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 #10-1 tmbg-list Digest, Volume 10, Number 1 Tuesday, 1 September 1998 Today's Topics: Re: TMBG: Cleveland Review TMBG: Pitchfork STD review TMBG: Hello Re: TMBG: Cleveland Review TMBG: Barely Tmbg:You won't find this on no Dial-A-Song! TMBG: Barely Tmbg:You won't find this on no Dial-A-Song! TMBG: They Might Be Giants Go Ape On New LP Re: TMBG: Barely Tmbg:You won't find this on no Dial-A-Song! Re: TMBG: Barely Tmbg:You won't find this on no Dial-A-Song! Re: TMBG: Barely Tmbg:You won't find this on no Dial-A-Song! TMBG: TMBArt TMBG: Pointfest Re: TMBG: Barely Tmbg:You won't find this on no Dial-A-Song! TMBG: Dreams TMBG: Two sightings TMBG: cool TMBG story/Buffalo Administrivia: If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing send mail to tmbg-digest-request@tmbg.org for instructions on how to be automatically removed. --------------------------------------------------------------------- The views expressed herein are those of the individual authors. --------------------------------------------------------------------- tmbg-list is digested with Digest 3.5b (John Relph ). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 09:31:44 -0400 (EDT) From: Josh Woodward Subject: Re: TMBG: Cleveland Review Message-id: On Sun, 30 Aug 1998 HallOfEyes@aol.com wrote: > Ugh...I HATE reviews like this. You are so lucky that you got to see > TMBG live at all. I would have loved to be at this show. TMBG isn't perfect. They have bad days. This was a bad day. I tell what I feel in my reviews. If you look back to the last Ohio Wesleyan show, I thought it was great. This show stunk. It was perhaps the worst I've seen/heard out of 10 or so shows and and 100 or so shows I have on tape. The set list was blah (though understandably so at a festival), Linnell was catatonic, and the sound was bad. > >> I found myself standing there, and realizing just then that TMBG has sold > out. Or pathetically tried to sell out at the very least. >> > > What?? How has TMBG sold out? By leaving a major label? What does playing a > GREAT song twice have to do with anything? I havent seen one tmbg fan > that DOESN'T like Dr.Worm anyway. Dr. Worm is an amazing song. I love it to death, and have loved it since the day they posted it on tmbg.com. That doesn't matter. When a band only has 35 minutes to play a show, repeating a song wastes a few very valuable minutes that they could have used to prove themselves a more expansive band with another song. They have every right to go out and try to sell records. And they have every right to love playing Dr. Worm, it's a great song. For a full-length show, perhaps a shorter Dr. Worm reprise a la Phish might be a little less tacky. But this made me feel like I was watching an infomercial. * ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Josh Woodward, CheEsy Fru. joshw@mail.bgsu.edu Web Site and Tape List: http://www.dc-adnet.com/joshw/ "Fly Southwest Airlines." -- Moxy Fruvous ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 11:00:44 -0400 (EDT) From: Jeremy Treuer Subject: TMBG: Pitchfork STD review Message-ID: Well, another so-so review from Pitchfork. Before everyone gets all upset, these guys did give Then:TEY a 100%, and the reviewer admits that he is a big They fan, but, I'll let the article speak for itself. They Might Be Giants Severe Tire Damage [Restless] Rating:65% They Might Be Giants have been at it for 15 years now, crafting quirky pop and gathering the largest fan base of geeks (myself included) this side of Ben Folds Five. Along the way, they've recorded two seminal modern rock albums (their 1986 self- titled debut and its follow-up, 1989's Lincoln), and a slew of insanely catchy, goofball pop songs. What you might not know about the band, though, is that their live shows are just as fun. Playing with a group of talented (but somewhat interchangable) backup musicians, They Might Be Giants satisfy their crowds by both playing all or most of their hits, and by just making shit up on stage. Severe Tire Damage is They Might Be Giants' first live album, and it's about time they had one. Of course, the record doesn't quite capture the thrill of being at the show, but the band's charisma is fully intact. Johns Flansburgh and Linnell plow through greats like "Birdhouse In Your Soul," "Ana Ng," "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)," "Particle Man" and "Why Does The Sun Shine" with pride and confidence. They also manage to squeeze in their brilliant live-only cut "They Got Lost." Severe Tire Damage also includes three new studio tracks: "Doctor Worm" is standard fare for the band-- its marching chorus is simple but clever and the horn section's also a nice touch. "Severe Tire Damage Theme" is a bizarre 40- second- long instrumental that sounds like the soundtrack to an old German variety show. "About Me" is an extremely short number that could pass for a companion to Miscellaneous T's "I'll Sink Manhattan"-- it's dark and gloomy, but with a tinge of triumph. The record's one truly strange feature is its series of improvised bonus tracks (all shoddily recorded) that are based on those benchmarks of American cinema, the "Planet of the Apes" films. Yeah, we knew Charlton Heston and the gang shot some pretty groovy reels, but is this really necessary? The songs are mildly entertaining, though, which counts for something. Anyway, you're probably gonna wanna be familiar with They Might Be Giants' back catalog before rushing out and picking up Severe Tire Damage, because while the live versions of these classics are fun to listen to, they're not as good as the originals. If you're looking for a good introduction to the band, pick up their first two records or wait for the inevitable greatest hits compilation. --Ryan Schreiber Thanks, Remi Treuer ------------------------------ Message-Id: <3.0.1.32.19980831114217.0090c180@EMail.Psu.Edu> Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 11:42:17 -0400 From: Jason Fickley Subject: TMBG: Hello Well, I just couldn't stay away from the list that long, after all. You may remember my old email adress, hotcha57@hotmail.com, but now it's well, up there. I still don't have a computer, but I should have enough time in between classes to handle the load that is the TMBG list. I know I could just subscribe to the digest, but I'll hold off on doing that until I really have to (ie, when classes get hard). So, I assume people have posted about the Cleveland show already, but I'll give my view of events. They only got 35 minutes to play, but for me it was worth the trip to Blossom for two reasons: 1) They played a bunch of songs that they didn't play at the other show I saw (WDTSS, Shoehorn, NOKMP, etc...) 2) Authograph session! They played Dr. Worm twice, and had this interesting little exchange at some point: (paraphrased, plus I may mis-remember which John said what) Linnell: Now we're going to play a brand new version of a song we've been playing for years and years. Flans: We've beem rehearsing this song a lot and we've got it down now. In fact, it's so good, we really don't have to talk about it any more. Linnell: In fact, I don't think we even have to play it. Flans: Let's skip it. Instead, here's 'Birdhouse In Your Soul' They signed autographs after the show. I waited in line and had Linnell sign my STD cover. Then, I waited in line and actually had a little conversation with Flans as he signed my STD cover. I didn't want to push for 2 autographs, but he saw my newly purchased bug shirt he said "Why don't you let me sign that too?". I told him I was going to the October Pittsburgh show as well, and he jokingly said he'd keep an eye out for me. (nice of him to pretend he'd remember me, huh?) So, that's about it. A few questions, though: When's the new video gonna be on 120 Minutes? Is there an EP for Dr. Worm in the works? What have I missed? Feel free to respond on or off list, whichever you see fit. It's good to be back (unless there's a current thread about Titanic's video release or something). --Jason-- "Standing in my yard where they tore down the garage to make room for the torn down garage" -- They Might Be Giants ------------------------------ From: KdsInThHal@aol.com Message-ID: <8bd87377.35eaca2a@aol.com> Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 12:07:06 EDT Subject: Re: Re: TMBG: Cleveland Review In a message dated 8/31/98 9:35:39 AM, CheEsy Fru wrote: >thought it was great. This show stunk. It was perhaps the worst I've >seen/heard out of 10 or so shows and and 100 or so shows I have on tape. >The set list was blah (though understandably so at a festival), Linnell >was catatonic, and the sound was bad. I agree. (but substitute "this show" with "last night's show" ) and i do think it's mostly due to the festival crap. They seemed to be in good moods (though linnell looked tired ), especially with hundreds of mini frisbees being tossed at them. (at my first tmbg show, flans walked off when something hit him)... they were just laughing it off.. (i think the worst though was when one hit jim's trumpet when he had a solo... :P ) and flans was jumping around in circles and smiling and having a great time. linnell was smiling a lot too. the show didn't leave me feeling like i had just seen a tmbg show. i dunno, maybe that was *also* due to the fact that half the time i was not watching, because i was trying to defend myself from injury. i don't even care that i didn't bootleg this show... it wasn't anything special. but i got linnell eye contact..... ;) sarah ------------------------------ Message-ID: <19980831212124.28539.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "Josh Buckland" Subject: TMBG: Barely Tmbg:You won't find this on no Dial-A-Song! Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 14:21:23 PDT The following is intended for those who can recieve attachment or those of you with ICQ: DISCLAIMER: To avoid "throwing gas on the 'flames'", so to speak, I have written up the following. I do NOT claim ANYTHING about what I'm about to post about. Yes, what I said is true, I have a sound clip of UNRELEASED TMBG MATERIAL, THAT WILL NEVER BE RELEASED ON DIAL-A-SONG OR ON AN ALBUM! What I ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Message-ID: <19980831213002.25362.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "Josh Buckland" Subject: TMBG: Barely Tmbg:You won't find this on no Dial-A-Song! Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 14:30:01 PDT The following is intended for those who can recieve attachment or those of you with ICQ: DISCLAIMER: To avoid "throwing gas on the 'flames'", so to speak, I have written up the following: I do NOT claim ANYTHING about what I'm about to post about. Yes, what I said is true, I have a sound clip of UNRELEASED TMBG MATERIAL, THAT WILL NEVER BE RELEASED ON DIAL-A-SONG OR ON ANY ALBUM! What I just said is true, and false at the same time. No, this will never ever be released on an album, or DAS. But, at the same time, it is not TMBG material. I have a sound file of, and I swear to God, THE MOST ACURATE TMBG SOUND-ALIKE I'VE EVER HEARD! I've had a second opinion, Sarah Faye Starr (from the list). When I asked her what these people sounded like, she said "TMBG... creepily so". If you have any interest in hearing these guys, e-mail me with a request of an attachment, or ICQ me, for faster service. Thanks, and have a nice day. (ONCE AGAIN, I DON'T CLAIM ANYTHING! THE SOUND CLIP IS COMPILED FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE GRAND THEFT AUTO SOUNDTRACK!) Josh Buckland dilbert_2000@hotmail.com ICQ#: 17262308 contact me! http://profiles.yahoo.com/LeChuck/ "OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW!!! He dented my plate! Ow, my brain is burnin'! Now I'm flashback! Now I'm flashback! Ow! Ooooww!! Leatherface! You bitch! Look what you did to my Sonny Bono wig do. Oh, god...DAMN, I can't believe it! You got to buy me a new plate cover! You got to buy me a new plate cover, Leatherface! Oohhhh! Oh, he's gonna send me back to the V.A. hospital with this dent in my plate... "Well, at least he didn't mess me up." Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Message-Id: <3.0.1.32.19980831174523.006a3770@mail.clemson.edu> Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 17:45:23 -0400 From: Adam Tyner Subject: TMBG: They Might Be Giants Go Ape On New LP Here's a somewhat-moderately-interesting article from Sonicnet. -Adam They Might Be Giants Severe Tire Damage also features 17 TMBG takes on simian-free subjects. They Might Be Giants Go Ape On New LP The pop duo's mostly live greatest-hits disc includes a song suite dedicated to 'Planet of the Apes' films. Staff Writer Chris Nelson reports: When Andrew Parmet walked into his local record store recently, he thought he was simply purchasing the new, mostly live greatest-hits collection from his favorite quirky pop duo, They Might Be Giants. It wasn't until he got home that the 22-year-old Long Island, New Yorker realized that he'd walked out with an album featuring an amazing artistic pairing. That's when he popped Severe Tire Damage into his CD player and discovered seven unlisted live tracks devoted to the 1960s and '70s science-fiction film series "Planet of the Apes." For Parmet, webmaster of "Spleenworld Presents 'Planet of the Apes,' " it was a song suite made in heaven. "I certainly didn't expect them to put out any song about the 'Planet of the Apes,' so having all these is a unique treat," said Parmet, who was turned onto the sci-fi cult series -- built on the premise of space explorers who stumble upon a future Earth ruled by simians -- three years ago during a cable-TV movie marathon. For They Might Be Giants accordionist/singer John Linnell, the "Apes" films forged an early bond between him and TMBG guitarist/singer John Flansburgh. "John and I saw that movie together when we were very young," Linnell, 39, said recently. "One of the first times I went to his house, that movie was on TV, and one of the characters looked a lot like a guy we knew in high school, and that just struck us as really hilarious. But that was the extent of our interest at that time." Now, the pair understands the films -- five of which were issued between 1968-73 -- as a part of America's cultural heritage that has been ignored for far too long. The songs appear as tracks 18-24 on Severe Tire Damage, after live renditions of such better-known TMBG songs as "Birdhouse in Your Soul" and "Particle Man." Each of the "Apes" cuts is named after or corresponds to a film in the series and finds the band taking a different musical tack. "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes," for example, is a hard-rock number, while "Escape from the Planet of the Apes" is funky and Prince-like; "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" is a freaky, experimental workout, while "Return to the Planet of the Apes" offers jazzy improvisation. In addition, the suite features the non-corresponding cuts "This Ape's for You" and "Love Theme From 'Planet of the Apes.' " "We really were interested in doing songs about the different films in the 'Planet of the Apes' series, but we didn't know what all the movies were called," Linnell said. "There were different theories lying around, and we wound up with more than five names." (For the record, there was never a movie called "Return to the Planet of the Apes," although there was a 1974 made-for-TV flick called "Back to the Planet of the Apes.") While those unfamiliar with TMBG might scratch their heads at the "Apes" takes, aficionados of the duo won't be surprised. Since They Might Be Giants' formation in the early '80s, Linnell and Flansburgh have freely monkeyed with kitsch-cultural metaphors to achieve effects both humorous ("She's Actual Size") and merely off-the-wall ("Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head). It's no giant leap from such material to songs about apes. Of course, there's plenty on Severe Tire Damage to satisfy They Might Be Giants fans who aren't also dedicated followers of the "Apes." Many of the band's live arrangements have a more fluid, organic feel than their studio counterparts, which were created by Linnell and Flansburgh with the help of a drum machine. "We became a live band late in our own history," Linnell said, citing the early '90s tours that first saw the duo play with additional musicians rather than pre-recorded accompaniment tapes. "It was like a mid-life career change for us. It took us a while to relax. John and I are naturally uptight people and we always wanted to control what was going on." At first, the duo hired musicians who could reproduce the sound of its albums, but on the more recent tours documented on Severe Tire Damage, the two have become more comfortable with creating new arrangements -- and in the process have become more like a traditional rock 'n' roll band. Up to a point, that is. For fans such as Parmet, however, it's the "Apes" suite that is most rewarding. Parmet even said he'd like the band to continue the theme with its studio recordings. "It'd be nice to see even a short single with those songs done in the studio, with a little more added to them," he said. Avid "Apes" collector Paul Worley of Farrell, Pa., said They Might Be Giants' timing couldn't have been better, what with 1998 being the 30th anniversary of the first movie and with a remake of that film on tap for next year. While he's eager to hear They Might Be Giants' take on the "Apes," Worley, 33, said he'd also like to see a less quirky, kitschy band take on the films. "[They Might Be Giants] are a little bit different from what my normal musical tastes are," he said. "I go toward the older Genesis music." [ Mon., August 31, 3:00 AM EDT ] ARTIST INFO TODAY'S NEWS Copyright c 1998 SonicNet, Inc. All rights reserved. Please do not reprint entire SonicNet news stories without written permission from SonicNet. If you excerpt, rewrite, or in some way make use of portions of our news, attribute to: SonicNet Music News of the World, the daily music news service - http://www.sonicnet.com/ -- /=---------------- http://www.he-man.org/ctyner/ ----------------=\ http://www.awod.com/gallery/rwav/ctyner/ The home of He-Man, "Weird Al", Yoo-hoo, Killer Tomatoes, and more! Demented music list admin O- MiSTie #67,326 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 17:44:23 -0400 Subject: Re: TMBG: Barely Tmbg:You won't find this on no Dial-A-Song! Message-ID: <19980831.174617.13958.1.Superman75@juno.com> From: superman75@juno.com (Adam Schaaf) hi. >Yes, what I said is true, I have a sound clip of UNRELEASED TMBG >MATERIAL, THAT WILL NEVER BE RELEASED ON DIAL-A-SONG OR >ON ANY ALBUM! What I just said is true, and false at the same time. >No, this will never ever be released on an album, or DAS. But, at the >same time, it is not TMBG material. I have a sound file of, and I swear >to God, THE MOST ACURATE TMBG SOUND-ALIKE I'VE EVER HEARD! so if you're telling us it's not TMBG, why are you telling us that it is? adam schaaf, who doesn't like contradictions. ------------------------ sept. 27: sunny day real estate!!!!! oct. 7: liz phair! oct. 8: barenaked ladies! ------------------------ _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ From: KdsInThHal@aol.com Message-ID: <29057cb8.35eb1a02@aol.com> Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 17:47:46 EDT Subject: Re: TMBG: Barely Tmbg:You won't find this on no Dial-A-Song! In a message dated 8/31/98 5:33:53 PM, dilbert_2000@hotmail.com wrote: > >(ONCE AGAIN, I DON'T CLAIM ANYTHING! THE SOUND CLIP IS COMPILED FROM >DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE GRAND THEFT AUTO SOUNDTRACK!) who's the band? d'ya mind telling us..? ~sarah ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 18:05:49 -0400 (EDT) From: Kevin Keeler Subject: Re: TMBG: Barely Tmbg:You won't find this on no Dial-A-Song! Message-ID: On Mon, 31 Aug 1998, Adam Schaaf wrote: > so if you're telling us it's not TMBG, why are you telling us that it is? > > adam schaaf, who doesn't like contradictions. err..he never said it was TMBG. what are you talking about? i guess "TMBG: Barely TMBG..." could be sort of understood that way...but i take that to mean as barely on-topic (as in "Non-TMBG") --kevin ------------------------------ From: gray42@juno.com Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 18:05:58 -0400 Subject: TMBG: TMBArt Message-ID: <19980831.180611.11086.0.gray42@juno.com> Hey TMBG Fans! I just put a s**tload of Flansburgh and Linnell portraits up on my website. If you want to view them quickly, I suggest adding the following words after 4871/ on the website given at the bottom of my sig. line.jpg is a picture inspired by Sarah who so kindly offered the list, the back cover of Apples and Oranges, thanx Sarah. Like everyone else, I wanted a TMBG luchbox, so I made myself one (lunf.jpg & lunl.jpg), pictures are from the DLS vidio. I also did a couple promtional portraits from a promotional internet photo (dalin.jpg & dafla.jpg). I hope you enjoy the pics! Mysterio Gal (fellow Artist) "Little David is all grown up. Too bad for the cause of Good!" --Negativland ICQ# 9585405 MST3K#88182 gray42@juno.com http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Coffeehouse/4871 The Official Project Omicrom website: www.geocities.com/SoHo/Square/9007 _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Message-ID: <35EB2FE6.750A@stlnet.com> Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 17:21:14 -0600 From: Chris Lynne Subject: TMBG: Pointfest Yo. Just curious.. is anyone else here going to Pointfest? Just wondering so I could maybe meet some of you there. If you are going please reply privately so we don't clutter the list up. Thanks. Chris chrisl@tmbg.org ------------------------------ Message-ID: <19980831221354.23278.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "Josh Buckland" Subject: Re: TMBG: Barely Tmbg:You won't find this on no Dial-A-Song! Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 15:13:53 PDT >who's the band? d'ya mind telling us..? > >~sarah Um, all I know is that it's two different groups. i didn't bother reading the credits, and I've already returned it to the video store. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ From: gray42@juno.com Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 18:18:43 -0400 Subject: TMBG: Dreams Message-ID: <19980831.181855.11086.1.gray42@juno.com> Last night I had a dream that I tried to blow up my house, and since it fell through, I sat down and watched vidio tapes of John Linnell jogging from different shot angles, I was looking for a good place to freeze the image, but was having a lot of trouble doing it. Mysterio Gal (fellow Overman) "Little David is all grown up. Too bad for the cause of Good!" --Negativland ICQ# 9585405 MST3K#88182 gray42@juno.com http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Coffeehouse/4871 The Official Project Omicrom website: www.geocities.com/SoHo/Square/9007 _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Message-Id: Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 15:37:36 -0700 From: Bob Gonsalves Subject: TMBG: Two sightings Ira Glass, who is the host and producer of Public Radio International's "This American Life" was interviewed in Mother Jones magazine recently. He had this two say... Q: What have you been listening to lately? A: I love They Might Be Giants - the sheer inventiveness and variety of what they do is really amazing. And they're great writers. They always seem smarter than the constraints of [what] a pop song can allow - like Nobel Laureate physicists who have to do all their experiments with paper cups and glue and string instead of photon detectors and particle accelerators. ---- Also, since nobody's mentioned it: the most recent episode of Space Ghost, in its bid to persuade you, the viewer, of its viablity as a marketing forum, presented the upcoming guests, and included in the snippets was Mr. Flansburgh. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 23:10:33 -0400 (EDT) From: "mike@journalx.com" Subject: TMBG: cool TMBG story/Buffalo Message-ID: Well, I've been very lucky in my life when it comes to TMBG. Though I might bemoan my lack of certain coveted items, or the fact that all Canadians have been removed from the TMBG newsletter mailing list, or a number of other things, I really can't complain. I've got most of what I want. I had written a huge list here of cool TMBG-related things that have happened to me, but that ended up feeling inappropriate. Suffice it to say that I have been quite lucky really. I mean, I even got to write for the official Mono Puff webpage. You can go take a look. I'll always be grateful for opportunities like that. Anyway, my luck continued today when I visited my sister who was back in town on a break from touring. She's a member of the touring band of Esthero, and some of you may have seen this band perform on Sunday evening at the Edgefest in Buffalo, where TMBG also played. Some of you think they suck, and maybe you're right, but, that doesn't really matter. My sister, Kathryn, has been a presence on the Canadian music scene for over a decade, and has released numerous albums, her most recent in 1997, which was a highly acclaimed CD featuring Sarah McLachlan's band. She's touring as a member of Esthero as she plans to record her next album. It might seem easy to disparage her efforts on stage as merely perfunctory, as one of you has done right here on this list, but believe me, it's not an easy job, and she's a consummate professional who knows more about the music biz than anyone on this list, myself included, and can sing her ass off on the drop of a hat and embarrass any so-called singer in the room. Anyway, when she arrived in Buffalo for the festival, she found out that TMBG were playing later that day and, because she knew of my love for the band, went to track them down. She found the TMBG tour bus, and, identifying herself as a participant in the festival, gained entrance to the bus and an audience with John Flansburgh. She spoke to him there for fifteen minutes or so, and he was nice enough to turn down the volume on the Guns n' Roses concert video that he was watching. According to her, he was extremely nice, warm and funny, and talked to her enthusiastically about a great many things. Before she left, she got him to sign me an autograph, on which he wrote "Michael, Happy Birthday! John F, TMBG." Of course, it is much cooler to see it, as he drew his own bespectacled head as the O in John, and his familiar, distinctive handwriting, this time, spelled out my very name, just for me, and it's a very nice thing to see. (By the way, in case you didn't know, one look at this slip of paper confirms that Flans also handwrites the concert set lists - his letter A is quite unique). Anyway, she gave that autograph to me today. She tried to buy me some of those old 12 inch singles that they were selling at the show, but sadly she arrived at the booth as it was being set up and the lady there refused to sell her anything, for some odd reason. However, that's OK. She tried, and she certainly didn't have to. And she did get onto the damn tour bus and get Flans to write me a birthday note. (I turned 25 last Thursday). Its an amazing twist of events, to be sure. Who am I? I'm nobody. Just a guy who likes a really good band more than any other band, and the next thing I know, my sister's sitting next to John Flansburgh, shooting the shit. Life is so weird sometimes, in a great way. Isn't my sister cool? MIKe www.journalx.com - go see what I wrote for them this week! Last CDs purchased: Baby Bird - I Was Born A Man Sugar - File Under: Easy Listening The The - Sweet Bird Of Truth EP Forest For The Trees - self titled Odds - Good Weird Feeling Next TMBG concert I will attend: Tuesday October 6 1998 at the Opera House in Toronto, Canada Last movie seen on video: The Wizard Of Oz - THX laserdisc version Last train: to Clarkesville ------------------------------ End of tmbg-list Digest #10-1 *****************************