I've talked a little bit here about R.E.M., the first band I ever got really into, and there's probably quite a bit more about them I could discuss, but for now I want to talk about the second band I got really into: They Might Be Giants.

They Might Be Giants is basically a couple of guys from Brooklyn who both happen to be named John.  They love accordions, surreal and quirky humor, and catchy melodies.  They formed in the 80's and they're still around today.  They just released an album in late 2021 called "Book" and it's good!  But the album that really hooked me was their 1990 classic "Flood."

The first time I encountered Flood was when I went to a summer music camp at Northern Arizona University probably in 1993.  It lasted for a couple weeks and we stayed in the dorm rooms.  There was a kid staying a few rooms down from me who had somehow brought all the comforts of home.  Much more than you would really probably need for a couple weeks at a music camp.  He had a fridge that was stocked full of sodas, a microwave, a television, a video game system, and a stereo among other things.  Needless to say, when we weren't busy with music camp related activities, his room was the go to hangout room.  He was actually a really nice guy and I wouldn't have had any problem hanging out with him anyway, but it was hard as a teenager to resist the allure of the video games and the sodas and whatnot.

So anyway I spent quite a bit of time over there and there were a couple of songs off of Flood that he liked to play on his stereo quite a bit.  I don't remember exactly which ones they were now, but if I had to hazard a guess it was probably "Birdhouse in Your Soul" and "Particle Man."  Oh yeah, and almost certainly "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)."  I guess that last one was actually a cover of an old song, but They Might Be Giants do the definitive version of it.  

These are all extremely catchy songs with some really quirky lyrics.  I had never heard of They Might Be Giants at that point, but it didn't take me long to realize I liked the songs and to inquire as to what they were.  At first he really only seemed to want to play those couple songs, but I eventually got him to play the entire album because I was curious about it and I came to discover the whole thing was good.  By the end of the two weeks there I was completely hooked on Flood.

One of the first things I did when I got home from camp was go to a record store to get my own copy of Flood.  While I was looking for it, I discovered that They Might Be Giants had released 3 other albums plus a b-sides compilation.  I was definitely interested in what else they had put out, so as soon as I was able to, I bought a copy of all of those as well.  The other albums that were available at the time are maybe not as immediately catchy as Flood, but all of them have great stuff on them and are definitely worth investigating.  I became a full blown fan and got their subsequent new albums as they came out and managed to seem them live in concert 3 or 4 times, which is always a fun time.  Perhaps I'll discuss more about that later.

If you've never heard them and are at all curious, "Birdhouse in Your Soul" is a really good starting point.  

https://youtu.be/NhjSzjoU7OQ