Mailing List Archive/2003-10-17

From This Might Be A Wiki

TMBG OFFER THE GIFT OF FREE MUSIC Download three new and free TMBG MP3's right now at tmbg.com: "Wearing A Raincoat", "Renew My Subscription" and the controversial "Taste The Fame" (this track is featured on the upcoming "Home Movies" epsiode with TMBG.) Go to www.tmbg.com!

TMBG's CLOCK RADIO OFFERS THE GIFT OF FREE RADIO PROGRAMS Boot up the TMBG Clock Radio and tune into the special hour long performance of John and John on "Spinning On Air," the great WNYC music program. Tune in to the EMS dial.

FLANSBURGH ANSWERS YOUR POINTED QUESTIONS See the They Might Be Giants' "Gigantic" on the big screen and meet John Flansburgh at the Q&A afterwards tomorrow night, Sat. Nov. 18, at the Thalia Cinema in New York City (this special screening is 9:15pm ) http://symphonyspace.org/genres/eventPage.php?genreId=2&eventId=734

PUPPETS AND ROCK COMBINED We neglected to say the family shows next weekend also benefits the family programming effort at Symphony Space, so show your support for their fine efforts. And do pass this email message on to all your NY-area family friends. This very special show won't be coming round again too soon....

SPECIAL DAYTIME FAMILY SHOWS AT SYMPHONY SPACE SAT. OCT 25- SHOWS BENEFIT FAMILY PROGRAMMING AT SYMPHONY SPACE!

You are invited to celebrate the release of They Might Be Giants' first illustrated children's book and CD set, "Bed, Bed, Bed" published by Simon and Schuster!

Along with new songs from the book/CD set, the band's new and expanded kids' show includes all the favorites from "No!" (yes, yes- they will play "Fibber Island" and their breakout kid mantra "Clap Your Hands") and a number of highlights from TMBG's illustrious 20-year career. It will also include a real live puppet show from the Deeply Felt Puppet Theater, under the direction of Prof. Goldwasser, as well as performances by guest singer Nicholas Hill from WFMU (singing his smash hit "The Edison Museum") and Danny Weinkauf (singing "Where Do They Make Balloons?").

There are tickets available, and reservations are encouraged! Symphony Space Oct. 25 11 AM (!) and 2 PM

http://www.symphonyspace.org/genres/eventPage.php?genreId=5&eventId=623


Yes, the new book, TMBG robot climbing toys, giant foam-rubber hand and even comically tiny t-shirts with the words "They Might Be Giants" printed on them will be for sale at the venue.....

Flansburgh meets your questions:

>From Mr. Dark what is the most embarrassing moment you guys have ever had on stage? There have been so many, and they are STILL embarrassing so we don't want to talk about it. Sometimes just the venue was embarrasing-the Electric Banana, the Mind Shaft, you get the idea...

From: Erin Shea Congratulations on the Grammy! Have you won any other awards? Which award would you want if you could have any award; Nobel, Oscar, Tony, etc.? We actually had a "They Might Be Giants" day in Brooklyn last year from the boro president. That was fun. If I could choose, I guess the MacArthur one sounds mighty good. Not to be crass, but a big pile of money you can do anything you want with, along with a little award calling you a genius seems pretty alright.

From: J of T Do you ever get your own songs stuck in your head? Well, they kind of start in your head, so the answer is yes. I have also had the misfortune of having the elevator door open as I'm singing them out. It's kind of like being crazy, only people don't mind-most of the time.

From: E & S What are the last three albums you purchased? I just bought the OutKast albums. Interesting but the skits are just as in the way as any skits.

From: Mr. Ackerman Do you plan to release more children's albums in years to come, or will my son remember "No!" as the one album from his childhood that didn't condescend to him? Well, that is a very nice thing to say. We are currently working on our psychedelic rock masterpiece, but I am sure there are more kids' albums in our future.

From: We Lost the Name My son would like to know how you recorded "Dinner Bell" on Apollo 18. Do all the voices belong to the Johns? Yes. Through the miracle of multi-tracking the big big vocal sound of "Dinnerbell" was achieved. Linnell did the fancy barbershop stuff, and I came in for the counterpoint voice near the end.

From: Mr. Cherry How did you guys get hooked up with such a cool design house like the Chopping Block? Though our friend Barbara who puts together the Smoking Gun web site. They are great.

From: Mr. Cagnon Are there any songs that you wrote and recorded that you later realized you don't like? Ah-"don't like" is such a strong pair of words. I think we tend to break it down to smaller pieces that just dismissing the whole thing. It's always kind of a project, even after it's recorded, so I think our frustrations revolve around weak lyrics or poor vocal performances.

From: Sly Baby I love your cover of Yeh Yeh, and considering you also know about XTC and Adam Ant, have you studied British pop music? We both love UK pop. It's a whole other world, and very interesting. We are both big suckers for Glam too, which is a very British subset of rock from the early and mid 70s.

From: Doug To me, every one of your albums shows more maturity and how musically flexible both of you are. Do you feel the same way? We really want to keep challenging ourselves, which is a bit of a stunt if you just acknowledge you have a limited skill set and should also play to your strengths. Sometimes I wonder if we'll just hit a wall, but we've been lucky so far.

From: Mike E. John F, you are a lefty. Do you believe that this has hindered you in any way? Were you ever forced to write/work with your right hand? I wasn't. I went to hippyish public schools and they were cool about it, although I never learned to write in script. I am glad I'm lefty because I probably would have blown all my future mortgage money on fancy guitars if I was righty.

From: Susan McP Who came up with the idea for the McSweeney's v. TMBG shows? How did the band become friendly with Dave Eggers and Sarah Vowell? Any plans for more literary tours? We just had a show at the Barbican in London (a very prestigious theater there) with Dave and the crew, including Nick Hornby who read a really amazing story. We'd love to do more but it is a really unwieldly bill-like 20 people including the crew-so it's not so easy to do without losing our shirts.