By Mercedes Caldera-Perez
The Centennialight
They Might Be Giants (TMBG) is a music group from Brooklyn, NY. The American alternative group has been active for 43 years, producing 23 studio albums over the course of their run time.
Formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell, TMBG has been a part of many well known projects across adult and children's media. They have won two Grammy awards and have a Platinum certification on their 1990 album Flood.
In their early years, the duo was only accompanied by a drum machine until they expanded to have a full band in the early 90s. They Might Be Giants is known for their uniqueness with their experimental style, use of unconventional instruments, fun eccentric music videos, and clever lyrics.
From the start, they’ve never quite fit into the rock genre, and rather created their own distinctive path which opened doors to many more alternative artists.
Their most known solo work include their cover of “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” originally by The Four Lads, and “BirdHouse in Your Soul", both tracks on Flood.
Many works people have known them in are,
Coraline (2009). “The Other Father Song” was produced by TMBG and sung by John Linnell. The movie was originally going to be a movie musical with a soundtrack done entirely by the group, but due to cuts this was the only song that made it.
Malcolm in the Middle’s theme song “Boss of me”, released as a single and on the album Mink Car, won a Grammy for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media in 2002.
The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song “Hot Dog!”, sung and produced by TMBG. “Hot Dogs!” were the first words ever spoken by Mickey Mouse back in the 1929 short The Karnival Kid.
Television performances on shows like The Late Late Show, Good Morning America, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The Spongebob Musical song “I'm Not a Loser", being one of the many artists included on the soundtrack.
Here Comes Science, an animated children's educational show they produced the music for, as well as voiced animated versions of themselves.
Songs included in films and episodes on TV, some including Meet The Robinsons, The Walking Dead, The Simpsons, and The Umbrella Academy.
They Might Be Giants had a project called Dial-A-Song, consisting of a special phone number that originally ran from 1983 to 2006 and later revived in 2014. When called, the answering machine in Flansburghs apartment would pick up and play a new song every day on an outgoing message via cassette tape.
The songs used for Dial-A-Song ranged from fully produced songs, fractions of songs the duo was working on, songs that would go unreleased, and demos. The number is still active today and plays a set of songs from the 2015/2018 projects at (844) 387-6962.
The group also has a 2003 documentary movie called Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns. The documentary includes interviews, concert shows, TV performances, music video clips, coffee, humor, and many taking on the impossible task of interpreting the world of They Might Be Giants.
The band is currently on tour across the US with “THE BIG TOUR”, touring the South in March and the West Coast in May. They play a range of old stuff and new stuff from their 80+ song discography, and a different album will be in the spotlight every night as a way to celebrate all things They Might Be Giants!
Kommentare