55. They Might Be Giants--Apollo 18

 #55: They Might Be Giants--Apollo 18 (1992)

Top-Notch Tracks: "Fingertips," [#11 HondoJoe Top 200], "Dinner Bell," "The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight,)" "Spider," "Hall of Heads," 

Album Depth: "Which Describes How You're Feeling," "See the Constellation," "Dig My Grave," "I Palindrome I," "Hypnotist of Ladies," "Space Suit," "Mammal," "My Evil Twin," "The Statue Got Me High," "Narrow Your Eyes," "Turn Around"

Weak Link: "If I Wasn't Shy"

Stand-Out Lyrics: "What's that blue thing doing here?"--"Fingertips"

"I've been leaving on my things, so in the morning when the morning bird sings there's still dinner on my dinner jacket 'til the dinner bell rings."--"Dinner Bell"

"Hush my darling, be still my darling, the lion's on the phone."--"The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)"

"Never had a pocket watch; never counted backwards. You won't remember why you liked him."--"Hypnotist of Ladies"

"No cigar, no lady on his arms, just a guy made of dots and lines."--"See the Constellation"

"I know he looks like me, hates work like me, and walks like me. He's even got a twin like me."--"My Evil Twin"

"Please pass the milk, please. Please pass the milk, please. Please pass the milk, please."--"Fingertips"

They Might Be Giants--Apollo 18

Album Cover: (4 out of 10) I think another quote from the song "Fingertips" best applies here: "I don't understand you. I just don't understand you."

Comments: It's a pretty neat songwriting trick when an artist combines two or three different "songs" into one song. (See: "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey," "Band On the Run," "A Day In the Life," "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant," "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions," "Another Brick In the Wall," and perhaps most impressively, "Bohemian Rhapsody.") They Might Be Giants decided to crank that up a few levels. Why combine two, three, or even four songs together when you can smush 21 different snippets into one song?

"Fingertips" contains 21 distinctly different songs, ranging in length from four seconds ("Who's Knocking On the Door?") to one minute and one second ("I Walk Along Darkened Corridors.") (But, only four of the songs are longer than thirteen seconds.) It's a treat to listen to all 21 songs in order, but it's also a thrill to listen to the entire album on random mode, never knowing what snippet might pop up. "Fingertips" is songwriting nirvana. It's an amazing accomplishment.

But, there's more to this album than just "Fingertips." There's also Pavlov's dog, a caribou, constellations, palindromes, statues, a hero named Spider, and a wild reimagining of a song by the Tokens featuring a lion in a spaceship. And we've all known a "Hypnotist of Ladies," a guy that all the girls like, but no one knows exactly why. (Looking at you, DiCaprio and Bieber.) 

This is They Might Be Giants fourth studio album. (Fourth albums are usually good, especially if they are named "Four," or "Fore," or "4," or "IV," or "Eldorado.") Although to me it was their second, as I didn't discover the band until their third album, "Flood." After hearing this album, I knew "Flood" wasn't a fluke, and I had to go back and find their earlier catalogue. (Is it "catalogue" or "catalog?") So, you might say this is the album that cemented me in as a lifelong They Might Be Giants fan. Please pass the milk, indeed!


Up next: Earth, wind, and fire. (Without the wind and fire.)

Comments

  1. darenolsonFebruary 14, 2021 at 10:10 AM

    I've always said that if I were stranded on a desert island where I had to live the rest of my life with the members of just one band, that band would be The Bangles in their 1980s prime. Why? Because a man's got needs. But if I could have two bands on the island, the second band would be They Might Be Giants. Why? Because they are so damn creative that they'd be able to come up with new and interesting songs every day. Each night would be like that one episode of Gilligan's Island where the castaways have a talent show, but it would just be John and John on the stage, because all The Bangles would be watching the show with me eating pineapple and drinking coconut juice together inside our giant comfy hammock.

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