10 Best Songs to Introduce Yourself to They Might Be Giants
THEY Might Be Giants, They MIGHT Be Giants, They Might BE Giants, They Might Be GIANTS
I’ve been lucky enough to have seen most of my favorite bands/artists live. Most is the keyword there. One group that I have not been able to see live is They Might Be Giants. Led by the dynamic duo of John Linnell and John Flansburgh, TMBG is an alt-rock group that reached the heights of their fame in the late 80s and early 90s. I’ve been rocking to them ever since one of my uncles – shout out Jud – included their platinum album Flood on a mix CD he made me as part of a Christmas gift. You might know them from one of their two radio hits: “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” or “Boss of Me” aka the theme song for Malcolm in the Middle.
Even though the heights of the alt-rock 90s have passed, TMBG continues to make music and play to full theaters. One of the reasons that I’ve never seen them is that when they tour, their shows sell out in seconds, and I’ve just never been able to pull the trigger fast enough. The one time I did manage to get tickets, I had to miss the show due to a trip to Phoenix. One day I’ll get to see them.
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Because the band continues to put out banger after banger, year after year, they have hundreds of songs available to the listening public. Eighteen full-length albums, and a huge back catalog of live stuff, limited edition voicemail-only songs, and online-specific stuff.[1] That number does not even include their kids albums! As such, it’s sort of hard to get people into the band. There is just so much stuff to listen too! On top of that, their sound has evolved over the years, meaning that an 80s TMBG song sounds very different from a 2010s one. In addition, their work touches a wide number of genres, and instrumentations and, sports some, shall we say, unusual lyrical content. A little bit of a hard sell for some.
But that shouldn’t be the case. TMBG is for everyone! So, I’ve created a list of the ten best songs to get into They Might Giants. Not the kid stuff, but like the real songs. This list skews older, but hey, that’s when I started listening to them. If you don’t like any of these songs, I’m sorry. I guess you just can’t experience joy.
You can listen to the songs here.
10. 9 Secret Steps
The newest song on the list, “9 Secret Steps” provides a great look into the more modern TMBG. It sounds a little more polished and less outré than some stuff. It does not showcase the earlier weirdness they’re known for, but it more than makes up for it in skill and listenability. The recursive nature of the lyrics is a staple of TMBG, and something to look for in their wide book of songs.
9. Shoehorn with Teeth
A deep cut from Lincoln, one of their greatest albums, “Shoehorn with Teeth,” shows the Johns’[2] talent at taking a catchy phrase and turning it into a short and sweet hit. This one clocks in at only 1:13 but it hits hard the whole way. It displays the ability of TMBG to go big with horns/woodwinds. When they bring out the backing band, you know it’ll be a good one.
8. The Shadow Government
People often think that TMBG is for kids, or only write songs about silly things like shoehorns. I am here to say: that is not the case. Many of their songs, like “The Shadow Government,” “Twisting,” or “Your Racist Friend,” deal with adult content/lyrics. Perhaps not always in the most immediately obvious way, but certainly they do deal with it. I mean this song mentions meth labs in like the first ten seconds! In addition to the lyrical content, “The Shadow Government” shows their ability to build a more classic rock song, even at times dipping into drum machines, a well that they come back to often.
7. Bangs
If there’s one bit of criticism that gets thrown around about 80s/90s-era TMBG, it’s that they were proto-hipsters. Songs like “Bangs” really give a bit of heft to that critique. While I like “Bangs,” in the end, it is a song about liking girls who have bangs, so you know, I can’t like get mad that people think that’s silly. It also includes some ridiculous instrumentation and vocal overlays. It’s very easy to see Jess from New Girl singing this song with a stupid hat on, is what I’m saying. But whatever. It’s cool.
6. Fingertips
“Fingertips” is technically 21 songs. Allow me to explain. In the 90s, when this album was recorded, CD players were becoming popular, specifically CD players with the “shuffle song” feature. TMBG wanted to take advantage of that, and in addition to the regular songs on Apollo 18 – the album “Fingertips” is on – also recorded 21 songs, each no more than 20 seconds or so. They were meant to provide fun interstitials in between tracks when the “shuffle song” feature was used on CDs. Many non-American CDs however, had an error that made all the snippets read as one track. This has become the common way that these songs appear on the internet now as well. All of this goes to show TMBG’s embrace of technology and willingness to experiment.
5. Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)
This song is the one that presaged the band’s foray into children’s music. While first appearing on a regular album, it has quickly become a favorite of science teachers and kids with Gen X parents around the United States. All the science in it is correct! TMBG writes a lot of “nerdy” songs, including ones about James Ensor, James K. Polk, and Edith Head. This is the most popular of those types of songs.
4. Au Contraire
One of my favorite “genres” of TMBG songs is “bratty.” “Au Contraire” is the best of those joints. Fast, a little bitchy, and imminently sing-along-able[3], “Au Contraire” will really get ya going. I dream of one day doing the French part live at karaoke with a whole crowd singing it with me. Just not sure where I can find a bar willing to do a TMBG karaoke night.
3. Twisting
Talk about dark lyrical content. I won’t spoil what this song is about, but it’s not dancing. Anyway, this track shows that TMBG really could have been a pop-punk band if they wanted to. They’ve got the juice, they just weren’t willing to put too much fuzz on their guitars. “Twisting” is fast, furious, and pretty funny. Great stuff.
2. Your Racist Friend
TMBG is often accused of being weird for weird’s sake.[4] That’s a misunderstanding of TMBG’s whole vibe. This song is certainly weird, there are like eighteen different melodies in this song, a trumpet break, and steel drums for some reason, but it all works anyway. It’s not weird to be weird, it’s weird because it fits the song. Also, it’s always nice to listen to a band that is specifically against racism. Just saying.
1. Ana Ng
This isn’t even my favorite TMBG song, that’d be “Twisting,” but it’s probably the most TMBG song there is. Guitars, obtuse lyrics, fun drum machines, weird little breakdowns, and hyper-specific references to historical events. It’s got it all! Truly a hit. If you like this song there’s an 80% chance you like TMBG. If you don’t, well there are a lot of other songs that you probably will.
[1] TMBG for a long time had a service called “Dial-A-Song” where you could call a number and hear a new song that they recorded on a voicemail machine. They were also one of the first groups to embrace the internet as a way to debut new music.
[2] That’s what fans call the co-leaders of the group.
[3] Is this a word? No? So what!
[4] Is this a straw man argument? Sure! Don’t care.