We had so much fun last year with our 25 Days of Newman project that we decided to up the ante. This year, Paul and Storm are proud to present It Might Be Xmas: a They Might Be Giants tribute and holiday celebration all rolled up into one yule-ish log.
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from December 11 until Christmas (that’s the 25th), we’ll release at least one new and COMPLETELY ORIGINAL song, each written in a different TMBG style and exploring the many facets of the holiday season. Visit our special It Might Be Xmas (IMBX) page at Bandcamp.com to listen and download the tunes for FREE (though of course contributions are always welcome, at your discretion on the Bandcamp page).
As we are NOT CHARGING YOU ANY MONEY AT ALL (if you so choose) for any of these songs, we would ask that you please share the files and website with anyone and everyone you think would enjoy it. You can do it, it’s totally legal, because the songs are all written by us and released under a Creative Commons license. (Details on what that means are here; but the short version is that you can freely copy and distribute the songs as long as you’re not making any money doing so)
And because we don’t want a full-on geek riot (or if your reaction is “Huh???”), please see the FAQ after the break if your first reaction is “I hate you I hate you I hate you die die die.”
What in the heck is a They Might Be Giants?
They Might Be Giants (or TMBG, as the kids call them) is an alternative rock band formed by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. They are extremely popular among geeks, nerds and Internet types for their smart, quirky music. For more information, read their Wikipedia page, their website, and/or their own wiki, This Might Be a Wiki.
Why TMBG?
Like Randy Newman, TMBG have been a big influence on us, so they were a natural choice. That, and we’ve always felt that the holidays are made for TMBG.
But I wanted to hear more Randy Newman theme songs 🙁
Tuff nuts.
[Song x, some part of song y, or the entire project which we’ll designate as z] sounds nothing like TMBG! Charlatans! Frauds!
While we believe these songs will evoke TMBG, we are not The Johns. As such, and even with the possible help of special guests to play instruments that are well beyond our musical capabilities, of course they’re not exactly (or in some cases at all) what The Johns would do.
What do you mean, “at least” one new song?
Depending on how many we can finish between now and December 25th, we may release two (or more!) songs on any given day. It’s like a little mystery! Jinkies, gang!
10 Comments
Excellent! From the TMBG I’ve heard so far, I much prefer covers by or of them to them singing their original songs, so it’ll be really interesting to see how much I like your original songs in their style. Then I’ll only need them to sing original songs they write in somebody else’s style and I’ll have filled in the entire matrix of Things That Might Be They Might Be Giants with likeability scores, so I’ll know precisely what it is I don’t like about them. This Might Be Science.
Seriously, you guys are my flippin’ heroes! They Might Be Giants are my favourite band of all time, and you guys are my favourite comedy/music duo. This is too perfect. I went to the show in Ann Arbour in October when you and Jonathan covered about 5 songs, and it was so surreal and perfect. Now I’m a gushing fan girl, and I am no longer upset my the lack of Newman.
Sounds clever and fun (as expected, of course). I’m definitely going to have to share this with my sister-in-law who is a huge TMBG fan. 🙂
My hat’s off to you for your ambitious, second annual Many Things A Week project.
Wow. That was AWESOME. I was lucky enough to be in Chicago for your Flood show. Very fun. Very clever. Keep it up.
SO What does TMBG think of your Covers?
“the possible help of special guests to play instruments that are well beyond our musical capabilities”
So you’re going to find someone to play accordion?
This sounds awesome, as I love TMBG. I hope you are familiar with Weird Al’s TMBG sound-a-like song, Everything You Know is Wrong…?
Oh yeah… This is a great idea that has been waiting to happen ever since the first of your little TMBG “snippets” came out in performance… and like all great ideas, I’m sure it will be a most interesting little collection.
Just one question: Is Storm always going to try and sing nasally to sound like John, or will we get some more “natural” vocalizations? No biggie either way, just wondering…
@PonderousMan: You mean you want Storm to sound less like John and more like John?
Now that the internet appears to be working in my new house, I can comment to say: w00t! Enjoying IMBX so far and can’t wait to hear the rest. Also, no pressure, but Wednesday is my birthday, so if you could make that day’s song(s) particularly awesome, that would be a pretty nice present. You managed to do it last year with one of my favorite movies, so I know you’re up to the challenge. 😉
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