Endless creativity.
Yup, that applies to John Linnell and John Flansburgh. But also to the legion of fans whose tributes and histories of They Might Be Giants aspire to the high level of intelligence and fun in the band's music.
Want a little, or a lot, more info about the band? Here goes...
General reference by fans:
This Might Be a Wiki (The TMBG Knowledge Base): Every song, every lyric, every concert, guitar tabs, and the band's entire history are organized in a thoughtful, easily accessible way on this fan-run wiki. The interpretations of hundreds of TMBG songs are my favorite. Totally over-the-top and delightful.
Don't Let's Start Hosts Jordan Cooper and Dave Fox have released 55 podcast episodes, exclusively about They Might Be Giants. This includes 8 episodes (lasting 16 hours) just about the album John Henry. Such inspiring devotion!
Song videos by fans:
Fans have posted some beautiful and funny song videos on Youtube. Some I love...
"Everything You Know Is Wrong": The pinnacle of all musical honors -- In 1996, Weird Al Yankovic released an original song of his own that pays homage to the style of They Might Be Giants. Then the creators of the Don't Let's Start podcast produced an impressive video that deconstructs the TMBG references is Weird Al's song.
James K. Polk: Made 17 years ago as a history class project by Kevin Terraciano, this Youtube video illustrates the Giants' song with visual cleverness and historical humor.
Synopsis for Latecomers: Fan Craig J. Clark illustrated a 2021 Giants song with silent movie clips.
The Cap'm: The 2007 song -- one of my favorites -- gets a visual blast from Cartoonist Amassadoratom, using characters from his comic book Dr. Pineapple.
History and review videos by fans:
Fans have posted comprehensive and entertaining videos about the band. A few of the best:
A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants: Mike, the creator, boosts the fun of the band's tale with his own special FX.
They Might Be Giants Studio Albums 1986-Now: I found this 14-minute video by One Guy's Ear after I had already confessed to John Flansburgh that I stopped following the band in the late '90s. One Guy made a video about the exact same thing. He's also as follicle-y challenged as I am. Clearly, my new best Youtube friend.
Every Album Ranked from Worst to Best: You don't have to agree with Mikaela Thorn (pictured above) about the assessment of each album. The intelligence and humor in this countdown is really fun to watch.
They Might Be Giants Without Context: Bella has assembled little bits of Giants flotsam into a lively mix.
Every Music Reference and Sample in They Might Be Giants Songs: CapitalQ pulled off a truly amazing feat by creating this 42-minute video that reveals the source of every single sample in every Giants song. That's months of work, folks. Wow!
Media coverage:
The media provides unusually comprehensive coverage of the band -- which, of course, is appreciated by existing, and developing, fans.
Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) A full-length 2003 documentary by A.J. Schnack, now available on Youtube. I know I was interviewed for it. But I wasn't the best interview subject. So they may have cut me.
Marc Maron's WTF Podcast: The 2018 episode about They Might Be Giants.
PBS News Hour: A recent short summary of the band in 2022.
The Story Behind the Song: Nearly an hour of discussion in 2022 about a relatively well-known TMBG song, "Birdhouse in Your Soul." Wow!
If that's not enough to keep you busy, just go on the Interwebs -- there's a fan out there right now, ready to provide you with more. And, of course, there's the annotated playlist of my favorite They Might Be Giants songs. I showed restraint. Included only about 50 of them.
(If you haven't heard the episode of I Couldn't Throw It Out where John Flansburgh TRIES to help me toss my TMBG memorabilia, listen to it here.)
