Open Mike Eagle
Open Mike Eagle (Michael W. Eagle II) is Chicagoan rapper, podcaster and comedian.
Eagle has cited They Might Be Giants as a tremendous influence on his songwriting, often combining the band's characteristic dismal lyrics set to upbeat instrumentals with the rhythmic, punchline-esque delivery of '90s Chicago hip hop.
He has sampled the lyrics of "Don't Let's Start" in "Sadface Penance Raps", "Weep Day" in "Qualifiers", and "Particle Man" in "Universe Man" (which also served as inspiration for the title).
On November 21, 2017, TMBG announced a music video contest for "I Left My Body", for which Eagle was chosen to be the judge. On March 13, 2018, Eagle selected David Kreutzer's music video for the grand prize, with the videos directed by Victor Fitzsimons and Sascha Loffl selected as runner ups.
Eagle has covered TMBG various times. In 2016 he uploaded a "hotel room dance cover" of "Cowtown" to his YouTube channel, and in 2018 covered it live on the JoCo Cruise, accompanied on guitar by Jonathan Coulton.
In July 2023, Eagle covered "Birdhouse In Your Soul" at one of Paul F. Tompkins' Varietopia live shows, featuring Jordan Katz on trumpet.
External links[edit]
- Open Mike Eagle singing "Birdhouse in Your Soul", July 2023- Official website
- Wikipedia article
