8 - The Michigan Daily - Weekend etc. - Friday, November 4, 1994 emember, Giants walk the earth o By JOSH HERRINGTON For the past 11 years the combo of John Flansberg and John Linnel - otherwise known as They Might Be Giants - has been churning out re- markably original, clever pop music. While "Flood," the album which certi- fied the duo's niche in the alterna-pop music world, went gold last month, their latest album "John Henry" repre- sents a new era for them. The band has evolved into something they have never been before: a band, in the traditional sense, complete with real live percus- sion and horn sections. When com- bined with John and John's gleeful pop hooks, the result is the richest, most textured album they have put out to date. John Linnel, while relaxing in his hometown of Brooklyn in between the European and American legs of TMBG's world tour, explained why the band dropped the tape recorders and replaced them with humans. "We didn'treally plan it," Linnel explained. "We got a band in the middle of our (1992) tour just to see if it would spruce up the live show, and then after playing with the band for awhile, it seemed like 'well, I guess this is what we're doing now, so we'll make a record with this band.' We defi- nitely didn't think that hard about it in advance." Playing with so many talented mu- sicians (Tony Maimone of Pere Ubu fame and Brian Doherty of the Silos, to name a couple) clearly have influenced TMBG's music. Performers like Kurt Hoffman, who was once a member of TMBG, and longtime opening act Brain Dewan, whom Linnel considers "brilliant," and even the archetypal "Loser" Beck, have all influenced TMBG'spop products. Linnel is open about the impact his fellow contempo- raries have had inironingout TMBG's sound, acknowledging that "everyone has adifferentpicture of the world. It's good to have more than one." For Linnel, the first picture was of theBeatles. Linnel's voice warms when he recalls his first encounter with the auteurs of pop. "I was three years old when (the Beatles) came to America," he recalled. "I had an older brother and sister who were tuned into the fact that there was this totally new band that had hit town. It was this big event. I think we even thought they looked different; their hair looked totally weird, and that was kind of exciting, ya know?" When Linnel became a teenager he "got into other stuff. Having older siblings really af- fected the kind of music I was into. My brother was in tune with things like Frank Zappa that, tome, seemed really sophisticated. I wanted to know more about that stuff." The seeds of pop that had been planted early in Linnel's life finally sprouted in 1983 when he got together with John Flansberg to form TMBG, a name lifted from an old science fiction movie starring Charlton Heston and JessicaLange; his only explanation for the name was that "most of the bands around had names like, you know, 'The Pencils" or something, so at the time it seemed like an interesting name to have." Linnel attributes the music he makes as a product of "the longer his- tory of popular music. We like the whole current of popular music that was alongside rock music as that was developing - that was still there for adults who were not into rock. It's a largely ignored genre ... there was a whole industry of popular music in the '60s that had nothing to do with rock." TMBG's major commercial suc- cess came in 1990 with "Flood," the seminal pop album which recently went gold; amazing, considering the relative obscurity of the band up until that point. In spite of the obvious honor which accompanies such an award, Linnel admitted not really be- ing able to make heads or tails of it. "It's like, what do I do now? Well, I sent (the award) to my dad. I just couldn't imagine having it in my house. It's like having a big framed portrait of yourself or something like that. I don't think I could live that way." Almost in response to the "what do I do now" question enters their latest album, "John Henry," which repre- sents, literally and allegorically, "the conflict between man and machine" (although Linnel admitted that the album, thematically speaking, has nothing to do with the 19th century folklore figure John Henry, who is pitted against machine in a race to dig a railroad tunnel). Compared with the method of recording albums that Linnel and Flansberg had adopted up until this year, "John Henry" repre- sents a profound change-recording live tracks-making the album achieve a semblance of rock while still feed- ing off the fuel of their lively pop music formula. "('John Henry') was totally unusual for us," Linnel admit- ted. "We've always done the thing where you start with the kick-drum, and you add the snaredrum, and so on. We've always been more technologi- cal about it. This was like the cavemen gathered around,jamming together." For the past couple of years, they have indeedjammed in concert, prone to such antics as spontaneous instru- ment switching and responding to crowd requests ranging from Lynard Skynard tunes to "We are the World." Linnel attributed some of this versa- tility to the new band. "There's a lot of great things about having a band. As you can imagine, there's a lot of potential for spontaneity. One of the things that has helped out is that we have hired musicians who are pretty versatile. Everybody switches off their instruments. Our trombonist plays the tuba, Tony plays the ukulele, an so on." In spite of their on-stage jubi- lance, Linnel admitted to the greater complexity of touring with an upscaled outfit. "It's a trade-off. There's some things we miss form having a tape. Our show was more compact. We did some of our early tours in just one van. That was nice." TMBG are playing this evening at the State Theatre, an event which prompted a question about venue pref- erence: whether or not the band prefers the hectic intimacy of a club or the excessive elbow room of an audito- rium, or perhaps even an, uh, arena. "The funnest times we've had have been in really little rooms with excited crowds. We've done arenas, but we've never quite done the 'stadium' show. I'm sure that would be completely weird. We've done some very large festivals, and there was something weird about that. We did this one in D.C. that had some ridiculously high number of people, and we could even talk to the people in the back. We were saying stuff like, 'we want to dedicate this song to the guy in sec- tion three that's like half a mile away.' And we could see him waving, you know?" As to what is next for TMBG, Linnel was vague: perhaps another album with the band, perhaps a b-side album, perhaps neither. Whatever it may be, it is safe to say that it will be a surprise, fresher and more original than whatever preceeded it. THEY MIGHT BE GiANTSplayed the State Theatre in Detroit last night. Frank Black wowed the crowd with his incredible opening acoustic set, and TMBG were great, too. Sorry if you missed it. 0o They Might Be Giants win the penant, They Might be Giants win the penant! Well, at least they should. 'Come' continues to explode on the music scene Galleries offer much in November 0 EXHIBIT COME Continued from page 7 The still-unnamed group booked their first show soon after"just to see what would happen," Brokaw said. And yes, their name means exactly what you think it means. Explained Brokaw, "The guy who was booking the show said that we had to have a name by 11 o'clock or he would make up one for us." Suggestions flew, re- inembered Brokaw. "It started get- ting really obscene. Finally, Thalia said, 'Why don't we just call it Come?"' Regular gigs and the 1992 release of their "Fast Piss Blues" Matador single sparked a flurry of rock maga- zine articles touting Come as The Next Big Thing. Their debut LP "Eleven:Eleven" was met with ac- claim and some blanched faces. Melody Maker described the album as the sound of "waking up on an operating table in the middle of your own autopsy." And that was a com- pliment. "Don't Ask" remains in the same pulsing vein as the previous album, but with a richer studio sound. "We weren't really afraid of (the new record) being compared to 'Eleven:Eleven.' That was avery live- sounding record. We hardly used over- dubs," Brokaw remarked. "We wanted this one to sound more like an album than a live recording. The only trepi- dation we had going in was that the group of songs we brought to record were so much more varied this time. We weren't quite sure how they would fit together." The results are brilliantly terse, intense clips of relationship hell. "Don't you dare try to walk away from my loving fists," Zedek sneeringly commands over Brokaw's staggering guitar on the song "Poi- son." On "Mercury Falls." she des- perately details, "Every time we say next time/ Every year we say next year/ Watch each other for a sign/ And spend another winter here ... don't you get sick alone?" When she finally begs, "Let's get lost, not like the last time when we got found," Come has convinced you that there's nowhere to run to, because there's no way out. Not the easiest set to sell to the fans of Dinosaur Jr., with whom Come is touring this fall. "It's tough to say," acknowledged Brokaw, whether Di- nosaur fans will swallow Come's bit- ter pill. "We've opened for Dinosaur before ... some people get it, some don't. This record has some more up tempo songs. That will help, I hope." Hope ... now there's a novel idea. COME plays with Juned and headliner Dinosaur Jr. at the State Theater in Detroit tonight at 8p.m. Tickets are $15.50 through Ticketmaster. Call (313) 645-6666. wi Cl / Fall Lessons Every Sunday Night Main Dance Room, CCRB 7:00pm Beginning Lessons 8:00pm General Dancing Everybody is welcome! No partner necessary! It's Free! There is no pre-registration. Just show up at the beginning of the lessons whenever you lke. Dress is casual For More Information Call: 663-9213 * Student ID or users pass needed to enter CCRB Continued from page 6 "Where's Waldo?" I believe the more pertinent question is "Where is the Waldo exhibit?" This exhibit was a bit disappointing considering the monumental icon that Sir Waldo is, but it may be more fun for the kids. Runs through December. Call 995-5439 for more informa- tion. Bentley Historical Library "The Art of Football: 1894-1994, 100 Years of Football Programs, Post- ers and Ephemera" has been going for awhile now, but this exhibit should be of interest to both sports fans and pop culture buffs. Exhibit includes more than 750 programs from University football games and examines the graphic design, themes and patterns in program cover art. Runs through November 30. Call 764-3482 for more informa- tion. Alexa Lee Gallery "Lincoln Schatz: Sculpture, Draw- ings, Prints" This abstract sculptor constructs works of welded steel pro- duces an industrial but human feel. Schatz creates gritty drawings as well. Runs through November 11. "Mary Gillis: Paintings and Sculp- ture" This Michigan based artist works with large and abstract mixed media paintings and has recently begun sculpting in the same vein. Begins November 18 and runs through De- cember 23. Call 663-8800 for more informa- tion. Matrix Gallery "Lyric" is an exhibition of sculp- ture and collage by Amy Hanks, a graduate student at the University Art School. The work will explore how myth is created through random bits of information we receive every day. Opens November 18 and runs through December 4. Call 663-7775 for more informa- tion. The Toledo Museum of Art "Visiones del Pueblo, the Folk Art of Latin America" includes 275 works of the Latin American culture that hopes to give insights into Latin American society from the 16th cen- tury to the present day. Runs through January 15. Call (419) 255-8000 for more in- formation. 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