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They Might Be Giants -
The
Spine (Zoe)
by Joe Hasan
They Might Be
Repeating
Themselves,
But So What?
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used to be that a new They Might Be Giants album was
a promise of wonderment for us listeners. Somewhere
between 15-20 songs that A) were unlike anything that
ever came before them in the history of pop music
and B) would undoubtedly earn Johns Linnell &
Flansburgh a rightful chapter in the proverbial who's
who of great popular tunesmiths (if the mainstream
would shut the fuck up about The Joshua Tree-
insert any other collection of songs that unfairly
received more attention than They Might Be Giants,
Lincoln, Flood . . . - for twenty
seconds and listen). TMBG's latest offering, The
Spine, may not reach this glorious level, but
it still offers many more than a few bright moments. |
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The first couple of these moments come early in the
album's course, via "Memo to Human Resources"
and "Wearing A Raincoat." All of the traditional
TMBG hallmarks can be found within these tracks- heartwarmingly
beautiful melodies that encase some of the saddest,
strangest and charming sentiments to be heard, sometimes
all at once (consider "Raincoat"'s "Needing
a friend to talk you down/is food that comes from
a pipe/but when you hate the food that comes from
a pipe/you will turn to drugs to help you sleep/ turning
to drugs to help you sleep/will only lead to sleep/
and sleeping is a gateway drug to being awake again"-
wow!).
There are more high spots in
the form of other heartbreakers ("I Can't Hide
From My Mind") and energy-charged rockers ("Damn
Good Times," "Prevenge" and "It's
Kickin' In"), but unfortunately, you have to
listen to a bunch of sub-par TMBG to get to them.
Not sub-par in that they're bad songs, but in that
they sound all too familiar if you know this band.
For instance, take "Thunderbird" and "Au
Contraire." Very clever, lyrically, but instead
of spotlighting what the duo is known for in a new
context, they sound very much like carbon copies of
some of the work that TMBG did in the 1990s ("Till
My Head Falls Off" and "Dinner Bell,"
specifically). Hell, I think one song on The Spine
even lifts a melody from the title track of their
last album, 2001's Mink Car.
So why are They Might Be Giants
repeating themselves? Is it that they're lazy? Not
even close. There may have been almost three years
between Mink Car and The Spine,
but the Johns have kept plenty busy with children's
albums, compilations, EPs, documentaries, work-for-hire
stuff, etc. Is it that anything worth doing once is
worth doing again? |
You
Dig? You’ll Dig…
Fountains
of Wayne
Welcome Interstate Managers
$13.99 @ Amazon.com
Ween
White Pepper
$14.99 @ Amazon.com
Weezer
Maladroit
$13.98 @ Amazon.com
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| Getting closer, but there's probably
a better answer. Maybe it's that in their 22nd official
year, TMBG would rather please themselves with songs
of which they are rightfully proud, than care about
what some self-righteous critic for a webzine thinks?
I believe that the correct answer is the third choice.
As a result, I'm a happy, self-righteous critic
for a webzine, for I know that it is this honesty that
has allowed, and continues to allow, TMBG to stand as
one the strongest creative forces of any era. |
Little
Birdhouses in Your Soul: They Might Be Giants Album Collection
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They Might Be
Giants
(Restless-Bar/None, 1986) |
Lincoln
(Restless-Bar/None, 1989) |
Flood
(Elektra, 1990) |
Apollo 18
(Elektra, 1992) |
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John Henry
(Elektra, 1994) |
Factory Showroom
(Elektra, 1996) |
Severe Tire Damage
(Restless, 1998) |
Long Tall Weekend
(They Might Be Records, 1999)- Not Available |
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Mink
Car
(Restless, 2001) |
No!
(Rounder, 2002) |
Dial
A Song Collection
(Rhino, 2002) |
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