The Technology of They Might Be Giants

Brian Heater writes "I recently did a two-part interview with John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants. It might be of interest, as we discussed the role of technology both in terms of their recording and distribution, from Dial-a-Song, to podcasts, to Myspace. Says John: 'All the song writing we do, we'll be working with a computer, just as a recording device, and maybe we'll be working with a program as a music-generating device. That's just the sound-making devices that are there. A lot of times it's good enough, but when you hear it played on a real instrument, it's much more persuasive and exciting. Or conversely, you've have some lumpy, homemade loop that has oodles of charm that you forget to leave on the final version of the song, because it seemed amateurish. Finding the balance is really the key for us. I'm very excited by the time we live in, but I feel like any time in the post-mechanical era would be good for me.'"

Comments

Forget?

[tonsofpcs]

How do you forget to leave (a loop/track) on the final version of (a) song, because it seemed amateurish? Sounds more like you purposefully remove it.

Re:Forget?

[Anonymous Coward]

TMBG are known for wordplay, Captain Obvious.

Re:Forget?

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks.
I'm going to put my chocolate bar down now.
Bastard, I was looking forward to it as well.

Re:Forget?

[John Napkintosh]

He may not have meant that literally. Kind of "I didn't really realize I actually wanted that until now that it's too late".

Re:Forget?

[Anonymous Coward]

Some songs have hundreds of tracks. Yes it's easy to forget what you have sometimes. especially in a time sensitive production environment

Theme Song!

[sg3000]

I can imagine there's huge overlap (okay fine, relatively large overlap) between Slashdot readers and fans of TMBG, with their clever lyrics and unusual song topics, such as Mesopotamians, past presidents, or even Linux users.

So when is Slashdot going to pay They Might Be Giants to do a theme song? Fatboy Slim already did one, but there probably aren't as many fans on this board.

Continuing the them of TMBG using technology, I heard that their song Spider was originally created on a Macintosh just moments after they unboxed it. This was back when Apple first introduced 16-bit stereo (as opposed to 8-bit mono) recording capabilities in the early 1990s. I had heard TMBG used the box of said computer to also do some of the percussion for the song.

Re:Theme Song!

[rizzo420]

support apple much? geez. you couldn't post links to their own site? is stevie paying you?

when i buy my TMBG music, i buy it free of DRM and usually off their website.

Re:Theme Song!

[zero_offset]

That is one of the saddest things I have ever read. And I read slashdot fairly often.

Re:Theme Song!

[Anonymous Coward]

You realize that linking to iTunes on Slashdot is going to be counterproductive right? I mean, does anybody here both use Windows/OSX and *not* pirate all their music at the same time? /me goes to pirate a couple of those, as she's still without any legit way to buy (most) music with a Linux box.

Re:Theme Song!

[PenguSven]

/me goes to pirate a couple of those, as she's still without any legit way to buy (most) music with a Linux box. what, Linux doesn't work with CDs now?

Re:Theme Song!

[Nazlfrag]

You can get DRM free tunes (mp3) from their site, or sign up to their newsletter for free mp3s.

Re:Theme Song!

[Anonymous Coward]

WTF??? All of your shitty links go to:

"One Moment Please."
"Connecting to the iTunes Store."
"Loading..."
"We are unable to find iTunes on your computer."
"If iTunes doesn't open, click the iTunes application icon in your Dock or Windows Task Bar."

So just WTF is "iTunes" or the "Windows Task Bar" anyway? Is that something from Soviet Russia? or something that old people from Korea use? or are you just an insensitive clod?

Re:Theme Song!

[TheVelvetFlamebait]

Yeah! We're for freedom of information here! So no posting things we don't approve of!

Re:Theme Song!

[Propaganda13]

I already commissioned Wesley Willis to write a theme song for Slashdot.

Me: We need a theme song for Slashdot.
Wesley: How about "Suck a Pitbull's Dick"?
Me: That's not what we were looking for.
Wesley: What about "Suck My Dog's Dick"?
Me: That's not much better.
Wesley: Oh, you don't like songs about dogs, How about "Suck a Camel's Bootyhole"?
Me: No.
Wesley: "Suck a Caribou's Ass"?
Me: No.
Wesley: "Suck a Panda's Cock"? "Lick a Donkey's Ass"?
Me: No.
Wesley: "Taste a Gorilla's Ass"? "Taste a Lechwe's Ass"? "Suck a Jackrabbit's Ass" "Lick a Llama's Ass"
Me: NO! No songs about sucking or licking or animal body parts.
Wesley: How about "Eat That Mule Shit"?

We settled on one of the four:
Your Mom Called
Casper the Homosexual Friendly Ghost
I'm Sorry That I Got Fat
Kill Whitey

and you're stuck with one of those because Wesley's dead.

Re:Theme Song!

[mabhatter654]

OK, they've also got it on MP3 at emusic!!

Re:Theme Song!

[Anonymous Coward]

No, you can only listen to ogg on linux. Everybody knows that. While it is possible to listen to other formats, that doesn't make it right.

Re:Theme Song!

[byolinux]

Couldn't resist.

You are my favorite Editor of Slashdot.
You really rock it out.
You post harder than a magic kiss.
You whip a panda's Dick.

Rob Malda
Rob Malda
Rob Malda
Rob Malda

Rob Malda got on my nerves.
He slapped my Mom in the Ass.
He shot up my Dad's Station Wagon.
Then he came to my house and typoed my head.

Rob Malda
Rob Malda
Rob Malda
Rob Malda

After Eric Raymond smashed my Cock, he slashdotted my head.
Then 5 Gnus smashed my Gut.
My hands were tied.
My hands were also tagged.

Rob Malda
Rob Malda
Rob Malda
Rob Malda

Rock over London, rock on Chicago.

Slashdot -- News for nerds. Stuff that matters.

Re:Theme Song!

[Anonymous Coward]

Or...you just can't take a joke!

Re:Theme Song!

[djasbestos]

Huh, I always thought it was "magickist", like a magician who does magick instead of magic.

"Winamp...it really whips the llama's ass."

Just about every job today uses a computer.

[Anonymous Coward]

When it comes down to it, just about every job today involves the use of a computer.

Any job involving a cash register makes use of a computer.

Any job involving a vehicle makes use of a computer.

Any job involving the use of a cellphone makes use of a computer.

Most professionals, including doctors, lawyers and engineerings, depend heavily on computers.

Even a typical hooker has a digital watch (which makes use of a computer!) to remind her to service her customers.

So I think it'd be more interesting to read about a profession that makes absolutely no use of computers. That would take real talent.

Re:Just about every job today uses a computer.

[Anonymous Coward]

Even a typical hooker has a digital watch (which makes use of a computer!) to remind her to service her customers.

Most escorts in my municipality (a Canadian city in southern Ontario) are self employed and use personal web sites and message boards to advertise their services and take appointments over ICQ.

I've also read on Wikipedia that using the Internet to promote one's service is fairly standard practice these days for escorts.

Footnote: I'm not sure why ICQ is the standard, probably because they were early adopters when ICQ was the most popular IM agent. I've heard that ICQ is still very popular in Europe but I'm talking about North American escorts, since that's where I live. ICQ also happens to be the de-facto standard for adult webmasters as well.

Re:Just about every job today uses a computer.

[Anonymous Coward]

it's not too far a stretch for some of those to count the computers that control generators. You'd have to have a job that doesn't use electricity almost.

Re:Just about every job today uses a computer.

[darkgumby]

Back in 1995 a local ISP had a call in contest on a radio show where they'd give $250 to somebody that could convince them that there was a job that would not benefit from the internet. I won the contest by telling them that I drove an ice cream truck and all of my customers were little kids. This was hypothetical and I told the host the truth. I was actually a programmer at the time. I am still not qualified to drive an ice cream truck.

I took $100 in cash and the rest in free internet access for several months. I stuck with that ISP until 2006 when I moved to an area that they do not service.

Re:Just about every job today uses a computer.

[garett_spencley]

That's odd. I can think of ways that driving an ice cream truck would benefit from the Internet.

Thanks to map tools like google maps you could plan better routes. I suppose you don't *need* the Internet to do that but it adds a level of convenience.

If it's a franchise of ice cream trucks we're talking about then they can use the Internet to communicate with all of their drives more efficiently (offering access to schedules from home, allowing drivers to IM each other etc.).

You can use the Internet to advertise. Not directly to your customers since they're little kids, of course, but to event organizers who's attendees would benefit from having concessions and such at the event (mini league baseball games and stuff ... ice cream trucks tend to find their way to those events anyway but I'm sure there's some non-obvious events where the possibility of mutually beneficial business relationships exist).

If you're a franchise you can use the Internet to help you find new drivers. If you're an individual you can use the Internet to find additional help that can lead into developing your business into a larger one.

You could set up a web page for your ice cream service and advertise it on the packaging of each sale and in big letters on your truck. You could offer activities / games and such to keep the customers (kids) coming back to the site. At the very least you can use the site to get customer feedback (probably mostly from parents yet still helpful) but surely there would be other ways to convert the traffic to profit as well.

This is just off the top of my head ...

Re:Just about every job today uses a computer.

[DavidTC]

Almost no digital watches are computers. A few, not many, older cellphones are not computers. Older car computers aren't, IIRC. (Some of them aren't anything except recording devices!)

A computer is a general purpose computing device, and must be Turing-complete. It has to be able to execute arbitrary code. (Even if there's no way to easily get the code in there.) There are plenty of electronic devices that are not computers, that are simply a few specific ICs thrown together.

General rule of thumb: If it has no ROM, it isn't a computer, because it has nowhere to store instructions, and hence can't be executing instructions. (That doesn't mean if it does have ROM, it is one...it might be storing something besides CPU instructions there.)

Many things that are computer aren't computers in the place it counts. Like cellphones...they don't actually use their CPU for anything to do with actually talking on the phone...the CPU is running the UI and phonebook and stuff like that, but hardwired ICs are running the compression and radio. Likewise with MP3 players...the very cheap ones have no computer, the cheap ones use a computer to pick a song and stuff, and only the expensive ones with excess CPU actually use the CPU to decode the MP3. The rest use cheap little MP3-decoding chips that get fed a compressed stream and output an uncompressed one, and that's all they can do.

Re:Just about every job today uses a computer.

[Nazlfrag]

It's because hookers pronounce it I-suck-you.

Re:Just about every job today uses a computer.

[Walpurgiss]

You mean computers aren't the people who do my math computations for me anymore?

Re:Just about every job today uses a computer.

[mjwx]

Woodworking

Cabinet Making

Carpentry

Carpet Laying

Boiler Making

Most manual labour jobs make no use (or next to no use) of computers and trust me, tradesmen are not friends of the mobile phone.

Re:Just about every job today uses a computer.

[TheVelvetFlamebait]

We're almost there, but the problem is that modern cars use computers to self-diagnose problems. Unless the labourers use really old cars, they still rely on computers.

Re:Just about every job today uses a computer.

[Hognoxious]

When it comes down to it, just about every job today involves the use of a computer.

No shit, Sherlock. Pass the TV guide, I want to check what tonight's film is.

Re:Just about every job today uses a computer.

[mjwx]

You will find 9 times out of 10 a tradie (tradesmen) will drive a 10 yr old econovan (especially the older tradies). At least thats the case in Australia. Other than that yes but my point was that manual trades aren't exactly the first to innovate. If you took away all their computers (back to manual systems in cars so on and so forth) 99% of tradies wouldn't notice. My dad (who is a cabinet maker) complains about the number of system in his 2003 model car.

That being said, there are a fair few computer driven tools such as large scale cutting tools that reduce the labour to simply loading the machine with raw materials (wood, sheet metal) and letting a computer do the work. These are prevalent in the metal working trades (which is why I focused on the wood trades as metal workers are quiet innovative in comparison) but we are yet to build a computer controlled robot that can (economically) construct a couch or lay a carpet let alone renovate a kitchen, in these fields computers are rarely used by the actual tradesmen and direct use is normally two degrees removed from the actual work (as in the car, which has manual control and is only used for transport).

Re:Just about every job today uses a computer.

[fractoid]

The rest use cheap little MP3-decoding chips that get fed a compressed stream and output an uncompressed one, and that's all they can do. Pardon my ignorance (I've only done a few, fairly minor digital circuit designs, and none of those were power-sensitive) but wouldn't they all use the cheap little MP3-decoding chips purely on basis of power consumption? I can't imagine a general purpose CPU running a software MP3 decoder using less power than a custom, optimised-out-the-ass hardware solution, as you'd expect any common chip to be these days. On the contrary, I'd be amazed if the special purpose chip used more than 1/10th of the power a full CPU would.

Re:Just about every job today uses a computer.

[drcagn]

http://www.tvguide.com/

Re:Just about every job today uses a computer.

[DavidTC]

I actually don't know. I know there's a way to upgrade some of the more powerful ones to player other types of media that they were not designed to do, like FLAC. And FLAC actually takes more CPU than MP3. So if the CPU is there, I can't imagine them putting another chip in to do it. Yeah, it'd increase battery life, probably, but still.

Some stuff, like DRM WMAs, has only recently had chips comes out that can do it. (It and MP3 in the same chip.), so previous players had to have real CPUs in them that did that.

There are a few low-powered CPUs that have no problem decoding MP3s and aren't much more expensive than the CPUs needed to drive the GUI.

In fact, my category of 'cheap ones' might be almost completely empty at this point in time..there might only be 'very cheap ones' MP3 players with no UI, or rather a hardware one (Like all MP3 CD players, that are just normal CD players that have two extra chips, one to read a ISO9660 filesystem and maybe read IDv3, and one to decode MP3 streams.), and 'expensive ones' that do everything in a CPU.

Re:Just about every job today uses a computer.

[Jonboy X]

ICQ allows users to send messages directly to one another, whereas AOL's IM relays every message through AOL's servers.

That's why I used ICQ, back when I was with Al Qu...err, the Boy Scouts.

hey look

[deathtopaulw]

I'm an idiot nerd who has terrible taste in music we don't all like wierd al and they might be giants stick to quantum computing and videogame news also all modern bands use technology unless they're amish or on some sort of pointless little crusade

They Might Be Giants

[everlight291]

They Might Be Giants FTW!!!

They built this whole neighborhood out of wood,

[TexVex]

They built this whole neighborhood out of wood, out of wood
I guess I'll still be around when they burn, burn it down
I will be standing around when they burn it down
Here in the Museum of Idiots

...

If you and I had any brains, we wouldn't be in this place

Chop me up into pieces, if it pleases, if it pleases
And when the chopping is through, every piece will say "I love you"
Every piece of me will say "I love you"
Here in the Museum of Idiots

Re:They built this whole neighborhood out of wood,

[naoursla]

Are you proposing that as the slashdot theme song?

Part 2 Continued here

[yknott]

Part 2 Continued here:

http://www.gearlog.com/2007/08/interview_they_migh t_be_giants_1.php/

they offer their live stuff in FLAC too:

[Josh Coalson]

http://www.theymightbegiants.com/album-venue.htm

Re:they offer their live stuff in FLAC too:

[Anonymous Coward]

Mininova offers all their stuff...
http://www.mininova.org/tor/425142

You're not the boss of me now!

[NotQuiteReal]

You can't make me go out and commission a theme song.

Re:You're not the boss of me now!

[everphilski]

but they did for Malcolm in the Middle :)

Istanbul was Constantinople. There. I said it.

Re:You're not the boss of me now!

[matt_gaia]

Actually, being a parent, I also know that they did a number of theme songs for the pre-schooler Disney shows as well. They did, at least, the themes for Mickey Mouse Club House and Higglytown Heroes (and I know this from having the theme songs drilled into my head on Saturday and Sunday mornings), but I don't think that they did any shows for the morning block.

Re:You're not the boss of me now!

[everphilski]

good to know. I must have missed that somehow. my kids are too young for cartoons yet and I must have been too old ...

How About Pioneers in Technology and Music?

[Black-Man]

Back when the technology was new... drum machines, synthesizers and no one knew how to interface them. Here's a link to a fantastic interview from the drummer of Ultravox! who details the issues involved in syncing these devices - live - and long before even the Apple II showed up on the scene. http://www.discog.info/ultravox-interview.html/

Re:How About Pioneers in Technology and Music?

[pedestrian crossing]

And if you want to skip right to the part about the electronics...http://www.discog.info/ultravox-inte rview5.html

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Newest CD

[AxsDeny]

You missed the best tracks then.

• Bee of the Bird of the Moth
• The Cap'm
• The Mesopotamians

Spend more time with it.

Linnell's Robot Orchestra

[Fez]

What, no mention of John Linnell's computer-controlled robot orchestra?

See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL9_IK8YNV8 (Rehearsal)
And:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4RZpKJ1x6o (Live)

Get TMBG DRM free

[Nazlfrag]

Alternatively, you could visit the TMBG website, where you can purchase their music free of DRM, as well as sample free tunes and video clips.

Not a pedophile, eh?

[Anonymous Coward]

I am still not qualified to drive an ice cream truck.
Not a pedophile, eh?

Best.line.ever

[Anonymous Coward]

Now it's over, I'm dead and I haven't done anything I want.
Or I'm still alive and there's nothing I want to do.
-Dead, TMBG

Re:Cradle of Filth

[Anonymous Coward]

you fucking loser poser...... Any self respecting Black Metal enthusiast knows that they are fags and the only true Black Metal are Dissection , Mayhem, Dark Throne, Emperor(earlier stuff), Marduk and well look here if you must be led by someone at /. about Black Metal of all places. Black Metal Satyricon may qualify but few others........

Hooray for unencumbered, artist-direct MP3s!

[Asmor]

TMBG has been my favorite band for a long time, and I liked them even before I knew who they were thanks to Paticle Man and Istanbul both being on Tiny Toon Adventures.

It's really great, however, knowing that they have set up their own website where you can buy mp3s of their albums at reasonable prices (99 cents a track or $10 an album last I checked). If you buy the album, you even get all the artwork in pdf form!

Music unencumbered with DRM is always great, only kind I'll buy. That it's run by the artists and (presumably, never actually checked into it) they get all the profits is just gravy.

TMBG truly is the future of music.

Re:Hooray for unencumbered, artist-direct MP3s!

[Bobfrankly1]

I liked them even before I knew who they were thanks to Paticle Man It's Pa R ticle Man you insensitive clod! He's doing the things a particle can!

Re:Hooray for unencumbered, artist-direct MP3s!

[Asmor]

What are you talking about? Says so right here on my copy of They Must Be Gaints CD, Dail-a-song: Track 12, Paticle Man.

Typical thoughts

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, Mute Math!

Re:Newest CD

[mooterSkooter]

I have to disagree and agree with you there. I recieved the album about a week and a half ago. My initial impressions were not good. I left it a week and came back to it. And loved it. Give it another go, perhaps concentrate on 'I'm Impressed', 'Upside down frown', 'the cap'm' and the totally excellent 'The Mesopotamians'. I was completely addicted to it last week, I listened to it constantly for about 4 days!

TMBG are the best!

[mooterSkooter]

Sorry for posting something totally pointless but I just had to, being a long-term slashdot reader and MASSIVE TMBG fan. TMBG are my favourite band ever, I've adored them since the very first time I heard Ana NG with that awesome guitar riff throughout. Brilliant. I've followed them ever since, going to see them whenever I can (which is rare in the UK) and buying all their albums. Okay, I wasn't overly impressed with 'The Spine' (though some great tracks - Wearing a Raincoat for example) but I reckoned they've returned to form with 'The Else' - I love that album and just hope they play a couple of dates in the UK.

I just also have to mention that I actually got to speak to them a few years ago backstage (Thanks to Jonothan Ross for giving me and my mates the passes - another big TMBG fan) and they are totally cool and really pleasant people.

Anyway, long live TMBG!

-----------------------
www.lessermatters.co.uk
-----------------------

Times have changed

[Yoozer]

No. "Nerd" or "geek" is generally the moniker for anyone you threaten to beat up if they don't do your homework for you.

Re:Newest CD

[AP31R0N]

So we keep buying/downloading the newer material, hoping to recapture the feelings we had from the earlier work. But you aren't the same person you were then, neither are the artists. Such is the nature of bands that last. If you get into a band right away eventually, they will stop doing what got you into them. You will change, they will change. The divergence increases over time. i just to be obsessed with The Cure and Depeche Mode. But i'm not a hyperemotional/hormonal teenager anymore. Robert Smith and Martin Gore aren't in their 20s anymore. They can only write so many versions of Plainsong and People are People. i don't dislike their new stuff in the same way that i dislike country, but i don't care for it. We've grown apart. But that's ok, because VNV Nation and nerd core rap fills that void now for me. If a band repeats themselves, that too gets old. Most artists want to try different things over time. Instead of begrudging them their evolution or downfall, i just move on.

Re:Cradle of Filth

[Anonymous Coward]

It is you who are the poseur faggot in this case, dear sir.

Every child knows that no band can be Black Metallier than Christpuncher.

I mean, just look at their name.

Christpuncher.

Re:Newest CD

[djasbestos]

"VNV Nation ... fills that void now for me."
"If a band repeats themselves, that too gets old."

I foresee Ronan Harris, et al, joining Misters Gore and Smith quite soon. You can only request "Chrome" so many times at the club. He can only sing that G to F monotone voice so many times before it gets on me.

Then again, Gary Numan is a bit guilty of that too, but I'm not admitting to the same paradigm, although his new stuff is a far cry from "The Pleasure Principle" and Tubeway Army (ramble ramble...)

live drums....

[rustcycle]

I can completely empathize with the ease of writing without a drummer but the pain of performing without one....double edged sword! Seems similar in some respects to Trent writing all the NIN material and having to gear up with a live crew for the tours....

Re:Cradle of Filth

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh my god. You actually rebutted that with a Death Metal band from Chicago? the AC was right! You are a loser. You don't even know what Black Metal is. sheesh. Please young boy, learn before you post! At least learn what it is you are posting about.