They Might Be Giants' quirky songs appealed from the first time I heard Birdhouse In Your Soul, and I bought this in a sale quite soon after release (Woolworth's in Folkestone, if I remember correctly). It's not an album I listen to often, and I'm not sure why. I feel a bit of a bond with TMBG, since guitarist / singer John Flamsburgh is the only 'celebrity' I know of born on the same day as me.
After the brief introductory song, Theme From Flood, it's straight into the hit single, Birdhouse In Your Soul still sounding bright and cheery. And from there, it's a procession of short, pithy, often funny or political songs. Inevitably, some work better than others, but the high points for me are the Kennedy/Simon classic Istanbul Not Constantinople, the jolly Lucky Ball And Chain, Your Racist Friend, a tale of partygoing awkwardness, the whip-cracking 47 seconds of Minimum Wage and the bold march of Whistling In The Dark. The eponymous song, They Might Be Giants is a cheery (almost) end, but on the way there's much that's ordinary, unremarkable or just dull.
3* - some great tunes, lots of fun, but plenty that doesn't hold the attention.
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