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 #2-317 tmbg-list Digest, Volume 2, Number 317 Tuesday, 19 November 1996 Today's Topics: Re: TMBG:Finally Played Factory Showroom pt.2 Re: TMBG: factory.... TMBG: Seattle Concert TMBG: What in the name of hell is going on? Re: TMBG: Re: Skipping FS and Dr. D. TMBG: TMBG @ La Luna (Portland, OR) 11/16 [Setlist and review, long] TMBG: BOBA MAIL: S-E-X-X-Y (Warren Rigg Microwave Mix) Re: TMBG: Re: S:N ratio Re: TMBG: TMBG @ La Luna (Portland, OR) 11/16 [Setlist and review, long] Re: TMBG: Elektra and other ramblings.... TMBG: (Fwd) HotFlash 3.49 - Wired News Launches TMBG: Oregon show Re: TMBG: TMBG on MTV ? TMBG: New Wave Xmas Re: TMBG: Vinyl and Skips TMBG: Linnell as a teacher, heh heh... TMBG: Who Is "THE MAN"? Re: TMBG: Conan Copies Re: TMBG: Re: First Album Re: TMBG: Sheet Music Search Re: TMBG: A question TMBG: Nit needs help placing a show Re: TMBG: Re: Skipping FS Re: TMBG: YEA! I GOT A SINGLE! Re: TMBG: S E X X WHY IS IT SO BAD? Re: TMBG: YEA! I GOT A SINGLE! Re: TMBG:Finally Played Factory Showroom pt.2 Re: TMBG: Re: Skipping FS and Dr. D. Re: TMBG: Elektra and other ramblings.... Re: TMBG: S E X X WHY IS IT SO BAD? TMBG: TMBG on Dr. Demento again TMBG: Hidden songs TMBG: Pratchett novel TMBG: Whirlpool Re: TMBG: Sheet Music Search Re: TMBG: S E X X WHY IS IT SO BAD? Re: TMBG: Meet Tom Servo TMBG: I heard Metal Detector on the radio, and info club. TMBG: kurt loder/mtv news rumours TMBG: Re: Wierd Al vs They TMBG: Stuff I have to say Re: TMBG: spider ananse Re: TMBG: I heard Metal Detector on the radio, and info club. TMBG: You'll Miss Me TMBG: Concert Info TMBG: Thanks for the fun..... Re: TMBG: [Fwd: Returned mail: User unknown] Re: TMBG: Finally Played Factory Showroom Re: TMBG: [Fwd: Returned mail: User unknown] Re: TMBG: You'll Miss Me TMBG: poster announcement TMBG: Colors, Skipping Tracks Re: TMBG: [Fwd: Returned mail: User unknown] TMBG: Factory Showroom Review TMBG: The Day TMBG: Bugs fall from my thoughts... TMBG: a second poster announcement TMBG: She's an Angel TMBG: LSD? TMBG: Re: Skipping FS and Dr. D. TMBG: Exquisite Dead Guy.... TMBG: linnell's writing TMBG: Re: Elektra and other ramblings.... Re: TMBG: Elektra and other ramblings.... Re: TMBG: Nit needs help placing a show Re: TMBG: Let's do the time warp again TMBG: Similar Thoughts Re: TMBG: She's an Angel Re: TMBG: Similar Thoughts 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: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 01:20:55 -0600 (CST) From: Bill Tatalovich Subject: Re: TMBG:Finally Played Factory Showroom pt.2 > Also Re: FS...My only true dismay about the album is that there is no > lyric sheet!!! Sure I can get it on the net but I shouldn't have to. > Yet another reason to join their snail-mail info club...they sent all the lyrics (easily folded into a box) out with their last one... > Also the mix...it seems that sometimes the music threatens to drown out > the vocals. Could be my imagination or more likely my crappy car stereo > speakers. > I think it's the speakers...sounds fine to me. Then again, after you listen to Sugar and the Jesus and Mary Chain for a while, any vocals show up really easily...IMHO. Oh well...my $3.82... Bill Tatalovich wt3@cec.wustl.edu "It's a party, Marge. It's not supposed to make sense..." --The Simpsons ------------------------------ From: jting@MIT.EDU Subject: Re: TMBG: factory.... Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 02:31:33 EST {skipping songs} yeah, i feel guilty too when i skip songs and i don't think it has anything to do with being used to tapes or cds...i can't leave a room without finishing listening to a song either, or stopping it in the middle... the one exception to this is rev. #9 on white album..i like the very beginning, where the guy says number nine..etc but the rest of it is just annoying oh, other exceptions are when they say stuff, and it's really not a song but rather just a funny bit of conversation, like #13 on misc t that's great the first few times around, but i don't feel bad about skipping it... just my 30 (sort of unrelated) cents ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 01:01:59 -0800 (PST) From: Patricia Johny Gould Subject: TMBG: Seattle Concert I finally was able to see TMBG live! A friend and I got the last two tickets to the Moore Theatre venue in Seattle, 11/17/96. TMBG gives one of the best live performances I have ever seen. They played a lot of FS, and a few oldies but goodies. Though my favorite had to have been the cover of "Stayin' Alive" they did. John and John are funny guys! I feel now my life is complete =). Waiting for They's next tour ~Patsy ------------------------------ From: "Jon Vile" Organization: Roehampton Institute London Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 11:02:40 +0000 Subject: TMBG: What in the name of hell is going on? I keep missing Digest lists, the computer just won't send me them. It must hate me, however today I received one from the 16th and one from today? I just don't understand anymore. I brought Monopuff, Unsupervised the other day and its brillant. Why don't we call the first album Freak Door or something almost completly unrelated to it but sort of TMBGity in ideal. Sorry. ------------------------------ From: Kaylum@aol.com Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 07:45:26 -0500 Subject: Re: TMBG: Re: Skipping FS and Dr. D. << Here is what I skip on FS: TBTB And only because it is such a pain in the butt to rewind my CD every time I put it in... All the other songs are cool... >> Yeah, it is kinda a pain, not to mention the fact that a surprising number of people can't seem to play it. There must be a way to include hidden tracks in such a way that they're easier to get to yet still be secret--don' t a few cds have hidden tracks that automatically come on a short time after the cd has supposedly ended? Anyway, for now, just do like I do and tape TBTB so you never have to rewind the cd again! In other news, the Dr. Demento radio show played "I Can Hear You" last week, and I while I missed it this week, I just read a recap of the show, and he played "Exquisite Dead Guy"! At least _someone_ in the radio biz is supporting Their music on a semi-regular basis. Oh, and he also played the original "Why Does the Sun Shine" and Weird Al's TMBG-style tribute "Everything You Know is Wrong." I don't know how the Johns feel about getting most of their airplay on a show for "demented" music, but I've always been fond of the Good Doctor, and I think it's pretty cool, especially considering the lack of radio support for FS. Kay ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 04:50:13 -0800 From: Trompe Le Monde Subject: TMBG: TMBG @ La Luna (Portland, OR) 11/16 [Setlist and review, long] Not much to say, except that this was one of the best concerts I've ever attended in my relatively short, but fulfilling career as a die-hard music fan. From start to finish They Might Be Giants kept the sold-out La Luna club hopping and bopping, and reminded me of why TMBG has been one of my most favorite bands for 6 years now. John F. came out to introduce Cub, and they set a great mood for the night. Even though it was pretty clear that they weren't the type of music for much of the crowd, they all were having a great time playing, and it put everyone else in a similarly blissful mood in anticipation of the Giants. No "New York City", they left it for TMBG. I personally thought Cub were not too bad, a fun experience overall. TMBG took the stage as a five-piece, sans horns, which is probably the group they'll be using for all their club dates. And now, the setlist, which I managed to grab after the show. SEXXY - Got the crowd geared up, but was not nearly as fulfilling as the album version or the full-on rendition they did for Conan, as this had a shorter intro and no extended ending. It just seemed like a warm-up. SUBLIMINAL - John L. busted out the accordian, and the crowd went into a frenzy. This was probably my favorite performance of the night- I'll never listen to this song the same again. SLEEPING in the flowers - Started with the fast chorus before going into the first verse. SPIRALing shape SPIDER - John F. goes crazy with the mic stand. / GUITAR SNAIL shell - The first real sing-along. NYC - John F. explains that it was written by Cub, and talks about how they couldn't understand all of the words so they had to make some up. OLDER - Brings back an early TMBG feel. / NYQUIL driver (w/ "Stayin' Alive" ending) - The "Stayin' Alive" portion was MUCH better than anticipated, I loved it! Somewhere in here (I believe it was here, but I could be mistaken) they played "Counterfeit Faker", as John F. said "here's a song we left off our setlist, and none of us really know how to play it". A yee-haw, slap-your-knee song that again recalls the early days of TMBG. ANA ng - In more of a "Factory Showroom" style, slowed down a touch even. John F. sang the 'bridge' part. SUN - "Why Does The Sun Shine?" was introduced as a "song written by the girl from No Doubt". MAYBE i know - Just John and John. I swear I was the only person there who had heard this before. Gotta love tape-trading. PET name - * WHISTLE - "Whistling In The Dark", the first "Flood" song of the night, was one that I just could _not_ resist singing along to. [* ACCORDION LOUD!] <-- official setlist note GIRL - "How Can I Sing Like A..." was rather disappointing compared to the album version, maybe because I really like the pedal tricks used on the album. Introduced as having "three major guitar moments" as John F. instructed the crowd to do this spacey-whirly-handsintheair dance during the third guitar "moment". ISTANbul NO ONE knows my plan - Return of the conga line, but the people up front (I was one of them) resisted. I know, it's wrong... The horns were seriously missed on this one, which is probably why the conga line wasn't quite as successful. INTRO RHYTHM SECTION SPY - Great improv by maestro John L. Graham had some trouble seeing John L's hands. TWISTing - This all-out rocked. John F. sang "Young Fresh Fellow tape" twice. TIL my head falls off - I actually love SEXXY, but this should have been the single if they wanted any hopes at airplay. ---------- XTC vs. Adam Ant - Introduced as "a song written back in the 70s..." / EXQuisite Dead Guy - Everyone dug the puppets. Only the vocal track, and not the music itself, is prerecorded. POLK - Introduced as "the last song" because they had pizza waiting for them. Extra cheers during "...the Oregon Territory..." ---------- LOST - "They Got Lost". Great song, gotta love the lyrics. I think the new album will continue an upward trend with their music beginning with "Factory Showroom". - BIRDhouse in your soul - Ah, what more can you say? DIG my grave - had an extended intro... good way to go out. Not a whole lot more to say. I was pleasantly surprised with the abundance of non-album songs, and pretty much the overall setlist, even though there was only the one pre-Flood song. The only song that I really missed that they've been playing lately was "Metal Detector". Hoping it's not another year and a half before They return to Oregon... Kerry | Kerry Biggs | | kbiggs@gladstone.uoregon.edu | | murmur@teleport.com | ------------------------------ From: "BOBA" Organization: anubis Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 08:43:49 EST Subject: TMBG: BOBA MAIL: S-E-X-X-Y (Warren Rigg Microwave Mix) Hey Guys and Gals, I finally heard S-E-X-X-Y (Warren Rigg Microwave Mix)! I got the DJ to play it on WYEP in Pittsburgh! It sounds like a techno house song reminiscent of ' James Brown Is Dead'. It starts of with a phunky beat and Flans says SEXXY over an over and over until the year 2000! Then they do the verses and choruses in their respective orders, and ends with SEXXY and then, 'Look inside your mind, Look inside you eye.' over and over. I told the Dj about the single's reluctant release and he said,"That's a big, big remix of They Might Be GIants new Single, S-E-X-X-Y, Sexy. The guy who called in is really jonesin' for the new album to come out but apparently the record company won't release it, and he wanted to hear something a little different, and boy that was different. Thanks for listening! Boba out. *------------------------------------------------------- -Matthew J. Ondrey, the man who owns every lost sock. "Ladies & Gentlemen, a Gibiddy Gibb Gibb AWW!" - They Might Be Giants boba@tmbg.org Check out my bootleg list, just updated: http://bobasboots.home.ml.org *------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ From: Anakin Skywalker Subject: Re: TMBG: Re: S:N ratio Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 07:51:47 -0600 (CST) > I don't remember what the original context was to S:N ratio and moderating > the list, so this reply won't be very (at all) tmbg related:^| > Anyway, S:N is signal to noise. I really only know about this concept with Exactly... Signal = The amount of useful stuff happening on the list. Noise = The amount of junkmail on the list. May the force be with you. Justification: / "Oh JOY! ... It's a GIRL!!!" - BIG Homecoming Skits. SALAD / You had to be there. ~"'`'`'~"'`"~"~"^ *'`'*.,.*'`'*.,.*'`'*.,.*'`'*.,.*'`'*.,.*'`'*.,. WOW: Vortex http://www.atw.fullfeed.com/~pez -- Anakin Skywalker -- anakin@vader.snc.edu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 08:59:57 -0500 (EST) From: Lawrence P Solomon Subject: Re: TMBG: TMBG @ La Luna (Portland, OR) 11/16 [Setlist and review, long] Excerpts from internet.music.tmbg: 18-Nov-96 TMBG: TMBG @ La Luna (Portl.. by Trompe Le Monde@gladston > INTRO > RHYTHM > SECTION Did they actually play this or just use it as the introducing the band section? >Not a whole lot more to say. I was pleasantly surprised with the abundance >of non-album songs, and pretty much the overall setlist, even though there >was only the one pre-Flood song. The only song that I really missed that >they've been playing lately was "Metal Detector". One? And that was Ana Ng, right? See above. ------------------------------ From: Brooksie2@aol.com Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 09:28:31 -0500 Subject: Re: TMBG: Elektra and other ramblings.... >>IMHO, XTC and TMBG should both sign to Ryko where they can live out their record recording days in bliss... :)<< Well, I've heard some not so nice things about Ryko, too... Mainly that they didn't promote "Unsupervised" very well. As much as Elektra leaves a bad taste in my indie rock mouth, I don't think Ryko is the answer either. Love, Brooks ------------------------------ From: "David K. Lapides" Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 10:05:39 +0006 Subject: TMBG: (Fwd) HotFlash 3.49 - Wired News Launches Oooh, oooh, oooh.... Check this out. It's from Hotwired.com, The Wired magazine website. ------- Edited Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date: Sat, 16 Nov 1996 22:03:59 -0800 (PST) From: HotFlash To: HotFlash Subject: HotFlash 3.49 - Wired News Launches This week's guests in Talk.com: Wednesday in Pop Talk: They Might Be Giants continue to make music that expresses their endless energy and ingenuity. Their new album, "Factory Showroom" (Elektra), lives up to the duo's reputation for jumpy pop music with nutty lyrics. Join the Giants for a live audio chat with Pop's Michael Small, who reviewed the band's first demo tape in "People" magazine back in those early "Dial-A-Song" days. Check out Talk.com to get detailed descriptions of these and other events. http://www.talk.com/ ------------------------------ From: mjames@envy.loyola.edu (Matthew James) Subject: TMBG: Oregon show Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 10:06:26 -0500 (EST) Two questions: No horns in Oregon? Is this true of all West coast shows? They had them in the East coast shows, how bizarre, maybe it cost to much to fly em all out. Ok actually 3 questions: Did they play part of Rhythm Section Want Ad?? Matt -- *------------------------------------------------------------------- Matt James polk@tmbg.org Matt.James.K.Polk@tmbg.org mjames@envy.loyola.edu Loyola College, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America "Cracking toast, Gromit!" New, Official Bruce Campbell Gazette page: http://www.bcgazette.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 09:36:24 -0600 (CST) From: Corey Hannah Subject: Re: TMBG: TMBG on MTV ? hello... this is my first post... in reply to "they might be giants, madonna, and prince" on the week in rock, i think that k. loder said "michael jackson, madonna, and prince". if there was some weird connection between tmbg , madonna, and prince, i'd like to know it... corey "i'll never see myself in the mirror with my eyes closed" -tmbg ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 11:05:37 -0800 From: Pez Subject: TMBG: New Wave Xmas Ok two things - first off I want the lyrics to Meet Trent Reznor too! I've been looking for them! Secondly I was looking at xmas albums and came across one called "New Wave Christmas" Which included lots of classics but most noticably Santas Beard! and Careless Santa by Monopuff! Have a goodn pez ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 10:30:36 -0800 From: Matthew K Puvogel Subject: Re: TMBG: Vinyl and Skips At 12:07 AM 11/18/96 -0500, The Famous Mr. Klaw wrote: >At 17:08 11/17/96 -0500, McGing "the Merciless" wrote: >>We had the sleeve for the Don't >>Lets Start single, but somebody stole the record, so I don't know about >>that. > >The Don't Let's Start vinyl single has the words "No Escape (718) 387-6962" >printed only on side A. Side B has nothing printed on it. > > Alex > > > Hey guys, there is nothing other than the "regular" album info on my DLS 12". I got it in Germany and it is a Rought Trade release, so I am thinking that that may be the reason... Maybe when I find the Domestic stuff on vinyl I will figure out what you guys are talking about... but then again, maybe not. That is the wonderful part about life,... you just don't know!! Matthew K Puvogel, esq. VIII ------------------------------ From: KdsInThHal@aol.com Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 13:28:15 -0500 Subject: TMBG: Linnell as a teacher, heh heh... >>but it seems like Linnell is very well-read and a great writer in general. I could picture him as an English teacher if he wasn't into music. << Oh my god.. can you just imagine???? Now that would motivate me.. Let's see... Linnell for english..Flans for math, Dave Foley for global studies, Scott Thompson for biology, yeeah! And Kevin McDonald would teach french. That would be so neat... >>A track worth skipping over may be something like "Swing Is A Word" on the upcoming Then album<< I didn't like it much until I realized in the background, They are chanting the DAS number.... :) Oh yeah, and my thoughts on the spiralling shape-- I still prefer that dark Pell Mell tune to follow it rather than the new-and-improved-James-K.-Polk. Maybe I'm biased because it's a *KITH* cd, but TMBG is my fave anyhoo. ~sarah :) http://members.aol.com/kdsinthhal/site.html ------------------------------ From: wglodell@baraboo.com (Wyatt Glodell) Subject: TMBG: Who Is "THE MAN"? Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 12:31:17 -0600 According to my mom, "the man" of WDTSS? was on old science books (like, really old) Seems fitting..... -\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/- "Go ahead, wreck your life, that might be good"- They Might Be Giants (Spiralling Shape) Wyatt Glodell wglodell@baraboo.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 10:33:55 -0800 (PST) From: "Jonathan Lee Wilson (Jon Wilson)" Subject: Re: TMBG: Conan Copies I have a copy too but I don't know what a tape tree is. Doogie On Fri, 15 Nov 1996, Dragon Lord wrote: > > On Sat, 9 Nov 1996 16:09:51 -0500 (EST) That rascal Eric Webber > writes: > >On Sat, 9 Nov 1996, Adam P. Fistler wrote: > > > >> I don't know if anyone has thought of it before but maybe instead > >> of one person copying conan that maybe someone could set up a tape > >> tree for it. > If there's anyone in the Minniapolis Area, I might be able to make a copy > for you. (I do have one) > > > _________________________________________________________ > "Those who heed my words are more a fool than anyone"-Me > E-mail me at Muad.dib@juno.com for non-TMBG stuff. > All my grammer and spelling is subject to mutilation. > _________________________________________________________ > ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 10:44:37 -0800 (PST) From: "Jonathan Lee Wilson (Jon Wilson)" Subject: Re: TMBG: Re: First Album On Sat, 16 Nov 1996, D Robertson wrote: > > This point has probably been made before but I'll make it anyway. If any > of you guys have heard of a guy named Terry Pratchett, who's a Brittish > novelist who's very funny, then you might be interested to know that he > gives TMBG a veiled reference in one of his books. Prize to the first > person to get it right. Are you serious or is it some symbolic reference. I have read a couple of Pratchett novels and I am very fond of them now that I have run out of Douglas Adams. I would be very interested to learn what the reference is and what book it is in. Doogie ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 10:46:33 -0800 (PST) From: "Jonathan Lee Wilson (Jon Wilson)" Subject: Re: TMBG: Sheet Music Search What kind of cruel and evil world is this guy living in????? Doogie On Sat, 16 Nov 1996 Yoel97@aol.com wrote: > > >$15 doesn't sound too wonderful to me. :/ I bought mine the second it came > >out at a local record store on CD for $13.95, and I didn't have to pay S&H > >or anything... > > Really? Well, around me, none of the stores carry it, and on rare occasion > that I come across a TMBG CD, the price is around $20. I bought "Flood" for > $22, but it was worth it! > > Joel > ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 10:50:19 -0800 (PST) From: "Jonathan Lee Wilson (Jon Wilson)" Subject: Re: TMBG: A question The opening band is Cub. An all female candy punk band from I believe Canada. They have just released an album called "Box Of Hair" and THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS just coverered their song "New York City" on FS! They are a really fun band and a real complement to They. Of course the two bands will marry eachother and have rockin' kids! Doogie On Sat, 16 Nov 1996 Raldus@aol.com wrote: > Ok......I got my tickets the other day for TMBG (Atlanta), and I was > wondering if any of you knew if there is an opening band, or if they will > play straight through. > > Thanks in advance, > Brad > ------------------------------ From: NitpickR@aol.com Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 14:01:13 -0500 Subject: TMBG: Nit needs help placing a show Hello 41- First of all, I'd like to thank anyone who can give me some info on this one... What I know: This is a show that supposedly was at the Metro in Chicago, though I am not sure about that. It is A18 era, because JD Feinberg, Kurt Hoffman are in the band. The set list goes as follows, and I am not sure if this starts in the middle of the set: It starts out with a Spin the Dial... I belive it's called "Tell Her No" by the Zombies. The one where it goes "Tell her No no no, nononono, no no no..." then it intros the band... From there it goes Twistin' Dinner Bell Ana Ng She's Actual Size Particle Man See The Constellation Piece Of Dirt Birdhouse In Your Soul The Famous Polka Frankenstein Dig My Grave Istanbul Whistling In The Dark The Guitar Anyone? *^*x@)#<}x{>#(@*^*13~Blue~TMBG~Word~Simpsons*^*@)#<}x{>#(@x*^* Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder. -Kinky Friedman Adam's do It yourself .sIg fIle ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 11:02:29 -0800 (PST) From: "Jonathan Lee Wilson (Jon Wilson)" Subject: Re: TMBG: Re: Skipping FS Let me get this straight, you get up and skip the cd to the end of the album because you don't like "Bells..." Is it so bad that silence is better than listening to a They Might Be Giants song? On Sun, 17 Nov 1996, Paul W. Wenzel wrote: > The only songs I skip on FS are: > XTC vs. Adam Ant > James K. Polk > The Bells are Ringing > > S-E-X-X-Y is a GOOD song, I don't care what anybody says. > Pet NAme is too. > > THat's All. > ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 11:15:46 -0800 (PST) From: "Jonathan Lee Wilson (Jon Wilson)" Subject: Re: TMBG: YEA! I GOT A SINGLE! > Wyatt Glodell wrote: > > Also, I have noticed after repeated listenings to FS, S-E-X-X-Y is > becoming a favorite of mine. I didn't like it very much at first, but > once I put it on tape (since I don't have a portable CD player) and > listened to it for like a week straight, I begin to like it more and > more. I think it has something to do with that fact that it is a little > more ambitious (sp?) on the musical side. Guitars, strings, keyboards, > I think horns (faulty memory again!), putting all of that together into > a song is a lot. The lyrics are pretty good too. > In their newsletter they said Sexxy was unique because it was their first song dedicated to making whoopee! Doogie ------------------------------ From: wglodell@baraboo.com (Wyatt Glodell) Subject: Re: TMBG: S E X X WHY IS IT SO BAD? Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 13:14:23 -0600 >and it's about doin it! Thats whats wrong about it, one of the many reasons i like they is because they dont always sing about sex, drugs, and shooting guys.... (as rap always seems to) So if you love that so much go listen to something gross like.... well, whatever crap my brother ALWAYS listens to...... then again, i am not suprised at this comment coming from a cyburdog@AOL.com... I dont mean this to soound so flamey, i hope it dosent, i am just in a bad mood and am writing arsh, my mind isn't currently capable of making that nicer -\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/- "Go ahead, wreck your life, that might be good"- They Might Be Giants (Spiralling Shape) Wyatt Glodell wglodell@baraboo.com ------------------------------ From: wglodell@baraboo.com (Wyatt Glodell) Subject: Re: TMBG: YEA! I GOT A SINGLE! Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 13:46:28 -0600 > > > >> Wyatt Glodell wrote: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >> >> Also, I have noticed after repeated listenings to FS, S-E-X-X-Y is I Did? Wow, i never knew that! -\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/-\|/- "Go ahead, wreck your life, that might be good"- They Might Be Giants (Spiralling Shape) Wyatt Glodell wglodell@baraboo.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1985 14:56:08 -0500 From: Evan Chakroff Subject: Re: TMBG:Finally Played Factory Showroom pt.2 At 10:30 PM 11/17/96 -0800, you wrote: >masterpiece to me. It seems the minute I dismiss a song or say that I >hate it, I can't get it out of my head for days or weeks. It's true. I always thought I hated You'll Miss Me, because it seemed to assault my ears, and was really annoying. But then It was in my head for a while, and then I listened to it a couple times and read the lyrics... and now it's not one of my favorite sopngs, but it's really pretty good, it fits together well. Go figure. -- Evan Chakroff The Internet Mystery Spot http://www.GeoCities.com/SoHo/4545 "Plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery." ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1985 15:01:23 -0500 From: Evan Chakroff Subject: Re: TMBG: Re: Skipping FS and Dr. D. >Yeah, it is kinda a pain, not to mention the fact that a surprising number of >people can't seem to play it. There must be a way to include hidden tracks >in such a way that they're easier to get to yet still be secret--don' t a few >cds have hidden tracks that automatically come on a short time after the cd >has supposedly ended? I heard something like that, where it could send a signal to stop or something, but the cd would stop before the data ended (so you could put a secret track after the stop command). I don't know what i'm talking about. If anyone knows about this please share your wisdom with us. -- Evan Chakroff The Internet Mystery Spot http://www.GeoCities.com/SoHo/4545 "Plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery." ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1985 15:05:33 -0500 From: Evan Chakroff Subject: Re: TMBG: Elektra and other ramblings.... At 09:28 AM 11/18/96 -0500, you wrote: >>>IMHO, XTC and TMBG should both sign to Ryko >where they can live out their record recording days in bliss... :)<< > >Well, I've heard some not so nice things about Ryko, too... Mainly that they >didn't promote "Unsupervised" very well. As much as Elektra leaves a bad >taste in my indie rock mouth, I don't think Ryko is the answer either. > who needs a record company? They could just record onto a tape player in John's apartament and sell tapes at concerts! -- Evan Chakroff The Internet Mystery Spot http://www.GeoCities.com/SoHo/4545 "Plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery." ------------------------------ From: CyburDog@aol.com Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 14:26:03 -0500 Subject: Re: TMBG: S E X X WHY IS IT SO BAD? IT SURE AS HELL SOUNDED LIKE A FLAME!!!!!! CAN'T YOU TELL A JOKE WHEN YOU SEE ONE??? I DON'T LISTEN TO IT BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT "DOIN' IT" (Which by the way is a direct quote from the Johns...) I LISTEN TO IT BECAUSE IT IS A TMBG SONG AND IT IS FUNKY AND GROOVY AND ALL THE OTHER STUFF I SAID ABOUT IT!!! >then again, i am not suprised at this comment coming from a >cyburdog@AOL.com... DON'T BE SO STEREO TYPICAL!!! ------------------------------ From: Russ Josephson (303) 516-4722 Date: Mon, 18 Nov 96 13:26:52 MST Subject: TMBG: TMBG on Dr. Demento again Dr. Demento played another song from Factory Showroom on his syndicated show last night (Nov 17, 1996). This show was taped on October 20. He played "Exquisite Dead Guy", and later on played the Tom Glazer version of "Why Does The Sun Shine?" from 1959, and "Everything You Know Is Wrong" by Weird Al Yankovic back to back, mentioning that both of these songs had to do with They Might Be Giants. (The Weird Al song is a "style parody" of TMBG.) P.S. I added frames to my web page today! (Only a programmer could get excited about that.) Check it out and see if your browser supports frames! ======================================================================== Russ Josephson http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/7158 Berthoud, Colorado, USA mailto:russj@juno.com "... not everyone is passionate about music ..." -- Joe Jackson "I took off the intellectuals, and put on There May Be Giants" -- Gloria "It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" -- 2 Nephi 25:23 ======================================================================== ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 15:37:46 -0500 (EST) From: Nathan Smith Subject: TMBG: Hidden songs I have been reading of a hidden song on FS. Is it on all the FS cds, or just a special limited edition? If there is one, then where is it? nathasm@bgnet.bgsu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 20:43:22 +0000 (GMT) From: D Robertson Subject: TMBG: Pratchett novel Isn't this... Well, the replys arrived in great electronic sackloads (3 responses actually) and, after much deliberation the winner was Dah, Dah, Dah, Dah, Dah, Dah Daaaaaaaahh Kirsten Brodbeck who won (by her own choice) my everlasting respect. Kirsten, enjoy it while it lasts. For those few of you who actually care, the Terry Pratchett novel which TMBG get a mention is Soul Music. The reference is given by a band who are called (wait for it) We're Certainly Dwarves. I thank you for your time, effort and general cleanliness while reading this mail. Douglas _______________________________________________________________________________ Douglas Robertson World of the Flumcake:-http://www.york.ac.uk/~dr109 Derwent College U of York 'Il porcupino Heslington "It's a 108 miles to Chicago. We've non sodomy est' York got a full tank of gas, half a YO1 5DD packet of cigarettes. It's dark "CABBAGE EGGS!" and we're wearing sunglasses Hit it" ...where we came in? _______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 15:51:48 -0500 From: "Erik J. Chuss" Subject: TMBG: Whirlpool >I must agree that Their version of Whirlpool is amazing. >but I think that I actually heard Them play Whirlpool when I saw >them in 1993. Maybe I'm just smoking crack, though...beats me. Maybe you and John Linnell can get together then...being fellow crack smokers and all. Oh, I'm sorry I thought I was on the newsgroup. ;) Speaking of Whirlpool, my brother (who is a big TMBG and who first introduced me to them) got married this past summer in SF. I couldn't make the wedding and so when he came back to Pennsylvania last month he showed us his wedding videos. One song he had the DJ play was Whirlpool. My brother and his step-daughter did this really neat little dance to the song that had them hold hands through the verses and when it got to the WWWWWWHHHHHIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRLLLLLLPPPPPPPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL part he would spin her around like a whirpool. It was pretty cool. Erik ------------------------------ From: Yoel97@aol.com Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 16:08:14 -0500 Subject: Re: TMBG: Sheet Music Search In a message dated 96-11-18 13:47:19 EST, you write: << What kind of cruel and evil world is this guy living in????? Doogie On Sat, 16 Nov 1996 Yoel97@aol.com wrote: > > >$15 doesn't sound too wonderful to me. :/ I bought mine the second it came > >out at a local record store on CD for $13.95, and I didn't have to pay S&H > >or anything... > > Really? Well, around me, none of the stores carry it, and on rare occasion > that I come across a TMBG CD, the price is around $20. I bought "Flood" for > $22, but it was worth it! > > Joel > >> Thanks for your symapthy! :) Joel http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Yoel ------------------------------ Subject: Re: TMBG: S E X X WHY IS IT SO BAD? From: ununoctium@juno.com (Ununoctium U. Ununoctium) Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 16:10:36 EST On Mon, 18 Nov 1996 14:26:03 -0500 CyburDog@aol.com writes: >IT SURE AS HELL SOUNDED LIKE A FLAME!!!!!! >CAN'T YOU TELL A JOKE WHEN YOU SEE ONE??? >I DON'T LISTEN TO IT BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT "DOIN' IT" (Which by the way is a >direct quote from the Johns...) >I LISTEN TO IT BECAUSE IT IS A TMBG SONG AND IT IS FUNKY AND GROOVY AND >ALL THE OTHER STUFF I SAID ABOUT IT!!! > >>then again, i am not suprised at this comment coming from a >>cyburdog@AOL.com... > >DON'T BE SO STEREO TYPICAL!!! There is a medium sized key on your keyboard marked "Caps Lock" it is above the "^ Shift" key and below the "Tab" key, please press it now. *------------------------------------------------------------------------ Once I was But am no more So it goes *------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Subject: Re: TMBG: Meet Tom Servo Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 16:41:44 -0600 (CST) From: Chris Bongaarts In the immortal words of Jonathan Chaffer: >Does anyone have on file the lyrics posted a couple years back to that >song? I remember bits and pieces. The chorus and first verse, as I remember >it: But of course. -CB /////////////////////////////////////////// From: RockinR209@aol.com To: They-Might-Be@gnu.ai.mit.edu Subject: Meet Trent Reznor Date: Tue, 24 Jan 1995 23:32:34 -0500 OK, kids sing along...I think you'll know the melody "Meet Trent Reznor" by Rich and Donna Meet Trent Reznor Nine Inch Nails' lead singer Walk right up and be a fan Get "closer" to the man Before there was "grunge rock" Before there was "grunge' He came from Pennsylvania and wrote noisy songs Music was transformed A crowd gathered 'round Camped out all night long to buy tickets to Meet Trent Reznor Nine Inch Nails lead singer Pop in your tape and listen to Pretty Hate Machine He fought with his label He didn't need his label He lived in Sharon Tate's hous and recorded again Now he's a big star His records are hits The crowds at his concerts will mosh all night long Meet Trent Reznor etc. etc. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 17:45:22 -0500 From: cyberguy@netheaven.com (cyberguy) Subject: TMBG: I heard Metal Detector on the radio, and info club. For those of you interested, I just heard Metal Detector on the radio (WEQX 102.7 http://weqx.com). AND IT WAS REQUEST HOUR!!! Somewhere out there is another TMBG fan. Also, on Friday I received my TMBG Info-Club Merchandise. THe Video Compilation, Back To Skull, WDTSS, and the bird shirt. I plan to wear the shirt tomorrow. I did order the SEXXY single, but it was "OUT OF STOCK"!! Info-Club doesn't even have it. WHAT IS GOING ON? Don't interrupt me as I struggle to complete this thought- TMBG ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 96 18:19:14 EST From: "Anne E. Heidemann" <343SXVT@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU> Organization: Central Michigan University Subject: TMBG: kurt loder/mtv news rumours hey all! someone mentioned that they thought they heard kurt loder mention the connection between "they might be giants, madonna, nad prince" last week at the end of the week in rock. actually, what i heard was not They, but michael jackson. i assume that this connection is that they've all had children recently. peace, anne ************************************************************ *** Anne Heidemann *** *** anne.e.heidemann@cmich.edu *** *** 343sxvt@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu *** *** http://www.cmich.edu/~343sxvt *** *** *** *** *** *** "Let your mind go and your body will follow." *** *** --L.A. Story *** ************************************************************ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 17:29:08 -0600 (CST) From: jeremy pokela Subject: TMBG: Re: Wierd Al vs They Hmmmmmm, have to say this, Wierd Al inspired they if any inspiration took place. I believe the song mentioned was Everything you know is wrong, If you look at old Wierd Al, he has at least one song like this on all his albums from the 80's, Random songs lots of lyrics. If any influencing took place I would have to say that it was Wierd Al who influenced They Might be Giants no the other way around. Jeremy Pokela Liberal (US Style)/Socialist jpokela@d.umn.edu "Who the hell are you? To tell me what to do?" -Bad Religion "I should be allowed to think." -They Might be Giants "I'd rather die than give you control." -Nine Inch Nails "I am so smart. I am so smart. S-M-R-T. Doooohhhh. S-M-A-R-T." -Homer Simpson ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 19:04:17 -0500 (EST) From: Amy Subject: TMBG: Stuff I have to say About Polk: My interp of the song has always been that John and John were slamming politics as they are now. Here they are singing about this guy who came from nowhere, became president, did everything he intended to do, and faded back into obscurity. A far cry from today's politicians. About colors: Wow, I'm not the only one who associates everything with a color! I always think of colors when I listen to songs, and I have this odd way of associating numbers with colors. And this kind of reminds me of Stephen King's book _Cujo_ where King writes that dogs associate smell with color. About me: On Wednesday, I shall leave these United States for a while to visit our neighbor to the north, Canada, and its inhabitants the wonderful Mike Rose and the equally wonderful Alex Gershon. I'd love to meet any of you that are near there, so email Mike or Alex if you have any time to get together. About sig files: I have a lot of them. Here's one. Amy :) cowtown@tmbg.org Helpful hint: If you're bidding on a job for UPS, don't send your bid by FedEx. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 18:06:17 -0600 From: Simon Koch Organization: United Federation of Planets Subject: Re: TMBG: spider ananse Steven J. Luke wrote: > > On Sat, 16 Nov 1996, Jonah wrote: > > > In my Global Studies class, me and my partner are doing a presentation > > of an African Folktale about Ananse the spider, and that got me > > thinking. I think spider is quite pssobly about ananse, spider of > > african myth. The song sounds sort of African rythm-based, and the > > character ananse is a hero, but very annoying, and many people would > > want to "get--rid--of" him. Possible connection? And we're also > > I always thought that it was about Spider-Man (I actually thought > it was to obvious to ever point out), pretty much for the same reason. > He is a hero, but the cops/bad guys are always looking to get him. It > also explains all the comic bookish/cartoonish voices in the song. > Actually, they were just playing with the sampler and that was what came out. -- "The trouble with computers, of course, is that they're very sophisticated idiots." - Dr. Who ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 15:23:54 -0800 (PST) From: "Jonathan Lee Wilson (Jon Wilson)" Subject: Re: TMBG: I heard Metal Detector on the radio, and info club. I am afraid to order something from the info club cause I know I will order all of it. I have had an order requested for SEXXY for almost a month now! Why does it seem like They are flaking recently? On Mon, 18 Nov 1996, cyberguy wrote: > For those of you interested, I just heard Metal Detector on the > radio (WEQX 102.7 http://weqx.com). AND IT WAS REQUEST HOUR!!! Somewhere > out there is another TMBG fan. > Also, on Friday I received my TMBG Info-Club Merchandise. THe Video > Compilation, Back To Skull, WDTSS, and the bird shirt. I plan to wear the > shirt tomorrow. I did order the SEXXY single, but it was "OUT OF STOCK"!! > Info-Club doesn't even have it. WHAT IS GOING ON? > > Don't interrupt me as I struggle to complete this thought- TMBG > > ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 19:29:06 -0800 From: "Paul W. Wenzel" Subject: TMBG: You'll Miss Me While bouncing around the many TMBG pages out there I came across a poll. This poll had the normal stuff about favorites, but what struck me was that it had your LEAST favorite song. I put in my opinion, and I checked out how everyone else voted. 83.1% out of 23,000(approx.) said You'll Miss Me was their least favorite. What is wrong with this song. I like it. Am I the only one. THAT'S ALL. Almost For those who have seen me poking in everyday for the past week, you would have seen the name PAUL W. WENZEL at the top. That is my DAd's name, it is regestered under him. I am not my dad, I am not P.W.W. BYE ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 19:35:01 -0800 From: "Paul W. Wenzel" Subject: TMBG: Concert Info I live in NY (Long Island) and I went to the first show at Roseland. For anyone wondering about opening bands, there were 2. Cub - Chick Band from Vancouver. Hard Rock. Originally did NY City. THey were Good, but they got pissed off because nobody was moshing. Magnetic Fields. - They were the WORST band I have ever heard in my life (and I have heard quite a few). They were booed off stage, and people actually decided to leave, just because of them. Enough Said. The TMBG section of the show was exceptionally good. It was worth sitting through an hour of crap for. THAT'S ALL ------------------------------ From: Stoddart Date: Mon, 18 Nov 96 13:30:28 GMT Subject: TMBG: Thanks for the fun..... ... but I gotta go due to the massive amounts of posts and the incapabilities of my Uni. email box... I'm sick of it crashing and not being able to receive more than 129 letters... So, if anyone wants to mail me and talk some shit then feel free... So thanks, Stay Cool... Lee Lee Stoddart | Never Mind Me, p904772@tees.ac.uk | Cos I've Been Dead, | Been Out Of My Body, http://www.geocities.com/ | I've Been Out Of My Head SunsetStrip/3660 | | - Grant Lee Buffalo ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 16:55:11 -0800 From: Dave Gooch Subject: Re: TMBG: [Fwd: Returned mail: User unknown] Kirsten Brodbeck wrote: > > >Sad songs by TMBG: > > I guess I don't really get *sad* as such when I listen to Their > sadder songs, like "Road Movie" or "End of the Tour." I'm more likely to > go into a somewhat melancholy, introspective state. I kinda like songs > that do that, that make me get all quiet for a few minutes. > > Kirsten > Personally I always thought that "They'll Need A Crane" was a particularly sad song, although it didn't leave me depressed. Also "She's An Angel" always seemed like it should be sad to me. Don't ask why. -- "Sure, I could've stayed in the past...could've even been king. But in my own way, I am king. Hail to the King baby." -- Ash, Army of Darkness ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 17:25:07 -0800 From: Dave Gooch Subject: Re: TMBG: Finally Played Factory Showroom CyburDog@aol.com wrote: > > If you want more try playing Token Back To Brooklyn... > Ok, I know I'm gonna sound stupid, but how DO you play TBTB? I've tried everything I can think of. :^? -- "Sure, I could've stayed in the past...could've even been king. But in my own way, I am king. Hail to the King baby." -- Ash, Army of Darkness ------------------------------ From: Anakin Skywalker Subject: Re: TMBG: [Fwd: Returned mail: User unknown] Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 19:35:31 -0600 (CST) > particularly sad song, although it didn't leave me depressed. Also > "She's An Angel" always seemed like it should be sad to me. Don't ask > why. I think it is, too... "I heard they had a space program / When they sing you can't hear / there's no air / sometimes I think I kinda like that / and other times I think I'm already there"... It's like whoever it is that's singing the song keeps on having a real hard time getting his message out, recieving scorn for it, so people just aren't getting his point ("other times I think I'm already there") but he's afraid that if he _does_ start getting his message across, he'll be held responsible in some way for it, and he doesn't want to take that kind of responsibility and hardship ("I think I kinda like that")... Personally, I think that at least that phrase of the song comes out of TMBG just starting out and being a little unsure of Themselves, and just trying to make some money without becoming some mega-rock-stars or whatever... The rest of the song has always struck me as rather sad, too.... -CJ May the force be with you. Justification: / "The mome rath isn't born that could outgrabe me!" - Nicol ANTS / Williamson ~"'`'`'~"'`"~"~"^ *'`'*.,.*'`'*.,.*'`'*.,.*'`'*.,.*'`'*.,.*'`'*.,. WOW: Vortex http://www.atw.fullfeed.com/~pez -- Anakin Skywalker -- anakin@vader.snc.edu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 17:43:26 -0800 From: Dave Gooch Subject: Re: TMBG: You'll Miss Me Paul W. Wenzel wrote: > > While bouncing around the many TMBG pages out there I came across a poll. > This poll had the normal stuff about favorites, but what struck me was > that it had your LEAST favorite song. I put in my opinion, and I checked > out how everyone else voted. > > 83.1% out of 23,000(approx.) said You'll Miss Me was their least > favorite. > > What is wrong with this song. I like it. Am I the only one. > > When I first heard the song, I didn't like it. After listening to it several times it grew on me. I guess that's one way having the tape is useful, I didn't have the option of skipping the track unless I wanted to sit and FF through it. That's probably (my guess) what happens with most people that dislike it. -- "Sure, I could've stayed in the past...could've even been king. But in my own way, I am king. Hail to the King baby." -- Ash, Army of Darkness ------------------------------ From: CWLKNSN@wvnvaxa.wvnet.edu Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 20:54:49 -0500 (EST) Subject: TMBG: poster announcement Organization: West Virginia Network i cannot decide how i can give away the second poster. but first 1. i do not yet have the posters i can get them this friday 2. a local record store is going to give me at least one because i am always nagging them about it now if anyone can mail me a good way of solving my problem of how to give the second one away ASSUMING i can get it i would like that i will not sell it i do not think but will consider atrade for shows i have been looking for. mail me with suggestions sam ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 21:02:52 -0500 From: ntodd@uvm-gen.emba.uvm.edu (Nathan Todd) Subject: TMBG: Colors, Skipping Tracks The only TmBg song I think of in terms of colors is Metal Detector. In MD, all the cool little sound effects through the song I think of as little Blue squiggly creatures dancing around in a strange little bouncing dance on the beach. When that really strange sound effect comes in for several seconds, I think of it as a large Red lobster that climbs out of the water onto the sand to do a dance. At this point all of the blue squiggly creatures are basically keeping time to the lobster, & they all dance around in unison for a couple of seconds. Then the red guy goes back into the water & let's the blue guys do their thing until a short encore near the end. I don't often skip tracks on They albums, although once in a while i do. Almost never do I skip anything on the Pink album or Apollo 18. Once in a while I skip You'll miss me on Lincoln, Hearing Aid & Mr. Horrible on Flood, O Do Not Forsake Me & Spy on JH, & once in a great while I will skip I Can Hear You on FS. Nathan Todd a.k.a. Tenman *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> You know your duty to mankind, VOTE INSECTS '96: "Insects, Jesus, & God For President, Vice President, & Sub-Committee" They're the best thing since Canned Roses! 'Course the best thing before Canned Roses was Real Turnips, but don't blame me! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 20:10:31 -0600 (CST) From: Bill Tatalovich Subject: Re: TMBG: [Fwd: Returned mail: User unknown] Okay, folks. I see the possible trend of this whole "sad TMBG songs" conversation starting again, and I don't like it. I mean, we literally beat that conversation into the ground before, so we should just cut it out before another monster is created....a public service announcement from your friends at: Bill Tatalovich wt3@cec.wustl.edu ------------------------------ Subject: TMBG: Factory Showroom Review Date: Mon, 18 Nov 96 18:24:21 -0800 From: Ryan Clark Here's a review of TMBG's latest album from the web zine Salon: TRIUMPH OF THE WEIRD "Factory Showroom" They Might Be Giants Elektra "Unsupervised" Mono Puff Rykodisc By SAM HURWITT For a decade now, John Linnell and John Flansburgh have been staking out their territory on the lunatic fringe of alternative rock, starting back when that was a description, not a genre. Calling themselves They Might Be Giants, after an early '70s goofball movie in which George C. Scott thinks he's Sherlock Holmes, Linnell and Flansburgh became a fixture on college radio with their cheery, upbeat pop nursery rhymes, toy instruments, nasal vocals, and convoluted lyrics like "every jumbled pile of person has a thinking part that wonders what the part that isn't thinking isn't thinking of." With Flansburgh on guitar and Linnell on keyboards, accordion, and horns, the Johns experiment with odd polyrhythms and samples while keeping the mix accessible, even childish-sounding. One fragmented song on 1992's "Apollo 18" took up 21 tracks on the CD. The duo still maintains a Dial-a-Song service in Brooklyn, an answering machine with whatever song they're working on as the outgoing message. Linnell and Flansburgh have gotten back on track since 1994's bland "John Henry," They Might Be Giants' first full-length outing as a full band (you know, with bass and drums and lead guitar and stuff). Whereas "John Henry" was more of a straightforward rock album than the rest of TMBG's oeuvre (I always thought that meant "egg," but it doesn't), "Factory Showroom," the band's sixth album, represents a return to the weird. "I want to raise my freak flag/higher and higher," Linnell and Flansburgh sing on "How Can I Sing Like a Girl?," a poppy anthem with a '50s sound much like the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" and an electric slide guitar solo straight out of "Blue Moon." "XTC vs. Adam Ant" imagines a knock-down, drag-out battle for the toppermost of the poppermost, and manages to sound a tiny bit like each of the combatants (though more the former), before moving to a chamber-music strings interlude that doesn't sound like anybody. There's no track to compare with "Dinner Bell" (from "Apollo 18") or "Birdhouse in Your Soul" (from "Flood") to be found on "Factory Showroom" -- no song to play over and over until your friends bludgeon you to death. But it's not chock full of chaff, either. Among the better tunes is "S-E-X X-Y," a disco number with a wink and a smirk directed at the purple guy who doesn't have a name anymore (no, not Barney). "Exquisite Dead Guy," a weird, partially a cappella ditty with some minimal cello and bass accompaniment and a lot of ba-ba-da ba-ba-ba-da-ba's, stands out, as does "New York City," a peppy travel jingle describing the burg as an idyllic wonderland. And the humorously bombastic ballad "James K. Polk" sounds much more polished than it did on the 1990 "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" EP, especially with the addition of a haunting saw solo by Julian Koster and "Peggy Sue"-type galloping drums by Brian Doherty. Though they have an honest-to-gosh rock band now, They Might Be Giants haven't entirely left their low-budget roots behind. "Your Own Worst Enemy" sounds like it was mostly played on a Casio, and "I Can Hear You" was cut on a circa-1898 Edison wax cylinder recording phonograph, without any electricity. The tinny sound is especially apropos because the song's about the incomprehensibility of intercoms, but it would be pretty keen regardless. Flansburgh, the guitar-playing John, has a little something on the side, and that something is his band Mono Puff, whose album "Unsupervised" was released a few months ago. The result of a lot of messing around with Skeleton Key's drummer Steve Calhoun and Hal Cragin (bass player for Iggy Pop), as well as anyone else who happened to stop by over a few days, "Unsupervised" moves from one style to another with TMBG's offbeat sensibility. "Distant Antenna" is a funky little jam with the ever-aloof and sexy Romanian-born actress Elina Lowensohn (star of "Nadja" and a few Hal Hartley flicks) providing a voiceover. A bouncy ska/funk instrumental number called "Dr. Kildare" follows a (barely) subdued murmuring version of the Gary Glitter song "Hello Hello," which sounds like Nirvana at its most melancholy if it weren't for the hopped-up tribal drums reminiscent of Adam & the Ants. The haunting "To Serve Mankind" is played on a Melotron, an early sampler from the late sixties that lets you play human voices like a ghostly organ (made all the more spooky by the fact that the voices' owners may be long dead for all we know). Yeah, I know you can do all that with samplers now, Mr. Spielberg Smartypants, but this is much more impressive. The album closes with the miniature ode "Nixon's the One," which in the fine spirit of TMBG tomfoolery proclaims, "When they look back and weigh/everything he's done/they will realize/Nixon's the one." So let it be with Mono Puff. All this poking around with gizmos and controlled wackiness may be an odd way to cut an album (or two), but to Flansburgh and Linnell it's simple, really. As George C. Scott says in "They Might Be Giants," "[Don Quixote] thought every windmill was a giant. That's insane. But thinking that they might be... Well, all the best minds used to think the world was flat. But what if it isn't? It might be round. And bread mold might be medicine. If we never looked at things and thought what they might be, why, we'd still be out there in the tall grass with the apes." Ryan Clark rclark@nccn.net, rclark@tmbg.org "Never try and teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time, and it annoys the pig." - Mark Twain ___________________________________________________________________________ Do you believe in Macintosh? Learn how to help the cause by subscribing to the "EvangeList" listserver! Send email to: or go to: . ___________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ From: gonk@valley.net Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 21:29:57 -0500 Subject: TMBG: The Day Today started off like any other day. I woke up, took a shower and rode my bike to school (20 degrees my butt!) Anyway, my day went on as normal (as could be) until 2nd to last period. Which was french, we had a sub and she asked if we wanted to listen to music while we work. I whipped FS out of my binder and threw it in. There were mixed feelings from the class and a few quotes. "Is this that one from I'm your only friend?" After that I had drama, where I had taped I should be allowed to think for the self expression part. When people found out that I had a tmbg tape I got into sort of a discussion with some people who had heard of them. I sat down on the ground and realized that one part of the carpet made a sound very similar to that of the begining of getting sentimental over you. I started to sing, when a girl who I had known for years who I didn't think to be a fan started singing with me. Apparentally she's just as nutso about them as mee. We went on to sing more DAS songs like Weep Day, Concrete and clay, mr. cinderella... etc. It was to say: odd. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 22:27:32 -0500 (EST) From: Joshua Hall-Bachner Subject: TMBG: Bugs fall from my thoughts... >uh-huh...the '84 demo is very tough to find. I only know of three people >who have a copy. I had a copy, but my tape player ate it. I'll get >another, tho. What is on this infamous '84 demo? Is "Now That I Have Everything" on it? >CD prices can vary greatly in different areas. Most new CDs are around >15-16 unless they are on sale and then it's usually 12-14. Tapes are >around 10 (but who the hell wants to buy a new tape, tape prices are way >way overpriced). This is generally only true for those of you who live in the Boondocks...or those who insist upon shopping at places like Wal-Mart and mall music stores. In most medium-to-large cities, there are a number of places where currently popular CDs are $10-12 and other CDs about $13. New tapes are usually $7-9. The only time I've spent more than $13 (+ tax) on a CD was getting FS, because otherwise I would have had to wait an extra week to get it. BTW, out of that $16 -- $0.25 to $2.00 goes to the artist (depending on popularity -- most get < $1 per CD), and maybe $0.25 - $0.50 goes towards manufacturing and shipping the CD. The record company and store where you buy the CD are each making a huge chunk of profit off of it. Just thought you should know. >As far >as I'm concerned, they're really getting screwed over by Elektra (grumble >grumble grumble). Ever since the whole Superfueled Freaksicle thing, >I've felt very uneasy about Elektra... Well, we don't *really* have to worry until Linnell starts looking thin and sickly on stage (sign of an impending breakdown) and Elektra refuses to put out their newest single, we have nothing to worry about. Hey, wait! :) >Does anyone have the lyrics to Factory Showroom because the CD doesn't come >with them? www.tmbg.org. The source for all your lyrics questions. Josh, this good-luck charm hangin' offa my arm was left here by the police /---------------------------Joshua Hall-Bachner---------------------------\ | particle@servtech.com http://www.servtech.com/public/particle/ | | "I won't die until I'm dead." -- They Might Be Giants, "On The Drag" | \-------------------------- Eschew Obfuscation ---------------------------/ ------------------------------ From: CWLKNSN@wvnvaxa.wvnet.edu Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 22:27:55 -0500 (EST) Subject: TMBG: a second poster announcement Organization: West Virginia Network i really need suggestions....i have decided that i will trade for boots but whose boots folks???? hrm....i need to figure out how to establish whose boots i am looking for the following shows RIT 96 Demo WFMU 87 105 KITS 92 sam ------------------------------ Subject: TMBG: She's an Angel From: justhangingout@juno.com (Alfred N Tinsley) Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 22:34:15 EST Last week in drama 2 I used She's An Angel for a dramatic monolog(solo one act play) My teacher loved it and I got one of the highest grades in the class. He didn't know it was a song because how the way that it was written it sounded like a tragic play especially if you drive out the emotions and really lay it on the crowd,, one girl cried,,,just wanted you to know Nick "Stop and think about it purification of race,,,what was the color of your blood the last time you checked,,,red huh me too"-Ninety Pound Wuss ------------------------------ From: "Maria, Nick" Subject: TMBG: LSD? Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1996 11:09:29 +1100 > This just popped in my head a while ago, i wish it hadn't, i dont like it: Dont lets start is about drugs: abbrv. DLS - scrambled LSD: "DON'T lets START" Stupid, right?! < Well, it's OK but if it was LSD it would be 'Let's Start Don't'. At first I thought this sounded pretty stupid, but if you leave a BIG pause 'Let's Start - DON'T' it could be fun. Unfortunately 'part' doesn't rhyme, so there goes that idea... ------------------------------ Subject: TMBG: Re: Skipping FS and Dr. D. From: justhangingout@juno.com (Alfred N Tinsley) Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 22:52:36 EST On Mon, 18 Nov 1996 07:45:26 -0500 Kaylum@aol.com writes: >>Anyway, for now, just do like I do and tape TBTB so you never have to rewind the cd again!<< but woudn't you have to rewind the tape every time you wanted to listen to it,,,,ummmm? "HEY YOUR NOT AL ROAKER"-Zorak-Space Goast Coast to Coast ------------------------------ From: Anakin Skywalker Subject: TMBG: Exquisite Dead Guy.... Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 22:06:15 -0600 (CST) Just thinking about Exquisite Dead Guy.... It's always struck me as a rather sad song (no, I'm NOT starting that thread up for those of you out there who got worried about that), but I think I just put my finger on why: "Rotating in his display case, Swear I saw his mouth move.... (much later) How'm I supposed to let you know the way I feel about you?" Perhaps the speaker in the song feels himself trapped inside some display case, slowly rotating for everyone to see, but he just feels so (guilty/sad/ SHY/etc) that he can't really speak up to the woman he loves... Thinking about it, maybe it _is_ going back to the whole shy thing; They seem to like that theme a lot. Anyway, I think it's a sad song about a guy who feels that he just can't get it out and say what he wants to. Not an especially deep interp, but I like it better than the explanation the Johns gave at tmbg.org, and I don't remember anyone else mentioning it... Apologies if someone else already brought this up. ;) -CJ May the force be with you. Justification: / "Oh, I see; you met your quota. Well, from the dollar TOLEDO / sign, just type 'rm -rf *'. That should give you some more ~"'`'`'~"'`"~"~"^ space." - Me .,.*'`'*.,.*'`'*.,.*'`'*.,.*'`'*.,. WOW: Vortex http://www.atw.fullfeed.com/~pez -- Anakin Skywalker -- anakin@vader.snc.edu ------------------------------ From: Kmsog@aol.com Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 23:11:39 -0500 Subject: TMBG: linnell's writing << it seems like Linnell is very well-read and a great writer in general. >> yes, I (like most of Im sure) have thought this for a long time. sometimes it occurs when Im listening to music with "friends" who exclaim: "What? What did he say?" and I'll sigh and chant out: "walked in the glow of each other's majestic presence." It recently occurred to me when reading his personal-space-obsession-airplane-story in info club news. which, in turn, made me glad that Ive been able resist lunging out at him as he's walked through the crowd, to/from the stage at mercury lounge. after all, it wasnt his birthday. --jen. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 09:11:34 -0800 From: J Mathews Organization: United Federation of Planets Subject: TMBG: Re: Elektra and other ramblings.... Yeah, I was going to complain earlier. I think They should go back to good old Bar/None. Here is my argument: B/N Elecktra 3 videos for each albumn A18 was the only lp w/ 3 vids E is hestant to fund 1 for FS more freedom Sure, the contract says no artistic comp, but if that is so, why can't they put out whatever they want? Ok, I'm done now(I really wont be till my head falls off) Jeremy Mathews ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 10:03:34 -0800 From: J Mathews Organization: United Federation of Planets Subject: Re: TMBG: Elektra and other ramblings.... Brooksie2@aol.com wrote: > > >>IMHO, XTC and TMBG should both sign to Ryko > where they can live out their record recording days in bliss... :)<< > > Well, I've heard some not so nice things about Ryko, too... Mainly that they > didn't promote "Unsupervised" very well. As much as Elektra leaves a bad > taste in my indie rock mouth, I don't think Ryko is the answer either. I have an idea... 2 words with a dash between them... BAR/NONE GODDAMNIT!!!!! come on, 3 vids per albumn. what ever they want to put out, whenever. Ah well Jeremy Mathews ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1996 00:20:47 -0500 (EST) From: "The Famous Mr. Klaw" Subject: Re: TMBG: Nit needs help placing a show At 14:01 11/18/96 -0500, NitpickR@aol.com wrote: >What I know: This is a show that supposedly was at the Metro in Chicago, >though I am not sure about that. It is A18 era, because JD Feinberg, Kurt >Hoffman are in the band. The set list goes as follows, and I am not sure if >this starts in the middle of the set: > >It starts out with a Spin the Dial... I belive it's called "Tell Her No" by >the Zombies. The one where it goes "Tell her No no no, nononono, no no >no..." then it intros the band... This looks like the second half of the show from 11/11/92 at the Cabaret Metro, Chicago. The first half of the show is where They do the entire first album in order. On the tape I have, the first album is done all on the first side of the tape. The second side starts like you said, with Spin The Dial and continues with the set list you posted. This boot has always bothered me, though. It seems like side one and side two are two different show. It sounds like the Johns are doing the Pink Album by themselves, with a drummer. There is a lot of accordian, no keyboards, no horns and no bass. However, when side two starts, all of a sudden there is a full band! Maybe I'm being paranoid, or maybe I'm right...your guess is as good as mine. Alex ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 21:24:43 -0800 (PST) From: "'Honey Bunny' N Olson" Subject: Re: TMBG: Let's do the time warp again > >Wow, this just occurred to me. I'm watching the Rocky Horror > >Picture Show on VH-1, and John Fugelsang (the host of the > >Picture Show thing VH-1 does) introduced a scene, describing > >Rocky Horror (go watch the movie, he's the love child of Tim > >Curry) as something-or-other in GOLD LAME'! This probably has > >nothing to do with Purple Toupee, as the movie came out in the > >70's and PT is about the 60's, but it's the first time I've ever > >heard anyone say "gold lame'" without singing PT. Just thought > >I'd share that. OK, I know I'm responding to an old message, but I still haven't caught up with this list thing. I just had to put in my $.02 worth of gold lame. I was in the Husky Marching Band at the University of Washington for 3 years, and our uniforms are PURPLE with GOLD LAME on the front. I'm totally serious. We even have to take 'em to a special dry cleaner because there's only one place in town that cleans lame the right way, especially the gold kind. Beat that! -Lani O:) lanio@u.washington.edu _______________________________________________________________ one man's dream is another man's sad little toothpick hut --------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 22:00:59 -0800 From: J Chen Subject: TMBG: Similar Thoughts from Herne: > Also the mix...it seems that sometimes the music threatens to drown out > the vocals. Could be my imagination or more likely my crappy car stereo > speakers. to Herne (and all the listees can share in this, too): I had the exact same notion when I first heard the CD. I couldn't hear the words! I thought the mixing was awful. But, indeed, it was the car stereo, because, later, in my apartment, it sounded fine from the CD player. When I tried it on the CD boomer at my parents' house, it sounded even better. (It's nice at my parents' house... they have another CD player there, made by Kenwood, and it can index within tracks, so I can listen to Token Back To Brooklyn with a touch of a button!) By the way, about your saying Spiralling Shape is worse than XVAA... this is so funny. I thought kind of the same thing when I first heard it; i.e. "Gee, that's not much of a song at all." And then, I ended up listening to it more and more in the course of listening to the album. It REALLY grew on me. Today, I think it is the strongest track on FS. (My brother surprised me today by saying he thought Spiralling Shape was the strongest track... before he even had any idea of my opinion.) Maybe it will grow on you, too. Or maybe it will make you go insane... One last note straight to you, Herne: Drat! You're going to the Friday concert in L.A? The tickets sold out before we could get 'em. Now, my friends and I are headed for the Saturday one in Hollywood. Missed ya by _that_ much! Maybe next time? - James Chen ==================J-C-H-E-N-S-O-R-@-U-C-L-A-.-E-D-U================== || Home of James Chensor, A.K.A James Chen || || Lover of Palindromes, Anagrams, and other forms of Word Play. || ===================================================================== ||"To be or not to be: that is the question, whether tis nobler in || || the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune."|| || || || -------======= can be anagrammed to form: =======------- || || || || "In one of the Bard's best-thought-of tragedies, our insistent || ||hero, Hamlet, queries on two fronts about how life turns rotten."|| ===================================================================== ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 22:55:11 -0800 From: Dave Gooch Subject: Re: TMBG: She's an Angel Alfred N Tinsley wrote: > > Last week in drama 2 I used She's An Angel for a dramatic monolog(solo > one act play) My teacher loved it and I got one of the highest grades in > the class. He didn't know it was a song because how the way that it was > written it sounded like a tragic play especially if you drive out the > emotions and really lay it on the crowd,, one girl cried,,,just wanted > you to know > > Wow, I guess I was right when I said She's An Angel is a sad song (sorry about the short, lame post) -- "Sure, I could've stayed in the past...could've even been king. But in my own way, I am king. Hail to the King baby." -- Ash, Army of Darkness ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Nov 1996 23:02:59 -0800 From: Dave Gooch Subject: Re: TMBG: Similar Thoughts J Chen wrote: > > > By the way, about your saying Spiralling Shape is worse than > XVAA... this is so funny. I thought kind of the same thing when I first > heard it; i.e. "Gee, that's not much of a song at all." And then, I ended > up listening to it more and more in the course of listening to the album. > It REALLY grew on me. Maybe the song has a hypnotic quality or subliminal message that says "you will love this song". When I first heard it, I didn't think much of it, now its probably my favorite off of FS. hmmm... -- "Sure, I could've stayed in the past...could've even been king. But in my own way, I am king. Hail to the King baby." -- Ash, Army of Darkness ------------------------------ End of tmbg-list Digest #2-317 ******************************