I discovered them in '92 with the release of Apollo 18, and as much as I love the early material, which I played to death back then, when I go to listen to them now, 80% of the time, I'll listen to their post-2000 albums. For some reason, they hold up better as complete works to me. Maybe I just listened to the early stuff too much, but I'm far more likely to play I Like Fun, Join Us or Glean than any of their early albums.
I agree, overall they've improved over time, which is certainly not always the case with acts that have been around for decades. They don't have any albums that I flat-out love all the way through, but there's some really strong stuff on their last few records.
I did dig their first few albums, but went to a private party for them celebrating the release of Apollo 18 and they were both incredibly rude and arrogant. I was in the music business for about 20 years and have met more well known musicians than I can remember. These guys were among the worst. While I can still enjoy the odd song, I stopped being a fan of theirs that day.
Hopefully not and maybe there was something going on, but they were both that night. The people I was with all thought the same thing as well (and continue to joke about it to this day). I've seen plenty of musicians that are reserved or shy, totally get it. But they were both unpleasant... As I mentioned, I was a big fan and Lincoln was one of my favorite albums at the time. That's OK, I don't think they missed one less fan...
Do I dig They Might Be Giants? YES! Just have a few albums but they have been played more than most in my music collection. They have given my wife and I many hours of entertainment, we even managed to see them live once in Glasgow.
same - I think this is maybe one of those bands who was liable to lose something as they figured out what they were doing, since so much of the appeal of those early albums was the fact that they had to cobble so much together due to not having an actual band around them. so in some sense it's like goofy soundtrack music, two guys trying to figure out how to make some kind of rhythm section and get odd noises out of a vintage sequencer that no one uses anymore. if you pick apart the recent albums I think they're just as interesting musically, if not more so. imo Nanobots and BOOK are right up there with the best. personally I think if they'd combined the best stuff from Glean & Phone Power it would be their single greatest album overall. Phone Power is structured like a Misc T-style outtakes album but I swear there are like 6-7 tracks there as good as anything they've done. especially "Impossibly New"....who knew they had that in 'em?
I think they should be in the R&RHOF (and no, I'm not kidding). Their music has been really influential to all sorts of indie and outsider-type acts, and sarcastic nerds of all stripes. And it's all aged really well, in its own way. I agree that their first four or five records are probably the best, but isn't that so often the case?
I think my username says it all. They're absolutely brilliant and have been working non-stop for 40 years. They continue to innovate and do what they want. There aren't many groups you can say that about.
Loved the first 3 Albums (still do) and saw them 2 times (Lincoln and Flood Tour), but lost Interest when they switched from Duo to Full Band...
I love virtually everything from the debut up to, and including Mink Car. Albums, b-sides, Dial-A-Songs, everything... But after Mink Car, I fell off the bandwagon. I still enjoy at least a handful of songs on each of the post-Mink albums, but I just don't love them like the earlier stuff. Meanwhile, I hope John F. is recovering well from his recent accident.
Yes I dig them! I used to think they were just weirdo nerds. My friend George turned me on to them with the Dial-A-Song compilation, and I've since bought all of their subsequent CDs. I now like them more than George does. Some dude Hitting golf balls on the moon Bathroom in his pants And he thinks he's better than me
I spotted the irony of juxtaposing that song (with that lyric) with a scriptural citation (a.k.a. statement of belief)....but TMBG is all about contrast and the unexpected. S'all good.
I also want to take a moment to vouch for Factory Showroom, which doesn't get much love among fans. It's one of my favorites and I'm hoping for a vinyl repress at some point. An album with Your Own Worst Enemy, I Can Hear You, Spiraling Shape, Metal Detector, Pet Name, Till My Head Falls Off, James K. Polk, and New York City is enough to make it one of their finest in my book.
The compilation "Idlewild" is a really nice overview of some of the great stuff they did following Mink Car, if you want to catch up a little bit...
I think at the time I was disappointed that it only had 13 songs, as I was used to getting, like 20 tracks on an album. But you're right: the songs that are there are all pretty great. I do think it was a bit of a comedown after John Henry, which, for some reason, is my favorite album (I know, I'm in a minority.)
I thought at one point it was supposed to be 20 tracks like John Henry. iirc there was a demo tape that contained a bunch of tracks that would later appear on Long Tall Weekend. I guess they later decided to pare it down and make it a more traditional 40 minute thing. I think that's fine since the album is very good, but I'm still a little confused why "Sensurround", arguably the best track of the whole bunch, was shunted to some Power Rangers soundtrack album. iirc it was supposed to be there but got removed for some reason??
I know who you worked for just by your location, and TMBG were not happy with their label, or the business at the time you ran into them.
Yeah, that was kind of a weird choice. They could have at least stuck it on Severe Tire Damage or Long Tall Weekend, but it didn't appear on either one.
No need to catch up. I have every album. I just don't connect with the albums from 2002 and beyond like I do with their pre-2001 albums. (I Like Fun came close, though.)
I once (1989, I believe) wrote and recorded a song which I attempted to make sound just like a TMBG song called “Let Sleeping Pigs Be Bacon”, so yea I’ve loved them from the beginning. For some reason I haven’t gotten around to buying their last two albums yet (I love a lot of music, so sometime get behind with even bands I really like), but I’m sure I’ll correct this problem before too long.
