Every They Might Be Giants Album Ranked from Worst to Best || Mikaela Thorn
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 มิ.ย. 2024
- They Might Be Giants are my favorite band, so today I'm ranking all of their studio albums from worst to best! Sorry in advance for the vocal fry.
If you enjoyed this video, consider supporting me on Patreon: / thornbrain
Inspired by Elliot Roberts' ranking videos, so be sure to check his out too: / elliotrobertsvideos
Thanks to the TMBG Wiki, which I used extensively while writing this (though I made sure to go to the primary sources noted in its articles wherever possible. Don't inherently trust a fan wiki, folks!): tmbw.net/wiki/Main_Page
Thanks to these TH-camrs for posting concert footage: astralbee, bells1208, Dave Boddis
Thanks to these TH-camrs for posting their own generated song instrumentals: naturalkatsup/hailey, Robot Spongebob, smurfparty, Christina Hamilton, Nautical Sponge
My original footage and commentary is owned by me. Music videos and official instrumentals owned by TMBG themselves. TV performances owned by their respective bloodthirsty overlords. - เพลง
![แฟนแนวใด๋ - ยูริ โตเกียวมิวสิค [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4_XVMuhhbsU/mqdefault.jpg)
every tmbg fan is either just my mom or a random trans person and it's wonderful
100%
My mom said " I think your dad is the only person on earth that knows that band" I said tell the to me and the the 1.2 M Spotify monthly listeners
In an interview, I once asked Flans if they'd ever do "Here Comes History!" and he just responded something to the tune of "I don't think parents would take well to my pinko manifesto". Funniest shit ever, I wanna hear it.
I really appreciate you not dismissing the childrens music albums, so many people discount them on principle alone but they have a lot of merit, especially No!
They're good stuff! They're TMBG albums through-and-through, just a lot less dark.
@@thornbrain at least in their final versions. the dial-a-song version of four of two was NOT kid friendly
Not gonna lie: hearing my then-3 year old belt out "John Lee Super Taster" makes No! one of my favorite TMBG albums
@@mariesyvian8187 I just found out about this. It’s so dark and yet I relate to it so much now as an adult. Loved the song as a very young kid but had no idea what it was about. All grown up now relating strongly to the darker version…
I grew up with Here Come the ABC’s and I always just kind of associated them as a quirky children’s band. Then I got a taste of their darker material and it flipped my perspective of the world @@thornbrain
NOOO HERE COMES SCIENCE WAS MY FAVORITE THING AS A KID 😭 I genuinely love it and relistening to it made me love it even more, but to each their own! I also have a very personal connection to the album, so I guess I do view it through a different lens!
You have 100% sold me on TMBG and convinced me to listen to them more. Thank you!
Buckle up, you’re in for a wild and wacky ride you’ll never wanna get off
A very wise decision. I'd recommend Lincoln and Flood 1st and foremost. Virtually every song is amazing.
Regardless of our opinions of the albums, this band must be seen live. I've seen them many times in the last 30 years, and they never fail to please, and surprise the audience. I saw them a few days ago, and they played one of their songs from "Flood" (I won't say the title in case this is now a regular thing) BACKWARDS! After intermission, they played the video of that performance backward, which was forward, and pretty accurate.
Having been to that live show recently, they are doing that as a regular thing now and it was quite a thing to see.
Just saw them today and I second this. First concert I ever got to see, Of a band I actually knew atleast, And it was bloody incredible. They did play the song backwards (I'm guessing the same one), And implied they would keep doing it.
I agree ferociously. TMBG is best when live. Songs I am indifferent about normally are insane live.
stellub is so good lol
They came to my town once when I was swamped, it just happened to be same day as my exam 😭😭😭
I can’t afford to travel! I love the band so much and I may never see them live 😭😭😭
I would put The Else up higher, I love the aggressive and crisp sound throughout most of the album
The bass playing is also super killer on that one
GREGG RULZ OK
Birdhouse in your soul will always be stuck in my head .
Mine too! Such a great song and a great opener to Flood.
I’ve been listening to about an album a week from the band since the middle of last year and just finished up BOOK. This was a great guide for what I had to look forward to and I always enjoyed going back to rewatch each entry afterwards. Excellent video.
Gonna cry. A Trans woman is now in the TMBG fandom, not just old men.
there arre two types of tmbg fans, old people and queer people
You're not going to believe this
@@ackack6576 haha yep. When I was at a concert on the flood 30th anniversary tour, half of the people in line were 45 & over & the other half had dyed hair & pride pins
TMBG is a safe haven for nerds, geeks, freaks and queer people all across the world :)
Everyone’s a little zesty if you listen to TMBG
I found TMBG through Lemon Demon and the newest album at the time was The Else. Your rankings are pretty similar to my own, except I have John Henry and The Spine at the top :p But ranking the albums is *really* hard because most of my favourite songs are from different albums. They are remarkably consistent :)
One of the only bands I know where I can throw songs from 40 years apart into a shuffle playlist without getting whiplash every time the song changes
Honestly, I'm not sure if it's just me, but I've found TMBG has a shocking level of consistency in sound across albums relative to a lot of other bands- each album definitely has its own sound (especially John Henry imo) but pretty much every song works really well in its own, to the point that my current preferred way of listening is just a massive playlist of my favorite songs across the entire discography set to shuffle. I can't think of a lot of other bands where you can have a song from 1986 lead into a song from 2018 while still feeling totally natural, all without really feeling like their sound has stagnated or failed to evolve over the years. Really fun experience, highly recommend.
Also, I'm pleasantly surprised to see how much you enjoyed Join Us, though I guess I'm still in a minority for thinking that Flood is my least favorite of the first five albums, I'd probably rank them Self Titled/Pink->Apollo->Lincoln->John Henry->Flood (not that it's saying much, I still love all five)
Your outfit rocks, by the way
I don't think I completely agree with the ranking but I certainly enjoyed the breakdown. Thanks for the content on one of my favorite bands!
As a lapsed TMBG fan (they were my first band, I grew up with them and stopped buying their albums after Mink Car), I really appreciated how you covered the past two decades of their work. I may have to revisit them!
I can't believe your ranking on Here Comes Science. I think it is a strong contender for possibly their best record. It genuinely moves me to tears at points.
As someone else who discovered TMBG between Mink Car and The Spine, a lot of these takes resonate with me. It's refreshing to hear someone not just dismiss those albums entirely.
"Damn Good Times" has been on-and-off stuck in my head since I was a kid. Sometimes it'll be months or even years, I'll have completely forgotten about the song, and then suddenly... BAM, it's back. It's haunted me for fifteen years.
10/10 great experience, love the album.
This was an excellent ranking video. The short but sweet song reviews along with your overall critique of each album was extremely insightful and I agree with pretty much everything you said (Don't Let's Start is my favorite song of all time too, but Brontosaurus is also up there as I relate more than I could ever explain in words), with the exception of Mink Car. I found your analysis so thoughtful and well-explained. I'm definitely here for any and all of your ranking videos in the future.
Started watching this with skepticism but I gotta say, as a fan since I heard their debut at 12 years old, you absolutely nailed it. Can't fault anything you said and I even learned a thing or two.
What an insanely well done video! Thank you for sharing.
How does this only have 10k views? Extremely well done video, TMBG is bae. Cant wait to watch the rest of your videos!
Cheers for this. I have owned Lincoln and Flood on vinyl since i was a kid but have always found the idea of trawling through the entire back catalogue somewhat daunting. Great to have the cheat codes! Top work
you are such an eloquent writer and speaker. i would love to hear you talk about more music miss
I've been a big fan since 1991. Saw them several times throughout the 90's. At one show in Boston in 1992, they played their entire first album for the first half of their show! It was crazy! When they played '32 footsteps' from that album, towards the end, they started playing off key, different notes, and eventually just stopped, not finishing the song, and John L. said, laughing, "We just can't play that song tonight!" Everybody loved it and laughed along with them. So gracious, down-to-earth, and just..human! I met John F. in Boston when they put on a free outdoor concert. Great Guy! Got an autograph from him, but I lost it! (I never forgave myself) Lost track of them in recent years, but never forgot them. But I can always catch up. Thank you for doing this! I'll see ya!
As a fellow trans person whose favourite band is They Might Be Giants, this video is right up my alley. Really fun to watch and I appreciate Venue Songs being included despite it not fitting in with the rest of their discography. I'm also glad to see Mink Car made it so high :)
My ranking would probably be
1 Flood
2 Mink Car
3 Lincoln
4 Nanobots
5 Venue Songs
6 They Might Be Giants
7 Join Us
8 Apollo 18
9 John Henry
10 I Like Fun
11 Glean
12 Cast Your Pod to the Wind
13 They Got Lost
14 The Spine
15 No!
16 Factory Showroom
17 Here Come the ABCs
18 The Escape Team
19 The Else
20 Book
21 Long Tall Weekend
22 Phone Power
23 Here Comes Science
24 My Murdered Remains
I forget most of 123s and I haven't heard the material from Why? that wasn't on dial a song
I love videos by small creators that are well-edited, and you've combined this amazing editing with a subject that I will literally die for. Congratulations on an awesome video.
Love this!!! You explain your points so clearly and yet swiftly, it's super impressive. Always heartwarming to see someone with such an understanding and appreciation for TMBG!!! 💖
oh my GOD thank you for the factory showroom and mink car appreciation
great vid! when musicians have huge decade spanning discogs, it's always interesting to see where people rank their favourites.
I'm looking forward to the Beck ranking!
We can agree to disagree about The Else. Great video! Can't wait to see your rankings of all the podcast episodes (:P)
Oh! Shoutout to the Long Winters' cover of Pet Name.
Thanks for this fantastic video on TMBG music!
It's funny that I never actually listened to They Might be Giants but I've came across their music so many times. Like I heard their Courage the Cowardly Dog song, and their songs on Tiny Toons which I didn't know they were on the same album. The theme song for Malcolm in the Middle, and I only heard Birdhouse in your Soul from when Little Kuriboh used it for the short lived Yu-Gi-Oh abridged season 0. But I'm gonna definitely start checking out Then The Early Years.
Oh my god how am I finding this now this has been my number one band since middle school AHHHHHHHH
I learned so much - not just about TMBG, but about the production of music in general. Thank you!
Thank you for this. This was the best hour I've spent on the internet in a long time
*patiently waits through all the albums ranked lower than here comes the abcs*
thank you for sharing! you've given me a lot of songs to relisten to :)
"Join Us" is underrated on other TMBG rankings. It's great, so I'm glad to see it up there on your list.
I admit I kind of hated "Phone Power." Besides "I Love You for Psychological Reasons," it really felt to me like they were trying too hard. I'm going to have to go back and give it another listen after hearing you speak so glowingly about it.
I do 100% agree with you that "The Spine" is underrated.
Another compilation I would suggest for the honorable mentions at the end is _Cast Your Pod to the Wind_ . Lots of great stuff on that one.
As a fellow fan I think you’re deep dive is great to hear, you’re definitely a bigger fan then me lol
I hope you continue to make great in depth videos
This video was absolutely amazing, I love making videos about weird short topics and putting them on private and just showing them to my friends, but this video is absolutely my type of style and it’s super funny and awesome great job
My ranking would be quite a bit different but I totally appreciate how you articulate your reasoning and all the thought you've put into this.
I do strongly believe that if you're a fan you'll find at least a couple songs on every album that are pop masterpieces, or at least unforgettable bangers.
I can't believe I just watched some nerd goth chick talk about they might be giants for over an hour
Except thats a lie i absolutely can believe i just watched some nerd goth chick talk about they might be giants for over an hour
i enjoyed this video so much, and learned a lot from it too ^^ wonderful work!! it also reminded me of some albums i forgot to listen to when they came out! have to go listen to those now!
Just saw them live in June 2024 and was blown away with how good they still are. Hadn’t seen them since the Flood tour in 1991.
Saw them last year in July supporting Sparks. Absolute bucket list show, and nobody disappointed
A note about "Fingertips" from _Apollo 18_ : in addition to making things more interesting when the CD was played on shuffle, it might also have been a bit of an homage to the multiple short songs at the end of the 2nd side of _Abbey Road_ by the Beatles
It always reminded me of those old TV commercials for K-Tel compilation albums. (There's my age showing through.)
I'm a bit disappointed that you ranked John Henry kinda low on the list, but ultimately I understand why. I never really put two-and-two together before about it being a more grungy 90s album, as in my mind I personally think it has that early 2000s rock spark in it. Then again, I am pretty biased since it was my first ever TMBG album, and "Snail Shell" was the inspiration behind my username "SnailQueen" lol
for me, john henry was a great gateway into tmbg from more mainstream rock and it's still how I introduce tmbg to rock fans. it was just quirky enough to give me a taste of their sound without being too weird to push me away. self called nowhere is still my favorite song of theirs. but I def get why it's divisive with fans yeah
I fell in love with TMBG on the release of their first album.
I remember reading an article about it and going into my local independent record store and asking for the "The Might Be Giants" album. It was only then that I realized I had misread the name of the band. Still, "Don't Let Start" is right up there with "Birdhouse in My Soul" for favorite songs of All Time.
This was an entertaining, informed, and educational watch. Thanks for taking the time to put it together.
I am an "OG" TMBG fan - I got on board with their debut album (I was 19 yrs old), and saw them when they toured said debut. As I've gotten older, the time I have to devote to new album releases (by any band) has become more and more limited, and therefore, I've never been able to give their latter day releases their due (marriage, home ownership, and kids put an awful crimp in being able to sit alone with my headphones on, reading liner notes and lyric sheets. Although, "No!" and "ABCs" were a true family affair, and my kids, now in their early 20s, love the band to this day). If I could define what "latter day" means in my case, I'd say anything after "The Else". Your insights have given me the push to go back and spend more time with the later stuff.
So, while I'm too old to quibble about the subjective rankings of one person vs my own, it shouldn't surprise you that all my faves come from the mid-aughts and prior - for now, anyway! And while I'd have a hard time choosing my #3 (it's between Flood, Factory, and Mink), my #1 would be Lincoln and #2 would be TMBG.
Oh - and while they do indeed do a great cover of "Starry Eyes", nobody can top The Records' original (single or album version)! 😉😄
I am now going to begin re-aquainting myself with the later TMBG stuff. And I'm sure I'll be referring back to your vid to revisit your thoughts and comments on each. Be well!
I think I will have to compile a list of the songs you liked from TMBG into a playlist, it will be really cool to see why you like them (I know you described the reasons here, but I think i've only heard a couple of songs from TMBG so I dont really have a baseline reference for their music). So lemme just *breaks out my binder to take notes*
*also puts on my binder*
Honestly I think I started loving Nanobots after getting it on vinyl
The bloated nature of the album kinda lessens once you have that short break in the middle to flip over the record, but if that's what got me into the album more then the issue of it being a little bloated is still there
This was epic thank you!!!
My first TMBG album was their first, even though I came to it just prior to the release of Flood, so, as a long-time TMBG fan, I enjoyed this video immensely! Thank you for making it!
You're awesome for this video. They are my favorite band of all time too :) Always will be!
Saying TMBG peaked at their first album is the wrong way to look at putting their first album as #1. I don't think the video draws that conclusion either. Listening to Mikaela's explanation, it seems the Pink album was chosen as #1 because it is the most They Might Be Giant-ist sounding album, likely because of how raw it is. It's not what I would recommend to a new listener, though. No one could make a convincing argument TMBG peaked at any point without being arbitrary or completely subjective. TMBG's output quality has never declined.
A major thing l like about this video is how it demonstrates the band's consistency throughout the years. TMBG have remained consistently odd, which is why I love them. My album ranking would look different, of course. I would have put The Escape Team much higher. Why? would have been dead last. I think every fan's ranking would be different. This video made a solid case for each album's rank, though. I enjoyed watching it.
This video also helped me see why I never cared much for their children's albums. Children's albums should be evaluated along with the rest. Being a children's album by itself shouldn't make it less appealing. For me it did, though. I never understood why until now. Maybe I need a little darkness and death in my TMBG mix, and those albums naturally run short on those subjects.
That I don’t remember the exact date I first heard TMBG is a personal travesty (it was on a hay ride in October 1988). They instantly changed my life and my musical tastes forever, and they have remained my favorite band since.
This was a fantastic, well thought out and fair ranking and analysis that I actually think the Johns would appreciate. How does so much of the world go on not knowing about this band?????
Never in a hundred years would I be entertained by an over 1 hour video ranking the nigh entire discography of a band that played some songs that was in some kid's shows. I didn't even know they had other more adult aimed music until this vid. You've made some really entertaining videos and I hope you're able to make more!
Thanks so much!
Was a big fan at the beginning and have all of their albums up to Showroom. Moved overseas two years after the release of said-album and had been out of the TMBG loop until just a few days ago-something inside of me simply piqued my curiosity as to what they had been up to since 1996 and I all I can say is that I am floored and flabbergasted at their output, hence this comment! In the last few days, I have purchased Mink Car and Book. I am so glad I came here for your worst to best and I already know what the next few titles I'll be purchasing will be. Many thanks for the heads-up and excellent review-it's really helped a lot. Cheers!
Great video! funny how we had very similar takes - yet also incredibly different.
(and makes me want to remake my ranking video bc i regret some of my takes and low video quality) - great work though!
This is great! One of my earliest memories is of my mom taking me to a TMBG concert when I was quite small. I think it must have been the 1996 show at Hatch Shell in Boston (thanks TMBW!). I've loved them ever since, although like a lot of people who became fans in the 90's, my listening until recently was mostly limited to their first four albums. For a long time their stuff as a band didn't do a lot for me until I Like Fun came out. That album and BOOK kind of got me back into the band, and this list also prompted me to take a second listen to some of the stuff I'd dismissed previously. In particular, I've come around to really liking Join Us, thanks to the very interesting things you said about it. I definitely agree that it feels like the product of them figuring out what they really want to sound like in a way that I still think wasn't quite as clear in the years prior.
Personally, I would rank BOOK substantially higher. The rhythmic motifs in Linnell's vocals stuck out to me too when I first listened, but I suspect it's on purpose. Similar syncopated rhythms appear in the instrumentation even on some of Flans' tracks. If it wasn't planned that way, I think it still might have been a factor in which songs they chose for the album. To me it kind of makes it feel like there are some musical themes that carry through the different songs and make the album feel more like a whole. I'm also a drummer so I'm a sucker for syncopation. I'd actually say that BOOK is probably my favorite album since Apollo 18. It's all obviously subjective though! Either way it's awesome that they're still putting out great songs after nearly four decades.
Impressive, entertaining, informative. I can now confidently seek out and acquire GLEAN, PHONE POWER and I LIKE FUN to join the others in the Top Ten we share. FLOOD will forever be my fave (you never forget your first time) but I agree that the creativity and consistency of TMBG are remarkable. (I tried in vain to convince friends that JOIN US was one of their best.)
Thanks for the care and time you put into this project. Looking forward to more. Cheers!
Wow, thank you for the whirlwind tour. For me, "I Like Fun" is number one. I like it darker. "You Don't Like Me" and "Climbing the Walls" which you didn't like much, are superb, could even be poems that stand on their own without the music. I love the use of short lines, and the contast with the discursive but hung-together bridge in "You Don't Like Me". Anyway, thanks again, especially for bringing out the goodness in a bunch of songs that I probably haven't given enough slack.
"Climbing the walls" is one of my favorite tracks by them. I'm hoping that and "hopeless bleak despair" will be played at my funeral. ❤️
one of my favorite things about TMBG, I don't remember where I heard or read it (some interview or something, I don't know) but apparently each of the Johns thinks the other one is the powerhouse songwriter that is carrying the other and the band would fail without him, and in a way I think that's both right and wrong, like the music would sure be different but I think they'd both have been successful apart (even though I'm glad they did join up, the music they have made together has been phenomenal)
I actually really like the first six tracks on Here Comes Science, the rest is spotty, but still some good tracks like Cells.
Agreed re: Black Ops -- I think the Alternative version of Black Ops def has more meat and potatoes to it.
Great video!
I love that you weren' afraid to put 1, 2, and 3 as the top 3. It may seem cliche, but it is absolutely accurate. Would love to see Costello albums ranked. It could very easily be the same case of the first three being the top three.
This video helped me become a full blown TMBG fan. Thank you. ❤
Can’t wait to hear what you have to say in that Sparks album ranking video if you ever decide to do one. They’re like they come from an alternate universe where there was no They Might Be Giants but they fill the same niche.
Though how Ron Mael managed to get away with that mustache for so long is beyond me.
Kudos! Holy fuck, that was thorough and perfectly explained! Not another random click-baity top ten without any depth or criticism. TMBG was the soundtrack of my teenage years and if this make sense, their discography "deserved" an in-depth look like yours.
To this day, out of the blue I'll start singing the whole friggin Fingertips. Thank God for TH-cam's AI that suggested your video. Now I'm off to listen to Sapphire Bullets in reverse!
Props to you for having Join Us and Mink Car so high, they are hella underrated.
However, having John Henry this low should be a crime. Personally, I'd put it above Flood and Lincoln, so having it come before ABCs and the Spine is just so wrong.
48:52 still happier than the demo version where he strangles himself to death and graphically describes their vision fading.
I’ve had flood and Lincoln back to back for a week now I’m ready for the first album! Great guide!
I just found this channel and love this video and can't wait for Sparks and EC, two more of my favorite artists! Saw Sparks in Chicago earlier this year and it was awesome 😀
I like Pink Floyd too but don't know enough of their discography to have a real hierarchy. Dark Side and Animals rule.
Was really surprised you didn’t mention “The Greatest (Full-Length Mix)” when talking about my murdered remains
It was one of the tracks that immediately stood out to me on first listen.
The the slowly building instrumental is just instantly hypnotizing and the vocals adds this uneasiness and dreadful feeling, that i just love.
The lyrics are also just wonderfully bleak and simple
The music video for the song is great too. Nick offerman did a great job!
Mikaela, thank you! I've been a fan for 20+ years, and have been severely sleeping on "I Like Fun".
gosh, what a wonderful video Mikaela !! perfect balance of fair, sober criticism and earnest personal affection. bravo to you.
The top two were a tough call, but I'll accept it. Thanks so much for ranking my favorite band! The urge to listen to the whole discography is sooo string now.
Hello, Im curious what that cover of "Theme from Flood" is at 1:09:00? Also, great job on the video and rank. I've been dying to hear someone talk about They Might Be Giants as they're my favorite band of all time. I've been obsessed with them for months. Glad to see the in depth discussion on their music so great job again. It's awesome that you're passionate about this band and can't wait to see what rank or videos you make next.
I did that with a cheap toy Casio and an instrumental of the original I found. And thanks!
@@thornbrain That's really awesome, I thought I was going crazy cause I was trying too look for it everywhere and couldn't find it 😂. Yeah, of course, keep up the good work.
"There's always that album they release next that ends up being a favorite." That's me and The Else.
Hey, even if it SUCKS to say the Pink album was the peak, it just goes to show just how strong they were right from the start!
I randomly came across your video and was surprised by the end. I was actually at that same Sacramento concert in 2007, and that venue was NOT that large... small world!
In case you want time skips for #2 and #1 (which for some reason are not listed in her video's chapters) #2 - 1:01:06 #1 - 1:06:15
forever my favorite group
I may never be able to escape them.
Its always super interesting to see people talk about their favorite tmbg albums! I personally would put Join Us and The Else at the bottom, not for their tracklists but because of how overproduced they feel. Book went from the bottom half to the top half for me after seeing them live recently, Flansburgh really sold me on a few of his tracks that night. I generally waffle between Apollo 18, John Henry, and The Spine as being my favorites
I know nothing else about your channel except that you like TMBG but that was enough to get me to sub.
I finally finished this video, and had laid out which tracks on the title album were my favorite beforehand, it being my fav album and expecting it to rank high. My faves were track 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 12, 16, 17, and 19 and the last section of this video was incredibly validating. Thanks for the serotonin queen.
I would actually argue that Black Ops is enhanced by the minimalist instrumentation, not held back by it. It blends in with the story told in the lyrics perfectly. The track is almost silent throughout, emphasizing on how the narrator is almost invisibly traveling through a war zone with the exception to this rule being the two short climaxes signaled by a sharp snare fill: his weapon being fired.
That’s how I imagine it anyway.
Also on a separate note Moonbeam Rays despite being released so recently is quickly becoming one of my favorite tracks from the group. It’s the song I played after landing in my new home, finally successfully leaving my home state after a literal decade of trying. It’s still satisfying to listen to every time I put it on.
You brought up Kraftwerk in a TMBG video and I...I have to subscribe.
I'm glad I've gone down the TMBG rabbit hole
Never listened to them, thought I've heard them mentioned around, so I'm quietly interested
My friends and I have tickets to see them in October, can't wait! I think the first time I saw them was early 90s... huge part of my life.
Enjoyed the video. Well done.
Just to be the completionist, Tippecanoe and Tyler Too was recorded for the Future Soundtrack For America to attempt to get rid of Bush.
Great video, I'm new to the channel and just subscribed!
awesome video, i've been wanting someone to make a worst to best ranking for tmbg for a while now. your insight to the albums was pretty nice, even though i disagreed fairly often all your opinions are well thought out and reasonable on top of being explained nicely. i'm really surprised to see their self-titled as #1 though, maybe it's just me but i always found that album to be a bit annoying and boring outside of its truly great hits (which there are a good number of). love the video though, a worst to best of sparks would be awesome to see (even if it would be a huge undertaking)!
ALSO. Dinner bell (in my interpretation) is clearly about the psychological study on Pavlov’s dogs!
I have tried and failed to turn many people whose musical taste I generally respect on to TMBH. Glad to know there are at least 23k fellow travelers. A goth trans woman so eloquently taking us on this journey makes me proud of the progress this world has made. Glad you get to be you Mikaela.
My issue with everything post-Nanobots is that, with the exception of about 3 or 4 songs, all the albums sound interchangeable. You don't have a definitive "sound" that serves as a through-line the way that John Henry has a distinct crunch, Mink Car has a clear disco vibe, Join Us focuses hard on storytelling, etc. You could rotate Unpronounceable, I Love You For Psychological Reasons, Let's Get This Over With, and Part of You Wants To Believe Me out into each other's records and not appreciably change the feel the album.
i might add more opinions as i'm watching to this comment but i actually really like edith head on long tall weekend--i first listened to it completely isolated from the rest of the album and i think that helped grow my love for it. i do agree that the instrument side of the track is a bit weak but flansburgh GOES OFF in the track and i just love it so much more than the version off of mink car
edit 1: i love your writing so much! the juxtaposition of your description of "four of two" and "no!" made me audibly cackle that was fantastic
edit 2: i would also like to add that john henry is one of my personal favorite TMBG albums (within my top 5) but you are totally right that it sounds like it could have only been released in 1994. for me though that's a great thing as i love the sounds of that time and i consequently love the album (maybe a bit too much lol)
edit 3: it's so hard for me to rank their first four albums and it honestly changes day to day but i 100% agree with your opinions, and i still have yet to get around to join us and am now super excited to listen to it for the first time. this is the last thing that i will add to this comment so i just would like to say this video was such a great watch!
They Might Be Giants truly has such profound lyricism.
Deputy-dog-dog-a-ding-dang-depadepa” is a metaphor for life, the deputy being the social norm and rules in society, the dog being our heart.
Deputy (Follow the rules)
Dog-dog (follow your heart)
Ding-dang(A clock, and its the ringing it makes as your life comes to an end)
Depadepa (The sound of your final heart beat.)
All together it sounds like a mix between deputy and dog, showing the spiraling mess of choices you’ve made, unable to make any sense of it any longer.
The constant suffering of trying to be like everyone else while simultaneously living life how you want leaves you in a perpetual cycle of nonsense……
I also have no clue what I’m talking about
Oh lmao I actually added more to it
I’m glad to hear someone else share my feelings about Hotel Detective’s single mix.
That bass clarinet could rip me and I’d THANK IT.
This is a great ranking, and even though I don't always agree, I appreciate your explanations. I love that Factory Showroom and No made your top 10. I personally would put Book and The Else much higher than you did, and The Spine would be near the bottom of my list.
My top 10 would probably include (in no particular order) Lincoln, Flood, Apollo 18, John Henry, Factory Showroom, Book, The Else, Join Us, I Like Fun, and their self titled album..
Canajoharie is actually my favorite song from Join Us lol. Loved the video btw.
So glad flood made it so far up the list. ❤