They Might Be Giants: 'The Else'

They’ve been around for 25 years, but I still will remember They Might Be Giants best for their cover of the Four Lads song, Istanbul (Not Constantinople). What’s not to like about a song that was both catch and educational? The eclectic and often wacky alternative rock duo saw their last studio album three years ago. That may surprise some folks, like myself, who thought that TMBG had disappeared into obscurity long before that. I mean, when was the last time you even heard of them? Not ones to rest on their laurels, John Linnell and John Flansburgh have been keeping active with small, but kickass project such as providing the theme music for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and, recently, with several original songs for Neil Gaiman’s Coraline. For fans of Strong Bad, you might be surprised to find that they wrote and recorded musical cues for the HomestarRunner site!

Their latest album, slated for release on July 10th, is called The Else and it took me three days of continuous listening before I could even attempt to get a grasp on it. It’s fun, with lyrics and song titles that make you do a double-take. It’s also truly varied, with each track sounding unlike the last; a real rarity with the hemogeniety of today’s music. It has a real living room sound but with the polish of a studio produced album. Pick up your copy of The Else and tell us what you think!