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 #2-68 tmbg-list Digest, Volume 2, Number 68 Friday, 8 March 1996 Today's Topics: Tick Tock It's Twenty-Five of the Clock Re: trains Re: trains Re: Lie STill Little Bottle groovin to some new tunes... Re: trains (none) re:Indianapolis Concert Re: Tiny Toons Re: tmbg-list Digest #2-54 Re: trains BIRDHOUSE IN YOUR SOUL... VIDEO LURID TALK Etown show State songs..mono puff. Re: trains Re: Brother Blackhawk Re: trains responses to mailing list stuff my account bites... Ooops...confusion of initials Elizabeth Town 4/12/96 info space songs.... coolest thing I have Another newsletter E-town Ticket question! Krauss Re: space songs.... Re: trains We Hate They Might Be Ants Elektra & Freaksicle Re: space songs.... glass of milk... Re: space songs.... Re: trains & space for mature audiences... Administrivia: CHANGES!!!!! The digest volume and issue numbers have been set to reflect the year and day. This year is volume 2, the issue number should match the day of the year. The ftp server has been reconfigured. Now the _only_ way to get back archives is from ftp.tmbg.org. 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, 7 Mar 1996 09:07:44 -0500 (EST) From: Benjamin Hauck Subject: Tick Tock It's Twenty-Five of the Clock Ben or Been here, having a really coooooool Ben's Dial-A-Song feature: John Flansburgh produced the group "Spondee"'s album for the Hello Club. I've taken one of the best songs on the album and ***REMIXED*** it with an under-a-minute song by Boingo (formerly Oingo Boingo). You gotta hear the ***fun*** Spondee and Boingo remix (it's short), at: Ben's Dial-A-Song (614) 823-BLUE **** Now, onto my post . . . **** How should the TMBG listener treat the song "25 O'Clock"? Should s/he treat it as a unit in itself, or should s/he treat it as a remake, much like a symbol of a symbol? I question because I'm not sure how I want to interpret the TMBG opening to the "25 O'Clock," which was originally penned by the Dukes of Stratosphear, aka XTC A-OK. The "XTC" version begins with several clocks ticking then chiming because the song has a clock theme; the TMBG version to my ears has the ticking in the intro, but I don't immediately think of clocks. If I treat the song as a unit in itself--having its own identities, as if the "XTC" version has little influence--I do not see the opening ticking as a clock's ticking, and see it just as a really cool intro. If I treat the song as a symbol of a symbol--that is, TMBG is approaching the "XTC" version but not completely copying it--I want to think that that opening ticking is an abstracted sound of clock-ticking. It still fits the theme. Well, hwot-efer. Have you Digesters any suggestions? I know I can appreciate the song from both perspectives I have here presented, but something in me wants to satisfy the question: What did John & John intend? Sincerely, tick tick tick Ben or Been A General-Semanticist looking at "25 O'Clock" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 10:19:35 -0500 (EST) From: Alex Gershon Subject: Re: trains On Thu, 7 Mar 1996, Matthew James wrote: > Anybody think the lines > And this train keeps rolling off the track > Trying to act like something else > Trying to go where it's been uninvited > > >From It's Not My Birthday > deal with our beloved Mrs. Train? ;) Maybe...but it does make me wonder just how many TMBG songs have train references to them! Some that I can think of off the top of my head would be: Lucky Ball and Chain (Sure as you can't steer a train...) See the Constellation (I lay my head, on the railroad tracks...) 32 Footsteps (32 boxcars all of them have your face) Any others??? Alex ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 09:46:01 -0600 (CST) From: jenny Subject: Re: trains On Thu, 7 Mar 1996, Alex Gershon wrote: > Maybe...but it does make me wonder just how many TMBG songs have train > references to them! Some that I can think of off the top of my head > would be: Lucky Ball and Chain (Sure as you can't steer a train...) > See the Constellation (I lay my head, on the railroad tracks...) > 32 Footsteps (32 boxcars all of them have your face) > We were waving our arms out the windows...of a fast moving passenger train... You know, "Turn Around?" Oh. You knew that. -jenny, who wonders why the computer lab always smells like soup. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 08:33:32 -0800 (PST) From: Liam Singer Subject: Re: Lie STill Little Bottle cool, we have the exact same thing (it's even called coffee house). Last time, I performed Why Does the Sun Shine? on my accordian, and everyone really liked it. On Wed, 6 Mar 1996, Rensink, Brenden - S wrote: > > At my school, we have a thing called the coffee house, where you can perform > music, read poetry...etc. Anyways, it's a really beatnicky atmosphere, so I > decided to perform Lie Still Little Bottle. It was rad. it turned out > really good, and every one loved. I am jsut pumped about this so I thought > I'd tell ya'all. > > -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- > Brenden - nednerB + > + > AKA - The Hypnotist of Ladies+ > + > "You're free to come and goor talk like curtis blow", TMBG+ > -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- > "truth only exsists in the hearts of the men that embrace + > it", me. + > -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- > "Is it just me, or is it hot in +here"...."No brenden, it's just + > you." + > -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- > TMBG-ENYA-BEATLES-DONAVON-REM-SIMON & GARFUNKLE-AKIRA-CCR- + > THE WONDER STUFF-STEVEN DOLMATZ- BARE NAKED LADIES-VISITOR 3 > -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- > MONTY PYTHON-RANMA1/2-SNL-... > + > -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- ------------------------------ From: grazioli@marywood1.marywood.edu Date: Thu, 07 Mar 1996 12:04:32 E Subject: groovin to some new tunes... I just got Mono Puff and State Songs on tape last night from my friend Bryan (thank Bry!) and I tell you nothing is better than being alone in the house, cranking the volume, and singing South Carolina in the shower! If only I knew all the words! This is a plea to whoever posted the words of South Carolina a few weeks back, could you send them directly to me? Tanks. Oh yeah and if you've got the words to Maine to words to Maine too just send 'em over too. You guys don't want to even know the lyrics I' ve been shouting this morning. "I was a lion now I am a me?" huh? Any way...stop me from completing my top ten list of Top Ten Porno Movies Based on TMBG Songs.....*evility reigns* I'll keep working...... Anyone else think Nevada reminds them of being at a parade for like nine hours and being just far enough away that you can hear a co uple of the marching bands? Or is it just me? I love expanding my They horizons....I can't think of any other train songs right now but maybe one will come to me later :) I was invisible....Tracy going now on my best quotes list: "Oregon is bad. Stop it if you can." - JL "I hit my head, now I'm left-handed." -JF or maybe I was invincible. "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!" -Monty Python (ok so I just saw Life of Brian again yesterday) Just a little hyper today ain't I? Wrote a song last night about our car that we are getting rid of to the tune of Monday, Monday....Hyundai, Hyundai...I'm so bored.... garcon where's my drink? bye guys... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 17:17:00 +0000 (GMT) From: "Mark M. Iles" Subject: Re: trains On Thu, 7 Mar 1996, Alex Gershon wrote: > Maybe...but it does make me wonder just how many TMBG songs have train > references to them! Some that I can think of off the top of my head > would be: Lucky Ball and Chain (Sure as you can't steer a train...) > See the Constellation (I lay my head, on the railroad tracks...) > 32 Footsteps (32 boxcars all of them have your face) > > Any others??? On 'Turn Around', don't They say something about a train conductor who they thought "would find us highly amusing, quickly swivelled his head around, and his face which was a paper-white mask of evil, sang us this song". Or do I remeber wrong and it's not a train conductor at all... Mark ------------------------------ From: postmaster@student2.uwsp.edu Date: Thu, 7 Mar 96 12:33 CST >From postmaster Thu Mar 7 12:33:09 1996 Subject: smtp mail failed Content-Type: text Content-Length: 1991 Your mail to student2.uwsp.edu!lmelv354 is undeliverable. ---------- diagnosis ---------- ---------- unsent mail ---------- From tmbg-digest Wed Mar 6 03:05:07 0500 1996 remote from tmbg.org Received: (majordom@localhost) by mail.tmbg.org (8.7.1/8.7.ufp) id DAA01401; Wed, 6 Mar 1996 03:05:07 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 03:05:07 -0500 (EST) From: owner-tmbg-digest@tmbg.org Message-Id: <199603060805.DAA01401@mail.tmbg.org> Errors-To: owner-tmbg-digest@tmbg.org Reply-To: tmbg-digest@tmbg.org Sender: owner-tmbg-digest@tmbg.org Precedence: bulk To: tmbg-digest@tmbg.org Subject: tmbg-list Digest #2-66 tmbg-list Digest, Volume 2, Number 66 Wednesday, 6 March 1996 Today's Topics: can't we all just get along? Shane? a note to JaN+sChMAn Indianapolis concert Stoners... Re: Stoners... Re: Indianapolis concert Stoners..... -Reply Newsletters Re: Stoners..... -Reply RE: JH,Apollo 18,Caps, etc. RE: FLESH FEST RE: slogon fest err, something alcohol, maybe? HELP! (Mercury Lounge shows!!) Re: Stoners.... Another newsletter RE: slogon fest err, something Re: Stoners..... Sorry, maybe I did something wrong We Hate TMBG on the cover of JH thanks and sorry again OK, this is the last one Pondering existance in a hick town w/o TMBG Re: TMBG on MTV (kinda sorta maybe) Re: Stoners..... -Reply Apollo 18 Re: TMBG on MTV (kinda sorta maybe) found mr.dj More stuff It's from Tracy, I'm just too lazy to telnet.... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 11:57:16 -0700 (MST) From: Joyce Frost Subject: re:Indianapolis Concert > Am I the only one who thinks that the 20&under folks are getting hosed? I completely agree...althought I am getting hosed anyway simply cause I live in NM...oh welll, I still have my cds... -Joyce Frost "When the whole world crumbles like a cake I'll be hanging from the hope that I'll never see that recipe again..." -TMBG ------------------------------ From: BOAR_110@access.ohio.gov Date: Thu, 07 Mar 1996 14:17:31 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: Tiny Toons DON'T YOU MEAN SHE SHOULD BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THEY? 'THEM' IS JUST NOT GIANTS. :> BROTHER JOHN BLACKHAWK ------------------------------ From: BOAR_110@access.ohio.gov Date: Thu, 07 Mar 1996 14:30:47 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: tmbg-list Digest #2-54 THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW TIMES I WISH I DIDN'T USE ALL CAPS SO I COULD SHOW I'M YELLING!!!! LISTEN HERE YOU TURLINGDROME, IT'S APOLLO 18! EIGHTEEN! EIGHT PLUS TEN! YOU STUPID JOOJOOFLOP!! BROTHER JOHN BLACKHAWK ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 14:34:21 -0500 (EST) From: Alex Gershon Subject: Re: trains On Thu, 7 Mar 1996, Mark M. Iles wrote: > > > On Thu, 7 Mar 1996, Alex Gershon wrote: > > > Maybe...but it does make me wonder just how many TMBG songs have train > > references to them! Some that I can think of off the top of my head > > would be: Lucky Ball and Chain (Sure as you can't steer a train...) > > See the Constellation (I lay my head, on the railroad tracks...) > > 32 Footsteps (32 boxcars all of them have your face) > > > > Any others??? > > On 'Turn Around', don't They say something about a train conductor > who they thought "would find us highly amusing, quickly swivelled his head > around, and his face which was a paper-white mask of evil, sang us this > song". Or do I remeber wrong and it's not a train conductor at all... > > You're absolutely correct! "We were waving our arms out the window, of a fast moving passenger train..." It was a train conductor. There's also a train reference in Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head..."Ads up in the subway are the work of someone trying to please their boss..." Do They have some sort of obsession with trains?? Seven or eight songs seems to be too many to be just a coincedence. Try finding all the songs with space references...that should take some time! Alex ------------------------------ From: BOAR_110@access.ohio.gov Date: Thu, 07 Mar 1996 14:42:09 -0400 (EDT) Subject: BIRDHOUSE IN YOUR SOUL... VIDEO I WAS YOUNG WHEN DON'T LET'S START CAME OUT, BUT I FOUND IT ON ONE OF MY AL-TV TAPES (I USED TO TAPE IT). BUT I STILL STAND BY THE FACT THAT BIRDHOUSE IS THE BEST VIDEO. HOWEVER, I HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF FINDING OUT THAT LITTLE RICHARD IS NOT GAY THEN OF GETTING A COPY OF THE COOLEST VIDEO EVER. ANY INFO WOULD BE WELL APPRITIATED, AND I AGREE IF I SUCCES- FULLY GET THE VIDEO, I WILL DISCONTINUE MY ALL CAPS STREK. DEAL. BROTHER JOHN BLACKHAWK ------------------------------ From: BOAR_110@access.ohio.gov Date: Thu, 07 Mar 1996 14:51:44 -0400 (EDT) Subject: LURID TALK LISTEN UP, YA'LL CAN TALK ABOUT "Humping your girlfriends to the beat of Ana Ng" OR GETTING STONED WHILE LISTENING TO TMBG OFF THE NET ALL YOU WANT, BUT ON THE LIST, LET'S REMEMBER THE LITTLE FOUR LETTER WORD: TACT. THE JOHNS WERE ON 48 HOURS AGO AND SAID THEY WERE IN A PROGRAM WITH OTHER BANDS WHICH CONDEMNS DRUG AND ALCHOHAL USE FOR FUN. SO EVEN IF IT'S NEIGH IMPOSSIBLE TO PICTURE LINNEL WITHOUT ACID AND STILL WRITING SUCH COOL SONGS, THAT ISN'T HOW IT HAPPENS. LET'S TONE DOWN THE DIRT MOUTHS. BROTHER JOHN BLACKHAWK ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 14:59:56 -0800 (EST) From: Sarah Rickter Subject: Etown show Has anyone heard anymore about the Elizabethtown show? The last I heard was that it is on April 12th. I'm really excited about it--I hope we actually get to go. Let me know what you know. Thanks. Sarah ------------------------------ From: "Rensink, Brenden - S" Subject: State songs..mono puff. Date: Thu, 07 Mar 96 12:07:00 P Some one just wrote about getting the state songs, and mono puff. Well I would be interested in getting a copy. Would you be willing to make a copy for me. I could pay $$$! REALLY INTERESTED -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Brenden - nednerB AKA - The Hypnotist of Ladies+ "You're free to come and goor talk like Kurtis Blow," TMBG "truth only exsists in the hearts of the men that embrace + it", me. "Is it just me, or is it hot in +here"...."No brenden, it's just + you." "very small rocks?"..."and what do you burn aapart from whitch's? MORE WITCHS!!" monty python TMBG-ENYA-BEATLES-DONAVON-REM-SIMON & GARFUNKLE-AKIRA-CCR- + THE WONDER STUFF-STEVEN DOLMATZ- BARE NAKED LADIES-VISITOR 3 MONTY PYTHON-RANMA1/2-SNL-... + - ------------------------------ From: Jantschman@aol.com Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 16:09:23 -0500 Subject: Re: trains In a message you write: > On 'Turn Around', don't They say something about a train conductor >who they thought "would find us highly amusing, quickly swivelled his head >around, and his face which was a paper-white mask of evil, sang us this >song". Or do I remeber wrong and it's not a train conductor at all... It was the engineer who was backing a turn unless my memory fails me. JaN+sChMAn ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 16:46:06 -0600 From: jchaffer@tmbg.org (Jonathan Chaffer) Subject: Re: Brother Blackhawk Thus spake Brother Blackhawk: > DON'T YOU MEAN SHE SHOULD BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THEY? 'THEM' IS JUST NOT >GIANTS. :> It has been a custom that any capitalized third person plural pronoun (e.g. "when I saw Them in Greenwich Village...") refers to the band. Of course, if everything in the message is capitalized... :-) >THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW TIMES I WISH I DIDN'T USE ALL CAPS SO I COULD SHOW >I'M YELLING!!!! LISTEN HERE YOU TURLINGDROME, IT'S APOLLO 18! EIGHTEEN! >EIGHT PLUS TEN! YOU STUPID JOOJOOFLOP!! I'm a bit confused about this rant, but if it's about the person who said "Apollo 17" when referring to the album, he/she is sorry and said so. >WANT, BUT ON THE LIST, LET'S REMEMBER THE LITTLE FOUR LETTER WORD: TACT. Yes, let's. I try to show tact by attempting to spell words right, use correct grammar, capitalize and puncuate correctly, and be polite. I agonize over every post to the list and try to make sure I mean what I say. A little Netiquette goes a long way. And, to all the people who have slung mud lately, remember what your mommy told you: "If you just ignore them they'll go away." Beware the flame fishermen. +------------------------------+-------------+----------------------+ | jonathan.chaffer@cmich.edu | JC(A+R) | jchaffer@tmbg.org | +------------------------------+------+------+----------------------+ | http://www.tmbg.org/~jchaffer/ | Bozosity abounds. -Kibo | +-------------------------------------+-----------------------------+ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 16:51:08 -0500 (EST) From: Alex Gershon Subject: Re: trains On Thu, 7 Mar 1996 Jantschman@aol.com wrote: > In a message you write: > > > On 'Turn Around', don't They say something about a train conductor > >who they thought "would find us highly amusing, quickly swivelled his head > >around, and his face which was a paper-white mask of evil, sang us this > >song". Or do I remeber wrong and it's not a train conductor at all... > > It was the engineer who was backing a turn unless my memory fails me. It's all comming back to me...I feel like such a fool! Yes, it was the engineer not the train conductor, but the lyric is "until the engineer who's back had been turned..." not "who was backing a turn". Yet another misunderstood lyric to add to our collection! Alex ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 18:16:54 -0500 From: shelton@coeibm.rutgers.edu (Bryan Shelton) Subject: responses to mailing list stuff my account bites... Okay yeah it's me Tracy again...my disk quota is exceeded on my MW account so here I am...masquerading as Bryan again... Let me respond to everything at once and then ask my all important question of the day: First, Jenny that song was great, what part of Texas are you from? my boyfriend used to live in Corsicana. I'll send the Hyundai song later. Secondly, I do have copies of Mono Puff and State Songs, but they are not wonderful condition (tapes of tapes of tapes, you know?) so I'll mail you privately later and tell you my address so you can send me blank tapes, and all will be done for you. Just get in touch with me at my regular email address (grazioli@marywood1.marywood.edu) and I promise I will do for you whatever I can...just ask nicely. Thirdly, my top ten grows by the minute...hahahahaha And last but not least, here is a question that has been on my mind for some time now, and was only reinforced when I read something about J&J collaborating to write a few songs...now my question is this: If Flans, for example, writes a song, does that mean he would sing it? This sounds like a dumb question, but hear me out. I mean does Flans sit down and write a song with every intention of being the man to sing it, and then think, well hey, no, Linnell could pull this one off better than I could...or vice versa. Like what prevents Linnell from singing a Flans song (say, Lie Still Little Bottle) and Flans from singing a Linnell-sung song (say, Purple Toupee). Does this make sense to you? I am in no way criticizing Them, because if they (excuse me, They) changed anything I would probably be pissed, but does anyone know the answer to my strange and convoluted question? Thanks...your continued support is much-appreciated. Just because you're all so peachy.... Tracy's Top Ten Facts about John and John They Never Wanted Us to Find Out: 10. "She's An Angel" written for good friend Madonna. 9. Original band name was "Two Guys Named John" 8. Their strange sexual encounter with Roseanne Barr 7. Recruited new band members from state prison 6. John's mom writes all the lyrics 5. Aren't really from NY but "Des Moines's Ambassadors of Love" sounded pretty stupid. 4. Two words: Milli Vanilli 3. Iraqi terrorists in disguise as pleasant American singers. 2. They actually HATE the accordion. 1. Sex changes-a-go-go! Gotta eat dinner, bye ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 17:11:06 -0700 (MST) From: Joyce Frost Subject: Ooops...confusion of initials I made a mistake in one of my recent emails by putting my quote "existitance is futile" -JF JF in this case does not stand for John Flansburg...I completely forgot that I have the same initials...JF in this case just stands for lowely old me, Joyce Frost who is honored to have the same initials as John Flansburg. Anyways, since I am sending this anyway, am I right in understanding both johns have released something to the effect of solo albums or are realeasing them...when I got on this listserv I caught the last half of that conversation... Thanks, Joyce Frost "When this whole world crumbles like a cake, I'll be hanging from the hope that I'll never see that recipe again..." -TMBG(duh) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 19:19:54 -0500 (EST) From: "Adam P. Fistler" Subject: Elizabeth Town 4/12/96 info There is defently going to be an Elizabeth town show on April 12, 1996. Tickets will be $8 for non students and will go on sale March 26, 1996. The show will start at 8PM. For more info call (717)361-1000. As a side note. There is a form to join the Hello CD club in Spin Magazine this week. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 19:49:35 -0500 From: shelton@coeibm.rutgers.edu (Bryan Shelton) Subject: space songs.... Alex, you sly devil, you just had us rack our brains for train songs, now the next challenge is space songs, if I read correctly? Hmm...I can think of Why Does the Sun Shine? (doh!) "I kick the rocks beneath me I squint at the sun" Nightgown of the Sullen Moon Moving to the Sun "In the spaceship, the silver spaceship..." See the Constellation "Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night" Okay so I'm grasping at straws here...any other suggestions...the phrase I immediately noted that showed up in 2 songs (I think only two was "glass of milk" - name that tune... Anyway, I'm in a strange mood and just rambling...this could go on forever...number of times they use the word "head" in all their songs put together...songs that mention women....songs that don't mention women...songs with the word "party" in them....hehehe please someone have me committed....ciao fellow babies... Just five feet tall and Tracy (it's true) Stay tuned for top ten TMBG pornos... or maybe I'm not that depraved. Have a lovely evening. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 19:51:55 -0500 (EST) From: Michael Rose - PHAF/W95 Subject: coolest thing I have You know, getting anything by TMBG is always a cool experience, but sometimes you come across something so damn cool that you just have to tell people about it. Even though I love all their albums and EPs, the coolest and probably rarest thing that I have is an eight inch laserdisc pressing of The Videos 1986-1989. It was never made available through the info club, as far as I know, and it has been deleted so there are no more copies available to be ordered from anyone. I love the idea of TMBG on laser, and I hope their next one comes out on laser as well, though I doubt that it will. That's too bad, 'cause laserdiscs are to VHS what CD's are to tapes: a million billion zillion times better. The videos are the same as on the tape but obviously look really sharp and clear. It is in the CLV format. The cover is blue and superimposes the name of the disc above two hazy stills from the Purple Toupee video, I think, with Linnell in the background holding an accordion and Flans's face looming much larger, and he's sticking his tongue out. I'd say that besides the demo tape this may be the rarest catalogue item of all. Mike. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 20:25:10 -0500 (EST) From: Michael Rose - PHAF/W95 Subject: Another newsletter Hi there. Here's the third instalment of "Neville Eats Cheese and Vomits All Over His Anthony Newley albums", or, it's another TMBG newsletter, this one from 1992. TMBG Information Bulletin Summer 1992 "Apollo 18 is more than a rocket to the moon. It's a trip through nature, evil, death, and delirium. They Might Be Giants' new album finds the band's acclaimed songwriting reaching a new peak. Soaring with a kaleidoscopic variety of songs and a bold full sound, APOLLO 18 is a sonic adventure that befits its title." That's how Elektra's press release heralded TMBG's fourth full length album and, hype aside, we're inclined to agree with them. If there are any of you out there who haven't yet heard APOLLO 18, get on down to your local CD and Cassette store and get yourself a copy right away. Sadly, at least for those of us old enough to remember the heyday of the LP, APOLLO 18 is the first TMBG album not released on vinyl in the U.S. OF COURSE, A NEW ALBUM MEANS NEW VIDEOS, TOO. The first video from APOLLO 18, "The Statue Got Me High", debuted on MTV's 120 Minutes in February. The video was shot in California and directed by long-tiome TMBG associate Adam Bernstein, who first worked with the Giants on their first video, "Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head", way back in 1986. Adam also directed the videos for "Don't Let's Start", "(She Was A) Hotel Detective", "Ana Ng", "They'll Need A Crane", and "Birdhouse In Your Soul." For the Giants' next video from APOLLO 18, the band decided to stick closer to home and to take a chance on an untried new director. The video for "The Guitar" was shot entirely in John and John's home neighbourhood of Williamsburgh in Brooklyn and directed by none other than John Flansburgh. For on-camera talent, director Flansburgh made use of many of the Giants' Williamsburgh friends and neighbours, as well as members of the TMBG road crew and the Hornblow management office staff. Amongst many others, singer Laura Cantrell, who sang the female lead vocal on "The Guitar", and remix-master Joshua Fried, whose talents are known to Giants aficianados from his remixes of "The World's Address" (on the MISCELLANEOUS T album) and "She's Actual Size (on the "I Palindrome I" US CD Single) appear. "The Guitar" video should already have debuted on MTV by the time you read this. As always, if you'd like to see it more often, it wouldn't hurt to devote all of your free time to continuously calling 1-800-DIAL-MTV (1-800-342-5688) and requesting it. BROOKLYN'S AMBASSADORS OF LOVE ARE MUSICAL AMBASSADORS FOR INTERNATIONAL SPACE YEAR. For the three people out there who don't already know it (gasp!), 1992 has been officially proclaimed International Space Year, organised by NASA along with other national space agencies all around the world. The point of the year is to emphasise that space is the last international frontier and all nations of this earth should join together in peaceful Space exploration-a message that John and John are only too happy to promote. Of course, they'd love to go to the moon themselves, but even though that might not happen-yet-they've dedicated their APOLLO 18 album and tour to ISY. HOW MANY SONGS ARE THERE ON APOLLO 18 ANYWAY? Astute observers will note that while there are only 18 titles listed on the back of the jewel box, compact discs of APOLLO 18 contain 38 tracks. That's because APOLLO 18 is one of the first compact discs to take full advantage of the shuffle mode found on today's CD players. The song "Fingertips" is composed of a series of twenty-one separate refrains, each of which is a separate track on the CD, so when APOLLO 18 is played in shuffle mode the CD player mixes up the album's 17 full-length songs and the 21 mini-songs that make up "Fingertips" at random, producing an ever-changing musical collage. (Our apologies to folks outside North America-APOLLO 18 compact discs sold in the rest of the world don't have the extra tracks for "Fingertips" due to a mastering error. Elektra assures us that this will be corrected for the next pressing.) SORRY, WRONG NUMBER...The telephone number listed for TMBG's world famous Dial-A-Song service in the liner notes for the first pressing of Apollo 18 is wrong, wrong, wrong. The correct number is still (718) 387-6962 and it's still just a regular call to Brooklyn). HEY! WHO'S THAT PLAYING...WITH THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS? It's a band! That's right--the next time you see John and John on stage with accordion and guitar in hand, they will be accompanied not by backing tapes on their trusty eight-channel Otari reel-to-reel tape deck, but by actual human musicians. TMBG's expanding pop universe now includes Kurt Hoffman (The Ordinaires, Band of Weeds) on sax, clarinet and keyboards, Tony Maimone (Pere Ubu, Bob Mould, The Mekons) on bass, and Jon Feinberg (just excellent) on drums. This will be TMBG's longest and largest tour ever and beginning this Summer, they'll be spending the remainder of 1992 travelling around the world and bringing their "Don't Tread On The Cut-Up Snake World Tour" to a venue near you (see the other side of this newsletter for tour dates. Be there. Aloha. THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS Don't Tread On The Cut-Up Snake WORLD TOUR 1992 38 Tour dates listed, beginning on 6/16 and ending on 8/15. The TMBG INFORMATION BULLETIN. Bo Orloff, Editor PO BOX 110553 Williamsburgh Station Brooklyn NY 11211-0003 Now it's time for Mike's Trivia Question: what feature film did Adam Bernstein direct? Thanks for playing. Mike. "People should get beat up for stating their beliefs." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Mar 1996 20:26:18 -0500 (EST) From: CORT Subject: E-town Ticket question! Hi everyone! It's cortney, I have a question for ya! I just read a post that said that tickets for the E-town show go on sale March 26th and are $8 for non-students....but does anyone know *where* you can get tickets? Through TicketMaster? Through the school only? Please help! Thanks bunches in advance! sun and smiles cortney ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 20:51:05 -0500 (EST) From: Michael Rose - PHAF/W95 Subject: Krauss What ever happened to original TMBG producer Bill Krauss? I gots to know. Mike. "we have our own song and we'd like to get it recorded" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 20:39:20 -0500 (EST) From: Michael Rose - PHAF/W95 Subject: Re: space songs.... On Thu, 7 Mar 1996, Bryan Shelton wrote: > Alex, you sly devil, you just had us rack our brains for train songs, > now the next challenge is space songs, if I read correctly? > Hmm...I can think of Why Does the Sun Shine? (doh!) > "I kick the rocks beneath me I squint at the sun" > Nightgown of the Sullen Moon > Moving to the Sun > "In the spaceship, the silver spaceship..." > See the Constellation > "Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night" > Okay so I'm grasping at straws here...any other suggestions...the phrase > I immediately noted that showed up in 2 songs (I think only two was > "glass of milk" - name that tune... More space songs: Space Suit Twisting (if you accept "She's not your satellite") Sapphire Bullets Of Pure Love (bullets through the atmosphere) The World's Address (earth is a planet!) For Science Piece Of Dirt (once again earth is in fact a planet) Glass of milk opens Mammal but what is the other one? Mike. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Mar 1996 21:27:32 -0500 (EST) From: The Vonnegut Vassal Subject: Re: trains > > On 'Turn Around', don't They say something about a train conductor > > who they thought "would find us highly amusing, quickly swivelled his head > > around, and his face which was a paper-white mask of evil, sang us this > > song". Or do I remeber wrong and it's not a train conductor at all... > > > > > > You're absolutely correct! "We were waving our arms out the window, of a > fast moving passenger train..." It was a train conductor. ummm...sorry if someone has already corrected this, i haven't fininshed wading through my mail for the day... but it's the engineer...not the train conductor...i realize you weren't directly quoting, but it's just for everyone's information...! ("...until the engineer, whose back had been turned..") though it is still a train ref...bravo! thanks! --Fran AKA The Vonnegut Vassal ------------------------------ From: "Matthew Seth Meyer" Date: Thu, 07 Mar 1996 21:31:00 -500 (EST) Subject: We Hate They Might Be Ants If you'll look more closely at the controversial "We Hate They Might Be Giants" picture, you'll notice that it actually say "We Hate They Might Be Ants". That's why it's easily my favorite TMBG album photo. mattman ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 20:55:08 -0600 (CST) From: "John E. Neely" Subject: Elektra & Freaksicle > WE ALSO GET A LOT OF LETTERS ASKING why the "Istanbul (Not > Constantinople) EP isn't available on cassettes or vinyl. The decision > to release "Istanbul" only on CD was made by our record company. You can > write and ask them to explain it (and other mysteries of the record > business ) to you. Their address is: Elektra Entertainment, 75 > Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10019. Perhaps we should all use this address to ask why Freaksicle is no more. Or was it Themselves who delayed it? I doubt it... %%% jneely01@mail.orion.org %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% "....the god Thoth-Hermes granted him original enlightenment by murmuring, `Uh, look, I groove with the problem, baby, but dig, we gotta put carrots in or it ain't no stew.'" --Robert Sheckley ------------------------------ From: Ruprecht76@aol.com Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 22:09:01 -0500 Subject: Re: space songs.... > Glass of milk opens Mammal but what is the other one? the bit from fingertips, but you knew that, of course you knew that ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 22:58:46 -0500 From: shelton@coeibm.rutgers.edu (Bryan Shelton) Subject: glass of milk... Yes there is milk in fingertips...please pass the milk please but! I was thinking of Someone Keeps Moving My Chair: Would you mind if we balanced this glass of milk where you visiting friend accidentally was killed...etc I had forgotten completely about Fingertips... Thanks for reminding me... So we've got trains, space, and milk....I feel like a little boy. Tracy, who is also wearing sweatpants from the boys dept of Wal-Mart because she is so damn short :) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 23:12:07 -0500 (EST) From: "Jeanette, the lost Warner sib" Subject: Re: space songs.... On Thu, 7 Mar 1996 Ruprecht76@aol.com wrote: > > Glass of milk opens Mammal but what is the other one? > > the bit from fingertips, but you knew that, of course you knew that > No, that was "Please pass the milk, please". Nette ------------------------------ From: Matthew James Subject: Re: trains & space Date: Fri, 8 Mar 1996 02:10:37 -0500 (EST) > On Thu, 7 Mar 1996, Mark M. Iles wrote: > > > > > > > On Thu, 7 Mar 1996, Alex Gershon wrote: > > > > > Maybe...but it does make me wonder just how many TMBG songs have train > > > references to them! Some that I can think of off the top of my head > > > would be: Lucky Ball and Chain (Sure as you can't steer a train...) > > > See the Constellation (I lay my head, on the railroad tracks...) > > > 32 Footsteps (32 boxcars all of them have your face) > > > > > > Any others??? > > > > On 'Turn Around', don't They say something about a train conductor > > who they thought "would find us highly amusing, quickly swivelled his head > > around, and his face which was a paper-white mask of evil, sang us this > > song". Or do I remeber wrong and it's not a train conductor at all... > > > > > > You're absolutely correct! "We were waving our arms out the window, of a > fast moving passenger train..." It was a train conductor. > > There's also a train reference in Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet > Head..."Ads up in the subway are the work of someone trying to please > their boss..." > > Do They have some sort of obsession with trains?? Seven or eight songs > seems to be too many to be just a coincedence. > > Try finding all the songs with space references...that should take some time! You are so right, Alex, there are a ton of songs with trains, of course trains are very cool. I'll start off the space lines "Space walk, it's like a space walk with the corresponding weight loss..." Matt (listening to Power of DAS) -- ----------------------Bill Nye, the Science Guy!------------------------ Matt James mjames@love.loyola.edu http://www.charm.net/~elrond "EIREANN GO BRATH!"| Eireannach siochan | Wedge Antilles |The Beatles "I'm not the only dust my mother raised." "Hail to the king, baby"-Ash Anything Box|Erasure|Warsaw-JoyDivision-NewOrder|Elastica|Blur|Suede|Pulp Smiths|Revenge|The Other Two|Rush|Moxy Fruvous|Lightning Seeds|SPOCK -------The poor remain poor. Someone has to work at Woolworths.--------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Mar 1996 01:40:32 -0500 From: shelton@coeibm.rutgers.edu (Bryan Shelton) Subject: for mature audiences... Here is my finished piece, a little dirty top ten list that I tried to make as tactful and tasteful as possible...if you are sensitive please skip right over Tracy's Top Ten Giants' Porno Flicks: 10. Put Your Hand Inside My Puppethead 9. She's A Hermaphrodite 8. Where Your Eyes Don't Go, Your Hands Do (tanks jenny!) 7. Welcome to My Jungle 6. The Hooker Got Me High 5. Where Doesn't the Sun Shine? 4. Lucky Whips and Chains 3. Number 69 2. Ho'town 1. Meet Hugh Grant It is late at night and I'm a little tired (sense a theme here with me?) so if you are offended please let me know and I will apologize, I don't mean to be crude, I just wanted to make a joke...ha ha, c'mon damn you, laugh! Does anyone like the song Narrow Your Eyes? How come no one ever talks about it? I know it's not controversial but it's pretty mainstreamy lyric-wise, doncha think? I like it, and I'm proud of it...not my fave song though...that would be a whole other ball game and I'm starting to babble and I have so many pages written in my book I am happy but it's going in a direction I never intended but that's okay. Tracy ------------------------------ End of tmbg-list Digest #2-68 *****************************