And now, a brief, pictureless history of ….

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS

 

 

You clicked on this link, so you obviously know what you’re getting into. If you want the latest news, then skip to the bottom of the page, and you'll get it. But if you want history, well, here ya go: They Might Be Giants (or as they are known to us in the music biz, TMBG), was formed in 1983 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. The two Johns went to high school together in Lowell, Massachusetts. Upon graduation, they both went their separate ways. These separate ways weren't all that successful for either John, and they soon reunited in Brooklyn in 1982. They moved into an apartment together and devoted all of their time to forming a band, which they did in a matter of months. They played small clubs in and around New York City, and in 1985 finally released a demo tape. That tape drew the attention of an independent record label, Bar/None Records, who soon signed the two to a contract.

 

In 1986, TMBG released its first album, called simply They Might Be Giants. It was a modest success, and was followed up by Lincoln in 1988. Lincoln proved to be a big success, and reached number 96 on the Billboard Music charts, which is a very high ranking for a band releasing albums under an indie label. That drew the attention of several big-name record companies, and TMBG eventually signed with Warner Bros.' Elektra label in 1989. Its first album under the new label, Flood, was released in 1990 and became a huge success. It remains TMBG's most popular album. To capitalize on the band's new fame, Bar/None released Miscellaneous T, which was a compilation of all the b-sides to singles TMBG had recorded for their first two albums. TMBG's follow up album, Apollo 18, released in 1992, was not as successful as Flood, neither commercially nor critically.

 

During their tour for Apollo 18, the two Johns began playing with a full band. As a result, the dynamic duo of rock music was no longer a duo. TMBG's first album recorded as a full band, John Henry, was released in 1994 and was a flop. Not many liked the fact that TMBG had expanded, and the band lost scores of fans. It also received hardly any attention from people in the music world, who had largely abandoned TMBG after Apollo 18. MTV even stopped showing their videos. You can't keep a good John down, though, and in 1996 TMBG released Factory Showroom. While an improvement over John Henry, Factory Showroom didn't garner much attention. It was after this album that Elektra bought out TMBG's record contract. This actually pleased the two Johns, as the Elektra brass didn't seem very enthusiastic about their albums. TMBG released a compilation album, called Then: The Earlier Years, in 1997, on the Restless Records. The album encapsulated all three albums released under the Bar/None label (which, incidentally, had recently been purchased by Restless Records) as well as about fifteen unreleased songs. The album was a big hit critically, and even somewhat of a success commercially. In 1998, TMBG released a live album called Severe Tire Damage. The album features concert versions of TMBG standards, and a few new songs. One of these new songs was the hit Dr. Worm.

 

In 1999, TMBG released Long Tall Weekend, which was really a compilation of some recent Dial-a-Song songs (call 718-397-6962 for more information) and long-time concert favorites. This album is available exclusively in the downloadable MP3 format, via the Goodnoise music label. You can download it at the GoodNoise TMBG web site for $8.99. At this site you can also purchase MP3 versions of the albums They Might Be Giants, Lincoln, Miscellaneous T, and Severe Tire Damage. Of course, not everybody reading this can listen to MP3s on their computers. Hence, they couldn't hear the music on Long Tall Weekend. But, if you can't hear MP3s, you don't need to worry too much. Since these are mainly Dial-A-Songs, you've probably heard them before. Of course, if you're a diehard TMBG fan (and if you've gotten this far you probably are), you'll want to get the album regardless of what's on it. So I guess my words of consolation to all you people without MP3s are pretty meaningless. Oh, well. In 2001, TMBG, which does the theme song and background music for the delightful Fox sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle," was featured on the "Malcolm in the Middle" soundtrack, which is currently available. Only two TMBG songs are included on the album, but they're both winners: the full-length version of "Boss of Me"--aka the "Malcolm in the Middle" theme song--and "Older" (which wasn't really featured on the show, but who counts, right?).


With all this information I just threw at you, I know what you’re thinking: Well, what’s next?

Well here's what's next: Finally, after five years, TMBG has a real studio album coming out. Called "Mink Car," it'll be released September 11 by Restless Records. The CD features souped-up versions of select songs from Long Tall Weekend, such as "She Thinks She's Edith Head" and "Older," as well as new songs, such as "Bangs," "Cyclops Rock," and the title track. To promote the new disc, TMBG will embark on a nationwide tour later this fall. TMBG will also continue to be heard doing the music for "Malcolm in the Middle," which starts up its third season this fall on Fox. The news isn't all good for the boys from Brooklyn, though. Their CD of children's songs is still very much up in the air, as it was recently dropped by the Sony Wonder album label. When will it be released? Nobody knows. But stay tuned to my site, and I'll let you know as soon as I do. In the meantime, be sure to pick up a copy of "Mink Car." Do it!

 

If you know of some late-breaking TMBG news, or think my history page has some factual errors, feel free to e-mail me.

 

LAST UPDATED: August 30, 2001 with new news.

 

"Computer, take me back to the TMBG main page."

 

"Computer, this page bores me. Take me home."