I promised my amazing Patreon friends that when I reached a certain amount of subscription money I would throw a PARTY via video call for all of us Patrons to shoot the breeze with each other about anything TMBG. Turns out I'll be throwing a party a month for the next few months because there are too many awesome people! On this first party episode, I play party host and am joined by Jon Uleis, Dana Williamson, Gur Samuel, Jacob MacLeod, Acey Jane Nikkel and Chip Jamerson. We talk about Stilloob...
Feb 18, 2020•1 hr
Jonathan Leonard returns for his third episode, Memo to Human Resources off of The Spine. Greg and Jonathan get deep into the depressing lyrics, talk about what may have inspired the style of the song, and find a whole bunch of cool covers. Also, the intro and outro have a special Valentines treats for you all, so enjoy!
Feb 13, 2020•1 hr 37 min
I present to you the new King of Episodes, as Darrell Till and I dethrone the James K Polk episode as the longest weekly song episode thus far. We get deep into the weeds with music theory nerdery, figuring out the true key of the song. There are covers a plenty, as a second recording session was necessary after the TMBS Flood Tribute was released. Dig in!
Feb 06, 2020•2 hr 26 min
Dan Hickey played drums with They Might Be Giants from 1997-2003, recording on 4 full lengths - Severe Tire Damage, parts of Long Tall Weekend, Mink Car and No! He also played on EPs like the Working Undercover for the Man EP, which had the song Rest Awhile. Dan picked that song to talk about, and we get insider info on the recording of the song, how he came up with his drum parts, and his thoughts on the lyrics and JL's lyrical genius. We also go through his time with TMBG and how he came to be...
Jan 29, 2020•1 hr 41 min
This one has been a long time coming. Last spring, Greg called up another one of his idols, John Darnielle of the veteran indie folk rock act the Mountain Goats, to talk about Apartment 4, a song he grew to love when he became a dad. Due to technical difficulties the episode hit some snags, but now it's finally here, with a twist at the end. This is also a good primer for people unfamiliar with the Mountain Goats, the second greatest band of all time.
Jan 24, 2020•41 min
Acey Jane Nikkel joins Greg to talk about a song with a personal connection to her, All Time What off of I Like Fun. We discuss Flans' great power pop awakening and how far it has taken the band. Also, low low low saxophones for the win.
Jan 23, 2020•1 hr 6 min
On the 3rd episode of the week, Greg called up Ekelemchi Okemgbo, the guy who put together this 76-song Flood Tribute compilation, to tell us how he went about this massive undertaking. We also pick a selection of tracks that impressed us or took us by surprise.
Jan 18, 2020•54 min
Hutch Harris, solo artist formerly of The Thermals, returns to the show to talk about another of his favorite TMBG songs, Mammal off Apollo 18. We get into the nitty gritty of the science and what all these dang subspecies words mean, talk about what makes it so addictive and deceptively complicated, and Hutch and Greg both contribute covers.
Jan 16, 2020•1 hr 16 min
On an epic episode, Greg calls NYC to talk to Jon Uleis, Peter Gritsch, Abi Bash, Mike Buffington and Dave Idmarx, who all went to the Pawling and Bowery Ballroom shows that kicked off the 30th anniversary Flood tour last weekend. We talk at great length about all the cool stuff they did at these shows, and include a lot of sound clips from the shows recorded by Peter and Mike. Enjoy!!
Jan 15, 2020•32 min
On only our second Glean song episode, Greg and radio host Michael Neimeyer discuss Answer. They go long with analysis of not only the song, but debate the transistion from classic Giants to modern Giants, their favorite modern albums, and Greg debuts his own wacky cover of Answer.
Jan 09, 2020•1 hr 42 min
Holy cow, I'm excited to share this one with you! Adam Goren aka Atom and His Package was a solo synth punk legend from Philly who toured the world from the mid 90s to the early aughts, and he has returned to the show (he appeared in the See The Constellation episode last spring) to talk about John Linnell's State Songs tracks 4-6, South Carolina, Idaho and Montana. This one came out so great. Enjoy!!
Jan 07, 2020•40 min
TMBG bassist extrondinaire Danny Weinkauf returns to the show to talk about the newest Red Pants Band single, Superstar. We look into the career of the Danny's friend, former bandmate and song guest vocalist Britta Phillips, including her young role as the singing voice of the 80s cartoon Jem. Greg and Danny also discuss the upcoming Flood tour and TMBG's recording plans for the upcoming record!
Dec 24, 2019•34 min
My Patreon subscribers have voted and approved that I can throw this baby in the main feed - this was the very first special Patreon exclusive episode, with (now many-time guest) Spencer Parks and myself talking about the first three tracks on John Linnell's 1999 solo album State Songs (Illinois, Songs of The Fifty States, West Virginia), an album which has just been released for the first time on vinyl. This is from last January, and the next special episode about tracks 4-6 with guest Adam Gor...
Dec 22, 2019•1 hr 39 min
Musician Jon Cunningham, known by his stage name Corn Mo, talks with Greg about the TMBG song that he sings lead vocals on, No Cops, from the 2015 Dial-a-Song cycle and later appearing on My Murdered Remains. Corn Mo gives insider info on the song recording and video shoot, and we also give a primer to those uninitiated in his eclectic musical career.
Dec 18, 2019•59 min
Tracy Stephen, co-host of the BarenakedABCs podcast, comes on the show for our first episode on a Here Comes Science song, Meet The Elements. Greg appeared on his show last spring to talk about the Barenaked Ladies song Daydreamin, and now he returns the favor as the two talk about how this TMBG song is both educational and awesome.
Dec 12, 2019•56 min
Spencer Parks returns to the show to talk about The Darlings of Lumberland off of Nanobots. As two band nerds, Greg and Spencer dissect the complicated and amazing horn arrangement at length and talk about Flansburgh's especially cryptic lyrics.
Dec 05, 2019•56 min
On this special episode, Greg is joined by three violinists, Dana Williamson, Cari Hearn and Lisa She to discuss the use of orchestral string instruments in TMBG songs. Songs discussed include XTC Vs. Adam Ant, Kiss Me Son of God, Dig My Grave, Exquisite Dead Guy and more.
Dec 01, 2019•28 min
Greg talks with Lou Reid from Edmonton, Ontario about the song Careful What You Pack off of The Else. She uses her knowledge of Coraline to try and help them get to the bottom of why this song was left out of the movie and what happened to the rest of those songs.
Nov 27, 2019•1 hr 2 min
Greg is joined by Kevin Calaway to talk about The Escape Team song Corrupted Lyle. Kevin tells us his own expanded back story of the character, and how shitposting helped him to fall back in love with TMBG.
Nov 21, 2019•47 min
Famed Misc T FB admin Peter Gritsch and Greg talk about the unfairly maligned song Unrelated Thing off of John Henry. Listen as we prove to you how this song is great.
Nov 14, 2019•1 hr 13 min
Greg is joined by musician and scientist Cari Hearn to chat about Mrs. Bluebeard off of I Like Fun. Cari uses her academic skills to lead us down the rabbit hole of the history of the Bluebeard fairy tale and its many variations.
Nov 07, 2019•1 hr 38 min
Johnathan Leonard returns to the show to talk about a fairly new song, Tick Tick Tick Tick off of My Murdered Remains. Boy, this song is an uplifter!
Oct 31, 2019•51 min
Nashville musician Mari Morton and Greg discuss Take Out The Trash off of The Else, a song which Mari has a very personal connection too. Also, more bass love, specifically fuzz bass.
Oct 24, 2019•1 hr 6 min
Ian Reynard joins Greg to talk about I Left My Body off of I Like Fun, a song he doesn't really like... what? Will they do battle? Find out.
Oct 16, 2019•57 min
Musicology student Rachel Jones returns to the show to talk about Danny Weinkauf's amazing bass part in this song... and maybe some other stuff too. This is our first episode to cover a Phone Power song!
Oct 10, 2019•57 min
Frequent voicemail-leaver and podcaster Spencer Parks comes on the show to talk about Fibber Island, off TMBG's kids' album No!
Oct 02, 2019•54 min
Franz Nicolay of The Hold Steady returns to the show to discuss I Can Hear You off of Factory Showroom, a song recorded on an Edison wax cylinder recorder.
Sep 25, 2019•39 min
Debate team style, the pro-Mink Car Team of Greg and Steve Clark face off against the Anti-Mink Car Team of Gur Samuel and Rich Jeffery to determine once and for all - does Mink Car rule or suck?
Sep 24, 2019•39 min
Bob Nanna of Braid, Hey Mercedes and Lifted Bells joins Greg to talk about Erase off of Glean. This episode also offers a great primer to learn about Nanna if you're unfamiliar with this influential emo and indie musician.
Sep 19, 2019•1 hr 23 min
Jared Pike joins Greg in-studio to talk about Lie Still, Little Bottle off of Lincoln. Prepare to be soothed by Jared's radio announcer voice as we talk about... the stick!
Sep 12, 2019•1 hr 1 min
