Mike's 104 Songs to Hear Before You Die: Song #3

Mmmm... random (Photo by Mike)

In the continuing feature of my favorite songs (Song #1 and #2), I can't think of a better song to do for the third installment, and the best part is it's the first one that popped up on my iPod:

They Might Be Giants - Number Three

Who: John and John of They Might Be Giants

What: Number Three, 88 seconds of pure, unadulterated fun

When: 1986 on their debut eponymous album. I have to thank John87 again for his musical education, as he forced the album Flood onto my brothers and myself back in about 1990, and then AGAIN introduced us to TMBG when Apollo 18 came out in 1992. But I probably first heard this particular song from my college roommate, Craig, who reinvigorated my love of the band.

Where: Sounds like somewhere in Georgia, but more likely Brooklyn

Why: I hadn't really considered how difficult it might be to convincingly explain some of my song choices. I mean, really, this song is just plain silly... and I guess that's what's so great about it. First of all, the premise is genius: this is the third song of a writer who only has two songs in him. The best part is that TMBG have gone on to make music for over 20 years, and just a few days ago won a Grammy for Best Children's Album. In fact, they used to have a local Brooklyn phone number you could call for a free new song, which they abandoned for a free song on a website until 2006 when they discontinued it. This is a band with no lack of songs.

The band showed their wit and sense of fun early on in their career, with sly phrases like "Now I'm in the middle like a bird without a beak," (a middle-finger reference). They also showed they wouldn't shy away from social commentary, with lines like: "A rich man once told me, 'Hey, life's a funny thing.' A poor man once told me that he can't afford to speak," as well as some lines about an aloof president who refers to the singer as "boy."

Finally, the hodown drums, jangly guitar, and countrified vocals seem built to make you dance. I find it impossible to keep myself from tapping my foot, if not full on dancing! And I really dislike country music, but this is obviously not your standard country music pop song. So give it a whirl, let me know if you have the same reactions.

They Might Be Giants - Number Three (zShare)




On a side note, I heard this great song by Weezer today, and I thought it very nicely summed up my stance on the importance of this list. I really hope everyone has a list of "Heart Songs." I would love to see others' lists, whether song by song or in whole. If you've got one just leave a comment and I will be sure to link to it or make it a post on our site.



They Might Be Giants
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