History

The two Johns first met as teenagers in Lincoln, Massachusetts. They began writing songs together in high school, Lincoln-Sudbury Regional, but they never officially formed a band. The two went to separate colleges after high school (Flansburgh attended Pratt Institute), and Linnell joined The Mundanes, a New Wave group from Rhode Island. The two finally reunited after moving to Brooklyn (to the same apartment building on the same day) to continue their career.^[2]

Then: The Earlier Years (1982–1989)

The band began performing their own music accompanied by a drum machine, and soon became fixtures on the Manhattan underground. Their early work has been described as a type of performance art, in which they used many innovative stage props, including giant cardboard cutout heads of William Allen White.^[3] Many of these props would later turn up in their first music videos.

Move to Elektra (1990–1992)

In 1989, they signed with Elektra Records, and released their third album Flood the following year. Flood earned them a gold album, largely thanks to "Birdhouse in Your Soul" (which reached number three on the US Modern Rock chart) and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)".

Recruiting a band (1992-1998)

Following Apollo 18, Flansburgh and Linnell decided to move away from the two-guys-with-samples nature of their live show, and recruited a supporting band that consisted of former Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone and drummer Brian Doherty.

Beyond Elektra (1999–2003)

In 1999, the ever-changing backing band lineup settled on "The Band of Dans", forming a full house line-up of Johns and Dans for almost five years. The Band of Dans was a trio of guys named Dan: guitarist Dan Miller, bassist Danny Weinkauf (both formerly of the band Lincoln) and drummer Dan Hickey. In 2004, however, Dan Hickey left the band and was subsequently replaced by Marty Beller, who had already played with TMBG for kids' shows and other projects.

Recent activities (2002-Present)

In 2002, the band released their first album "for the entire family," No!. The No! CD is an enhanced CD that, when played on a computer, provides interactive animations for each of the songs. They followed it up in 2003 with their first book, an illustrated children's book with an included EP, Bed, Bed, Bed.

The band's name

The band takes its name from the 1971 movie They Might Be Giants starring George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward (based on the play of the same name written by James Goldman). The play (and movie) title is an allusion to Don Quixote, who mistook windmills for giants. George C. Scott's character discusses man's ability to invent and analyze past the obvious, saying:

Studio albums

• They Might Be Giants (aka The Pink Album) (1986)
• Lincoln (1988)
• Flood (1990)
• Apollo 18 (1992)
• John Henry (1994)
• Factory Showroom (1996)
• Severe Tire Damage (1998) (primarily live; contains three studio tracks)
• Long Tall Weekend (1999) (Internet release only)
• Mink Car (2001)
• No! (2002)
• The Spine (2004)
• Here Come the ABCs (2005)

Live releases

• Live!! New York City 10/14/94 (1994)
• Severe Tire Damage (1998)

• Contains three studio tracks

• Live (1999)

• Compiled from Severe Tire Damage tracks

EPs and singles

• Don't Let's Start (1987)
• (She Was A) Hotel Detective (1988)
• They'll Need a Crane (1989)
• Ana Ng (1989)
• Purple Toupee (1989)
• Birdhouse in Your Soul (1989)
• Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (1990)
• The Statue Got Me High (1992)
• The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) (1992)
• I Palindrome I (1992)
• Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) (1993)
• O Tannenbaum (1993)
• Back To Skull (1994)
• S-E-X-X-Y (1996)
• Doctor Worm (1998)
• What We Did This Summer (1999)
• "I'm Sick (Of This American Life)" (1999) (appears on the first This American Life compilation CD set)
• Working Undercover for the Man (2000)
• Boss of Me (EP) (2000)
• Man, It's So Loud in Here (2001)
• They Might Be Giants in Holidayland (2001)
• Bed, Bed, Bed (2003)
• Indestructible Object (2004)
• The Spine Surfs Alone (2004)
• "T-Shirt" (2005) (Single, exclusive to iTunes Music Store)

Compilations, online releases, other releases

• Don't Let's Start (1989) (UK/Germany compilation)
• Miscellaneous T (1991)
• Superfueled Freaksickle (1997) (unreleased B-side compilation)
• Then: The Earlier Years (1997)
• CD soundtrack to McSweeney's magazine issue 6 (2001) (Contributions, and arrangement of music by others)
• They Got Lost (2002)
• Dial-A-Song: 20 Years Of They Might Be Giants (2002)
• Bed, Bed, Bed (2003)
• The Spine Hits The Road (2004) (Internet release only, live album)
• Almanac (2004) (Internet release only, live album)
• Venue Songs (2004) (Internet release only)
• A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants (2005)
• They Got Lost (2005) (Re-release)
• Venue Songs DVD/CD (2005) (A re-release of Venue Songs in a CD/DVD combo pack with bonus material)

Contributions

• "One More Parade" for Rubaiyat: Elektra's 40th Anniversary Tribute CD (1990)
• "SenSurround" for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie Soundtrack (1995)
• "25 O' Clock" for Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC Tribute CD (1995)
• "Spiralling Shape" for Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy Soundtrack (1996)
• "Boss of Me" and "Older" for Music from Malcolm in the Middle (2001)
• "I've Got A Fang" (Demo) for This Is Next Year: A Brooklyn-Based Compilation (2001)
• "Darlin' Allison" for Gordon Gano's Hitting the Ground album (2002)
• "Baroque Hoedown" for DisneyMania 2 (2004)
• "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" for Future Soundtrack for America (2004)
• "Through Being Cool" for Sky High Soundtrack (2005)

Charting Singles

Music videos

The band has made music videos for many of their songs, including:

Notes and references