WEBVTT 34:19.100 --> 34:20.533 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% - [Jim] For two high school friends 34:20.633 --> 34:22.966 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% who started out with a guitar, an accordion 34:23.066 --> 34:25.300 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% and some prerecorded drum tracks, 34:25.400 --> 34:27.466 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% John Flansburgh and John Linnell 34:27.566 --> 34:31.166 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% of They Might Be Giants have had a very good run indeed. 34:31.266 --> 34:34.633 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% In the past 35 years, they've released 20 albums, 34:34.733 --> 34:37.000 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% and contributed songs to films, TV 34:37.100 --> 34:38.700 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% and most recently, Broadway. 34:40.166 --> 34:43.133 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% But one thing they've never managed is a US hit single, 34:43.233 --> 34:44.700 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% and that, says John Linnell, 34:44.800 --> 34:47.000 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% has turned out to be an advantage. 34:47.100 --> 34:50.266 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% - We're not annoying the hell out of anybody, you know. 34:50.366 --> 34:53.266 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% There's not some thing in our repertoire 34:53.366 --> 34:54.733 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% that people are groaning about. 34:54.833 --> 34:57.866 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% I think the people who recognize us 34:57.966 --> 35:00.066 align:left position:25%,start line:93.33% size:75% and remember us 35:00.166 --> 35:04.200 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% do so generally with a kind of pleasant feeling. 35:05.366 --> 35:06.800 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% - [Jim] More than just a pleasant feeling, 35:06.900 --> 35:09.533 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% but a level of devotion that keeps them singing along 35:09.633 --> 35:11.266 align:left position:12.5%,start line:93.33% size:87.5% three decades later. 35:11.366 --> 35:13.766 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% Generations of die-hard fans have been taken 35:13.866 --> 35:15.866 align:left position:12.5%,start line:0% size:87.5% with the Giant's infectious melodies, 35:15.966 --> 35:19.366 align:left position:0%,start line:0% size:100% and reliably clever, occasionally absurd, lyrics. 35:30.966 --> 35:33.433 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% But while this music sounds like fun, 35:33.533 --> 35:35.466 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% the group's founders are deadly serious. 35:36.933 --> 35:39.300 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% - We are very uptight, in a way, about what we're doing. 35:39.400 --> 35:41.100 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% - Most people who work with us 35:41.200 --> 35:43.733 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% quickly come to understand that we are control freaks, 35:43.833 --> 35:44.900 align:left position:12.5%,start line:93.33% size:87.5% (John Linnen laughs) 35:45.000 --> 35:47.633 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% and I am very specifically, like, 35:47.733 --> 35:49.566 align:left position:12.5%,start line:93.33% size:87.5% this huge gatekeeper. 35:49.666 --> 35:52.333 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% I'm more than happy to be the bad cop 35:52.433 --> 35:55.100 align:left position:12.5%,start line:93.33% size:87.5% if a bad cop is needed. 35:55.200 --> 35:56.666 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% - [Jim] If the duo is particular, 35:56.766 --> 35:58.200 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% it's because they've been captains 35:58.300 --> 36:02.133 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% of their own, fairly offbeat, creative ship for a long time. 36:02.233 --> 36:04.166 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% Even now, John and John retain 36:04.266 --> 36:05.966 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% the gritty do-it-yourself attitude 36:06.066 --> 36:08.566 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% that brought them success early on. 36:08.666 --> 36:11.300 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% In 1983, they started Dial-A-Song, 36:11.400 --> 36:14.266 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% which offered new They Might Be Giants songs 36:14.366 --> 36:16.400 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% as the outgoing message on the answering machine 36:16.500 --> 36:18.800 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% at John Flansburgh's Brooklyn apartment. 36:19.866 --> 36:21.433 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% Their early music videos, 36:21.533 --> 36:23.933 align:left position:12.5%,start line:0% size:87.5% mostly homemade on a shoestring budget, 36:24.033 --> 36:26.000 align:left position:12.5%,start line:0% size:87.5% earned them national exposure on MTV. 36:31.566 --> 36:34.166 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% But their real breakthrough came in 1990, 36:34.266 --> 36:36.366 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% with the band's third album, Flood, 36:36.466 --> 36:39.833 align:left position:12.5%,start line:80% size:87.5% which has sold more than a million copies worldwide to date, 36:39.933 --> 36:42.766 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% thanks in part to Birdhouse In Your Soul, 36:42.866 --> 36:44.666 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% quirky tales of ancient history, 36:44.766 --> 36:47.900 align:left position:12.5%,start line:0% size:87.5% as told by a blue canary nightlight. 36:48.000 --> 36:51.200 align:left position:12.5%,start line:0% size:87.5% It reached number six on the UK pop charts. 37:08.433 --> 37:10.100 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% And though the group's light hearted approach 37:10.200 --> 37:12.133 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% resonated with British audiences, 37:12.233 --> 37:14.966 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% some in the media were less amused. 37:15.066 --> 37:17.866 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% - "Admit it, this funny thing can't last." 37:17.966 --> 37:19.133 align:left position:12.5%,start line:93.33% size:87.5% "What were you thinking 37:19.233 --> 37:20.366 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% "when you thought you could succeed 37:20.466 --> 37:22.833 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% "with this humorous music? 37:22.933 --> 37:24.100 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% "Doesn't it seem like a mistake 37:24.200 --> 37:26.533 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% "that you're doing music with a sense of humor?" 37:27.900 --> 37:29.400 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% - The same question over and over. 37:29.500 --> 37:30.800 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% - The reiteration of the same question over and over again. 37:30.900 --> 37:32.033 align:left position:12.5%,start line:93.33% size:87.5% And we're just like 37:32.933 --> 37:35.500 align:left position:12.5%,start line:93.33% size:87.5% "Yeah, lady, it's cool." 37:35.600 --> 37:36.433 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% - [Reporter] Don't you ever get fed up 37:36.533 --> 37:37.900 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% with the sort of gimmicks, 37:38.000 --> 37:39.733 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% and do you ever think that they might wear thin, the humor? 37:39.833 --> 37:41.733 align:left position:0%,start line:0% size:100% Are you into sort of gimmicks and everything, or ... ? 37:41.833 --> 37:43.333 align:left position:0%,start line:0% size:100% - It's completely a gimmick. 37:43.433 --> 37:44.500 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% - We don't have a problem like, 37:44.600 --> 37:47.300 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% saying very glib things about our work, 37:47.400 --> 37:49.066 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% but we really have a difficult time 37:49.166 --> 37:50.833 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% hearing other people say it. 37:50.933 --> 37:52.000 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% - [Jim] But this sense of humor 37:52.100 --> 37:54.066 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% that so offended that reporter 37:54.166 --> 37:57.233 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% has made They Might Be Giants a big hit with young children, 37:57.333 --> 37:59.733 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% for whom they've made several albums. 37:59.833 --> 38:03.200 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% - We didn't want it to be some kinda remedial, 38:03.300 --> 38:04.900 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% good-for-you type of thing. 38:05.000 --> 38:06.500 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% - I mean, I don't think we're uniquely qualified 38:06.600 --> 38:07.933 align:left position:25%,start line:93.33% size:75% for many things, 38:08.033 --> 38:10.166 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% but I think what happened with the kids stuff 38:10.266 --> 38:12.933 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% was we actually had a transferrable skill. 38:21.066 --> 38:22.933 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% - [Jim] Of their four children's albums, 38:23.033 --> 38:24.433 align:left position:12.5%,start line:93.33% size:87.5% three have gone gold. 38:24.533 --> 38:26.433 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% One even earned a Grammy, 38:26.533 --> 38:30.000 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% but the duo still writes mainly music for grown ups. 38:30.100 --> 38:33.600 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% Despite its title, their 2018 album, I Like Fun, 38:33.700 --> 38:35.900 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% explores more weighty topics. 38:50.966 --> 38:53.133 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% I Left My Body is what it suggests? 38:53.233 --> 38:54.366 align:left position:12.5%,start line:93.33% size:87.5% - [John Linnen] Mm-hmm. 38:54.466 --> 38:55.466 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% It's a visit to the pearly gates? 38:55.566 --> 38:57.000 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% - Possibly, that's one, yeah. 38:57.100 --> 38:58.566 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% I mean, I think we don't, 38:58.666 --> 39:01.433 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% we're not nailing everything completely down, 39:01.533 --> 39:03.466 align:left position:12.5%,start line:0% size:87.5% but there's a strong element of death 39:03.566 --> 39:04.933 align:left position:12.5%,start line:0% size:87.5% throughout the album, 39:05.033 --> 39:08.133 align:left position:12.5%,start line:0% size:87.5% but there's also fun. 39:08.233 --> 39:09.066 align:left position:25%,start line:93.33% size:75% You know. 39:09.166 --> 39:10.866 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% - The fun of death (laughs) 39:10.966 --> 39:13.433 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% - There's also some fairly unveiled references 39:13.533 --> 39:15.433 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% to opiod addiction, if I'm not mistaken? 39:15.533 --> 39:18.100 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% - I Like Fun is about prescription drugs, 39:19.266 --> 39:20.133 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% which of, I guess there are some, 39:20.233 --> 39:21.500 align:left position:12.5%,start line:93.33% size:87.5% - Could be opioid 39:21.600 --> 39:23.300 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% - It's in a sense a cautionary tale, it's sort of, 39:23.400 --> 39:26.300 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% I think one of the things that people, 39:26.400 --> 39:29.600 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% when people talk about drugs, is so strange to me, 39:29.700 --> 39:31.500 align:left position:12.5%,start line:0% size:87.5% is the reason people get into drugs 39:31.600 --> 39:33.100 align:left position:12.5%,start line:0% size:87.5% is that it's fun. 39:33.200 --> 39:34.933 align:left position:12.5%,start line:0% size:87.5% So, it's like, you know, that part 39:35.033 --> 39:37.066 align:left position:0%,start line:0% size:100% they skip over really gingerly, 39:37.166 --> 39:39.800 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% and the song is kind of about that confusion, 39:41.733 --> 39:44.833 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% how can something as simple as the idea of fun 39:44.933 --> 39:47.233 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% get so messed up by this, 39:47.333 --> 39:49.733 align:left position:12.5%,start line:93.33% size:87.5% by this addiction stuff? 40:05.766 --> 40:07.466 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% - [Jim] With each new project, 40:07.566 --> 40:09.966 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% Flansburgh and Linnell strive to impress 40:10.066 --> 40:12.666 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% their most difficult critics, each other. 40:13.600 --> 40:14.833 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% - I put something together 40:14.933 --> 40:16.400 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% and I think "What will John think?" 40:16.500 --> 40:18.866 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% and even without him there, I'm already, 40:18.966 --> 40:21.400 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% I can see it possibly curdling, you know. 40:21.500 --> 40:23.633 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% - Oh, so you're almost self editing 40:23.733 --> 40:24.600 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% before it gets to the other person? 40:24.700 --> 40:25.633 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% - Yeah, absolutely, yeah, yeah. 40:25.733 --> 40:26.866 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% - [Jim] Oh, that's interesting. 40:26.966 --> 40:28.100 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% - I think the idea of the other person 40:28.200 --> 40:30.433 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% being the first audience is very, 40:30.533 --> 40:33.133 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% in a way, I think that's what defines us as a group 40:33.233 --> 40:34.866 align:left position:12.5%,start line:93.33% size:87.5% more than anything else. 40:34.966 --> 40:36.100 align:left position:12.5%,start line:93.33% size:87.5% That's a part of, 40:36.200 --> 40:37.733 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% sort of invisible, part of the collaboration, 40:37.833 --> 40:39.933 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% it's that, you know, you just wanna kind of 40:40.033 --> 40:42.366 align:left position:0%,start line:93.33% size:100% impress the other person. 40:43.700 --> 40:45.466 align:left position:12.5%,start line:0% size:87.5% - [Jim] For your chance to win autographed 40:45.566 --> 40:47.066 align:left position:0%,start line:0% size:100% They Might Be Giants swag, 40:47.166 --> 40:49.366 align:left position:12.5%,start line:0% size:87.5% including an actual blue canary nightlight 40:49.466 --> 40:51.933 align:left position:12.5%,start line:0% size:87.5% autographed by the band, visit our website. 41:10.433 --> 41:12.100 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% - [John Linnell] Thank you so much! 41:12.200 --> 41:15.133 align:left position:12.5%,start line:93.33% size:87.5% (audience cheering) 41:16.633 --> 41:17.966 align:left position:25%,start line:93.33% size:75% (gentle music) 41:50.100 --> 41:52.233 align:left position:0%,start line:86.67% size:100% - [Announcer] Articulate, with Jim Cotter 41:52.333 --> 41:54.533 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% is made possible with generous funding 41:54.633 --> 41:57.033 align:left position:12.5%,start line:86.67% size:87.5% from the Neubauer Family Foundation. 41:59.000 --> 42:01.300 align:left position:25%,start line:93.33% size:75% (upbeat music)