"Who's They May Be Giants?"
Official web site: http://www.tmbg.com/
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John and John found popular success with this album, particularly with "Particle Man" and the cover of "Istanbul". I don't much care for "Istanbul" and a few other songs, but the songs on this disc that I do like are among my very favourite TMBG songs. "Your Racist Friend" bugs the crap out of my inner grammar pedant. "I know politics boreS you", dammit! |
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Apollo 18(1992)
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Very good CD, my favourite until Mink Car came out. Tracks 17-37 are listed on the CD simply as "Fingertips" (and as track 17—"Space Suit" is listed next as track 38). I saw Them live in 2004 and 2007, and the "Fingertips" suite was a trip both times. How many other bands have mentioned the echidna (spiny anteater) in any of their songs? The CD liner lists an incorrect phone number for Dial-a-Song. |
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Why Does the Sun Shine?(1993)
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Good single/EP. The title track is a cover of a 1959 educational recording; "Jessica" is a cover of the Allman Brothers' instrumental; "Whirlpool" is a cover of the Meat Puppets' song. This recording of "Spy" is much better than the John Henry version. |
John Henry(1994)
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My least-favourite TMBG album. It was Their first with a full band, but I don't think that's related. I don't think the near-complete lack of accordion after "Subliminal" is it, either, but it sure didn't help. Hudson Shad, not John and/or John, sings "O, Do Not Forsake Me." |
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Factory Showroom(1996)
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Decent album. I like most of the songs. Hidden song before track 1, "Token Back to Brooklyn". |
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Then: The Earlier Years(1997)
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Disc 1:
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Good set. Disc 1 is the band's self-titled debut followed by related EP tracks (20-27) and previously-unreleased material; disc 2 is Their second album, Lincoln, also with related EP tracks (19-26) and more bonus material. The EP tracks from both discs essentially replace Miscellaneous T. For me, disc 1 has the better EP tracks, while disc 2 has the better album and unreleased material. Disc 1's untitled track is part of an inadvertent message left by a caller (and conferenced-in friend) to the band's Dial-a-Song service (+1 718-387-6962) when it was still running on an answering machine. More of the recording was included in one of the band's 2006 podcasts. Not that any of them are particularly bad, but I can still see why the previously-unreleased tracks were so, except for "Now That I Have Everything". Fun song. The bonus "Which Describes" is pretty interesting, too. Different key and different instrumentation—guitar and drum machine instead of synthesizer. Seriously, what could be better than "The Famous Polka"? The "Particle Man" with the schoolkids is a hoot. |
Severe Tire Damage(1998)
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OK live/greatest-hits album. The first two tracks were new material. "Doctor Worm", at least since 2004, is performed live with John's accordion replacing the horn section. I love the jammin' accordion solo at the end of "Particle Man". Seven unlisted tracks follow "About Me". They seem to have been ad-libbed at one concert and have a Planet of the Apes theme. |
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Mink Car(2001)
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Excellent album, or at least my favourite. "Mr. Xcitement" features M. Doughty, formerly of Soul Coughing. I heard "Wicked Little Critta" on Dial-a-Song a couple years before Mink Car came out and about died laughing when I recognised it on the CD. I never seem to get tired of "Man, It's So Loud In Here". "Another First Kiss" is a nice, slowed-down version of "First Kiss" from Severe Tire Damage. John, John, and drummer Dan Hickey appeared on TechTV's Screen Savers in May of 2003 and performed "Wicked Little Critta", "Another First Kiss", and "Au Contraire" (a song from later albums). That perfomance of "Wicked Little Critta" is another song I never get tired of. |
No!(2002)
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An album for kids. Some of it is just too kid-oriented for this old guy, but I like all but about a half-dozen songs. In particular, I can't get enough of "Four of Two"—it's very accordion-y. Bassist Danny Weinkauf sings "Balloons"; Robin Goldwasser, who also appeared on a Mono Puff album, sings "In the Middle"; Nicholas Hill sings "The Edison Museum". |
Indestructible Object(2003)
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OK little EP. "Am I Awake?" is the best, but "Ant" is all right, too. The perfomance of "Au Contraire" on The Screen Savers is far superior to this one or the one on The Spine, not that I don't like the mixes on the CDs. But I never get tired of that live "Au Contraire". |
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The Spine(2004)
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Pretty good, but it's no Mink Car or Apollo 18. Only 36 minutes long. That's some average song length. "Memo to Human Resources" is sort of dull and probably didn't need to be on two albums. This mix of "Au Contraire" has a guitar solo instead of Indestructible Object's flute solo. John and John appeared on TechTV's Screen Savers in late 2003 and performed "Stalk of Wheat" for the first time ever. ("Check out how we don't know how to play it!" —John) The other song They played on that show was an odd version of "Particle Man", with John on guitar and John on vocals and Stylophone. |
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The Else(2007)
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Took me a while to get into this one, and I still never get too excited about it, but there's not a bad song in the bunch. Tracks 1, 9, and 10 are favourites. The "Mesopotamians" t-shirt I bought at a concert is my first red shirt in about 15 years. |
Nanobots(2013)
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