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 #35-17 tmbg-list Digest, Volume 35, Number 17 Friday, 17 November 2000 Today's Topics: TMBG: tmbg-list FAQ Re: TMBG: TMBG Unlimited Up TMBG: Re: TMBG Love Songs Re[2]: TMBG: its not even thanksgiving. :p Re: TMBG: TMBG Unlimited Up Re: TMBG: Re: TMBG Love Songs Re[2]: TMBG: Re: TMBG Love Songs Re[3]: TMBG: Re: TMBG Love Songs Re: TMBG Love Songs (was: TMBG: its not even thanksgiving. :p Re: TMBG: I've Got a Match Re: TMBG: I've Got a Match Re: TMBG: I've Got a Match TMBG: Re: Christmas Songs 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: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 03:15:00 -0500 (EST) From: Majordomo Message-Id: <200011160815.DAA52067@ussenterprise.ufp.org> Subject: TMBG: tmbg-list FAQ *** ADMINISTRIVIA *** This notice is posted twice a month to tmbg-list and tmbg-digest, as well as sent to all new users. Please read it if you have questions about the list. The TMBG mailing list is administered by Leo Bicknell . It provides a forum for discussing They Might Be Giants and Their music. 1) Unsubscribing from the list It is easy to unsubscribe from this mailing list. If you are subscribed to the regular, or "bounce" list, send the command unsubscribe tmbg-list e-mail@address in the body of a message to . To unsubscribe from the tmbg-digest digested version of the list, send the command unsubscribe tmbg-digest e-mail@address in the body of a message to . "e-mail@address" stands for the email address that is subscribed to the list. If you are sending the command from the email account that is subscribed, this part of the command is optional. If you have problems, send mail to . 2) Subscribing to the list Follow the instructions above for unsubscribing but send the word 'subscribe' rather than unsubscribe. :-) Keep in mind that tmbg-list will send you a copy of each message as it's written, which may be a lot. tmbg-digest will send you all the messages written in a day in the middle of the night. See http://www.tmbg.org/mail-news/ for more information. 3) Sending messages to the list To send a message to the list just mail it to tmbg-list@tmbg.org and it will get sent out to everyone. Please don't mail any chain letters, make money fast schemes, "me too" messages, or anything else that doesn't contribute to the discussion about TMBG. IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT When you send a message to the list you are sending messages to hundreds of people. Make sure that your message is one that hundreds of people need to read. Do not send "me too" messages to the list. Do not send messages about non-tmbg topics to the list. Hold private conversations in private e-mail. Sending messages that the list administrator deems off topic will result in your being removed from the list. 4) The TMBG FAQ The They Might Be Giants Frequently Asked Questions list is a compilation of the most requested information about the Johns. It is maintained by John Relph . To get the latest copy of the FAQ, you can do any of the following things. First, it is available on the World Wide Web at: http://reality.sgi.com/relph/music/TMBG-FAQ.html and, for a plaintext version: http://reality.sgi.com/relph/music/TMBG-FAQ Second, it is posted regularly on the newsgroup alt.music.tmbg. Third, if you can't get to one of those places, you can mail me and I'll send you a copy. 5) The websites The unofficial web site, http://www.tmbg.org/ has all sorts of good TMBG information including information on this mailing list (http://www.tmbg.org/mail-news/) as well as pointers to where you can read the list via news. You'll also find lyrics, chords, and interpretations for many of the songs. Also try out the Official TMBG Website at: http://www.tmbg.com/ As always, thank you for your mind. *** ADMINISTRIVIA *** ------------------------------ From: "Christina Rockwell" Subject: Re: TMBG: TMBG Unlimited Up Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 08:58:19 -0500 Message-ID: Hey Elvis Costello is on EMusic ;-)... > > Yeah, if you WANT any of the other MP3's on EMusic. > -- > Eat your broccoli, > Nathan > DinnerBell@tmbg.org > http://www.geocities.com/fablesto/ > > They don't even have "Careless Santa"! > > _________________________________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. > > Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at > http://profiles.msn.com. > > ------------------------------ From: "Adam Piontek" Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 07:59:15 -0600 Subject: TMBG: Re: TMBG Love Songs Message-Id: <14060659608591@mirage.tcinternet.net> On Thu, 16 Nov 2000, Kaylum@aol.com wrote: >It's always struck me as odd that TMBG can write such cynical, bittersweet >songs yet choose such totally sappy love tunes to cover (NYC, We've Got a >World That Swings, and Linnell's cover of "Will You Love Me in December as >You Do in May" for House of Mayors spring to mind). No one has mentioned Ana Ng yet?!? That's always been my favorite heart-string-yanking tear-jerking TMBG song... NYC is, too, although I know it's a cover. I like Cub's original, too, but I'm biased towards Theirs. Partly because I was listening to it non-stop the day after I got engaged; she lives in NYC, I was visiting her from the midwest ... ok, I know it's all cheesy and stuff but the song is all special to me now. so shoot me ... -adam -- Adam Piontek [http://www.tcinternet.net/users/damek/] ICQ: 3456339 [damek@earthling.net] ... "You _are_ the Messiah and I should know, I've followed a few!" ------------------------------ From: karinh@sterl.com Message-Id: <0011169743.AA974386015@smtplink.sterl.com> Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 09:46:49 -0500 Subject: Re[2]: TMBG: its not even thanksgiving. :p John Ferrer sez: >But what about "Pet Name"? No one's mentioned that one. Alternatively, Lydia sez: >Love songs. Hm. Pet Name? > >Lydia >Est 1837 But, as she said it in such an unusually demure, sincere, and understated manner, it must have slipped under the radar..... Hope she's not coming down with something..... Karin H ** FREE THE EXPO 67 ** ------------------------------ From: "Nathan Mulac DeHoff" Subject: Re: TMBG: TMBG Unlimited Up Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 15:54:43 GMT Message-ID: Christina Rockwell: >Hey Elvis Costello is on EMusic ;-)... Well, I don't know much about Elvis Costello, so I don't think that would be a deciding factor for me. Besides, I don't think there are that many artists who offer their albums on MP3 ONLY. I know Long Tall Weekend was the first (a dubious honor), but how many have there been since then? If I can get an album on CD instead of MP3, I'm probably going to do so. > > Yeah, if you WANT any of the other MP3's on EMusic. -- Eat your broccoli, Nathan DinnerBell@tmbg.org http://www.geocities.com/fablesto/ _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. ------------------------------ From: "Nathan Mulac DeHoff" Subject: Re: TMBG: Re: TMBG Love Songs Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 15:57:43 GMT Message-ID: Adam Piontek: >On Thu, 16 Nov 2000, Kaylum@aol.com wrote: > >It's always struck me as odd that TMBG can write such cynical, >bittersweet > >songs yet choose such totally sappy love tunes to cover (NYC, We've Got a > >World That Swings, and Linnell's cover of "Will You Love Me in December >as > >You Do in May" for House of Mayors spring to mind). > >No one has mentioned Ana Ng yet?!? That's always been my favorite >heart-string-yanking tear-jerking TMBG song... While I'm sure that everyone's tired of having their suggestions refuted, I don't see "Ana Ng" as a love song to any particular person so much as a lament that the right person might be on the other side of the world. In other words, I don't see Ana Ng a real person, but rather as a fictional figure intended to represent the singer's ideal mate. It's still a love song, I guess, but not a traditional ode to a person with whom the singer is in love. -- Eat your broccoli, Nathan DinnerBell@tmbg.org http://www.geocities.com/fablesto/ _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. ------------------------------ From: karinh@sterl.com Message-Id: <0011169743.AA974391815@smtplink.sterl.com> Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 11:23:28 -0500 Subject: Re[2]: TMBG: Re: TMBG Love Songs Nathan M.D. sez: >It's still a love song, I guess, but not a traditional ode to a person with >whom the singer is in love. It strikes me that if we wait for TMBG to write a "traditional" Anything, it's going to be a long wait, and a short list. They Might Be Predictable? I think not..... Karin H ** FREE THE EXPO 67 ** ------------------------------ From: karinh@sterl.com Message-Id: <0011169743.AA974392333@smtplink.sterl.com> Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 11:32:06 -0500 Subject: Re[3]: TMBG: Re: TMBG Love Songs p.s. If anyone knows why my Lotus cc:Mail keeps randomly & arbitrarily inserting returns where they don't belong, please let me know. It looks stupid as hell. Thanques Karin H ** FREE THE EXPO 67 ** ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 11:31:26 -0500 From: "Bryce" Message-ID: <8v12hk$1t6l$1@ussenterprise.ufp.org> Organization: They Might Be Giants, Unofficially http://www.tmbg.org Subject: Re: TMBG Love Songs (was: TMBG: its not even thanksgiving. :p Kaylum : > I used to think First Kiss was a really sweet love song, but the more I > listened to it, the more I came to think that it could also be about a guy > who's so addicted to the thrill of a first kiss that he keeps looking for > someone new to experience it (if it were made into a video, each verse would > show him with a different gal). But then wouldn't it go like "But *I* decided long ago *I'd* build a time machine and go"? And what does "other women were too sentimental" mean if he's going through them like kleenex? "Other" than whom? Bryce Words cannot describe this poetry inside. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 13:24:59 -0500 From: "Bryce" Message-ID: <8v196g$20fm$1@ussenterprise.ufp.org> Organization: They Might Be Giants, Unofficially http://www.tmbg.org Subject: Re: TMBG: I've Got a Match John Ferrer : > I think there has > yet to be a TMBG song that anyone has actually gotten right I don't believe there *is* a "right" meaning of any song, even if the Johns descend from the sky in a flying saucer, land at my feet and ceremoniously present me with an autographed leather-bound illustrated three-hundred-page treatise about its intended meaning. Truth is in the ears of the listener. That said, I'm curious about your interpretation of these lines from I've Got a Match: I'm gonna die if you touch me one more time Well I guess that I'm gonna die no matter what To me, that sounds like he thinks touching her one more time would be worth dying. If that's the case, why would he be leaving her? About the sarcasm of "the smell of love is everywhere", it's certainly possible. Sarcasm is especially tough to call in a song, because the vocal cues that distinguish it in speech aren't present. I also agree that Snail Shell is sarcastic. Bryce I'll never be sure. ------------------------------ From: "John Ferrer" Subject: Re: TMBG: I've Got a Match Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 22:54:58 GMT Message-ID: > >That said, I'm curious about your interpretation of these >lines from I've Got a Match: > I'm gonna die if you touch me one more time > Well I guess that I'm gonna die no matter what > I've always just thought it was him being excessively depressed. In any case, if he doesn't leave her, then he's slipped into complete hatred of his life, and would only be staying because he doesn't think it matters. _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 19:44:00 -0500 From: "Bryce" Message-ID: <8v1vd5$2e30$1@ussenterprise.ufp.org> Organization: They Might Be Giants, Unofficially http://www.tmbg.org Subject: Re: TMBG: I've Got a Match John Ferrer said of this passage: > > I'm gonna die if you touch me one more time > > Well I guess that I'm gonna die no matter what > > I've always just thought it was him being excessively depressed. In any > case, if he doesn't leave her, then he's slipped into complete hatred of his > life, and would only be staying because he doesn't think it matters. Oh yeah, I see what you mean! That certainly fits with "collapse." Thank you, that makes much more sense now. I still think the song could go either way, but I definitely see the merits of your interpretation. Bryce ------------------------------ Message-ID: <005101c0504c$7f3b4060$10450241@wall1.pa.home.com> From: "Jon" Subject: TMBG: Re: Christmas Songs Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 20:11:44 -0800 Ben Folds Five broke up. Doesn't that suck? www.benfoldsfive.com Check it out. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Erin Morrow" To: Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2000 7:13 PM Subject: TMBG: Christmas Songs > Ben Folds has a new song on the soundtrack for "How the Grinch Stole > Christmas." It's a lovely song with lyrics from the animated Grinch movie. > If you think it's okay to put a recently-released song on your Christmas > mix, I'd highly recommend Ben's. > > *sniff*sniff*SOB* BEN!!! > > -Erin > > > ----------------------------------------------- > FREE! The World's Best Email Address @email.com > Reserve your name now at http://www.email.com > > ------------------------------ End of tmbg-list Digest #35-17 ******************************