Let's Get This Over With

From This Might Be A Wiki
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song name Let's Get This Over With
artist They Might Be Giants
releases I Like Fun
year 2018
first played March 13, 2018 (51 known performances)
run time 3:07
sung by John Linnell


Trivia/Info

In some ways the first track on the album, "Let's Get This Over With," is one. Our publicist listened to all the songs and suggested we put that one first. But we thought people might interpret that the wrong way. But I think she was right, actually. There's something kind of humorous about having the first track called "Let's Get This Over With."

Historically we don't have too many band tracks that don't have any guitars on them. So that's one notable thing. It's just piano, bass, drums and vocals, and I think there's some organ in there. And while I'm the songwriter on this particular track, John gave me the basic drum machine tracks with the hand claps, so the entire song was built on top of that rhythm tracks he gave me. So that was nice. We've been collaborating in lots of different ways recently just sending material and ideas back and forth.
While They Might Be Giants have overdubbed handclaps organically many times as we finish a recording, a lot of times the fake claps on the demo is actually something we don't mess with. Such is the case with the opening track of our new album, "Let's Get This Over With", which features a very small set of claps going against an 808-style kick drum. It's tiny and relentless, but it keeps the groove moving.
  • The live version features Dan Miller on piano, and adds in an accordion part played by John Linnell.
  • Cultural references in this song's lyrics:
    • No Parking on the Dance Floor is a 1983 album and song by American soul group Midnight Star
    • "Groping in the dark" is a common idiom referring to literally feeling around without sight, or seeking something less literal (like answers) in a blind manner[1]
    • "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here" is a common expression often used by bartenders at closing time. The phrase has been cited in writing as early as 1944[2], and was more recently popularized by the 1998 Semisonic hit, "Closing Time"
  • Originally titled "After All the Spelling Mistakes".
  • Along with "When The Lights Come On", this was one of two songs from I Like Fun that did not get a music video as part of the 2018 iteration of Dial-A-Song. Flansburgh noted that "for very different reasons, the videos planned fell apart after months and months of trying to keep the projects together."[3]

Song Themes

Accidents, Animals, Bad English, Body Parts, Dancing, Drums, Food, Hair, Hands, Misanthropy, Music, Occupations, Questions, Recursion, References To Other Songs Or Musicians, Sleep, Songs With Handclaps, Space, Time, Traded Tracks

Videos

  • Watch it on Youtube.png - static video

Current Rating

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Let's Get This Over With is currently ranked #9 out of 1005. (159 wikians have given it an average rating of 9.26)