Songs For Saturday: They Might Be Giants

 

Slap on the Bat Head Phones? 

Bat Head Phones SLAPPED, sir!!!

Volume cranked up?

Up the Volume is CRANKED, sir!!!

Let's get this edition of Songs For Saturday started!

THERE WILL BE MUSIC!!

Because THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS!!!

Let's kick off this set list with "Birdhouse In Your Soul", 

The lyrics are the narration of a canary shaped blue nightlight  moving from topic to topic like Jason and the Argonauts and The Longines Symphonette.

OK, what the hell is the The Longines Symphonette?

The Longines Symphonette was a pre-recorded classical music program broadcast nightly on many Mutual Broadcasting System stations from 1943 to 1949. It then moved to CBS where it was heard Sundays at 2 pm from 1949 to 1957.

Next up is "Istanbul (not Constantinople)". This song is not an original TMBG's composition but rather is a cover a 1953 novelty song written on the 500th anniversary of the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans.  The song was originally performed by The Four Lads in 1953.  Big Muffin Serious Band did a cover of the song in 1987. In 1990, They Might Be Giants took a shot at it.  

Next up is "Particle Man". The video is a segment of TIny Toon Adventures featuring Plucky Duck. 

Next is a TMBG song I only recently discovered called the "You're On Fire".  The video for this song is a bit weird. As one comment says, "This is like a VeggieTales episode gone terribly, terribly wrong."

I'm trying to figure what's the most weird: the singing ground beef or the weird ass dude who shows up at that girl's apartment and is clearly too old for her.  

Let's end today's post at the beginning with TMBG's first hit from their first album, "Don't Let's Start". Now I would have sworn on a stack of Bibles that I remembered this song from when I was college. Except I could not have since "Don't Let's Start" was released after I graduated from college.

Memory is a funny thing.

"Everybody dies frustrated and sad, and that is beautiful." 

Well, that's an odd note to end on.

That is that for this week's Songs For Saturday. I hope you enjoyed this spotlight on They Might Be Giants. 

Next week, let's ROCK out LOUD with a way back flip to the 1970s and some of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs.

Until next time, remember to be good to one another and to always keep the music alive.