Join Us

What? No "Flood"?

Love TMBG and I love you.

They Might Be Giants is one of my all time favorite bands. I highly considered submitting one of theirs myself. I'm not sure that this is my favorite of their albums. It's not even my favorite of the 2010s (I think I have to go Glean or Nanobots). But it's a great album that is highly accessible. I think that if you hear this and like it then you'll have a pretty good idea of what their deal is. If you don't like this album then you're probably not going to enjoy, like, Fingertips or their Dunkin Donuts ad campaigns or any of their other ephemera that I've obsessively listened to over the years. I think Can't Keep Johnny Down, Canajoharie, and When Will You Die are some of their all time best tracks. I revisit them often.

This started out ok but got REALLY annoying after a few songs, and by the end was just utterly punishing. Like a whole album of those Weird Al songs that aren't parodies of anything, but just ADHD-inspired ditties. ugh. 2/5.

Soft spot for classic TMBG, but this is not their best album, although it is really really good. Quirky lyrics and deliver coupled with engaging musicianship (pretty much the story of their careers). I was entertained for sure. 4.5/5 but since it's TMBG, I feel compelled to round up to 5.

Wow, I love They Might Be Giants but to be honest I had kind of forgotten about them. Looking back on the original list, I'm shocked that there are on TMBG albums on it. What the hell? I love TMBG so much that my wife and I had the song Birdhouse in Your Soul played as the recessional song at our wedding. Their first children's album (No!) was a fixture at our house while our kids were little. Anyway, this album is great. Hadn't heard it before so I'm glad it was on the list! 4 stars.

TMBG are great but this is like their 12th best album

What useless album. It is so dumb. There was no need to add this.

Omg yayyyy!!!! I have every note, every word, every quirk of this album imprinted on my brain because it is one of my all-time favourites! TMBG are truly an underrated and under-appreciated gem. They’ve had a prolific career of zany oddball recordings that don’t fit any standard pop template. They are just so wacky and funny and bizarre. I love the stories they concoct and the imagery they create in every song. Every album is an adventure and Join Us is the craziest one! To the person who submitted this: you are cool as hell, thank you! I wanted to put this one in myself, but ultimately settled on something else. I’m so glad the universe ensured this album got into the mix too!

ALL RIGHT! TMBG are the greatest nerdiest musicians in the game and really any of their albums could be on this list. When Will You Die is such a rad song. What a goofball album.

I'm mostly surprised at this being the submission for They Might Be Giants. Pretty Damm fun though.

TMBG continues to be on my list of bands I need to just sit down and absorb because very clearly I will love them

Interesting pick for sole They Might Be Giants album on this list, but what do I know! Good album nonetheless

Never a big fan of this group, though some of my college friends were, and so I heard a whole lot of them in the early 90s. I think we also had the science-themed kids album when my child was of an appropriate age. I liked this fine, the novelty act aspect toned down a lot, clearly they've settled into a solid workable sound. Nothing here really reached out and grabbed me personally but I would listen to more without complaint.

Ha-ha-funny band proves that power-pop is sincerely packable. The quality of music never drops off as such; It's not the kind of album to maintain interest across all eighteen; Neither does the record come off as one of deep cuts.

Tongue-in-cheek lyrics always ride a fine line for me, but thanks to some creative and glib wordplay this one ends up in the positive camp. Doesn’t hurt that these guys have a real knack for melody – while I wished there were some longer, more-involved tracks, the selection here was a fun ride overall.

Good to hear TMBG again and find that their clever quirkiness continues. Fun listen, but not going to give many repeat listens.

They Might Be Giant fans are a very dedicated group. There's a certain cadence to their music that's very boppy, in a good way. Hard to believe they've been around for over 40 years. It's a good album, but I've not seen anything that would think this is a whole lot different than their previous work. It's a whole bunch of short, creative songs.

Another baffling omission. TMBG have had such a unique niche in music for over 40 years now that's is bizarre they weren't included. Have they had mainstream success? No. Have music nerds heard of them? Absolutely yes. Do I like TMBG? Not really. There are some songs of theirs I enjoy but I've never really been into them. This album is an interesting choice since I don't think it's all that great. It's fine. Why not Flood? My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 3/5 Should this have been included on the original list? Yes. But not this album.

Interesting to pick a TMBG from after the 2010, which I think is around the point most people sort of stopped paying attention to them. I've been pretty mixed on a lot of the eclectic nerd albums that people have been putting forward, but I kind of feel like "eclectic" is something that's kind of uncharacteristically missing from this one, at least compared to the TMBGs that I have nostalgia for

Enjoyed what I heard.

This had some potential but still ended up on the 'meh'-side of things.

Meh, this really didn't do anyhthing for me I'm afraid.

Good sound, good rhythms, regular voice but not so transcendental for me.

Let's be honest. They were never going to be giants.

This is quite a quirky band. I’ve heard instanbul more times than I’ve wanted in life and this album is like a less cool, less catchy version of that song that makes me feel like this band is trying to stay relevant again. This album wasn’t really anything special and was not my style of alt rock music. Not planning on revisiting this one anytime soon. 4.7/10

If these guys stopped trying to be wacky then they'd prob be able to produce a great indie pop album... but there's lots of annoying stuff in here alongside some decent tunes. Slightly harsh 2*

They Might Be Giants, perhaps best known for the theme song to Malcolm in the Middle, eluded me by way of apathy. I had no real desire to check out these dorks and now they've landed on my front porch. Listened to all 47 minutes top to bottom and not once did it phase me. 18 songs of nothing. It's fine. This is an album for people who were already fans of TMBG. It's an album signalling that at this specific point the band's career, they were on cruise control. I've got nothing else. CONTENDER FOR THE LIST: At least choose a noteworthy TMBG album. Flood has a song that I recognize.

Not for a list

Shoutout to my boy Matthew

Delightful from start to finish! Thank you!

I had hoped for Flood to make an appearance in the 1001 list, but then I realized I haven't heard much from They Might Be Giants in a long time, other than their science album which I use in my teaching ("Meet the Elements" is a favorite of mine). So I was very happy to be introduced to some "new" music from TMBG. Yay!

Indie pop animado. Me ha hecho gracia. Un 4, venga.

Whoa, cool! I know these guys primarily for the Malcolm in the Middle theme song, and then also there was a time when Joey and I would listen to their music when we were younger. Think they had this song called "Put Your Hand on the Computer" that we were always laughing at, they're such a quirky band. Thought maybe this would be an odd pick given it's fairly recent and later in their catalog but it's strong. The quirk is definitely there, and so is the musicianship, these guys really have a lot going for them. If it's too weird for you, I get it, but it's not too weird for me, it's fun and funny. "When Will You Die" especially made me laugh, quite a few others just plain impressed me. Great album! Favorite tracks: The Lady and the Tiger, When Will You Die, Can't Keep Johnny Down, Cloissonne, Celebration, Dog Walker, You Don't Like Me. Album art: Really love this one, some Warhol-style pop art. It's a monster truck hearse, bright pink. The contrast is excellent. Great cover, no notes. 4/5

Wasn't sure what to expect here. My main experience with TMBG is Tiny Toon Adventures and Malcom in The Middle. It's kind of all over the place and fun. I'm glad it got to listen to this even if not every song really worked for me.

I've been familiar with TMBG since the Homestar Runner days, and probably before that. I've known they're good for a solid hook. I've never actually listened to a full record of theirs before. I think my wildest take is that it reminds me a bit of krautrock, in a small amount. It sounds like pop music made by robots, and very tightly choreographed. Writing this, maybe it's a bit more musical theater (doesn't hurt that "Protagonist" contains actual stage directions). I can understand why people like it, it's pop music made by true-blue nerds. The wide swath of genres you get always keeps the record fresh and it never feels like it runs on too long. I'll politely nod along, but it's not changing my world heavily. Call it a 3.5. Favorite tracks: "You Probably Get That A Lot", "Let Your Hair Hang Down", "The Lady And the Tiger"

I will join TMBG for a great time

A pink monster truck hearse and some good songs… I listened to TMBG back in the day but hadn’t followed them. I’m still partial to Flood but this was enjoyable!

OK, so TMBG are musical nerds who make music for nerds who are not musical. I'm not saying that the Venn diagram of people who listen to TMBG and people who play tabletop games is a perfect circle, but if you were to add TMBG listeners to an n-dimensional Venn diagram that includes tabletop gamers, folk who solve maths problems for fun, people who care about the numbers in the model of a graphics card, anyone who has been to a comicon or anyone above the age of 19 who cares what a pokemon is, you'd have very little negative space in the TMBG portion. Now, bear in mind that I've just talked about something being n-dimensional... I get the nerd bit! But TMBG are just a bit too... too for me. There's a few tracks here and there (Cloisonne) that I really quite enjoy, but added up, it's just too much twee for me. Maybe it's an overstimming of the nerd bit? TMBG do what they do very well, and I can't fault them for keeping nerds entertained for 40+ years, and yeah, there probably should be a TMBG album on the list, so why not this one? You probably should listen to one of theirs because, why not?

It's more they might be giants and it's pretty much exactly what you think you'll get!

I quite like this- it has a certain swagger about it that sets it apart from the rest. It's quite fun in a sinister twisted way.

Don't really know how to describe my thoughts on this album. Sometimes it was good. But some songs were a bit dull

Why are so many American bands nasally when they sing?

Good fun album, does get a little tiring by the end 3.2

It’s a decent enough album, but it really does start to blend into itself after a while. I like some of their songs, but They Might Be Giants has always felt a bit kitschy to me and that’s prevented me from getting into them.

American quirky, so comes across as a bit forced.

Rating: 6/10

18 short and quirky guitar pop songs. Individually each song is at worst amusing, but together it's a bit much (even though at 47 minutes then album is a 'good length'). Rating: 3 Playlist track: Old Pine Box Date listened: 29/08/24

Cool to see someone added They Might Be Giants to the list... i've enjoyed a bunch of their hits that i've heard but haven't delved too deep. This album is quirky and fun, with certainly some songs that make you pause (e.g. When Will You Die?), but ultimately there is not much that is really catchy that elevates it. A fine listen.

This should be Flood. I will say, I'm pleased to see that TMGB has maintained the quality of their work as long as they have. I will even go so far as to say that in some ways the Johns have improved as musicians since the days of those early, classic albums. That said, this feels like a rudderless assortment of songs, not an album. A few great songs, and a lot I probably won't remember. Fave Songs: Can't Keep Johnny Down, You Probably Get That a Lot, Old Pine Box, Canajoharie

I'm a fan of these Giants, especially growing up with Malcom in the Middle, but this listen made me realize I think the lead singer voiced some songs on Coraline too which was a staple for me. All that said, there are not a lot of singles I keep from them. This album falls into that, I enjoyed the entire thing and maybe skipped once. Still going strong on the user submissions!

I prefer earlier albums of They Might Be Giants. This one is not a punishment to listen to. I think they must have been a big inspiration to the Magnetic Fields that deliver better songs and lyrics.

Classic TMBG

I love a bit of whimsy.

Not entirely brilliant. But a definite addition to the original list.

Happy & lively nasally cartoon songs for people who wanna rock a little bit, but not too much.

An interesting selection considering the much more well known releases earlier in TMBG’s eclectic catalogue. The fact that they don’t have a single album in the original list is ridiculous when really any of those first five albums (especially Lincoln and Flood) have a pretty strong claim. This seems to be TMBG’s return to ‘music for grown-ups’ following a series of charming children’s albums. I think it would actually be difficult for them to write an album that’s not fun at this stage, they just have such a knack for melodies and a real curiosity for song structures and textures. Stylistically it’s all over the place yet somehow cohesive as expected, whether that’s the presumably-Strokes-inspired You Probably Get That a Lot or the overbearing nonsense of The Lady and the Tiger. There are some delightfully quirky songs like Cloisonné and Three Might Be Duende, as well as the fantastic heavily-panned canon of Spoiler Alert, that really stand out in the way some of their greatest hits do, but on the whole the album does seem to lack the vibrancy that makes their first few albums so engaging

Very unusual pick for a TMBG album. I think most people would go for "Flood" or "Lincoln" instead, but hey, it's a free country. Pretty good. Has that same nerdy quirkiness of their older stuff, just not as tight of a package with no real standout tracks. 3/5.

Yea, it's alright

I love TMBG but this one felt a little boring.

Quirky and fun

Quirky, entertaining

Enjoyed this

Upbeat and happy-go-lucky sound. Nothing particularly grabbed me but it's a pleasant noise.

3 This one is silly Damn and it does not sound like anything from 2011 More like something from 89 2

For some reason I always associated they might be giants with the 2000s indie crowd like car seat headrest or neutral milk hotel but after hearing this one my assumptions must be totally wrong. This was closer to like the bare naked ladies than anything else.

Maybe I’m missing something, but this just felt like very average alt rock to me.

Huge TMBG fan, but this is derp.

Fun once, but in one ear and out the other. Clever and cleanly produced, sure — but it never grabs me emotionally, musically, or even lyrically. Just a quirky little blip of a record. I might put it on while cleaning, but I’d never seek it out.

Pretty sure there are now AIs able to routinely create a typical They Might Be Giants song (whereas ones able to harness the genius melodic and songwriting spark of a John Lennon, a David Bowie or a Kurt Cobain will not be found for a still a long time to come). "Derivative" doesn't even begin to cover how hackneyed and even artificial this band mostly sounds on a purely musical standpoint, whether for their early endeavors or for this late career release. I get that hardcore fans of this act consider the many chunky quirks found everywhere throughout their discography as evidence of their humanity. But I see the exact opposite. Everything sounds as if it was created in a laboratory, with Flansburgh and Linnell applying all sorts of ready-made formulas to pen weird shit that is -- generally speaking -- as goofy on first listens as it is forgettable two hours later. In a sense, their shtick only sounds like a *simulacrum* of humanity for me. Not that the formulas of the two mad scientists don't yield to some memorable songs once in a while: the ones in *Join Us* ("Can't Keep Johnny Down", "You Probably Get That A Lot", "Canajoharie") are to be found very early on, for instance. In spite of the sarcasm I expressed up there, I believe both AIs and They Might Be Giants can actually write stuff that is at least vaguely entertaining from time to time, which is no small wonder. It takes some enormous musical skills (or huge data treatment power) to mathematically select all sorts of ideas so as to make your compositions sound both stylistically diverse and unpredictable. Which is why I won't give a 1/5 grade to this thing. However, there is a major issue that needs to be pointed out in *Join Us*, just as in any TMBG albums I've had the opportunity to listen to: when the formulas are left to their own device, so to speak, you end up getting so much dross that you just can't help dismissing the whole thing. In *Join Us* that dross is exemplified by inconsequential tunes such as "2082", or worse, by truly obnoxious duds such as "Spoiler Alert", "Dog Walker" or "Three Might Be Duende", that are polluting the end of the album so much that they ruin whatever good impression a couple of songs might have triggered before (like with the fun, bouncy, brass-enhanced "The Lady And The Tiger"). And yes, sure, the lyrics are witty, but so are the ones of Flight Of The Conchords, a comedy act who never really pretended they were a genuine band -- even if one suspects the latter might have ripped off Flansburgh and Linnell, among other influences. The point here is that it's honestly difficult to take They Might Be Giants seriously, as skilled as its core songwriting duo is. When the line between earnestness and parody is so thin, what it is we are supposed to *feel*? Pastiche could be the way to go, but unfortunately, They Might Be Giants never fully get there either. So we're just left in a blurry limbo, whose effects might include queasiness, eye-rolling and tiredness... After all, this is the major difference between The Magnetic Fields and They Might Be Giants, two acts that are arguably very close on paper. In the craft of the first, there's a distinct poetry, or a fragility, or an overall conceptual instinct, which elevates their output to the rank of works of art. Whereas They Might Be Giants remain desperately stuck to the level of craft. Enough to generate a cult following that arguably goes beyond a niche phenomenon now, as years went by. But not enough for a list such as this one. No, I won't join you guys. 2/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums. 7/10 for more general purposes (5 + 2). Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 32 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 42 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 78 (including this one) --- Émile, il y a déjà une partie de mes réponses au-dessus. Il y en aura d'autres en dessous..

They might be boring

TMBG are one of those bands that annoy me and Join Us is full of examples as to why. They're sullen, moody, weird oddballs who try to translate it into their music and it's just not fun. It's not even fun in a quirky or bizarre way, it's like they want to beat you into submission with the same sound over 20 songs, and it annoys me more because every so often over their long history they show they've got chops to do something fun, upbeat and more aligned with proper pop punk, yet they persist with this horseshit. I hated it, 1/5.