My iPod #236: They Might Be Giants - Damn Good Times

When I started listening to They Might Be Giants properly in 2004, they had just released their latest album "The Spine", and were due to release this album where each song was dedicated to various music venues located in states of the USA.

"Damn Good Times" can be found on "The Spine", and its video above was able to be viewed on the band's official website. It is animated, a bit weird and oddly similar to the plot of Twilight.

John Flansburgh normally writes the rockers in They Might Be Giants, and this song is no different. The rhythm section of Danny Weikauf and Marty Beller are really on point, there's a lot of crash cymbal action during the verses and the bass slide during the chorus and accompanied with the lyrics about concerning a naturally talented lady, the tune is very uplifting.

The actual song finishes about a minute and a half in before transforming into this slow jam with a guitar solo which gradually builds pace before coming to an end. 58BPM to around 130 apparently.

Yep, TMBG never disappoint.

My iPod #136: They Might Be Giants - Broke in Two

Afternoon everyone.

I thought that preparing for university would be more of a strenuous task, but it appears that already I have most of the stuff I need. I have bought a few things here and there, just now I've chosen two pairs of new shoes and new socks, but it hasn't been as tiresome as I thought it would be. Life is good.

That was an unrelated introduction. I just wanted to tell you how things are going.

... I've never had an account on last.fm but without one four years ago, somehow, I was able to listen to "The Spine" by They Might Be Giants in full without any adverts. I'm very sure that I can't do that now, so it was surprising that I was able to pull it off. "Broke in Two" is the third from last track about a relationship which comes to an end. You have that situation in so many other songs; the list is endless, I know. The narrator also wants to make things better, but is very forgetful and a bit dim too. "I'm gonna run you down" does not sound like "I'm an orangutan" does it? The narrator takes this into account and admits that even though he would try to fix everything, the breakup would still happen just because of his behaviour. It's quite tragic. But it's so upbeat.

The instrumentation in the music is really good too. The opening riff was a bit of an ear-piercer, that really high note sounds like it's played wrong. But it's fine. It works. I don't know whether it's a keyboard or a guitar or both played simultaneously during the break, but how it ascends from low notes and finishes at the top is mesmerising. The song also glitches and disintegrates into silence at the end, which is intentional. It is one of my favourite songs on "The Spine", I hope you listen and like it too.

Until tomorrow.

Jamie.

My iPod #54: They Might Be Giants - Au Contraire

Hi everyone.

I'm a bit tired, and a little depressed at the moment. I can try and lighten up my mood in the post, and I'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow. I don't want to get into it.

At least the post today features a song by my favourite band. Yep.

Around the time that I discovered the music of They Might Be Giants, the album 'The Spine' was their most recent release. As time has gone on, that album is known as one of the band's least popular albums amongst fans. I like it though, it has some great tracks on it. This one is good too.

'Au Contraire' is sung by John Linnell, and makes references to David Bowie, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jodie Foster and Mahatma Gandhi. I don't know what the song is about but from what I hear, the famous people I mention ask a question or state something in the verses to which the narrator doesn't agree to, and in reply says 'Au contraire, mon frere.'

That is basically the whole song. There is a little dual guitar solo with a little flute part at the end of it. But, yeah, that is 'Au Contraire' from The Spine.

The ending is also quite random too. Random voices just start saying 'Right on', almost like some madness mantra. This then results in a crescendo of cheers and applause, everyone is shouting 'Right on'. Then 'Damn Good Times' starts. You should listen to this song and the aforementioned one together, it's pretty cool. I have a thing for songs which segue into one another, it seems really cool to me.

I'm feeling fine now. Thank you TMBG.

Until next time.

Jamie.