Jonathan King may not be the best person to take advice from but it was he back in the late 80s who predicted an American band called 'They Might Be Giants' could be on the cusp of great things but they could also fall into obscurity as their songs were very quirky.
After 'Birdhouse In Your Soul' hit the UK chart in 1990, they seemed to disappear to be unheard of again until a decade later when they sang the Theme Tune to 'Malcolm in the Middle' but between and since there has been a big gap.
I did kind of keep tabs on them, i bought their first few albums, They Might Be Giants, Lincoln and Flood and Jonathan King was right about the quirky tunes but i quite liked them but TMBG did not find a home in the UK and are as good as unknown here.
The last i noticed they were writing children songs but i did stumble across an old 90s song on Youtube, New York City by The Cubs, and was pleasantly surprised to see it was sung by They Might Be Giants and they are still going.
I spent the afternoon clicking links and listening to TMBG songs and was delighted to see that they kept going long after i forgot about them and were still churning out their selection of quirky/brilliant/weird songs.
Some miss completely but some hit the spot just right (Starry Eyed, No Cops, Famous Polka, Answer, Black Ops, Why Does The Sun Shine, Damn Good Times) but it is heartening to see that the two Johns are still putting out songs even if they are not commercially successful.
I think they are a bit too unorthodox for UK success and a lack of fanbase in the UK means they won't be coming here on tour but i wish them luck and now i have found them again i will keep the tabs back on them and you never know, Starry Eyed or New York City may one day get some air-play because although both covers, they are decent (not quirky) songs.
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