Notes from a failed They Might Be Giants fan

[ivyfic]

I've always thought I should be a fan of They Might Be Giants. After all, I fit their demographic perfectly. I like a lot of the things that fans of the group like—the ecclectic, intellectual, playful lyrics should appeal to me, right? Many of my friends like the group. And yet…

Flood was actually the very first CD I bought, and I bought it for the two songs featured on Tiny Toons. I listened to it a bunch in the first few days, hoping that my annoyance with it would go away on repetition. It didn't. I couldn't stand the bloody thing. This was only aggravated when I leant the album to a girl in my dorm who shared a wall with me—and proceeded to torment me with my own CD through that extremely not soundproof wall. So I tucked the CD away, not even putting it in the CD books where I keep the rest of my collection. Of course, me being me, I didn't get rid of it.

Since then I keep running across They Might Be Giants: on NPR's This American Life, in tv shows, even in the Brown Derbies cover of "Birdhouse in Your Soul," which I quite like. So I decided to give Flood another chance. I listen to music for very different reasons now than I did at thirteen—then I was looking for pop, hooks, songs I already knew. I acquired a huge number of CDs in high school, but usually for only one or two tracks. I'd listen to those tracks, then skip the rest. So I've already rediscovered a lot of music in my collection that I'd overlooked—like Invisible Touch by Genesis, where I'd only listened to three of the tracks and not paid attention to the album as a whole. Some CD's that I hated initially I've grown to love a few years down the line (like Zap Mama's Adventures in Afropea or Genesis' Trick of the Tail). Possibly They Might Be Giants were the same way?

Nope. Nails on a chalkboard. Still is. I don't know what it is—some combination of the nasal vocals, the synthesized background, and the lyrics grates so badly I couldn't even listen through some of the tracks (like "Lucky Ball and Chain"). I'm not saying this as a criticism of the band—they are not a bad band. They just have this combination of extremely annoying and catchy that drives me bonkers.

I still like "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" (which is not an original of theirs), but I'd forgotten the next track, "Dead," which starts with "I returned a bag of groceries accidentally taken off the shelf before the expiration date." That lyric always creeped me out. It still does. And since it's right after the track I bought the album for, I heard it many times, if I wasn't attentive enough as "Istanbul" came to a close (back before the days of mp3's and playlists). Just the opening note makes my hackles rise.

"Twisting," also, always skeeved me out. I could almost like "Your Racist Friend," but not quite. I think I only like "Particle Man" because of the Tiny Toon connotations, and I'll stick with the Derbies cover of "Birdhouse in Your Soul."

So help me out, TMBG fans. I feel like this is still a band I should like. There are a lot of things I respect about them—their success while remaining quirky, they're innovative recording techniques, Dial-a-Song (which is just an awesome concept). Flood is their most succesful album, but is there a better one I'd be more inclined to enjoy? Or should I just give up, and resign myself to not getting it?

Comments

[linaerys.livejournal.com]

I tried and failed ever to like TMBG. Their songs are so repetitive, and I have really bad associations with one of them, but I disliked them even before that. Not. For. Me.

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

There are several ways to go, as Flood was, in a lot of ways, a turning point for the band. The earlier stuff is simplier, less adventurous. The later stuff (post Dan, Dan and Dan joining the group) has a much more full-band rock feel. I think this warrants some time spent with my TMBG collection trying to sort out what irritates you and what doesn't.

[amari-z.livejournal.com]

Flood is one of those albums I grew up with and still love. I haven't kept up with all of TMBG's stuff, but certain songs of theirs can cheer me up no matter what mood I'm in (or how morbid the song actually is). It's part nostalgia, and part just that I've always liked certain of their songs for the quirkiness and often truly bizarre lyrics--of which I can quote far to many. I think, though, that while they can take a while to grow on you, you either like them or you don't. It's not a moral imperative or anything. If you don't like Flood, I'm not sure that you'd necessarily like anything else by them--I don't know your tastes, but Flood is probably the most accessible of their albums.

[bubbleslayer.livejournal.com]

Sorry, can't help. I only like a handfull of their songs myself. Two of them being "Istanbul" and "Particle Man" which I came to love through Animaniacs....

The rest is pretty much...bleh.

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

They are awesome when accompanied by Tiny Toon Adventures music videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnUXZlatV6Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiOwu2CqnTc

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

I can't really tell you why I like them. I like the randomness of the lyrics that almost barely make sense, I like the ridiculously catchy tunes. I love the reversal of "Twising" - "She wants to see you again/Slowly twisting in the wind". Somehow it just captures my disgust for people longing after someone who dumps them, is pissed at them, and really rather hates them.

If it makes you feel better, my mom likes a lot of music that you like, and she hates TMBG. (My mom's got what you might think is pretty decent musical taste - she's why I was exposed to Genesis or The Police or PDQ Bach.)