Listen, Follow, Share: Life Mixtape
A little over a week ago. I had the chance to see They Might Be Giants at the Crystal Ballroom. I have been to countless shows at the Crystal over the years, usually with my brother. But we had never seen so many people at the there, as we did last Thursday. By the time we walked in (they were just finishing playing "You and Your Racist Friend") there were people stretched from the stage all the way to the bar and entrance doors. It was an insane amount of people.
I first encountered "They Might Be Giants" in my 9th grade year at JB Thomas Jr. High. I was one of the two tuba (Sousaphone!!!) players in the Jr. High band. A group of friends in our school band, Rob F., Shawn C. and Scott G. put together a lip sync for our annual competition to the songs: "Lie Still Little Bottle" and "Cowtown" from TMBG's 1988 release Lincoln. For some reason musical memories tend to stick in my mind, and these songs made a huge impression. They were unlike anything I had been hearing on the radio. This was one of the musical experiences that helped me escape the prison of Top 40 bland-pop-and-ballads. Modern Rock. College Rock. Indie Rock. Whatever you want to call it. I don't think they ever fit neatly into any category except, people making music they found interesting that didn't fit the prescribed genres in the culture. TMBG carved out this amazing musical niche where they could use humor, accordions, various musical styles, and happy fun music.
Most people don't choose their rock bands for being hilarious. And I am sure that TMBG isn't for everyone, and at times can seem a little annoying. But upon reflection TMBG has been a shared interest for many people in my life over the years. Like many of my favorite bands, my brother had a huge influence on my love of They Might Be Giants. He made sure we had all their CDs in stock and on heavy rotation in our shared room. I know that my best friend Bryan M. and I spent a vast amount of time listening to Flood when it came out midway through our junior year in HS. It got so bad that we were walking around campus singing all the lyrics to"Particle Man" and "Instanbul". My first girlfriend in college, Katie S. had fantastic taste in music and a great love of TMBG. She kept me listening at a time when I was working hard on narrowing my focus toward local Northwest punk rock, and she took me to my first TMBG show. This was back when they were two Johns, an accordion, and a drum machine. Later, my wife, Christina, and I bought the 2 disc Dial-A-Song collection while we were living in Boulder, Colorado. We fell in love with the song: "Dr. Worm" amongst others and listened often together.
So it was a natural transition for Christina and I to introduce our children to all the amazing children's music that TMBG has released over the last 20 years. My entry into TMBG children's music was this great book/CD package called "Bed, Bed, Bed". I bought it for my good friend, Bryan M, because he had children before me. My children grew up in the era of "No!" and "Here Comes the ABCs", and they love them all, along with many other TMBG hits.
This is a long winded way of saying that TMBG has been a part of my life for a very long time. So I apologize to my 9 listeners, if they are not your cup of tea. Because the Life MixTape is currently about 39% TMBG songs. These guys have written a ton of amazing songs that I simply cannot live without.
A little over a week ago. I had the chance to see They Might Be Giants at the Crystal Ballroom. I have been to countless shows at the Crystal over the years, usually with my brother. But we had never seen so many people at the there, as we did last Thursday. By the time we walked in (they were just finishing playing "You and Your Racist Friend") there were people stretched from the stage all the way to the bar and entrance doors. It was an insane amount of people.
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| By Shervin Lainez - They Might Be Giants Facebook page, CC BY-SA 1.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20345539 |
I first encountered "They Might Be Giants" in my 9th grade year at JB Thomas Jr. High. I was one of the two tuba (Sousaphone!!!) players in the Jr. High band. A group of friends in our school band, Rob F., Shawn C. and Scott G. put together a lip sync for our annual competition to the songs: "Lie Still Little Bottle" and "Cowtown" from TMBG's 1988 release Lincoln. For some reason musical memories tend to stick in my mind, and these songs made a huge impression. They were unlike anything I had been hearing on the radio. This was one of the musical experiences that helped me escape the prison of Top 40 bland-pop-and-ballads. Modern Rock. College Rock. Indie Rock. Whatever you want to call it. I don't think they ever fit neatly into any category except, people making music they found interesting that didn't fit the prescribed genres in the culture. TMBG carved out this amazing musical niche where they could use humor, accordions, various musical styles, and happy fun music.
 |
| By Matthew Jording from Brooklyn, NY, USA (DSC03697) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons |
Most people don't choose their rock bands for being hilarious. And I am sure that TMBG isn't for everyone, and at times can seem a little annoying. But upon reflection TMBG has been a shared interest for many people in my life over the years. Like many of my favorite bands, my brother had a huge influence on my love of They Might Be Giants. He made sure we had all their CDs in stock and on heavy rotation in our shared room. I know that my best friend Bryan M. and I spent a vast amount of time listening to Flood when it came out midway through our junior year in HS. It got so bad that we were walking around campus singing all the lyrics to"Particle Man" and "Instanbul". My first girlfriend in college, Katie S. had fantastic taste in music and a great love of TMBG. She kept me listening at a time when I was working hard on narrowing my focus toward local Northwest punk rock, and she took me to my first TMBG show. This was back when they were two Johns, an accordion, and a drum machine. Later, my wife, Christina, and I bought the 2 disc Dial-A-Song collection while we were living in Boulder, Colorado. We fell in love with the song: "Dr. Worm" amongst others and listened often together.
So it was a natural transition for Christina and I to introduce our children to all the amazing children's music that TMBG has released over the last 20 years. My entry into TMBG children's music was this great book/CD package called "Bed, Bed, Bed". I bought it for my good friend, Bryan M, because he had children before me. My children grew up in the era of "No!" and "Here Comes the ABCs", and they love them all, along with many other TMBG hits.
This is a long winded way of saying that TMBG has been a part of my life for a very long time. So I apologize to my 9 listeners, if they are not your cup of tea. Because the Life MixTape is currently about 39% TMBG songs. These guys have written a ton of amazing songs that I simply cannot live without.
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