Mailing List Archive/2003-10-10
IN THIS EMAIL: Bed Bed Bed arrives at the end of Oct. Order now at Amazon! Download new "Idlewild" MP3 at tmbg.com! TMBG Clock Radio is updated: McSweeny's disc highlights on EMS, many new tracks on AM Check out the total makeover of giantkid.net
coming this week!
puppet show and they might be giants coming to symphony space oct 25! please tell everyone with kids
New Flansblog at the end of this message: "The True but Grizzly Tale of My Appearance on the PBS News" Link to TMBG on BBC tonight
TMBG's "BED, BED, BED" NEW BOOK AND CD PACKAGE OUT SOON. ORDER NOW AT AMAZON
This is the ponderously long link...
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743250249/qid=1065739411/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_ 1/102-3546882-5824123?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
This full color, 48 page hardcover book illustrates 4 original They Might Be Giants recordings on the CD included. The songs are "Impossible" (with Robin "Goldie" Goldwasser singing the "Octofish" role), "Happy Doesn't Have to Have an Ending" (with a short rap ode to Peter Tork), "Idlewild" (that's a state of mind), and a radical reworking of "Bed, Bed, Bed, Bed, Bed" into a lullaby featuring Kimya Dawson of New York anti-folk legends the Moldy Peaches, as well as Dan "The Machine" Levine holding it down on the tuba.
The book is designed to help facilitate the expediting of the wee ones to slumberland, and over the course of the four songs, the tempos wind down and the book expands to classic picture book pacing. Marcel Dzama's illustrations are a revelation. (His background is in fine arts, and he has a very luxurious folio of his adult work out on McSweeney's Publishing right now). In the context of "Bed, Bed, Bed," his work seems to reside somewhere around early Maurice Sendak and Edward Gorey; elegant and otherworldly with small absurd details that will delight young and old.
Amazon is currently taking orders at the special sale price of just $11.87 at the link above, and we want to wholeheartedly encourage everyone to by two copies at that insanely low price (because this is absolutely THE perfect gift for any child this holiday season). Amazon is so totally together: they actually can sell this fat little package at that tiny price (we'd lose money at our mail order at that price, but we're guessing they got fancy book-bots doing the heavy lifting.)
Please pass this along to all your NY-area parental pals They are counting on you!....
CELEBRATE THE RELEASE OF THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS' NEW BOOK AND CD SET "BED, BED, BED" SPECIAL AFTERNOON FAMILY SHOWS AT SYMPHONY SPACE SAT. OCT 25 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 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 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 but they are going fast- Symphony Space Oct. 25 11 AM (!) and 2 PM For tickets go to this link http://www.symphonyspace.org/genres/eventPage.php?genreId=5&eventId=623
The new book, robot climbing toys and comically tiny t-shirts with the words "They Might Be Giants" printed on them will be for sale.....
Flansblog: "The True and Grizzly Tale of My Appearance on the PBS News" A couple of days ago I got a phone call from Washington DC asking me if I was available to be on the PBS News Hour with Jim Lehrer to discuss with Ray Suarez the recent lawsuits brought by the RIAA against illegal file-sharers. Like all my muddled, contrarian political views, I felt I had a rather thoughtful assessment of this hot-button issue, and was excited to be asked. I can't even say I felt qualified to be an actual news pundit, but hell, I'm already talking back to the TV--why not be on it! So I went to the studio, which actually consisted of a small reception area with an audio mixing console behind the desk and a set of tiny windowless rooms. Each room was set up with a remote camera and hooked up to a satellite that went to whoever hired the studio for the link up. The studio folks hooked me up with an earpiece, and then strung a microphone under my shirt. I could touch each wall to the left and the right. Then right as I was about to go on the air, a large and loud group of people entered the reception area right outside the door--my wife Robin tells me it was the athletes who were going to be interviewed on "The Best Damn Sports Show." The woman who had been assisting me to get on the air disappeared into the crowd and closed the door. It all felt kind of like when the dentist takes an x-ray of your teeth. Then in my earpiece I heard the reassuring voice of Ray Suarez. We were on the air. He introduced me and my counter-pundit, a songwriting fellow from Nashville. The songwriter explained that he was a regular joe, with a wife and a mortgage. It's just that his job "happened to be writing the songs that millions of people want to hear" and he felt file-sharing was robbing him of his livelihood. I suspect he was a secret shill for the RIAA, but who knows. (A few years back I shared a music panel on VH1 with a "music historian," an Englishman with a disturbingly similar demeanor to Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits, who was there to discuss the Beatles' new compilation. Then, at the end of the show, one of the hosts revealed to me that the "historian" was really just a DJ-with who was hired on to the staff of Capitol Records solely to be on call as a "Beatles Historian" in order to promote the band's reissue activities in the most glowing way possible. This affable handsome Nashville guy had the same over-earnest artificial guilelessness.) So then the conversation came to me. Ray asked me what I thought of the lawsuits. I started arted to to talkalk and thenen then realized ized thatat the delayay of of thee broadcasts was in my-eye voice-oice in nin and and that at it it wasn't t going going awayay. It was was louder er than an my my own own voice. I I feltelt like I was uz drugged ugged it it was uz impos pos ible ible to con sen sen trait ate but but I was on teeteeveevee withit Rayay Suarezzz and nd d I hadad to makeake sensense.... Well, I got through it but it felt like my brain was in a washing machine. I felt a little embarrassed that I couldn't be the hard-hitting snappy pundit I dreamed I would be. I guess all the jocks had distracted the woman at the little audio mixer and she forgot to turn down the broadcast feed in my earpiece. I hope Ray doesn't think I need an intervention.... Til we blog again- JF
Listen to TMBG on the BBC Radio program "The Jonathan Ross Show" including new song "Stalk of Wheat." It's only up til tomorrow morning-so check it out now....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/ross/playlist.shtml
