On tour last year, They Might Be Giants recorded a live, song-by-song re-creation of their first album, a self-titled 1986 record known as the "pink album." They are calling the new album, creatively enough, First Album Live — and more to the point, they are giving it away. You can pick up a free copy by clicking the link below, or if that doesn't work, following the instructions at their website.
The band — John Flansburgh and John Linnell and their backup players — describe this as a "gift for our loyal audience," but also "an effort to introduce more people into the world of TMBG." They would really like you to download it — and if you're a fan, it's worth the small effort. The first album isn't as great as their sophomore record, 1988's Lincoln, or their breakthrough classic, Flood (1990), but it's clearly TMBG in all their quirky splendor, and there are some good songs (listen to "Number Three," for example).
They Might Be Giants "was met with raves from critics" in 1986, the band explains, but it "seemed destined to settle comfortably into the Miscellaneous T section within a number of months" — until they got some videos on MTV. And here's where the album came from, according to the Johns:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
They Might Be Giants had been performing in downtown NYC clubs and had become a fixture on the East Village scene where performance art and music flowed together in a vivid late night club scene. In those earlier years, the band was making recordings for their Dial-A-Song service and their demos were actively passed around town. [TMBG]
Thanks to Boing Boing for the tip.
-
Epstein files: Maxwell courts a pardonFeature A new prison transcript shows Ghislaine Maxwell praising Trump as 'a gentleman' while denying his involvement in the Epstein scandal
-
Pentagon readies military deployment in ChicagoFeature The Pentagon is preparing to deploy thousands of Illinois National Guard members to Chicago after Trump threatened to send troops into other major cities
-
Trump: Taking over the private sector?Feature Donald Trump has secured a 10% stake in Intel using funds from the Biden-era CHIPS Act
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
