New and Troubling Questions (original) (raw)

The new They Might Be Giants album bears the long but clever title Album Raises New and Troubling Questions, and the main question raised is, “How did they release this so quickly, with so little fanfare?” I think it fits a pattern, though. Back in the day, TMBG used a lot of the songs they liked but didn’t think would fit on the albums as EP B-sides. Since EPs have become less cost-effective over the years, they seem to have shifted into creating what are essentially companions for their main releases. The Else was accompanied by Cast Your Pod to the Wind, and this new album serves the same general purpose for Join Us. It’s a combination of outtakes, live recordings, covers, and remixes. (Well, actually, I guess there’s only one remix, but there are several re-recordings of old songs.) I’m going to do a track-by-track review, but be forewarned that several of the songs are so slight that there really isn’t much I can say about them. While TMBG is rarely the most serious of bands, these outtakes often show them at the height of their silliness.

O We – A kind of weird little song full of accordion, bells, and unusually high vocals.

Authenticity Trip – Pretty good rock number. The title reminds me of “Integrity Project,” a mini-song that I believe the band recorded in the Apollo 18 era.

You Probably Get That a Lot (Elegant Too Remix) – Hey, the Elegant Too! I wondered what had happened to them. Remixes are kind of a bizarre concept in the first place, but this is all right as far as it goes. It’s really just the song with different beats in the background. No samples or anything this time.

Marty Beller Mask – In a bit of humor typical of TMBG at live performances, this song posits that their drummer is really Whitney Houston in disguise. I was curious about the line “trick or treat” at the end of the list of Whitney songs, so I did a quick search, and apparently Trick or Treat was a group did remixes of some of her stuff. And it fits with the mask idea, so there you go.

Now I Know – A lighter number, musically speaking, with John Linnell singing about how he wishes he could relive the past knowing what he knows now. My favorite line from this one: “If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s when I stand corrected.”

How Now Dark Cloud? – I really like this one. It’s fun and catchy, and I like the lyrics as well.

The Fellowship of Hell – A bit more cacophonous than the last few, which I guess can be expected from the title. Another noteworthy line: “Ain’t no loathing like self-loathing.”

Mountain Flowers – Musically, this one reminds me a bit of “Cowtown,” except with a drum solo. I guess I’d say it borders on the psychedelic. Not bad, but I don’t think it ever really goes anywhere.

Doppelgängers of They – Kind of similar to “Dog Walker,” in that there’s a lot of fooling around with voice modification and such, as well as lyrics that sound a bit off-the-cuff (although of course I don’t know if they actually were). I have to say I actually like it more than “Dog Walker,” though.

Money for Dope – Basically just a list song, but a pretty catchy one, and there’s a bizarre mix of items listed.

Read a Book – I can’t really think of much to say about this one. It’s short and pretty fun.

Havalina – A cover of the last song on the Pixies’ Bossanova. It’s about a pig, which is actually spelled “javalina,” but inaccurate Spanish translations were kind of a thing for the Pixies. Pretty similar to the original, but with accordion and a more intricate guitar part.

Tubthumping – The band covered this Chumbawamba song for the Onion AV Club, and they must have really liked how it turned out, as they seem to mention it in every e-mail they send. And I can’t say I disagree with them. It definitely shows TMBG’s versatility.

Electronic Istanbul (Not Constantinople) – The title basically says it all. It’s an electronic version of TMBG’s classic cover song, with a lot of the fooling around with the equipment that they’re prone to do at concerts. An interesting enough listen, but really, there isn’t much to say about it.

Cloisonné – A live recording of the excellent song from Join Us, featuring Linnell on bass clarinet.

200 Sbemails – All I can figure from the title is that it’s based on a typo, but I could be totally wrong. Stylistically, it’s a really short song with the feel of an anthem.

Boat of Car – I love this performance, which adds horns to one of TMBG’s more bizarre early songs. Oddly, Flansburgh does the vocals.

Mr. Me – Another early song with horns added. Really fun to listen to, but when is this song not?

Dirt Bike – The third track on here to feature the Other Thing Brass Band, although of course this one had horns to begin with, so it’s not as much of a change from the original. Still cool, though.

Particle Man – Not a bad recording of the song, but does this number really NEED any more exposure?

Overall, a pretty good collection, and I have a feeling some of these songs will really grow on me. It’s not rare at all for TMBG’s B-sides to be just as good as their album tracks, and sometimes even better. Hey, “It’s Not My Birthday” is probably my overall favorite song of theirs, and that was a B-side. Sure, things like “O We” and “200 Sbemails” are unlikely to ever make it to my list of favorites, but I still like being able to hear them.