"['Purple Toupee' uses] a couple of Prince songs as a springboard, 'Purple Rain' and 'Raspberry Beret'. I guess part of the idea was that, at the time, it seemed like there was this '60s revival in the works. It reminded me of all the other revivals that had taken place that were reviving times that I wasn't around for. They must have been complete shams based on what the '60s revival was. It seemed like it was based on this utterly one-dimensional caricature of the time that it was supposed to [be] representing or reviving. That still goes on now. That's sort of what 'Purple Toupee' is about." - John Linnell
They're so cute and silly in this music video, just two Johns bouncing around and trading off singing parts while stock footage of amusement parks rolls by
One of the few 'alternative' acts that could actually still be classified as such. I feel that most alternative rock acts and styles have become normalized, if not exactly mainstream. Grunge, punk, metal, it's normalized, it's what we expect. Then there's They Might Be Giants, a band whose style was never truly replicated (except for maybe that one Weird Al song), and whose brand of alt rock never spread just them. They stayed weird, they stayed uniquely themselves, stayed outside of expectations instead of continuing the exact same thing. They are thus one of very few bands I would actually consider alternative.
@@gregmcgreg7817 Apparently, the song "Everything You Know Is Wrong" was supposed to be in the style of TMBG. Really, it only captures a small slice of their sound, but there's only so much you can do with a three minute song.
@@funktional_ktk Well, quite frankly I think they capture as much as any prog-pop or avant-rock act could in a three minute song. I have yet to find a single standard length song by TMBG that covers all of their sound. Of course, that gets harder to do the longer they go on, making the task near impossible at a certain point.
Lincoln. Maybe not a real Boss Hoss, but I think it is the best thing by them might be them. The most Kafkaesque record ever. Some of the sentiments in Lincoln were arrived at by Kafka seventy eighty years before, although I don't think it's a case of influence or theft but of universal images uncovered by parallel processes of automatic free-association, . . .
[Lyrics] I remember the year I went to camp I heard about some lady named Selma and some blacks Somebody put their fingers in the President's ears It wasn't too much later they came out with Johnson's wax I remember the book depository where they crowned the king of Cuba Now that's all I can think of, but I'm sure there's something else Way down inside me I can feel it coming back Purple toupee will show the way when summer brings you down (Purple toupee when summer brings you down) Purple toupee and gold lame will turn your brain around (Purple toupee and gold lame) Chinese people were fighting in the park We tried to help them fight, no one appreciated that Martin X was mad when they outlawed bell bottoms Ten years later they were sharing the same cell I shouted out, "Free the Expo '67" Till they stepped on my hair, and they told me I was fat Now I'm very big, I'm a big important man And the only thing that's different is underneath my hat Purple toupee will show the way when summer brings you down (Purple toupee when summer brings you down) Purple toupee and gold lame will turn your brain around (Purple toupee and gold lame) Purple toupee is here to stay after the hair has gone away The purple brigade is marching from the grave We're on some kind of mission We have an obligation We have to wear toupees
@@FirstnameLastname-mb2ek What's with these homies dissin' my girl? Why do they gotta front? What did we ever do to these guys That made them so violent? But you know I'm yours (Ooh ooh) And I know you're mine (Ooh ooh) And that's for all of time Ooh-wee-ooh, I look just like Buddy Holly Oh oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore I don't care what they say about us anyway I don't care 'bout that Don't you ever fear, I'm always near I know that you need help Your tongue is twisted, your eyes are slit You need a guardian And you know I'm yours (Ooh ooh) And I know you're mine (Ooh ooh) And that's for all of time Ooh-wee-ooh, I look just like Buddy Holly Oh oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore I don't care what they say about us anyway I don't care 'bout that I don't care 'bout that Bang bang knockin' on the door Another bang bang get down on the floor Oh no, what do we do? Don't look now but I lost my shoe I can't run and I can't kick Whatsa matter babe, are you feelin' sick? Whatsa matter, whatsa matter, whatsa matter you? Whatsa matter, babe, are you feelin' blue? Oh And that's for all of time And that's for all of time Ooh-wee-ooh, I look just like Buddy Holly Oh oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore I don't care what they say about us anyway I don't care 'bout that I don't care 'bout that I don't care 'bout that I don't care 'bout that
Something about this song with the world's current struggles kind of makes me... appreciate it more? TMBG were not afraid from the outset to be bold with their lyrics, be it in original meaning or new parallels.
as a creative unit at least, they hail from williamsburg, brooklyn at the time when it was still bombed out and settled by artists & bohemians, i.e., the first wave of gentrification
ever since the advent of a big important man, i've firmly believed tmbg could change the title (and that one lyric) to "golden toupee" and give it new life again
They're so cute and silly in this music video, just two Johns bouncing around and trading off singing parts while stock footage of amusement parks rolls by
I can’t believe I’m seeing it in non-2007 TH-cam quality.
Without it being ai altered too
"['Purple Toupee' uses] a couple of Prince songs as a springboard, 'Purple Rain' and 'Raspberry Beret'. I guess part of the idea was that, at the time, it seemed like there was this '60s revival in the works. It reminded me of all the other revivals that had taken place that were reviving times that I wasn't around for. They must have been complete shams based on what the '60s revival was. It seemed like it was based on this utterly one-dimensional caricature of the time that it was supposed to [be] representing or reviving. That still goes on now. That's sort of what 'Purple Toupee' is about." - John Linnell
Thanks for putting this here! I would not have seen it otherwise.
the main players in the 60s counterculture scene were all pushing the hippie stuff as a psyop read weird scenes in laurel canyon
It's hilarious that he talks about this song being analogous to Purple Rain, they could not be more different.
This is my fav song from them Lincon was a great album. :)
They're so cute and silly in this music video, just two Johns bouncing around and trading off singing parts while stock footage of amusement parks rolls by
What if this all culminates with them releasing the video for "Rabid Child"?
phlog_dog don't give me hope...
Well it just videos from Direct From Brooklyn and Rabid Child isnt on that dvd.
The video exists in someone's basement. I very much want to see it.
Oh...
Rabid Child.
That's my jam.
its been four year
They made great with their $63 budget
Expensive mini golf game.
Probably a few grand considering they had to buy all the film stock.
One of the few 'alternative' acts that could actually still be classified as such. I feel that most alternative rock acts and styles have become normalized, if not exactly mainstream. Grunge, punk, metal, it's normalized, it's what we expect. Then there's They Might Be Giants, a band whose style was never truly replicated (except for maybe that one Weird Al song), and whose brand of alt rock never spread just them. They stayed weird, they stayed uniquely themselves, stayed outside of expectations instead of continuing the exact same thing. They are thus one of very few bands I would actually consider alternative.
What Weird Al song?
@@gregmcgreg7817 Apparently, the song "Everything You Know Is Wrong" was supposed to be in the style of TMBG. Really, it only captures a small slice of their sound, but there's only so much you can do with a three minute song.
@@camerondodge2070 ...and yet TMBG manages to do so much in *each* three-minute song.🤯
@@funktional_ktk Well, quite frankly I think they capture as much as any prog-pop or avant-rock act could in a three minute song. I have yet to find a single standard length song by TMBG that covers all of their sound. Of course, that gets harder to do the longer they go on, making the task near impossible at a certain point.
@@camerondodge2070 it’s lovely to see how much they’ve evolved, while still staying fresh. Each album has its own unique sound.
Purple toupee will show the way.
Trust it.
Purple toupee is here to stay.
SILLYING OUT SO MUCH
Sillying and slaying 💅🏻
@@Jaggerborzoi so real
YES YES YEA
lol why did linnell get all silly like that at the end. fym "lalalalalalala"
That is a man full of wonder and joy don't "fym" him-
How much fun have these guys had in their musical live? Just fantastic.
40 years and counting of making songs together. Musical besties.
God John is so goddamn cute I just can’t
Ok, but _John_ tho...
I’ve always been more partial to John.
which one 😭
I hope John doesn't see this comment thread, he may get jealous of John
Bouncy and springy fellas.
They were so young
If I ever had a chance to meet the young Johns I'd never complain about anything ever again.
Definitely my favorite They Might Be Giants music video because it makes little to no sense and I love that aspect of it
This is indeed the BEST QUALITY Official Music Video
Lincoln. Maybe not a real Boss Hoss, but I think it is the best thing by them might be them. The most Kafkaesque record ever. Some of the sentiments in Lincoln were arrived at by Kafka seventy eighty years before, although I don't think it's a case of influence or theft but of universal images uncovered by parallel processes of automatic free-association, . . .
[Lyrics]
I remember the year I went to camp
I heard about some lady named Selma and some blacks
Somebody put their fingers in the President's ears
It wasn't too much later they came out with Johnson's wax
I remember the book depository where they crowned the king of Cuba
Now that's all I can think of, but I'm sure there's something else
Way down inside me I can feel it coming back
Purple toupee will show the way when summer brings you down
(Purple toupee when summer brings you down)
Purple toupee and gold lame will turn your brain around
(Purple toupee and gold lame)
Chinese people were fighting in the park
We tried to help them fight, no one appreciated that
Martin X was mad when they outlawed bell bottoms
Ten years later they were sharing the same cell
I shouted out, "Free the Expo '67"
Till they stepped on my hair, and they told me I was fat
Now I'm very big, I'm a big important man
And the only thing that's different is underneath my hat
Purple toupee will show the way when summer brings you down
(Purple toupee when summer brings you down)
Purple toupee and gold lame will turn your brain around
(Purple toupee and gold lame)
Purple toupee is here to stay after the hair has gone away
The purple brigade is marching from the grave
We're on some kind of mission
We have an obligation
We have to wear toupees
this sounds like what non tmbg fans think tmbg sounds like but in a good way
So sad we never got to experience Prince in his old age as foretold by TMBG.
john flansburgh looks scary in this video
Just this video?
also love that Danelectro Longhorn guitar, I want one of those...
Music which is always my antidote to stress and anxiety
So you could say...Purple Toupee *does* show you the way when summer brings you down-
Just got Lincoln on red vinyl 😩
bragging in the comment section 🤤
@@midnightcowboy1969
Indeed 😫😫
@@FirstnameLastname-mb2ek i mean it’s a great album and i’m jealous 😁👍👍
@@midnightcowboy1969
It’s the best tmbg albumin my opinion!
@@FirstnameLastname-mb2ek
What's with these homies dissin' my girl?
Why do they gotta front?
What did we ever do to these guys
That made them so violent?
But you know I'm yours
(Ooh ooh) And I know you're mine
(Ooh ooh) And that's for all of time
Ooh-wee-ooh, I look just like Buddy Holly
Oh oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore
I don't care what they say about us anyway
I don't care 'bout that
Don't you ever fear, I'm always near
I know that you need help
Your tongue is twisted, your eyes are slit
You need a guardian
And you know I'm yours
(Ooh ooh) And I know you're mine
(Ooh ooh) And that's for all of time
Ooh-wee-ooh, I look just like Buddy Holly
Oh oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore
I don't care what they say about us anyway
I don't care 'bout that
I don't care 'bout that
Bang bang knockin' on the door
Another bang bang get down on the floor
Oh no, what do we do?
Don't look now but I lost my shoe
I can't run and I can't kick
Whatsa matter babe, are you feelin' sick?
Whatsa matter, whatsa matter, whatsa matter you?
Whatsa matter, babe, are you feelin' blue?
Oh
And that's for all of time
And that's for all of time
Ooh-wee-ooh, I look just like Buddy Holly
Oh oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore
I don't care what they say about us anyway
I don't care 'bout that
I don't care 'bout that
I don't care 'bout that
I don't care 'bout that
My favorite tmbg song!
I prefer Ana NG personally but this one is great
Something about this song with the world's current struggles kind of makes me... appreciate it more?
TMBG were not afraid from the outset to be bold with their lyrics, be it in original meaning or new parallels.
YES GOD THANK U SO MUCH AHHHHHHH
Vote Purple Toupee 2024, all your dreams will come true.
Jeez how old are They? like, 12 at this point??
probs in their 20s or something?
one if the best counterpoints ever
Wow, how have I not heard this song before? Really good
Great song
just as relevant as it always was
super underrated 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
I just discovered these guys. I'm really enjoying them. Kinda like Barenaked Ladies on acid. Are these guys from Canada, too?
New England
as a creative unit at least, they hail from williamsburg, brooklyn at the time when it was still bombed out and settled by artists & bohemians, i.e., the first wave of gentrification
Brooklyn, actually
Epic
I wonder what they're saving for Christmas
this song is harder to understand than weird al with a mouthful of marbles
but it's still great
it gets easier to understand once you realize john linnell's deliberately getting historic events wrong throughout the song because he is silly
this song is so silly. tmbg is so silly. i love silly music
Huh? Which lyric isn’t perfectly enunciated?
I'm a big important man.
But something must be different now.
ever since the advent of a big important man, i've firmly believed tmbg could change the title (and that one lyric) to "golden toupee" and give it new life again
@@0okamino did you check underneath your hat?
so baller,,,,
me in 2009: wow these special effects are dated lmao
me in 2019: #aesthetic #retro #mood #fave
Well you were right, its...an old video
😬
me when a video from 1989 (more than 30 years ago) looks dated:
Am purple
Am you toupee?
@@Mr__Joe no, he am purple
I love the forgetful Hippy Song :)
PURPLE TOUPEE
Here I thought John Linell sang lead in the entire song.
and why he ourple 😂
jammer!!!!!D
CHINESE PEOPLE FIGHTIN IN THA PARK
WE TRIED TO HELP THEM FIGHT, NO ONE APPRECIATED THAT
weeee
Lapfox brought me here
WAIT WHAT Is it just because of the man its so loud in here cover or am I missing something
New tmbg? Is this real life?
New, better quality upload of the video to a song from _Lincoln_ (1988).
In the future, the past brings presents. :)
I've never seen a purple cow...
"Chinese people were fighting in the park"
I need more cowbell.
The OG TMBG (first two LPs) is still the best TMBG.
Not even Flood? Not even Apollo 18?
@ both fine records but the first two are my faves. Maybe it’s just sentiment clouding my judgement.
They're so cute and silly in this music video, just two Johns bouncing around and trading off singing parts while stock footage of amusement parks rolls by
Turns out they weren't all alone at the 64' world's fair
@@butterbee8193 80 dolls yelling "small girl after all"
Who was at the DuPont Pavilion?
why was the bench still warm? who had been there?
@@pizzvore like the time when the storm tangled up the wire