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

Latest Episodes:

60: 80s Demos - Part 2: At Least Your Dog Is Free Mar 21, 2024

Show notes

We've got another big delicious slice of They Might Be Giants' legendary 1985 demo tape! This episode covers tracks 10 through 20, and there's still more left to chew on! We find out newly discovered, frighteningly revelatory information on Cowtown and Chess Piece Face!

We take the many demo versions of Youth Culture Killed My Dog for a walk! Then we crank the volume way up to hear the subtle secrets in the demo recordings of Alienation's For The Rich and The Day! After a proper history lesson on hotel detectives, we give Toddler Hiway the deep dive it's always deserved in a very special segment breaking down EVERY. DAMN. WORD! Finally, we peter out with I'm Def. How cooler can this be?!?

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59: 80s Demos - Part 1: I'm Already Dead Feb 24, 2024

Show notes

We're back...in time! Jordan and Dave take out their dusty scrapbooks and look into the They Might Be Giants of years past. First we discuss their very first release, the Wiggle Diskette, a very limited vinyl distributed all over NYC in 1985. Then we continue on with the first batch of songs on TMBG's infamous 1985 demo tape!

But do you think we stop there? Oh ho ho, foolish listener, doth thee not know of whom we be? Our minds become a blur of common sense as we discuss every demo and alternative version of these songs we could find! We're talking THREE Puppet-Heads, FOUR You'll Miss Mes, TWO Number Threes, and one uncomfortably intimate When It Rains It Snows! Including NEW revelations about these songs not addressed in our initial episodes! We then end the show with a very special guest, Margaret Seiler, the singer of Boat of Car! Take this car for a ride!

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58: Impossibly News - The Latest on TMBG and We Dec 18, 2023

Show notes

Should auld acquaintance be forgot....Presenting a special urgent and heartfelt final broadcast for 2023! Jordan and Dave destroy the past and focus on the latest They Might Be Giants news, discoveries, rumors and revelations! We also tell you about our podcast operation, with a big announcement about a planned Patreon membership for 2024! OH IT'S GOOD NEWS!

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57: Interview with People Magazine's Michael Small! Nov 04, 2023

Show notes

As a prologue for our upcoming deep dive into They Might Be Giants' 1980s demos, we spoke with the legendary Michael Small, the People Magazine writer who first reviewed TMBG's demo tape in 1985 and gave them their first huge exposure, telling (or warning) the world about the madness to come!

Michael tells us about the first time he heard the tape, the songs that got stuck in his head, appearing in the documentary Gigantic, his relationship with They Might Be Giants over the years, and more exciting tales of music journalism! He also tells us about his incredibly fun new show, I Couldn't Throw It Out, which recently interviewed John Flansburgh! Links below!

Michael's podcast:

https://www.throwitoutpodcast.com/

Michael's TMBG review:

https://tmbw.net/wiki/images/a/a3/PeopleDemoReview.jpg

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56: Letterbox Special 2: How To Age Gracefully Sep 06, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Jordan and Dave read e-mails from who? E-mails from you! Topics include They Might Be Giants love songs! Fingertips theories! Reactions to our John Henry episodes, including theories on End of the Tour and Destination Moon! Condoms! Metallica! The Rheostatics! Frank Black! David Lynch! Comic books! Horror movies! The future of the podcast! Dave's new album! Jordan's old...! That's it! Plus, we discuss the latest TMBG news and weather! This episode is our precious gift to all of our wonderful listeners! Keep writing in and keep righting on!

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55: Interview with I MIGHT BE GIANT, TOO songwriter Peter Stewart! Jul 02, 2023

Show notes

Save your tears! We are back with a very special surprise guest, Peter Stewart, the man, the mystery, the legend behind the previously anonymous, though no less epic song They Might Be Giants! Unofficially titled I Might Be Giant, Too by TMBG fans, this intense rock ballad was heard on They Might Be Giants' Dial-A-Song service and over the speakers at their live shows around the world since 1989!

We don't need an ocean to get to Peter, because over Zoom we talk to him all about the inspiration behind the song, how it got in the hands of They Might Be Giants, and what he's been up to the past 30 or so years since fans became aware of it! We listen to FOUR different recordings of this song spanning decades!

This is a fascinating and fun conversation with somebody who has tons of incredible stories from the music world, including brunch with Joey Ramone and an unreleased project with David Byrne! Leave the light on, turn the screws, and enjoy this deep dive unpacking one of the most enduring mysteries of TMBG mythology!

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54: JOHN HENRY Wrap-Down: Wreck It Apart Jun 19, 2023

Show notes

Jordan and Dave are back to destroy the music you love! We spend this interminable episode listening to and mentally processing the vast number of rare dial-a-songs and officially released full band demos They Might Be Giants created in the build-up to 1994's album John Henry! Highlights include the extremely different Sleeping in the Flowers dial-a-song, the very brief and very funky full band recording of Dirt Bike, the hauntingly acoustic Spy, the Nixon crooning version of O' Do Not Forsake Me, and too much more!

Our episode ends with a discussion of the Flansburgh-penned Wreck It Apart, a rare song that would eventually be killed and dissected for Ondine. That's right, a demo of an alternate version of a song not even on the album. WE'RE CRAZY!

Plus, because you asked for it, John Henry Hypercard Stacks! If you know what those words mean, you are already on board. Stop waiting such a long time for the good times to start! Dust yourself off, grab your Dutch Masters, kick your feet up and take one final ride with John Henry! ALRIGHT!

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53: JOHN HENRY - Part 7: You're Already Dead Apr 29, 2023

Show notes

Being patient while we take our time are things our listeners can understand, and thank you for that! But now...Skull's out for summer! We finally finish what we started, as we're done with John Henry, the album! But what of John Henry's officially released b-sides? In this episode we listen to, learn about and love the Back to Skull EP (AKA Snail Shell EP), a tantalizing trilogy of songs about murderesses, femme fatales and intimidating ladies!

First we have more of our discussion with the femmest fatale of them all, Scarlet Kim, the cover model of Back to Skull! Then we drive our pick-up trucks right over to track 2 and search the whole room over to find these words about the She Said/He Dead tale of Ondine! Then wait one minute, I have seen that She Was A Hotel Detective is next! We light up a cigarette, adjust the blinds and narrate the noir tale of this ne'er-do-well!

Then we want to be the ones to declare that we want to talk about the unknowable Mrs. Train, and we're happy when we finally listen to this band! Finally, our pick-up truck leaves those original songs in the dust...Snail Dust! We groove to the sample-heavy remix of Snail Shell by the Dust Brothers. Or is it ma'ams? Plus we unearth a few other long lost Snail Shell remixes that had been gathering dust. What are you waiting for? Don't you want to be first in line to hear our latest episode? Don't make me kill you again! DO IT!

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52: JOHN HENRY - Part 6: It's Totally Over Now Feb 24, 2023

Show notes

We've heard the ceaseless screaming and we're back to free this demon and finish John Henry! They Might Be Giants' real rock record ends on a high note (not literally) with five fun and freaky songs. Turn it down? No! Turn it up and listen to our hot and heavy discussion of Thermostat. We might not be reliable as we talk and interrupt each other looking at what's under the hood of this song.

Then we're checking out Window and the possible women, men (ok only men) Linnell may be making fun of in this song. We discuss how a stranger could have loved the lone John Flansburgh song in this batch, the cautionary tale, Out of Jail! We blast our missive and shout shout shout shout scream out our love of Stompbox!

And if you're still around, finally, we reach the end of the road as we reveal the surprising inspiration behind End of the Tour that makes the picture abruptly change! I swear and I swear it's a great episode! Plus, we're sailing along once again with the people who played on John Henry, guitarist Jay Sherman-Godfrey and trumpet player Steven Bernstein! Is this episode bursting in flames or is it just me? KILL ME NOW!

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51: JOHN HENRY - Part 5: They've Got Plans For Everyone Dec 22, 2022

Show notes

Commence Official TMBG Podcast Exploration! Jordan and Dave are back in our prison cells, thinking these words about five more songs off of They Might Be Giants' John Henry! We barely contain our secret smiles as we shriek to the lovely music of No One Knows My Plan! We attempt to cook up an angle on what the plan may be...And we must be silent because we have a special guest, trumpet player Steven Bernstein, telling us all about his incredible work on John Henry all throughout this episode!

Then we're on our way to discuss the ground-shaking song Dirt Bike! We all hail philosopher John Flansburgh and his mind-bending song that may be about a cult, or a band, or a cult band, or a band of cults? Don't bother to call this room, we're too busy talking about how Destination Moon blows us away! We have stuff we need to talk about as we discuss the various moon-based pop cultural artifacts that may have inspired John Linnell!

Then we look down the stairwell and into the bottomless pit of our souls as we get hopelessly lost following a vanishing dot on the map of Boston, Massachusetts, I mean...A Self Called Nowhere! Let me take you there! Finally, we gather round and sit and stare at Meet James Ensor, TMBG's famous song about Belgium's famous painter. We discuss Ensor's life and body...of work, and try to understand the man. You had better check it out!

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