TMBG, The Else

[mmcirvin]

This is how out of touch I have been: They Might Be Giants' new album has been on iTunes since mid-May and in stores for a week (with a big bonus cd of podcast stuff, most of it new to me), and I only just found out.

On first listen, I mostly like it. Big heavy rock sound, sort of John Henryish. My one quibble is that in the sound mix, the instrumentals overwhelm the vocals on a few tracks, which for these guys is really not good.

"Frown Upside Down", "Climbing the Walls" and "The Shadow Government" are hilarious. Also I think the Cap'm must be a friend of Dr. Worm.

Comments

[davetheinverted]

*blink* Must go get. Probably tomorrow.

Dav2.718

[sunburn.livejournal.com]

Mixed by the Dust Brothers, and yeah, there's definitely some producer style on this thing.

Also I just realized that I usually email you about it when a TMBG album is coming out. hunh! Sorry, I'm slouching on the job.

I love "Climbing the Walls," the "Bee of the Bird of the Moth," "The Mesopotamians," (which is built to be catch/hooky just like any "Hey, we're The Band" song, but features actual Mesopotamians) and I've heard and enjoyed "Contracoup" before (from an official podcast, and we talked about here) and this version has a bit more to it than before.

Also, "I'm Impressed" is a great opener. But, I gotta say, either I'm falling out of *heart* with the band, or maybe they're getting weaker. Some of the DAS/Podcast songs were stronger ("We Live in a Dump," "Why did you grow a beard" and the rockin' "Vestibule,") than some of the album tracks.

I'm sure this'll grow on me, but none of these songs are grabbing me like They used to.

By the way, "Greasy Kid Stuff" is a song that TMBG wrote for a radio show of the same name-- it's a Saturday Morning Radio show in Portland, OR (until last year it was in WFMU, the alt-pub-radio station in Jersey that broadcasts over NYC) for kids and their adults. You can listen online (http://www.947.fm/pages/146945.php?contentType=4&contentId=257612) and in your case benefit from the fact that instead of listening at 8AM Pacific, you can listen at the more reasonable hour of 11AM Eastern time. Jorie's probably too young to appreciate it, but it might be worth a shot.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

This particular album's sonic style isn't my favorite, but I don't get as anxious about this as I used to, since these guys have been so productive for so long that I know they'll put out something else that tickles me soon; I don't get the sense that they're evolving in a bad direction.

The non-album stuff does often impress me more; The Spine was great but The Spine Surfs Alone was *brilliant*.

"We Live In A Dump" is a classic.

[sunburn.livejournal.com]

Diverging somewhat, I wanted to mention that I encountered the show Greasy Kid Stuff between when TMBG said they would do a song, and when they did their song. I had hit up my sister for some Christmas idears for my nieces, and she begged me for find some kids CDs that won't drive her and her husband up the wall after listening to them hundreds of times. (Apparently my bro-in-law threw a Raffi CD out the window.) And that's when I heard about ZooGlobble (http://zooglobble.blogspot.com/) (on NPR, at that), and anything I've bought for my nieces based on recommendations there has been a hit with the whole family. Might want to bookmark it now.

I think, officer, but I don't know, but I'm starting to feel

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

that "Brain Problem Situation" is my favorite song in this whole package.

What the Christ, What the devil? Why did you grow a beard?

[sunburn.livejournal.com]

I was initially turned off because it immediately rhymes "wake-up" with "make-up," but it is indeed a great song. (It's a rhyme that irritates me for some reason, and I've heard it twice before-- a Courtney Love song, and the song with the video about the Atari E.T. game.)

Re: What the Christ, What the devil? Why did you grow a beard?

[mckcb.livejournal.com]

And "I Say A Little Prayer".