They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants | |
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Background information | |
Also known as |
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Origin | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
Genres | |
Discography | They Might Be Giants discography |
Years active | 1982–present |
Labels |
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Members | |
Past members |
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Website |
They Might Be Giants, often abbreviated as TMBG, is an American
The group has been noted for its unique style of alternative music, typically using surreal, humorous lyrics, experimental styles and unconventional instruments in its songs. Over their career, they have found success on the
TMBG have released 23 studio albums. Flood has been certified platinum, while their children's music albums Here Come the ABCs, Here Come the 123s, and Here Comes Science have all been certified gold. The duo has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, winning two.[7][8] Flansburgh and Linnell won for writing the theme to Malcolm in the Middle (Best Film or Television Theme) and They Might Be Giants won for Here Come the 123s (Best Children's Album). Linnell and Flansburgh were also nominated for a Tony Award for Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre along with other composers of the show for SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical.[9] In total, the group has sold over 4 million records.[10]
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2023) |
Earlier years (1981–1989)
John Linnell and Flansburgh first met as teenagers growing up in Lincoln, Massachusetts. They began writing songs together while attending Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School but did not form a band at that time. The two attended separate colleges after high school and Linnell joined The Mundanes, a new wave group from Rhode Island. The two reunited in 1981 after moving to Brooklyn (to the same apartment building on the same day) to continue their career.[11]
At their first concert, They Might Be Giants were introduced as and performed under the name El Grupo De Rock and Roll (
A common misconception is that the name of the band is a reference to themselves and an allusion to future success. In an interview, John Flansburgh said that the words "they might be giants" are just a very outward-looking forward thing which they liked. He clarified this in the documentary movie Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) by explaining that the name refers to the outside world of possibilities that they saw as a fledgling band. In an earlier radio interview, John Linnell described the phrase as "something very paranoid sounding".[15]
The duo began performing their own music in and around New York City – Flansburgh on
Dial-A-Song (1985–2008)
At one point, Linnell broke his wrist in a
Through the 1980s until 1998, Dial-A-Song consisted of an answering machine with a tape of the band playing various songs. The machine played one track at a time, ranging from demos and uncompleted work to mock advertisements the band had created. It was often difficult to access due to the popularity of the service and the dubious quality of the machines used. In reference to this, one of Dial-A-Song's many slogans over the years was the tongue-in-cheek "Always Busy, Often Broken".[citation needed] The number, (718) 387–6962, was a local Brooklyn number and was charged accordingly, but the band advertised it with the line: "Free when you call from work".[citation needed]
At one point in 1988, the Dial-A-Song answering machine recorded a conversation between two people who had listened to Dial-A-Song, then questioned how they made money out of it. An excerpt from the conversation has been included as a hidden track on the EP for "(She Was A) Hotel Detective." In the late '90s, TMBG started switching to a digital unit to update the format for Dial-A-Song, but due to frequent crashes, the band returned to the original format.
In March 2000, TMBG started the website dialasong.com, which was more reliable than the original, phone-based version, as it used a Flash document to stream the songs.
In 2002, Dial-A-Song's answering machine broke down, and fans responded by sending new similar models. In the following year, Dial-A-Song resumed service with a new answering machine. By 2005, a computer system from TechTV was provided to maintain the system, but technical difficulties started bringing the system to an end.
In 2006, Dial-A-Song became increasingly difficult to maintain as a result of unreliable answering machines that had to be replaced. The stress placed upon the answering machine in addition to its age caused excessive wear, and the machine broke down soon after. In August, Dial-A-Song ceased production and because fans started taking advantage of the internet, it was replaced with a page promoting the They Might Be Giants podcasts.
John Linnell stated in an interview in early 2008 that Dial-A-Song had died of a technical crash, and that the Internet had taken over where the machine left off. On November 15, 2008, the Dial-A-Song number was officially disconnected, though the number has at times been re-used in a similar style by other independent artists.
In 2015, Dial-A-Song was reactivated with a new
They Might Be Giants and Lincoln (1986–1989)
The duo released their self-titled debut album in 1986, which became a college radio hit. The video for "Don't Let's Start", filmed in the New York State Pavilion built for the 1964 New York World's Fair in Queens, became a hit on MTV in 1987, earning them a broader following. In 1988, they released their second album, Lincoln, named after the duo's hometown.[citation needed] It featured the song "Ana Ng" which reached No. 11 on the US Modern Rock chart. Both albums were produced on 8-track tape at Dubway Studios in New York City.
Move to Elektra (1989–1992)
In 1989, They Might Be Giants signed with Elektra Records and released their third album Flood the following year. Flood earned them a platinum album, largely thanks to the success of "Birdhouse in Your Soul" which reached number three on the U.S. Modern Rock chart, as well as "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)", a cover of a song originally recorded by the Four Lads.
In 1990, Throttle magazine interviewed They Might Be Giants and clarified the meaning of the song "Ana Ng": John Flansburgh said, "Ng is a Vietnamese name. The song is about someone who's thinking about a person on the exact opposite side of the world. John looked at a globe and figured out that if Ana Ng is in Vietnam and the person is on the other side of the world, then it must be written by someone in Peru".[23]
Further interest in the band was generated when two cartoon music videos were created by Warner Bros. Animation for Tiny Toon Adventures: "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and "Particle Man".[24] The videos reflected TMBG's high "kid appeal", resulting from their often absurd songs and pop melodies.
In 1991, Bar/None Records released the B-sides compilation Miscellaneous T. Though consisting of previously released material (save for the "Purple Toupee" B-sides, which were not available publicly), it gave new fans a chance to hear the Johns' earlier non-album work without having to hunt down the individual EPs.
In early 1992, They Might Be Giants released Apollo 18. The heavy space theme coincided with TMBG being named Musical Ambassadors for International Space Year. Singles from the album included "The Statue Got Me High", "I Palindrome I", and "The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)". Apollo 18 was also notable for being one of the first albums to take advantage of the CD player's shuffle feature. The song "Fingertips" actually comprised 21 separate tracks — short snippets that not only acted together to make the song but that when played in random order would be interspersed between the album's full-length songs. Due to mastering errors, the U.K. and Australian versions of Apollo 18 contained "Fingertips" as one track.[citation needed]
Recruiting a band (1992–1998)
Following Apollo 18, for live shows, Flansburgh and Linnell (who themselves play the guitar and accordion or sax, respectively) decided to move away from recorded backing tracks and recruited a supporting band (
, and drummer Jonathan Feinberg).John Henry was released in 1994. Influenced by their more conventional lineup, this album marked a departure from their previous releases with more of a guitar-heavy sound.[25] It was released to mixed reviews amongst fans and critics alike.
Their next album, Factory Showroom, was released in 1996 to little fanfare. The band had quickly moved away from the feel of John Henry, and Factory Showroom returns to the more diverse sounds of their earlier albums, despite the inclusion of two guitarists, the second being Eric Schermerhorn who provided several guitar solos.
They left Elektra after the duo refused to do a publicity show, amongst other exposure-related disputes.[17]
In 1998, they released a mostly live album Severe Tire Damage from which came the single "Doctor Worm," a studio recording.
Around this same time period, Danny Weinkauf (bass) and Dan Miller (guitar) were recruited for their recording and touring band. Both had been members of the bands Lincoln and Candy Butchers which were previous opening acts for TMBG. Weinkauf and Miller continue to work with the band to the present day.
Beyond Elektra and move to Restless Records (1999–2003)
For most of their career, TMBG has made innovative use of the Internet. As early as 1992, the band was sending news updates to their fans via Usenet newsgroups. In 1999, They Might Be Giants became the first major-label recording artist to release an entire album exclusively in
Also, in 1999, the band contributed the song "Dr. Evil" to the motion picture Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Over their career, the band has performed on numerous movie and television soundtracks, including The Oblongs, the ABC News miniseries Brave New World and Ed and His Dead Mother. They also performed the theme music "Dog on Fire", composed by Bob Mould, for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.[27][28] They composed and performed the music for the
During this time, the band also worked on a project for McSweeney's, a publishing company and literary journal. The band wrote a McSweeney's theme song and forty-four songs for an album that was meant to be listened to with the journal, with each track corresponding to a particular story or piece of artwork. Labeled They Might Be Giants vs. McSweeney's, the disk appears in issue No. 6 of Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern.
Contributing the single "
On September 11, 2001, they released the album
In 2002, they released No!, their first album "for the entire family". Using the enhanced CD format, it included an interactive animation for most of the songs. They followed it up in 2003 with their first book, an illustrated children's book with an included EP, Bed, Bed, Bed.
Podcasting, independent releases, and children's music (2004–2015)
In 2004, the band created one of the first artist-owned online music stores, at which customers could purchase and download MP3 copies of their music, both new releases and many previously released albums. By creating their own store, the band could keep money that would otherwise go to record companies. With the redesign of the band's website in 2010, the store was reincarnated.
Also, in 2004, the band released its first new "adult" rock work since the release of
TMBG also contributed a track to the 2004
Flansburgh and Linnell made a guest appearance in "
Following the Spine on the Hiway Tour of 2004, the band announced that they would take an extended hiatus from touring to focus on other projects, such as a musical produced by Flansburgh and written by his wife, Robin "Goldie" Goldwasser, titled People Are Wrong!.
2005 saw the release of Here Come the ABCs, TMBG's follow-up to the successful children's album No!. The Disney Sound label released the CD and DVD separately on February 15, 2005. To promote the album, Flansburgh and Linnell along with drummer Marty Beller embarked on a short tour, performing for free at many Borders Bookstore locations. In November 2005, Venue Songs was released as a two-disc CD/DVD set narrated by John Hodgman. It is a concept album based on all of the "venue songs" from their 2004 tour.
TMBG
From 2005 to 2014, They Might Be Giants made podcasts on a monthly, sometimes bi-monthly, basis. Each edition included remixes of previous songs, rarities, covers, and new songs and skits recorded specifically for the podcast.
The band contributed 14 original songs for the 2006 Dunkin' Donuts ad campaign, "America Runs on Dunkin'",[38] including "Things I Like to Do", "Pleather", and "Fritalian".
The band has produced and performed three original songs for
They also recorded a cover of the Disney song, "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" for the film Meet the Robinsons and wrote and performed the theme song for The Drinky Crow Show. The band was recruited to provide original songs for the Henry Selick-directed film adaptation of Neil Gaiman's children's book Coraline but were dropped because their music was not "creepy" enough.[39] Only one song, titled "Other Father Song", was kept for the film with Linnell singing as the titular "Other Father".
Their twelfth album, The Else, was released July 10, 2007, on Idlewild Recordings (and distributed by Zoë Records for the CD version), with an earlier digital release on May 15 at the iTunes Store. Advance copies were made available to stations by mid-June 2007.[40] The album was produced by Pat Dillett (David Byrne) and the Dust Brothers (Beck, Beastie Boys).[41] On February 12, 2009, They Might Be Giants performed the song "The Mesopotamians" from the album on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.[42]
In the rest of 2007, They Might Be Giants wrote a commissioned piece for Brooklyn-based robotic music outfit League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots and performed for three dates at the event, and covered the Pixies "Havalina" for American Laundromat Records Dig For Fire - a tribute to PIXIES compilation.
The band's fourteenth album, Here Comes Science, a science-themed children's album.[45] This album introduced listeners to natural, formal, social, and applied sciences. It was released on September 1, 2009, and nominated for a Grammy Award on December 1, 2010.
On November 3, They Might Be Giants sent out a newsletter stating, "The Avatars of They", a set of sock puppets the Johns manipulate for shows, would have an album in 2012, suggesting another children's album. However, a new adult album titled Join Us was released on July 19, 2011.[46][47]
On October 3, 2011,
On March 5, 2013, the band released their sixteenth adult studio album, Nanobots, on their Idlewild Recordings label in the US and on British indie label Lojinx in Europe.[49][50]
The live album
The band released their newest children's album, Why?, on November 27, 2015. It was their fifth children's album and the first children's album to be released under their own label, Idlewild Recordings.
In a video released on December 20, 2015, John Flansburgh announced that the band would be taking a temporary break following their 2016 U.S. tour.
Dial-A-Song revival, Phone Power, I Like Fun, and Book (2015–present)
Dial-A-Song was revived in 2015, with a new phone number ((844) 387–6962), the website, and a radio network.[51] In late 2017, the band announced via Twitter that Dial-A-Song would return again, in a modified format, starting in January 2018.[52]
On March 8, 2016, the band released Phone Power, their nineteenth studio album and the third containing songs from the 2015 revival of their Dial-a-Song service. This was the first TMBG album to be sold as a "pay what you want" download, available ahead of the physical release on June 10.[53][54] The band's twentieth album, I Like Fun was released on January 19, 2018.[55] Their twenty-first and twenty-second studio albums, My Murdered Remains and The Escape Team, were both released on December 10, 2018. My Murdered Remains contains songs from Dial-A-Song.[56]
They made a song "I'm Not a Loser" for the SpongeBob SquarePants musical in 2016.[57]
In October 2019, the band recorded a new version of their song "Hot Dog" for the third season of the Disney Channel preschool series Mickey and the Roadster Racers, re-titled as Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures for that season. It premiered on Disney Junior on October 14, 2019.
In July 2020, the band announced that they would be releasing an album titled Book in 2021. The album was released on November 12, 2021.
In August 2020, the band recorded a song for a
The band announced a 30th anniversary Flood tour for 2020; however, it was postponed, and dates were rescheduled several times due to the COVID pandemic. Shortly after resuming live tours again in June 2022, John Flansburgh was involved in a car accident while on his way home from the June 8 concert. He suffered several broken ribs but had a positive prognosis from doctors. Several tour dates were again postponed while he recovered; however, the tour has since resumed.[60][61]
In November 2022, Book was nominated for a 65th Annual Grammy Awards in the category of "Best Boxed or Special Limited-Edition Package".[8]
On September 2, 2023, the band announced that their international Flood tour would be postponed until October 2024.
Members
Lead members
Current backing band
Occasional backing band members
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Former backing band members
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Timeline
Discography
Throughout their career, They Might Be Giants have released 23
Original albums
- They Might Be Giants (1986)
- Lincoln (1988)
- Flood (1990)
- Apollo 18 (1992)
- John Henry (1994)
- Factory Showroom (1996)
- Long Tall Weekend (1999)
- Mink Car (2001)
- The Spine (2004)
- The Else (2007)
- Join Us (2011)
- Nanobots (2013)
- Glean (2015)
- Phone Power (2016)
- I Like Fun (2018)
- My Murdered Remains (2018)
- The Escape Team (2018)
- Book (2021)
Children's albums
- No! (2002)
- Here Come the ABCs (2005)
- Here Come the 123s (2008)
- Here Comes Science (2009)
- Why? (2015)
Awards and nominations
Year | Organization | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | Grammy Awards | "Boss of Me" | Best Song Written for Visual Media
|
Won |
2006 | Annie Awards | "Bastard Wants to Hit Me" | Best Animated Television Commercial | Nominated |
2009 | Grammy Awards | Here Come the 123s | Best Musical Album for Children | Won |
2011 | Here Comes Science | Nominated | ||
2018 | Outer Critics Circle Award
|
SpongeBob SquarePants | Outstanding New Score[a] | Won |
2018 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score[a] | Nominated | |
2023 | Grammy Awards | Book | Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package | Nominated |
See also
Notes
References
- ^ Weisbard, Eric (December 2000). "Geek Love". SPIN. pp. 158–162.
- ^ Chaney, Keidra (January–February 2015). "The Evolution of Nerd Rock". Uncanny. No. 2. pp. 129–133.
- ^ Blistein, Jon (November 16, 2012). "They Might Be Giants Q&A". Billboard.
- Consequence of Sound. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
- ^ Santo, Jim (November 1994). "Beat the Machine". The Music Paper.
- ^ Spiegel, Amy Rose (February 19, 2015). "They Might Be Giants at 33: Still Here, Still Weird". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
- ^ "ARTIST They Might Be Giants". Recording Academy Grammy Awards. Recording Academy.
- ^ a b "BOOK Book/CD Set". They Might Be Giants. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
Our latest album and musical project BOOK has been nominated for a Grammy for Best Record Package. Congratulations to designer Paul Sahre and photographer Brian Karlsson for putting it all together with us. And wish us luck!
- ^ "2018 Tony Award Nominations: SpongeBob SquarePants and Mean Girls Lead the Pack". Playbill.com. May 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
- ^ "TMBG Facts". tmbg.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2007. Retrieved May 31, 2007.
- ^ Weiskopf, Myke. "They Might Be Giants Early Years Handbook v3.0". Retrieved February 26, 2006.
- ^ Mishkin, Budd (December 8, 2009). "One on 1: "They Might Be Giants" Span the Age Group Globe". NY1 (Interview). Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- ISBN 9780806516172. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
- ISBN 9780974848358. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ^ Levy, Mike (2000). "TMBG: FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)". Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about They Might Be Giants. Retrieved February 26, 2006.
- ^ "William Allen White". This Might Be A Wiki. Retrieved April 7, 2006.
- ^ a b Flansburgh, John and Linnell, John (2003). Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns (DVD).
- ^ Leith, William (August 10, 1985). "Singles". NME. p. 19. Archived from the original on October 11, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
- ^ Rodgers, Robert (March 9, 1998). "They Might Be Giants Anthology". Dial-a-song. Retrieved April 7, 2006.
- ^ "They Might Be Giants: Flood". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
- ^ Chuss, Eric J. "TMBG New York City Where Everyone's Your Friend". The Unofficial TMBG site. Retrieved January 14, 2007.
- ^ "TMBG Dial-A-Song".
- ^ Derek Thomas, Throttle, August 1990
- ^ Crumpler, Forest (April 4, 2001). "They Might Be Giants: The best band you've never seen". Central Florida Future. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved April 7, 2006.
- ^ McManus, Sean. "They Might Be Giants". They Might Be Giants interview. Retrieved February 26, 2006.
- ^ Yahoo Media Relations (July 15, 1999). "eMusic.com & YAHOO! To host exclusive web-launch of "They Might be Giants" new MP3-only album July 19". Archived from the original on September 1, 2006. Retrieved November 4, 2006.
- ^ "They Might Be Giants". NPR's On Point radio program. September 30, 2011. Archived from the original on January 2, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
- ^ Dwight Garner (June 14, 2011). "After Metal Music's Deafening Roar, Hüsker Dü's Guitarist Pauses to Reflect". The New York Times.
- ^ "TV And Movie Themes". This Might Be A Wiki. Retrieved February 26, 2006.
- ^ "Boss of Me by They Might Be Giants Songfacts". Songfacts. Retrieved April 3, 2006.
- ^ "Experimental Film". Homestar Runner Wiki. March 13, 2004. Retrieved July 16, 2009.
- ^ Jeckell, Barry A. (April 16, 2004). "TMBG Complete 10th Studio Album". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2006.
- ^ "They Might Be Giants". Homestar Runner Wiki. Retrieved July 16, 2009.
- ^ "Future Soundtrack for America". Barsuk.com. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ^ "They Might Be Giants Guests on Home Movies". TV.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2007.
- ^ "'The Sims 2: Free Time' Gets Simlish Soundtrack". WorthPlaying. February 11, 2008. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
- ISBN 978-0-557-84739-6. Retrieved June 9, 2022 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Rock's New Economy: Making Money When CDs Don't Sell". Rolling Stone. May 29, 2008. Archived from the original on May 19, 2008. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
- ^ "They Might Be Giants' John Flansburgh Shares Plans for a Slew of New Albums While Revisiting Old Favorites Quirky Duo Bigger Than Ever". Fredericksburg.com. November 27, 2008. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ^ "They Might Be Giants Plot July for Next Disc". Billboard. April 3, 2007. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ^ "Mailing List Archive/2006-03-13". This Might Be A Wiki. Retrieved March 31, 2006.
- ^ "Hulu- Late Night with Conan O'Brien". Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
- ^ "Here Come the 123s". This Might Be A Wiki. Retrieved March 19, 2008.
- ^ "The 51st Annual Grammy Awards Winners List". Archived from the original on July 27, 2010. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
- ^ "Here Come The Super Cool Stuff Show". The Super Cool Stuff Show. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
- ^ "New Album, UK July Shows, US Tour Plans". They Might Be Giants. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ^ Herrera, Monica (July 17, 2009). "They Might Be Giants To Release Third Kids Album In September, Rock Album In 2010". Billboard. Retrieved February 27, 2010.
- ^ "AdventureQuest Worlds: They Might Be Giants Special Event". ArtixEntertainment. October 3, 2011.
- ^ "They Might Be Giants Seek Mother Figure on 'Call You Mom' – Song Premiere". Rolling Stone. December 12, 2012. Archived from the original on December 14, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
- ^ "They Might Be Giants". Lojinx.com. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
- ^ Kreps, Daniel (January 4, 2015). "They Might Be Giants Resurrect Dial-A-Song in 2015". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
- ^ "Good News Dept.: They Might Be Giants' Will Be Relaunching Our Dial-A-Song Service for All of 2018! Melody, Fidelity, Quantity and All New!". Twitter. September 25, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- ^ "They Might Be Giants' Phone Power". March 10, 2016. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
- ^ Chaligne, Craig (June 5, 2016). "They Might Be Giants to release new album Phone Power on 10th June 2016". Louder Than War. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
- ^ "Rolling Stone - They Might Be Giants Preview New LP With Jovial Power-Pop Song 'I Left My Body'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 12, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- ^ "My Murdered Remains". They Might Be Giants. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
- ^ "SpongeBob SquarePants - The New Musical". MasterWorksBroadway. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- CNN.com. August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ They Might Be Giants - Who Are the Electors?, retrieved April 19, 2023
- ^ Kaufman, Gil (June 9, 2022). "They Might Be Giants Postpone June Dates Following John Flansburgh's 'Rather Serious' Car Accident". Billboard. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
- ^ Wang, Jessica (June 9, 2022). "They Might Be Giants member John Flansburgh injured in 'serious' car accident after show". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
- ^ "Discography". They Might Be Giants wiki. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
External links
- Official website
- TMBG Dial-a-Song
- This Might Be A Wiki – a wiki about TMBG
- They Might Be Giants at Curlie
- This American Life – Episode 90: Telephone in Act Two: When The Telephone Is Your Medium by contributing editor Sarah Vowell. A story and interview that includes the Dial-a-Song line and the role the line had on TMBG music.
- They Might Be Giants at TED