Album 0436: They Might Be Giants – No!

Release Date: 2002
Genre: Alternative Rock/Kids Music

Tracklisting:

1. Fibber Island (02:11)
2. Four Of Two (02:18)
3. Robot Parade (01:22)
4. No! (01:30)
5. Where Do They Make Balloons? (02:41)
6. In The Middle, In The Middle, In The Middle (01:15)
7. Violin (02:27)
8. John Lee Supertaster (02:00)
9. The Edison Museum (02:03)
10. The House At The Top Of The Tree (02:30)
11. Clap Your Hands (01:22)
12. I Am Not Your Broom (01:04)
13. Wake Up Call (01:10)
14. I Am A Grocery Bag (00:34)
15. Lazyhead And Sleepybones (03:28)
16. Bed Bed Bed (03:12)
17. Sleepwalkers (02:40)

Total Length: 33:48

Fibber Island is a wonderful little song to start this album with. This is the band’s first attempt at an album directed towards kids, with kid friendly lyrics and morals. This song has fun lyrics about lying and some interesting arrangements. Four Of Two is a play on telling time and puns, it’s fairly fun. Robot Parade is weird to me because the backing music reminds me of the music for the show Community, but the vocals are all distorted and saying weird things about robots.

No! is a great little track, and the most moral laden song on the album. Where Do They Make Balloons? is a neat idea but the song just kind of bores me. In The Middle, In The Middle, In The Middle is amazing, in an odd way. It feels like a song Moral Orel and the shows that parodied, and I really like this singer. Violin is quite strange and I don’t understand it. It doesn’t seem to be teaching anything, or saying anything at all.

John Lee Supertaster is kind of fun but I don’t really like the pseudo-funk sound. The Edison Museum is kind of neat but the music annoys me too much. The House At The Top Of The Tree is really fun though, I love the rhythm of the whole song and the building feeling. Clap Your Hands is decent, but I don’t really care for it in any way. I Am Not Your Broom might be the best song on here, if only for the first half of the song.

Wake Up Call is kind of strange, and I want to like it but just can’t. I Am A Grocery Bag is almost neat, but eh. Lazyhead And Sleepybones is kind of nice, but not well executed compared to the idea of it. Bed Bed Bed has a cool rhythm to it. Sleepwalkers is fairly nice, though other bands have done tracks like it better. This album is kind of like these last few tracks, mostly good ideas with low levels of execution. I want to love it, even though I’m not the target audience, but it’s just not there.

Final Rating: 7/10

Album 0241: They Might Be Giants – The Else

Release Date: 2007
Genre: Rock

Tracklisting:

1. I’m Impressed (02:40)
2. Take Out The Trash (03:15)
3. Upside Down Frown (02:17)
4. Climbing The Walls (03:15)
5. Careful What You Pack (02:40)
6. The Cap’m (03:12)
7. With The Dark (03:17)
8. The Shadow Government (02:38)
9. Bee Of The Bird Of The Moth (03:32)
10. Withered Hope (02:55)
11. Contrecoup (03:11)
12. Feign Amnesia (02:30)
13. The Mesopotamians (02:57)

Total Length: 38:18

I’m Impressed is a strong start to the album, but the vocals are a bit subdued and with a bit more emotion it would make the song a whole lot better. Take Out The Trash is kind of way too Smash Mouth for me to really enjoy it. It just sounds like it’s been done so many times before. Upside Down Frown is a bit more like their older stuff, but again everything seems really held back, on every sense. Climbing The Walls is a song like those being done right. It’s a subtle difference, but the music being more lively really helps make this track great.

Careful What You Pack is meant to be laid back though, and it’s a fantastic song. The Cap’m is pretty fun. I enjoy the verse and chorus, and there are some neat production touches in the background. With The Dark has a neat intro, but I don’t like the ramp up in energy and it ends up being an odd song. The Shadow Government has a neat chorus but is kind of a forgettable song. Bee Of The Bird Of The Moth utilizes the band’s classic “lyrics that make no damn sense” style, and it’s a fun track. I wish it were a bit quicker paced though.

Withered Hope has some neat moments but the song really doesn’t sound great to me overall. Contrecoup isn’t too good, and the speedup at the end as the song is fading out is unnecessary and distracting. Feign Amnesia has some cool vocal lines but most of the song falls flt. The Mesopotamians is catchy yet I don’t entirely like it. That’s kind of the the deal with this album, like the last TMBG album I did. I want to like it, but there are just decisions made on here that I can’t understand.

Final Rating: 6.5/10

Album 0110: They Might Be Giants – Factory Showroom

Release Date: 1996
Genre: Alternative Rock

Tracklisting:

1. Token Back To Brooklyn/S-E-X-X-Y (04:52)
2. Till My Head Falls Off (02:54)
3. How Can I Sing Like A Girl? (04:32)
4. Exquisite Dead Guy (02:02)
5. Metal Detector (03:50)
6. New York City (03:03)
7. Your Own Worst Enemy (01:46)
8. XTC Vs. Adam Ant (03:37)
9. Spiraling Shape (04:25)
10. James K. Polk (03:05)
11. Pet Name (04:04)
12. I Can Hear You (01:58)
13. The Bells Are Ringing (03:32)

Total Length: 43:40

Token Back To Brooklyn is actually a minute-long hidden track that starts before the album on a CD. Kind of a neat bonus. S-E-X-X-Y has some neat moments, but something about the production and pacing of the song just puts me off. It’s like I want to like it, but there’s a mental block. Till My Head Falls Off just kind of feels boring. I recognize that there are some good ideas in it, but again something is blocking me from liking it.

How Can I Sing Like A Girl? starts off with some really cool synths, but this time I can place exactly what I don’t like about it. The pace is atrocious, the song needed to be sped up for sure, it doesn’t feel like it goes anywhere. Exquisite Dead Guy feels like a bunch of unfinished ideas and none of them really work. Metal Detector however is a pretty great song. I don’t really like the idea of almost all the vocals being really subdued by whichever John it is, but this song has a lot of things going right that cancel that out.

New York City gets pretty close to greatness. I like some bits of the arrangement, and the lyrics and vocals are good but something puts me off like a bunch of the other songs on here. I know I don’t like the guitar sound on this particular track. Your Own Worst Enemy is an odd song that I’m glad is over with quickly, because once again it doesn’t seem to do anything. XTC Vs. Adam Ant has a terrible, terrible intro, but once the song gets going it’s a lot of fun. Once again I can’t stand the guitar tone, but the rest is very cool.

Spiraling Shape isn’t terribly bad, but it doesn’t really please me a ton. It goes on a bit too long and doesn’t really feel defined. James K. Polk is really cool though and this is probably because it’s an older song they re-recorded for the album. Pet Name is fairly good, it’s got some neat moments but like most other tracks just feels sluggish. I Can Hear You is a very cool technical thing. They actually recorded it on a cylinder, so the juxtaposition of a modern song with synths being recorded on one of the first recording devices is very cool. The actual song isn’t too interesting though.

The Bells Are Ringing is almost a good song. I like the vocal line, and bells are always a good thing but the last bit of the song kind of falls apart. This album should be good, but it isn’t. I can’t quite describe what it is about the production that throws me off (other than the guitar tone) but I feel like the songs could be good if they were arranged better and sped up some. As it is though, it’s a decent album with a few songs I really like.

Final Rating: 6/10

Album 0077: They Might Be Giants – Lincoln

Release Date: 1988
Genre: Alternative Rock/New Wave

Tracklisting:

1. Ana Ng (03:23)
2. Cowtown (02:21)
3. Lie Still, Little Bottle (02:06)
4. Purple Toupee (02:40)
5. Cage & Aquarium (01:10)
6. Where Your Eyes Don’t Go (03:06)
7. Piece Of Dirt (02:01)
8. Mr. Me (01:52)
9. Pencil Rain (02:42)
10. The World’s Address (02:24)
11. I’ve Got A Match (02:37)
12. Santa’s Beard (01:55)
13. You’ll Miss Me (01:54)
14. They’ll Need A Crane (02:33)
15. Shoehorn With Teeth (01:13)
16. Stand On Your Own Head (01:16)
17. Snowball In Hell (02:32)
18. Kiss Me, Son Of God (01:53)

Total Length: 39:39

Ana Ng is a fairly neat song, but more for being unique rather than just being good. It’s enjoyable to listen to once or twice, but after that I start getting tired of it. Cowtown is kind of the same, but the neat sounds this time help the song be more memorable. I also enjoy the rhythm of the main section of the song. Lie Still, Little Bottle seems like an idea that unnecessarily became a full song. Purple Toupee is fairly fun, just a really cool song.

Cage & Aquarium is a little song that stays just as long as it should, unlike a couple tracks so far. Where Your Eyes Don’t Go is much more of a traditional song, with the quirkiness of TMBG infused in it. The bridge is childish though. Piece Of Dirt is an interesting song, pretty nice and subdued. Mr. Me is one of the best tracks the band has ever done, where their nonsensical lyrics work wonderfully. Just fantastic.

Pencil Rain is kind of melodramatic but it works. The World’s Address really doesn’t interest me in any way. I’ve Got A Match is pretty much the same deal, just feels like a waste. Santa’s Beard is just a weird idea with oddly placed cuckolding lyrics. You’ll Miss Me is a song where I have no idea what they were trying to do here.

They’ll Need A Crane is fairly fun, mostly for the chorus. Shoehorn With Teeth is just the right length for the weirdness. Stand On Your Own Head is another short song, but this time I don’t even totally care for it even at this length. Snowball In Hell is fairly neat, but the bridge has no use. The samples are nearly indiscernible and just slow the song down. Kiss Me, Son Of God is the other really great song. Cool instrument choices, and fairly neat lyrics. Basically, this album isn’t bad to listen through, but the individual songs don’t entirely hold up on their own. That said, there’s nothing on here I hate so I just consider this a slightly above average album.

Final Rating: 6.5/10

Album 0044: They Might Be Giants – Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is A Mass Of Incandescent Gas)

Release Date: 1993
Genre: New Wave/Rock

Tracklisting:

1. Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is A Mass Of Incandescent Gas) (02:54)
2. Jessica (02:25)
3. Whirlpool (02:11)
4. Spy (02:31)

Total Length: 09:59

Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is A Mass Of Incandescent Gas) is just a classic little song. It’s sang like a song from school, meant to teach kids and get stuck in their head. Love it. Jessica is a cover of The Allman Brothers Band, and it’s a really cool song. This version intends to go all weird with it, which is sort of neat. Whirlpool was originally by Meat Puppets, and this time I don’t know the original. However, I like the feel of this song, but the vocals annoy me.

Spy is kind of neat, it’s a cool idea but the song doesn’t really appeal to me. This little EP is a nice slice of TMBG, but I only ever remember it for the title track.

Final Rating: 6.5/10