Happy 40th Anniversary to They Might Be Giants Self-Titled debut.
While it might be their debut record, RtBE didn't here this one for a bit.
They Might Be Giants are a major band in my musical development, but my first exposure to them was (like most peoples) through Flood. Instantly loving it, I went back and bought a cassette of Lincoln, then Miscellaneous T and only then their debut record.
Their debut is not much different than any of their first five albums as a duo. Before they started a real band the quirky sounds and obtuse lyrics really challenged my mind to see if there was something behind the nonsense. Sometimes yes ("Kiss Me Son of God") sometimes no ("Cowtown"), but overall it didn't matter, it sounded good.
Speaking of sounding good, their debut had a few dynamite tunes on it, "Don't Let's Start" is so annoyingly catchy, "Rhythm Section Want Ad" is dynamite banging closer and "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" is whacky goodness.
I have been a huge TMBG fan since first hearing them decades ago, reviewing them often here, but my favorite song of theirs is from this first album. "She's An Angel" is a peach of a tune. Every time I hear it I enjoy it more and more with it's great bass line, yearning singing and sliding guitar, magic. When the chorus kicks in it is a dream, a sweet song that just nails it in 2:35 seconds.
The whole record is worth enjoying with it's nerdy/quirky charm and on it's 40th Anniversary, play it loud. Here are some tunes to get you started:
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