Perhaps it’s poetic license that has seen They Might Be Giants—Johns Flansburgh and Linnell—through a voluminous series of ups, downs and holding patterns over its three decades in operation. TMBG’s second adult album in five years and its 16th overall, Nanobots (Idlewild/Megaforce) boasts 25 new songs. Much of Nanobots takes advantage of what is now a fully acclimated quintet that also includes guitarist Dan Miller, bassist Danny Weinkauf and drummer Marty Beller. “We’d been functioning as a two-piece for 10 years, and we really just sort of talked ourselves into it,” says Linnell of the bumpy transition, which began in 1992. “It’s still John and I making the decisions, but we lean heavily on the other guys for a lot of the musical resources. It’s a benevolent dictatorship.” Flansburgh will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new TMBG feature.
Flansburgh: Kliph Nesteroff‘s blog is here. I found out about this blog through WFMU’s great website a while back. but Kliph’s site digs deep into the world of old-time comedy, which is cruel, strange and seedy. It’s also filled with philosophers, hot heads, weirdos and tough guys worthy of Guys And Dolls. Of course Marc Maron’s WTF podcast covers some of the same ground, and he even had Nesteroff on for what was a fascinating episode, but nothing beats the in-depth histories and ephemera included in the blog. Pat Cooper, Jack Carter and Norm Crosby provide some unexpected gossip, and the conversation with Dick Cavett revisits the Mel Lyman personality cult—the cult that didn’t kill people.
Video after the jump.
