Join Us is most in line with their whimsical, fun classics like Flood and Lincoln IMO.
I Like Fun has some of Linnell's best songwriting and is a must if you enjoyed John Henry.
If you want ideas for where to go from there, Nanobots is a weird, gothic sort of album that's similarly experimental to Apollo. The Spine is solid if you enjoy a more straightforward alt-rock sound.
Realistically, I'd probably suggest working through chronologically. Even as a fan for 30+ years, the albums after Severe Tire Damage all have like 30-50% tracks I can live without. Still great songs on every album, which is why I'm still there for every album release.
This resonates with me. My favorite albums are the earlier ones, but there’s still tons of good songs in the newer albums. I think it often takes more than 1 or 2 listens to appreciate certain albums.
I think I probably love the majority of songs on all of the earlier albums largely because when I bought them there was no streaming or even mp3 downloads, so I didn’t have a lot of other stuff to listen to. Which meant I played Flood, the pink album, John Henry, Apollo 18, Lincoln, etc. on repeat and really came to appreciate nearly every track on each one.
Personally, I thought the three album run of *Join Us*, *Nanobots* and *Glean* was amazing. My favorite for years had been *Lincoln* but as soon as I heard *Join Us* I knew that was no longer true.
Honestly though, I think all of their albums have been pretty solid. Just start listening. If you aren't feeling one particular album, just move on to another and come back to it later.
My Murdered Remains is like a 21st century Miscellaneous T. If you like seeing the Johns be more laid-back and experimental with their songwriting, definitely give it a listen.
BOOK was the album that sent me from fan to super fan, so I cannot recommend it enough.
I was in your place around 2018 when I was getting into their stuff a little more (and a LOT had just come out) and I just sort of threw it all into a shuffleable playlist and let new songs present themselves to me by drips and drabs so as not to get wholly overwhelmed by new material all at once.
I also just haunted the TMBG facebook group and when someone was like 'shoutout to this song!' or 'can't get this song out of my head,' or 'this song is underrated' or whatever I would just go listen to it.
Getting into TMBG fresh in 2024 is daunting, for sure. It’s how I felt discovering Sparks in 2008. It’s a whole universe, with its own timeline. I’d say if you have to start from one album, then the 50,000,000 TMBG Songs Can’t Be Wrong is the way to go. If no comps are allowed… well, Lincoln or Flood (duh).
This needs to be shouted from the rooftops. A party album about death and mutually assured destruction. They weren’t feeling great about the state of the world in 2018 (and I’m sure that has only gotten worse), and staring down the barrel of 60 as “rock stars” must be tough. Then, on BOOK their best song (in part) sees them, via allegory, as literal dinosaurs, pining for the optimism of their youth.
Totally. The dichotomy between soul-crushing lyrics and joyous melodies, that I’d say is TMBG’s most prominent M.O., is cranked to 11 (32?) on I Like Fun. It starts with the dawn of humankind “Let’s Get This Over With,” and ends with the death of… all of us, on “Last Wave.” If the lyrics were in some obscure foreign language, you’d swear it was all just one big, rocking party, thanks to the music.
Super fun revelation for me - I didn’t realize the origin of Last Wave until being at a TMBG show and they played the video mashup origin with the Walk This Way lip reading. 100% ignorance walking into the light publicly. Craziness.
Hey, I didn’t know until some time after I heard the I Like Fun version about the Walk This Way connection and that original version. That video is (chef’s kiss) with that completely bonkers music. It’s like J&J were up watching classic rock videos on mute, and inspiration struck. Flans, for his part, I choose to imagine was high on the yierba loca, but I don’t know if that’s Linnell’s bag. At any rate, crate-digging ensued, the Johns dusted off their synth gear from the 80s, and probably banged out the track in a night.
(If anyone knows the *real* story, I’d be forever grateful if you’d share!)
I'd just put on a tmbg playlist of only them. Skip what you don't thoroughly enjoy, listen to the classics. Let them meld together. Listen while you're working or driving too, so you don't have as much need to skip songs. I feel like there's at least a few solid hits on every album, though.
I do that too with some bands—it’s almost like their discography up until that point is so perfect, you’re afraid the next album might be mid. Fortunately for you, their albums since Sever Tire Damage are stellar. I Like Fun is my third fav tmbg album, behind Lincoln and Flood. Start there. If you want an immediate tmbg pop fix, check out Brontosaurus on BOOK.
**Edit: Join Us, Glean, Nanobots,The Else, The Spine, and Mink Car all have standouts tracks that I’m sure our fellow TMBG heads will list here.
Here are mine:
Long Tall Weekend—Lullaby to Nightmares
Mink Car—Man it’s so Loud in Here, another First Kiss, She Thinks she’s Edith Head, Working Undercover for the Man
The Spine—Experimental Film, Thunderbird, Museum of Idiots
Venue Songs—Vancouver, Tippecanoe and Tyler Too
The Else—The Mesopotamians, The Shadow Government, Upside Down Frown, The Cap’m
Join Us—Can’t Keep Johnny Down, Canajoharie, Judy is Your Vietnam
Nanobots—9 Secret Steps, You’re on Fire
Glean—Erase, Answer
I Like Fun—Let’s Get This Over With, I Left My Body, I LiKe Fun, Last Wave
BOOK—Brontosaurus, Moonbeam Rays, I Can’t Remember the Dream
I’d add Phone Power to the list—it’s their fleshed out Dial-a-Songs and overall it’s one of their best albums…my recs are Apophenia, I love You for Psychological Reasons, ECNALUBMA, and Shape Shifter
Listen to Linnell’s State Songs—Maine, South Carolina, West Virginia, Iowa, Louisiana
Also, the single “the communists have the music”
Enjoy! Let us know what you think
Excellent list. I’d add “Jackie the Clipper” from The Escape Team, and a few more from “Murdered,” like “Tractor” and “This Is Only Going to Go One Way.”
Also, I like BOOK, but it’s not the full scale rave-up of their earlier stuff. It’s more downbeat. Definitely a COVID album.
Great additions. I’d add Ant, Am I Awake, Mrs. Train and my personal favorite Sensurround.
For deeper cuts, I’d recommend Town to Town and Hello Hello by Hello the Band (Flansy’s and producer Joshua Fried’s side project) and Unsupervised, I Hit My Head and Back-stabbing Liar by Mono Puff (another Flansy side project)
Also their AV Club Undercover live performance of Chumbawumba’s Tub-thumping is sick but I suggest watching the video first rather than the track on Album Raises New and Troubling Questions
Ah, dude. I see you’re busting out the big guns. I love pretty much everything you mentioned (although Hello Radio and Monopuff I’m not sure I’d have in my regular rotation were it not for the TMBG connection.). *Especially* “Am I Awake” and “Sensurround.” But ESPECIALLY “Am I Awake,” bc it’s a genre exercise they don’t ever really do (*modern* EDM), and it’s composed, written, sung, and produced to (chef’s kiss) perfection. I never, ever skip “Am I Awake” when it pops up. Why they haven’t done a whole album of tracks in that vein, or at least an EP, is a crime against the universe.
I wasn't big on the 2000s stuff but everything since "Join Us" in 2011 has been incredibly consistent and brings back the fun, creativity and insight of the early records. Ymmv per record, but they have stacks of keepers.
I'm also like, only into the couple of albums from when I was a kid.Its fine. You're fine. I will say I enjoyed Book. Give Mink Car a listen. Some singles from I Like Fun. Really jut try to listen to teh albums and if something grabs you, great!
I Like Fun and Book are awesome. I really enjoyed Phone Power and Glean cause I liked the variety. Not gonna lie I think all their recent albums have been pretty strong.
My favorite fake album is Glean Power. Take an hour of the best from the two parent albums, and oops, you’ve got an absolute classic representing their later work.
As a new old fan (i grew up with them in my media as a 90s kids, got hyper obsessed with them when i casually downloaded their greatest hits album in the early 2000s, then kind of forgot about them until a not-so-great global shut down happened), I've found my favorites tend to be all over the place with the newer material. Glean may be my favorite of the batch, so I'd suggest giving that one a spin!
When I first started listening to tmbg, I begin with I Like Fun and worked my way backwards chronologically. It might not be The Best way to do it but I liked hearing how their sound changed as I went on! and I Like Fun is a fantastic record to start on if you want a sense of the best of their modern music
The Else was my favorite album for years until BOOK, but I've enjoyed all of their "newer" stuff, really. I suggest streaming each of their albums and just letting them play straight through while you're doing other stuff (cleaning, indulging in a hobby, cooking - whatever) and seeing what vibes with you.
If you haven't heard it yet, Mink Car is probably the best first. It's a great album and the live shows are currently focusing on it/John Henry/Apollo 18. After that Join Us and The Else are fan favourites.
I personally love Nanobots but it doesn't seem as popular.
Mink Car is one of their albums that I didn't realize I go back to so often because I just didn't put together how many of my favorite songs are from it. Of their newest, I think it's the standout for me. Just reading the track list makes me want to listen to it again.
Nanobots has a lot of other songs I listen to often, but it was also the first one (I think) that I bought only a digital copy of, so it just came up on my shuffle more often and became more familiar. You're On Fire is possibly one of my top five songs of all time (if I were to make myself make such a list).
Honestly though, Join Us and The Else also have standouts so really, you can't go wrong.
Join Us, Nanobots and I Like Fun are the standouts for me. Glean on the other hand might be my least favourite of their regular albums, I'm just not sharing the love for it seen elsewhere on this thread.
Join Us, Nanobots and I Like Fun are the standouts for me. Glean on the other hand might be my least favourite of their regular albums, I'm just not sharing the love for it seen elsewhere on this thread.
I'm just going to reiterate my love for Mink Car. I never fail to blast Man It's So Loud in Here when it comes on the random shuffle in my car. There's so many truly singable tracks on there, and if you fell out of buying new releases not too long before it's release in 2001, then it'll be a familiar sound.
But also it's just a hell of a good album.
Join Us is most in line with their whimsical, fun classics like Flood and Lincoln IMO. I Like Fun has some of Linnell's best songwriting and is a must if you enjoyed John Henry.
If you want ideas for where to go from there, Nanobots is a weird, gothic sort of album that's similarly experimental to Apollo. The Spine is solid if you enjoy a more straightforward alt-rock sound.
Realistically, I'd probably suggest working through chronologically. Even as a fan for 30+ years, the albums after Severe Tire Damage all have like 30-50% tracks I can live without. Still great songs on every album, which is why I'm still there for every album release.
This resonates with me. My favorite albums are the earlier ones, but there’s still tons of good songs in the newer albums. I think it often takes more than 1 or 2 listens to appreciate certain albums.
I think I probably love the majority of songs on all of the earlier albums largely because when I bought them there was no streaming or even mp3 downloads, so I didn’t have a lot of other stuff to listen to. Which meant I played Flood, the pink album, John Henry, Apollo 18, Lincoln, etc. on repeat and really came to appreciate nearly every track on each one.
Can’t go too wrong but perhaps The Else and I Like Fun to start?
This! They’re great, but they also form neat bridges between early TMBG and their new stuff.
Personally, I thought the three album run of *Join Us*, *Nanobots* and *Glean* was amazing. My favorite for years had been *Lincoln* but as soon as I heard *Join Us* I knew that was no longer true. Honestly though, I think all of their albums have been pretty solid. Just start listening. If you aren't feeling one particular album, just move on to another and come back to it later.
As a super-duper longtime fan, I say start with Join Us. It's kind of like John Henry + Factory Showroom
Naw, it's like Flood + Pink!
I love how the drums on Join Us are often played in the style of the drum machine years.
Neither of those were recorded with a full band.
I meant tonally. It's a very sunny, playful, whimsical album.
Obvious gems are Join Us, Nanobots, and Glean, but don’t sleep on Phone Power or My Murdered Remains!
My Murdered Remains is like a 21st century Miscellaneous T. If you like seeing the Johns be more laid-back and experimental with their songwriting, definitely give it a listen.
BOOK was the album that sent me from fan to super fan, so I cannot recommend it enough. I was in your place around 2018 when I was getting into their stuff a little more (and a LOT had just come out) and I just sort of threw it all into a shuffleable playlist and let new songs present themselves to me by drips and drabs so as not to get wholly overwhelmed by new material all at once. I also just haunted the TMBG facebook group and when someone was like 'shoutout to this song!' or 'can't get this song out of my head,' or 'this song is underrated' or whatever I would just go listen to it.
Getting into TMBG fresh in 2024 is daunting, for sure. It’s how I felt discovering Sparks in 2008. It’s a whole universe, with its own timeline. I’d say if you have to start from one album, then the 50,000,000 TMBG Songs Can’t Be Wrong is the way to go. If no comps are allowed… well, Lincoln or Flood (duh).
Or, just pick whichever album has the coolest-looking cover to you, since we all know there's no bad TMBG album :)
Try I Like Fun. It really is the top line of releases for the last few decades.
This needs to be shouted from the rooftops. A party album about death and mutually assured destruction. They weren’t feeling great about the state of the world in 2018 (and I’m sure that has only gotten worse), and staring down the barrel of 60 as “rock stars” must be tough. Then, on BOOK their best song (in part) sees them, via allegory, as literal dinosaurs, pining for the optimism of their youth.
It's also a weirdly FUN album though, per the title. Let's Get This Over With and By the Time You Get This have incredibly catchy melodies.
Totally. The dichotomy between soul-crushing lyrics and joyous melodies, that I’d say is TMBG’s most prominent M.O., is cranked to 11 (32?) on I Like Fun. It starts with the dawn of humankind “Let’s Get This Over With,” and ends with the death of… all of us, on “Last Wave.” If the lyrics were in some obscure foreign language, you’d swear it was all just one big, rocking party, thanks to the music.
Super fun revelation for me - I didn’t realize the origin of Last Wave until being at a TMBG show and they played the video mashup origin with the Walk This Way lip reading. 100% ignorance walking into the light publicly. Craziness.
Hey, I didn’t know until some time after I heard the I Like Fun version about the Walk This Way connection and that original version. That video is (chef’s kiss) with that completely bonkers music. It’s like J&J were up watching classic rock videos on mute, and inspiration struck. Flans, for his part, I choose to imagine was high on the yierba loca, but I don’t know if that’s Linnell’s bag. At any rate, crate-digging ensued, the Johns dusted off their synth gear from the 80s, and probably banged out the track in a night. (If anyone knows the *real* story, I’d be forever grateful if you’d share!)
I'd just put on a tmbg playlist of only them. Skip what you don't thoroughly enjoy, listen to the classics. Let them meld together. Listen while you're working or driving too, so you don't have as much need to skip songs. I feel like there's at least a few solid hits on every album, though.
I took your advice and created a playlist with all the albums after severe tire damage.
I do that too with some bands—it’s almost like their discography up until that point is so perfect, you’re afraid the next album might be mid. Fortunately for you, their albums since Sever Tire Damage are stellar. I Like Fun is my third fav tmbg album, behind Lincoln and Flood. Start there. If you want an immediate tmbg pop fix, check out Brontosaurus on BOOK. **Edit: Join Us, Glean, Nanobots,The Else, The Spine, and Mink Car all have standouts tracks that I’m sure our fellow TMBG heads will list here. Here are mine: Long Tall Weekend—Lullaby to Nightmares Mink Car—Man it’s so Loud in Here, another First Kiss, She Thinks she’s Edith Head, Working Undercover for the Man The Spine—Experimental Film, Thunderbird, Museum of Idiots Venue Songs—Vancouver, Tippecanoe and Tyler Too The Else—The Mesopotamians, The Shadow Government, Upside Down Frown, The Cap’m Join Us—Can’t Keep Johnny Down, Canajoharie, Judy is Your Vietnam Nanobots—9 Secret Steps, You’re on Fire Glean—Erase, Answer I Like Fun—Let’s Get This Over With, I Left My Body, I LiKe Fun, Last Wave BOOK—Brontosaurus, Moonbeam Rays, I Can’t Remember the Dream I’d add Phone Power to the list—it’s their fleshed out Dial-a-Songs and overall it’s one of their best albums…my recs are Apophenia, I love You for Psychological Reasons, ECNALUBMA, and Shape Shifter Listen to Linnell’s State Songs—Maine, South Carolina, West Virginia, Iowa, Louisiana Also, the single “the communists have the music” Enjoy! Let us know what you think
Excellent list. I’d add “Jackie the Clipper” from The Escape Team, and a few more from “Murdered,” like “Tractor” and “This Is Only Going to Go One Way.” Also, I like BOOK, but it’s not the full scale rave-up of their earlier stuff. It’s more downbeat. Definitely a COVID album.
Great additions. I’d add Ant, Am I Awake, Mrs. Train and my personal favorite Sensurround. For deeper cuts, I’d recommend Town to Town and Hello Hello by Hello the Band (Flansy’s and producer Joshua Fried’s side project) and Unsupervised, I Hit My Head and Back-stabbing Liar by Mono Puff (another Flansy side project) Also their AV Club Undercover live performance of Chumbawumba’s Tub-thumping is sick but I suggest watching the video first rather than the track on Album Raises New and Troubling Questions
Ah, dude. I see you’re busting out the big guns. I love pretty much everything you mentioned (although Hello Radio and Monopuff I’m not sure I’d have in my regular rotation were it not for the TMBG connection.). *Especially* “Am I Awake” and “Sensurround.” But ESPECIALLY “Am I Awake,” bc it’s a genre exercise they don’t ever really do (*modern* EDM), and it’s composed, written, sung, and produced to (chef’s kiss) perfection. I never, ever skip “Am I Awake” when it pops up. Why they haven’t done a whole album of tracks in that vein, or at least an EP, is a crime against the universe.
I wasn't big on the 2000s stuff but everything since "Join Us" in 2011 has been incredibly consistent and brings back the fun, creativity and insight of the early records. Ymmv per record, but they have stacks of keepers.
Listen to I like fun, and the else, they’re probably my favorite albums
Also their two darkest albums.
I never really thought about it, guess so
I'm also like, only into the couple of albums from when I was a kid.Its fine. You're fine. I will say I enjoyed Book. Give Mink Car a listen. Some singles from I Like Fun. Really jut try to listen to teh albums and if something grabs you, great!
I Like Fun and Book are awesome. I really enjoyed Phone Power and Glean cause I liked the variety. Not gonna lie I think all their recent albums have been pretty strong.
My favorite fake album is Glean Power. Take an hour of the best from the two parent albums, and oops, you’ve got an absolute classic representing their later work.
As a new old fan (i grew up with them in my media as a 90s kids, got hyper obsessed with them when i casually downloaded their greatest hits album in the early 2000s, then kind of forgot about them until a not-so-great global shut down happened), I've found my favorites tend to be all over the place with the newer material. Glean may be my favorite of the batch, so I'd suggest giving that one a spin!
I hated at first but have gradually become a big fan of “Nanobots”. “Book” is also very good.
Glean
When I first started listening to tmbg, I begin with I Like Fun and worked my way backwards chronologically. It might not be The Best way to do it but I liked hearing how their sound changed as I went on! and I Like Fun is a fantastic record to start on if you want a sense of the best of their modern music
Book is cool. Less Than One is one of my favourite songs ever, I just really vibe with it
The Else was my favorite album for years until BOOK, but I've enjoyed all of their "newer" stuff, really. I suggest streaming each of their albums and just letting them play straight through while you're doing other stuff (cleaning, indulging in a hobby, cooking - whatever) and seeing what vibes with you.
The Else is goddamn brilliant. It really might be my favorite album of theirs. Catchy ass songs with some very fun lyrics.
If you haven't heard it yet, Mink Car is probably the best first. It's a great album and the live shows are currently focusing on it/John Henry/Apollo 18. After that Join Us and The Else are fan favourites. I personally love Nanobots but it doesn't seem as popular.
Mink Car is one of their albums that I didn't realize I go back to so often because I just didn't put together how many of my favorite songs are from it. Of their newest, I think it's the standout for me. Just reading the track list makes me want to listen to it again. Nanobots has a lot of other songs I listen to often, but it was also the first one (I think) that I bought only a digital copy of, so it just came up on my shuffle more often and became more familiar. You're On Fire is possibly one of my top five songs of all time (if I were to make myself make such a list). Honestly though, Join Us and The Else also have standouts so really, you can't go wrong.
I like fun, Glean, Join Us, and Nanobots. They have been killing it the past eleven years or so..
Join Us, Nanobots and I Like Fun are the standouts for me. Glean on the other hand might be my least favourite of their regular albums, I'm just not sharing the love for it seen elsewhere on this thread.
Join Us, Nanobots and I Like Fun are the standouts for me. Glean on the other hand might be my least favourite of their regular albums, I'm just not sharing the love for it seen elsewhere on this thread.
I'm just going to reiterate my love for Mink Car. I never fail to blast Man It's So Loud in Here when it comes on the random shuffle in my car. There's so many truly singable tracks on there, and if you fell out of buying new releases not too long before it's release in 2001, then it'll be a familiar sound. But also it's just a hell of a good album.