Talk:Main Page

Demo on new ParticleMen video?

[1] it sounds like Flans singing to me. does it deserve a song page?--Nosaj56 09:18, 9 September 2011 (EDT)

I would have no idea whether it merits a page or not, or what to title it if a page was made because I can't understand all of the lyrics. (Sounds mostly like "How fast is the speed of light" and "I was drunk".) I asked Flans about it on twitter and he said it's kind of a sketch of a new song, so I guess it qualifies as a demo of something. -J-Gatz

According to the TMBG newsletter that just showed up in my inbox, it's called "Read a Book." --Self Called Nowhere 18:49, 9 September 2011 (EDT)

Past Shows

I remember being fortunate to see you guys at Infest in Highriver Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in 1993, sorry to age you and myself! The show was amazing but I was the annoying broad that kept asking you to play Minimum Wage, as true gentlemen you played it for me twice and that was great. Other great bands at that festival were, The Ramones, Violent Femmes, Bad Brains! It was something I will never forget hope to see you guys again love all the new stuff and activities!

Anastasia

Hate to be the one to break this to you, but this is for talking to other wiki users, not The Johns. While they do know about and appreciate the wiki, I've gotten the impression that they use it mainly for things like checking setlists and wouldn't be paying attention to comments like this. I'd suggest using Twitter or Tumblr--Flans often responds to fans there. --Self Called Nowhere 18:08, 16 September 2011 (EDT)

Feature Request: Direct link to song performance page from Show pages

I don't really know how to describe it without going into a little detail, so let me explain. I was looking on a Show page (specifically this one and I wanted to see how many times that song has been performed. However, to do this, you currently have to go to that song's page and then click on the "x known performances" link from there. I feel like it would be easier to have a little link in the setlist next to each song that could take you to the performances page.

Is this something that would be possible to do? Or even worth doing? -WhatIsThatThing 19:00, 16 September 2011 (EDT)

It would be cool if clicking the bullet next to a song's name sent you there. It would require some template surgery and possibly stylesheet stuff depending on how you did it, and I'm not sure if others would care enough about it. It would be neat though... though I wouldn't like it if there was clutter in that thin column just for the purpose of saving a click. ~ magbatz 19:44, 16 September 2011 (EDT)

A sorta related thing I've been wishing for for a long time is a table that shows how many times every song has been performed live, in descending order, so you can see what song's been played the most without having to look at every song's page. Akagi 23:32, 22 September 2011 (EDT)

It's not really a mystery which song has been played the most, but I still like the idea of a full list, if only to compare the Top 50 or so. Perspixx 00:37, 23 September 2011 (EDT)

recent news

it looks like something's up with the main page in deciduous. specifically, the "recent news" image: it's not centred. here's a nifty screenshot: (nifty). it's happening in both safari and firefox.- Apollo (colloquia!) 17:22, 19 September 2011 (EDT)

Thanks...I found the culprit and fixed it. (FYI - it was also happening in Yuletide.) --Duke33 18:41, 19 September 2011 (EDT)

Exciting news from Flans

"We are working on a rarities comp of the listenable stuff left off Join Us." !!!!!!!!!! --Self Called Nowhere 04:51, 22 September 2011 (EDT)

I'm an idiot, but didn't he say this would be released as a podcast? --༺𝄞𝄆Ⓠⓤⓔⓛ⎈Ⓓⓞⓜⓜⓐⓖⓔ𝄇༻ 05:42, 22 September 2011 (EDT)

He said it in response to someone asking about rarities being posted as a podcast, but I don't think he would describe a podcast as a "comp." I'm taking it to mean a physical CD. (Though hearing that stuff even digitally would be exciting.) --Self Called Nowhere 06:17, 22 September 2011 (EDT)

maybe the compilation will be released November 1st. that's when he said we would be able to buy the version of Cloisonné used in the video. --Nosaj56 07:45, 22 September 2011 (EDT)

At the signing Flans and Linnell did in Cincinnati this week, Flans mentioned that a rarities compilation would be available sometime around December. He didn't give any other specific details, but perhaps this is what he's talking about. We'll just have to wait and see! --Mosesofthecows 18:00, 22 September 2011 (EDT)

"Superfueled Freaksickle - 2011 No Doubt Theatre"... Akagi 23:25, 22 September 2011 (EDT)

So, after I asked Flans the question about the rarities podcast, he responded to someone else about ads and all that and he said "We’re actually finishing up a bunch of half-done tracks started during the Join Us sessions. Those songs, along with Tubthumping, some of the live tracks made for the videos and some of the abandoned tracks from Join Us will all be part of a rarities set. Should be out relatively soon" So, I guess that means Tubthumping will actually have a studio version. - Goodtimes2

Mr. Flansburgh has confirmed the release date of the rarities comp as Nov. 1, via Twitter. Perspixx 02:20, 2 October 2011 (EDT)

Live album

For what it's worth, Flansburgh mentioned at the Louisville, KY that a live album will be available in six weeks. -thevince September 22 2011

Major Upgrade for Azure Skin

I have just deployed a major upgrade/update for the Azure skin (and a few others). If you see any problems (javascript or site look/feel), please drop a note here, or notify me directly. Thanks! --Duke33 17:06, 1 October 2011 (EDT)

It's probably not related to the azure update, but the page for 'File:300x250 iTunes TMBG 052107.jpg' doesn't display the image, and neither does the page for The Else. It happens on monobook, too. (FireFox 7.1, Win XP)--Oldpinebox 19:03, 7 October 2011 (EDT)

Gadgets? Asbestos?

What's with the weird links on the main page where the tag line should go? Is this spam? Entropy

I think so. That kind of stuff is abnormal enough to be spam. I deleted it. :) -- Buzzmusic100 ("Keep your voice down...")

Epic Fail Baloney Sandwiches

Should there be a page for this? SamuelMan36 20:52, 1 November 2011 (EDT)

I would say yes. They did it again last night in Salt Lake City as part of the Avatars of They segment. And speaking of last night in SLC, does anybody have a setlist? I'm surprised it hasn't been posted yet. Drew 01:37, 6 November 2011 (EDT)

John & John "now" pictures

Those "now" pictures on the Johns' pages are getting a bit old (especially since the flansbeard happened), and since those nice new promo pictures are up, i think we ought to utilise them! i cropped out Flans and Linnell individually from one of the photos, and i suggest that we use those (or something like those) but at a bit lower resolution. thoughts? -Apollo (colloquia!) 21:07, 6 November 2011 (EST)

I second this motion. --Self Called Nowhere 21:14, 6 November 2011 (EST)

could use a bit of croppage, but yeah, i think those are good. -- 21:17, 6 November 2011 (EST)

! -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 21:56, 6 November 2011 (EST)

Sorry, I just have to take a moment to point out my approval of the above use of BREAKING BAD MACROS. (But yes, I approve of the new photos of the Johns too!) -J-Gatz

Pencil Rain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk6qKJRariY -- Jason DeLima - ♥! - 12:50, 14 November 2011 (EST)

Piano tabs/sheet music/chords?

I think something regarding piano tabs for songs would be very nice.

this SamuelMan36 19:06, 15 November 2011 (EST)

For melodic songs and piano-y songs, a piano tab would be helpful. :) --Buzzmusic100 19:36, 15 November 2011 (EST)

unlike the vast majority of the guitar/bass/drum tabs we have, piano tabs would be incredibly subjective and open to individual interpretation. there'd be constant editing due to disagreements and differing opinions, etc. while there are exceptions (e.g. dead, december/may), in general i don't believe this to be a very viable namespace. -- 19:43, 15 November 2011 (EST)

Article in The Washington Post

Good afternoon.

Just wanted to let you all know that They appeared in the Sunday Style section of The Washington Post. The article should be on the Post's website by now. A friend of a friend that I know happened to write the article for the Post and also interviewed the Johns by telephone. That friend says that she will probably give me a MP3 of the interview, but I doubt that I will be able to share it. If I am, however, you guys will be the first to hear it. Thanks.

--Sargon-- 16:05, 20 November 2011 (EST)

That article actually went up on Friday. I linked to it in Current Events but it got taken down. I think it is actually much better-written than a lot of articles we see about TMBG lately. It's here if anyone wants to see it. --Self Called Nowhere 20:29, 20 November 2011 (EST)

They Might Be Superheroes

The Line it is Drawn, a weekly feature at ComicBookResources has artists' renderings of what certain famous people would be like as Superheroes, and the Johns have been included! How awesome is that?

-- BigMike20X6

EMERGENCY MINK CAR UPDATE!

Attention all great users of TMBW!!! Mink Car is now available for download on iTunes!!! Go forth and purchase it!

Go!

--Sargon-- 16:24, 3 December 2011 (EST)

The Flansburgh House

Not sure if this is worthy of the main page since there was already a similar article earlier in the year, but there is a nice piece on the preservation of Flansburgh's childhood home in today's New York Times, that includes a picture of his mom with the house. It is here for anyone interested. --BlueCanary 11:54, 4 December 2011 (EST)

Horse With No Name

The AV Club has posted a live video of the AV Club performing A Horse With No Name with TMBG. Check it: avclub.com

already???

"@tmbg 2012. New tour. Then a new album. What a great world we get to live in." if this isn't a cryptic indication of a new album for 2012, then i don't know what is. -Apollo (colloquia!) 19:15, 15 December 2011 (EST)

Holy crap. Like, wow. Don't look too cryptic to me, though. ~ veggieman 20:59, 15 December 2011 (EST)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! --Self Called Nowhere 22:31, 15 December 2011 (EST)

Go boys go! ~ magbatz 22:41, 15 December 2011 (EST)

I imagine it's probably either a children's album or a live album. Wasn't there something about an "Avatars of They album" for 2012 in a newsletter a while back? Akagi 19:05, 6 January 2012 (EST)

Here Come the 123s DVD Being Gold

Slight problem with this bit of info: there is no Here Come the 123s DVD. For that release there was only the combo release of CD and DVD together. I was pretty sure about this but I just double-checked with our resident walking TMBG discography encyclopedia, aka Ant, and he confirms it, and there's nothing here on the wiki. I don't know how there could be a secret one that managed to sell 500,000 copies so, yeh, I'm pretty sure this is wrong. (I've never heard of a DVD getting a status like gold, anyway I thought that was just for records, but I could be wrong about that.) Not sure if Danny misspoke and was talking about the album itself or what. --Self Called Nowhere 04:05, 19 December 2011 (EST)

I agree with your assessment. I think we can reasonably assume that the whole album is gold. --Duke33 12:25, 19 December 2011 (EST)

Accordion help!

Any tips for trying to figure out how to play TMBG songs on accordion?? I just can't figure out some of the chords.

here on the wiki, even though the pages are called "guitar tab", most of them just have chord lettering. you can play these chords on either end of the accordion. accordion bass is tuned in fifths, here's a map to get you started. also, practice a lot. and have fun!

fs vinyl

WHAT -Apollo (colloquia!) 18:26, 9 January 2012 (EST)

yeah i'm gonna wait a while to add that shit to /rd. fs wtf. -- 18:32, 9 January 2012 (EST)

According to this post, it looks like a double LP is in the works for John Henry as well: [2] --Duke33 12:33, 10 January 2012 (EST)

It looks like they are starting where they left off, and if it goes well they are going to keep going, presumably until The Else (unless they are planning to do the kids albums too). Either way, I'm hoping they re-release Apollo 18 too, because it's hard to get. Also, I'm saving my money for these. --Yamfox 20:43, 10 January 2012 (EST)

I was able to get some more info. The LPs are being mastered by Dave Eck from Lucky Lacquers, and are being pressed by Rainbo. Factory Showroom is coming first, with John Henry coming later in the year. Also, they are unfortunately being pressed from CDs, but they are copies of the (likely 16/48k digital) master, and are not the retail versions. Factory Showroom is coming out in March, and John Henry in the summer.--Yamfox 21:58, 10 January 2012 (EST)

I wonder if Token Back to Brooklyn is going to be on it? I would think not, since it's not on the iTunes version, but maybe there's a sneaky way to hide it on the record. — User:ACupOfCoffee@ 14:18, 16 January 2012 (EST)

The only way to hide it on the record would be to put it after a locked groove (like the hidden sound at the end of Radiohead's Kid A) but that would require some serious cutting expertise, and I would rather have less time per side as to have a better quality LP. Besides, if it is NOT on the Factory Showroom LP, then that might increase our chances of seeing a Long Tall Weekend re-release on vinyl (if you think Til My Head Falls Off and I Can Hear You would be awesome on vinyl, just imagine Lullabye to Nightmares and Edison Museum). --Yamfox 23:31, 17 January 2012 (EST)

Actually, Edison Museum is already on vinyl. --Self Called Nowhere 00:28, 18 January 2012 (EST)

Yeah, but it's not exactly the same recording. It is a longer version of the same recording, though, which means you're technically right, I guess, but it's also nearly impossible to find. Just sayin'. -Drew 02:41, 6 February 2012 (EST)

Yes, "Token Back To Brooklyn" is on the LP, after about a minute of silence after "The Bells Are Ringing". --Yamfox 11:05, 2 April 2012 (EDT)

looks like it was definitely sourced from CD masters. loads of compression, and the spectrals have nothing but traces above ~24khz. combined with the extra generations the sound is going through, it is objectively worse than the cd. (also it just sounds flat and lifeless to me). -- 17:21, 5 April 2012 (EDT)

I think you're being a little harsh. It's cut quiet, and it's certainly a "warm" sounding master, but it's beyond listenable and the bass has a pretty decent punch. On a brighter cartridge like the AT-440MLA I could see this having a lot of energy. And I don't think that it's too terribly compressed at all, the drums still punch nicely. Also, the actual quality of the pressing is better than Join Us (although not nearly as good as The Else), and there's no sibilance or other nasty distortions. And not being hi-rez is no surprise, the album was mixed directly to DAT, it never existed in a higher resolution. Overall, although I would recommend they master with a bit more treble next time, I'm still going to spin this regularly. And I'll buy whatever represses they come out with.

BTW, how is the original Apollo 18? I'll never be able to afford one... --Yamfox 19:37, 13 April 2012 (EDT)

this looks like an awful lot of compression. also there is quite a bit of inherent surface noise, which is just sad. i agree the manufacturing is in the realm of join us, but that's not really a compliment. a18 sounds pretty stellar, it's worth the investment. -- 20:05, 13 April 2012 (EDT)

I think that surface noise such as dust might just be more apparent because of the quiet cutting. I cleaned mine first, and the vinyl itself isn't that noisy at all. Not as dead silent as The Else, but better than some other vinyl I've purchased recently. BTW, here's what Spiraling Shape looks like on my rip, (CD here). Audition/Soundbooth does a pretty bad job of showing drum hits in the waveform. I mean, the thing is no 180 gram Steve Hoffman mastered revelation, but for TMBG on vinyl I'll take what I can get. The one album that badly needs a good remaster is The Spine, though. The CD sounds so awful. Also, thanks for telling me about Apollo 18, I'd love to own it, but considering a re-issue is in the works it's currently 3rd on my "must own" cue (behind Soul Coughing's "El Oso" and My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless") --Yamfox 22:31, 13 April 2012 (EDT)

Spider sampled

Spider is sampled about 3:00 into this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQtWY-ZxFTw --Yamfox 22:50, 11 January 2012 (EST)

magnet guest editors

though it is perhaps not exactly current events material, John Linnell was a guest editor on the Magnet magazine blog yesterday, and he put up a really neat video about deep space exploration from 2009's TED. Here's the thing! -Apollo (colloquia!) 15:54, 16 January 2012 (EST)

Further proof that John Linnell is the most ADORABLE/NERDY PERSON EVER TO EXIST. (Because, you know, that has not been documented enough yet.) --Self Called Nowhere 00:31, 18 January 2012 (EST)

well apparently this was just from the thing they did in 2009—i was mislead by a tweet of carolyn's, and i guess i didn't notice the date. WOOPS. -Apollo (colloquia!) 23:09, 19 January 2012 (EST)

WMNF

I'm at work, so i can't check it right now. Can someone else check, and see if TMBG was on this recording of WMNF's afternoon show? --Duke33 12:34, 8 February 2012 (EST)

that's what the 2012-02-07a page is... -- 12:58, 8 February 2012 (EST)

Ah, I hadn't seen that page yet. --Duke33 13:46, 8 February 2012 (EST)

WNRN appearance

Did anybody snag this appearance yesterday? It was already over by the time I woke up. --Self Called Nowhere 23:26, 17 February 2012 (EST)

It's up on their site now. Pretty long set, and it was good. The only bad thing was that the DJ kept goofing on Linnell's name and the name of the songs. --Duke33 10:26, 18 February 2012 (EST)

New "song"?

They just posted this today...should we make a new song page for it? What would the title be? "Hey Man, I Saw Your Band"? It's more like an announcement than a song, especially with Linnell's narration near the end. Also, there's a bizarre less-than-one-second image of two chihuahuas in there. [3] --MisterMe 17:02, 29 February 2012 (EST)

A show with O We as the theme!

Figured this was noteworthy - I live in Southern Vermont and there's a television show here with "O We" as the theme and with a couple TMBG references. It's pretty funny too: [4]

Source?

Can someone give the source to this news? (March 5, 2012): "Asbestos Records has announced that they will be pressing vinyl copies of Flood and Apollo 18 this year!" --Yamfox 19:16, 5 March 2012 (EST)

Looks like that information was posted here, on their FB page. https://www.facebook.com/AsbestosRecords/posts/10150588957492322 -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 21:38, 5 March 2012 (EST)

older live shows download gone for good?

so going through a TMBG phase again and there's a lot to catch up on. Through the wonders of google I found this page http://www.theymightbegiants.com/archived-shows/ but all the links go to theymightbedownloads.com which doesn't exist anymore. Did these files get moved to somewhere else and just didn't get updated? I'm assuming these are the same shows that they were selling online a few years back.

Why hasn't anyone made a site for the stumpbox disks yet, been looking for those for at least 15 years now with no luck.

those shows are no longer available to purchase, and i believe brad spoke with the band's management, which stated they would probably not be available in the future, either. as far as stumpbox goes, i know quinn has asked about hosting the files on her site and gotten a firm "no". (there are some other neat things on her site, though, like radio appearances and a few cool shows and you can find those here.) you might find stumpbox somewhere if you ask around in other facets of the tmbg fandom, but i think there's a rule against posting links to that sort of material uploaded to filesharing websites on tmbw. -Apollo (colloquia!) 15:43, 7 March 2012 (EST)

Azure

Where has the time went? Can everyone believe that our Azure skin is 5 years old today??? --Duke33 16:01, 17 March 2012 (EDT)

TV Stuff

Couple of recent media appearances that were pretty cool: last week, when Bruce Springsteen was on Jimmy Fallon, The Roots played "Boss of Me" as his walk-on music (never thought I'd hear the Roots cover TMBG, but here you go!). Also, "Robot Parade" played during the end credits of last night's Simpsons. --Oddjob 11:49, 19 March 2012 (EDT)

Apollo 18 interactive fiction tribute

weird thing that a lot of people put a lot of work into, probably doesn't belong on the front page but seems good anyway: http://pr-if.org/event/apollo-18/

Official Discussion for "This Day in TMBG History" TMBW Project

Hi guys! If you follow @tmbg on Twitter, you may have spotted some busyness earlier today about a "Today in TMBG" project for TMBW when John Flansburgh came up with the idea...

Discussion moved to Talk:This Day In TMBG History! -CapitalQ ♫ talk ♪ 17:40, 27 April 2012 (EDT)

four whole seconds

let's call this edit "archival" -Apollo (colloquia!) 15:47, 8 May 2012 (EDT)

in other news: "They Might Be Giants ‏@tmbg Today's studio totals: three songs tracked. seven cups of coffee consumed." (that was fast) -Apollo (colloquia!) 21:28, 8 May 2012 (EDT)

What's this?

http://tmbg.com/files/Untitled.m4a It appears to be from November. ~ veggieman 21:25, 9 May 2012 (EDT)

iirc it was something that was posted on twitter, but i could be wrong cause i don't use twitter and heard about it secondhand. -- 21:29, 9 May 2012 (EDT)

ant is right about that, just something from twitter; flans and someone else singing "crocodile rock" or something. -Apollo (colloquia!) 21:33, 9 May 2012 (EDT)

The "someone else" is Joco IIRC. --Self Called Nowhere 21:48, 9 May 2012 (EDT)

It is indeed Jonathan Coulton, and they were singing in the van while Coulton was driving the two of them to the John Hodgman show in Seattle that night. -J-Gatz 14:59, 10 May 2012 (EDT)