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Dial a Song[edit]

Where can one obtain the Power Of Dial-A-Song album, and its sequel, that "no true TMBG fan can be without?"

Hey people, join this messageboard:

http://www.freebb.com/index.php?freebb=billspimpedoutp

It's not a TMBG messageboard, but it's administered by mostly TMBG fans (meaning two) and excessive discussion on TMBG is welcome and encouraged! Hooray! Check these forums in particular: "Other People's Music" and "JaneIncognito". - JaneIncognito

Okay, in the (She Was A) Hotel Detective video, when John and John are rockin' out on some stage or something, at some points the background says "ROCK MUSIC." What does it say the other times? "THRILLING (something)." I can never make the whole thing out, either one of them is in the way or it goes by to fast. Anybody know? Mucket 16:22, 25 Mar 2005 (EST)

Why, oh why are TMBG playing their only northern California show this tour on Easter Sunday? Life is so unfair! a.lost.boy

How/where should I add a page on what key songs are in? I've got a small list, and I don't think I should add it to song categories, but where else will they get noticed? - Desck

Hey, what would it take to get TMBG to do a show in the UK? They're virtually unheard of here... which is sad. -Vixus

Oh, I just read the article on hiring TMBG for $15,000... that's amazing. Maybe I can encourage my university student union to hire them. -Vixus, rock on!

~TMBG was just in the UK this September. They did 4 shows in 4 different cities... -Jake

Does anybody know who provides the "I don't want the world..." vocal from Ana Ng? According to the Female Vocals page, it is unknown, but I figure maybe the person who knows hasn't seen that page yet/doesn't know about this wiki. - Desck
The identity of this woman was actually revealed on Radio TMBG in the little blurb accompanying Ana Ng, but I cannot recall who it was. -TDK 08:02, 4 Feb 2005 (EST)

-It was Ana Ng herself!!!! -Jake

According to the Then liner notes "Our friend Lisa Klapp delivered the 'I don't want the world' line from her phone at work." Mucket 10:58, 2 Mar 2005 (EST)

I just got to thinking, has VH1 ever done pop-up video on any of TMBG's videos? -Jake

It looks like there was one for Boss of Me - http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/pop_up_video/55160/episode.jhtml I couldn't tell you how to see the episode, though - I don't think the series plays anymore, which is a real shame. Joygerhardt 19:55, 17 Jul 2005 (EDT)

I want to ask how I would go about learning guitar. Basically, just some tips on buying one and how I would go about learning to play. The only problem is there're no tutors or anything around, so the best I could do would be to teach myself. I think I'm pretty musically inclined, and a quick learner when inspired. If anyone can give me any hints, I'd appreciate it! -Vixus

How come there's no drum tab for us drummers out here? Are the drums regarded as an inferior instrument to guitar and bass? Or is there no one out there who wants to decipher the drums to the songs? Jus' asking. -Vixus

If you want to add drum tabs, there's nothing stopping you...if you have any of them transcribed, and you want to add them to the site, please go right ahead. If we get enough of them on the site, we could add the drum tab to the navigation stub.

--Duke33 08:59, 4 Jan 2005 (EST)

I'll have to learn tabs first. I was just asking. Then I'll transcribe them, it's something fun to do. -Vixus
i posted some, i did dont lets start, and pet name. im making more--Cyclopswithbangs 15:26, 25 Feb 2005 (EST)

Are there any Weird Al fans here? Just interested to know. Personally, I'm one. - Desck

Well, your not the only one, and I'm sure there are more than just you and me out there. Actually, if it wasn't for him I would never ever heard of TMBG. I was a freshman in high school and one of my new friends was listening to Weird Al. I wasn't really expecting to fit into the school so I was glad to find someone else who was listening to the same kind of music. And then she told me that she was going to some free concert with these guys called They Might Be Giants who were supposed to be funny like Weird Al and asked if I wanted to go. I had nothing better to do, I had never been to a rock concert, so I was all for the idea, and well... the rest is history ~ fingertips

Hey, if anyone here has a mp3 copy of Wearing A Raincoat, (the demo version released on the free service a while ago), I'd be willing to trade the 2003 europop remix of Man, It's So Loud In Here, Back Stabbing Liar, Montana or anything from the free tunes page since The Spine Surfs Alone, Part 1. All of the above have been released free on the internet by TMBG, so it shouldn't be illegal, FYI. Just put a message on my user page, please. - Desck

ATTENTION: Another sighting of TMBG music on TV: Travel Channel's series "Amazing Vacation Homes" contians theme music which appears to be written by TMBG. The vocal sting "True and amaaaaaziiiiiiiiing..." is unmistakably John and John. (Don't know precisely where to post this, esp. since the redesign...) -- Jakewashere

Hey guys, we now have the lyrics and transcriptions from pretty much every TMBG song ever, except for the elusive stuff from Stumpbox, and obviously instrumentals, which should probably be better documented as being such. Congrats! Bed Bed Bed Bed Bed is the only song I can see which was released on an actual album and does not yet have lyrics. --Ed

help, i am stupid. I can't figure out how to get a pic to display. I'm doing the same thing, and some times a pic will work, and other times it just makes a link. Michael Kupperman and Tony Millionaire pages have links where displayed pics, if anyone wants to fix it or tell me how to do it.

Ed:Two whom it may concern, should we just edit out the "Lyrics" link for instrumentals? I saw at least one page where "Instrumental" was written as the entirety of the lyrics page, which works, but it's sort of silly looking.

Ed:It would seem that if you download The Spine of TMBG's service, you get the EP for free too:

http://www.theymightbegiants.com/pop_up.htm

Looks like the first downloadable albums on the new download-site will be NO!, They Got Lost, The Spine and The Spine surfs alone EP.

http://www.theymightbegiants.com/assets/

Hey Wikians, love the site. I noticed the UK version of Mink Car isn't included in the discography. I would add it if I knew anything about the internet. Keep up the good work!

Nathew: OK, what happened to some of the things I put on the recommended bands page? i had the sleeves on there before, but i came back today after a long period of time not doing anything on here, and it was gone. i put it back, but if someone needs to take it down, let me know why. also, i think my band, (the) WOBBLY wombat was there. i understand if little things like that are looked down upon, but don't diss on the sleeves. they are teh rock.

Oh, and to the powers that be, I require permission to upload two MP3s of new dial-a-songs. they are fairly small, just about 1.5mb each. the tracks i have are "the skeleton walks in the moonlit night" and "dan and lisa".

Scott and Brad did a nice job enabling the site for uploaded materials. They can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure "clip-art" style files are fairly small. If we ask nicely, maybe they'll provide a special "staging area" for uploads which aren't specifically TMBG memorabilia, but which are still useful for site improvement. Someone with more wiki knowledge than I might post a quick tutorial here or on the Discussion page with a few more such easy and simple formatting ideas.

MooseBlaster: About your label info--do you mean the actual record companies listed on the Labels page? I notice there's nothing listed there about the Hello CD of the Month Club. It that the kind of info you're talking about? It sounds interesting. I'm also having trouble finding some of the Unlimited songs (aren't we all?). What label, if any, did that? I'm still reading some of the wiki posts on this subject, so forgive me if this is a dumb/repetitive question. --Flux

Response to Flux by MooseBlaster[edit]

  • By Label info, I mean that it is incredibly difficult to record every single release available, it's catalogue no., etc. in a space containing one section for year made, and another for labels. I'm working on it.
  • The Hello CDs need adding, yes. I think it's probably best if this is linked on the albums as a separate list, otherwise you're mixing up TMBG-related stuff with almost completely unrelated stuff.
  • As for the Unlimited label, they were done purely through eMusic, and are not available complete as CDs (excluding bootlegs). Of course, it's slowly being released through the Free MP3s service on tmbg.com, but it'll be forever before you get them all. I recommend buying They Got Lost for a start from the Giants shop.
  • As for wiking, don't worry! It's a doddle! I only started in October with all this wikiing malarky, but you'll soon the get the hang. It's good to know HTML.
  • Hope that all helps!
MooseBlaster

Agentrocket: I'm right now listening to "Ball of String" off http://www.brigidanderic.com/mp3s.htm. I've listened to Ana Ng and LOD already and I'm impressed. You should know that I had no trouble clicking directly on the titles. My Windows Media Player opens immediately and withing two seconds I was hearing the song. Whoever set that up for you did a good job. Plus, for anyone else reading this, the recordings are very high quality; they all seem to have been created 160 Kb/s. TMBG fans will enjoy, "Hi, We Are the Meteors" and (my favorite so far) the Pine Trees singing their acoustic version of TMBG's "Welcome to the Jungle."

--I've downloaded all of The Meteors posted mp3s, and I think they're awesome. The Pine Trees are alright, but I really like The Meteors and definitely recommend them to any TMBG fans. User:BlarJotunn

Open Message Concerning Usernames: This info might be useful for newbies or anyone having trouble getting their Username to post behind their changes on the Recent Changes page. The next time you make a change of which you want other Wikians to be aware, try clicking the "Preferences" link at the bottom, entering your username in the field, and then clicking "Save." This solved the problem for me.

Of course, some people want to remain anonymous, and that's okay too.

My Evil Twin: THANK YOU for referring me to the great page on colors! I was wondering how many there were. Next time I have a question about the site, I'll try to remember to use the search field. Yes, I MIGHT BE BLIND. Do you (or anybody) know how to change the color of the BACKGROUND? Or format vertical COLUMNS? Let's get PSYCHEDELIC!

MooseBlaster: I just saw the work you did on the They_Might_Be_Giants_(Debut_Album)/Release_Details. You smart. Me Tonto. --Flux

14March2004Anybody: It's 3:28 in the morning and I'm much, much further into the song, "Rat Patrol," than I probably should be. I've got the first two lines of the second stanza on a wave-loop. Am I the only one that's been frustrated by the "official" lyrics given? Supposedly the song goes,

  • "Well, they disappear inside/Floorboards creek and footsteps heard."

Not only are those lyrics lame, but to my ears they are obviously NOT what's being sung. Am I the only one who hears, loud and clear,

  • "Wilderness of mirror shines/Floorboards creek, your foot steps home?"

Maybe someone who's been a fan longer can clear up a little about how the lyrics end up in the liner notes. Isn't Flansburgh in charge of all that? The reported controversy surrounding this song only makes it seem to matter more, but I suspect maybe someone's having a joke. --Flux

Response to Flux by MooseBlaster[edit]

Actually, the official lyrics (according to the Linear Notes from Long Tall Weekend) are: 
"Wildnerness of mirrors shine,
floorboards creak or footsteps heard"
so you're half right. I'm really too tired to change them tonight, so I'll sort it out tomorrow if no-one else has.
(PS: who said the lyrics of the DAS Rat Patrol were the same? They *are* different!)
MooseBlaster

MooseBlaster: I never thanked you properly for the RP lyrics. I feel much better now. That song's one of my favorites, and it's great to know I wasn't hearing things. I even searched the web extensively looking for the "right" words, but somehow everyone else had copied the "wrong" ones (maybe from our wiki?). Thanks! Flux

To Whomever: For anyone who might happen to live in good old NYC, did you see "I don't want th world, I just want your half." graffitied on the Brooklyn Bridge? Yes, the graffiti-ist spelled "the" wrong, but it was still a piece of graffiti worthy of praise. Sadly, it's since been painted over, but did anyone see that?

Also, to whoever wrote the lovely green thing at the top of the page, Nat is a "he" and you shall NEVER know the meaning of pineapples! HA!

~Nat

NAT:I'm the author of the "lovely green thing" at the top of this page. How nice to finally meet! You deserve my thanks: although I may never know the meaning of "pineapples," the fruit itself will now forever have more meaning to me since you assigned the mystery to it. --Flux

Message to JRSly: I like the "Sung By" category that you added. What I want to know is why we didn't think of this earlier! Aurora Hawthorne, girl who thinks this is where this should go

All Wikians: Okay, so I just discovered the Ramones. I acquired a copy of the 2-disc set, "Anthology," and I get it now. The sad part is that I was in high school during their hey-day, deeply in love with the Beatles. Born two decades too late? The good news: discovering TMBG has reopened my love of music and shown me that the dream is not dead (Flansburgh lists the Ramones as an influence, like so many other musicians). Anyone who thinks the Ramones are shallow doesn't get it, and I don't care. So here's my question to you Wikians: Did the Ramones invent punk music outright? If not, who did? Should the Sex Pistols be added to the list of TMBG ancestors? I thought I knew all the "important" bands, but now I wonder if there isn't some other gaping hole I need to fill (um, ignore the double-entendre). Linnell has said it all started with J.S. Bach, but I'm already familiar with his music. --Flux

In my own personal history of music that I have going on my head, Ramones and Sex Pistols both did their own thing at the same time, pretty much independently of each other. Aside from the simple song structure, the bands don't really sound that much alike. Anyway, if Flans didn't mention the Pistols as an influence, I wouldn't count them as one. If they listened to Ramones, they listened to Ramones. - FrankEinstein
The roots of punk music are in 1960s garage rock (for the most part). Iggy and the Stooges are generally regarded as the originators of punk music. Their first album came out in 1969. Flansburgh mentioned the Stooges in the Gigantic documentary. If you want to check out the Stooges, their albums Fun House and Raw Power are the ones to get. -- Thread Bomb (talk) 23:49, 8 April 2020 (EDT)

Right on. They also list The Residents as a major influence. They're definitely worth checking out also. - Doctor Masonstein

The Residents are teh awesome. I'm waiting for my new CDs in the mail right now... - FrankEinstein

Warhol the Founder of Punk?[edit]

The Residents are certainly huge in the world of TMBG, but it's hard if not impossible to classify their influences, wouldn't you agree? What I've read of the Residents indicates that they are almost purely experimental, if there is such a thing, drawing directly from prevailing cultural elements. Plus, the anonymity of their members almost cements the impossibility of identifying their origins.

I'm just curious (who knows why) about the origins of the "punk" influence on TMBG (which means I'm ignoring for now the jazz, swing, classical, country, Broadway influences, etc.). After digging a little more, I'm seeing a line of influence which runs Lou Reed (Velvet Underground)==>Jonathan Richman (Modern Lovers)==>They Might Be Giants. I had forgotten about Lou Reed. If one considers the extent to which Andy Warhol nourished the career of the VU, and if one acknowledges Andy as a true reactionary iconoclast, one could make the argument that the early Lou Reed is the first punk rocker. Of course he's different now, but back in the day the heroin and sexual ambiguity was an obvious extension of the beatnik culture and an equally obvious reaction against the touchy-feely elements of 1960 psychedelia.

However, digging still deeper, I'm reading now that David Bowie had already released Space Oddity and The Man Who Sold the Moon when he (David Bowie) actually PRODUCED Lou Reed's Transformer(1972), which was Lou's solo breakthrough, so before Lou there was Dave. But since David Bowie has said explicitly that his major influences were Bob Dylan (decidedly non-punk) and Andy Warhol, the overlap with Lou's origins could allow one to argue that Andy Warhol was the first punk rocker.

That has a poetic justice to it, I think, that the first punker may have been a graphic artist. All this is just conjecture, of course, for the sake of conversation. What do you guys say? Is Warhol the founder of punk music?

--Flux


I would say that nobody specifically founded punk music, especially not Warhol as he was not really a musician himself (to my knowledge, anyway). I know of his extensive work with the music scene in NYC in the 60s, especially with the VU (hell, I work at the freakin' Andy Warhol Museum). I think that punk music happened because it was the next logical step for rock music. Purely rock music is I'm talking about here. When synthesizers were brought into the mix, it stopped being purely rock music (not that there anything wrong with that, TMBG and DEVO are great examples of what synths can do to rock). But yeah, there's my little thoughts. - FrankEinstein
I agree with FrankEinstein here. You can look at groups like The Sonics who had a very punk-esque aesthetic, and whose first record came out in 1965, before the first (to my knowledge) VU or Bowie records. Punk didn't really become a restrictive set of rules until 1977, which then extended well into the 80's, when groups like The Flaming Lips and The Meat Puppets were rejected from the scene because of their long hair, psychedelic influences, guitar solos, and Pink Floyd covers. I've never really thought of punk as a tangible musical concept, but more as a hype word like "Hippy" or "Beatnik". But that's just my opinion. - Stiddy
Lou Reed made plenty of music before recording Transformer. Velvet Underground's first album came out a few months before Bowie's first album. So best not attribute the creation of Lou Reed to David Bowie. -- Thread Bomb (talk) 23:43, 8 April 2020 (EDT)

Mark Prindle[edit]

So, I'm sure you've all heard of the Gonzo record reviewer, Mark Prindle. Truly one of the funniest and most imaginative of reviewers out there. There is a section on his website, entitled "Who's Next?", where readers can vote for their favorite band to be reviewed. So, I urge all of you to send an E-mail his way telling him to review TMBG (Instructions for voting are on the page, which is here). I promise you he'll write you up an interesting read. - Stiddy

Stiddy, nice work on identifying "Commando" as the sample for See The Constellation. I can't verify it, of course, but it sure sounds a lot like it on my version on the Anthology. I'm voting TMBG (see above, folks)! --Flux

P.S., Where'd you get the name?

In response to Flux: Yeah, I was actually a fan of the Ramones before I really got into TMBG, and when I heard See The Constellation, I knew it was from SOME Ramones song. It was something that always bugged me that I didn't know which song it came from. So the other day when I heard "Commando" I was instantly reminded of the song. But really, I have no proof other than my ears that it's correct. On the name, being that my last name is "Stidham", a friend of mine just shortens it to "Stiddy", to differentiate between another guy with the same first name as me (Kyle). I just use it for most internet related things. It's not really supposed to mean anything, but apparently it's a word for "anvil"...so I've seen about two other "Stiddy"'s on the net who must have gotten the inspiration from anvils...so there you go. Oh and thanks for voting! - Stiddy

P.S., What about your name?

Personman, you might want to check out the newly-uploaded file: Linnell NPR 10-12-99. There's a definitive answer about Idaho, along with much other juicy material--it's Linnell being rarely open and vulnerable. Thanks for the kind words on my vanity page.

To Stiddy: My internet name, Flux Capture, actually has a long story behind it. Here's the short version. "Flux" can be said to be {X:X=Everything}, or "the set of all X, such that X equals everything". The word, "flux," as you may know is from the latin fluxus, meaning "flow." I use it to denote the existence of all things, everywhere, including all time, past and future. "Capture," in the sense I use it, refers to a cross-section of the flux, which is just my consciousness. The analogy I like to use is that of a cage in a river; the river flows through the cage, and my consciousness it just that portion of the river inside the cage at any given instant. Note that the cage itself is stationary, and exerts no influence on the flow of the river. Although this view is unpopular, I don't believe in an ultimately free will. According to me, desire itself is a product of circumstance, although for the sake of conversation I'm still open to hearing opposing thoughts, so fire away, if you like.

By coincidence (meaning by no plan of mine), "Flux Capture" went on to denote profiting by absorbing the changes in financial securities prices. At the moment, however, it means downloading and burning music off the internet. Forgive me if that's more information than you wanted.

--Flux

Open question: What is Dial A Song (List) exactly? Is it just a list of all of the songs that have ever appeared on dial-a-song? Now that it's working again and the songs really do change every hour, this list seems sort of odd. If this is indeed such a list, should all of the songs on the list link back to it? For instance, Impossible appears on the list as well as Bed, Bed, Bed (Book) and are listed as being on both "albums". Songs such as Idlewild and We've Got A World That Swings have been on dial-a-song lately, should they backlink to the list as well? --Newyorkcity

Question to the anonymous Wikian who recently created a handful of new Song Themes, among them Bodily Mutilation, Boys Vs. Girls, and Pretentiousness: Would you mind adding some explanatory paragraphs to a few of these to clarify exactly what they mean? I for one would happily scour the Song List for Central Themes and Briefly Mentioned if I had a better idea of what is supposed to go on some of these pages. (Obviously, some are more self-explanatory than others -- Drinking Glasses and Zombies Or The Undead come to mind.) Just a couple sentences, amigo. And speaking of which, one of the new pages is Spanish -- there is already a page for Language, which I think would absorb anything Spanish might contain. -- Octofish

I don't want to step on the toes of the guy editing the new "Not In 4/4 Time" song theme, or edit pages out from under him. I think it's an excellent idea, but I have two suggestions to throw out there for when the dust settles.

  • I think we should use a different symbol than a forward slash in "Not In 4/4 Time". As it stands, "Not in 4/4 Time/Discussion" is impossible. Slash is a two-level hierarchy separator.
  • Perhaps there should be a different theme for each odd time signature? I'd guess most are 3/4, and it would be interesting to have a list of the even _stranger_ ones. (Actually, the page itself pretty much covers this one with separate lists.)
Hi, I made that page. I didn't think about the problems with that slash; I'll use the hyphen - instead. Also, I think it's best to keep all in one page, since so few are 2/4 and even fewer 5/4 (the others I don't think occur at all in TMBG songs yet, but it's very likely that I'm wrong). Thanks for the feedback; I'll go back and change the /'s to -'s. -- TimMierz (the new link is now Not In Common Time) -- Veloso
I removed the old page. -- Duke33

Mystery Song

a couple years ago i downloaded a song, i think it was titled "unknown song", on Napster or possibly from twistid.com/tmbg (now defunct), and it was labeled TMBG. The copy i have now is recorded onto a tape and is really bad quality, but I'm pretty sure that it is indeed a TMBG song, most likely from Dial-a-song. Sounds like Flans singing.

It goes something like this:

I've been a lonely man without you, girl, without you and no one can understand me except you girl, except you (something?--) listen to me baby...

and there's more, but i can't quite tell what he says, due to the horrible quality of the tape.

But, so anyways, does anyone know of this song? Can anyone confirm that it is in fact tmbg? anyone know the rest of the lyrics? Anyone have an Mp3 of it?



I was gonna make a page for it, but i'd like to get more info on it. thank you for your time. - - Adam Love

I think the song you're looking for is Lonely Without You...it was on dial-a-song, but i don't know much more than that. -- Duke33
awesome. thanks a lot!

Message to Mr. Tuck and Zack, wherever you are:

I'm not sure it's in the original spirit of either the Wiki or the Interpretations pages for you to be using them as a forum to broadcast your own opinions about songs and which John is the better composer. It's fine if you want to speculate on the meaning of lyrics, but the Interpretations pages don't seem like the appropriate place for out-and-out criticism. Maybe we should set up a special page where Wikians can post their reviews, or maybe that would prove unnecessarily divisive -- we're all here because we agree that TMBG rules, and that's what's important -- but either way, reviews are not interpretations, and shouldn't be labeled as such.

Thanks, Olga (new user of the Wiki, I may set up a page soon)

Hey, uh, what's up with this Stooge song that just showed up? The lyrics appear to be those of Return To The Planet Of The Apes, one of the Flansiest songs ever recorded, but the page for Stooge claims it is sung by Linnell. Has anyone else heard this song, besides the anonymous party who gave it one vote on the Favorite Songs page?

Hi, I was noticing that there was lots of TMBG discography missing from the Wikipedia articles about TMBG (where are all the weird unreleased songs?), and a google search brought me here. Thanks for keeping such an up-to-date site! You might keep an eye on those WP pages, and help them catch up with some of the older giant works.


Dear My Evil Twin's Twin: Since it appears that you organized the Favorite Songs page, I wanted to check in with you regarding starting a Favorite Albums page. I'm willing to do it, but I defer to you. -Professa G

Everyone, just to let you in on something...I am currently working on a cgi solution for favorite songs/album. Basically, we would store all songs/album votes in a database. I already have the prototype of the text that would be added to the bottom of all songs/albums, here. Let me know your thoughts on this. If done properly, i think it could be really cool. -- Duke33


I have a few questions about uploading radio shows: first of all, can I upload the 'Kit Kat Accoustic Break' show (26mb mp3 file)? Is this an official release? Secondly, I have this 2 hour long show on my hard disk, it's 54 mb (I think, it's on my other computer) and it's from and it's from 2002, can't remember the name of the show, they perform stuff like 'Wicked Little Birdhouse'. Can I upload this, since it's such a huge file? Thanks in advance for responding.

Send an email to sr@tmbw.net and ask him. At this time, I'm not sure if we have the space or not, as we just agreed to host a copy of "We Might Be Giants Too", which is rather large. -- Duke33


Is there a page for links to articles? I found a recent Newsweek interview with Flans that people might want to read. I did a search on Newsweek, it didn't return anything. amyloo

Nope, we don't have anything like that now, but feel free to create a page for that. -- Duke33

There are a lot of songs here that are not listed in the 'song list' yet. Flansburgh has 301 songs registered at BMI, Linnell 293. I added a few, but I could be wrong about different titles for the same song and such, so please, check out that site and update the song list if you see any mistakes, or if I forgot a song or something. Thanks.

A lot of those are Malcolm in the Middle music cues. Also "The Ballad of the Sneeze" is "All Alone". - FrankEinstein

August 14, 2004 - Experimental Film on Conan

I recorded it and have it ready for uploading (DivX). I'm worried about the size. It's 25763840 bytes, approximately 24.5 megs because I wanted to preserve as much quality as possible. However, VirtualDub totally screwed things up and the video gets kind of jerky especially at the end (so the quality idea is shot) but it's bearable. The video-CD quality mpg I have is perfect but VirtualDub just won't have it. Can anyone recommend a different thing I can use that can just cut some stuff out and DivX encode it?

Update: Someone else posted theirs recently, so nevermind unless 50 megs is too much I guess.

Is there a section to post requests for guitar chords/tabs? It seems like it'd benefit people who are in search of specific songs and people who want to kill time.

08/20/04; if you have any specific songs you'd like to be tabbed, i'll be more than happy to do it for you!

Would it be a good idea to link to amazon/barnes and nobles 30 sec. song samples for each album song?

Hey guys, I have a suggestion: why not add piano sheet music and drum tabs to the site? I mean, I don't have any, but I play both instruments and I bet somebody does.

I added a piece of info to the Minimum Wage page that I think you will find interesting. I've known about this for several years and I never hear anyone mention this. I'd be happy to upload an mp3 clip, if you're interested. --The Vanishing Dot

When is/was TMBW Day? I swear I saw something about it on the Recent News page, but it seems to have vanished. - Magbatz

Is there a page of TMBG logos anywhere? And site logos? What's with the new ones? - User:AaronSw

You know that you've been listening to too much TMBG when..[edit]

Ok, I'm sure you've all played this game before. You create a statement to end the sentence "You know that you've been listening to too much TMBG when...". The statement can be either funny or truthful. Get started in this link: You know that you've been listening to too much TMBG when... R3D 20:28, 31 Oct 2005 (EST)

Check this out[edit]

Or, rather, this. I never knew there is an eighteen track version of Flood! — User:ACupOfCoffee@ 19:50, 21 Nov 2005 (EST)

DVD has arrived![edit]

I got my Venue Songs DVD today, 11/17/2005!

My CD/DVD has arrived as well, with a 1989 Video Compilation VHS (sealed) as a gift for being one of the first 1000 bundle purchases. -CapitalQ

I kinda doubt that anyone's gonna pay 214 bucks for the Wiggle Diskette!! :-) AlmostJinkies

I got The Pink Album on cassette! And I only got the t-shirt bundle! Also Here Come the ABCs! stickers. Woot! -Ecks

Starting adding Venue Songs CD/DVD info[edit]

I added the tracklisting and some other stuff to the Venue Songs (Album) page regarding the CD/DVD, but it's badly formatted and lacking links. I hope someone more scholarly in Wiking can finish up the job.

Does anyone have recordings of DAS not on PODAS?[edit]

I'm interested in recordings of Dial-A-Song not on the Power Of Dial-A-Song bootleg. If anyone has any songs or clips they personally recorded, or got from somebody else, (or has More Power To Ya: Power Of Dial-A-Song 2), even if they are apparently the same as the studio version or only part of the song was played, let me know and I'd love to trade something for them. As for my own personal recordings, I just have Prevenge and a medley of the beginning of Au Contraire with an extra "popping" percussion part and two 31 second clips of different parts of I'm All You Can Think About with silence in between. -BlarJotunn

The First Time I Can Honestly Say I'm Ashamed of TMBG[edit]

By now, you've probably seen this warning on TheyMightBeGiants.com: '...we enjoy having the opportunity to perform for children at our kid's shows, but there is simply no place for children at the regular TMBG shows. Things get very adult specific in terms of language. The volume is extreme even in the back of the hall, and there is usually large amounts of smoke of every variety; but most important of all-there are routinely a small number of very large, drunk, excitable adults who, at regular intervals 1.) jump off the stage directly into the crowd 2.) slam dance through the crowd 3.) throw bottles into the crowd and 4.) knock people down in their revelry. Over the years we regret to report we have seen many different kinds of serious injury due to crowd rowdiness-injury that would be far more serious to a small child than to a flexible 18 year old. There is essentially no controlling the random nature of crowds. This is why we cannot allow children at our shows. Please-get a baby-sitter. Make no mistake-TMBG shows are adult-only affairs. Do not bring children to shows that are not specifically for children. You will be turned away.'

What the hell, Johns? Are we talking about a TMBG show or a friggin' Rolling Stones concert? Pot smoke and stage diving at a TMBG concert? Adult specific language? People throwing bottles? I mean, what have TMBG become? I've been to more than one show, and neither of them were kids-only shows. Also, neither of them came close to this, nor did they have a minimum age. I understand that Flans gets a little mouthy now and then, but if they don't want to put up with kids, they shouldn't put out kids' albums. After all, they do very few "children" shows compared to their regular shows. Wouldn't the volume get extreme even at a kid's show? And don't they actually perform music from their *children's albums* at regular concerts? I mean, are these the same people who donated songs to Tiny Toons?!

I hate to say it, but as a TMBG fan who has followed them hardcore since "Flood", I can honestly say that I'm ashamed that they would suddenly take on such an attitude, and turn children away from their shows. Speaking from experience, I've been at shows where children have been in the audience, and I saw nothing like was described in that warning. Hell, the kids had just as much fun as the adults did. It's just unbelievable that a band like TMBG, who have been known through their entire career for pandering to all ages, would take on such an incredible standpoint after all this time.

That's just my POV.

Comment by r3dk9: I agree 100%. Stop playing in night clubs, guys!

--- Totally disagree here. The bars and such are legitimate performance venues and sometimes the only ones when you're an alternative group, and the in-store stuff wasn't paid gigs, it was publicity for a DVD. Besides, some truly fine TMBG material is adult, and I'd hate to see that dropped because they decided to let kids into all shows. Flans' patter is adult, it's just what he does.

Also, my guess is he's not barring the occasional 14 or 15 year old brought in by their Dads. I saw a few of those at a bar, and they didn't belong there, but if Mom or Dad wanna take responsibility, fine. What I gather he is talking about here is kids 0 to 13, kids you should leave home with a babysitter - he's making it clear that just because They do some swear-free kid-safe shows in malls, it is *not* appropriate to bring your 7 year old to a bar just because TMBG is performing there. My guess - after all those Border's kids shows, some adults were bringing little kids to the regular shows, not recognizing it was not a good idea.

Lastly, it makes no sense, business-wise, to jump completely into children's entertainment at the expense of other proven money-making projects. He may be making sure that Their space in "rock and roll for adults in a club atmosphere" remains viable, just to assure TMBG doesn't get pigeon-holed. It would be professionally bad if bar owners wouldn't hire you because they think you've been *demoted* to kiddie music. ~ Christina Miller, October 2005


I agree. You'd really be surprised how dumb some parents are. Some may not even realize that TMBG make adult albums. They may just know the ABCs DVD and think that's what the concert will be. A rock show is no place for a child even one where there isn't swearing from the stage or that isn't in a nightclub or bar. It's sad that parents need to be told this but I think that They don't want to see children hurt or exposed to things that could best wait a few years (the language, the pot smell, etc.). What would be worse would be an attitude of "Hey, who cares as long as they buy a ticket." -- a mom of two TMBG loving kids who won't be going to an adult concert for many years, Oct 18, 2005

HAPPY MOLE DAY!

http://sixpointoh2.ytmnd.com/

(uses TMBG songs)


Ok, I agree that TMBG may be sending mixed signals to parents, but seriously, I don't think that you need to go as far as saying that TMBG makes adult albums. I am 14 and I've liked TMBG since I was 8. TMBG's non-lullaby oriented albums are for everybody; not just kids, not just adults. -R3D 16:31, 30 Oct 2005 (EST)

New Page Ideas[edit]

I've looked at the Other Bands You Might Like If You Like TMBG page and I think that's a great thing to have. How about a page listing movies, books, video games, etc. that you might like if you like TMBG? I'm interested in the way different media relate to eachother, and I think that that sort of page would be cool. Tutt 09:41, 10 Oct 2005 (EDT)MasterChivo

DUDE![edit]

TMBG has a LEARN THE ABC'S CD in Walmart! I saw "ABC's... Barney... yawn... OOH THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS! FWEE!" and was going to ask my mom to buy it, until I realized it was an educational CD. Why didn't they have this stuff when I needed to learn the ABC's? --Annonny

Um, any difference between that and Here Come the ABCs!? Probably not but... what is this...? Link. Is the DVD being bundled with the CD? Weeeird. -- Ecks

So... I messed up on the name. Sue me. And no, it wasn't. It was in a tiny rack in the toy aisle, so... I don't think it's really selling that well. --Annonny

Hello Radio[edit]

when is it coming out? i thought it was set for this past may/june. --Nosaj56 09:47, 1 Sep 2005 (EDT)

TMBG ringtones?[edit]

I was wondering if anyone knew of any good, free (or cheap) places to get TMBG ringtones for Sony T237's. Or, if not, any good instructions (hopefully decently simple) for composing them?


I remember running a search for birdhouse a few years back and only finding british ringers for around 5 pounds, i'm way too cheap/poor to pay almost 10 dollars for a ringer. I know a friend of mine has birdhouse but i'm not sure what service he uses.


I have Birdhouse, and I use Cingular. You can get a Cingular music tone ringer off their website for a bit over 2 bucks. it was worth it.

Virgin Mobile has Istanbul.

A whole class of fans[edit]

The past few days my Biology class is learning about Kindoms. And a recent subject was mammals. I asked the teacher if I could bring in a song that related to mammals. She approved. So I brought in the Apollo 18 album and played Mammal. And surprising everyone liked it! I'm not saying that TMBG isn't good, but the general population of my school is in to all that rap stuff. So hopefully, with that song played, and my advertisements on my shirt, TMBG will spread further through out the world. --Droffats 16:08, 9 Mar 2005 (EST)

Good for you! My sister did the same thing earlier this year. Unfortunately everyone hated it. This may have been partly because the, our school being a Waldorf school, the teacher made the class sing it. A similar catastrophe happened to me last year (or maybe it was two years ago). The chorus teacher asked for suggestions for material and I suggested Dead. I think you can guess what happened.-Augie 18:47, 9 Mar 2005 (EST)

I've done the same as well. World cultures class last year I played Istanbul and the teacher, of all people, is now obsessed with the band, its kind of weird. We have yet to see him a concert though, which is good for us. I also played Tippecanoe and Tyler Too and James K. Polk in history class. This teacher enjoys them and thinks they are funny, but they scare her. The scare the other kids too. I go to an all girls private high school, everybody is really preppy, you can imagine TMBG doesn't go over too well. ~ fingertips

They Might be Giants actually has quite a bit of educational appeal. I remember playing Mammal in my High School bio class, and most folks liked it quite a bit. My Mom is also a World History teacher, who plays Istanbul in her class quite a bit.

With all of the references to American history in TMBG songs (James K. Polk, Nixon's The One etc.), I'm surprised I haven't seen it used academically yet. Has anyone else? --Thavelick 21:40, 11 Mar 2005 (EST)

I'm sort of afraid to show several educational songs to the same people. I think they'll get the wrong image of TMBG. --Droffats 11:01, 13 Mar 2005 (EST)


I'm a biology teacher and I always teach Mammal to my 10th graders. They love it!


There was another science class in my school that played Why Does The Sun Shine? for our astronomy unit. I have no idea how that teacher got ahold it, but she made them sing the song. For the next few weeks everyone was singing the infectious tune outside of class.

Our teacher actually played Istanbul, in class last year, without any of my guidance. Pretty cool...

I brought in the Severe Tire Damage version of Why Does The Sun Shine? for my science class in 8th grade. My teacher played in class, laughed her head off, and gave me 30 pts extra credit!! R3D 13:43, 16 Oct 2005 (EDT)

Pictures of Panda's Painting Artist?[edit]

Anyone know who the artist/animator are that did the Pictures of Panda Painting spot in the new DVD?

That would be Euan Mitchell, he also did the "Rolling O" animation.

2/15 Conan mp3[edit]

For whoever asked for a better-quality audio from Tuesday's Conan appearance, I pulled the audio from my own videotape and I do believe it sounds better. The mp3 is here and if anyone wants to take it and upload to the wiki please feel free. — Aliste

Any BitTorrent users out there?[edit]

I'm sure that I'm not the only one who'd love to get a high quality copy of last night's performance on Conan as well as any others that people might have. Is anyone willing to set up a torrent and post details here?

march 23rd . . any updates?

TMBG Song on Daily Show (?)[edit]

I know that TMBG does most the music for the show, and last night, there was a song that was an essay about sending corbas with parachutes into Iraq. The vocals sounded a little bit unlike either John, but could easily have been Linnell using a weird accent, and the music sounded very Giant-ish. Does anybody have a confirm / deconfirm on this? -AtionSong 19:17, 26 Apr 2006 (CDT)

No evidence on my part, but I would be genuinely surprised if that voice matched either of the Johns'. ~ magbatz 19:55, 26 Apr 2006 (CDT)
It was Jonathan Coulton, who has worked with John Hodgman before. --buschap

[edit]

Could somebody either point me to or send me the file for the new logo? I'd like to update it at WikiIndex. — User:ACupOfCoffee@ 15:08, 18 Apr 2006 (CDT)

Here you go: http://tmbw.net/images/wiki.png (I made it :D) -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 15:37, 18 Apr 2006 (CDT)
Thank you! — User:ACupOfCoffee@ 16:14, 18 Apr 2006 (CDT)

More Cartoon Network?[edit]

ON cartoon network, I saw this commercial that had cartoon characters throwing this yellow glowing ball. I think it was supposed to be the sun. But what was playing in the background? A totally sped up (like rock and roll, not fast forward) Why Does the Sun Shine? --She's an Angel

That would be how They Might Be Giants has been playing Why Does The Sun Shine live for the last decade or so, and yeah, we had that in the news last year. It's also on the song page for Why Does The Sun Shine (Live STD) under trivia. :) -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 19:35, 19 Apr 2006 (CDT)
*Continually bangs head against desk* --She's an Angel
Haha, yeah. It's been released on Severe Tire Damage and the Dial-A-Song compilation. -71.253.132.43

Audible.com[edit]

I don't know if anyone is aware of this, but several radio shows that include TMBG songs are available for purchase on audible.com. I haven't bought them yet, so I can't guarantee that all of the songs are there or that they're high sound quality, but here's the info I found about them (I hope these links will work; if not, you'll have to do a search for them):

  • The Studio 360 episode "The Beach," which includes TMBG Mini-Brass performances, is available here with the following description:
"In case you couldn't make it to the tropics this winter vacation, Studio 360 hits the Coney Island beach, in a show recorded last summer with musical guests They Might Be Giants. Host Kurt Andersen slathers on the sunblock as he introduces you to a sand sculptor who takes castle construction very seriously. Plus, music from They Might Be Giants, written just for the beach. (Original Broadcast Date: July 5, 2003)"
"They Might Be Giants performs the theme song they wrote for To The Best of Our Knowledge. Then, William Tsutsui, author of Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters, tells Anne Strainchamps about the original Godzilla and why he became a cultural icon in Japan. Also, New York Times Magazine columnist Rob Walker talks with Steve Paulson about the Subservient-Chicken.com Web site and why it's a new kind of advertising. Tom Matthews is a screenwriter who's just published his first novel, Like We Care, which tells what happens when some teenagers simply stop spending money on all the stuff that's marketed to them. Then, Doug Gordon catches up with Neil Innes, who wrote and sang the tunes for The Rutles, Eric Idle's parody of The Beatles. Finally, Jim Fleming talks with screenwriter/author David Hughes who tells us some of the reasons why a script might never get made into a film. (Broadcast Date: December 1, 2004)"
  • The Next Big Thing episode "Captain of the Saucer Squad," which includes Contrecoup, is available here with the following description:
"Works-in-progress by guitarist Marc Ribot. Wordplay, with lexicographer Erin McKean, They Might Be Giants singer/songwriter John Linnell, and Boston College junior Billy Hurley. An artful diatribe against bad table manners. And the latest in a series of characters created for The Next Big Thing by David Cale. (Broadcast Date: September 2, 2005)"
  • That episode is also available here with the following description:
"This week, we'll hear works-in-progress by guitarist Marc Ribot; wordplay with lexicographer Erin McKean and They Might Be Giants singer/songwriter John Linnell; and Boston College junior Billy Hurley. Also, an artful diatribe against bad table manners, and the latest in a series of characters created for The Next Big Thing by David Cale. (Broadcast Date: January 7, 2005)"
  • There's another episode of the Next Big Thing called "Phantom Limb Phenomena" that says it has a John Linnell song, but I don't know what it is (maybe Contrecoup again?). It's available here with the following description:
"The adventures of comedy duo Ahna Tessler and Lauren Engel, who make their way to L.A. with their Hollywood pitch. Also this week, phantom limbs in history and literature; three songs on three banjos from musician Tony Trischka; a fourth song, this one from John Linnell of They Might Be Giants; and one-minute vacations from around the world. (Broadcast Date: September 9, 2005)"
  • That episode is also available here with the following description:
"This week, we review a record of achievement for record of achievement both for the man working in President Bush's shadow, and for a world-famous sheep in New Zealand. Also this week: three songs on three banjos from musician Tony Trischka; a fourth song, this one from John Linnell of They Might Be Giants; phantom limbs in history and literature; and one-minute vacations from around the world. (Broadcast Date: January 14, 2005)"

And there are other shows with TMBG interviews, but I don't know if there are any songs on them. So if anybody has these and could report on them, or if anybody wants to get them and let everybody here know how they are, please do! I'll probably do it eventually, but who knows when it'll happen. ~Drew

Patrolled edits[edit]

So, registered users can mark newly made edits as patrolled (and I guess that means deemed un-spammyish). I, and most probably a lot other users, wouldn't mind at all performing that little task to make sure no one's screwing around on the wiki. But-- as far as I can tell, only the admins seem to actually do it. My question: is "marking as patrolled" something open to everybody involved in the wiki or is it rather reserved for those who can be most trusted in protecting the web site (i.e. admins)? I don't hold an opinion one way or the other; I'm just ignorant to how it's all done. ~ magbatz 22:38, 13 Apr 2006 (CDT)... Also, pretty unrelated, I think we're getting near the point where we should archive some of this talk page. It's apparently 38 kilobytes long ("some browsers may have problems editing pages approaching or longer than 32kb") and the newer and older main-page talk-pages are only 35kb and 31kb respectively. ~ magbatz 22:43, 13 Apr 2006 (CDT)

If you'd like, feel free to patrol your own edits or any others that you review, as long as they're clean. I still look over every single change made on the wiki just in case, so it doesn't really change my job. :D As for the archiving, I actually went through this page and archived every ended conversation very recently...I'd archive more, but the problem is, a lot of these conversations are still ongoing (or awaiting responses). -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 22:52, 13 Apr 2006 (CDT)
Ah. Thanks for the info, and I guess I'll help myself in patrolling edits-- new excitement (hee hee)! ~ magbatz 22:59, 13 Apr 2006 (CDT)
Dug around and found more stuff to archive from this page, thanks for the suggestion. :) -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 23:07, 13 Apr 2006 (CDT)

Uh, guys. Whoever's marking vandalism as patrolled just because you looked at it or reverted it via the page history, please stop. Vandalism should only be marked patrolled by an admin, because we're the only people who can fully take care of it. ThisMightBeABot doesn't just ban people, revert changes and add to the spam blacklist on its own, we have to start the process by telling it what the spammed URLs are. Thanks. -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 08:47, 16 Apr 2006 (CDT)

Pics[edit]

Can I use any pictures I find on google for the wiki? I'm not very familiar with the rights management here. - Whirrrlwind (Woosh!) 06:43, 14 Apr 2006 (CDT)

Any TMBG related pictures, yeah. :) -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 09:16, 14 Apr 2006 (CDT)

Clock Radio[edit]

I just wanted to know: When TMBG updates the Clock Radio, do I have to reinstall it to hear the updated songs, or does it do it automatically since it's streaming audio?

Every time you open Clock Radio it retrieves the latest list of songs automatically. :) -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 18:17, 30 Mar 2006 (CST)

MediaWiki 1.6[edit]

Just a heads up — a stable version of MediaWiki 1.6 was released yesterday. — User:ACupOfCoffee@ 18:16, 6 Apr 2006 (CDT)

Jeez, now we're way behind. :D -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 18:18, 6 Apr 2006 (CDT)


TMBG Collectibles[edit]

I don't know how many of you have seen the page on my site on which I have some of the TMBG related stuff that I have collected over the years. I still have a ton of stuff that I need to sort through, determine what's worth posting and get on there, and I was wondering if maybe there could be a collectibles section on here? There would be obvious omissions like my Flexi Disc and Long Tall Weekend, but I think that people might like to see a gallery that includes stuff like my Purple Toupee 8-Track, the Gigantic Coffee and Cologne, the MC Skat Kat mispressing or my TMBG Fezes, as well as many, many other items that I have yet to catalog.. My point is of course that it would be easier to put the stuff on here and then just have my page refer to the wiki. I would be happy to donate it all, and more. Of course, other people should add photos/descriptions of their stuff, as well. What do you think? -TDK 17:15, 23 Mar 2006 (CST)

Holy crap, I've never even heard of most of that stuff! --Martorano

Thats a great idea! - Half Empty 17:36, 23 Mar 2006 (CST)

Love it. :D -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 19:36, 23 Mar 2006 (CST)


Tagline Idea[edit]

I was thinking that we could start a way to rate the taglines. I have seen some great ones, and some not-so-great ones. I'm not sure what we could do with the ratings, but that's what discussion is for, right? What do you think?--tehbagel 13:01, 28 Mar 2006 (CST)

Some of them certainly make me cringe. Perhaps a simple rating scale (1-5) and then a filter to keep those with low averages off the front page? It's a thought, anyway. --Salt-Man Z 16:05, 5 Apr 2006 (CDT)
Maybe a system where the users vote on the taglines when you are submitted. Then, numbers 1-5 can be displayed somehow underneath. Or, maybe an award should be offered.--tehbagel 16:37, 5 Apr 2006 (CDT)
If you don't like the current tagline, feel free to make your own and change it. The tagline is and always has been free to edit by everyone, and if one is inappropriate (or really bad), it'll instantly be changed anyway. A ratings system for the tagline is a bit too much. -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 16:43, 5 Apr 2006 (CDT)
You're missing the whole point. There are some great taglines that never get seen or are up for only a few minutes. I think we should have a "best tagline" award every week. This tagline would be displayed the whole following week under or above the dynamic tagline. This would also provide some motivation to create enjoyable taglines.--tehbagel 22:47, 5 Apr 2006 (CDT)
I'm not missing any point; we have a tagline archive for a reason. I just seriously don't see why we need two taglines on the main page just because people are too lazy to look at the archive. -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 05:34, 6 Apr 2006 (CDT)

Is there a way to make them appear randomly every time you load the page?

No, and while that's not a bad idea, it kind of defeats the purpose of having a "current" tagline. -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 16:43, 5 Apr 2006 (CDT)

Dial-a-down[edit]

Does anyone have a theory of how dial-a-song went down again?

melting?, power failure?, Flansy kicking the power cord out by accident?, who knows?

some kind of picture?[edit]

I think the main page could use any picture (just one). It would make it more attractive. Otherwise the only thing you ever see is that guy in the logo. -24.11.11.247

That guy is William Allen White, and I was thinking the main page might look a bit nicer with this picture I made in the background of the news. Here's how it would look when added: Click. I don't want to make any big changes like that without getting approval and opinions first, though. -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 09:32, 31 Mar 2006 (CST)
Duke33 just set it up. :D -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 10:02, 31 Mar 2006 (CST)

No WikiTikkiTavi![edit]

I have found that the Homestar runner wiki has just regraded to WikiTikkiTavi which is really a downgrade because their server cant support MediaWiki very well. Check for your self here to see the terrible truth! Make sure that this wiki is not downgraded!--Troggie 13:13, 1 Apr 2006 (CST)

(Looks at calendar) ...Good job. -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 13:22, 1 Apr 2006 (CST)
This wiki never used WikkiTikkiTavi. Before MediaWiki, it was UseMod — User:ACupOfCoffee@ 13:36, 1 Apr 2006 (CST)
I'm on hrwiki too, but I just decided that it is an extremely cruel april fools joke. Even though I konw it's not. --Angel
Actually, it was an April Fool's joke. Check it again. They locked the database, disabled everybody's personal javascript and css, deleted the "Monobook" skin, uploaded another skin that looked like 'Tavi, renamed that one "Monobook", and unlocked the database. The whole thing was planned on IRC. — User:ACupOfCoffee@ 23:49, 1 Apr 2006 (CST)
Told you. :D -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 09:52, 2 Apr 2006 (CDT)

News Item?[edit]

I don't know if this is newsworthy or not, but I know we like to list links to pages TMBG fans will enjoy in the news section. Well, on a site called Pandora, I have created a music station called They Might Be Giants Radio (not to be confused with Radio They Might Be Giants). Is this news worthy? -AtionSong 20:56, 2 Apr 2006 (CDT)

Uh..can't anyone make an artist radio on that site by clicking Create station or whatever and typing They Might Be Giants? -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 21:00, 2 Apr 2006 (CDT)

Blank Front Page[edit]

I'm getting a completely blank page when I go to http://tmbw.net/. Anybody else getting that? LitMatch 08:03, 5 Apr 2006 (CDT)

Yes, i'm seeing that too. We'll investigate. Thanks for the heads up! --Duke33 08:14, 5 Apr 2006 (CDT)
Me three. Good thing for going through other pages... She's an Angel
Very odd. View the source of the page and not even any HTML tags show up. Vandalism? Server error?--tehbagel 15:38, 5 Apr 2006 (CDT)
Fixed.--tehbagel 15:39, 5 Apr 2006 (CDT)
What the heck? Somehow our .htaccess file (which does the redirect on the main page) got delorted! I restored it. --Duke33 20:20, 5 Apr 2006 (CDT)

Lyrics Footer[edit]

I've noticed that for some reason we're using a different nav_stub on the lyrics pages called Template:Lyrics Footer. It looks very different from the other nav_stub and I don't see any reason why we need a different one. Is there a reason? If not, the page should end: 

|}
to close off the table started in Template:Lyrics Header. Then: 
{{Nav_Stub|{{PAGENAME}}}}[[Category:{{NAMESPACE}}|{{PAGENAMEE}}]]
like all of the other pages have. You needs to replace 
{{Lyrics Footer}}

I'm sure the bot could do it. --badqueso 23:15, 15 Mar 2006 (CST)

The normal stub was too wide for the new lyrics pages, so a new footer was especially created. Also, the lyrics header is ended at the top of the page. -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 06:11, 16 Mar 2006 (CST)
I think I see what you're talking about. But if you put "|}" before it, it will close the <pre> box and the stub will appear below it instead of inside it. I tested it and it's no larger there than on any other page. --badqueso 11:25, 16 Mar 2006 (CST)

Posting tabs and lyrics is ILLEGAL.[edit]

Posting copyrighted tabs and lyrics online is illegal without explicit permission. Even reading such things would make you the equivalent of an evil music downloader. I truly hope none of the Outer Party have violated these sacred and sensible laws.[1][2]

Downloading music given out by the band for free or downloading the stuff you pay for isn't illegal, immoral, or evil. Music downloading has such a bad reputation.

They Might Be Giants are fully aware of the existence of this website, and they even linked to it in a newsletter a year or two ago. If they support the website, they obviously aren't upset about the lyrics and tabs here. If someone does want for them to be removed, they'll send Duke a Cease and Desist or something, which I seriously doubt will happen anytime in the near future, if at all. -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 07:49, 4 Mar 2006 (CST)

I have to agree with CapitalQ. Also, everyone knows you can just google "song name lyrics" and get lyrics. I mean, why would that be such a big deal? And as CapitalQ said, TMBG knows of this website. I mean, hell, if they can find a Myspace site (which there are tons of) I'm pretty sure that they can just google for themselves and find the Wikipedia page which explicitly links to TMBW. Those are my two cents on the matter. --ArAn 14:42, 5 Mar 2006 (CST)

I thought it was only illegal if you profitted (financially) from using other people's material. Or am I being naive? -Martorano

Well, it's still illegal, per se, but you most likely won't get prosecuted. - Kooky

Rarities[edit]

This has probably been discussed before, but is there a good place to buy/download TMBG rarities i.e. the Hello recordings, TMBG Unlimited stuff, etc.? Unfortunately I don't think I'd even heard of the band when these things were going on, but now I'd really like to get ahold of them. If anyone knows I'd really appreciate it. -Martorano

The only place is eBay. Except TMBG UnLtd, you can't buy that anywhere (it would be illegal). -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 12:59, 26 Feb 2006 (CST)

I haven't had much luck with eBay, actually, but thanks for the suggestion. I wonder why the Johns don't make their rarities available to download directly from their official store. I mean, it's great that they're selling albums like "Flood" and "Lincoln" but I wonder how many people are actually buying when that stuff is widely available on, say, iTunes. I've already emailed the Download Store about getting some harder-to-find stuff available; if they get a lot of requests maybe they'll think about it. So to anyone you're like me who's had trouble finding certain things, let them know! -Martorano

Suggestions?[edit]

I was wondering if there is a suggestion page anywhere out there where we can suggest things to add? Or is this it? If this is it, I think that we should have some way of seeing all the songs sung by Linnell or Flans. You know, like a page that says "Songs sung by Linnell" or something. Ohhhhh I really hope this makes sense! --ArAn 15:01, 1 Feb 2006 (EST)

Nope, this is pretty much it as far as a suggestion page goes. It's not perfect, but you can go to Linnell's page and then click on "What links here". That should give you a pretty good list of what songs they sing. See this - here --Duke33 15:23, 1 Feb 2006 (EST)
We do have an Ideas page, but this is the only place where you'll get a response.

Lyrics idea[edit]

I think it would be really neat if we linked things in the lyrics to their references, ie. Longhines Symphonette. Mattl 14:02, 25 Jan 2006 (EST)

What is this, Wikipedia? :D -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 14:03, 25 Jan 2006 (EST)

Yes :P Mattl 15:00, 25 Jan 2006 (EST)

Tour Bus Stop[edit]

I think this wiki needs a TourBusStop page for the MeatballWiki TourBus system. Agreement? Dissention? I say this because there are a couple of tours that have been suggested which include TMBW. Anybody wanna set it up? Want me to set it up? I set up the one at HRWiki. Or would everybody rather this wiki not be hooked into the TourBus system? — User:ACupOfCoffee@ @ 19:59, 2 Jan 2006 (EST)

I've honestly never heard of it...What is it?? --Duke33 20:04, 2 Jan 2006 (EST)
According to [3]
The TourBus doesn't just link wikis - there are already hundreds of link pages that do this already: InterWikiLinks, TwinPages, and plain old links. But these link pages are neither easy to find nor easy to work with: people won't find their way efficiently, and this is where public transportation steps in to help. Now there is a growing number of wikis, they have the constant need to connect and to be aware of their neighbourhood. The TourBus makes the wealth of communities much more accessible by connecting wikis according to their topics and interests.
— User:ACupOfCoffee@ @ 20:14, 2 Jan 2006 (EST)
Sounds ok to me. If you want to set it up, please feel free! --Duke33 09:56, 3 Jan 2006 (EST)
Done. Now comes the part where the page is mercilessly edited. This Might Be A Wiki:TourBusStop — User:ACupOfCoffee@ @ 23:02, 3 Jan 2006 (EST)
Ok, so now that we have the page set up here, does somebody need to set something up on the TourBus page on meatballwiki? I guess i'm still not too familiar with how that's supposed to work. --Duke33 10:15, 4 Jan 2006 (EST)
Yeah — me. — User:ACupOfCoffee@ 21:28, 17 Jan 2006 (EST)

John Isley[edit]

I saw Billy Joel's "Movin' Out" and in the Play Bill: "John Isley (Saxophones/Percussion). Featured performer: New York Horns, They Might Be Giants, Isaac Hayes..."

Exquisite Dead Guy - Alternate Version[edit]

I hope this is the correct place to post this...

I have a file with a non-album version of "Exquisite Dead Guy" purporting to be track 01 from the album "Exquisite Dead Guy". It has brassy sounds during the verses instead of strings, a different vocal track, and other small differences I haven't yet enumerated. I couldn't seem to dig up anything about this particular track or album (EP?).

Does anyone know anything about it and if so, please share.

It's totally different, but it's definitely TMBG. Sounds like a demo. -AlmostJinkies UPDATE - Actually, now that I listen closer, it sounds like a Mini Brass track. Never heard of a Mini Brass version of that though... can't find an eMusic entry for TMBG with that song either.

There's a synth playing the same part in a sawtoothish wave along with the two horns during the verse and solo horn in the first half of the bridge and two horns in harmony in the latter half.

It was one of the free songs TMBG released through eMusic before TMBG Unlimited started. (Or, at least, they released a free alternate version of Exquisite Dead Guy on an "album" called Exquistite Dead Guy. I'd have to hear and compare this version to know for sure if it's the same one.) I've been planning on adding them all to the Free Tunes page for a while but haven't gotten around to it yet. ~Drew

Well, add it! Add it!!

Okay, it's been added here: Exquisite Dead Guy (eMusic) Enjoy! ~Drew

I forgot all about those eMusic Freebies. Here's a page with a list of all eleven. I guess that pages need to be created for the other two live versions given away. -TDK 06:39, 25 Mar 2006 (CST)

Covers Page[edit]

The number of covers being made of TMBG songs is growing. We should add a category for covers and start archiving all the ones we find. --Droffats 16:34, 20 Dec 2005 (EST)

Are you thinking just one page, similar to the page we have that are covers that TMBG has done? --Duke33 20:43, 20 Dec 2005 (EST)
Yes. It would just be a list of all TMBG songs covered by other people. Each entry would consist of: What song was covered, the band that covered it, and a link to the covered song. --Droffats 21:05, 20 Dec 2005 (EST)
Sounds like a good idea to me. We could also move some of the "this song has been covered by..." trivia off the individual pages, if we did this. Go for it! --Duke33 21:20, 20 Dec 2005 (EST)

This seems like a good place to discuss Reprehensible Songs' Celebrity TMBG covers. I think it's a great idea, but IMnot-soHO, their parodies are awful. Just to show how it should be done, I intend to record a couple of celebrity parodies myself (a capella) and link them on my userpage. First tries are up. --M. Fudd 17:33, 2 Mar 2006 (CST)

Tour Question[edit]

Hey. This is going to be my first TMBG concert, and I want nothing to get into my way. I'm looking for the Philly location, and I was wondering: does Pollstar offer a way of buying tickets? I tried to find a way, but I couldn't. Is it just a place for announcing tour dates? They didn't have anything about tickets on the venue site, or Ticketmaster. Your help is greatly appreciated. Crabs Quartucci

Pollstar does not sell tickets and tickets for that particular show are not yet on sale. Usually shows at the TLA sell on ticketmaster.com, so keep your eye on there. -TDK 06:49, 25 Mar 2006 (CST)

new dial-a-song[edit]

anyone have any idea on the title or such for it? i used my cell to record it, so i could transcribe lyrics, i just have NO idea how do do all of that.

See Why Be Realistic?, our shot at the song's name. ~ Magbatz 22:46, 29 Mar 2006 (CST)

ha, i wanted to title it "we live in a dump"

And that turned out to be right! — User:ACupOfCoffee@ 09:55, 12 Apr 2006 (CDT)

Myspace Downloads[edit]

Now that the TMBG Myspace is oficially official, we should keep track of the free downloads there. I saw that they were offering Why Did You Grow A Beard so I added the link on that page. The other download up currently was already available as one of the Free Tunes, so I didn't bother linking it. LitMatch 12:05, 8 Mar 2006 (CST)

Live Album?[edit]

Check out this link: [4] It says that in June They will release a live album of a show at The Forum in London. Does anyone have any info? --BlarJotunn 11:42, 4 Mar 2006 (PDT)

Almost. It says that in June 2005 They will have released a live album. Considering that 2005 has come and passed, I think we should take that with a grain of salt. JohnB

Ratings System Adjustment?[edit]

I couldn't help but notice this shortly after the Miniature Sidewalk Whirlwind page was created:

"This song is currently ranked #22 out of 851 songs, by TMBW.Net users. (1 users have given this song an average rating of 9.)"

It doesn't seem right that a song should be ranked at all with a single vote. Is there any way to keep songs out of the rankings until a certain prerequisite number of wikians have voted on it? Or is that a dumb idea? -TDK 10:42, 10 Feb 2006 (CST)

Well, I think that it should be weighted depending on how many have voted. Okay, like if 100 people voted for it to be a 9 it should be higher than if 1 person voted for it as a 9. Does that make sense? --ArAn 13:51, 10 Feb 2006 (CST)
Yeah, i've been playing around with that idea. How about a minimum of 5 votes being required to make it eligible for rating? --Duke33 14:33, 10 Feb 2006 (CST)
Five might take awhile, but it seems like it would be the best number for a true position. -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 14:49, 10 Feb 2006 (CST)
I think it's working...please post any bugs here. --Duke33 13:35, 11 Feb 2006 (CST)

Free Tunes password[edit]

No one knows the password right now except TMBG, but they'll soon realize their error (after receiving a torrent of emails from angry fans), and then divulge the password. Stay patient until then and stop asking everywhere. This applies to everyone. -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 12:42, 11 Feb 2006 (CST)

I think I had it a four or five months ago, but that email seems to have magically disappeared (which is odd, because Gmail never gets rid of anything). But then again I could just be delusional. — User:ACupOfCoffee@ 10:34, 15 Feb 2006 (CST)

Music Video page?[edit]

Hi, I've been frequenting this wiki for about two months, and I think it's great. I was trying to see if there was a page that listed all of They Might Be Giants' music videos, but I couldn't find such a page. Unless I didn't look hard enough, I think there should definitely be a page that lists all of They Might Be Giants' official and unofficial music videos. I would certainly use that page often as a great resource to show the awesomeness of They Might Be Giants to my friends.--Tomthefirst

Videos -Ecks

Aha! Thank you very much! -Tomthefirst

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