AKA
07-09-2004, 04:09 PM
I had no idea there was a new album coming out! How did this slip under my radar?
TMBG Offers Online EP, Downloads
By Barry A. Jeckell
Billboard
In addition to a new album due Tuesday (July 13), They Might Be Giants are offering fans an extra dose of new music online. The seven-track EP "The Spine Surfs Alone" will only be available through the recently established theymightbegiants.com (http://www.theymightbegiants.com) or the band's older tmbg.com (http://www.tmbg.com) Web site.
TMBG's new studio album, "The Spine," will be available via traditional and online retailers via Idlewild/Zoe/Rounder. The full disc and the EP will also be available in a combo package online.
"This EP is like a freak show," TMBG principal John Flansburgh tells Billboard.com. "And for people who are hardcore They Might Be Giants fans, this is going to be the ultimate. It's really nuts."
"The Spine Surfs Alone" boasts such songs as "Now Is Strange," which Flansburgh describes as "a very witchy song, the "Pet Sounds"-esque instrumental "The Other Side of the World" and "Fun Assassin," which is sung by Spacehog drummer Jonny Cragg.
"There's also a track called 'I'm All That You Can Think About,'" Flansburgh says, "that is very, oh, what's the name of the guy who starred in 'Lolita?' James Mason! It's basically sung in the voice of James Mason. It's very exciting.
"It's kind of our Halloween EP," he adds with a laugh. "They're all really ugly [songs], basically. Our Blue Oyster Cult influence is really showing. It's first quality, but it's also just very, very strange."
Come Tuesday, "The Spine" and "The Spine Surfs Alone" will also be sold through the band's new "artist owned and operated" download store. At present, the store offers the 2002 TMBG children's album "No!" and the rarities collection "They Might Be Giants Get Lost" as full album downloads for $9.99 or 99 cents per track.
Also offered is a non-album track "Love Is Eternity," which was "written as a gift for a friend of a friend's wedding," according to a recent e-mail sent to registered fans.
As previously reported, They Might Be Giants also contribute a cover of the 1840 William Henry Harrison campaign song "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" to the Flansburgh-organized compilation "Future Soundtrack for America." The disc will raise funds for political advocacy organizations such as MoveOn.org and Music for America.
TMBG is on the road and will play shows in Minneapolis tomorrow (July 9) and Saturday. Current dates run through Aug. 18; another leg of touring is expected in the fall.
Here are TMBG's upcoming tour dates:
July 9: Minneapolis (First Avenue)
July 10: Minneapolis (Marshall Field's Day of Music)
July 11: Omaha, Neb. (Sokol Auditorium)
July 13: Columbia, Mo. (Blue Note)
July 14: St. Louis (Mississippi Nights)
July 16: Austin, Texas (Stubb's)
July 17-18: Dallas (Trees)
July 20: Houston (Meridian)
July 21: New Orleans (House Of Blues)
July 22: Memphis (Gibson Beale Street)
July 23: Nashville (SoBro Summer Nights)
July 24: Washington, D.C. (Live on Penn)
July 25: Millvale, Pa. (Mr. Small's Theater)
July 29: Seaside Park, N.J. (Green Room)
July 30: Brooklyn, N.Y. (Prospect Park Bandshell)
July 31: Farmingdale, N.Y. (Downtown)
Aug. 11: Seattle (Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheatre)
Aug. 13: Portland, Ore. (Bite of Oregon)
Aug. 14: San Francisco (Fillmore)
Aug. 17: Anaheim, Calif. (House of Blues)
Aug. 18: West Hollywood, Calif. (House of Blues)
TMBG Offers Online EP, Downloads
By Barry A. Jeckell
Billboard
In addition to a new album due Tuesday (July 13), They Might Be Giants are offering fans an extra dose of new music online. The seven-track EP "The Spine Surfs Alone" will only be available through the recently established theymightbegiants.com (http://www.theymightbegiants.com) or the band's older tmbg.com (http://www.tmbg.com) Web site.
TMBG's new studio album, "The Spine," will be available via traditional and online retailers via Idlewild/Zoe/Rounder. The full disc and the EP will also be available in a combo package online.
"This EP is like a freak show," TMBG principal John Flansburgh tells Billboard.com. "And for people who are hardcore They Might Be Giants fans, this is going to be the ultimate. It's really nuts."
"The Spine Surfs Alone" boasts such songs as "Now Is Strange," which Flansburgh describes as "a very witchy song, the "Pet Sounds"-esque instrumental "The Other Side of the World" and "Fun Assassin," which is sung by Spacehog drummer Jonny Cragg.
"There's also a track called 'I'm All That You Can Think About,'" Flansburgh says, "that is very, oh, what's the name of the guy who starred in 'Lolita?' James Mason! It's basically sung in the voice of James Mason. It's very exciting.
"It's kind of our Halloween EP," he adds with a laugh. "They're all really ugly [songs], basically. Our Blue Oyster Cult influence is really showing. It's first quality, but it's also just very, very strange."
Come Tuesday, "The Spine" and "The Spine Surfs Alone" will also be sold through the band's new "artist owned and operated" download store. At present, the store offers the 2002 TMBG children's album "No!" and the rarities collection "They Might Be Giants Get Lost" as full album downloads for $9.99 or 99 cents per track.
Also offered is a non-album track "Love Is Eternity," which was "written as a gift for a friend of a friend's wedding," according to a recent e-mail sent to registered fans.
As previously reported, They Might Be Giants also contribute a cover of the 1840 William Henry Harrison campaign song "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" to the Flansburgh-organized compilation "Future Soundtrack for America." The disc will raise funds for political advocacy organizations such as MoveOn.org and Music for America.
TMBG is on the road and will play shows in Minneapolis tomorrow (July 9) and Saturday. Current dates run through Aug. 18; another leg of touring is expected in the fall.
Here are TMBG's upcoming tour dates:
July 9: Minneapolis (First Avenue)
July 10: Minneapolis (Marshall Field's Day of Music)
July 11: Omaha, Neb. (Sokol Auditorium)
July 13: Columbia, Mo. (Blue Note)
July 14: St. Louis (Mississippi Nights)
July 16: Austin, Texas (Stubb's)
July 17-18: Dallas (Trees)
July 20: Houston (Meridian)
July 21: New Orleans (House Of Blues)
July 22: Memphis (Gibson Beale Street)
July 23: Nashville (SoBro Summer Nights)
July 24: Washington, D.C. (Live on Penn)
July 25: Millvale, Pa. (Mr. Small's Theater)
July 29: Seaside Park, N.J. (Green Room)
July 30: Brooklyn, N.Y. (Prospect Park Bandshell)
July 31: Farmingdale, N.Y. (Downtown)
Aug. 11: Seattle (Woodland Park Zoo Amphitheatre)
Aug. 13: Portland, Ore. (Bite of Oregon)
Aug. 14: San Francisco (Fillmore)
Aug. 17: Anaheim, Calif. (House of Blues)
Aug. 18: West Hollywood, Calif. (House of Blues)