They Might Be Playing They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Playing They Might Be Giants (also known as TMBG.love) is an annual 12-hour radio show that began in November 2014 on Mankato, Minnesota's KMSU ("The Maverick") program Shuffle Function, to honor James Ensor's death.
The program's original manifesto reads as follows:
Today's "They Might Be Giants" Day Sponsors -- Tom and Chantill -- believe in 3 basic truths. ONE: TMBG is the greatest band in America. TWO: KMSU is the second-greatest radio station in America. THREE: James Ensor, Belgium's famous painter, died on this day 65 years ago. If no radio station has ever before dedicated an entire day to playing They Might Be Giants, then we as a society need to ask ourselves not only "why?" but also "WHO???" and "WHAT???"
Contents
Past Shows[edit]
Thanks to the non-commercial radio format, KMSU is able to set aside an uninterrupted 12 hours on or around James Ensor's death day for a marathon focusing on the music of TMBG. The hosts take song requests from all over the world, read out personal stories submitted by listeners, and host polls or voting for a coloring contest during the event. In 2015, John Flansburgh found out about the radio marathon and called in to express support. Since then, John and John have typically called in each year for interviews, with questions taken from radio listeners ahead of time.
Since 2017, the entire broadcast has been recorded and posted to the TMBG.love Youtube account in the weeks after the show. (Interview segments are available for all years, but due to copyright strikes, the full audio does not always stay up.)
2016[edit]
- Fan recording, part 1 (5:47:19)
- Fan recording, part 2 (3:54:08) (There is a break in between the two parts where the stream was interrupted.)
2017[edit]
A TMBG-themed cover show took place at the What's Up Lounge in Mankato after this year's broadcast.
2018[edit]
During his 2017 call-in, John Flansburgh noticed that the band's 2018 tour would bring them near the KMSU station, and offered to stop by. On March 13, 2018, the band visited the station for an in-person interview.
This year featured a short call-in from Danny Weinkauf, in addition to both Johns.
2019[edit]
2020[edit]
2024[edit]
Because the band was touring overseas during this year's marathon, the interview segments were recorded in advance.
2025[edit]
Because the band was busy traveling to a show during this year's marathon, only John Linnell was able to briefly call in. However, the band "called in" from their soundcheck to play several songs live on air during the final hour.