If This be an Old Post!

Following is a post that I made on September 24, 2007 about They Might Be Giants. I am re-posting it here, as MySpace's blog is stupid and difficult to navigate. The reason why is that I'm thinking of posting some other tributes to favorite bands of mine, and I wanted this one on there as well. And no, I'm not going to count this towards Blog-a-Day. I've got something new in the works.

Oh, and it got a "Stan Lee Tribute" rechristening, and this one is inspired by Tales of Suspense #70 (The Captain America portion of the comic): "If This be Treason!" Oh, and it includes some new video links.

"I'm your only friend.
I'm not your only friend
But I'm a little glowing friend
But really I'm not actually your friend
But I am."

I was going to write a blog about The Beatles, my favorite band of all time. I was going to go on and on about how I've loved them ever since high school, and even though I'll go months and months without listening to them at times, I always seem to rediscover them and find something new in their music that I hadn't noticed before.

But writing about how great the Beatles are is like writing about how cute puppies are. Yeah, the Beatles were great. Duh. It's been said and resaid so many times that there's nothing I can contribute.

So, instead I'll write about my favorite band that I sometimes forget is my favorite band, where everything I just mentioned about The Beatles applies. That's right, I'm talking about They Might Be Giants. (Hardcore fans will understand the second part of this blog's title. Even moderate Beatle fans will understand the first part.)

"For years and years I wandered the earth
Condemned to a life of bleak despair
Then one day I looked around and found
It had disappeared.

Hopeless bleak despair
It was always there
And then one day it disappeared
In a puff of smoke
In an unceremonious way
One day it disappeared"

I've always liked these guys since I first heard them when I was in junior high. Their quirky lyrics instantly appealed to a quirky guy like me. But even then, I understood that their lyrics weren't odd just for the sake of being odd, and I could tell that oftentimes they really were saying something. Sure, they often just say things that are silly, but what's wrong with silly? I mean, do we really need another generic love song that essentially says the exact same thing that's been said thousands of times ad nauseum? Why NOT write songs about shoehorns, purple toupees, metal detectors, and not being able to hear somebody very well because you're on a plane?

And dammit, why NOT sing a song about the sun? Crap, it makes more sense than singing songs about some carpenter who walked on water two thousand years ago. Shoot, you can SEE the sun. You can FEEL the sun. We know what it is and why it's important. Seems like it would be a pretty crappy world without it.

"I can't hide from my mind
Though I try, try, try
I can't hide from my mind
And you know why"

So, they're certainly offbeat, but they honestly do have songs that are relatable. In fact, no song better expresses how I've felt before than their song "Your Racist Friend." Personally, I have been at parties hosted by friends and family where I've had to listen to moron racists talk all their crap. What's worse is that my friends and family will defend them and their rantings!

"It was the loveliest party that I've ever attended
If anything was broken I'm sure it could be mended
My head can't tolerate this bobbing and pretending
Listen to some bullet-head and the madness that he's saying"

I could write on and on about their lyrics and how much fun they are, but that would be nothing it weren't for the fact that their music is endlessly inventive. These guys have been at it for twenty years now and their songs continue to have catchy melodies. What's better, if you're willing to pay attention, there's a lot of interesting stuff all happening at the same time.

Their newest CD is unbelievable. I'll admit to picking up new cd's by washed-up bands like The Who, Velvet Revolver (a mix of washed-up bands), etc. While those CDs aren't out-and-out BAD, the magic really is gone with them. This is hardly true for TMBG though. I've had their latest on continuous shuffle in my car, as it continues to surprise me and entertain me.

To wrap this up, I've also seen them live twice. Both experiences were completely different, but equally awesome. They're not a huge band by any means, but they have a loyal fan following, and you don't have lame-os shouting out at them to play whatever their hit song is.

Pick up some TMBG. You won't regret it, unless you suck. Shoot, they wrote the theme to The Daily Show, so you know that there's gotta be something right about them.

And for my fellow They Might Be Giants fans out there (I know there's a few of you!) Please post all the cool stuff about them that I forgot.

"I was grinding my teeth, I was wasting my youth
And using up my teeth
Now I'm done chewing my nails
Hanging my head, chasing my tail
It got so bad I quit my job
Then I got a new job climbing the walls"