They Might Be Giants Venue Songs

Their mid-Eighties “Dial-A-Song” innovation established They Might Be Giants as a veritable song factory, giving more than an impression that they seemingly know nothing else other than how to write short catchy numbers drenched in nerdy references and the occasional distant reflection on romantic relationships. In terms of fertility of muse, the duo finds a peer only in Robert Pollard. In fact, TMBG is what Pollard would be if he learned to play the accordion and wrote commercial jingles for a living.

Their new release Venue Songs, which surprised me (and probably a few other bloggers) sitting in my mailbox the other day, is a brilliant, yet simple concept that they pull off flawlessly and in a highly entertaining and often hilarious manner. Basically, they wrote short songs based on a number of venues they played, and later had videos made for them. The DVD compiles videos for eleven of the songs (an accompanying CD has all 46), the best two of which I've digitized free of charge for your YouTube viewing pleasure. They're intercut with commentary by the "deranged millionaire," cast in browns and yellows, who offers a bit of context for each video. The first is the best:

“The experiment begins in the Twin Cities of the single state known as Minnesota. Specifically, the legendary Minneapolis rock club First Avenue, where the Artist Formerly Known as Public Radio’s Garrison Keillor first bathed our world in the purple madness of songs such as “When Doves Cry” and “Powdermilk Biscuit Rain.”

There's no video or song for that one, but the ones that are present are great. Here are my two favorites, with YouTube and mp3:

Glasgow, Scotland (mp3) music venue “The Garage" inspired this song, which fittingly channels the Bay City Rollers in the opening moments, then progresses through a retardedly memorable riffy singalong:



Charlottesville, Virginia (mp3) inspired this opening: “Here, Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia, and built his magnificent bat-cave Monticello, where he made sweet love to Sally Hemmings.” The song, dedicated to The Star Hill Music Hall, is a great retread of the Rolling Stones “Beast of Burden” filtered through a Southern Rock sensibility. Turns out somebody else saved me the Youtube trouble:



Order Venue Songs from the band right here.