Don't Let's Start: A Podcast About They Might Be Giants

Latest Episodes:

80: Letterbox 4: Battle of the Scarecrows Sep 30, 2026

Show notes

We clear our inbox and fill your podcast box with our latest Letterbox special! So many boxes! We respond to listener e-mails that cover such frenzied topics as Bob Dylan, Cast Your Pod To The Wind, Factory Showroom stuff, TMBG's children's music, and of course, scarecrows of the grinning and filthy variety! And so much more, much, much more...Plus, long overdue addendums to our past episodes! More about songs from Flood, Apollo 18, et-friggin-cetera! Listen and listen well!

79: FACTORY SHOWROOM Wrap-Down: I'm Ready to Faint Jul 16, 2026

Show notes

Get away! Unless you want to hear us talk about the demos and alternate versions of songs They Might Be Giants cooked up from the Factory Showroom era! There's too many lo-fi delights to list here, but let's just say, incidentally, you might want to buy your Token Back to Brooklyn, head to New York City, and hitch a ride on a Rocket Ship! What are you, some sort of Alternate Take of I Can Hear You?

Stop standing around like there's something to get! Sit down and listen!

78: Brooklyn Steel, May 2026: We Worked So Hard on These Songs Jun 19, 2026

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From May 28th to May 30th They Might Be Giants performed at Brooklyn Steel, only a short drive, or an absurdly long walk, away from Jordan and Dave. We interrupt our Factory Showroom run once again to bring you our official unofficial report. What songs were performed? And WHO performed them?!? (TMBG?) Listen and find out!

77: THE WORLD IS TO DIG Excavation! Apr 26, 2026

Show notes

Look what the cat has dragged in! They Might Be Giants have released a new album, The World Is To Dig! And here's what you get: our reaction! Do we dig it? Did it make us sleep or go feral? Is it an overnight sensation or flawed garbage? (Ok that's a bit harsh, I'm just trying to make wordplay from the song titles, people!) Get down with Jordan and Dave's brains, put that telescope up to your ears and give this a slow, careful listen!

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76: FACTORY SHOWROOM Part 6: One Degree Shy Of Sadistic Apr 15, 2026

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Why? Because it's extra, baby! In this episode we're kicking back onto our seductive red leather couch to discuss a few songs left off of They Might Be Giants' sixth album Factory Showroom that managed to slide right into the S-E-X-X-Y EP!

Our big earth-shaking discussion is Sensurround, a catchy, crafty and collateral-damage filled John Linnell classic! We don't know where he got the idea for this song, but we go ballistic for it!

Next is We've Got A World That Swings, a cute and...Oh, wait, sorry. Next is Unforgotten, a somber and soberingly sweet sentiment from John Flansburgh that surprised us! Is this song what we want at all?

Hey, what's the hassle? The nutty We've Got A World That Swings is next. Even though by this point we're sleepy and yawning, we give it our all and dive into the history of this curious cover! What a lucky guy I am! And finally, we grab our glow sticks and rave out with our fellow kids to the feature length S-E-X-X-Y (The Warren Rigg Microwave Mix)!

You don't have to know what we're thinking now, listen to the episode to find out!

75: FACTORY SHOWROOM Part 5: They Hear The Sound Feb 26, 2026

Show notes

Factory Showroom Part 5, made in Jordan's bedroom! Don't Let's Start, your simple key to happiness is back! We heard your instructions and followed your directions, so pull away your earplugs because we are finishing Factory Showroom, They Might Be Giants' sixth album, by just barely hearing the final two tracks!

First, this is a warning, but we devote over an hour to the vintage lo-fi throw-way-way-waaaayback, I Can Hear You! You won't hear a buzz because I edited it out of the audio!

Then tilt your heads so you won't miss what we say about The Bells Are Ringing! Are we persuaded by this epic final missive? Or are we shielded from the bells' effect? Is it evil or is it good?

Guess where I am...in your ears, RIGHT NOW! You know the way to go! Drop all business at hand and LISTEN!

74: BONUS: EYEBALL Reflection Jan 23, 2026

Show notes

They Might Be Giants have released new music, so we are duty-bound to pause our Factory Showroom series and provide you with our very raw, unsullied, virgin-eared reaction! We discuss our initial thoughts on the Eyeball EP, including the very Linnellian Linnell title track by Linnell, the Snuggle fresh-scented The Glamour of Rock, the tell-nothing instrumental biography of Peggy Guggenheim, and the quite elegant Elegant Too remix of Eyeball! You will not know what to think until we TELL you what to think! You're welcome!

Join us on Patreon!: patreon.com/dontletsstartpodcast

73: FACTORY SHOWROOM Part 4: Putting All Reason Aside Dec 15, 2025

Show notes

We said we'd be back in just five minutes, but you could tell that we were lying! Welcome to our hypnotic and strange series on Mr. Factory Showroom, our sixth They Might Be Giants album! Which is not to say you'll like it!

First, there's no way to stop the excellence of our segment on Spiraling Shape! Everyone says it's great! Then, in 1990, They Might Be Giants released James K. Polk as a b-side. But precious few were satisfied with that, and in six short years they fulfilled their manifest destiny of expanding the song for Factory Showroom!

Then it's a lucky thing that you'll be hearing us groove out to Pet Name! We've almost figured out how to discuss the song's obscure origins and saucy couple. Don't spend the rest of your life wondering! Listen to this podcast! There won't be a refund! Go, go, go!

Join us on Patreon!: patreon.com/c/dontletsstartpodcast

72: FACTORY SHOWROOM Part 3: Music Fills The Room Oct 09, 2025

Show notes

Hope you're glad to hear from us! We're ringing the bell on the door and fighting for our place in rock and roll...podcasts! I can't believe it's true, but we're marching on through They Might Be Giants' 1997 album Factory Showroom, discussing a precious and few three more songs!

First up is the best podcast segment of your life as we discuss New York City, the cherished cute and cuddly cult-favorite Cub cover. Your young and pretty hosts discuss the skyscraper highs and sewer grate lows of the titular city.

Then the song we play is Your Own Worst Enemy, the short and (bitter)sweet TMBG throwback that leaves us softly weeping. And just when you think it's finished, the XTC Vs. Adam Ant segment is one of the biggest we've ever done. Jordan's love explodes for XTC and both he and Dave find new appreciation for XTC's friend or foe, Adam Ant...and even the singer from Bow Wow Wow! I can't tell you why, you'll have to listen! Ant music for XTC people! XTC music for Ant people!

71: FACTORY SHOWROOM Part 2: I Dare Not Make A Sound Aug 01, 2025

Show notes

If you thought we were out of style and long forgot, you were wrong! Watch us shine as we discuss the next three very songular songs on Factory Showroom, the sixth album by They Might Be Giants! How'm I s'posed to let you know the way we feel about them?

Tell me how can we do our How Can I Sing Like A Girl segment without being stigmatized by the rest of the world? Our fingers point at each other's mouths as we devote over an hour to the complex history behind the song and our complex feelings about it! Then we swear we see our mouths move further as we hang with Exquisite Dead Guy!

Finally, we have something to help you understand Metal Detector, as Jordan has a story to tell (if Dave's listening) about his experience with an actual metal detector, and we look to the curious book that inspired the classic hook. Never be alone! Listen now to the sound of THIS PODCAST!

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