Alex Hates Music: Fun-a-Day 2015

Day 13

TODAY'S SONG:

"Protagonist" by They Might Be Giants

The first time I heard about They Might Be Giants was on a camping trip with my friends Ian and Ian (same name and next door neighbors). I remember them reminiscing about TMBG, specifically the albums Flood and John Henry. They were kind of laughing about some of the lyrics and I was wondering who this band was because they sounded pretty funny and weird. Later I found out that I had heard their music without knowing it in a couple of Tiny Toons episodes.

Maybe a month or two later I saw them performing the song “S-E-X-X-Y” on the Lary Sanders Show. And from then on I was consistently collecting They Might Be Giants albums, falling in love with every song.

I've got too many memories with They Might Be Giants to recount here. Oddly enough, the song my iTunes picked for me today, “Protagonist,” is one that I've apparently only listened to once before today. I haven't paid as close attention to their newer releases since around 2002. But I still love them.

A few memories that come to mind: Listening to Flood for the first time on my headphones while taking a family trip to Arkansas to see my grandparents. Walking around Arkansas memorizing lyrics, singing TMBG songs to myself by the swimming pool. Stopping at restaurants and feeling annoyed that I had to turn off the music to eat something. Sitting in my basement room during the earliest days of high school, listening to TMBG and reading liner notes about how the band got started. Driving to Buffalo to see them play Thursday at the Square, to make up for a rained out performance the year before.

I guess it would be fair to call me a “They Might Be Giants fan.” In college, my friend Brian and I were talking about how much we both liked them on a Thanksgiving trip to Boston, and our friend Steve interrupted our conversation to say, “You're both nerds.” Ah well. I'm also planning my day around watching Star Trek and Dr. Who, so I guess he had a point.

Finally, They Might Be Giants is the band that inspired me to want to write songs. So here's my song: