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

Latest Episodes:

30: Interview with Gary Ray, owner of Darinka! Apr 29, 2020

Show notes

Jordan and Dave are back and staying the hell away from each other! So in this episode we present an interview conducted last year with Gary Ray, the founder and owner of Darinka, the venue that They Might Be Giants (and many other eclectic acts) called home from 1984-1987!

Gary talks to us about founding the club, booking They Might Be Giants, the TMBG Wiggle Diskette release party, his appearance in Gigantic, opening up for TMBG in recent years, and more! We also talk about tons of bands and performance art acts from that magical time period, including Hal Sirowitz, Watchface, and the infamous duo of Steve Buscemi and Mark Boone Junior!

You also get to hear rare clips of Gary's various rock bands and hear stories from his surprisingly unpredictable acting resume. So download, pop those headphones in, and sit and stare out the window at a world you no longer recognize!

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29: Bowery Ballroom, 2/8/2020 - We're Only Here To Judge Mar 10, 2020

Show notes

'Twas a long time ago, longer now than it seems, in a place that perhaps you've seen in your dreams...Bowery Ballroom in New York City, the night of February 8, 2020! It was on the Bowery when Jordan, Dave, and incredibly special guests, nighttime ladies Kristen (Jordan's girlfriend) and Krissy (Dave's wife) all saw a They Might Be Giants Flood 30th anniversary concert and lived to tell the tale!

Join us after the show for a secret shadow government meeting in the empty back room of a diner just up the highway as us women and men discuss the show (with CLIPS!!!), the lovely lasses' history with the music of TMBG, and how much tip to leave the disaffected waitress. We marvel at startlingly different live versions of songs like Older, Particle Man, Why Does The Sun Shine and Turn Around, plus The Quiet Storm acoustic set, and the entire Flood album!

Krissy tells a surreal story about We Want A Rock, Kristen reveals her most played and least fav TMBG tunes, and Jordan and Dave exchange tense looks from across the table! Spoiler Alert for those who are planning to see their current live show!

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28: Interview with Brian Doherty! Pt. 2 Feb 22, 2020

Show notes

We're back with part 2 of our interview with TMBG drummer Brian Doherty! Unnoticed by few, in this episode Doherty discusses his work on They Might Be Giants' Factory Showroom, Severe Tire Damage, John Linnell's State Songs, playing with Mono Puff, and tons of TMBG touring stories, including the experience of opening up for Hootie and the Blowfish! Brian also talks about playing with alt rock music legends like Frank Black, XTC, Ben Folds and R.E.M.! He discusses the various Broadway shows he's drummed with, as well as the creation of his own solo rock album (which is real good, real real good.) This episode features some exclusive, rare, never before heard demos and recordings from some of the bands he has played with! Don't spend the rest of your life wondering, LISTEN NOW!

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27: Interview with Brian Doherty! Pt. 1 Feb 15, 2020

Show notes

Meet Brian Doherty! Jersey City's famous drummer! Part 1 of an in-depth interview with Brian Doherty! Brian played drums for They Might Be Giants from 1993 to 1996, performed on the albums John Henry, Factory Showroom, as well as various EPs, and more! In part 1, we discuss the first bands Brian played with, meeting and rehearsing and touring with John and John, recording John Henry, making the Snail Shell music video, and many tales from the private backstage world of TMBG! Hold on to your hi-hats!

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26: FLOOD Wrap-Down: Then That Phone Rang Off The Hook Feb 10, 2020

Show notes

Flood fans, you're in for a treat, a fresh-baked, yummy one! Dave and Jordan, the hosts, take you, the listeners, through the countless-yet-countable (21) demos and Dial-A-Song recordings that made up almost all of the songs on Flood! We think it's worth the money and hurt as we gasp in shock at the alternate lyrics of the Birdhouse In Your Soul demo!

We can't say why we enjoy the phone version of Istanbul (Not Constantinople), maybe we just liked it better that way! Your Racist Friend doubles the racism with TWO vastly different demo versions, and Twisting gets all twisted up into a totally different song which leaves Dave and Jordan hanging! Jordan gushes over the adorable demo for We Want A Rock, while Dave collapses upon his fainting couch at the coarse language in the Hearing Aid demo!

Here they come to take on the sassy Sapphire Bullets Of Pure Love demo, park their cars for a while at the haunting Road Movie To Berlin demo, and are stunned silent by the lack of unique qualities of the James K. Polk demo! All this and so much more! Are you not fulfilled?!?

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25: FLOOD - Part 6: The Things We Cherish Are Small Indeed Feb 04, 2020

Show notes

This is a recording! We may not be able to drive out the way we drove in, so we have to leave our exploration of Flood through these b-sides and remixes left scattered in the middle of the road! Not that there's anything middle of the road (whew) about James K. Polk, the original Flood-reject version that showed up on the Istanbul (Not Constantinople) EP and was just a small glimmer in They Might Be Giants' eye of the fan-favorite song it would later become! Jordan's oratory fills Dave with fear as he goes into THE in-depth discussion on the origins and intentions of the beloved song!

Then Jordan and Dave's Johnny cups are filled with gloom as they discuss the sad beauty of Stormy Pinkness. Track 4 of the Istanbul EP was a little fella called Ant, who ransacks this podcast, leaving a mess that our hosts can barely rummage through.

Finally, we dissect and display the various creators of the remixes of Istanbul (Not Constantinople) and Your Racist Friend, paying special attention to the Brownsville Mix and the overwhelming collage of pop music samples contained therein. Also featuring, at the very start of the episode, a devastating revelation about a song from Flood that will rock you to your very core! You ain't in New York City, baby!

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24: FLOOD - Part 5: River Becomes An Ocean Jan 25, 2020

Show notes

Pod Cast, where are you? Right here! Behind you! The ship has run out of ocean, as Dave and Jordan, the Kings of Liars, conclude their discussion/investigation/true crime mini-docu-series about all of the songs on They Might Be Giants' popular Flood album!

First, we play a quickly aborted round of Derby Day in celebration of Hot Cha, then discuss the complicated backstory behind the song! It's totally off the hook! Then we keep our stereo on and cook up some interpretations for Women & Me(eeeeEEEEEeeeEEEee)n!

We bring some messages of pure love, as we gradually fade in on one of the more haunting songs in the TMBG hand cannon, coming in at number 1 with a bullet, Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love! Hang on tight, because we're taking a ride on the musical rollercoaster that is the eponymous They Might Be Giants! Jordan tells a shocking personal story about Dr. Spock that might be big big fake fake lies, while Dave can't be silent as he responds with things like "how very interesting" and "you don't say!"

Finally, and we mean finally, our skeleton bones are swept up as we tear down the emotional wall and say goodbye to Flood (for now) with a very smart and very researched discussion about Road Movie To Berlin. Topics include old movies, mummy misconceptions, Satan himself, and so much more! Boy!

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23: FLOOD - Part 4: Wrong Ideas That Appeal To You Jan 09, 2020

Show notes

All hail, the Flood Boat! Jordan and Dave hit some deep and treacherous waters as they hit a Linnell-valanche with some of the trickiest and head-injuring songs on Flood! If I were a podcaster I'd stammer on my podcast all about We Want A Rock!

We're not done with you yet! Would you mind if there's some horrible business left for us to attend to as we discuss the slightly irritating situations in Someone Keeps Moving My Chair? Sometimes Jordan feels sorry for Dave having to listen to his dark and tragic theories about Hearing Aid, but usually he can't. Because...Because...Then Jordan really cracks the whip and demands Dave tell all about his history of Minimum Wage jobs!

Too late or soon to make noise about Letterbox? Neither! And both! There's no time for sorrow, because we'd like to change your mind about Whistling in the Dark, by hitting it with a rock to wind a string around! And thus the terrifying circle is complete.

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22: FLOOD - Part 3: Nobody Knows, Particle Man Nov 16, 2019

Show notes

It's the loveliest podcast that you've ever attended! When we discuss Flood do we get wet? We've got a Universe Man-sized episode for you where we cover an entire THREE songs from They Might Be Giants' THIRD album Flood! Content warning: you may not be able to stand there listening to us talking about Your Racist Friend!

Then we're doing the things a podcaster can as we take on Particle Man, discuss the possible and possibly impossible inspirations for the song, its astonishing popularity and longevity in TMBG's career, and Particle Man and Istanbul's appearance on the short-lived but much remembered Tiny Toons Music Television network!

Then Jordan and Dave crank up their Marshall stacks and rock out to Twisting, while Jordan shares a personal rock story about Young Fresh Fellows and teenage heartbreak and -- it's not important. Listen to this and then we want to see you again!

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21: FLOOD - Part 2: Dancing On The Casket Oct 09, 2019

Show notes

Our handmade boat ride through Flood continues! In this episode, we continue to celebrate and interrogate They Might Be Giants' big-time third album! We confidentially ponder and rattle on about Lucky Ball & Chain, then you can't go back to before TMBG released this next song! We devote much of the episode to an unbelievably in-depth discussion about Istanbul (Not Constantinople), tracking the history of the song (and even the city!) and John and John's interest in it, the dense production of the track, and the popularity of the strange single that forever changed TMBG's career.

Now it's over, but not before we dig up Dead and try to answer the question we all have: is it good to be alive, dead, or dead-alive? The answer may terrify you! So don't just sit at home ever anymore, listen to this episoooode!

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