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They Might Be Giants playing around

The Columbian
Published: November 6, 2009, 12:00am

Even after decades of surprising whimsy, duo plan ‘major changes’ live

As the duo behind They Might Be Giants, John Flansburgh and John Linnell see a certain irony to the fact that they have begun doing kids’ CDs, such as the newly released “Here Comes the Science,” that have a certain educational element.

“It’s a very weird situation for us because we are partly just atoning for the fact now that we were not model students and not always completely on top of the material,” said Flansburgh, with just a hint of humor. “But I think since leaving school we’ve felt very pro-education. We think it’s certainly not unimportant for kids to be informed — and for adults to be informed — about everything that affects our lives.”

Flansburgh and Linnell were speaking about “Here Comes the Science” and various other aspects of what is now a career that spans more than two decades.

The new CD follows a trio of previous children’s albums (“No,” “Here Come the ABCs” and “Here Come the 123s”) as well as a book and CD (“Bed Bed Bed”) that They Might Be Giants has released during the past decade. The releases came between the group’s usual albums, which are aimed at an adult rock audience. The children’s projects have given Flansburgh and Linnell a new niche they never anticipated, and have certainly garnered them attention they don’t always receive when releasing their adult records.

“It has a man-bites-dog-quality, a band that has a reputation for doing adult material would actually venture into the world of kids’ stuff,” Flansburgh said, offering his theory on why the kids’ CDs draw considerable attention.

To be sure, the novelty of doing kids’ records has recently been giving They Might Be Giants a new wave of attention. But the recognition could also be a sign of how well the group has come to be accepted as part of the rock scene. When Flansburgh and Linnell were starting out in the late 1980s, they were seen as fresh, new and novel on the then-emerging modern rock scene.

On early records, such as the 1986 self-titled debut, “Lincoln” (1988) and “Flood” (1990), the group was known first of all for its lyrics, which were at various turns brainy, clever, kitschy and downright funny as well as for its quirky and catchy pop songs. As time has passed, Flansburgh and Linnell have grown considerably as songwriters, to the point that on their most recent adult release, the 2007 CD “The Else,” the music may actually have been the biggest selling point.

The effort Flansburgh and Linnell put into writing and recording is as apparent on their kids’ albums as on their regular releases. This may also help explain why they are having success in this arena of music.

“Our gimmick with the kids’ stuff is that we spend as much time on it as we do our adult stuff,” Linnell said. “That’s expensive, just from a production point of view. But it seems to have a big payoff in the way people react to it. If there was a way to do it faster, I’m not sure it would be as good. We’ve actually been told by our management that we spend too much time making our kids albums, that it doesn’t matter that much, that it doesn’t have to be that good.”

In fact, the kids’ albums by They Might Be Giants aren’t that different stylistically from their adult-oriented releases.

The pop sense that has always defined the group is a major asset on “Here Comes The Science.” Songs such as “My Brother the Ape” and “Science Is Real” are filled with perky pop melodies and a bouncy energy that will be familiar to fans of such familiar They Might Be Giants tunes as “I Palindrome I” and “Birdhouse In Your Soul.” The group isn’t afraid to rock for kids, either, especially on “How Many Planets?” and “I Am a Paleontologist,” which are both quite brisk.

While the music may sound familiar on “Here Comes the Science,” Flansburgh and Linnell are making an effort to ensure their live shows are distinct from their recordings.

For starters, they are expanding the live band beyond its long-time members, Dan Solder Miller (guitar), Danny Weinkauf (bass) and Marty Beller (drums).

“We are going out with actually some major changes to our live show that we’re really just wheeling out for the very first time for this tour,” Linnell said. Among those changes is the addition of a multi-instrumentalist, Ralph Carney. Carney is, among other things, a saxophone player who performed with Tom Waits for many years. “We’ve got a lot of plans of sort of how to utilize his rather vast bag of tricks,” Linnell said.

“Also, our drummer, Marty Beller, has constructed this really kind of singular electronic drum kit setup,” Linnell added. “The electronic drums, they’re basically all like samples that we’ve created of very unorthodox sounds. … It’s hard to even describe, but when you hear how it works, it’s very different. I think it might actually be a really big new kind of wrinkle in the show.”

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