TMBW:This Might Be A Zine/Issue 4

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Welcome to Issue 4 of This Might Be A Zine, where you can get caught up on all the latest TMBG news and things, hosted on this very website, TMBW!

Big news for This Might Be A Zine![edit]

This Might Be A Zine has officially been moved to TMBW:This Might Be A Zine as a TMBW core page and split up into separate issue pages!

TMBW updates![edit]

Last month, there have been some exciting new additions and changes to the TMBW, including:

  • A new special page which allows users with concert attendance data see how many times they've seen TMBG songs live, and whether they've seen any debut performances: Special:PerformancesByUser
  • Another new special page which creates an automatic list of every TMBG song performed live, along with first/last dates and play counts: Special:SongsPerformedLive
  • The ability to quickly toggle to the previous/next concert chronologically, which has been added to the upper-right of show pages

Album 24 recording session in September[edit]

John Flansburgh has just confirmed on Tumblr that the band has one more round of recording sessions for their 24th studio album in September. [1]

We have one final round of sessions booked for September and then it will be done. So that’s what we’ll do with our summer vacations…

John Flansburgh on What's In My Bag?[edit]

John Flansburgh was on Amoeba Music's What's In My Bag? series while in San Fransisco in May! The video was released on July 7th.

YouTube
They Might Be Giants - What's In My Bag?



Happy birthday to the 1985 Demo Tape![edit]

The fourth of this month marked the 40th anniversary of the 1985 Demo Tape! We all wish the album a happy 40th birthday.

1985 Demo Tape


How did you get into TMBG?[edit]

This month, I asked TMBG fans this question:

How did you get into TMBG, and to your recollection, what was the first song you heard?

Here's what people have to say:

CapitalQ:

Like a ton of TMBG fans who were 90s kids, I first heard the band via Tiny Toon Adventures (and was pretty enamored with all the Spielberg/Ruegger WB cartoons). As such, the first TMBG song I heard would've been Istanbul followed moments later by Particle Man. While those songs stuck with me, I didn't become a fan of the band until years later when a friend in day camp burned me a few albums on CD including the just-released No!, which somehow really clicked at age 12! (I have since purchased said albums.) The first release that came out after I started getting into the band was the Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants compilation later that year, which I pleaded my mom to grab on release day at Tower Records, and which ended up being the turning point between being a regular listener and an obsessor. A few months later I saw my first TMBG show, a kids' show in NYC which featured the live debut of "Where Do They Make Balloons?", and I got to meet the Johns after at a CD signing. Not long after that I discovered TMBW, and I am still discovering it a few decades later.

Luke Hennisch:

I was introduced to TMBG as an infant, my parents were both somewhat casual fans in the 90s. Their music was always on, but particularly, as expected, all the then-released children’s albums were on (No! and Here Come the ABCs, eventually 123s and Science would join the ranks upon their respective releases). Aside from the kids albums, the Direct From Brooklyn DVD was on constantly, so much so that my older brother and I would act out the dance moves from the videos. As for what album stuck with me the hardest in my youth—it was easily Factory Showroom, which was one of the few CDs we kept nearly permanently in the car (it’s probably still in that old Honda lease we had all those years ago, wherever it is now). Because of all that, it’s hard to pinpoint a “first song”, but I always say Doctor Worm as it was my favorite as a kid. I recorded a video for it when I was really little, I wonder if that’s still on my family’s camcorder somewhere.

Wildstorkmel:

My story with TMBG started with two separate songs, both of which I consider equally important to my journey - Alphabet Of Nations and Moonbeam Rays.

When I was very young, about 2 to 3 years old, my father sat me and my sibling in front of a Here Come The ABCs dvd, as he was a casual TMBG fan, and was getting a little tired of constantly playing Laurie Berkner for us. It was one of my most vivid and joyful childhood media experiences. I loved the genre-hopping music and colorful music videos, especially all the deeply felt puppet theater puppets Robin Goldwasser made. I rewatched it so many times that I scratched the disc into unplayability. So, that would make that album's opener, the Alphabet Of Nations, the first TMBG song I ever remember hearing. The opening piano riff still gives me goosebumps to this day.

Despite my enjoyment of the album, however, I never persued TMBG beyond that for until over a decade later. I started listening to a little bit more during the second semester of my senior year of high school, dipping my toes in Pink, Lincoln, and Flood. While I was impressed by their massive output, I initally dismissed their 21st century catalog, because bands still releasing music that long would start to get stale, right? I'd soon find out during my first semester of college that I couldn't have been more wrong.

As I walked across the campus from class to class, they kept playing a certain song on the loudspeaker. I pulled out my phone and Shazamed it. "Moonbeam Rays by They Might Be Giants". Book had only been out for a about a year, so at that point, I had yet to have experienced my first studio release as a fan. I started listening to the album, alongside everything they had made since the 2000s, and suddenly became completely obsessed. I memorized the order of the discography, learned about the band's lore, and eventually got tickets to go see my first show with my dad. It was Halloween themed, so I decided to come dressed as one of Robin's puppets, Gloria Felt, from the hctABCs music videos, which was a truly satisfying full circle moment. I think Moonbeam Rays is just decent as a song, but it will forever be tied to my soul as the catalyst for my TMBG special interest, having been the first non-children's TMBG song, and one of the first songs I've ever seen then perform live.

Vimbry:

it's difficult to say exactly when I learnt about this band, or which song I heard first. to say I started listening to them almost out of defeat sounds insulting, but it's true. it feels like they've been in my life for as long as I can remember: opening reruns of Malcolm in the Middle on tv; behind some promo songs for Cartoon Network shows I loved; contributing music in the Peter Pan sequel I liked as a kid; turning up for an entire episode of the show Home Movies which I frequently watched; being part of my favourite web series Homestar Runner. "Experimental Film" is probably the first song that was identified As them.

in my late teens, a guy I'd been crushing on happened to show me the video for "Why Does The Sun Shine?" it entered regular rotation in my playlist, along with a couple other songs I'd peeped at out of curiosity over the years because of that suggestion. all these opportunities to get into the band further, but for some reason, I never did. despite that, they somehow became intertwined with these fond memories.

it wasn't until earlier this decade that I happened to read some fact somewhere of "hey. did you know They Might Be Giants did a theme for The Sims 2?" which is a series I'd always been super fond of, and had of course played and heard before. I don't know why, but this was a last straw to me. so, I finally gave in. they've followed me around for so long, I figured I'd sit down and listen to them. I tried Flood, followed by Factory Showroom in the same day, and instantly fell in love with their music. now I'm not sure what I ever did without it. or at least, without Knowing about it.

Cremetangerine:

I was one of those lucky 2000s kids who grew up with TMBG's children's music. My mom was always looking for kids' music that was informative without sounding too childish, and as a result, my earliest TMBG memory is singing along to "Z Y X" in the car. Around this time, my family would also watch Malcolm in the Middle whenever it came on at night. Now, I thought the show was boring (it wasn't animated, so it was boring and for grown-ups), but the theme song was embedded in my brain for life. I only learned years later that it was TMBG, but it came as no surprise to me by then.

Now, I'd hear TMBG songs here and there after that, but it wasn't until I met my friend Sam (hi Pencilrain!) that I started listening to Them on my own time. He was (still is) obsessed with Them, and when we were in high school, I asked him: "I've always known TMBG in passing, but where should I start if I wanted to get into them?" He sent me "Don't Let's Start," and that's the song I would consider my first time really listening to the band. Still, the rest of the album didn't stick at the time. In fact, even after buying Lincoln on vinyl in college, I still didn't exactly consider myself a hardcore fan. The final nail in my Giant coffin came a bit later. Sam would send a song or two here and there, and he'd found Back to Skull's "She Was a Hotel Detective." I was hooked. I couldn't stop playing it. There were a few months where at any point while on YouTube, that song would be one of the top suggested videos for me. I clicked on it every time. I found a cheap copy of the Back to Skull CD on Discogs as soon as I could, and everything went downhill from there. Since then, They have taken over my mind, and my computer storage. Among other things.

TitanicFog:

I got into TMBG from my parents. Actually, really it was all my dad. He had the Pink album, Lincoln, and Flood on cassette and Apollo 18, Miscellaneous T, and A User's Guide To on CD. My dad ended up buying me No!, Here Come The ABCs, and Here Come The 123s, which I loved until about age 7, when I started listening to TMBG's adult music. I don't remember the first TMBG song I heard, but one of my earliest memories was dancing around my living room with my parents and grandparents, listening to The Statue Got Me High and Spider from Apollo 18.

MoroboshiAtaru:

I first really, honestly got into TMBG sometime in mid-2019 after stumbling across Flood via YouTube recommendations. I have a vivid memory of dancing around to "We Want A Rock" in a Japanese supermarket after discovering them, and I guess I never stopped! I think I was planning to see them in 2020 when those shows came around but it was not meant to be... I did listen to They a whole bunch during the pandemic, and I think that's one of the reasons why I'm still such a fan - I do have a lot to owe to Mink Car and John Henry. As for the first TMBG song I heard, it was probably the Tiny Toons Istanbul or Particle Man videos when I was a little kid back in 2011 or 2012. I have a memory of sitting in front of the family laptop listening/watching those, so it's cool to see where that got me.

Chess:

i got into tmbg during the summer of 2020 through Lemon Demon's cover of "Birdhouse"! i can't remember exactly what about them intrigued me, maybe it was just chance that i checked them out. my first song was technically an ABCs song from my Earlier Years, probably "E Eats Everything" or "Letter Shapes". my first song as a not-baby was "The Communists Have the Music" because it was the latest song on streaming.

Ortonz:

My mom owned Flood when I was growing up in the 2000s/2010s, and I used to listen to it a lot, especially in the car, so presumably my first song would have been Theme From Flood, but the first that I distinctly remember is Dead!

BowlONudel:

so how i got into tmbg is actually through my ex bf, a few years ago,who said i would really like this album... which ended up being lincoln! It was my first album (so i guess my first song was ana ng and i fell in love!!) then soon after that listened through all their discography that i could lol.

Valerie:

I discovered TMBG through Homestar Runner in 2005 - the music video for Experimental Film. That was the first song of theirs I knowingly heard. After that, I requested a bunch of TMBG CDs from the library, and Apollo 18 was the first one that showed up, so that was my first album. See the Constellation was my first favorite song. An underrated gem!!

Ruddy:

back in 2022 I wanted to get into some 80/90s music and I asked my cousin for some recommendations. He sent me a handful of songs I enjoyed but the two that stood out the most were Doctor Worm and STD Why Does The Sun Shine? From there I started really getting into albums like Flood and Apollo 18. Now I am definitely a bigger fan than he is!

IKEA coffee table:

I got into tmbg from hearing Don't Let's Start in a Spotify mix and watching the music video on YouTube leading to me watching that old MTV performance of it being performed with Shoehorn With Teeth repeatedly and eventually checking out other songs.

TDK:

for me it was dr. demento's demented top twenty video countdown on mtv in 1988. he played don't let's start.

FloridaFlamingoGirl:

The first TMBG song I heard was the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme. However I didn't truly get into them until college, when I had heard about them a lot of places and decided it was time to check them out since I was already into whimsical alternative rock stuff. I watched the Birdhouse video on Youtube and never looked back.

SunshineMar:

I’m one of those that was first introduced to TMBG as a child. Because of this I really have no clue what my first ever TMBG song was, although I think it’s likely to be Fibber Island as the opener to No!, or some other cut off that album since it was technically the only kids TMBG album released when I was born (ABCs would come all of 4 days later). Grew up around the first 4 kids albums. The first “adult” song I heard as a kid was of course Istanbul, which I played quite a lot of in Just Dance.

About 2 years ago I had a sort of rediscovery of TMBG that came about because of a few things: early in 2023 I couldn’t get the Science version of Why Does the Sun Shine? out of my head, and then at some point that summer my dad played some of Flood for the family (starting with Your Racist Friend since it had come up in conversation), which I hadn’t heard beyond Istanbul before that point. A couple weeks later I was trying to figure out what to listen to and thought, “why not that Flood album?” And the rest, as they say, is history. Within a month or two I had heard nearly every TMBG song on Spotify.

A conversation with Mark Marek[edit]

Mark Marek is a cartoonist and animator who has worked with TMBG on a few things, the most notable being the stop motion sections of the Istanbul video and the Underwater Woman video.

1. You’ve worked with TMBG on a few things. Did you know of the band before working with them, and how did they find you?

I was not aware of the band before my first job for them. I received a call from Helene Silverman (Bar None records). I had previously done an illustration or two for her for the music/culture zine (Seattle) Rocket. My first work for TMBG was the cover of Hotel Detective.

2. As far as TMBG goes, the project you’re probably most known for is the stop motion parts of the Istanbul video. What was the process like creating the sets and figures for this video?

At that time I was trying to encourage my (illustration) hires to allow me to create sculptures. That was the case back in 1986 when I had to create a cover for my Hercules Amongst the North Americans collection. When TMBG contacted me about contributing to their video I suggested stop motion for my part (I was aware that J. Otto Siebold was also contributing). I built the set in my basement (essentially an imaginary Istanbul, but really more inspired by NYC). Having never built stop-motion characters I had no idea how to engineer the armature for animation. As a result, when I brought everything in to the animation studio (I believe it was called Caesar Video, now defunct) they had to rebuild all of the characters (or at least all the joint armature). Embarrassing.

3. Continuing from the last question, have any of the pieces from the Istanbul video survived?

I believe I have just a few pieces. I might still have King Kop. I was told that various characters were absconded with by the Johns and some of the studio staff. I had to destroy the main city set due to lack of storage space.

4. The characters in the Istanbul music video have always intrigued me. Did you design these characters yourself, and if so, is there any inspiration you took from while making these characters?

I designed the characters with the exception of a couple of cheap plastic stripper dolls. Not sure where I got them. Maybe in Chinatown? And I might have the sky backdrop rolled up somewhere (canvas). I did sneak in a couple of characters I hoped to exploit later: Hercules on a skateboard and King Kop (the cop making a King Kong wave on top of a skyscraper)…a character I was developing on the side.

5. You came back years later with your animated video for Underwater Woman. Whose idea was it for you to come work with them again? Did you come to them for work or did they ask you to do a video?

That was a case where I was working in Los Angeles at Warner Bros Animation. It just so happened I was between WB shows when TMBG reached out so it was fortunate that I had some fairly free time to work on the animation.

6. How involved was the band both in the 80s and more recent, in making music videos? Do they give you any direction or do they basically give you free rein?

Other than supplying audio they were always completely hands off. That’s very rare and obviously liberating. I had absolutely no idea, for instance, how the Istanbul video would turn out until I saw the final product. That’s always a treat.

7. How did you get into drawn/stop motion animation? Have you done anything else in the way of stop motion besides the Istanbul video? And did you start doing drawn animation before stop motion or vice versa?

I’ve always been fascinated by stop motion animation and 2D animation. Most of my animation is 2D hand drawn (on a Cintiq). Before that I was basically a character designer/board artist (Cyndi Lauper video, for instance). Istanbul is my only stop-motion project to date although I’ve been developing a version of my Hercules ATNA using hand built sets for backgrounds. It’s currently in limbo at WB due to all the streaming chaos going on right now.

8. Do you think visual art is an important part of an artist/band’s career? Could an artist/band get by without any album art or videos, just music?

Visual art can be important but I don’t think it’s a deal breaker. Honestly it’s really a pretty natural extension for most performers/musicians to want to visualize their aural work. I don’t suppose it’s absolutely necessary for a band but given the opportunity I can’t imagine an artist not wanting to involve themselves with visuals. We all want to see the “illustrated” song.

YouTube Video Of The Month![edit]

This issue's TMBG-related YouTube video of the month is from the YouTube channel peter and is a new remaster of the 2001 Thunderbird demo. Check it out!

YouTube
They Might Be Giants - Thunderbird (2001 Demo - NEW HQ REMASTER)



Community's Top 10 Favorite 1980s Songs[edit]

Below is a list put together by the TMBG subreddit and the TMBW discord of the best TMBG songs from the 1980s.

  1. Ana Ng
  2. Where Your Eyes Don't Go
  3. Don't Let's Start
  4. She's An Angel
  5. They'll Need A Crane
  6. Santa's Beard
  7. Everything Right Is Wrong Again
  8. We Just Go Nuts At Christmastime
  9. Tiny Doctors
  10. Snowball In Hell

Puzzle Page: Connections Month![edit]

TMBG 1996

Fingertips

TMBG Releases

That's the end![edit]

See you next time!

Have a great rest of your July, and thanks for reading This Might Be A Zine! Tune in next month for more neat TMBG-related things!


This Might Be A Zine is written and assembled by Sadsack07.

Issue 4 art drawn by Sam.

This Might Be A Zine name created by TitanicFog.

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