Yes! I think they are one of the most original, creative and philosophically deep rock bands that have ever existed. I was hooked early on when I heard Where Your Eyes Don't Go from Lincoln and this line made me realize I was dealing with genius: Every jumbled pile of person has a thinking part that wonders what the part that isn't thinking isn't thinking of Even though I'm entertained by just about everything they've released (including the new album I Like Fun), I still hold Lincoln in highest regard. Maybe because it's my first exposure to the group, or maybe because it's just packed to the brim with brilliance; Ana Ng, Shoehorn With Teeth, the aforementioned Where Your Eyes Don't Go, Cowtown, Lie Still Little Bottle, Purple Toupee, Santa's Beard - and the best one of all - Kiss Me, Son of God. I'm impressed that they continue to write dozens of quality songs every year and produce albums that are still inventive and thoughtful. They've been releasing records since 1986 and are still at it. I imagine the two Johns are great friends and they complement each other perfectly.
I started with Factory Showroom and worked backwards - Lincoln is my favourite too and not because it's what I heard first. It's their high water mark but as I said before, there's no album I don't love and very few songs I don't like.
Oh, I forgot something. I also follow them on Facebook and some of the pictures they post are the most creative and humorous things on the site. They also have a great visual aspect to them, from the totally weird album covers to their vidoes and promotional shots.
That's Flansy - he's a graphic designer by trade and a control freak. Have you seen any of his vibe reports? I've only caught a couple but they're hilarious
I haven't seen a vibe report, but the control freak aspect really shows in the pictures. They're perfect.
I've loved them since Lincoln, and have several of their albums. In the early 90s, I would sometimes call Dial-a-Song on an actual landline phone when I needed a pick-me-up. Raised my kids on No!. Odd snatches of their lyrics will hit me at the weirdest times. Putting on my shoes before work the other day, I heard myself singing under my breath, "He wants a shoe-horn, the kind with teeth." I haven't really sat down and listened to them in a long time, though. I should do that... soon.
Do any of you 'hard-cores' out there have any versions of "Spin The Dial"? Don't know if they do it anymore, but, here in Vegas, during the "NO!" tour, they did a HILARIOUS 'spin-the-dial'; we've got quite a few 'latin' stations here, and they played along with gusto. Then, they flipped to a station playing "Hungry Eyes", and Flans starting singing along, "I'm hungry for HUMAN EYES!" I'm sure each show's 'Spin-The-dail' was different, but, if any of you have one, I'd love to hear it!
The girls who cries at the 'album signing'....love her! Plus, the 'day-before-9/11', store-performance.... Awesome doc!
I have a friend who's a major TMBG fan, and he harasses me because I don't like them. I eventually admitted that I didn't know a ton of their stuff so maybe I was wrong, and I asked him for recommendations about what albums to play if I could be "won over". He went with "Flood" and "Apollo 18", so I guess he thinks their "classics" extend beyond the 1st 3 albums all the way to #4!
I think they do a sort of "Spin-the dial" during this performance of Spy, at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, January 2, 2016.. I was at this show (I'm in the second "row" of people, right in front of Linnell's keyboard, and this performance was epic!!
I had a friend , who 'hipped' me to Ween; who I feel are They Might Be Giant's 'R-rated, sex,drugs,and rock-n-roll' cousins!
Did your friend's "hipping" turn you into a fan? My friend's attempts to convince me that TMBG ruled didn't work out as he hoped!
From the mind of Flans ... this cracks me up every time. They absolutely nail the sound (particularly vocals/harmonies) of a certain well-known prog band. (Song starts at 50 seconds)
I bought the Science, ABCs and numbers CDs for my kids and I’ve heard those songs about a million times. Not only are there tons of earworms there, I’m still not sick of the songs. I’ve bought a few of their comps and other CDs, but they don’t grab me as much as the kids stuff.
One great thing about living in NYC is that I live within biking distance of many landmarks that were shown on album covers and music videos by several artists I like, but I seems that I only truly "geek out" over the TMBG ones, whether it's Central Park (where the video for They'll Need A Crane was shot): ...the site for the '64 World's Fair (as seen in the Don't Let's Start video): Or of any of the other sites in Brooklyn that were used in various videos. In a way, it's like living near Liverpool!
Have the first four albums on record and some 12"s and CD singles; John Henry onwards less completist. Saw them live, pure genius, doing Fingertips was a highlight. Every 'Holiday Season' I make a point to say, "I don't like that fat guy around," at a suitable juncture at staff party or similar events. People always are shocked. Hilarious.
