Why We Love TMBG

From This Might Be A Wiki

Please add a reason or two why you are a fan of They Might Be Giants.

Comments of a general nature:

They did something amazing with the accordion.
Every song sounds different.
They're not some generic rock band trying to be like those overrated commercialized artists
They are true artists
They've been around since the '80s and none of the band members have died of a drug overdose.
Their music is a good accompanyment to doing spreadsheets.
They aren't like the rest of the crap floating around in the cesspool of MTV and hip-hop.
Listening to They Might Be Giants makes one immune to mere pop music.
Intelligent and refined humor. Very little use of "shock" words just to get a rise out of the listener.
You don't have to dress like They Might Be Giants to be a fan - They dress like us.
They Might Be Giants is the only band that refuses to be a force to be reckoned with.
When They Might Be Giants sing about women, the women don't sound stupid.
You can give the number (718) 387-6962 away as your home phone number to foil bill collectors.
They Might Be Giants make one's enjoyment of many different musical genres much easier to explain.
They Might Be Giants are having fun.
They Might Be Giants write songs that they like, not songs that will make people like them.
They Might Be Giants regularly give away free music.
You can interpret They Might Be Giants songs pretty much however you want to.
They Might Be Giants have great live energy.
On rare occasion do true TMBG fans get into a serious fight.
We are the only ones who might feel like suddenly painting "I don't want the world, I just want your half" on the closest bridge.
The more of their concerts you go to, the better the odds of hearing one of the Johns saying the f-word.
They're from Brooklyn!!! YEEEAAAAH! Go Park Slope!
Could you think of a better band name?
I don't know. Maybe irony without pathos, or smarts without pretense. I'm happy when I can hear the music and less when I can't. --Flux
Quality of songs, quantity of songs, and range of genres. the three... q-like's. ~~ Dr Doog
They Might Be Giants know the value of making songs short and sweet. -Pugly
Ample use of the accordion, the best instrument ever. -Pugly
They are amazing active, and keep churning out awesome records, songs, books, DVDs, live shows, free mp3s...wow! --An orangutan
What other band could sing about horribly depressing and scary subjects like death, divorce, murder, paranoia, and betrayal and still sound like they're having a blast? - TheNintenGenius
They've been together for over 20 years and they're STILL putting out quality material. - TheNintenGenius
Their songs are very catchy. - The Dork Knight
You gotta love a band that sings about the sun, and mammals, and Belgian expressionist painters, and toupees, and worms that pose as doctors but are really drummers... I mean, come ON! -SweetAfton23
They wrote one of my favorite songs, "Experimental Film", plus they have an awexome music video for it, made by The Brothers Chaps of www.homestarrunner.com.
They are lyrically brilliant.
Dial-A-Song has to be the single coolest idea for making music available.
They support Firefox and FLAC.
They have deep voices like I do (particularly Linnell); there aren't a lot of rock singers with deep voices. I can sing along perfectly with most of their songs if I don't run out of breath. :-)
They have deep voices like I don't, so I can sing along an octave higher and it still works.
Flansburgh can sing an entire song slightly off key with a straight face.
They are really friendly and down to earth with their fans. ~ fingertips
They play free concerts in Border's books stores. - How many other rock bands do that? ~ fingertips
They find it fun and amusing to write a song for every venue they play.~ fingertips
They have a DVD called Here Come's the ABC's - They are the only adult rock band I know who are brave enough to do that. ~ fingertips
They're the sort of band that makes me want to learn how to play another instrument, so I can form a band with my friends.
They're your only friend, they're not your only friend, but they're a little glowing friend, but really, they're not acctually your friend. -Cody-schmidt
What other band sings about nightlights, purple toupee's and head's who rather want to be scalps?
They inspired me and my friends to form a band. (With me on the drums) - Herwwiyal
They are the band that encoureged me to really play the guitar. Not like the first time...
They are so versatile it's absolutely unreal. Masters of any particular type of sound they want to emulate, they are a benchmark to other rock bands across the cosmos - and it's a shame that they aren't taken more seriously. Often light-hearted and even comical, They Might Be Giants are just as capable of writing a song of tremendous depth. - JackBanzai
They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. - User:Neavers
Linnell sings most of the really well-known songs, but it was one of Flansburgh's songs that won them a Grammy. Things even out. -FlinnsyFan
Their band name is the perfect number of letters to fill the video iPod screen next to album artwork without trailing off. -curious and questioning (t)
They don't change their music styles just because people don't like the way they sound.
Their music is fun to pick apart on an intellectual musical level. Lemita, band geek
TMBG is the only band society has not pressured me to listen to.Tedadore2

Comments about their appeal across different age demographics:

They are a band that my wife and kids can enjoy with me.--
They make me proud to be middle-aged.
They Might Be Giants are not young hippie punksters who don't comb their hair.
You can listen to them regardless of age!
Nobody else does songs about delusional old people.
They Might Be Giants are kind to children and animals.
They keep my kids happy on long car rides.
They make middle age look cool. -SweetAfton23
They're a band I can bring home to my parents. -SweetAfton23
More teachers than fellow students have ever heard one of Their songs. -curious and questioning (t)

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Comments about their educational value:

They Might Be Giants songs show actual music theory, rather than just playing the I, IV, and V chords in a predictable pattern.
By listening to TMBG, you gain the ability to like almost every other type of music becuase they practically play everything.
Through They Might Be Giants I have learned the meaning of words like "gregarious" and "proscenium." How many other bands can raise your SAT scores?
Only They Might Be Giants fans can get an A+ on a test about the Nuclear Fusion of the sun without ever paying attention to that unit in class. They just have to play the lyrics to "Why Does the Sun Shine?" in their head to determine all the answers. - Chinny
- Actually, I'm taking Earth Science a year early and Why Does The Sun Shine? helped me on a regents question! =D --Lemita 17:28, 13 Jun 2006 (MDT)
Only They Might Be Giants fans look at a world map, spot Istanbul and say to themselves, "Hm, yep, that's not Constantinople." - Chinny
Educational! Who else knew crap at all about our 11th president pre-TMBG?
They are a gateway drug to a whole 'nother world of music you never knew existed. - TheNintenGenius
Thanks to them, I know a lot about the sun [and James K. Polk]. - The Dork Knight
They encourage you to study the arts, such as that of James Ensor (Belgium's famous painter). - TheNintenGenius

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Comments related to caffeine:

They Might Be Giants live on coffee, just like me.
They are addicted to Coffee, not illegal and harmful drugs
Coffee is the fuel for TMBG. It's the fuel for me come to think of it.
They make me feel a little better about my own premature coffee addiction. -GPG

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Comments related to sex:

They've been together for a long time, and they didn't turn to each other for "lovin'". I think that's anyone's reason for liking them.
They are hot.
Even better, They're hot without trying to be hot. They just naturally are. That's pretty impressive.
Believe it or not, They Might Be Giants ARE a great way to pick up chicks.
Linnie is sooooooo cute.
Flansy is sooooooo cute.
Only They Might Be Giants fan know the best way to hook up with someone is by calling them and saying, "I'm Your Boyfriend/Girlfriend Now" rather than asking. - Chinny
Certain TMBG songs are good to masturbate to.
TMBG has been more or less directly responsible for finding two of my girlfriends (and hense responsible for getting me sex)

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Comments related to dork and nerd solidarity:

They make me proud to be a dork.
When your friends ask about They Might Be Giants, you get to say stuff like, "It's a nerd thing. You wouldn't understand."
DORKS ROCK!
Mr. Sketchy Galore
Listening to TMBG definately qualifys me for being a dork, and that's cool. - CuppaCoffee
The look on a stranger's face when they notice that the title of the song on your mp3 player reads "Your Racist Friend"
Person I know looking at my iPod:"In The Middle, In The Middle, In The Middle? Your Racist Friend? What is this?" me:"Don't insult They Might Be Giants. I love Them." person:"You're weird." me:*happy*"I know." -curious and questioning (t)
They are the only band I know that can pull off a heavy metal song about String Theory. – Antgeth
They are the only band from the last 20 years that my band teacher has actually heard of.

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Comments related to mental health benefits of the music:

When I feel utterly friendless I can listen to their music and forget all about how screwed-up and seemingly alone I am.-- Aurora Hawthorne
They Might Be Giants make people smile.
When I get mad, instead of punching a hole in the wall, I listen to TMBG. It's the best stress medicine for me.
They Might Be Giants may be used as a tool to confront your in-laws about deep-seated differences of opinion.
Five people, two names! Oh, my medication...
When my friends all talk about how they're completely insane and like the weirdest stuff I can blow them all straight out of the water.-- Aurora Hawthorne
Linnell could sing "We're all going to die!!" and it'd still probably make me happy for some strange reason...The only other songwriter I can think of with that happy/sad dynamic is Wayne Coyne. Plus, I can relate to pretty much everything those two have written. - Stiddy
They Might Be Giants have a song to fit my every mood.
They Might Be Giants songs are fun, they can make the worst thing sound positive, just by the tune of the music.
As Sara Vowell noted, you don't have to pretend to be more messed-up than you actually are to fit in with the band's "scene."
The wealth of associations! Why else would I get depressed when I see a construction crane, or goofily happy when I see a worm, or ready to ROCK! when I hear about an avant-garde filmmaker? They Might Be Giants let you get more feelings out of day-to-day life.
Their songs always cheer me up whenever I'm feeling upset. - The Dork Knight
Their music stopped my depressive tendencies and suicidal thoughts and turned me into a nearly-normal happy teenager. Plus, They can always cheer me up, no matter what I'm feeling down about. I strongly agree with Sarah Vowell's comment about Ant and Dial-A-Song: "How bad can the world be if there's a song about that at a phone number in Brooklyn you can call to hear about it?" - Spiraling Shape
Birdhouse In Your Soul keeps me from throwing things at people who say things deliberately to anger me (for example, insulting Them)-curious and questioning (t)
They're musical Prozac. They cured my depression.
My doctor says that I identify certain people better than I could before. Not Edith Head
I used to listen to angry depressing music because I was angry and depressed (go figure!), and on May 10, 2006, I gave TMBG another shot, and I haven't been depressed since.

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Comments of an absurdist nature:

If you place them side by side in the nude, turn your head a little and squint, you can see a map of Florida. Be sure to place Flansburgh on the right.
They might be big big fake fake lies...
John Linnell may be bent into interesting shapes like a Gumby doll, and he hardly complains at all about it.
John Flansburgh makes an excellent throw pillow for your sofa, because he goes with everything and cleans up with a damp sponge and a little soda water.
Only They Might Be Giants fans stop on a rainy day to relocate all the worms that have crawled up on a sidewalk to safety, because if they don't they'll feel like they were responsible for the deaths of dozens of aspiring drummers.-Chinny
Only They Might Be Giants fans have an enlightened appreciation for the Rights of Brooms, and so bend over and sweep the floor with their hair instead. -- Chinny
They Might Be Giants songs like you back. - Rhinoceros Rex
They Might Be Giants songs sneak up behind you with something heavy and pointed and hit you in the back of the head, then push you down into an open grave. Plus, they are catchy.
TMBG aren't fattening, are non-toxic, and contain no artifical dyes or additives.
They are not satanists nor scarecrows
They are not santas or cornflakes
They are not posing as an easy-listening Nazi rock band trying to lure intellectuals into believing what they already know to be true.
Cause they might be giants.
TMBG songs are good to grate carrots to -Cody-schmidt

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Apparently not everyone likes TMBG, shocking as that may be. Check out this site, They Might Be Giants Sucks Ass. (Don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds...some actually have good reasons..I quote: "One time, I went up to John Linnell to ask him for his autograph. He just looked at me blankly for a few seconds. Then his face turned three shades of red. Suddenly, he pulled out a switchblade and began carving his name on my forhead!! Two of his ever-present bodyguards held me so that I couldn't defend myself. He screamed,"You want my autograph, you little punk!!?? Wear it for life!!!" Then a bunch of his sycophant fans started cheering as the blood ran relentlessly down my face. John gave me a final kick in the crotch as he turned to walk away. And that's why I hate They Might Be Giants." ---J.D.)

(Ummm...considering all the attacks at TMBG on that site are targeted at some guy named Warren, I'm pretty sure they put up the site to get this Warren guy P.O'ed. It's what the Spanish would call un broma. --Overjoy 09:40, 14 June 2008 (UTC))

Why We Love TMBG

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