They Might Be Giants 'The Else' to be iTunes exclusive

I have had The Else for about a week now, and under no circumstances should children be allowed within ten metres of this album. They haven't rocked this hard, well, ever. Stunning.

12. -- They're likely to get more exposure, which hopefully translates into more ticket sales when they perform. Also, they might actually sell in much greater volume to more casual fans, who wouldn't intentionally go to the site to purchase TMBG music. Never underestimate the power of impulse shopping. I'm more of a casual fan. I might pick up a tune or two sometime on iTunes on impulse.

14. -- No more novelty than Jonathan Richman. Maybe they are more geeky than Richman, but not by any means a novelty act. I lived in San Francisco in the late 80s/early 90s and they were a pretty big deal back then.

5. -- Derek, I don't think of them as a kid's band. I think of them more as an anti-Emo band. So cheer up!

Aren't they a novelty act? With that 'birdhouse for my soul' kids thing a while ago? I thought they'd given it up as a lost cause.

"particle man" and "instanbul" are my favorite tracks.


offering an incomplete product on itunes seems kinda gimpy. and offering non-DRM'd tracks elsewhere seems kinda gimpy as well. smart for the band though. they will probably get a lot of "front-page-love" in the iTS.

TMBG has been around since 1982. That's 25 years!! Impressive!

However, I think that if they're still not giants after 25 years, they probably won't ever be giants. I'm sorry, TMBG fans, it had to be said. I suggest you start calling the band TMNBG for the sake of accuracy.

I'm actually seeing TMBG in concert tomorrow in Charlottesville Virginia :)

I don't know about some of these people, but I'd buy a big prosthetic forehead and wear it on my real head.

Seems to me like they're shooting themselves in the foot, considering that they reap a near 100% profit on sales through their own store.

I'd by from TMBG direct any day of iTMS. No DRM, Higher Bitrate, Lossless Option, and the knowledge that the artist is actually getting my money. It's a no-brainer.

Calling TMBG a kids band is like calling U2 a Christian band -- it uses one element of their personality to completely miss the point. They are without a doubt one of the smartest, funniest, and most entertaining bands out there. They deserve a much bigger audience, but I'm amazed at how many people born after their platinum years are fans.

We were waving our arms out the window
Of a fast moving passenger train
Acting in an irresponsible fashion
Until the engineer whose back had been turned
And who we thought would find us highly amusing
Quickly swiveled his head around
And his face which was a paper-white mask of evil
Sang us this song