I was so disappointed State Songs was original songs and not Linnell just singing the official state songs. Really wanted him to bust out the old accordion for the nice waltz that is "Here We Have Idaho." I just couldn't listen to the album because of flase advertising!
― drawings by teen cultists (Crabbits), Thursday, 23 August 2012 00:08 (twelve years ago) link
It's just kind of weird, like... these guys used to be able, just the two of them, generate a really full and interesting sound. And yet with a full band they either do kind of generic uptempo stuff in the general sonic territory of "Boss of Me," or, inexplicably, something like "Cloisonne" which just seems totally lazy, demo-button-on-the-keyboard stuff. I mean, even "Which Describes How You're Feeling" has a more interesting and surprising arrangement.
Don't get me wrong, though, the good songs on this are probably the best songs I've heard from them in over a decade, although I guess I didn't really give this many listens to the other post-Factory Showroom records. Definitely a lot of good stuff to cherry-pick from this. Still think it could be pruned and tightened a bit, although at least at 47 minutes it doesn't overstay its welcome.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 23 August 2012 00:37 (twelve years ago) link
I basically cosign every word uttered by Doctor Casino itt
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 23 August 2012 01:42 (twelve years ago) link
Picking this album back up again, still liking it okay, still convinced it's got too many tracks, or too many things that feel like they'd make solid endings. I would happily cut "Three Might Be Duende," "Cloisonne," and "Protagonist," and there's a few others that are good but not that good. Just kind of dilutes the impact of what could be a pleasant, chewy platter of songs a la Factory Showroom.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 30 August 2012 03:06 (twelve years ago) link
incidentally, pulling out Factory Showroom - - - how did this cover art get so bad? Really one of the ugliest things I've ever seen.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 30 August 2012 03:08 (twelve years ago) link
tbf NOBODY had a good album cover in 1996
― some dude, Thursday, 30 August 2012 03:09 (twelve years ago) link
Has our burgeoning 90s rock revival hegemony yet produced a "worst album cover of 1996" poll? Because that would be HARD if this one wasn't in the list.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 30 August 2012 03:11 (twelve years ago) link
no but that would be a competitive poll
― some dude, Thursday, 30 August 2012 03:19 (twelve years ago) link
But the Factory Showroom artwork is good
― Supper's Burnt (PaulTMA), Thursday, 30 August 2012 11:49 (twelve years ago) link
If you feel like doing some looking, I know he sang a whole bunch of the real state songs when he did his solo tour around that time.
― ENERGY FOOD (en i see kay), Thursday, 30 August 2012 12:20 (twelve years ago) link
he did stuff like "California Uber Alles" too, which is hilarious
― frogbs, Thursday, 30 August 2012 13:54 (twelve years ago) link
the whole "State Songs" project was really one of the least ambitious albums of all time and I love it for that. here's a quote from Linnell himself:
"I don't think that the songs are liable to be adopted as the state anthems of the actual states, sadly. I was thinking initially that that might be a nice thing, but thinking about it I think songs like 'Oregon is bad' are not likely to go down very well in Oregon."
― frogbs, Thursday, 30 August 2012 13:55 (twelve years ago) link
frogbs, i'm curious what you mean about "high school band" and "least ambitious" and "cheaply made" re State Songs -- to me the recording is indistinguishable from TMBG records of the same period
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 30 August 2012 14:05 (twelve years ago) link
oh the arrangements are definitely more spare than live band era TMBG (and less polished and drum machine-driven than early TMBG)
― some dude, Thursday, 30 August 2012 14:09 (twelve years ago) link
It's similar to some early stuff, but there are more horn players, and none of the musical parts are tricky like, say, "Puppet Head". IMO it's very distinguishable from Apollo 18 and beyond. I have no idea if it really was cheaply made, but the synthesizer sounds all make it seem that way; most of the musicians really do sound like high schoolers. As far as the ambition goes, I can't speak for Linnell, but to me it's always felt like he was doing it because TMBG was on break, the only concept was "I'm going to write a bunch of songs titled after states, that are only vaguely about those states", y'know, just to keep his muse strong or whatever. It's very charming.
― frogbs, Thursday, 30 August 2012 14:33 (twelve years ago) link
yeah it was during that long period after they got dropped from Elektra where they seemed to be actively avoiding doing a new studio album until they knew if they were going to another major or whatever; live album, internet-only rarities album, EPs, side projects, endless tours, etc. also feels like the beginning of them just picking a theme to write tons and tons of songs around (Venue Songs, Here Come The ABCs/123s/etc.)
― some dude, Thursday, 30 August 2012 14:41 (twelve years ago) link
They wrote a lot of good tunes in that period; it's a shame that so few of them ended up on Mink Car (and the ones that did were often in inferior versions). I think I've been a fan since '97 (as an 11 year old!) and I remember how frustrating it was for the "new" TMBG album (Long Tall Weekend) to be basically inaccessible. It was pioneering in retrospect but having no physical product was a pretty bad idea at the time.
― frogbs, Thursday, 30 August 2012 14:46 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah, that was exactly the period where I fell off as a fan, and I don't know if that's because the content was really in decline, or because it felt sort of ephemeral and stopgap, or because my own tastes were shifting or what.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 30 August 2012 15:00 (twelve years ago) link
see i only bought Flood like less than a year before Factory Showroom and saw them live for the first time '98 so that was a whole period of me getting into the band and exploring the back catalog. although by the time Mink Car came along i'd kind of exhausted my interest in them and didn't cop it or see them live for a few years.
― some dude, Thursday, 30 August 2012 15:12 (twelve years ago) link
2 of 70 people found the following review helpful1.0 out of 5 stars Hmmmm! Time to make lemonade!, November 23, 1999By Bruce Richardson (Herscher, IL United States) - See all my reviewsThis review is from: State Songs (Audio CD)(Updated from previous review after some more listening)I was sent to this album through a link on the State Song Web Site. Even though I recognized the TMBG name as something I wouldn't normally buy, I was totally unprepared for the disappointment I was soon to feel. They are far from the Official state songs, as one would be led to expect from the title, etc.
I was hunting for a reference recording to use with my music students. I now have a recording for when I want to play Crazy music for my 1st graders. This music should prove very enjoyable to those fans of Barney and Teletubbies.
Can you tell I am sincerely disappointed in this album. My colleague sympathized with me on this Dog purchase
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 30 August 2012 21:17 (twelve years ago) link
That's pretty much OTM, and I like the album
― frogbs, Thursday, 30 August 2012 21:20 (twelve years ago) link
haha the album really does serve a nice function as a rickroll
― some dude, Thursday, 30 August 2012 21:21 (twelve years ago) link
I love the line on the first song: "The songs of the 50 states/The songs of the 50 states/I'm not gonna say they're great/I ain't gonna say they ain't"
― frogbs, Thursday, 30 August 2012 21:24 (twelve years ago) link
I feel like any album that serves well as "Crazy music for 1st graders" is a must-buy for me
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 30 August 2012 21:26 (twelve years ago) link
one of the main reasons State Songs is great is that Flans didn't write any of the songs
― * The "no hands" rule can be compared to socialist tax policies (Autumn Almanac), Thursday, 30 August 2012 22:29 (twelve years ago) link
I have nothing against him, but especially lately his melodies haven't exactly been setting the LPs alight
Melody wise Linnell's always been at the front for me anyway...most of the early singles etc
― Master of Treacle, Friday, 31 August 2012 02:37 (twelve years ago) link
Linnell definitely has the stronger melodic gifts of the two. Flansburgh is no slouch, and makes up for it in ideas and personality, he's just a bit less consistent or subtle by comparison.
― some dude, Friday, 31 August 2012 02:47 (twelve years ago) link
Well "Judy is Your Vietnam" off Join Us is definitely a highlight. Agreed that Linnell usually writes the better melodies (he has a superhuman gift for that) but I can't talk shit about the guy behind "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head", "Narrow Your Eyes", and "See the Constellation"
― frogbs, Friday, 31 August 2012 04:17 (twelve years ago) link
what i'm saying
Flansburgh being better than usual is i think what made the difference in Join Us being an improvement from other later albums
― some dude, Friday, 31 August 2012 04:19 (twelve years ago) link
This is all reminding me of an incomplete project I began sometime in the late 90s with the intent of "proving," Paul-Is-Dead-style, that John Flansburgh conspired to have John Linnell murdered and replaced by a robot duplicate, all of which was spelled out in their songs before, during, and after the crime.
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 31 August 2012 05:34 (twelve years ago) link
Man, I got a lot further along with this than I thought!
March 1992: Apollo 18 (1992) This bleak, darkly-shaded album is the core of the entire murder theory. It seems apparent that the attack and switcharoo took place directly after the completion of these recordings, which are top-heavy with references to death, murder, and duplication. There is little of the (admittedly black) humor that made "Miscellaneous T" so easy to swallow; Linnell has reached the nadir of his Hamlet-like state of inaction, writing and performing songs which refer without much artifice to his own very imminent doom. As a final general note, the album's cover art is again significant here: a whale and a giant squid are depicted locked in mortal combat, with a spaceship floating nearby. So it was with the band: the original duo was stalemated, and a machine waited in the wings to take the place of one of them.The songs themselves, up until the Fiingertips Medley that concludes the album with a barely-concealed murder song-cycle, trade more than usual in images of death, from both singers. In fact, the two sing together more than usual, perhaps again due to Linnell's resignation. They cooperate on the scene-setting album-opener "Dig My Grave" (could it be any more obvious?), as well as "The Statue Got Me High," in which an automaton (statue) "makes" Linnell "fry" and "die."We must linger on the extended narrative of "Turn Around"...
The songs themselves, up until the Fiingertips Medley that concludes the album with a barely-concealed murder song-cycle, trade more than usual in images of death, from both singers. In fact, the two sing together more than usual, perhaps again due to Linnell's resignation. They cooperate on the scene-setting album-opener "Dig My Grave" (could it be any more obvious?), as well as "The Statue Got Me High," in which an automaton (statue) "makes" Linnell "fry" and "die."
We must linger on the extended narrative of "Turn Around"...
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 31 August 2012 05:46 (twelve years ago) link
Linnell seems to recognize that Flansburgh will kill him, but wants to leave a final message to his one-time friend: After you kill me, don't forget me. Look behind you and see my skull on the ground. Flansburgh would later throw this request back in the metaphorical face of his deceased collaborator by titling the band's next major release Back to Skull - by implication refusing to turn around and behold Linnell's legacy.
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 31 August 2012 05:48 (twelve years ago) link
yes, and now the Linnell-bot is going to murder Flans, hence "When Will You Die?"
― frogbs, Friday, 31 August 2012 13:42 (twelve years ago) link
Flood book coming: 33 1/3 Series of books
― some dude, Friday, 31 August 2012 21:44 (twelve years ago) link
YES, will buy without hesitation.
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 31 August 2012 23:09 (twelve years ago) link
screw the 33 1/3 book, I want Doctor Casino's Linnell-is-dead book!
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Saturday, 1 September 2012 00:14 (twelve years ago) link
hahaha, I wish I still had a really stupid, geeky, cornucopia-of-random-articles type website, it's kind of hard to think of what venue this sort of thing belongs on...
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 1 September 2012 00:21 (twelve years ago) link
The Awl? =
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 4 September 2012 13:18 (twelve years ago) link
Sure I saw some John-on-John slash fiction once
― Supper's Burnt (PaulTMA), Tuesday, 4 September 2012 13:58 (twelve years ago) link
these guys are another one of those 80s bands - kind of like the Cure - who I have a hard time thinking up clear antecedents for. Spike Jones? a bit of Devo?
― what's up ugly girls? (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 12 September 2013 16:12 (eleven years ago) link
Sparks?
― MarkoP, Thursday, 12 September 2013 16:13 (eleven years ago) link
I think the answer's even simpler than that, IMO they pretty clearly date back to the power pop era of Big Star, Todd Rundgren and even XTC, but their combination of Apple II-level production (in the early days) and an affinity towards oddball lyrical concepts makes them seem a lot more gonzoid. I'm sure they were huge fans of Sparks too!
― frogbs, Thursday, 12 September 2013 16:18 (eleven years ago) link
i know their image is goofy jokesters but if you listen to the early stuff they're more clearly part of the NYC '80s art-rock scene
― congratulations (n/a), Thursday, 12 September 2013 16:18 (eleven years ago) link
Sparks! of course.
I don't hear any Big Star. Rundgren I'm not familiar enough with. And XTC was only ahead of them by a couple years, right? They seem more like peers, but I agree there's some similarities in the aggressive nerdiness dept.
NYC '80s art-rock scene
I know that's where they came out of, but who else was doing drum-machine-and-accordian with the occasional fuzz guitar art-pop in that scene?
― what's up ugly girls? (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 12 September 2013 16:22 (eleven years ago) link
Sonically, I don't know but in attitude/humor this is right on. Especially in the minor tracks and Dial-axSong only material, there's a self-conscious fakey weirdness ''LISTen to the SOUND...of my VOICE'' which is very Laurie Anderson. Talking Heads also have to be huge here.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 12 September 2013 16:33 (eleven years ago) link
i don't know about that scene to say specifically who, but asking who else was using their specific instrumentation seems like a different question from who their antecedents were
― congratulations (n/a), Thursday, 12 September 2013 16:34 (eleven years ago) link
They were kind of a poppier version of bands like Fish & Roses and Orthotonics maybe, if that means anything to anyone.
― Addison Doug (Matt #2), Thursday, 12 September 2013 16:47 (eleven years ago) link
I just relistened to an old tribute album I had sitting on my hard drive: "Hello Radio: The Songs of They Might be Giants"
Hearing these songs performed by other bands has been eye-opening. They sound totally unnatural; most of these bands (OK Go and The Wrens for two) sound like rather standard indie/alt-rock groups, most of whom try to add some quirks to match the kind of thing that TMBG does, but nearly all of them struggle to figure out how to cram so many syllables into a mostly standard 4-chord rock song. Like no one can get the timing right. Nor figure out how to transition between the verses and the choruses which are often wildly different from each other. It's as if they're trying to cast these as more "normal" rock sounds to reveal how profound they really are minus the "jokey" arrangements but in the process kill most of the profundity that the songs had in the first place.
― Maggie killed Quagmire (collest baby ever) (frogbs), Thursday, 9 October 2014 15:23 (nine years ago) link
TMBG are pretty singular. I'm glad I never knew they had a tribute album.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 9 October 2014 15:46 (nine years ago) link