Records. Records.
Concert: The Puck Ballroom New York. (Rock de
Lux, May.1989)
Report and interview.(Rock de Lux, Aug.1989)
RECORDS
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS "LINCOLN" Bar None-GASA (Rock de Lux, nº 51, Apr.1989)
More effective than Tom Waits, less "rare" than The Residents, more electric than Camper Van Beethoven, more varied than The Monochrome Set, and less schematic than Young Marble Giants, but closer, spiritualy, to all them, such are They Might Be Giants, the clearest, brilliantest, and effectivest actual naïf representative in pop's musical patterns.
"Lincoln" is the second LP of the creative tandem of John Flansburgh and John Linnell and, just like their previous work, a fresh shop window of disrespectful pop, and the reason why is the atypic way of their proposal. Short songs -nineteen in first one, now eighteen- concise, refreshing and hardly varied of contents: they cross a very big hall of styles with a nerve that amazes and delights. It's all the same for them to approach to rap, polka, country, western, jingles, Kinks' spirit or miniaturized and compressed hard rock. And in every case, they win, and their ingenuousness and humour emerges everywhere in the grooves of this wonderful record, which it's only possible to say admirable and optimist adjetives. The seriousest fresh-air breath of todays world-wide pop. Jesús Rodríguez Lenin.
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS "Flood" Elektra (Rock de Lux, nº 64, May 1990)
Better than a record, the brand new LP of the north-american duo is a little universe.
"Flood" is pseudo-rock, pseudo folk and almost pseudo-everything: REM, Pogues, Residents, Byrne of "True Stories", all that passed by the food mixer of John Flansburgh and John Linnell, two figures that, in their debut for a multinational have had a luxury collaborators, from the pair Langer-Winstanley's production (Madness, Costello, Morrissey...) to the guest guitar of Arto Lindsay.
The result is as varied as brilliant: every song is like a comic window, like a painted miniature. A world inside of this extravagant, some naïf and gently strange of They Might Be Giants. From a "Racist Friend" that is not the Special AKA's one, to the festive "Istanbul", "Flood " is like Around the World Tour in 80 Days done by a surrealist and iconoclastic Jules Verne. Whichever it is the way you listen it, you'll find what you're looking for: from a simple and direct vision with easy melodies and changes of rythm, to a more intellectualized vision of the matter.
I've said: "Flood" is a flood, and nobody can save of it. Marc Mateu.
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS "John Henry" Elektra-Warner Music (Rock de Lux, nº 114, Dec.1994)
The years are still passing -eight since the two Johns made their debut- and I'm still without finding a band that can take the trail of They Might Be Giants, and not for imitate them, but only in order to can applicate to their own music some of the multiple achievements of Flansburgh and Linnell. One thing is to be "special" (better spacial), and other thing is to keep one's so much distance from musical reality that nobody can, however much they want to, take "professional" contact. They Might Be Giants are, possibly, the most extravagant pop group in the planet, The Residents of "Sesame Street", Top 5 in Ganimedes...Alf's favorite band, as I said once.
And John Henry is nothing but a new answer of the Giants, the confirmation of that they are the only ones who can copy to theirselves. "John Henry" might be their better or worse record; for obtaining a scientific conclusion it had to account and classify every musical expropiation in the record -too much work for one only person-. However, it's possible to advice, just like in every They Might Be Giants creation, an overload of contents that deflates progressively the ensemble, and reduces the power of the accurate and round impact, and finally, makes of it a kind of multi-stylistic, untidy, scattered, mad, childlike, happy, inexhaustible and erupting bombardment. And, as cause or consequence of it, a couple of tracks that I remember to have heard sometimes in the juke-box of this space station. Nando Cruz
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS "Factory Showroom" Elektra-DRO (Rock de Lux nº 140, Apr.1997)
Almost so many surprise as their reaparition - had they come to separate?- might causes the orchrestral beats irruption in a Chic way of initial "S.E.X.X.Y". And so many or more satisfaction produces the reunion with this big chidren pair who in his sixth album is still refreshing the ears with the inmediateness of their recognizible melodies and the mind with so malicious stories as "XTC Vs. Adam Ant" or ("How Can I Sing Like A Girl?" ("...and not be estigmatized by the rest of the world"). Acelerated ("Till My Head Falls Off", a new "Sleeping In The Flowers") or happily classical ("Metal Detector", the Dixie Cups style backing vocals of "The Bells Are Ringing"), They Might Be Giants have the gift of transmitting optimism with their songs and they're still getting that you want to hum them at once. Well, metal winds and sonorous hardness of lush "John Henry" (94) have moved to modest strings and to a back to arrangements and composition simplicity in "Factory Showroom". And the richful detail is at negroid beauty of ascendent soul ballad "Pet Name", at handsaw solo -it sounds like a Therenim- of "James K. Polk", and at this "I Can Hear You" that quits in a Edison wax cylinder recording its complete delightness. I wish they'll never grow. Felix Suárez.
MONO PUFF "Unsupervised" Ryko-Nuevos Medios
The naïf spirit of They Might Be Giants is still pure in new John Flansburgh's project, Mono Puff. And also the minimization -with its malicious simplicity- of their own private pop encyclopaedia. "Guitar Was The Case" starts the revision in Dick Dale's hands; "The Devil Went To Newport" seems to laugh at The Knack-style bands; the extremely amateur cover of Gary Glitter's "Hello Hello" is at all a declaration of principles; the teleploitation "Distant Antenna" shows that a Hammond can be something more than a relic; the skamariachi of "Dr. Kildare" moves to a chromescian madness; "Careless Santa" is a charming Christmas with that guitar as in a epilogue of a black and white T.V. program for young people; "Don't I Have The Right?" is a campfire song with Nancy Lyhn Hawell playing to be Joan Baez; "To Serve Mankind" is the soundtrack of a"Star Trek" made by the Muppets; and "Nixon's The One" is own brand epic pop that ends abruptly, and all the record with it, just in the best moment. I think there is no doubt, they are giants, aren't they, Sancho? Félix Suárez.
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS The Puck Ballroom New York (Rock de Lux, nº52, May.1989)
People love them. And they, with all the modesty of the world, answer to this total devotion with the oldest resource in the world: their simpathy, their simplicity, their shortage of pretensions.
They Might Be Giants are the personified naturalness. John (Flansburgh) on the guitar and John (Linnell) on the accordion. With the sound technician, who also is named John, they might be the Three Johns. The rythmic base are made up with pre-recorded tapes by themselves with rythm boxes and wind instruments. In a pair of tracks, John Linnell changes his accordion by a kind of tuba that makes the bass' job. Their attitude is also natural: without any kind of pretensions, they are busting with smiles, jokes and winks for the people during all the show. Sure that's the reason why they are so popular. It's difficult to be a fan of this kind of group, but anyway, it's impossible to critizise them, because what they do, they do it well, with a lot of humour, and without pretending anything else.
Their public is very young, the bigger part of it has less than 20. Really, at this age, people are not very interested about too much intellectual or ellaborated things. They are funny, fresh, their melodies are easy, and is a lot of fun to be at their shows. They use to play fourty songs, or even more, and between one and another they always crack a joke. Their music is a journey by all north-american popular styles: 30's theater play, far-west folklore, polka, or 70's american pop. So the guitar-accordion combination is wonderfully well for them. Their attitude is to use this extreme naturalness and shortage of pretensions in order to get something different. This is their way to go far from so great many of rehash that exists in todays' pop, from so great many of bands that sounds like all and like nothing.
Words are so much seriouser than the music. The first impression is that in the back of a so light music only can have nonsense, but it's just on the contrary. They are very intelligent words, some of them talk about love, others about what everyday happens to us, and always with a valuable sense of humour. Natàlia Izard.
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS. POP TOYSHOP (Rock de Lux, nº 55, Aug.1989)
They Might Be Giants. An original and strange duo. Algebraic coloured pop with chorus... John Flansburgh and John Linnell to the known world conquest. Two independent longplays -both edited in Spain- and a sensation: there's something really important that is growing. LUIS CLEMENTE & JOSE PARDO enrol on the discovery.
Mechanisms. They are the result of the caffeine, of newyorker shouffle; hilarant speed and no-brakes modulations. This is the history of the independent success, the stolen pop epopeya and its camouflage aesthetics: masks as jokes that hide painful situations, gibes of inoffensive sounds and associations of paradoxes. Nervous shakes, stylistic ups and downs, and a bright vintage; the songs, as little intelligent ideas on the string, between comic and tragic.
Tricks. Infusions of cabaret and skimmed pantomimes in their alegoric foundness to puppets. Thicket, windows of paranoic pop. Listen to the duo They Might Be Giants: the reason of the madness will change your mind.
"She's not really there/ Tour the world in a heavy metal band, but they run out of gas/The plane can never land/What's the sense in ever thinking about the tumb when you're much too busy returning to the womb?" (Shoehorn with teeth)
Intelligent wits, they invite to confusion through ambiguous connections, and they don't have the proposal of change the attitudes altough they fall in incomprehension. Well, they're not so victims, because they have signed up with a multinational and they won twice the best indie rock award at "New York Awards". Independent rock, cartoon pop and fresh concepts. Unique pop, histrionic, with a guitar, an accordion and some back tapes.
NAÏF BUNDLE
As a New York result, they have not a sedated life, cross of anxious manies of stimulants. "We don't trust in who says that his mind is totally sane. People in New York are very glad with their neurosis".
"Youh culture killed my dog/And I don't think it's fair/And his suicide can be justified/By the tastemakers" ("Youth Culture Killed My Dog")
They have two longplays at market, and other potencial one with the three EPs that they have published. At the beginning of next year, they have preview the edition of their third long play, yet for Elektra. "It broke our heart when we leaved the independents world, because the people who work in it are really interested in music, but we prefer to get a bigger audience, and in America the independent market doesn't give this oportunity. Elektra has been lately signed up with alternative bands, they have a respectful attitude with them, and have give to them freedom to create. This is the important, to keep doing the music that we want, having at the same time a bigger and better distribution and audience."
"Now I laugh and make a fortune off the same ones that I tortured and a world screams "Kiss me, son of God"/I look like Jesus, so they say/But Mr. Jesus is very far away" ("Kiss Me, Son Of God")
BOSTON TALES
The incomprehension of we were talking about was yet at High School, at Boston, where they met making a newspaper. There Flansburgh was charged of drugs use, and Linnell was getting the doubtful reputation of "clown of the class". A nice story: two school friends that, one day, meet themselves living in the same flats block at Brooklyn. Hi John! Hey, John, what a surprise!
"The day Marvin Gay and Phil Ochs got married/The trees all waved their giant arms/And happiness bled from every streetcorner/And biplanes bombed with fluffy pillows" ("The Day")
So it was inevitable that they become to make music together. They cross the Lower East Side as The Mundanes -with this name they even edited a single- and tried to catch musicians for their ideals.
DON QUIJOTE'S VISIONS
When they left the search, they decide to fight alone against the Wind Mills. For do that, they choose a countersign from Cervantes' pen. "They Might Be Giants", while he put on the casc.
"The possible dream/Finale of seem/The moment that some call eternal that some call insane/...And now hear the roar that none can ignore/The thunderous clatter of splintering wood and lives that are claimed/And none who have witnessed all can think of a nobler cause than perishing in the pencil rain" ("Pencil Rain")
With the vitality that gives character to every composition of them, they begin to dis-draw the pesimism of their first moments. They used to play weekly at little places, and they might change the jokes list if they didn't want to been called annoying; so they become, almost without realize of this, to have more of three hundred songs. Grace and chat, sew and sing.
TRICKS
Suddenly, one of them broke his leg working as a bike-messenger and someone stole the equipment of the other one. But they had to find the way for keeping the audience and give free rein to their rich spirit, and then they installed a telephone that sings a new song every day and lets a time for suggestions. When they were recuperated, they keep this so direct promotional system; and other more: they did a flexi with two songs and gave it at their shows. As a manager, they catch to a young journalist with a Woody Allen look, Jamie Kitman, nicknamed Lincoln, with inquiries for recording with the independent Bar None.
"I got to get a job/Got to get some pay/My son's gotta go to art school/He's leaving in three days/and the TV is in Esperanto/You know that that's a bitch/But alienation's for the rich/And I'm feeling poorer every day" ("Alienation's For The Rich")
READY, STEADY, GO!
His first plastification was "Don't Let's Start". Since 1985 they make a few singles, until his first and eponymous long play. They saled 200.000 copies in United States. Their successful at college radios had a big part of the blame of it, besides of their playful videos, result of a collaboration with Adam Bernstein. First of them, ("Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head") was broadcasted by a children's channel before they have any record at the market. After, they passed to be on MTV between Rod Stewart and Michael Jackson.
"No one in the world ever gets what they want and that is beautiful/Everybody dies frustrated and sad and that is beautiful" ("Don't Let's Start")
37 MINIATURES
Yes, "They Might Be Giants" (1987, edited in Spain by Nuevos Medios in 1988) is a front attack to crying music, that has, in his 19 tracks, rambling traslations of unequal styles: art-rock with rythm-boxes, glam, beatnick pop, blue eyed funk, electroboggie, Las Vegas tunes, country, gospell, catchy-pop of english creams (XTC-Costello-Squeeze) and maked up residential caricatures.
"Life is a placebo masquerading as a simile/I knew that pill was lying" ("Lie Still, Little Bottle")
The record was distributed in England by Rough Trade and promotionated with "Bring me Kenny Rogers' head" Tour.
Their second longplay, "Lincoln"(1988, edited in Spain by GASA in 1989) is not dedicated to the most exploited figure by the Film Industry. John Flansburgh and John Linnell are still showing the agility of the voices among some effective sound tricks and a personal, recognizible and apocopated style. If the first album takes by surprise, this one is the proff of that they are not obvious nor have a too much evident expiration. Although they play children's tunes or joking music ("You'll Miss Me", the rarest thing they've made).
"Lighting up your house like Xmas trees as tears roll down bellow your knees you'll miss me with effigies" ("You'll Miss Me")
SINGABLE TONGUE TWISTER
They divide the composition, but they recognize that Flansburgh is better as an actor and Linnell as a writer. Little sting writing: peculiar, pilgrim texts, full of bar-laments or pop sparkles, with some social reference. A lively tongue twister, an hieroglyphic of singable miniatures. Falls of sounds, super-sonics. The biggest part are games of words: "We think in a good title and write the song around it."
"Give me some skin to call my own/.../I love the world and I have to sue for custody, I will sue for custody" ("Stand On Your Own Head")
"ME"- HUMOUR
"Once a year my friend puts on a red suit/And hangs around with me and my wife/But lately I've feeling jealous each time she climbs on his knees" ("Santa's Beard")
They Might Be Giants is a band for all kind of public."Rock and Roll is great, we're not laughing to it. We want to be sure of we are not a band whom people will hate afterwards; a humouristic band has the risk of annoying people, so we must beware of it." They patch their bathrobes and their good mood with the caustic irony of Frank Zappa, the sparkle of Devo and the satiric bitterness of The Residents."People use to think about someone who laughs to a work as if were a reduction, that degrades the work. But, as fact, humour floods all our favorite things."
"Purple toupee will show the way when summer brings you down/Purple toupee and gold lame will turn your brain around" ("Purple Toupee")
"The important is get a good pop song. "Ana NG" is just a perfect pop song."
"Make a hole with a gun perpendicular to the name of this town in a desk-top globe/Exit wound is a foreign nation showing the home of the one this was written for/My apartment looks upside down from there/Water spirals the wrong way out of the sink/And her voice is a backwards record/It's like a whirpool, and never ends" ("Ana NG")
TOTAL CONTROL
They seem to be a studio-group, a laboratoy-band. "What we really like is work at the studio, because is very easy have control of everything. When we play live, we have no control of anything" (Any time they had to pass up the tape because Flansburgh forgot his harmonica at the dressing room). Their foundness to the studio, to the minuscule things, makes him come near to San Mateo sound: "The Residents are the biggest inffluence in what we do, it's a good example of band that has raised a public. We don't know if they wouldn't mind to go to dinner with their typical fans, but they did what they wanted strictly in their own terms...they are a big pattern for us, who can do nonsense, but strictly in our own terms."
"Bacharach and David used to write his favorite songs/Never would he worry, he'd just run and fetch the ball/But the hiphop and the white funk just blew away my puppy's mind" ("Youth Culture Killed My Dog")
With some casual collaborations, (illustrious, like Eugene Chadbourne's one), the benefactor of the grooves is Bill Krauss, producer, engineer and spinal cord of the sound. "Our next record is not going to been produced by Bill, but that doesn't mean not to work with him again, sure we will do. By the moment, this next longplay is going to been produced by ourselves".
"When I was driving once I saw this painted on a bridge:"I don't want the world, I just want your half" ("Ana NG")
EMOTIONS PER MINUTE
Hyperbolized, looking for the positive side of creativity. "We tend to polarity. If one is the thin, the other must be the fat". Exaggerated, when they are asked if they will make a nine minutes-epic-song one day."We are counting down (first longplay had 19 tracks, the second one, 18). Next one will have 17, and a day will come in that will be just one song in the record, an eighty minutes compact disc". Better a lot of few, than a few of lot. "The easier would be to join a guitar solo in every song, to be able of make a three-minutes song instead of a two-minutes' one is not a proof of having great ideas...We would like to give the people a magic, per minute emotion".
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Last modified: 16 Nov 1997.