Friday, November 22, 1996
They Might Be Giants’ John Flansburgh looks back on a dozen
years of weirdness and whimsical ideas that made the band the
archetype of perverse pop they are today.By Brian Remick
Daily Bruin Contributor
In a time when the main concern of bands is whether or not their
next album will sell enough copies, it’s comforting to find They
Might Be Giants still intact.
Even if they are completely insane.
TMBG are making their way back to Los Angeles this weekend, and
they’re bringing with them a new blend of strangely provocative
songs from their latest album, "Factory Showroom."
The album marks their second with a full band and their sixth
overall. Originally just John Flansburgh on electric guitar and
John Linnell on the accordion, They Might Be Giants have definitely
matured.
"It’s really been kind of an evolution," says Flansburgh. "When
John and I started, we always felt like what we were doing was very
cool and the right thing for us. Now that we have a full band, it
fills out the musical portion in a very compelling, full-blown
way."
It was ’83 when Flansburgh and Linnell first brought their
unique New York pop style to the music scene. Understandably, the
scene was a bit wary of accepting them.
"We were so worried about a moment going by that wasn’t filled
in with action. We were using coffee as a narcotic," says
Flansburgh. "On one level we were very nervous about boring people,
but on another level we had this manic agenda  anything that
made it edgier was a good thing."
Is there such a thing a too edgy?
"’Lincoln’ (their second album) sounds really pushy to me," says
Flansburgh. "I don’t think it sounds obnoxious — it’s not filled
with burping noises. We just wanted to pack so much in that it
strikes me as anxiety-making music."
Songs like "Don’t Let’s Start," their first major single, do
have an anxious feel about them. But it’s that fast-paced energy
that shaped early TMBG.
"The two-piece thing really allowed us a personal freedom of
expression that made the band what it is," says Flansburgh. "If we
hadn’t figured out that kind of strategy I don’t think we would
still be working."
The band’s last album, "John Henry," their first with a full
band, showed a distinct change in their recording style. Mixing and
overdubbing were replaced with a live sound that Flansburgh admits
doesn’t fit them well. The new album focuses more on a broken-up
recording style.
"There have always been a lot of unjustifiable elements flying
into the middle of our songs. All of our records have these
passages where something that hasn’t been playing for the first two
minutes of the song just jumps in," says Flansburgh proudly.
"I know a lot of musicians who find that idea basically
offensive. [They’ll say], ‘Well, where does that sound come from?
Has it just been sitting in the corner of the room this whole
time?’"
Obscure, uncommon sounds have been an attribute of TMBG since
the beginning, especially the accordion, an instrument that defines
a large portion of their early material and, to a greater extent,
their live performances.
"It’s strange because when we first started using the accordion,
it didn’t have the cultural meaning to us that it obviously had for
other people," says Flansburgh. "The woman who lent us our first
accordion [acted like she] was dropping off a barrel of toxic
waste. ‘I won’t have to have that in my closet for awhile.’"
Satirical views like this give TMBG an undefinable style that
appears on every album and in every live performance. They never
fail to surprise you with a new way of looking at things.
"I Can Hear You," a track from the new album was recorded at the
Edison Laboratory in New Jersey on a wax cylinder without the use
of electricity, a technique made obvious by the terrible sound
quality on the album. In classic TMBG style, the lyrics identify
places where speakers are renowned for being muffled  i.e.
"What’s your order? / I can super-size that …"
Songs like these aren’t unusual for a typical TMBG album. In
fact, some songs can even be too crazy for a typical album.
"We’ve done a lot of EPs [extended plays] over the years," says
Flansburgh. "It’s a great form for us because we can put a lot of
songs on EPs that don’t really fit on albums because  in all
honesty  they’re a bit over the top."
So what makes a song over the top?
"They just have a rubber banana aspect to them that takes away
from the flow of an album," says Flansburgh. "They represent the
very few songs that we don’t feel comfortable with being
critiqued."
Criticism is possible, however, only when you have something to
compare to, which, in the case of TMBG, is hard to come by.
"We’re definitely 51 percent art project, 49 percent rock band,"
says Flansburgh.
While the creativity isn’t being strained by any means, even
Flansburgh can’t help but look back on the last decade in
amazement.
"We started in ’83, for Christ’s sake," he says. "We’ve been
around for too long."
A few people might disagree with that though.
CONCERT: They Might Be Giants play the El Rey Theater with Cub
on Friday (sold out) and the Palace with Frank Black on Saturday.
For tickets call Ticketmaster at (213) 480- 3232.