They Might Be Giants
John Flansburgh and John Linnell with Marty Beller
Background information
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, USA
Genre(s)	Alternative rock College rock Geek rock Children's music
Years active	1982–present
Label(s)	Bar/None Barsuk Restless Elektra Zoë Disney Sound Idlewild
Website	tmbg.com theymightbegiants.com dialasong.com
Members
Marty Beller John Flansburgh John Linnell Dan Miller Danny Weinkauf

They Might Be Giants (commonly abbreviated to TMBG) is an American alternative rock band which began as a duo of John Flansburgh and John Linnell, and currently includes Marty Beller, Dan Miller, and Danny Weinkauf. John Conant Flansburgh (born May 6, 1960, Lincoln, Massachusetts) is an actor and musician John Sidney Linnell (born June 12, 1959, New York City, New York) musician is known primarily as one half of Brooklyn New York Marty Beller is the current drummer for They Might Be Giants. Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Alternative rock (also called alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative; known primarily in the UK as indie) is a genre of College rock was a term used in the United States to describe 1980s Alternative rock before the term "alternative" came into common usage Geek Rock (also known as nerd rock, but distinguishable from the Hip hop genre Nerdcore) is a musical subgenre of Alternative rock, although Children's music is Music composed and performed by or for Children. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Bar/None Records is an Independent record label based out of Hoboken New Jersey. Barsuk Records (bɑrˈsuːk bar-SOOK is an Independent record label based in Seattle Washington, started and still managed by the members of the Restless Records was a Hollywood California based Independent record label which was started by Enigma Records. Elektra Records is a now-dormant American Record label owned by Warner Music Group (WMG and from 2004 on operating under WMG's Atlantic Records Zoë Records is an Independent record label in the United States. Walt Disney Records is a family music Record label owned by Disney. They Might Be Giants (commonly abbreviated to TMBG) is an American Alternative rock band which began as a duo of John Flansburgh and John Marty Beller is the current drummer for They Might Be Giants. John Conant Flansburgh (born May 6, 1960, Lincoln, Massachusetts) is an actor and musician John Sidney Linnell (born June 12, 1959, New York City, New York) musician is known primarily as one half of Brooklyn New York Dan Miller is a who is currently (as of June 2008) working as a backing member of They Might Be Giants. Danny Weinkauf has been TMBG 's bassist since the late 90s and previously performed in a band called Lincoln along with Dan Miller and drummer Gonzalo Martinez The music of the United States reflects the country's multi-ethnic population through a diverse array of styles Alternative rock (also called alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative; known primarily in the UK as indie) is a genre of John Conant Flansburgh (born May 6, 1960, Lincoln, Massachusetts) is an actor and musician John Sidney Linnell (born June 12, 1959, New York City, New York) musician is known primarily as one half of Brooklyn New York Marty Beller is the current drummer for They Might Be Giants. Dan Miller is a who is currently (as of June 2008) working as a backing member of They Might Be Giants. Danny Weinkauf has been TMBG 's bassist since the late 90s and previously performed in a band called Lincoln along with Dan Miller and drummer Gonzalo Martinez Formed in 1982, they are best known for an unconventional and experimental style of alternative music. See also 1982 in music (UK Musical groups established in 1982 Record labels established in 1982 Alternative rock (also called alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative; known primarily in the UK as indie) is a genre of The group has found success on the modern rock and CMJ charts, in the children's music genre, and in theme music for several television programs and films. Hot Modern Rock Tracks (originally called Modern Rock Tracks) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September Children's music is Music composed and performed by or for Children. The phrase theme music usually refers to that of a radio program, Television program, or Movie. A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U

TMBG's best-known songs include "Birdhouse in Your Soul" (from the 1990 album, Flood), "Don't Let's Start" (from 1986's They Might Be Giants), and "Ana Ng" (from 1988's Lincoln). For the EP by this name see Birdhouse in Your Soul (EP. " Birdhouse in Your Soul " is a song by American Alternative Flood is the third studio album by They Might Be Giants, and their first with a major label Elektra Records. " Don't Let's Start " is a They Might Be Giants song originally from the self-titled They Might Be Giants Album. They Might Be Giants is the Eponymous first album from They Might Be Giants, also known as the " Pink Album " " Ana Ng " (ˈænə ˈɛŋ or ā′-nā āng′ ' is a 1988 song by They Might Be Giants. Lincoln is the second album by the band They Might Be Giants. Their appearances on the show Tiny Toon Adventures also gained recognition for the song "Particle Man" and for their cover version of the Four Lads song "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)". Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures (also known as Tiny Toon Adventures or Tiny Toons) is an American " Particle Man " is a song by the band They Might Be Giants. In Popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition ( Performance or Recording) of a previously recorded commercially released The Four Lads were a Canadian singing group They grew up together in Toronto Ontario, and were members of St " Istanbul (Not Constantinople " is a swing -style song with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy and music by Nat Simon. Their song "Doctor Worm" was a surprise hit in Australia, ranking 13th in the Triple J Hottest 100 for the year 1998. This article is about the song For the fictional character see Madan Senki Ryukendo. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music poll based on the votes of national Australian youth radio station Triple J listeners in order to determine their favourite Two TMBG albums have been certified gold: Flood and the 2005 children's music album Here Come the ABCs. Flood is the third studio album by They Might Be Giants, and their first with a major label Elektra Records. Here Come the ABCs is a 2005 DVD and audio CD release by They Might Be Giants, aimed at young children learning the alphabet

Their song "Boss of Me" served as the theme to the Fox Television Network comedy series Malcolm in the Middle and earned them a Grammy Award in 2002. "Boss of Me" is a song and EP released by the band They Might Be Giants. Malcolm in the Middle was a seven-time Emmy Award -winning one-time Grammy -winning He had run off and married a good-natured Canadian woman The Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture Television or Other Visual Media has been awarded since 1988 They have also contributed theme songs to Comedy Central's The Daily Show, Adult Swim's The Oblongs and Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Higglytown Heroes, along with a commercial for Space Ghost Coast to Coast. Comedy Central is an American Cable television and Satellite television channel that carries predominantly Comedy programming The Daily Show (known in its current incarnation as The Daily Show Adult Swim, (usually stylized swim with its signature square Brackets, is an adult-oriented Television network sharing channel space with Cartoon The Oblongs is an American Animated television program aimed at teenagers and adults For the Disney Channel in other countries see Disney Channel around the world. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is a Children's television series, that premiered in prime time on Disney Channel on May 5, 2006. Higglytown Heroes is a children's television series currently airing on the Playhouse Disney portion of the Disney Channel, or on Space Ghost Coast to Coast is an animated spoof talk show The main characters of the show include Space Ghost, Zorak, Moltar, and

The band was the subject of the 2003 documentary film Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns), directed by AJ Schnack. Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt in one fashion or another to " Document " reality Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns is a documentary profiling the Alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, featuring interviews with Frank Black AJ Schnack is an Independent filmmaker He directed Kurt Cobain About a Son, which premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. Combined, the band has sold over 4 million records.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Then: The Earlier Years (1982–1989) 1.2 Move to Elektra (1990–1992) 1.3 Recruiting a band (1992-1998) 1.4 Beyond Elektra (1999–2003) 1.5 Recent activity (2004-Present) 2 Name 3 Discography 4 Charting singles 5 Song samples 6 Music videos 7 Notes and references 8 External links

History

Linnell and Flansburgh (often nicknamed "the two Johns" or "John and John") first met as teenagers growing up in Lincoln, Massachusetts. Lincoln is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. They began writing songs together while attending Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School but didn't officially form a band. Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School (LSRHS or LS is located at 390 Lincoln Road in Sudbury, Massachusetts, U The two attended separate colleges after high school (Flansburgh attended Pratt Institute), and Linnell joined The Mundanes, a New Wave group from Rhode Island. Pratt Institute is a specialized private college in New York City with campuses in Manhattan and Brooklyn, as well as in Utica New York The Mundanes were an early-1980s Rhode Island -based New Wave band featuring future They Might Be Giants member John Linnell. New Wave is a Rock music genre that existed during the late 1970s and the 1980s Rhode Island ( officially named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States The two reunited in 1981 after moving to Brooklyn (to the same apartment building on the same day) to continue their career. Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. ^[1]

Then: The Earlier Years (1982–1989)

Taking their name from the 1971 movie They Might Be Giants, the duo began performing their own music in and around New York City — Flansburgh on guitar, Linnell on accordion and saxophone, and accompanied by a drum machine and/or a prerecorded backing track on audio cassette. They Might Be Giants is a 1971 Film based on the Broadway play of the same name (both written by James Goldman) starring The City of New York The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles The accordion is a portable box-shaped Musical instrument of the hand-held Bellows -driven free-reed aerophone family sometimes referred to as a Squeezebox The saxophone (commonly referred to simply as sax) is a conical- bored transposing Musical instrument considered a member of the Woodwind For the early "drum machine" computers that used a rotating cylinder as their main memory see Drum memory A drum machine is an The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a Magnetic tape sound Their atypical instrumentation, along with their songs which featured unusual subject matter and clever wordplay, soon attracted a strong local following. Their performances also featured absurdly comical stage props such as oversized fezzes and large cardboard cutout heads of newspaper editor William Allen White. The fez ( Greek: Φέσι Turkish: fes plural fezzes or fezes) or Tarboosh طربوش, not to be confused with North William Allen White (February 10 1868 &ndash January 31 1944 was a renowned American Newspaper editor, politician and author ^[2] Many of these props would later turn up in their first music videos.

At one point, Linnell broke his wrist in a biking accident and Flansburgh's apartment was burgled, forcing them to take a break from performing. During this hiatus, they began recording their songs onto an answering machine, and then advertising the phone number in local newspapers such as The Village Voice, using the moniker "Dial-A-Song". An answering machine, also known as an answerphone, ansaphone or ansafone (especially in UK and British commonwealth countries or telephone answering This article is about a New York newspaper For the Ottawa Hills Ohio magazine see The Village Voice of Ottawa Hills. Established by rock band They Might Be Giants (TMBG Dial-A-Song consisted of an Answering machine with a tape of the band playing various songs ^[3] They also released a demo cassette, which earned them a review in People magazine. People (full name People Weekly) is a weekly American Magazine of Celebrity and human interest stories, published The review caught the attention of Bar/None Records, who signed They Might Be Giants to a recording deal. Bar/None Records is an Independent record label based out of Hoboken New Jersey. ^[4]

The duo released their self-titled debut album in 1986, which became a college radio hit. They Might Be Giants is the Eponymous first album from They Might Be Giants, also known as the " Pink Album " The video for "Don't Let's Start", filmed in the New York Pavilion of the 1964 New York World's Fair in Queens, became a hit on MTV, earning them a broader following. The 1964/1965 New York World's Fair was the third major World's Fair to be held in New York City MTV ( Music Television) is an American Cable television network based in New York City. In 1988, they released their second album, Lincoln, named after the duo's hometown. Lincoln is the second album by the band They Might Be Giants. It featured the song "Ana Ng" which reached #11 on the US Modern Rock chart.

Move to Elektra (1990–1992)

In 1989, They Might Be Giants signed with Elektra Records, and released their third album Flood the following year. Elektra Records is a now-dormant American Record label owned by Warner Music Group (WMG and from 2004 on operating under WMG's Atlantic Records Flood is the third studio album by They Might Be Giants, and their first with a major label Elektra Records. Flood earned them a gold album, largely thanks to the success of "Birdhouse in Your Soul" which reached number three on the US Modern Rock chart, as well as "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)". " Istanbul (Not Constantinople " is a swing -style song with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy and music by Nat Simon.

In 1990, Throttle magazine interviewed They Might Be Giants and clarified the meaning of the song "Ana Ng": John Flansburgh said, "Ng is a Vietnamese name. The song is about someone who's thinking about a person on the exact opposite side of the world. John looked at a globe and figured out that if Ana Ng is in Vietnam and the person is on the other side of the world, then it must be written by someone in Peru. " (Derek Thomas, Throttle, August 1990. )

Further interest in the band was generated when two cartoon music videos were created by Warner Bros. for Tiny Toon Adventures: "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and "Particle Man". Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures (also known as Tiny Toon Adventures or Tiny Toons) is an American ^[5] The videos reflected TMBG's high "kid appeal", resulting from their often absurd songs and poppy melodies.

In 1991, Bar/None Records released the B-sides compilation Miscellaneous T. Miscellaneous T is a 1991 (see 1991 in music) B-side and Remix Compilation album by the Alternative rock band The title referred to the section of the record store where TMBG releases were often found as well as to the overall eclectic nature of the tracks. Though consisting of previously released material (save for the "Purple Toupee" b-sides, which were not available publicly), it gave new fans a chance to hear the Johns' earlier non-album work without having to hunt down the individual EPs. A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of 7 inch Vinyl records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s

In early 1992, They Might Be Giants released Apollo 18. The heavy space theme coincided with TMBG being named Musical Ambassadors for International Space Year. Singles from the album included "The Statue Got Me High", "The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)", "I Palindrome I", and "My Evil Twin". The Guitar ( The Lion Sleeps Tonight) is a song and EP by They Might Be Giants. Apollo 18 was also notable for being one of the first albums to take advantage of the CD player's shuffle feature. The song "Fingertips" actually comprised 21 separate tracks — short snippets that not only acted together to make the song, but that when played in random order would be interspersed between the album's full-length songs. Randomness is a lack of order Purpose, cause, or predictability (Due to mastering errors, the UK and Australian versions of Apollo 18 contained "Fingertips" as one track. )

Recruiting a band (1992-1998)

Following Apollo 18, Flansburgh and Linnell decided to move away from the guitar & accordion (or sax) plus backing tracks on tape nature of their live show, and recruited a supporting band that consisted of live musicians (Kurt Hoffman of the Ordinaires on reeds and keyboards, longtime Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone and drummer Jonathan Feinberg). Pere Ubu are an Experimental rock music group formed in Cleveland Ohio, in 1975 Tony Maimone is a Bass guitarist He was a member of Pere Ubu from the mid-1970s to the early 1990 's often playing with Drummer Scott

John Henry was released in 1994. John Henry is the name of They Might Be Giants ' fifth original album although it is the sixth disc in their Discography. It was TMBG's first album recorded as a full band, done so under pressure from Elektra. Influenced by their more conventional lineup, this album marked a departure from their previous releases with more of a guitar-heavy sound. ^[6] It was released to mixed reviews amongst fans and critics alike.

Their next album, Factory Showroom, was released in 1996 to little fanfare. Factory Showroom is the sixth studio Album by the band They Might Be Giants. The band had moved away from the feel of John Henry, and Factory Showroom includes the more diverse sounds of their earlier albums, despite the inclusion of two guitarists, the second being Eric Schermerhorn who provided several guitar solos.

They left Elektra after the duo refused to do a publicity show, amongst other exposure-related disputes. ^[7]

In 1998, they released a mostly-live album Severe Tire Damage from which came the single "Doctor Worm," a studio recording. Severe Tire Damage is primarily a live album by They Might Be Giants, released in 1998 (see 1998 in music) This article is about the song For the fictional character see Madan Senki Ryukendo.

Beyond Elektra (1999–2003)

For most of their career, TMBG have made innovative use of the Internet. (As early as 1992, the band was sending news updates to their fans via Usenet newsgroups). In 1999, They Might Be Giants became the first major label recording artist to release an entire album exclusively in mp3 format. MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a Digital audio encoding format using a form of Lossy data compression The album, Long Tall Weekend. Long Tall Weekend is a downloadable album released by They Might Be Giants in 1999 ^[8] is sold through Emusic

Also in 1999, the band contributed the song "Dr. eMusic is an Online music store that operates by Subscription. Evil" to the motion picture Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Austin Powers The Spy Who Shagged Me is the second film in the Austin Powers series, released in 1999. Over their career, the band has performed on numerous movie and television soundtracks, including The Oblongs, the ABC News miniseries Brave New World and Ed and His Dead Mother. The Oblongs is an American Animated television program aimed at teenagers and adults This article is about the American news organization See also ABC News (disambiguation ABC News is a division of American Brave New World was an ABC TV mini-series aired in the late 90's about the possibilities in the 21st century They also performed the theme music "Dog on Fire", composed by Bob Mould, for the The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Bob Mould (born Robert Arthur Mould, October 16 1961 Malone, New York) is an American Musician, principally known for his work as The Daily Show (known in its current incarnation as The Daily Show More recently, they composed and performed the music for the TLC series Resident Life, the theme song for the Disney Channel program Higglytown Heroes, and a song about the cartoon Courage the Cowardly Dog. TLC (generally called as The Learning Channel) is a cable TV network in the US and Canada, that carries a variety of informational and For the Disney Channel in other countries see Disney Channel around the world. Higglytown Heroes is a children's television series currently airing on the Playhouse Disney portion of the Disney Channel, or on Courage the Cowardly Dog is an Academy Award -nominated American Animated television series, created by John R ^[9]

During this time the band also worked on a project for McSweeney's, a publishing company and literary journal. McSweeney's is an American publishing house founded by editor Dave Eggers, author of the books You Shall Know Our Velocity, The band wrote a McSweeney's theme song and forty-four songs for an album that was meant to be listened to with the journal, with each track corresponding to a particular story or piece of artwork. Labeled They Might Be Giants vs. McSweeney's, the disk appears in issue #6 of Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern. Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern is a literary journal first published in 1998 edited by Dave Eggers.

Contributing the single "Boss of Me" as the theme song to the hit television series Malcolm in the Middle, as well as to the show's compilation CD, brought a new audience to the band. Malcolm in the Middle was a seven-time Emmy Award -winning one-time Grammy -winning He had run off and married a good-natured Canadian woman Not only did the band contribute the theme, songs from all of the Giants' previous albums were used on the show: for example, the infamous punching-the-kid-in-the-wheelchair scene from the first episode was done to the strains of "Pencil Rain" from Lincoln. "Boss of Me" became the band's second top-40 hit in the UK which they performed on long running UK television programme Top Of The Pops, and in 2002, won the duo a Grammy Award. Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, was a long-running British music chart Television programme, made and broadcast The 44th Grammy Awards were held on February 27, 2002. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year The Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture Television or Other Visual Media has been awarded since 1988 ^[10]

On September 11, 2001, they released the album Mink Car on Restless Records. Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Mink Car is the eighth studio album by They Might Be Giants, released in 2001 (see 2001 in music) on Restless Records Restless Records was a Hollywood California based Independent record label which was started by Enigma Records. It was their first full album release of new studio material since 1996, and their first since parting ways with Elektra. The making of that album, including a record signing event at a Manhattan Tower Records, was included in a documentary directed by AJ Schnack titled Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns). Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York Tower Records was a Retail music chain based in Sacramento California, USA AJ Schnack is an Independent filmmaker He directed Kurt Cobain About a Son, which premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns is a documentary profiling the Alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, featuring interviews with Frank Black The film, released in 2003, won rave reviews and several awards, and was featured in dozens of film festivals. The film was released on DVD in 2003.

In 2002 they released their first album "for the entire family", No!. No! is the first album of children's music by the alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. Using the enhanced CD format, it included an interactive animation for most of the songs. Enhanced CD, also known as CD Extra and CD Plus, is a Certification mark of the Recording Industry Association of America for various technologies They followed it up in 2003 with their first book, an illustrated children's book with an included EP, Bed, Bed, Bed. Bed Bed Bed is a Book and EP package for Children released by the musical group They Might Be Giants in 2003 (see 2003

Recent activity (2004-Present)

In 2004, the band created one of the first artist-owned online music stores, at which customers could purchase and download MP3 copies of their music, both new releases and many previously released albums. By creating their own store, the band could keep money that would otherwise go to record companies. (TMBG MP3 Music Store)

Also in 2004, the band released their first new "adult" rock work in three years, the EP Indestructible Object. For the work "Indestructible Object" by artist Man Ray see Object to Be Destroyed. They followed that up with a new album, The Spine, and an associated EP, The Spine Surfs Alone. The Spine is the tenth full-length studio album by They Might Be Giants. The Spine Surfs Alone is a 2004 EP by They Might Be Giants, released as a companion to their Album The Spine on the same For the album's first single, "Experimental Film", TMBG teamed up with Homestar Runner creators Matt and Mike Chapman to create an animated music video. " Experimental Film " is a song by They Might Be Giants. Homestar Runner is a Flash animated Internet cartoon. It mixes Surreal humor with references to 1970s '80s and '90s pop culture The Brothers Chaps are Michael (Mike and Matthew (Matt Chapman, creators of the Homestar Runner series of Animated cartoons. The band's collaboration with the Brothers Chaps also included several Puppet Jam segments with puppet Homestar, and the music for a Strong Bad email entitled "Different Town. "^[11]

Drummer Dan Hickey left the band around this timeframe and was subsequently replaced by Marty Beller, who had already played with TMBG for kids' shows and other projects. Marty Beller is the current drummer for They Might Be Giants.

TMBG also contributed a track to the 2004 Future Soundtrack For America compilation, a project compiled by John Flansburgh with the help of Spike Jonze and Barsuk Records. Future Soundtrack for America is a benefit Album for Music for America and MoveOn Spike Jonze (born Adam Spiegel October 22, 1969) is an American director of Music videos and commercials and an Academy Barsuk Records (bɑrˈsuːk bar-SOOK is an Independent record label based in Seattle Washington, started and still managed by the members of the The band contributed "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too", a political campaign song from the presidential election of 1840. " Tippecanoe and Tyler too " originally published as " Tip and Ty " was a very popular and influential Campaign song of the colorful Log Cabin The United States presidential election of 1840 saw President Martin Van Buren fight for re-election against an economic depression and a Whig Party The compilation was released by Barsuk and featured indie, alternative, and high-profile acts such as Death Cab for Cutie, The Flaming Lips, and Bright Eyes. Barsuk Records (bɑrˈsuːk bar-SOOK is an Independent record label based in Seattle Washington, started and still managed by the members of the Death Cab for Cutie is an American Indie rock band formed in Bellingham, The Flaming Lips (formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983 is an American rock band Bright Eyes is an American band consisting of Singer-songwriter / Guitarist Conor Oberst, Multi-instrumentalist / producer All proceeds went to progressive organizations such as Music for America and MoveOn.org. Music for America is a political organization which uses concert events and the social networks which surround bands and musical "scenes" as a way to promote MoveOn is an American non-profit progressive liberal public policy advocacy group and Political action committee which has raised millions of

Flansburgh and Linnell made a guest appearance in Camp, the January 11, 2004 episode of the animated sitcom Home Movies. Events 1055 - Theodora is crowned Empress of the Byzantine Empire. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Home Movies is a Dialogue -driven American animated series that originally aired from 1999 to 2004. They voice both a pair of camp counselors and members of a strange hooded male bonding cult. ^[12]

Following the Spine on the Hiway Tour of 2004, the band announced that they would take an extended hiatus from touring to focus on other projects, such as a musical produced by Flansburgh and written by his wife, Robin "Goldie" Goldwasser, titled People Are Wrong!. Robin "Goldie" Goldwasser is an American Singer and Playwright. People Are Wrong is a 2004 Off-Broadway musical written by Robin Goldwasser and Julia Greenberg and stars John Flansburgh

2005 saw the release of Here Come the ABCs, TMBG's follow-up to the successful children's album No!. Here Come the ABCs is a 2005 DVD and audio CD release by They Might Be Giants, aimed at young children learning the alphabet The Disney Sound label released the CD and DVD separately on February 15, 2005. Events 590 - Khosrau II is crowned as king of Persia 1637 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. To promote the album, Flansburgh and Linnell along with drummer Marty Beller embarked on a short tour, performing for free at many Borders Bookstore locations. Borders Group ( is an international bookseller based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In November 2005, Venue Songs was released as a two-disc CD/DVD set narrated by John Hodgman. Venue Songs is a 2004 album by the group They Might Be Giants. John Kellogg Hodgman (born June 3, 1971) is an American author and humorist It is a concept album based on all of the "venue songs" from their 2004 tour. In Popular music, a concept album is an Album which is "unified by a theme which can be instrumental compositional narrative or lyrical"

Since December 2005, They Might Be Giants have been making podcasts on a monthly, sometimes bi-monthly, basis. Each edition includes remixes of previous songs, rarities, covers, and new songs and skits recorded specifically for the podcast.

The band contributed fourteen original songs for the 2006 Dunkin' Donuts ad campaign, "America Runs On Dunkin'", including "Things I Like To Do", "Pleather" and "Fritalian". Dunkin' Donuts is an international donut and Coffee retailer founded in 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts, U In the aired advertisement, Flansburgh sings "Fritalian" along with his wife, Robin Goldwasser. In a 2008 Commercial, "Moving" is played. ^[13]

Recently, they have produced and performed three original songs for new Playhouse Disney series: one for Higglytown Heroes and two for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Playhouse Disney is the brand name for Disney Channel 's preschool programs often airing as its own channel outside of the United States Higglytown Heroes is a children's television series currently airing on the Playhouse Disney portion of the Disney Channel, or on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is a Children's television series, that premiered in prime time on Disney Channel on May 5, 2006. They have also written and performed the theme song for the upcoming Adult Swim pilot, "The Drinky Crow Show". The Drinky Crow Show is an American Animated television series created by Tony Millionaire and Eric Kaplan based on the They will also be providing original songs for the soundtrack to the Henry Selick-directed movie of Neil Gaiman's children's book Coraline,^[14] and the title track to the Disney movie Meet the Robinsons. Henry Selick (born November 30 1952) is an American Stop motion director, producer and writer who is best known for directing Coraline is a 2009 animated Stop-motion Fantasy film based on Neil Gaiman 's Novella of the same name. Neil Richard Gaiman (ˈgeɪmən (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of Science fiction and Fantasy short stories and For the vampire character Coraline on the television series "Moonlight", see Moonlight (TV series. Meet the Robinsons is a Computer-animated 2007 Film and the 46th Animated feature produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios

Their twelfth album, The Else, was released July 10, 2007, on Idlewild Recordings (and distributed by Zoë Records for the CD version), with an earlier digital release on May 15 at the iTunes Music Store. The Else is the twelfth Studio album by rock duo They Might Be Giants, released by Idlewild Records in 2007 Events 48 BC - Battle of Dyrrhachium, Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. They Might Be Giants (commonly abbreviated to TMBG) is an American Alternative rock band which began as a duo of John Flansburgh and John Zoë Records is an Independent record label in the United States. Events 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the Papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the The iTunes Store is a software-based online Digital media store operated by Apple Inc Advanced copies were made available to stations by mid-June 2007^[15] . The album was produced by Pat Dillett (David Byrne) and The Dust Brothers (Beck, Beastie Boys)^[16]. The Dust Brothers are the Los Angeles -based Grammy Award winning producers "E Beck' s birth name was Bek see the sources given This is not a typo and should not be changed without good reason

In the rest of 2007, They Might Be Giants wrote a commissioned piece for Brooklyn-based robotic music outfit League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots and performed for three dates at the event, and covered the Pixies "Havalina" for American Laundromat Records "Dig For Fire - a tribute to PIXIES" compilation. The League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots, or LEMUR, is a Brooklyn-based group of artists and technologists developing robotic musical instruments Pixies are an American Alternative rock band formed in Boston Massachusetts in 1986 American Laundromat Records (ALR was founded in April 2004 in Huntington Village NY (Long Island by Joe Spadaro with a small tax-refund check which was used to produce a 16-song compilation

The band's thirteenth album, Here Come the 123s, a DVD/CD follow-up to 2005's critically-acclaimed Here Come the ABCs children's project, was released on February 5, 2008^[17]. Here Come the 123s is the thirteenth Studio album by They Might Be Giants. Here Come the ABCs is a 2005 DVD and audio CD release by They Might Be Giants, aimed at young children learning the alphabet Events 1576 - Henry of Navarre converts to Roman Catholicism in order to ensure his right to the throne of France. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common On April 10, 2008, They Might Be Giants performed the song "Seven" from the album on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Events 879 - Louis III becomes King of the Western Franks. 1407 - the lama 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an Emmy Award -winning American late-night Talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien on NBC

Name

The band took their name from the 1971 film They Might Be Giants (starring George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward), which is in turn taken from a Don Quixote passage about how Quixote fears windmills could be evil giants. They Might Be Giants is a 1971 Film based on the Broadway play of the same name (both written by James Goldman) starring George Campbell Scott (October 18 1927 - September 22 1999 was an American stage and film Actor, director, and producer. Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward (born February 27, 1930) is an American Academy Award - Golden Globe - Emmy and es '''''Don Quixote''''' (, see spelling and pronunciation below fully titled es '''''El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha''''' ("The Ingenious Hidalgo Don

According to Dave Wilson, in his book Rock Formations, the name They Might Be Giants had been used and subsequently discarded by a friend of the band who had a ventriloquism act. ^[18] The name was then adopted by the band, who had been searching for a suitable name.

A common misconception is that the name of the band is a reference to themselves and an allusion to future success. In an interview John Flansburgh said (paraphrasing) that the words "they might be giants" are just a very outward-looking forward thing which they liked. He clarified this in the documentary movie Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) by explaining that the name refers to the outside world of possibilities that they saw as a fledgling band. Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns is a documentary profiling the Alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, featuring interviews with Frank Black In an earlier radio interview, John Linnell described the phrase as "something very paranoid sounding". ^[19]

On the Severe Tire Damage album track "They Got Lost," John Flansburgh jokingly introduces themselves as "They Must Be Giants," to audience laughter.

On the compilation album Miscellaneous T, on track 13 ("Untitled"), a confused caller to TMBG's Dial-a-Song named Gloria talks to an unknown third party (assumedly unaware that the entire conversation is being recorded) about the mystery of "There May Be Giants", as she mistakenly refers to the band. Miscellaneous T is a 1991 (see 1991 in music) B-side and Remix Compilation album by the Alternative rock band

In the commentary for the cartoon for "Experimental Film" on Homestarrunner. com Strong Bad refers to "They Might Be Giants" with the incorrect name "Supergiants. "

In the Terry Pratchett novel Soul Music (Set on The Discworld) a group of musically gifted short people call themselves 'We're Certainly Dwarfs' as an homage to TMBG. Terence David John Pratchett, OBE (born 28 April 1948 is an English fantasy, Science fiction, and children's author. Soul music is a Music genre that combines Rhythm and blues and Gospel music, originating in the United States. Discworld is a comedic Fantasy Book series by the British author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat This is mentioned by the author in The Discworld Companion. The Discworld Companion is an Encyclopedia of all things Discworldian created by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs.

To promote Flood, TMBG performed "Your Racist Friend" on The Today Show, where Bryant Gumbel called them "They Must Be Giants". Flood is the third studio album by They Might Be Giants, and their first with a major label Elektra Records. Today, also referred to as The Today Show, is an American morning news and talk show airing weekday mornings on NBC. Bryant Charles Gumbel (born September 29, 1948) is an American Television personality for news and Sports programs

Discography

For more details on this topic, see They Might Be Giants discography. The They Might Be Giants discography is a list of official studio albums live albums EPs singles compilations videos and other recordings released by the band They Might Be Giants

Throughout their career, They Might Be Giants have released 13 studio albums, 6 live albums, 25 EPs and singles. A studio album is an original collection of new tracks by a recording artist A live album &ndash commonly contrasted with a Studio album &ndash is a recording consisting of material (usually music recorded during stage performances They have also collaborated on many other projects. ^[20]

Charting singles

Year	Title	Chart positions		Album
		US Modern Rock	UK Singles Chart
1988	"Ana Ng"	#11	-	Lincoln
1990	"Birdhouse in Your Soul"	#3	#6	Flood
1990	"Twisting"	#22	-	Flood
1990	"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"	-	#61	Flood
1992	"The Statue Got Me High"	#24	#92	Apollo 18
1994	"Snail Shell"	#19	-	John Henry
2001	"Boss of Me"	-	#21	Music from Malcolm in the Middle

Song samples

Music videos

The band has released music videos for eighteen of their songs^[21]:

• "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" (1986)
• "Don't Let's Start" (1986)
• "(She Was a) Hotel Detective" (1986)
• "Ana Ng" (1988)
• "Purple Toupee" (1988)
• "They'll Need a Crane" (1988)
• "Birdhouse in Your Soul" (1990)
• "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" (animated) (1990)
• "The Statue Got Me High" (1992)
• "The Guitar" (1992)
• "Snail Shell" (1994)
• "Doctor Worm" (1998)
• "Boss of Me" (2001) (abridged version premiered on FOX; some airplay on MTV2 and other stations; featured in an episode of VH1's Pop-Up Video)
• "Experimental Film" (2004) (animated, with Homestar Runner characters)
• "With The Dark" (2007, created by Mizushima Hine)
• "The Shadow Government"[2] (2007)
• "I'm Impressed"[3] (2007)
• "The Mesopotamians"[4] (2007)

Other videos include:

• "Rabid Child" (1986) (home video, not released publicly, clip can be seen in Gigantic)
• "I Am Not Your Broom" (1990s)
• "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" (1990) (produced by and featured on Tiny Toons)
• "Particle Man" (1990) (produced by and featured on Tiny Toons)
• "Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is A Mass Of Incandescent Gas)" (1997) (animated/live action, premiered on KaBlam!)
• "Doctor Worm" (2000) (animated, premiered on KaBlam!)
• "Courage the Cowardly Dog" (2002) (computer animated, aired on Cartoon Network)
• "Dexter's Lab" (2003) (animated by Klasky-Csupo, aired on Cartoon Network)
• "I'm All You Can Think About" (2004) (animated in Macromedia Flash by John Linnell)
• "Damn Good Times" (2005) (animated, appears on tmbg.com)
• "Bastard Wants to Hit Me" (2005) (animated, appears on tmbg.com)
• "Dallas", "Los Angeles", "Anaheim", "Vancouver" "Asheville" "Glasgow", "Albany", "Pittsburgh", "Asbury Park", "Brooklyn" and "Charlottesville" (2005, on the Venue Songs DVD)

Notes and references

External links

Official sites

• Official They Might Be Giants web page
• Official band-operated download site
• They Might Be Giants' Dial-A-Song (now dedicated to the They Might Be Giants Podcast)
• The official TMBG Kids web page
• They Might Be Giants at MySpace

Unofficial fansites

• This Might Be A Wiki — a MediaWiki about TMBG
• Theynow.com — A fanmade TMBG podcast
• The unofficial They Might Be Giants site

Other

• John Linnell interview with The Lance, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON
• Stay Thirsty's interview w/John Linnell
• They Might Be Giants at Allmusic
• They Might Be Giants at the Internet Movie Database
• They Might Be Giants at Last.fm
• TMBG Podcast interview with Synthesis Magazine
• Interview with John Flansburgh on Liberadio(!) 10/15/07
• (TMBG) Interview with John Flansburgh 11/17/07
• Experimental Film music video on Homestarrunner.com
• Video from the live performance at the TED Conference (March 2007)

MySpace is a popular social networking Website offering an interactive user-submitted network of friends personal profiles blogs groups photos music and MediaWiki is a web-based Wiki software application used by all projects of the Wikimedia Foundation, all wikis hosted by Wikia, and allmusic (previously All Music Guide) is a Metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. Lastfm is a UK -based Internet radio and Music Community website, founded in 2002 TED ( Technology Entertainment Design) is an annual conference that defines its mission as "ideas worth spreading"

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