They make singing in unison sound racist.
What is this, agitate the commenteriat day?
I have to say, "Lamb and Lynx" is pretty awesome.
Unfogged: always controversial, always pervy.
Also, "Lamb and Lynx" are pretty awesome, but we don't want to venture too far into the land of perv, for fear that many will follow.
I'm in the middle of writing something related to Prussian Blue. More details soon.
Catchy enough for white supremacist teen-pop, I suppose, but this is the shiznit.
We are the bold spelunkers of perv, Ogged, going where others fear to tread!
Listen to "Skinhead Boy" sometime.
I can't decide whether I'm more offended by their hate speech or their songwriting.
I've heard there are people in the cave, Labs, and I'm going to bring them out.
10 - yeah, that was kind of lame, in a TPM Cafe way. What I meant was, it's odd that you mentioned Prussian Blue, since they've occupied so much of my mindspace lately.
I have trouble understanding the words, but I liked the song. Catchy!
I'm with Joe, this is just shoddy material, and at a number of levels. The mixing: the vocals sound pasted-on, like a bad mashup. The lyrics: trite. The arrangement: total waste of a second voice. The voices have no contrast, so trading lines is pointless, and the unison bits are lifeless, not to mention their certain je ne sais Hitler. I'll pass over the performance, which transparently sucks in the manner of a karaoke duet.
And their eyes aren't Prussian Blue–blue. They're going for Phthalo Blue or potentially Phthalo Torquoise.
their eyes aren't Prussian Blue–blue
Yes, but that can be influenced by the clothes a person is wearing. We'd really need to see them naked to make a solid judgement on this.
we don't want to venture too far into the land of perv
Ooo, sorry 'bout that. Habit.
They seem like a replay of that Russian teeny-bopper lesbo twosome from a year or two back.
ash
['No-hit wonder.']
17: The band name is primarily a gas chamber reference, I believe. That their eyes are blue is just gravy.
Weiner, and/or anyone else who cares to, I'd appreciate a ranking (full or partial) of They Might Be Giants albums. Even though I first encountered them on Tiny Toons way back in the day, the only album I have is one I downloaded last night.
Hitler's artwork was better than he's been given credit for. Someone diagnosed it as "inhuman", but his classmate Wittgenstein's architectural design for his sister's house looked pretty godawful to me too.
It's now a Bulgarian embassy, IIRC. The need for a study is pressing, don't you think?
"The Bulgarian embassy, the Blue Book, and the Brown book as transitional stages in Wittgenstein's work."
the only album I have
The rest all sound like that one.
21, yeah, mine was a dumb art joke. "Prussian blue" refers to a pseudoscientific hypothetical cited by Holocaust deniers. Charming, girls!
I'd appreciate a ranking (full or partial) of They Might Be Giants albums.
The first one is best.
"Prussian blue" refers to
Isn't Prussian Blue actually a paint color name? That said, they obviously have a 'manager' who has assembled a 'band' to fit his artistic 'vision'.
ash
['Harmless Teenyboppers for Der Fuhrer.']
nevermind then!
re TMBG: Flood, then Apollo 18 or Lincoln.
John Emerson, Do you have a link to Wittgenstein's house? It was for Gretl, right?
ash: Prussian blue is the cyanide, Prussian Blue is the paint. Hilarity ensues.
The house that Wittgenstein built. Also: Klimt did a portrait of Gretl, sez Google.
I believe I saw it in the Janik / Toulmin "Wittgenstein's Vienna". Before the internet I actually read the things.
What tom said. And after Apollo 18 or Lincoln, their first one (self-titled). It's more uneven than the others, but has some highly necessary songs ("She's an Angel", "Don't Let's Start", "Youth Culture Killed My Dog").
I take it you guys love making perverted comments.
Sounds like the file at the official site is a bit messed up. Here are some cleaner sounding mp3s.
http://savefile.com/projects/855320
"The house that Ludwig built was not cosy. Wittgenstein forbade carpets and curtains. Rooms were to be lit by naked bulbs, and door handles and radiators were left unpainted."
They forgot to mention the dirty dishes and unbidentifiable rotting food substances in the sink.
Damn, the track is broken. You guys broke it.
with a guitar figure stolen from Uncle Tupelo.
Jay or Jeff?
I take it you guys love making perverted comments.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I think it's pretty much required to get the first 4 TMBG albums (TMBG, Lincoln, Flood, and Apollo 18) although (and I'm probably in the minority) I don't think Flood holds up to repeat listening now that I'm no longer an oh-so-alternative high schooler.
I actually think the later stuff (John Henry, Factory Showroom) holds up pretty well.
ash: Prussian blue is the cyanide, Prussian Blue is the paint. Hilarity ensues.
So their first record will be called 'Zyklon Bee'?
ash
['Oh so tasteful.']
They claim it sold six million copies, but it was probably only one or two million, tops.
37: I have a soft spot for John Henry as well. TMBG is a frustrating band. Their early stuff is brilliantly written, but the instrumentation is frequently irritating. The later stuff is a bit more blah but sounds much much better. That's why I'm really hoping that this project eventually goes on sale (even though I had my heart set on the Wrens covering "Birdhouse in Your Soul", as they were originally rumored to be).
Also, apo wins.
I have a soft spot for John Henry, but a hard spot for Factory Showroom. (Why no permalinks on comments, em-dub?)
Why no permalinks on comments, em-dub?
Because that wasn't how the MT template came, and I am as a rule scared to mess with the templates. It happens that I rarely get enough comments for this to matter.
Their early stuff is brilliantly written, but the instrumentation is frequently irritating.
See from my point of view this is totally wrongheaded (also "Let Down" is the worst song on OK Computer. How's that again?). The great thing about the first album is that it's completely fragmentary and stripped down. The accordion-guitar-rhythm box instrumentation creates just the right kind of dementia. Flood and even Lincoln are more rationalized. That said, I think Apollo 18 may be my favorite--lot of fantastic songs on that. I guess the only definite opinion I'm willing to offer is Matt F's, I don't like Flood as much as the other three.
Am I really alone in my opinion in 24? In my experience, comparing different TMBG albums is like trying to rank different tins of Peppermint Altoids.
Apostropher, this is a property common to philistines.
No, no, the worst song on OK Computer is the one with the cowbell. The worst song on any album is the one with the cowbell.
Fair enough, SB, and in support of your thesis I'll add that I can rank all of the makeup-era KISS albums off the top of my head.
That is surely not true of the album that contains "Mississippi Queen."
(Also, I was trolling Tom, aggie.)
That Election song is pretty dumb.
The worst song on any album is the one with the cowbell.
Patenly false. I've got a fever for more cowbell, and "He's My Thing" is the single best song that Babes in Toyland ever did, and they released multiple albums.
I've got a fever for more cowbell
I'm talking the sound that a cowbell makes when it's played by a band, not whatever personal associations you're bringing to the discussion.
While I was alluding to the SNL sketch, I was serious about the latter half of my comment, which was intended as definitive disproof of your axiom.
"Don't Fear the Reaper," while it won't ever be listed in my favorite songs list, is still probably the best song on the B.O.C. album it comes from.
I'd like to pull together a reasoned argument about all this, but I'm not invested enough to actually do so.
probably the best song on the B.O.C. album
"Tattoo Vampire," yo.
the only definite opinion I'm willing to offer is Matt F's
It's like he can read my mind!
All your base are belong to the HiveMatt.
the dirty dishes and unbidentifiable rotting food substances in the sink
I am a Prussian, and I've always liked what that meant to me. But, like Jake, I hate Illinois Nazis, and of course, their Californian cousins. Icky. They besmerch my heritage.
I think my two favorite TMBG albums are the original EP and "No."
My TMBG List
Flood
Apollo 18
No
Lincoln
By and large if I had to spend any money on TMBG today I'd rather divert it to buying the Miracle Legion albums I don't already have.
I think you should start with Fables of the Reconstruction.
How pissed am I that I actually listened to the linked song, and now three days later it's stuck in my head?
Answer: so pissed. Stupid racist hook.
Excellent work, and awesome links! Hope you don't mind me linking you!
