Now: The Later Years?
December 10, 2012 11:29 AM Subscribe
What are the best They Might Be Giants songs, 2000-Present?
Say you had to make a mix-tape for an old They Might Be Giants fan who owns and adores every album prior to 2000, but hasn't bought a TMBG album since Severe Tire Damage? What are the best songs for a guy like me who wants a crash course and be brought up to speed?
Say you had to make a mix-tape for an old They Might Be Giants fan who owns and adores every album prior to 2000, but hasn't bought a TMBG album since Severe Tire Damage? What are the best songs for a guy like me who wants a crash course and be brought up to speed?
Your question made me look up my favorite, Dr. Worm. Sadly, it's before your deadline. Or, maybe it's happily before your deadline, because that means you already know and love it? That is one of my favorite songs of all time.
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:42 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:42 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
"Man, It's So Loud In Here", Mink Car
"The Mesopotamians", The Else
"Experimental Film", The Spine
posted by hanov3r at 11:43 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
"The Mesopotamians", The Else
"Experimental Film", The Spine
posted by hanov3r at 11:43 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
From 2001's "Mink Car", Man, It's So Loud In Here.
posted by leapfrog at 11:43 AM on December 10, 2012
posted by leapfrog at 11:43 AM on December 10, 2012
Boss of Me
Another First Kiss
Older
Cyclops Rock
Experimental Film
Damn Good Times
The Mesopotamians
We Live in a Dump
Alphabet of Nations
Meet the Elements
I am a Paleontologist
Can't Keep Johnny Down
Cloisonné
When Will You Die
Marty Beller Mask
I think this is a good overview of their adult albums and the best of their kid stuff.
posted by inturnaround at 11:46 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
Another First Kiss
Older
Cyclops Rock
Experimental Film
Damn Good Times
The Mesopotamians
We Live in a Dump
Alphabet of Nations
Meet the Elements
I am a Paleontologist
Can't Keep Johnny Down
Cloisonné
When Will You Die
Marty Beller Mask
I think this is a good overview of their adult albums and the best of their kid stuff.
posted by inturnaround at 11:46 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
My favorite:
They Might be Giants - Where Do They Make Balloons?
posted by procrastination at 11:47 AM on December 10, 2012
They Might be Giants - Where Do They Make Balloons?
posted by procrastination at 11:47 AM on December 10, 2012
Thirding 'Man It's So Loud in Here,' but I also really like 'The Cap'm'.
posted by eugenen at 11:51 AM on December 10, 2012
posted by eugenen at 11:51 AM on December 10, 2012
(Setting aside the kids' albums)
Long Tall Weekend: (mp3 only album, mostly small songs elevated from DAS) (She Thinks She's) Edith Head, Older (a fuller version of the Dial-A-Song classic), They Got Lost, Boss of Me
Mink Car: Cyclops Rock, Man It's So Loud In Here, Another First Kiss, Drink, Wicked Little Critta, Working Undercover for the Man (overall a strong album, but biased strongly towards the full-band sound that didn't really exist before STD.)
The Spine: Experimental Film, Thunderbird (live-show classic, finally recorded), Au Contraire, Damn Good Times, and also Bastard Wants to Hit Me if you're more of a Linnell fan than Flansburgh.
The Spine Surfs Alone EP: Now is Strange (Flansburgh), Canada Haunts Me (Linnell)
The Else: Climbing the Walls, The Shadow Government, Contrecoup, The Mesopotamians
Cast your Pod into the Wind (podcast-drawn stuff co-released with The Else): Why did you Grow a Beard, We Live in a Dump, (She Was a) Hotel Detective in the Future, Brain Problem Situation
Join Us (strongest album in a while): Can't Keep Johnny Down, Old Pine Box, When Will You Die, Judy Is Your Viet Nam, Spoiler Alert
Album Raises New and Troubling Questions: Marty Beller Mask (this album was weaksauce, IMO)
Somewhere in there, Here Comes Science was a very good if niche-y album.
posted by Sunburnt at 11:51 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
Long Tall Weekend: (mp3 only album, mostly small songs elevated from DAS) (She Thinks She's) Edith Head, Older (a fuller version of the Dial-A-Song classic), They Got Lost, Boss of Me
Mink Car: Cyclops Rock, Man It's So Loud In Here, Another First Kiss, Drink, Wicked Little Critta, Working Undercover for the Man (overall a strong album, but biased strongly towards the full-band sound that didn't really exist before STD.)
The Spine: Experimental Film, Thunderbird (live-show classic, finally recorded), Au Contraire, Damn Good Times, and also Bastard Wants to Hit Me if you're more of a Linnell fan than Flansburgh.
The Spine Surfs Alone EP: Now is Strange (Flansburgh), Canada Haunts Me (Linnell)
The Else: Climbing the Walls, The Shadow Government, Contrecoup, The Mesopotamians
Cast your Pod into the Wind (podcast-drawn stuff co-released with The Else): Why did you Grow a Beard, We Live in a Dump, (She Was a) Hotel Detective in the Future, Brain Problem Situation
Join Us (strongest album in a while): Can't Keep Johnny Down, Old Pine Box, When Will You Die, Judy Is Your Viet Nam, Spoiler Alert
Album Raises New and Troubling Questions: Marty Beller Mask (this album was weaksauce, IMO)
Somewhere in there, Here Comes Science was a very good if niche-y album.
posted by Sunburnt at 11:51 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
Don't set aside the kids' albums! I'm a big fan of Four of Two and Violin, from their first children's album, No! (IIRC, Four of Two is a less dark version of something from Dial-a-Song.)
And let's not forget Seven Days of the Week, which is extremely adult-friendly.
Huh, I always thought Older was...younger.
posted by the_blizz at 11:55 AM on December 10, 2012
And let's not forget Seven Days of the Week, which is extremely adult-friendly.
Huh, I always thought Older was...younger.
posted by the_blizz at 11:55 AM on December 10, 2012
I love, love, love "I Am a Paleontologist" from Here Comes Science.
posted by topoisomerase at 11:56 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by topoisomerase at 11:56 AM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
Also nthing "The Mesopotamians." Here is a link in case you're feeling lazy and don't want to search for it on YouTube.
posted by topoisomerase at 11:59 AM on December 10, 2012
posted by topoisomerase at 11:59 AM on December 10, 2012
"I Am Not Your Broom". The only TMBG song I find myself singing absent-mindedly since "Birdhouse in Your Soul".
posted by Sidhedevil at 12:00 PM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Sidhedevil at 12:00 PM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
The Spine is pretty skippable, IMO, with the exception of the already-named Experimental Film and the very fun Damn Good Times.
The Else is more consistent; I'd recommend all of the songs Sunburnt named, plus Careful What You Pack and The Cap'm.
Still not quite sure where I'd put Join Us, but Can't Keep Johnny Down is excellent, and so is You Probably Get That A Lot.
The kids' albums are fun too, and I'd call out Why Does The Sun Really Shine? as a great one no one's mentioned.
You might also check out the podcast.
posted by kagredon at 12:07 PM on December 10, 2012
The Else is more consistent; I'd recommend all of the songs Sunburnt named, plus Careful What You Pack and The Cap'm.
Still not quite sure where I'd put Join Us, but Can't Keep Johnny Down is excellent, and so is You Probably Get That A Lot.
The kids' albums are fun too, and I'd call out Why Does The Sun Really Shine? as a great one no one's mentioned.
You might also check out the podcast.
posted by kagredon at 12:07 PM on December 10, 2012
Four of Two.. actually that's what I was thinking of when I said Older was a fuller version of a DAS classic, but that was true for Older as well. Besides, the DAS version of Four of Two was just depressing.
I also left out "Certain People I Could Name" which is among my favorites over all-- it doesn't seem to have much traction among fans I've met.
posted by Sunburnt at 12:15 PM on December 10, 2012
I also left out "Certain People I Could Name" which is among my favorites over all-- it doesn't seem to have much traction among fans I've met.
posted by Sunburnt at 12:15 PM on December 10, 2012
Oh, and on Here Comes the ABCs, well, thanks to that bass line or riff or lick or whatever it's called that carries "Q U," I could listen to that song all day.
posted by Sunburnt at 12:16 PM on December 10, 2012
posted by Sunburnt at 12:16 PM on December 10, 2012
Ha, I just recently came up with a "Now: The Later Years" playlist for myself on Spotify. Obviously that was the only appropriate title.
01 Bangs 03:09
02 Experimental Film 02:57
03 Cyclops Rock 02:38
04 Old Pine Box 01:51
05 Authenticity Trip 02:23
06 When Will You Die 02:31
07 Thunderbird 02:38
08 Stalk Of Wheat 01:27
09 Judy Is Your Viet Nam 01:26
10 Marty Beller Mask 02:00
11 Upside Down Frown 02:17
12 Man, It's So Loud In Here 03:59
13 What Is a Shooting Star? 01:38
14 Memo To Human Resources 02:02
15 Can't Keep Johnny Down 02:20
16 Alphabet of Nations 01:26
17 Wearing A Raincoat 03:10
18 Four of Two 02:17
19 Careful What You Pack 02:40
20 Working Undercover For The Man 02:20
21 Sleepwalkers 02:40
22 The Mesopotamians 02:57
spotify link
posted by anazgnos at 12:33 PM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
01 Bangs 03:09
02 Experimental Film 02:57
03 Cyclops Rock 02:38
04 Old Pine Box 01:51
05 Authenticity Trip 02:23
06 When Will You Die 02:31
07 Thunderbird 02:38
08 Stalk Of Wheat 01:27
09 Judy Is Your Viet Nam 01:26
10 Marty Beller Mask 02:00
11 Upside Down Frown 02:17
12 Man, It's So Loud In Here 03:59
13 What Is a Shooting Star? 01:38
14 Memo To Human Resources 02:02
15 Can't Keep Johnny Down 02:20
16 Alphabet of Nations 01:26
17 Wearing A Raincoat 03:10
18 Four of Two 02:17
19 Careful What You Pack 02:40
20 Working Undercover For The Man 02:20
21 Sleepwalkers 02:40
22 The Mesopotamians 02:57
spotify link
posted by anazgnos at 12:33 PM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
Whole lot of what Sunburnt said. I would absolutely add "Renew My Subscription", from Venue Songs, as that is my favourite song in the world now.
Cast Your Pod...: Add "I'm Your Boyfriend Now" and "Vestibule"
Spine Surfs Alone: You Can Only Think of Me, Fun Assassin
ARNATQ: Oh man, Sunburnt, how can you not love "Money for Dope"? I also like "Authenticity Trip" a great deal.
The Else: Feign Amnesia
Join Us: Canajoharie, Cloisonne, 2082
I gotta stop. I could go on all night.
On preview: "Certain People I Could Name" is one of my favourites too.
I have to stop.
posted by Because at 12:48 PM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
Cast Your Pod...: Add "I'm Your Boyfriend Now" and "Vestibule"
Spine Surfs Alone: You Can Only Think of Me, Fun Assassin
ARNATQ: Oh man, Sunburnt, how can you not love "Money for Dope"? I also like "Authenticity Trip" a great deal.
The Else: Feign Amnesia
Join Us: Canajoharie, Cloisonne, 2082
I gotta stop. I could go on all night.
On preview: "Certain People I Could Name" is one of my favourites too.
I have to stop.
posted by Because at 12:48 PM on December 10, 2012 [1 favorite]
Bless you for asking this question but I'm not sure a song-by-song will do you any good, since some of the intrinsic fun of They Might Be Giants albums is glomming onto the songs that you, personally, can't help glomming on to.
If you take them by album/EPs:
- Mink Car: The first three songs are incredible, the others are a little odd but you are guaranteed to find a few that you will love forever.
- No!: Their first kids records and a complete classic. There's maybe one dud song on here? One. Maybe.
- Bed Bed Bed EP: A short EP but one of those really solid "why didn't any of these songs end up on an album?" kind of EP
- The Spine: Dunno why people hate on this one, I think it's the best straight rock record they've ever put out, and one of Flansburgh's strongest showings.
- The Else: You can skip this one. There's two or three good rockers but it's otherwise boring. It's like John Henry and Factory Showroom, not enough good to balance out the banal.
- Cast Your Pod to the Wind: See if you can get it cheap? It's all the interesting stuff left off of The Else but even though there's 23 songs you'll only want to listen to 5 or 6 of them again. ("Brain Problem Situation" is astoundingly catchy, though.)
- Here Come the ABCs: Tried listening to this and couldn't get through it. Whereas "No!" was them transitioning into a kids album, this is a straight up kids album. i.e. not very interesting if you already know your ABCs.
- Here Come the 123s: Didn't even try to listen to this one.
- Here Comes Science: A 4th kids record but they pull themselves back together with this one. This is possibly the most fun album they've ever created. Science is reaaaaaaal.
- Join Us: Their latest and one of their greatest. It's got a depth and lessening of boundaries to it that's escaped them since John Henry. Almost as if they figured out who they were again. It reminds me of Lincoln a lot.
Damn, aside from The Else/Here Come dip, they've actually had a pretty solid 21st century. Never really looked at the albums like this before!
posted by greenland at 9:36 PM on December 10, 2012
If you take them by album/EPs:
- Mink Car: The first three songs are incredible, the others are a little odd but you are guaranteed to find a few that you will love forever.
- No!: Their first kids records and a complete classic. There's maybe one dud song on here? One. Maybe.
- Bed Bed Bed EP: A short EP but one of those really solid "why didn't any of these songs end up on an album?" kind of EP
- The Spine: Dunno why people hate on this one, I think it's the best straight rock record they've ever put out, and one of Flansburgh's strongest showings.
- The Else: You can skip this one. There's two or three good rockers but it's otherwise boring. It's like John Henry and Factory Showroom, not enough good to balance out the banal.
- Cast Your Pod to the Wind: See if you can get it cheap? It's all the interesting stuff left off of The Else but even though there's 23 songs you'll only want to listen to 5 or 6 of them again. ("Brain Problem Situation" is astoundingly catchy, though.)
- Here Come the ABCs: Tried listening to this and couldn't get through it. Whereas "No!" was them transitioning into a kids album, this is a straight up kids album. i.e. not very interesting if you already know your ABCs.
- Here Come the 123s: Didn't even try to listen to this one.
- Here Comes Science: A 4th kids record but they pull themselves back together with this one. This is possibly the most fun album they've ever created. Science is reaaaaaaal.
- Join Us: Their latest and one of their greatest. It's got a depth and lessening of boundaries to it that's escaped them since John Henry. Almost as if they figured out who they were again. It reminds me of Lincoln a lot.
Damn, aside from The Else/Here Come dip, they've actually had a pretty solid 21st century. Never really looked at the albums like this before!
posted by greenland at 9:36 PM on December 10, 2012
Woah, I didn't realize that song
was so old. 1996... & now I'm even older for looking it up.
posted by Packed Lunch at 11:37 PM on December 10, 2012
was so old. 1996... & now I'm even older for looking it up.
posted by Packed Lunch at 11:37 PM on December 10, 2012
My personal faves from the kids albums:
Nine Bowls of Soup
ICU
Can You Find It?
posted by puritycontrol at 9:44 PM on December 11, 2012
Nine Bowls of Soup
ICU
Can You Find It?
posted by puritycontrol at 9:44 PM on December 11, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by rmd1023 at 11:38 AM on December 10, 2012