Comments for tmbgsongaday

Comment on #66 – “Santa Cruz” (2004) by Ryan M

Ryan M — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 13:11:17 +0000

I would like to take this opportunity to point out the first ‘fuck’ of TMBG’s released oeuvre, in 2001′s “Anecdote”.

Comment on Hiatus by TMBG Song A Day

TMBG Song A Day — Thu, 24 May 2012 03:19:55 +0000

We will be back soon, I’m sure. My blog partner just has a lot more of a social life than I do, which makes trying to schedule posts difficult, and these last few weeks have been especially bad. -L.K.

Comment on Hiatus by Sylvie

Sylvie — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:47:46 +0000

I’ll miss you guys!

Comment on #103 – “I Can Add” (2008) by TMBG Song A Day

TMBG Song A Day — Sat, 19 May 2012 16:33:20 +0000

Haha, I feel like it’s hard for us to properly evaluate the children’s songs in context because we fall into the age group that grew up exposed to TMBG’s “adult” music, yet isn’t old enough to have been raising families by the late 00s. Since we aren’t kids and don’t know any kids ourselves, it’s hard to judge how effective the songs are toward their intended audience. However, if we’re going to be attempting to look at every TMBG song, it means evaluating EVERY song, and I think some of the kids songs are just ultimately musically disappointing when compared to some of the other really great songs for kids. (Which isn’t to say that all the “adult” songs are great either, but hey, that’s what differences of opinion are for…) -L.K.

Comment on #117 – “O Tannenbaum” (1993) by TMBG Song A Day

TMBG Song A Day — Sat, 19 May 2012 07:13:07 +0000

Crazy addendum to this post – talking with a friend of mine from the radio station L.K. and I volunteer at, it turns out that the same high school auditorium that hosted Wilco that we mention in this post has also hosted Morrissey, and a bill featuring (allegedly) Teenage Fanclub AND Radiohead. This was all in the early-mid-1990s, which would line up with TMBG and YFF playing a high school gymnasium on the same bill around the same time.
– A.S.

Comment on #116 – “Ana Ng” (1988) by Kate

Kate — Fri, 18 May 2012 22:28:05 +0000

I agree that this is a perfect song! Listening to both the album version and the live versions (particularly with the new intense opening) makes my heart break every time. It’s an absolutely beautiful song.

On the topic of the ’64 World’s Fair, Flansburgh answered a question about it on the ifc tumblr a couple of weeks ago. He said that he remembers Dinoland and Texaco, but not much else. So I guess he has some faint memories of it, which is to be expected for being four. I don’t know about Linnell, though.

What’s funny is that my biology teacher had just been telling us about Sinclair a day or two before that in class, and she passed around a pamphlet that advertised Dinoland at the ’64 World’s Fair. I told Flans about it on tumblr, and he responded with: “What I can’t figure out is if it really had a button that controlled it’s head movement. That is my memory but it seems like a dream.” So… there’s that, as well! More fuzzy memories, I guess.

Comment on #103 – “I Can Add” (2008) by Ryan Corradini

Ryan Corradini — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:43:14 +0000

For what it’s worth, the Disney albums were a *total* gateway drug for my kids into the larger TMBG catalog. They liked ABCs/123s, they freaking LOVE “Here Comes Science”, and my 13-year-old daughter now has Spine, Else, Apollo 18, Flood, and Join Us on her Nook, and would likely have more if she had room. So while I agree that some of the kids-targeted stuff doesn’t live up to the high-water marks in the catalog, it may be better to just say it’s not your particular cup of tea and hit “Next” on the iPod.

Comment on #117 – “O Tannenbaum” (1993) by Nathan

Nathan — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:34:43 +0000

I think that most of the time, the first line (“O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, wie treu sind deine Blaetter?”) is sung twice, while Linnell only sings it once. That’s probably why it sounds like they cut out a few measures.

Comment on #109 – “Nevada” (1999) by Nathan

Nathan — Thu, 03 May 2012 21:08:33 +0000

While this is such a slight song that it doesn’t really matter, I have to wonder why Linnell changed the lyrics at all. At least there was SOME substance to the ones on the Hello EP, and “The Acorn of the Squirrel” does kind of sound like a state nickname or something. Also, the Hello version is sung quite differently, with Linnell using the same bored-sounding voice he does on “Particle Man.”

Comment on #104 – “Bee Of The Bird Of The Moth” (2007) by TMBG Song A Day

TMBG Song A Day — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 19:01:36 +0000

Yes. We said so in the above post, complete with Wikipedia link. -L.K.