Not crap. Very important in my musical development. I was just a wee snip, walking back and forth from junior high with Lincoln in my walkman. Yeah, I was a nerd. What, you weren't? Fuck you.

Hit and miss these days, but still worthwhile. I'm a little sad I'm going to miss them next week.

I guess on some level I qualify as part of their nerdly audience, but I like 'em.

I've always associated the They Might Be Giants crowd with the Mystery Science Theater 3000 crowd. One in the same.

Not Crap!

There's so much more to them than 'Birdhouse in your soul', which I think was their main hit in the UK. So many great songs! 'She's an Angel', 'Spider', 'Fingertips', 'Why Does The Sun Shine?'

'New York City'!

So many great songs! And also they are great live - but the crowd was extremely nerdy. Also they're making full and inspiring use of the internet to distribute their music - so I guess they are nerds in real life too!

Not crap. I get put off by the clever shit. I love the songs where they DARE you to sing along. The constant commentary on existential angst is a little too smart. McSweeney is a pretty good record.

3

Tell me that "They'll Need a Crane" is not a gorgeous song. Haters...

Heh, I'm glad to see that the votes are still a majority not-crap.

I think they're great, and to be honest, I was just listening to the songs posted up on Dial-A-Song and getting excited for the new grownups album. My mom gave me Mink Car a few years ago, and that was the last one I officially own (though I might have downloaded some of the kids music just because *blush*). It's not the best album, but it's got some solid tracks for sure.

There was definitely a change with John Henry, but I think that a lot of good has come from them exploring the full band dynamic. Their live show was pretty crazy the one time I saw them, and if they ever came near, I'd sure as hell go.

Sorry, though, I don't have a bootleg to drop on this thread, unlike the Tom Waits thread. I know I have one on CD somewhere where they close with the stuff off of Apollo ("OK, we're just gonna do 18 more songs"), but not on my hard drive or site...

Schadenfreude wrote:I've always associated the They Might Be Giants crowd with the Mystery Science Theater 3000 crowd. One in the same.

That's funny... My g/f is obsessed with MST3K but she absolutely hates TMBG.

They give me an absent-minded chuckle every now and then.

tmbg are just one of those bands, liek the smiths, that usually manage to stick out no matter what you're playing with them. i wouldn't readily play tmbg in the same social context as i would play records i generally like to play for people, but i think their music is just perfect sometimes, in certain settings (or points in one's life). it's got a lot of heart and a good deal of depth. in some ways their production aesthetic and overall philosophy aren't that challenging, and in other ways theya re and have mcuh character.

i've seen tmbg live a few times and some of their on-the-fly compositions and playing were really impressive. i think they should have gotten a more punk backing band and made a garagey-like-the-chills sort of record. instead they went kinda nickolodean-esque, as if to lend their being mostly appreciated by an icreasingly young audience a more deliberate, "i mean to do that" air. still, i like them.

my kids love em.

and I have to say, hearing my 3 year old singing about a Flying V, and watching them dance to "D is for Drums" is worth the price of the CD right there. The ABC record is awesome. The other kid record is not so popular with my kids.

I have not payed attention to their non-kid music since about 1989.