For 30 years, John Flansburgh and John Linnell have created quirky, poignant and occasionally educational songs as They Might Be Giants. More than 20 years after the success of Flood and its singles Istanbul (Not Constantinople) and Birdhouse in Your Soul, the band returns to Birmingham in support of its 17th studio album, Nanobots. Moon Hooch will open the set at the Workplay Soundstage on Thursday, with doors opening at 6:30 and the first performance scheduled for 7:30. Advance tickets are available at the venue and at www.workplay.com for $18, while tickets are $20 on the day of the show.
I spoke to Flansburgh about the rise of online streaming services, the band's foray into children's music and Nanobots.
You were the first band to make an entire album available in mp3 format. How do you feel about music's shift to streaming outlets like Spotify?
I think Spotify and...what's the other one?
Pandora?
Yeah. I think Spotify and Pandora will figure out a way to make money off of music that other people created.
Not a fan?
It's the rawest deal in music for musicians. It's great for audiences. But to say the music industry is doomed is an understatement. It's already over. It's pretty much a steaming pile.
Do you think artists receive more exposure from having their music shared online or through licensing?
I think musicians are in a precarious place culturally. A friend's brother is a finance guru and we were talking about negotiations. He said, "The key is to not name your price. Because if people know it, your bargaining position is undermined."
But the truth about musicians, and the public knows at this point, people in the business have always known - the price is free. Musicians just want to be heard and that's always undermined musicians as professionals. It's fun to play and it's fun to have your music in the world. It's validating to have people hear your music and appreciate it. Without that, it's a tree falling in the forest.
People are having a much more difficult time, but it's not the worst thing that can happen to music culture. It's exciting. The money people have fled the scene. There are less sharks and more people around that love music. It's a complicated scenario. In spite of the gloom, there are just as many reasons now to make music as there ever were.
Did the success of Why Does The Sun Shine? hasten your foray into children's music or was that always inevitable?
We never thought about it until we embarked. It was spontaneous. We had been making music long enough that we felt people wouldn't misunderstand who we were. If we had done that after a couple of albums, people may have thought we were turning into a children's act. And there are still some people that only know us as a children's act. But after 20 years, it was kind of a sidebar to our career. It was quite strange.
In 2004, you released Venue Songs. What is the most interesting venue you've played? I know I once saw you guys play on a barge in the Cumberland River in Nashville.
I'm trying to think of this barge...
It was a summer concert series. The barge was parked on the banks facing Broadway with the football stadium as the backdrop.
Yeah, yeah. That seems kind of familiar. I remember playing in the rain there once.
Actually, yeah, I think it rained that day.
Maybe that was the same show. When we talk about interesting, I tend to think of catastrophes. When we were playing as a duo, we did a show on chorus risers in Buffalo, New York. The stage collapsed and we plummeted six feet beneath the stage.
It was like falling in front of a bunch of people - you pretend you're fine and you get back up.
We did a show at the Edison Museum that we recorded with wax cylinders. It was all acoustic, and we had the ability to listen right after and people could witness it all. It's amazing technology.
What is your proudest directorial achievement, away from They Might Be Giants?
A few years ago, I produced an album for Jonathan Coulton. I was very happy with the way it turned out, even though I'm not sure how Coulton fans responded to it - it was more low key, and more about the quality of the songs.
You're a New York guy now, but you grew up in the Boston area. Are you a Sox fan?
It's almost impossible to be either because I'm just going to [make someone mad]. I just try to keep my head low.
Join Us had a lot of horns. Will you be touring with them?
We will be a mighty five piece in Birmingham. We'll recreate those horn parts with guitars. We love brass. John is bringing a bass clarinet that he plays on a couple of songs - it's a nice departure. I'd love to have a bigger band. In New York, we have a full horn section and it's a treat.
What can we expect from Nanobots? Will there be a vinyl release?
The vinyl release will be in a couple of weeks. The record is a continuation of Join Us in a lot of ways. We've been touring and writing pretty hard over the last few years. It's a continuous thing. I'm the worst judge of what the difference is between the records, but it feels like an evolution. People seem to be surprised by it. It has some quiet songs and it's a little different. Join Us cracked the code of a simpler arrangement, and we feel like we've gotten braver.
Who are the top five American rock bands of all time?
Oh my. Well, I'd include the Stax Records session band with Booker T. and the M.G.'s.
This is tough to figure out. I'd like to list them all and hear some regular contenders. Because when you talk about "Best Bands" and "America," it's tough. When you say "band," it suggests technical unity.
I'd say Velvet Underground, but they're lumpy as a band and not good as a unit. I reject Buffalo Springfield. I can think of so many bands that shouldn't be on the list. That may be an easier list to make. Who do other people include?
Well, I hear The Band a lot, but then there's the debate of if The Band is American.
Yeah, I'd include The Band.
I get a lot of Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The Replacements.
The Replacements. You know, people have sentimental feelings about The Replacements, and their songwriting was amazing, but they were in shambles as a band. I think people just remember the times they were drinking and listening to The Replacements.
It's very much a classic rock list.
I get The Ramones a lot.
The Talking Heads as a trio and when they were touring as a quartet. One of the first New York bands, Television, had really interesting drumming and the guitar was fantastic.
You know, the question really makes you realize how cohesive English bands are. In America, we have a bold front person with bold ideas, but our bands aren't cohesive.