They Might Be Giants: You only THINK you don't know them

queen11 I could safely say the They Might Be Giants is the only band that the population forgot and remembers at the same time. In they late 80's and early to mid 90's, they were one of the most popular underground alternative rock acts; and for the past twelve years, they have been probably the most successful artist in theme and children's music. Their cult following is pretty strong, yet a large amount of music lovers don't who they are; which I find quite inexcusable.

They Might Be Giants (John Flansburgh and John Linnell) had some charting hits in the early 90's ("Ana Ng," "Istanbul" and "Birdhouse in Your Soul" to name a few), but through television in the late 90's, they were able to reach out to a younger audience. You might remember seeing the "Istanbul" and "Particle Man" music videos on Tiny Toons Adventures, or the "Doctor Worm" video on Ka-Blam (I know I don't; I was like two). Going on into the '00s, their music was lodged into everyone's head from 2000-2006. Well, it was just one song, really, "Boss of Me," which served as the theme song for the hit sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. In 2009, the band wrote ten original songs for the Tim Burton movie Coraline, but only one was used: "Other Father's Song." Most recently, They Might Be Giants have been getting young children dancing to their original music to Disney's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Do they sound familiar to you now?

Beyond a crap load of television exposure, They Might Be Giants are innovators and true pioneers of popular music. "Boss of Me" his a huge milestone in 2002 when it became the first television theme song of all-time to win a Grammy Award. In 1999, They Might Be Giants took a huge step forward in not only music, but in internet communication when they released Long Tall Weekend: the first album released by a major label to be completely downloadable through the internet.

Now that your familiar with the band once again, why don't check out my lists of their greatest songs, albums, and songs from certain albums (and my other lists, too). And if you don't I will have to kill you in your sleep.....ON CHRISTMAS!

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