They Might've Been Giants
Last night, unexpectedly, I found myself at a They Might Be Giants show in Princeton. TMBG are a band I’ve known and enjoyed since high school, when their album Flood served my circle of friends as a kind of nerd anthem. I saw them twice during those years (the late nineties) and enjoyed it; the crowd I remember from both of those shows was a mix of youngish nerds and more standard rock audience. Those shows were packed, but last night McCarter theater, the local venue, was only half full, with hardly any undergrads.
The demographics were odd—grad students and older, plus a smattering of parents with kids—leaving me to puzzle over them as I listened. The first clue came when John Flansburgh mock-boasted somewhat sheepishly that the band recently took home a grammy for best children’s album (which, indeed, they did). So they are now stars on the music-bought-for-children-by-their-parents circuit. In fact, they’d done a whole earlier midafternoon show for the bedtime-conscious set. This evening set was the big kids’ version, targeted at adults but still conscious of the kid demographic. S-E-X-X-Y was not on the set list.
The second clue came when Birdhouse in Your Soul, the signature song of the group as I first knew them, drew a muted response from the crowd. It was clear many of the people there had never heard it before. (Which is a shame. It’s sung by a night light in someone’s bedroom: “There’s a picture opposite me / of my primitive ancestry / which stood on rocky shores and kept the beaches shipwreck free”).
That’s when I realized: Even though Flood wasn’t new by the time my friends found it (having been released in 1990), it was still riding the long wave of primary popularity. By the time today’s undergrads first began listening, it had faded from view. Rather than draw in new fans by capturing the new entrants to a fixed age bracket as, say, U2 has over the years, or age with its listeners, as the typical rock band does, TMBG has done something rarer: Allow its primary audience to age and tail off, but simultaenously find a new and younger one. It’s a neat trick, and the fact that they’ve made it work is a tribute to their finesse.
Great post – I started listening to TMBG when Flood first came out and have loved them ever since. Thier goofiness translates perfectly to children’s music and I love that I can now enjoy it with my 3 year old. I would give them even more credit as they use thier primary fan base to reach thier new target market. They also have a weekly video podcast that is highly enjoyable. Finesse indeed!
— Heather · Apr 20, 04:42 AM · #
Though I respect that a lot, I’d be fired if that were my job.
— James · Apr 20, 01:13 PM · #
After killing Jason off and countless screaming Argonauts.
— Chess Piece Face · Apr 20, 02:59 PM · #
I have to laugh when I read this blog.
Someone mentioned the Finn brothers awhile back, and I knew Tim only from his Wiggles connection.
They Might Be Giants I know from Here Come the ABCs and 123s. :-)
I heard about them a few years ago from a friend whose son with Down syndrome loved the Giants’ ABCs. (He’s in second grade now, and sailed through Charlotte’s Web this year—thanks, maybe in part, to the Giants.)
— Julana · Apr 20, 05:33 PM · #