John Flansburgh

They Might Be Giants

As a founder and leader -- with John Linnell -- of the band They Might Be Giants, John Flansburgh has found enough creative outlets to keep him very busy. He writes music and lyrics and sings them, plays guitar and programs drum machines, contributes to inventive designs of album covers and videos, and spreads good cheer wherever he goes. He and John Linnell went to high school together in Lincoln Massachusetts before moving to New York City, where their career took off in 1986 with the release of their eponymous first album. Since then they have released 19 studio albums, many more compilations and about 400 of their songs can be found on Apple Music. They won a Grammy for writing the theme song for the TV show Malcolm in the Middle and were nominated for a Tony Award for a song they contributed to SpongeBob The Musical on Broadway. They won another Grammy for their 2009 children's album "Here Come the 123s", and were nominated for the illustrated art book that comes with their 2021 album Book. John was badly injured in a 2022 taxi collision with a drunk driver in Manhattan, but he bounced back during a sold out 80+ city US tour in the summer of 2023, which will be followed by a UK/Ireland/Australia tour in the fall. He kicked off the second season of the podcast I Couldn't Throw It Out in July 2023 by trying to help co-host Michael Small throw out his They Might Be Giants memorabilia. It was fun, but not a complete success.