew James) >Subject: Larry Sanders >Date: Wed, 2 Oct 1996 13:42:07 -0400 (EDT) >Larry Sanders is not showing on HBO yert. I hvae looked in the cable >guide and it is not listeed anywhere. This must have been taped for >when the >show does start up (whenever that is). I do have HBO so whne it >comes on I plan on taping it. >Matt------------------------------------------------------------------------ I know I should have said this earlier, but when John and John were on Modern Rock Live, Flansburgh said (and I quote)- "About five seconds of our next single will be on the Larry Sanders show." It's not going to be an event. It's going to be SEXXY as some background music. Kind of like when they play Snail Shell on "SandBlast" Sensurround (is not on Factory Showroom) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 20:39:16 -0400 (EDT) From: "Mike Rose, from Totonot" Subject: RE: CMJ Oh sorry, I forgot to mention that if you really want to see what someone looks like with his head up his ass, check out Peter Jackson's Meet The Feebles which depicts that very thing. It happens to an East Indian snake charmer or something and is followed by the quip: "We can call this A Passage To India." Mike. ------------------------------ From: Leo Bicknell Subject: www.tmbg.com Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 21:46:26 -0400 (EDT) I'd like to point out there have been some changes to www.tmbg.com. It might be worth a look. -- Leo Bicknell - TMBG List Admin - tmbg-list-request@tmbg.org System Administrator / Network Technician bicknell@ufp.org - bicknell@vt.edu - bicknell@tmbg.org ------------------------------ From: Matthew Coon Subject: Re: Yet Another FS Review Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 20:52:28 -0500 (EST) > > The proper response is "I disagree, and here's why", not "You're an > idiot! I can't believe you would say mean things about the best band > in the land!". > Well, I for one am not pouting because he said mean stuff about TMBG. I am annoyed at the interview for different reasons, however, and would be even if I HATED the album myself. It is reviews like this that made me stop reading CMJ years ago. This one may no longer be typical of the journal, but in the late eighties/early nineties the thing was always full of factual errors, misidentified lyrics (even when included with the album), and even mistakes about the names of songs and albums that were being reviewed. That doesn't exactly inspire one's confidence in the worth of the opinions being stated. A simple difference of opinions based on careful, objective review of the material is one thing. A careless, slip-shod piece of journalism is quite another. m@t ------------------------------ From: Matthew Coon Subject: Re: CMJ Review Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 21:25:40 -0500 (EST) > > A "good" album doesn't take getting used to. A good album is > packed with tracks that you like on the first listening. You make a good point, but not a good generalization. Only works that one instantly likes are good? There's no truth to that. Some of the most rewarding works of art require one to stretch and to grow, which is rarely an instantaneous process. There are many works that I did not care for on first exposure, but which in time I came to recognize genius within. Also consider that many works which are now considered masterpieces, by individuals who are now considered geniuses, were woefully underappreciated in their time, or even attacked and snubbed. How many artists and scientists who have changed our world lived lives of tragedy and destitution, sometimes ending in suicide, and rarely were appreciated within their lifetimes? Does that lack of immediate acceptance make their works not "good?" Or is their worth constantly re-evaluated with each new exposure? Obviously I have strayed away from the topic of Factory Showroom, but I don't like invalid critical infrastructures. > I just really want to get across how mindless it is say you love > something just because you loved something preceding it. > But how different is that from *criticizing* something based upon the merits of something preceding it, really? Same logic, different polarity...? m@t ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 22:31:33 -0400 (EDT) From: frankh@awod.com (Bejezus) Subject: Semi-Important News :) Um, it might be of interest to some of you that..... THE www.tmbg.com SITE IS UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sorry if someone already revealed this, but hey, you think I really read all those messages I get ;) Waxin' his web-surfboard for the new site, Brother John Bejezus "The aching and the breaking are the making of a soul" - The Residents ------------------------------ From: Matthew Coon Subject: Re: C'mon people, please (was: Re:CMJ Review) Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 21:43:32 -0500 (EST) > > The blind faith is sickining. Every band gets bad reviews. It's only > when they start becoming right that the fans get scared. [...] > Calling it quits before it gets stale is always a good thing. Then again, every band has some inconsistencies in its output. I don't think that _Beatles For Sale_ had the same magic that their first albums had. I'm glad that they didn't pack it in just then, however, because they put out at least of couple of pretty decent records after that:-) I think that what you interpret as "blind faith" may simply be the fact that other people *like* the record. Comparisons aside, it's pretty good. I do have to agree that I don't care much for Eric's guitar work. He's technically proficient, but stylistically I find him stale and uninteresting. At least, I don't think he complements TMBG's musical style very well. I'm not too concerned, though, because the band lineup is pretty fluid. I do prefer Flans as both a musician and a guitarist, although he tends to be underrated by the "He don't play as fast as them other guys" school of guitar appreciation. m@t ------------------------------ From: Jordan1c@aol.com Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 22:45:32 -0400 Subject: official website im glad the new site is done, but whenever i try and go somewhere on it, it says "FAILED TO PARSE HTTP, your request does not appear to be properly formed" is it like this for anyone else??? im getting so upset, i try and get to order t-shirts,singles,download sound and video and pictures, AND I CANT!!!!!! HHHEEELLLPPP!!!!!!!! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 23:09:44 -0400 (EDT) From: Joshua Hall-Bachner Subject: WWW.TMBG.COM is UP! Hideho! Just dashing off a quick note to let everybody know that the brand spanking new tmbg.com is up and running! The homepage includes a cow being roasted on a spit (well, not exactly, but...) Go check it out, everybody. It's neato. /---------------------------Joshua Hall-Bachner---------------------------\ | particle@servtech.com http://www.servtech.com/public/particle/ | | "The few surviving samurai survey the battlefield. They count the arms, | \--the legs, the heads, and then divide by five." - They Might Be Giants--/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 23:09:35 -0500 (EST) From: Queen Sneepy Subject: The Official Web-Site Rest assured, I'm not going to announce its official arrival- this is more of a review. The new site is AWESOME! Everytime I read anything by Linnell, I am reminded of what a funny man he is. On the letters page, I laughed so hard I almost threw up. Whoo! I was surprised at how many t-shirts they have. I already wear the two I have constantly (I keep getting questions like, "Are They Might Be Giants your favourite band or something?" I tell them no.) and if I get more, I can wear them all of the time! How wonderful! Hee hee. I like how They kept referring to the "hardcore TMBG fans." And I kept thinking, wow, that's us! *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ Stefanie Elliott "Who'll teach me drama? Who'll be my acting coach? I love the theatre of smelliot@falstaff.ucs.indiana.edu Dr. Kildare!" -Monopuff, "Dr. Kildare" **StarWars*DNRC*Medievalist*X-Phile*TMBG*MiSTie #14672*MacUser*Comics*Reader** ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 20:00:09 -1000 From: psss@pixi.com (Sarah Cooke) Subject: hootie without the giants I just got word that Hootie and the Blowfish are coming here (Hawaii) but not with TMBG. Is that I rip-off or what? Here's hoping for a world tour. Sarah Cooke Good heavens, Mrs. Sakamoto, you're beautiful! ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 04 Oct 1996 02:00:27 -0400 From: Gautam Peri Subject: Re: tmbg-list Digest #2-270 This is my very very first post to the list despite the fact I've been a TMBG fan since Lincoln...here goes: >So nice to be back the list after summer. Question, does anyone have any >Bass tab to some TMBG songs? I found Spy, and Why must I Be Sad on the >'net, and I figured out the Guitar and Lie Still Little Bottle(I think) But >I am a beginner and I am having a tough time figuring out other stuff. >Sooooo if anyone has any bass stuff could you tell me? thanks. Well, I don't usually tab the bass parts out, I just kinda figure them out and commit them to memory but if you want a certain song, email me and I'll see what I can come up with (peri@mars.superlink.net)... >I too am a beginner with this instrument...I'd be interested in this! See above. :) not much else to say except october 8th feels like 4 years from now rather than 4 days... +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "I don't know what to believe, sometimes I even forget...And if it's a lie, terrorists made me say it..." -Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip in "Gift Shop" Gautam Peri, Economics (Yes, really), Rutgers University http://mars.superlink.net/peri +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ------------------------------ End of tmbg-list Digest #2-271 ******************************