User:JackBanzai

They Might Be Giants.

I've listened to them for approximately 150 years of my personal timeline, or at least it seems that way the vast majority of the time. When I'm listening to TMBG and reminiscing (such as now, I'm listening to the Clock Radio while I jot all this down), I find that it's actually quite easy to reference sections of my life thus far simply by mentioning the TMBG album that I was listening to at the time. Or I can go the other way around - the impressions left by each album/EP is as indelible to me as... well, something indelible.

For instance:

• Don't Lets Start EP: Seemingly infinite Street Fighter II sessions played one summer, an impromptu performance of "When It Rains, It Snows" for a neighborhood block party by myself and my 'associates'. I don't remember how much applause we got, but I couldn't have heard past the roaring in my ears anyway.
• Debut Album: Thousands of hours spent in front of my old 286/16, playing AD&D Gold Box games and chugging Kool-Aid. Chess Piece Face and Rhythm Section Want Ad got played and replayed without end. I seem to remember yelling at someone to turn off Pearl Jam so I could listen to They Might Be Giants in peace.
• Lincoln: Dated a girl late in high school who actually went by the name Ana Ng just because she was such a fan. Searched with slitted eyes for deep meaning concealed in the lyrics of Where Your Eyes Don't Go.
• Flood: Diving into a filthy sewer pipe with one of my friends circa 10th grade, trying to evade police for the cardinal crime of looking suspicious in an upper middle class neighborhood. Sang Dead and Hot Cha to keep ourselves entertained while we waited for the heat to die down.
• Apollo 18: Wandering around downtown Seattle one cold January, eleventh grade, with The Statue Got Me High blasting in my ears at full volume. Sang Dinner Bell on a school bus trip at a loud volume, my best friend covering the 'shoulder bicep elbow arm' part, and encored amidst applause with See The Constellation. To this day I don't know how my friend managed to play that song on an acoustic guitar and still make it sound like the original.
• Back to Skull: Spent a long summer listening to Ondine and She Was A Hotel Detective (disco version) on repeat, swigging Coke and playing Ultima IV.

Whatever. You get the point, anyway - TMBG has been there for a lot of my formative years, and I'd like to think that as one of their loyal fans, my admiration of their musical talent was part of a larger, gestalt wave of love that continues to inspire them. I'd definitely be a different person without They Might Be Giants.