Lyrics:Studio 360 Segment 1
| Studio 360 Segment 1 |
| By: They Might Be Giants |
| Year: 2003 |
KA: I'm Kurt Anderson, and we have brought Studio 360 to Coney Island. My guests today are John Flansburgh and John Linnell. In other words, the wonderful band They Might Be Giants. They have been playing together for more than 20 years and on the Studio 360 boombox here on the beach today, I've got what is now, surely, their best-known song. [Boss of Me plays] JF: Wow, that's loud. [laughter] JF: Cool— JL: It's appro— JF: ...Beach! JL: It's appropriate. KA: And that's of course "You're Not the Boss of Me", which is the theme song for Malcolm In the Middle. Both of you live in Brooklyn? JF: Yes. JL: That's right. KA: And here we are in Brooklyn. JL: Yes. JF: Yes, a very unusual part— KA: Are you guys regular Coney Island habituates? JF: Yeah, I came here last year to go to the Coney Island Museum, which is a whole other kind of cultural center, but that's a real nighttime freak show, rather than the daytime Coney Island boardwalk freak show. But, Coney Island is— is so different than a lot of other— JL: Freak shows. JF: Beach, beach places. You know, it's very uh, bluesy in a way. JL: I've come here in the wintertime and it's a really rarified scene here then. 'Cause most everything is shut but it's got a real vibe. KA: I'm— People talk at all kinds of beaches and all kinds of islands about "Oh, winter is the time to be there." JF: Right. JL: It's a dark scene, it's very— JF: Yeah, winter in Maine, it really gets you to the, you know, the Katharine Hepburn in your soul. JL: Right. JF: Um, I don't know, I mean, we're east coast people and we're not— we're not player haters, we— you know, we love the west coast and everything, but there is something very uh, very seasonal the life on the beach on the east coast and I think, you know, loving the beach as a New Englander is like, it's not that different than being a Red Sox fan or something, you know, ultimately it's all gonna— it's gonna go terribly wrong come uh, September. KA: You obviously work hard: you tour a lot, you make music, you made this film Gigantic, the documentary celebrating yourselves and your lives, in Gigantic there's a wonderful moment in the— in the film: a— a— a piece of tape from when you were playing on the Tonight Show with Doc Severinsen— JF: Right. KA: Uh, was it— that— was that just sort of goofy and wonderful to— to— to— JF: It was very exciting. JL: It was— it was utterly nerve-racking. At the time it seemed like a disaster and— and seeing the clip in AJ's movie was um, a big surprise 'cause I— my memory was that we completely screwed up. We— I thought— I mean we played the thing really fast and it just seemed like the most nerve-racking experience of our lives and it actually— we look very comfortable on the screen, for some reason. KA: And, of course in that instance you played with a whole brass section and I'm very happy to report that you've brought a big brass section today that— JF: Yes! JL: Yeah. JF: Including Mark Pender from the Conan show. So, that'll be cool. KA: Let's head over to the— to the Coney Island uh, Museum where your band is. And we get to walk toward this amazing vista of new and old and kinda crappy and wonderful, Astroland rocket ships and a great Ferris Wheel— JF: The Wonder Wheel. And— but the Cyclone is no longer with us, is it? JL: Uh, no that's the Cyclone right there, that wooden— JF: Oh, oh, oh, oh right, right, right. JL: That wooden roller coaster. KA: Which is so dwarfed by modern, gigantic, Six Flags-style roller coasters. JF: Yeah, yeah. JL: But— but much more terrifying. JF: Yeah. JL: Um, if you've ridden it because if you— JF: It's much more dangerous. JL: Because it's made out of wood it makes way more racket and you have a real sense that you could very easily die. JF: Yeah. ...Toys and pacifiers... KA: See, but this is— it seems to me now that it has sort of— it is not as decrepit as it was a few years ago, it's right at a good level of ramshackleness— JF: Right. KA: Not too slick, but not too depressingly messed up. JF: Well, Coney Island and Asbury Park and all these other kind of east coast places, they're always getting the like "Oh it's coming back!" and you never know what to think, you know, if— like, "Is it— is it really gonna come back?" Like— JL: "Was it ever there?" JF: Right— [laughter] JL: Apparently, like, when it started, it was considered this incredibly disreputable place, 'cause it— 'cause originally it was where sailors came to visit prostitutes, I guess and... KA: And for the record, I see no sailors or prostitutes, apparently. JL: Yeah, they're all— they're all— they've moved on. JF: No. Alright we're uh, we're entering the very narrow and steep hallway up the stairs to the Coney Island Museum, here. [tuba noises] JF: Hey fellas! ?: Hey Johnny! JF: Uh, we're in the main room of the, uh, Coney Island Museum, where uh, all the shows happen. The burlesque shows and everything— everything else. KA: But we can still, out the window here, see the Cyclone roller coaster beyond— JF: Yes. KA: And if you really stand on your tip toes you can see the edge of the ocean. JF: But keeping with the feeling of modern-day Brooklyn, they've made sure that windows actually do not open...on this 90-degree day. KA: Um, there's enough equipment here for a symphony orchestra and I guess you guys should uh, plug it in and tune it up— JL: See if it works. KA: And get ready to go. JL: Yeah. JF: The They Might Be Giants tiny symphony is about to begin. Okay. So are we ready? Are we ready now? Shall we uh, record it? KA: What are we going to hear first? JF: Uh, this first song is entitled "Idlewild" and it's— it's kind of a— a dream of uh, a perfect day in New York City, um, sometime in the past. KA: It's all yours.
Sun shines bright on a hot summer day Roller coasters await See the sideshow at Steeplechase Park Test your strength, guess your weight La la la, la la la La la la, la la la Take a trip in a skywriting plane Loop-de-loop for a while When we're done writing words in the sky We'll land in Idlewild Idlewild, Idlewild Idlewild, Idlewild
JF: Well that's Nathan Durham on the tuba. [applause] JF: Mr. Dan "The Machine" Levine on the trombone. [applause] JF: Mark "The Love Man" Pender on the uh— on the uh— JL: That's right. JF: Trumpet and the— JL: You can hear the police sirens just as you introduce Mark. JF: Right, right. [applause] JF: Car 54, where is he? And um— and uh, of course Marty Beller on the drums, on the tiny drums. |
