They Might Be Giants
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At the age of 48, They Might Be Giants founding member John Flansburgh jokingly refers to himself as "impossibly old," despite the whimsical nature of his artistic output. In between releasing children's albums, composing various TV theme songs, balancing other quirky projects, and pouring himself a "crucial cup of coffee," Flansburgh found the time to talk to Decider from his Brooklyn home about recently performing the entirety of TMBG's landmark 1990 album, Flood, in addition to getting a little wistful over mid-'80s hip-hop. TMBG plays the Metro on Friday.
Decider: If you had to cover another artist's album from start to finish, who would you cover?
John Flansburgh: If I had to cover another artist's album from start to finish, I think I would cover Irma Thomas' Irma Thomas Sings. She's a New Orleans-based singer from the '60s. She had a lot of radio hits in the early '60s—greats songs including a song called "Ruler Of My Heart," which Otis Redding covered. I got a vinyl record of hers a few months ago and fell in love with it over and over again.
D: Do you think you'd ever be interested in covering a hip-hop album?
JF: I actually actively listen to Hot 97… My real obsession lies in the sonic side of recordings, so the way hip-hop records are put together in general has always been of real interest to me. It is constructed in the opposite way that most other popular records are made. There's a lot of unorthodox engineering going on.
D: A TMBG hip-hop album would be really fun to listen to.
JF: The funny thing is that, as a band, we work with drum machines and do a lot of stuff electronically. A lot of the synth-pop that was coming out when we were growing up has the appeal of early dancehall-oriented hip-hop stuff. When you think of all those mid-'80s hip-hop artists, they are so innocent compared to now. Like Roxanne Shante. There are some amazing tracks. I'm trying to think of the guy who did the "La Di Da Di" song, the guy with the eye patch. What was his name?
D: Slick Rick.
JF: Slick Rick, he just got out of jail, I guess. I found myself wondering where he is these days. He was so cool. His style was so his own, and it turns out he was in jail.
D: Are you pissed that Rolling Stone only gave Flood two stars back when it came out in 1990?
JF: I was cleaning out a closet the other day and I found a box of press material that a publicist sent to me, which contained copies of all the tear sheets of all the reviews in a binder. I happened upon the Rolling Stone review and it's funny how cranky old-men rock reviewers can be. I think what we do is limited to our own personal universe and not really connected to a larger trend in any way, but what's interesting about the review is that Browne was really worried for the future of rock music. It seems like rock reviewers at that time were more concerned about Rod Stewart's market share than anything else.
D: Out of all the songs on Flood, "Your Racist Friend" always seemed the most direct, lyrically. What was the genesis of that song?
JF: A lot of our songs have political messages that are generally didactic and preaching to the choir. The interesting thing about that song is that it does have a very direct lyric. It's about the domestic problem of racism and it's about a subtler form of racism. At any moment, intelligent people can be presented with uncomfortable situations and suddenly find themselves sort of re-examining their true selves… To be perfectly honest, where we grew up in suburban Massachusetts, the immediate area was mired in a sort of a tacit racism, if that's an expression that can be used.
D: Late Night With Conan O'Brien has always been a friend to your music. How do you feel about the production moving from New York to L.A. to take over Leno's time slot?
JF: We're very grateful that he's given us the spotlight so many times. They are very organized over there. Most late-night shows have this sort of manic quality to them where it's hard to settle your thoughts before a performance. The thing about the Conan setup is that they are very confident. Like, even if what the staff is doing isn't the right thing, they are very committed.
D: You had once mentioned in an interview in a Houston based-blog about possibly making an album called There Go Your Civil Rights. Will that album ever see the light of day?
JF: [Laughs.] Well, certainly we're living in a much more optimistic time. Maybe a better title would be Your Civil Rights Are Coming Back!
John Flansburgh: If I had to cover another artist's album from start to finish, I think I would cover Irma Thomas' Irma Thomas Sings. She's a New Orleans-based singer from the '60s. She had a lot of radio hits in the early '60s—greats songs including a song called "Ruler Of My Heart," which Otis Redding covered. I got a vinyl record of hers a few months ago and fell in love with it over and over again.
D: Do you think you'd ever be interested in covering a hip-hop album?
JF: I actually actively listen to Hot 97… My real obsession lies in the sonic side of recordings, so the way hip-hop records are put together in general has always been of real interest to me. It is constructed in the opposite way that most other popular records are made. There's a lot of unorthodox engineering going on.
D: A TMBG hip-hop album would be really fun to listen to.
JF: The funny thing is that, as a band, we work with drum machines and do a lot of stuff electronically. A lot of the synth-pop that was coming out when we were growing up has the appeal of early dancehall-oriented hip-hop stuff. When you think of all those mid-'80s hip-hop artists, they are so innocent compared to now. Like Roxanne Shante. There are some amazing tracks. I'm trying to think of the guy who did the "La Di Da Di" song, the guy with the eye patch. What was his name?
D: Slick Rick.
JF: Slick Rick, he just got out of jail, I guess. I found myself wondering where he is these days. He was so cool. His style was so his own, and it turns out he was in jail.
D: Are you pissed that Rolling Stone only gave Flood two stars back when it came out in 1990?
JF: I was cleaning out a closet the other day and I found a box of press material that a publicist sent to me, which contained copies of all the tear sheets of all the reviews in a binder. I happened upon the Rolling Stone review and it's funny how cranky old-men rock reviewers can be. I think what we do is limited to our own personal universe and not really connected to a larger trend in any way, but what's interesting about the review is that Browne was really worried for the future of rock music. It seems like rock reviewers at that time were more concerned about Rod Stewart's market share than anything else.
D: Out of all the songs on Flood, "Your Racist Friend" always seemed the most direct, lyrically. What was the genesis of that song?
JF: A lot of our songs have political messages that are generally didactic and preaching to the choir. The interesting thing about that song is that it does have a very direct lyric. It's about the domestic problem of racism and it's about a subtler form of racism. At any moment, intelligent people can be presented with uncomfortable situations and suddenly find themselves sort of re-examining their true selves… To be perfectly honest, where we grew up in suburban Massachusetts, the immediate area was mired in a sort of a tacit racism, if that's an expression that can be used.
D: Late Night With Conan O'Brien has always been a friend to your music. How do you feel about the production moving from New York to L.A. to take over Leno's time slot?
JF: We're very grateful that he's given us the spotlight so many times. They are very organized over there. Most late-night shows have this sort of manic quality to them where it's hard to settle your thoughts before a performance. The thing about the Conan setup is that they are very confident. Like, even if what the staff is doing isn't the right thing, they are very committed.
D: You had once mentioned in an interview in a Houston based-blog about possibly making an album called There Go Your Civil Rights. Will that album ever see the light of day?
JF: [Laughs.] Well, certainly we're living in a much more optimistic time. Maybe a better title would be Your Civil Rights Are Coming Back!
