The smile on your face? THAT is the perfect expression when listening to a THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS song. The fabulous duo of John and John have perfected the art of quirky, surrealistic pop. Their lyrics frequently crack me up... almost ALWAYS memorable... the tunes stay in your head. The next songs to listen to: "Anna Ng," (Was a hit on college radio) "Don't Let's Start," "Mr. Me," "Shoehorn With Teeth," "Nightgown Of The Sullen Moon," "Istanbul, Not Constantinople" (a minor hit for this old-time cover version)... "You're On Fire" is another great pop tune! SO MANY GREAT SONGS!!!! Enjoy the fantastic ride... and THANK YOU, Daniel for exploring strange and wonderful music!!
Lincoln and Flood are my fave albums of this AMAZING band. Went to one of their shows. "Purple Toupee", "They'll need a Crane" and "Youth Culture killed my Dog" are great tunes. And yes, thank you, Daniel for not shying away from the "road less traveled" in reaction videos and touching on some genius. So many suggestions for you.
Yes, I agree with both what helbysnyder8109 and helbysnyder8109 both say, I would also say Partical Man (of course) as well as the songs Turn Around, (creepy and hilarious), Road Movie to Berlin, and Doctor Worm
Flood is a modern classic, the entire album is amazing. Songs: Istanbul (Not Constantinople), Ana Ng, Doctor Worm, Particle Man, Your Racist Friend, Dead, Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas), Why Does the Sun Really Shine? (The Sun is a Miasma of Incandescent Plasma), James K Polk, The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)
Ana ng is on Lincoln, as is Purple Toupee. That is my favorite album by them. Their first album has the classic Don’t Let’s Start and many other greats, including She’s An Angel. Flood is their third. Next album was Apollo 18 (The guitar, The Statue Got Me High, Fingertips), and probably the least great of the first four. Why does the sun shine I believe is a cover of Tom Glazer (who did not want to be remembered as the guy who wrote On Top of Spaghetti, but I digress). I strongly recommend this rabbit hole!
You have entered a new and weird world. TMBG has been a favorite group of mine since the 1980s. They have a loyal and fervent following. Generally they are not big fans of literal videos and their music videos frequently if not comprehensively do not match the music that you are listening to while viewing. There are probably over a hundred songs I could recommend, but you should probably start with their first popular single "Don't Let's Start." These guys have written songs about all kinds of obscure subject matter, including President James K Polk (James K Polk), being a paleontologist (I Am a Paleontologist), a mashup song about a rock band made up of dead Mesopotamian kings (The Mesopotamians), philosophical songs about conflict and being (Particle Man), A longing for companionship from someone you've never met (Anna Ng), and oh so many more.
Birdhouse is a fairly literal video! Linnell/the nightlight is filibustering vigilantly and protecting the unseen child from the monsters (the people in flannel doing scary Thriller-esque dances)
Wow, thanks! Their album "Lincoln" is an absolute gem. ""Flood" is also great. They were huge on the alternative shows on MTV Europe back then. "They'll need a crane" is still occupying my brain.
Why is the world in love again? Why are we marching hand in hand? Why are the ocean levels rising? It's a brand new reaction to They Might Be Giants instant classic. The above is a quote from the introduction to the album, and TMBG is by far the funnest band I've ever seen live. Ana NG, Statue Got Me High, Dr Worm, Older, it really doesn't matter which song or album one chooses to listen to, it's going to be a good time. PS I've NEVER seen a TMBG reaction before
I was excited when I saw this pop up; I'm glad you did this one. They Might Be Giants is one of my all time favorite bands. I've seen them many, many times over the years. I'd recommend checking out the entire Flood album, it's one of those that are perfect from start to finish. Flood is considered a classic album among a certain nerdy alternative culture. They're currently on tour doing the Flood album from start to finish for its 30th anniversary (it's now been 32 years but it kept getting put off due to COVID). I love their absurdist lyrics which are even more prevalent on many of their other songs. They used to do this thing called dial-a-song back in the 80s where you could call this number in New York and it would play a different song each day. Also, I own one of those blue canary nightlights. Maybe one of these days I'll buy a prosthetic forehead to wear on my real head.
"Women and men", "Song number 3", "I , palindrome, i", " Ana Ng", "Hotel Detective" , "First Kiss", "Bangs" "the statue got me high", "kiss me, son of god". So many...I played them relentlessly on my late night radio show in the 90's.
Around 1987, I heard about band that had a telephone number you could call and hear one of their songs. I called the number and heard "Birdhouse In Your Soul". From that point on, I was a TNBG fan.
Check out a song called Sensurround. The lyrics are amazing - look up what Sensurround was, and how it influenced him in the womb, and is the reason why he now loves sounds/music so much.
“Make a hole with a gun perpendicular to the name of this town on a desktop globe - exit wound through a foreign nation, right through the home of the girl this was written for.” Such creatively brilliant writing!! It reminds me of when I was a kid and I was told if I keep digging down I’d end up in China! LOL
Absolutely love this song which I haven't heard in ages. Thank you so very much! Adorable happy song from a great album, not something you hear every day. Thank you!
"Such a strange song..." pretty much sums up TMBG. Try these (song and video): - "Don't Let's Start" - First TMBG song to have any commercial presence, a fun bop w/ a dark side - "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" - Their rework of an old classic - "Anna Ng" - Another fun bop w/ some memorable lines - "The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)" - Something old, something new - "Can't Keep Johnny Down" - Fun song with an imaginative fan-made video - "I'm Impressed" - Hard rocking DARK song and video, atypical of the group but great - "The Mesopotamians" - Best history lesson ever
A newer TMBG song that doesn't get enough credit is "Let's Get This Over With" from the 2018 album I Like Fun is a personal favorite of mine. Also "Push Back the Hands" and "By the TIme You Get This".
Haha there's this rocker guy I had a crush on that posted a random clip with this song in the background and I took it as the universe telling me we belonged together because I love birds (I like to sing and think I feel a correlation between birds and singing), and my name means Honeybee and just thought it was so cute and random a song! 🤣
Happy to see you as always!!! You are so delightful!!! This song always makes me happy!! I have not heard it in so long. It is so sweet in its absurdity!! Your voice is so calming to me!! I hope you have a wonderful day!!! You have already got mine off to a great start, and i bid you , thanks!!!
"Ana Ng", "Cowtown", "Where Your Eyes Don't Go", "Particle Man"... I love their wordplay and bizarre musical accompaniment. Do yourself a favor and don't watch the videos on first listen. The songs are wild enough without distractions.
Where your eyes don't go, perhaps one of the most poetically creepy songs ever written. It's ALMOST about original sin, or total depravity, or compulsions beyond our control. Or something else I'm not even thinking of. It's TMBG after all. THEY may not even admit to knowing what it's about.
TMBG was such a fun and quirky band, quite popular amongst the college crowd in the late 80's and early 90's. And they did manage to translate over into TV, as was pointed out about writing the opening song for Malcom In The Middle, as well as having both songs Constantinople and Particle Man featured on the Warner Brothers cartoon, Anamaniacs. The whole Flood album is worth a listen. Have fun exploring them, totally worth your time.
If you like weird music, TMBG is the band for you. The first three albums are, I think, their best. For specific songs - Puppet Head, Ana Ng, Folk Family, Youth Culture Killed My Dog, Particle Man...honestly every song on those first three is a gem.
I suppose they took their band name from a film (and play) from the early seventies They Might be Giants. George C Scott plays a mental patient who is convinced he is Sherlock Holmes. Joanne Woodward is the psychiatrist who is assigned to treat him. Scott/Holmes sees her as his Dr Watson and convinces her to join him on one of his "cases". The film manages to be both funny and oddly touching, as it explores the boundaries of both fantasy and reality. The band seems to be like the movie...quirky, funny, but with deeper meanings layered into their songs. Gentle Giant, Barenaked Ladies, Primus, and Spock's Beard are a few other bands with quirky off kilter songs (see SB's Thoughts Part 2 as a prime example).
Thank you so much Daniel for appreciating a personal favourite of mine. I don’t know what it says about me but to this day I can recite from memory the entire lyrics to this song.
Some They Might Be Giants songs I like but didn't see in the comments: "The Statue Got Me High," "Museum of Idiots," "Madame I Challenge You to a Duel," "Music Jail," and "Certain People I Could Name."
"New York City" is my favorite song from TMBG - a great fan video is called "They Might Be Giants - New York City - synched" is simple and shows the lyrics using fonts in a way that New Yorkers will recognize immediately. Another great one is "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"
Omg you made my week with this reaction. Thank you! I've been bugging you forever and I'm so glad you got around to checking them out. They are indeed quirky, almost cartoonish. They have this amazing talent of taking dark lyrics and putting a fun musical spin on them. I would agree with everyone else about Ana Ng, and They'll Need a Crane. A Self Called Nowhere, Where Your Eyes Don't Go, and I Palindrome I (a song about Matricide) are also great tunes. I also like the songs Dead, Your Racist Friend, Sleeping In The Flowers, Thermostat, Climbing the Walls, Mrs Bluebeard and Why Should I Be Sad (a Very interesting ode to Alice Cooper). Thanks so much for giving these geniuses a chance!
Thanks for the great reaction DDR. Love TMBG. And they are amazing live too. For those that really love their sounds and directions, they have many, many great songs across many great albums. For those that just like the songs that catch the more mainstream ear, the list probably includes "Istanbul", "Particle Man", "Don't Lets Start", etc.
Istanbul, Particle Man, and Your Racist Friend are some other great songs from Flood. The next album, Apollo 18, has more gems like She's Actual Size, Mammal, Spider, and the bizarre Fingertips. Enjoy!
I absolutely adore your reactions! Please please please dive into They Might Be Giants! They’ve been around forever and are absolute geniuses who always bring a smile
Lon-JEAN. Pretty sure the final 's' is silent as is often the case in French. Love this quirky, literate band. I'm reminded of the Barenaked Ladies, another band fond of humour and smart lyrics packed in tight - see "The Big Bang Theory' TV theme, 'One Week', 'If I Had A Million Dollars', 'Be My Yoko Ono.' More TMBG, though, definitely, please.
Gordon was released only two years after Flood, so BNL's definitely topical. Been hoping Daniel will circle back around since he hit "Pinch Me" (not least because he hasn't heard Steven Page sing yet).
Great album. Their friend Brian Dewan often opened their shows and his first album “Tells the Story” is a favorite of mine, maybe check out “Wastepaper basket Fire”, Obedience School” or “The Cowboy Outlaw” from that album. Thanks for this fun TMBG reaction, Anna NG is another Giants fav
They Might Be Giants are awesome. Highly recommend Anna Ng. A fantastic song. You should watch the documentary, Gigantic: a Tale of Two Johns. Fascinating film even if you don't like the band.
Oh, boy. This is a DEEP rabbit hole. And your first impression was to like them. Most people don't like them at first. There are literally a thousand quirky, hum-able songs in their catalog.
TMBG is defined by quirkiness, very clever and unexpected lyrics and instrumentals. Glad i got to see this! Since, well my man, you didn't pause the video, probably from being unable to look away from the spectacle. 😬 Been watching your reviews for awhile, but on my phone with no app. So now i've subscribed. 👍
They Might Be Giants was my first concert. I was in junior high when this came out and a Greek mythology fan. I always assumed they were implying Jason from Friday the 13th and then into Argonauts, as a bait and switch. Btw, Friday the 13th came out in the 1980, with Jason as main antagonist in 1981.
It's from the perspective of a blue canary nightlight. The picture opposite him is a painting of an old lighthouse on a rocky shore, his primitive ancestry. He's just a nightlight and couldn't handle the job, hence his imminent firing.
A couple of clever gents from the leafy suburbs of Boston. Vastly underappreciated. The avant-garde has long found inspiration from children and the insane. They are similar in that way to Talking Heads, Beat Farmers, Cake and/or Rolling Beach Beetles.
TMBG is probably best known for their song "Boss of Me" which was used for the theme of Malcom In The Middle. *The previous statement would be true except that most people don't know (or care) that that was them, since they haven't heard of them otherwise. 😀
I think I was a freshman in high school when this album came out. It was kind of an underground hit, in the sense that it didn’t get much radio play, but if you were into music, and you were kind of hip, you knew about it. I had a buddy make me a tape of it (Flood) from his CD and I played the hell out of it. The whole album is good. Also, if you owned this album, you 100% owned the Violent Femmes album.
Brilliant song…. I’ve not listened to this in years! Thanks for the trip down memory lane! This is another great one from them: th-cam.com/video/vsQrKZcYtqg/w-d-xo.html
They also did a few kids albums. No! was my personal fav. Not sure it would be something for your channel, but they kind of revitalized "children's" music after Raffi and Barney beat it to a gloopy pulp. I am not your Broom is one of my favs from that album. I actually would love to see you react to that. Ha Ha!
🐦 This act is pretty easy to sum up. Their first five albums (CDs) are all worth checking out in their entirety: "They Might Be Giants," "Lincoln," "Flood," "Apollo 18" and "Factory Showroom." Sadly, after that they kind of began to run out of ideas, and their material gets a bit spottier. Notice that most (if not all) of the suggestions people are making in these comments can be found on those five discs. A few of my favorite tracks would be "Everything Right Is Wrong Again," "Kiss Me Son Of God," "Whistling In The Dark," "Dinner Bell" and "Spiraling Shape."
Now, hang on! You've got it all wrong. The only thing that happened between the duo days and the full band days is that they started getting ideas. Post-duo songs are more likely to actually be about things, and not a bunch of lines that loosely connect to a theme. If that's the kind of song you prefer, that's fine. That's your opinion, but what you can't do is lie to our faces. If you got your head out of your ass, and assuming your eyes weren't caked in shit, you would see an untouched gold mine of 2000s-on albums that you probably didn't even give a second glance because you didn't like Long Tall Weekend and figured the band was dead. As for how someone could like Factory Showroom but not Long Tall Weekend is anyone's guess. Btw, "Erase" from 2015 is my favorite song of all time. "Why don't ya check her out?"
FLOOD is one of those albums where you just press 'play' and let it run. The songs are all 2 minutes, so it goes by fast anyway- but in that short time they explore many musical genres pop, rock, broadway, jazz, powerpop, 60s surf, country, reggae, latin/carribbean
TMBG is one of the deepest musical rabbit holes you could dive into. It is impossible to pick a favorite. They are dork rock at its finest--clever, quirky, catchy, unusual, varied, strange, funny, brilliant, etc. Try "Metal Detector", "Spiraling Shape", "Renew My Subscription", "Metal Detector", "The Lady and the Tiger", "Nanobots", "Replicant", "Ana Ng", "They'll Need a Crane", "Money for Dope", "South Carolina", "Distant Antenna", "She's an Angel", "Thermostat", "No One Knows My Plan", "I Want a Rock", "Whistling in the Dark", "James K. Polk", "Meet James Ensor", "Diving Board", and so many more.
@@AddSerious Linnel posted on FB group that Flans got into a bad car wreck the night after their first show of tour and busted a bunch of ribs... (should be ok long term, but recovery will be a while)
Hello. Just stopping by, wanting to let you know that Rammstein dropped a new album. With awesome bangers like "Angst", or "Zick Zack" or "Zeit". With masterpiece videos. Would love to hear what you think about them. With love from Germany 🤘 😎
'boss of me' was another one of their songs --theme song to malcom in the middle. TMBG is one of those bands where you stand a good chance of falling into a bottomless rabbit hole.
You can pretty much pick any song from the first 4 albums - quirky, knowing, intelligent and raiding popular music styles and tropes. If an alien wanted a crash course in popular music then TMBG would be a great crash course.
Love this. Watching a bloke thinking, I'm actually digging this.... and can this song actually be good. oh yes it can. This song was massive in the day, delivers on so many levels. Viva le Quirky!!!!
I was four when this album came out. I think it's one that my sister brought home rather than my parents. Either way, it's a childhood staple and something of a meme in its own right. (One of my college friends got me a blue canary nightlight; I think that one was from ThinkGeek.) "Particle Man" is also a fun one, as is "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" (things that blew my mind: learning that one was a COVER). But really, all of Flood is very entertaining.
I’m so glad you decided to listen to this…and your reaction was great. Your positivity is infectious! Another song from this same great album Flood is called YOUR RACIST FRIEND which perfectly expresses how we feel when encountering your racist friend hahaha. And it’s catchy TOO (like a million more of their songs).❤️
The smile on your face? THAT is the perfect expression when listening to a THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS song. The fabulous duo of John and John have perfected the art of quirky, surrealistic pop. Their lyrics frequently crack me up... almost ALWAYS memorable... the tunes stay in your head. The next songs to listen to: "Anna Ng," (Was a hit on college radio) "Don't Let's Start," "Mr. Me," "Shoehorn With Teeth," "Nightgown Of The Sullen Moon," "Istanbul, Not Constantinople" (a minor hit for this old-time cover version)... "You're On Fire" is another great pop tune! SO MANY GREAT SONGS!!!! Enjoy the fantastic ride... and THANK YOU, Daniel for exploring strange and wonderful music!!
Anna NG good one.
Lincoln and Flood are my fave albums of this AMAZING band. Went to one of their shows. "Purple Toupee", "They'll need a Crane" and "Youth Culture killed my Dog" are great tunes. And yes, thank you, Daniel for not shying away from the "road less traveled" in reaction videos and touching on some genius. So many suggestions for you.
Yes, I agree with both what helbysnyder8109 and helbysnyder8109 both say, I would also say Partical Man (of course) as well as the songs Turn Around, (creepy and hilarious), Road Movie to Berlin, and Doctor Worm
You may enjoy my podcast about them! Love the shoutout to Nightgown of the Sullen Moon, a personal favorite.
Excellent choices
“the blue canary nightlight may be an unreliable narrator” is an amazing sentence
Flood is a modern classic, the entire album is amazing.
Songs: Istanbul (Not Constantinople), Ana Ng, Doctor Worm, Particle Man, Your Racist Friend, Dead, Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas), Why Does the Sun Really Shine? (The Sun is a Miasma of Incandescent Plasma), James K Polk, The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)
@Get Hype Gavin You mean each one I named is on a separate album? I apparently like a breadth of their work then.
@Get Hype Gavin Oh, you didn't understand that the two paragraphs were separate. Flood is amazing. These songs are also amazing.
Ana ng is on Lincoln, as is Purple Toupee. That is my favorite album by them. Their first album has the classic Don’t Let’s Start and many other greats, including She’s An Angel. Flood is their third. Next album was Apollo 18 (The guitar, The Statue Got Me High, Fingertips), and probably the least great of the first four. Why does the sun shine I believe is a cover of Tom Glazer (who did not want to be remembered as the guy who wrote On Top of Spaghetti, but I digress).
I strongly recommend this rabbit hole!
One of my favorite bands!
For further TMBG exploration: check out "A Self Called Nowhere" and "By the Time You Get This".
You have entered a new and weird world. TMBG has been a favorite group of mine since the 1980s. They have a loyal and fervent following. Generally they are not big fans of literal videos and their music videos frequently if not comprehensively do not match the music that you are listening to while viewing. There are probably over a hundred songs I could recommend, but you should probably start with their first popular single "Don't Let's Start." These guys have written songs about all kinds of obscure subject matter, including President James K Polk (James K Polk), being a paleontologist (I Am a Paleontologist), a mashup song about a rock band made up of dead Mesopotamian kings (The Mesopotamians), philosophical songs about conflict and being (Particle Man), A longing for companionship from someone you've never met (Anna Ng), and oh so many more.
Birdhouse is a fairly literal video! Linnell/the nightlight is filibustering vigilantly and protecting the unseen child from the monsters (the people in flannel doing scary Thriller-esque dances)
Wow, thanks! Their album "Lincoln" is an absolute gem. ""Flood" is also great. They were huge on the alternative shows on MTV Europe back then. "They'll need a crane" is still occupying my brain.
One of the tenderest breakup songs (maybe) ever.
Why is the world in love again?
Why are we marching hand in hand?
Why are the ocean levels rising?
It's a brand new reaction to They Might Be Giants instant classic.
The above is a quote from the introduction to the album, and TMBG is by far the funnest band I've ever seen live. Ana NG, Statue Got Me High, Dr Worm, Older, it really doesn't matter which song or album one chooses to listen to, it's going to be a good time.
PS I've NEVER seen a TMBG reaction before
These guys are quirky, very creative, and FUN. Anna Ng should be the next one to check out.
I was excited when I saw this pop up; I'm glad you did this one. They Might Be Giants is one of my all time favorite bands. I've seen them many, many times over the years. I'd recommend checking out the entire Flood album, it's one of those that are perfect from start to finish. Flood is considered a classic album among a certain nerdy alternative culture. They're currently on tour doing the Flood album from start to finish for its 30th anniversary (it's now been 32 years but it kept getting put off due to COVID). I love their absurdist lyrics which are even more prevalent on many of their other songs. They used to do this thing called dial-a-song back in the 80s where you could call this number in New York and it would play a different song each day. Also, I own one of those blue canary nightlights. Maybe one of these days I'll buy a prosthetic forehead to wear on my real head.
"Women and men", "Song number 3", "I , palindrome, i", " Ana Ng", "Hotel Detective" , "First Kiss", "Bangs" "the statue got me high", "kiss me, son of god". So many...I played them relentlessly on my late night radio show in the 90's.
Awesome. I love this song. Please check out their song "Ana Ng". It's another one of their best songs.
Ever.
Around 1987, I heard about band that had a telephone number you could call and hear one of their songs. I called the number and heard "Birdhouse In Your Soul". From that point on, I was a TNBG fan.
Check out a song called Sensurround. The lyrics are amazing - look up what Sensurround was, and how it influenced him in the womb, and is the reason why he now loves sounds/music so much.
Crazy it was a B-side, that song is honestly one of their best.
Haha, I don't think the song is autobiographical! It's about Sensurround causing birth defects!
If you enjoyed that, try their song The Statue Made Me High
Particle Man! LOLOL. They have some awesome songs!
A song about a nightlight,LOL........ANA NG is another good one this duo did. " the water spirals the wrong out the sink" is great!
“Make a hole with a gun perpendicular to the name of this town on a desktop globe - exit wound through a foreign nation, right through the home of the girl this was written for.” Such creatively brilliant writing!! It reminds me of when I was a kid and I was told if I keep digging down I’d end up in China! LOL
@@manualboyca Exactly
Absolutely love this song which I haven't heard in ages. Thank you so very much! Adorable happy song from a great album, not something you hear every day. Thank you!
they're an amazing band. Istanbul is also fun. love them 💖 thanks Daniel!
"Such a strange song..." pretty much sums up TMBG. Try these (song and video):
- "Don't Let's Start" - First TMBG song to have any commercial presence, a fun bop w/ a dark side
- "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" - Their rework of an old classic
- "Anna Ng" - Another fun bop w/ some memorable lines
- "The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)" - Something old, something new
- "Can't Keep Johnny Down" - Fun song with an imaginative fan-made video
- "I'm Impressed" - Hard rocking DARK song and video, atypical of the group but great
- "The Mesopotamians" - Best history lesson ever
why not Particle Man
I love this Band. Any song by them is a true treat!!
A newer TMBG song that doesn't get enough credit is "Let's Get This Over With" from the 2018 album I Like Fun is a personal favorite of mine. Also "Push Back the Hands" and "By the TIme You Get This".
Ah, the I Like Fun anxiety trilogy
Lawd amighty, I haven't heard these guys in years.
Haha there's this rocker guy I had a crush on that posted a random clip with this song in the background and I took it as the universe telling me we belonged together because I love birds (I like to sing and think I feel a correlation between birds and singing), and my name means Honeybee and just thought it was so cute and random a song! 🤣
Yes! They have so many great songs. I Palindrome I, Ana Ng, Particle Man, Istanbul, The Statue Got Me High.. ..
TMBG lyrics are masterful. Check out ‘I Palindrome I’.
Great songs and great live music
Love me some TMBG. "Anna Ng" and "They'll Need A Crane" are two more of my favorites.
I have not heard this in so long! Very fun!
Happy to see you as always!!! You are so delightful!!! This song always makes me happy!! I have not heard it in so long. It is so sweet in its absurdity!! Your voice is so calming to me!! I hope you have a wonderful day!!! You have already got mine off to a great start, and i bid you , thanks!!!
"Ana Ng", "Cowtown", "Where Your Eyes Don't Go", "Particle Man"...
I love their wordplay and bizarre musical accompaniment.
Do yourself a favor and don't watch the videos on first listen. The songs are wild enough without distractions.
Where your eyes don't go, perhaps one of the most poetically creepy songs ever written. It's ALMOST about original sin, or total depravity, or compulsions beyond our control. Or something else I'm not even thinking of. It's TMBG after all. THEY may not even admit to knowing what it's about.
Particle man!
TMBG was such a fun and quirky band, quite popular amongst the college crowd in the late 80's and early 90's. And they did manage to translate over into TV, as was pointed out about writing the opening song for Malcom In The Middle, as well as having both songs Constantinople and Particle Man featured on the Warner Brothers cartoon, Anamaniacs. The whole Flood album is worth a listen. Have fun exploring them, totally worth your time.
Went looking for TMBG reactions yesterday. Saw Ana Ng was done by one woman. That's it. Thanks for this addition.
You need to react to "They'll Need a Crane" by this group, or "Meet the Elements", or "James K. Polk".
If you like weird music, TMBG is the band for you. The first three albums are, I think, their best. For specific songs - Puppet Head, Ana Ng, Folk Family, Youth Culture Killed My Dog, Particle Man...honestly every song on those first three is a gem.
My favorite is John Henry, but sometimes it's Lincoln. They've also been killing it lately with I Like Fun and BOOK.
I suppose they took their band name from a film (and play) from the early seventies They Might be Giants. George C Scott plays a mental patient who is convinced he is Sherlock Holmes. Joanne Woodward is the psychiatrist who is assigned to treat him. Scott/Holmes sees her as his Dr Watson and convinces her to join him on one of his "cases". The film manages to be both funny and oddly touching, as it explores the boundaries of both fantasy and reality.
The band seems to be like the movie...quirky, funny, but with deeper meanings layered into their songs. Gentle Giant, Barenaked Ladies, Primus, and Spock's Beard are a few other bands with quirky off kilter songs (see SB's Thoughts Part 2 as a prime example).
Thank you so much Daniel for appreciating a personal favourite of mine. I don’t know what it says about me but to this day I can recite from memory the entire lyrics to this song.
This is one of my favorite songs of all time. Very few songs make me feel as good as this one does.
One of my favorite bands! Very eclectic, so many great songs.
TMBG has so many great songs, it’s hard to know where to begin. Try listening to “Dinner Bell” next.
check out the song "The Mesopotamians" by TMBG.
Some They Might Be Giants songs I like but didn't see in the comments: "The Statue Got Me High," "Museum of Idiots," "Madame I Challenge You to a Duel," "Music Jail," and "Certain People I Could Name."
"New York City" is my favorite song from TMBG - a great fan video is called "They Might Be Giants - New York City - synched" is simple and shows the lyrics using fonts in a way that New Yorkers will recognize immediately. Another great one is "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"
The always nail covers.
Omg you made my week with this reaction. Thank you! I've been bugging you forever and I'm so glad you got around to checking them out. They are indeed quirky, almost cartoonish. They have this amazing talent of taking dark lyrics and putting a fun musical spin on them. I would agree with everyone else about Ana Ng, and They'll Need a Crane. A Self Called Nowhere, Where Your Eyes Don't Go, and I Palindrome I (a song about Matricide) are also great tunes. I also like the songs Dead, Your Racist Friend, Sleeping In The Flowers, Thermostat, Climbing the Walls, Mrs Bluebeard and Why Should I Be Sad (a Very interesting ode to Alice Cooper). Thanks so much for giving these geniuses a chance!
Thanks for the great reaction DDR. Love TMBG. And they are amazing live too.
For those that really love their sounds and directions, they have many, many great songs across many great albums. For those that just like the songs that catch the more mainstream ear, the list probably includes "Istanbul", "Particle Man", "Don't Lets Start", etc.
Istanbul, Particle Man, and Your Racist Friend are some other great songs from Flood. The next album, Apollo 18, has more gems like She's Actual Size, Mammal, Spider, and the bizarre Fingertips. Enjoy!
Apollo 18 is my favorite.
They did the theme to Malcom in the Middle.
John Linnell is one of the best songwriters, period.
I absolutely adore your reactions! Please please please dive into They Might Be Giants! They’ve been around forever and are absolute geniuses who always bring a smile
Lon-JEAN. Pretty sure the final 's' is silent as is often the case in French. Love this quirky, literate band. I'm reminded of the Barenaked Ladies, another band fond of humour and smart lyrics packed in tight - see "The Big Bang Theory' TV theme, 'One Week', 'If I Had A Million Dollars', 'Be My Yoko Ono.'
More TMBG, though, definitely, please.
Gordon was released only two years after Flood, so BNL's definitely topical. Been hoping Daniel will circle back around since he hit "Pinch Me" (not least because he hasn't heard Steven Page sing yet).
Great album. Their friend Brian Dewan often opened their shows and his first album “Tells the Story” is a favorite of mine, maybe check out “Wastepaper basket Fire”, Obedience School” or “The Cowboy Outlaw” from that album. Thanks for this fun TMBG reaction, Anna NG is another Giants fav
Much love for reacting to this.
They Might Be Giants are awesome. Highly recommend Anna Ng. A fantastic song. You should watch the documentary, Gigantic: a Tale of Two Johns. Fascinating film even if you don't like the band.
Great introduction to the band. And they are still releasing new music
Ana Ng is another great song by TMBG.
Fantastic song! Haven't heard it in a whilst.
One of my favorite bands.
Oh, boy. This is a DEEP rabbit hole. And your first impression was to like them. Most people don't like them at first. There are literally a thousand quirky, hum-able songs in their catalog.
Please do more TMBG...every single song is fabulous and unique.
TMBG is defined by quirkiness, very clever and unexpected lyrics and instrumentals.
Glad i got to see this! Since, well my man, you didn't pause the video, probably from being unable to look away from the spectacle. 😬
Been watching your reviews for awhile, but on my phone with no app. So now i've subscribed. 👍
The Q word!
They Might Be Giants was my first concert. I was in junior high when this came out and a Greek mythology fan. I always assumed they were implying Jason from Friday the 13th and then into Argonauts, as a bait and switch. Btw, Friday the 13th came out in the 1980, with Jason as main antagonist in 1981.
It's from the perspective of a blue canary nightlight. The picture opposite him is a painting of an old lighthouse on a rocky shore, his primitive ancestry. He's just a nightlight and couldn't handle the job, hence his imminent firing.
Omg I havent heard this in years. Thank you😀
A couple of clever gents from the leafy suburbs of Boston. Vastly underappreciated. The avant-garde has long found inspiration from children and the insane. They are similar in that way to Talking Heads, Beat Farmers, Cake and/or Rolling Beach Beetles.
TMBG is probably best known for their song "Boss of Me" which was used for the theme of Malcom In The Middle. *The previous statement would be true except that most people don't know (or care) that that was them, since they haven't heard of them otherwise. 😀
Alternative music can be fun. Listen to all of "Flood" end-to-end--you'll be glad you did. :)
I think I was a freshman in high school when this album came out. It was kind of an underground hit, in the sense that it didn’t get much radio play, but if you were into music, and you were kind of hip, you knew about it. I had a buddy make me a tape of it (Flood) from his CD and I played the hell out of it. The whole album is good. Also, if you owned this album, you 100% owned the Violent Femmes album.
That last bit is funny, as these are my #2 and #1 bands of all time in concert count, respectively.
I went to their free concert on the charles in 98. Went alone and had nothing but friends beside me. Check out particle man as well as women and men🥰
I recommend "She's an Angel", "Rabid Child", and "Don't Let's Start" from their first album.
use to listen them to all them all time.
First time I head this song I fell in love with J&J & the whole TMBG shtik. Still adore it in 2023
Brilliant song…. I’ve not listened to this in years! Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
This is another great one from them: th-cam.com/video/vsQrKZcYtqg/w-d-xo.html
It's a former energetic cover of the 1953 Four Fads hit. th-cam.com/video/Wcze7EGorOk/w-d-xo.html
Dr Worm!
Hell yes
I'm interested in things!
They also did a few kids albums. No! was my personal fav. Not sure it would be something for your channel, but they kind of revitalized "children's" music after Raffi and Barney beat it to a gloopy pulp. I am not your Broom is one of my favs from that album. I actually would love to see you react to that. Ha Ha!
The Edison Museum! Also love Ana Ng.
I think it’s their “thing” now, children’s music.
🐦 This act is pretty easy to sum up. Their first five albums (CDs) are all worth checking out in their entirety: "They Might Be Giants," "Lincoln," "Flood," "Apollo 18" and "Factory Showroom." Sadly, after that they kind of began to run out of ideas, and their material gets a bit spottier. Notice that most (if not all) of the suggestions people are making in these comments can be found on those five discs. A few of my favorite tracks would be "Everything Right Is Wrong Again," "Kiss Me Son Of God," "Whistling In The Dark," "Dinner Bell" and "Spiraling Shape."
John Henry I thought was a fantastic album. One of my favorites. Very dark
Now, hang on! You've got it all wrong. The only thing that happened between the duo days and the full band days is that they started getting ideas. Post-duo songs are more likely to actually be about things, and not a bunch of lines that loosely connect to a theme. If that's the kind of song you prefer, that's fine. That's your opinion, but what you can't do is lie to our faces. If you got your head out of your ass, and assuming your eyes weren't caked in shit, you would see an untouched gold mine of 2000s-on albums that you probably didn't even give a second glance because you didn't like Long Tall Weekend and figured the band was dead. As for how someone could like Factory Showroom but not Long Tall Weekend is anyone's guess. Btw, "Erase" from 2015 is my favorite song of all time. "Why don't ya check her out?"
FLOOD is one of those albums where you just press 'play' and let it run. The songs are all 2 minutes, so it goes by fast anyway- but in that short time they explore many musical genres pop, rock, broadway, jazz, powerpop, 60s surf, country, reggae, latin/carribbean
Try Don't don't don't lets start , For sheer wierdness "Shoehorn with teeth" , Anna ang so many great songs
What a GREAT introduction!
𝄞 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵 / 𝘚𝘢𝘺 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘵 ♬♫♪
Yes, there's no other way to describe them except "quirky". Good call.
TMBG is one of the deepest musical rabbit holes you could dive into. It is impossible to pick a favorite. They are dork rock at its finest--clever, quirky, catchy, unusual, varied, strange, funny, brilliant, etc. Try "Metal Detector", "Spiraling Shape", "Renew My Subscription", "Metal Detector", "The Lady and the Tiger", "Nanobots", "Replicant", "Ana Ng", "They'll Need a Crane", "Money for Dope", "South Carolina", "Distant Antenna", "She's an Angel", "Thermostat", "No One Knows My Plan", "I Want a Rock", "Whistling in the Dark", "James K. Polk", "Meet James Ensor", "Diving Board", and so many more.
Perfect reaction to TMBG:
Starts with “What the hell?!” and I ends with all smiles.
welcome to the TMBG rabbit hole, I have tickets to see them later this year, can't wait
Too bad about John's traffic accident :(
@@darthvegan435 what happened?
@@AddSerious Linnel posted on FB group that Flans got into a bad car wreck the night after their first show of tour and busted a bunch of ribs... (should be ok long term, but recovery will be a while)
Hello. Just stopping by, wanting to let you know that Rammstein dropped a new album. With awesome bangers like "Angst", or "Zick Zack" or "Zeit". With masterpiece videos. Would love to hear what you think about them. With love from Germany 🤘 😎
Very fun and weird song. Not that it is referencing it but the Friday The 13th movie came out in 1980.
Brilliant Song I love it!
Love this song! 💙💙💙💙💙
'boss of me' was another one of their songs --theme song to malcom in the middle. TMBG is one of those bands where you stand a good chance of falling into a bottomless rabbit hole.
You can pretty much pick any song from the first 4 albums - quirky, knowing, intelligent and raiding popular music styles and tropes. If an alien wanted a crash course in popular music then TMBG would be a great crash course.
Love this. Watching a bloke thinking, I'm actually digging this.... and can this song actually be good. oh yes it can. This song was massive in the day, delivers on so many levels. Viva le Quirky!!!!
Such a great song
fun to hear you free-associate the lyrics! meaning thru symbols is vast as waters
Great choice a quirky 80s 90s band quite fun and enjoyable love you
I was four when this album came out. I think it's one that my sister brought home rather than my parents. Either way, it's a childhood staple and something of a meme in its own right. (One of my college friends got me a blue canary nightlight; I think that one was from ThinkGeek.)
"Particle Man" is also a fun one, as is "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" (things that blew my mind: learning that one was a COVER). But really, all of Flood is very entertaining.
I’m so glad you decided to listen to this…and your reaction was great. Your positivity is infectious! Another song from this same great album Flood is called YOUR RACIST FRIEND which perfectly expresses how we feel when encountering your racist friend hahaha. And it’s catchy TOO (like a million more of their songs).❤️
They are hugely prolific, and I'm pretty sure they could make a song about literally any subject.
enter "The Mesopotamians" 😀
"Triangle Man", "The Sun", "Courage the Cowardly Dog". All great songs.
Particle Man. I used to sing that to my daughter's when they were babies.
He hates Triangle Man
@@theivory1 yes!
Wow , I’m so confused how this made it into your list. I love this band.
This song became my warforged for a Curse of Strahd D&D game. I was the nightlight.
Also: this song changes keys 18 times. I only realized this while trying to learn it on guitar 😂
Greatest contract rider in the history of Rock: We must have a coffee maker. That's it.