Coraline happenings are noteworthy in the week before the film's release. Director Henry Selick spoke to Gothamist in an article published yesterday about the film and describes how They Might Be Giants became involved: The music video for The Spine's "Bastard Wants to Hit Me" was created by the fine folks at Laika, the same animation house that created Coraline, and a director on that award-winning video connected Selick, a fan of their music, to the band. Despite being "basically cut out" of the film (which really shouldn't become the go-to quote), Selick called their preliminary work "brilliant" and "beautiful" (he states he'd like to create a Yellow Submarine with the band) but the project ended up not going the musical (a la Nightmare Before Christmas) route and all songs but one were cut.
That one remaining song still ended up on the film's soundtrack which has been formally announced with a date of February 24th. You can already pre-order the CD on sites like Amazon or go for the the MP3 version which will apparently be made available on the 3rd, even before the film comes out. If you're that desperate to hear the song before release, the entire 28 seconds, yes, that's all of it, can be seen on the film's website.
It's a bit short-notice, but news by way of TMBW informs us that John and John will be guest DJing today for WBRU, 95.5FM in Rhode Island. If you don't happen to be in the area of a signal, you can listen online at the station's website. The guest slot is slated for noon today and will presumably run for at least an hour.
January 30, 2009
January 23, 2009
"Employee" video and "Electric Car" preview
Catching up on the past week or two of happenings online, we'll start with the most recent. Animator Elliot Cowan has created a video for They Might Be Giants' "Employee of the Month" using his Boxhead & Roundhead characters. The video grabbed the band's attention and is now being featured in their MySpace and newsletter updates. On Cowan's blog you can read his "interesting" perspective of his exchange with the band.
The Star-Ledger spoke with John Flansburgh for an interview. Topics of discussion included the transition to performing for children, Tommy Lee interviews, and how their unclassifiable music still brings in an audience.
Via TMBW, TMBG manager Jamie Kitman spoke with NPR in a seemingly unrelated interview about electric cars at the Detroit Auto Show. The audio interview ends with the debut of a new song by They Might Be Giants called, appropriately enough, "Electric Car." Only a portion of the track is played, but it's mentioned that the song comes out in the fall, likely with the release of Here Comes Science.
January 9, 2009
Interview, extended Coraline clip, TMBG on Conan
Starting off the new year right, Stay Thirsty Media has an interview with John Flansburgh on their site. The lengthy interview has John compare They Might Be Giants to Jethro Tull, describe how performing in the play People are Wrong! differs from playing live with TMBG, and list a few of his musical inspirations. The article also has short audio clips of the conversation. You may remember that early last year Stay Thirsty spoke with John Linnell.
A helpful editor over at This Might Be a Wiki pointed out that the Coraline website is showing clips from the upcoming film. The editor notes that a longer version of our previously known song has made it onto the site as well (click the record player). TMBG's role has been unfortunately diminished since the project began and we don't know how much of their input remains, but we will know when the movie comes out next month (February 6th, two days before the Grammys).
Finally, a new TMBG newsletter was sent out today. In addition to reminding everyone to catch the Grammys, the band gives up a heads up on a different TV appearance. They Might Be Giants will be performing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on Thursday, February 12th. This is the same week as the Grammys and a week before Conan's last show on Late Night. Apparently TMBG has appeared on the show more times than any other rock band so be sure to catch their final appearance before the host moves. You can subscribe to the TMBG newsletter over at tmbg.com.
A helpful editor over at This Might Be a Wiki pointed out that the Coraline website is showing clips from the upcoming film. The editor notes that a longer version of our previously known song has made it onto the site as well (click the record player). TMBG's role has been unfortunately diminished since the project began and we don't know how much of their input remains, but we will know when the movie comes out next month (February 6th, two days before the Grammys).
Finally, a new TMBG newsletter was sent out today. In addition to reminding everyone to catch the Grammys, the band gives up a heads up on a different TV appearance. They Might Be Giants will be performing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on Thursday, February 12th. This is the same week as the Grammys and a week before Conan's last show on Late Night. Apparently TMBG has appeared on the show more times than any other rock band so be sure to catch their final appearance before the host moves. You can subscribe to the TMBG newsletter over at tmbg.com.
January 1, 2009
Shows in 2009
Happy 2009! They Might Be Giants are continuing their monthly residency at (le) Poisson Rouge, so if you're in the New York area be sure to get to a show! Check out This Might Be A Wiki's shows page for more info or stay up to date with TMBG's official shows RSS feed.
January 2009
17 - Montclair, NJ - Alexander Kasser Theatre, MSU (4PM Kids/8PM Adult)
30 - Providence, RI - Lupo's
31 - New York, NY - (Le) Poisson Rouge (3PM Kids/7:30PM Adult)
February 2009
28 - New York, NY - (Le) Poisson Rouge
March 2009
28 - New York, NY - (Le) Poisson Rouge
December 31, 2008
Final interviews of the year, new Theynow
In today's post, we wrap up the links from Christmas to the new year's eve. Coming in just before the holiday is a new episode of Theynow. The installment features covers of TMBG songs as well as other songs you might like.
With They Might Be Giants playing New Year's Eve shows in Philadelphia, they have a few interviews in the city including some from last week. Philadelphia Weekly speaks with John Flansburgh and he comments on the disintegration of the music business and compares TMBG's children's music to The Sopranos.
NBC Philadelphia has a great video interview from the TLA with John and John. At a good 14 minutes long, the Johns discuss bands with bad names (even the Beatles, says Flans), the trouble of remembering lyrics, and the intentions of the group both starting out and starting children's projects.
Finally, we have an interview with Linnell and Flansburgh from Phawker. The interview is a fun read and the Johns give some good answers. Among other things, you can read which band member Flans hit in the face with a guitar, their thoughts on playing at the TLA, and how their "Boss of Me" Grammy win has helped their careers, among other topics. A worthy article to end the year.
With They Might Be Giants playing New Year's Eve shows in Philadelphia, they have a few interviews in the city including some from last week. Philadelphia Weekly speaks with John Flansburgh and he comments on the disintegration of the music business and compares TMBG's children's music to The Sopranos.
NBC Philadelphia has a great video interview from the TLA with John and John. At a good 14 minutes long, the Johns discuss bands with bad names (even the Beatles, says Flans), the trouble of remembering lyrics, and the intentions of the group both starting out and starting children's projects.
Finally, we have an interview with Linnell and Flansburgh from Phawker. The interview is a fun read and the Johns give some good answers. Among other things, you can read which band member Flans hit in the face with a guitar, their thoughts on playing at the TLA, and how their "Boss of Me" Grammy win has helped their careers, among other topics. A worthy article to end the year.
December 19, 2008
Science images and Philly interviews
While the Grammy nominated Here Come the 123s is still on peoples' minds, people are looking for news on the upcoming Here Comes Science. Frequent TMBG collaborator Hine Mizushima has posted some stills from her new video for the upcoming kids album. (Maybe your guess of which video it's for will be the same as mine if you look closely.) The images were also featured in a recent TMBG newsletter.
These newsletters and MySpace postings of the past weeks have been ramping up the promotion for two purposes. First, to let us know of their new holiday bundles (which you can still order by Sunday to guarantee merch by Christmas via FedEx). They've also put some holiday themed songs on their MySpace profile page.
The second topic is, as always, shows; such as the pair of New Year's Eve shows at the TLA in Philadelphia. To help get the word out on upcoming shows, they've announced an RSS feed on their website that will update you of all upcoming They Might Be Giants shows.
Another promo gig the band had recently is an interview with Phrequency on these Philadelphia shows (via TMBW). John, John, and Marty sit in to tell the folks how they start writing a song, give their Grammy reaction, and tell of some interesting fan interactions.
Also in Philly, the group held an interview with Preston & Steve of 93.3 WMMR. You can hear the audio of the interview (via TMBW again), view pictures from the meeting, and watch video of the two songs performed on the show: "Particle Man" and "Why Does the Sun Really Shine?"
December 5, 2008
Grammy nod and Gigantic Q&A
Congratulations to They Might Be Giants for their Grammy nomination for Here Come the 123s in the category of Best Musical Album For Children. The winner will be announced February 8, 2009. They Might Be Giants won their previous nomination with "Boss of Me" (from the TV show Malcolm in the Middle) in the Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media category in the 2002 awards. The band has already sent out the appropriate notices via newsletter and MySpace.
Picked up via dog_on_fire from LiveJournal, a John and John Q&A after a screening of Gigantic at the 92YTribeca on Sunday has been recorded and posted onto YouTube in three parts by user NerdsLoveMe. The questions vary, from several Dial-A-Song questions to information about their next two albums. They also state that the rock album is planned to be released next fall, contrary to the "years" suggested by The Washington Post. It's a nice, informal Q&A that lasts about a half an hour long.
Picked up via dog_on_fire from LiveJournal, a John and John Q&A after a screening of Gigantic at the 92YTribeca on Sunday has been recorded and posted onto YouTube in three parts by user NerdsLoveMe. The questions vary, from several Dial-A-Song questions to information about their next two albums. They also state that the rock album is planned to be released next fall, contrary to the "years" suggested by The Washington Post. It's a nice, informal Q&A that lasts about a half an hour long.
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