Party Ends

   ... but They Might Be Giants still have it. John and I, in case it hasn't become eminently crystal clear over the time we're been writing this site, are kind of big dorks in many ways. One of the things that banded us together in our 10th grade gym class was our mutual love of TMBG, along with our mutual disgust with a guy named Hoffman who insisted on taking showers in the locker room but never brought a towel and would walk out every day and ask us "Hey, do any of you guys have a towel with you?" and we always had the same answer: "No Daniel, we don't have a towel; we don't bring towels to school, no one does". Those were the days. That's also the age that it seems like you have to be to get really good and hooked by TMBG; their clever lyrics, their relative inaccessibility, and their outright, juxtaposed silly / intensely intelligent sense of humor. That's not to say it's impossible to catch Giants fever later on, it's just less likely.

(I know they are, like, 50 now, but this is how I will always picture them)

   It's been a little while since there's been much for me to report from the Johns (Flansburgh and Linell), since the release of The Spine they have been kind of off my radar, despite releasing a best of comp and some other bits and pieces as well as their remarkably adult friendly kid's album / DVD Here Come the ABC's (soon to be followed by Here Come the 123's) and the release of the somewhat low key documentary Gigantic, which is probably only that interesting to relatively dedicated fans (and definitly not my wife). As always they tour heavily to packed shows of wildly mixed age, gender, and musical taste, united by the accordion wielding child in all of us. Finally, a full album is again on it's way by the name of The Else. Having practically invented the Internet album way back in the day with the phenomenally underrated Long Tall Weekend (which was exclusively available on-line), TMBG is once again offering up this album on the Internet through i-Tunes before the physical record can be bought.

"The real physical album, which is a deluxe package including some amazing photographs by artist Marcel Dzama, will also include a full length bonus disc that compiles some new rarities as well as some hi-fi versions of some podcast favorites. All in all it’s 13 songs that we are very proud of, and we suspect y’all will dig it too." - John Flansburgh

   You might remember the incredible Dzama's work from Beck's Guero album, he also illustrated an unsettling children's book with music by TMBG a while back entitled Bed Bed Bed, that I've found rather hard to track down at my local retailers. Needless to say, I could write about these geniuses for hours, I could probably rattle off a top 50 songs list, rate the myriad albums in every way from personal favorites to what order you should present them to the uninitiated, I could even give you a general outline of their lives before and after the release of their first commercial album. But I won't, because I'm not quite that big a dork anymore. And I'm lazy. You probably can, however find all of those things, and I'm sure much more, at TMBG's own Wiki-database here. How many bands have one of these? That's completely fan run? Not many. So have a listen to these brand spankin' new tracks, and buy the record when it comes out (if you must, buy it on i-Tunes, though I really don't support that site at all).

MP3: They Might be Giants- The Cap'm

MP3: They Might be Giants- I'm Impressed

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   Just a reminder to all the Austinites who know what's up. If you want to go to the limited sneak premier of the brand new HBO comedy show Flight of the Conchords at the Alamo Draft House, you better get over here and RSVP like, right now. This isn't to be missed. Be the envy of all your freinds!