Wonder Boys

Nerd rockers They Might Be Giants invade McCarter Theatre in Princeton for two shows May 24.

By: Jillian Kalonick
"John

John Flansburgh (left) and John Linnell, better known as They Might Be Giants, play one show for children and another for adults at McCarter Theatre in Princeton May 24.


   Before cell phones, or even CDs, fans of the band They Might Be Giants could hear an instant sample of the music of John Linnell and John Flansburgh. Their Dial-A-Song service — "free when you call from work" — began in 1983 when they transferred a few recordings to the pair’s telephone answering machine. Twenty years later, fans or new converts can still call (718) 387-6962 and listen to a song they’ve never heard before — almost quaint in the age of MP3s and iPods.
   These days, They Might Be Giants can also be heard on television — performing the themes for America’s Most Wanted and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. A documentary on the band, Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns), will be released in theaters May 23. They are promoting their first children’s album, No! One of its songs, "Bed Bed Bed," was the inspiration for a children’s book to be released in the fall. And they’re touring, with a stop at McCarter Theatre in Princeton May 24.
   "The pace of our career has been just about perfect. I’m not really a fan of bands sticking around, it’s basically a mistake, and I certainly am not a fan of oldies acts," says John Flansburgh, speaking from his Brooklyn home. "But I feel like we found a way to keep this thing going, and to still challenge ourselves and our audience."
   Mr. Linnell and Mr. Flansburgh began playing music together in high school in Lincoln, Mass., in the mid-’70s. The more withdrawn Mr. Linnell sings most of the group’s songs, juggling various keyboards and accordions. Mr. Flansburgh plays a mean left-handed lead guitar and is a hyperactive showman, bounding about the stage in colorful suits and pointy glasses.
   Often called "nerd rockers," They Might Be Giants have paved the way for such multi-platinum bands as Barenaked Ladies and Weezer. The duo’s modest fame has never turned into superstardom, but they have cultivated a loyal fan base.
   "I think that’s probably the reason why it’s worked, because it hasn’t just been about hits," Mr. Flansburgh says. "(Fans) have always been interested in the freakier side of our musical output, which has helped us stay ambitious as a band and be creative. There’s no way to do a band like this for 20 years if it’s just the same thing as when you started. That would be a prison sentence."
   They Might Be Giants, who take their name from a 1970 film starring George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward, have achieved some mainstream success. The video for "Don’t Let’s Start" from their 1986 eponymous album was in heavy rotation on MTV, "Birdhouse in Your Soul" from 1990’s Flood was a top-five hit in the United Kingdom, and their theme song for the TV comedy Malcolm in the Middle won a Grammy.
   But it takes a loyal fan to appreciate They Might Be Giants’ "freakier" creations, such as the 21 few-second-long tracks on Apollo 18, meant to be enjoyed via the then-new "random" function on CD players, or "I Can Hear You" from 1996’s Factory Showroom, recorded on a wax cylinder at the Edison Museum.
   Recently, They Might Be Giants have been performing some shows with Dave Eggers (author of the best-selling A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius), and the crew from his literary journal McSweeney’s.
"No!"

They Might Be Giants’ first CD for kids, No!, topped Billboard’s children’s charts and includes songs about "supertasters," jaywalking and robots on parade.


   "It was sort of a mutual admiration society," Mr. Flansburgh says. "There’s something very direct about the way they deal with the commerce part of what they do, and there’s something ambitious about the way they deal with the creative part. Ultimately, the spirit of the McSweeney’s project and the spirit of They Might Be Giants are in tandem. They’re control freaks and we’re control freaks… we get along."
   They began working together when Mr. Eggers approached the band to do a CD to accompany volume six of McSweeney’s, with art and stories by writers such as Ian Frazier and Zadie Smith. Somehow it works, like a performance of No!‘s "Robot Parade" at a concert for adults, or their cover of Jon Hendricks’ "Yeh Yeh" in a commercial for Chrysler.
   Although many bands today write songs that are immediately bought up and used in SUV ads, They Might Be Giants have the luxury of a different approach to commercial work.
   "A lot of ad stuff is funny," says Mr. Flansburgh. "They’re trying to think about how to have a good gag. I have a deep loathing of the conference call, just like anyone else. We’re lucky in that we come to a lot of these projects with people knowing who we are and what our reputation is, so we get treated very nicely and with a lot of respect. We don’t have to figure out a way to get artistic satisfaction out of it because we have a full-on personal creative outlet available to us all the time.
   "It’s really about the craft of recording and making something that supports a visual or an idea. It’s interesting to get an assignment where you’re called upon to do something that’s beyond your regular experience. I think musicians tend to kind of always focus on just personal expression just being the most important thing, but I think it’s also important to challenge yourself."
   Making their first children’s album was also uncharted territory, but a project they had discussed for years, and one expected from a band that sings songs titled "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" and "Why Does the Sun Shine?"
   "I find (children’s music) interesting, but not as interesting as Dr. Seuss or Maurice Sendak," Mr. Flansburgh says. "When we started the project we knew we didn’t want to do an educational record. There are a lot of things telling kids how to be better, and kids are all different from each other. It’s nobody’s business and maybe a bit presumptuous, about telling kids how to tie their shoes. We wanted to write songs that were about imagination and captured that spirit, to give kids something to think about in a more abstract way."
   No! topped Billboard’s children’s charts, and songs about a supertaster ("when he tastes a pear it’s like a hundred pears!") and even a list of the contents of a grocery bag are equally appealing to adults.
   The album is also an interactive CD-ROM, which is consistent with the band’s tech-savvy approach. In addition to its meticulously maintained Web sites, in 1999 the MP3-only release Long Tall Weekend became the most downloaded-for-pay album ever.
   "That was a very sweet deal," Mr. Flansburgh says. "It was direct, we could sell stuff for a very reasonable price and still make a very reasonable profit, but since all the file sharing has happened, it’s kind of short-circuited our artistic ability to do direct marketing. That was one of the most promising things about it, people talked about trying to get away from the corporate reality of the music business.
   "With the CD kind of fading out, it’s hard to know what’s going to happen. I’m not worried, but I feel sorry for other people. It’s a tough time to be an up-and-coming artist. In some ways the old way of working just doesn’t really make sense."
   Mr. Flansburgh and Mr. Linnell’s way of working has always been hands-on. They are constantly on tour, and after shows Mr. Flansburgh signs CDs and T-shirts and shakes hands, receiving long lines of fans. On his e-mail list he writes of the latest tour adventures, such as the challenge of learning to play for children.
   "A lot of people say, ‘What would the difference be between a They Might Be Giants adult show and a They Might Be Giants children’s show?’" he says. "But they’re actually very different. Our rock shows are bone-crushingly, eardrum-burstingly loud, and if people haven’t seen an adult show they really don’t know a big part of what They Might Be Giants is about."
   At children’s shows they often perform with a tuba player instead of their regular backing rock band. "The kids shows are for kids. You have to know the audience. You have to respect the fact that they are tender.
   "You realize there are kids watching who will just be locked on the drummer for the entire show," he says. "There’ll be a boy sitting in the front with his mouth half open, and you realize that kid is going to be a drummer, and this is the first time he’s ever seen a live musician playing the drums. There’s a look of wonderment."
They Might Be Giants play McCarter Theatre, 91 University Place, Princeton, May 24, at 5 p.m. (children’s show) and 8 p.m. (adult show). Tickets cost $10 (children’s show) and $25-$30 (adult show). For information, call (609) 258-2787. On the Web: www.mccarter.org. They Might Be Giants on the Web: www.theymightbegiants.com, www.tmbg.com, www.giantkid.net and www.dialasong.com