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July 13, 2006

We Sound Like Giants

I know you're sick of covers albums, but we all have a soft spot for They Might Be Giants, right? At least I do. You might've read on Pitchfork about
Hello Radio, an anniversary tribute to the quirky Johns featuring a bunch of quirky artists. Nice selections, though I would've preferred a different cut from John Henry.

1. Self - "Ana Ng"
2. The Long Winters - "Pet Name"
3. David Miller - "Narrow Your Eyes"
4. Charles Douglas - "She's an Angel"
5. Frank Black - "Road Movie to Berlin"
6. The Wrens - "They'll Need a Crane"
7. Steve Burns - "Dead"
8. OK Go - "Letterbox"
9. Recepter - "Boat of Car"
10. This Radiant Boy - "Don't Let's Start"
11. Jason Trachtenburg - "Doctor Worm"
12. Fluid Ounces - "It's Not My Birthday"
13. Brett Kull - "Another First Kiss"
14. Hotel Lights - "The End of the Tour"

Jason Trachtenburg was born to sing, "I'm not a real doctor, but I am a real worm."

Available at iTunes.

Posted at 6:32 PM
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15 Comments

A "soft spot"? pfft, hardly. I'm a freakin' disciple.
No other band could possibly pull of the genius that is the fire alarm solo in "nightgown of the sullen moon."

Posted by: LL Cool F at 07/13/06 7:43 PM | Reply
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More self covers...Yehaaw

Nothing can top "What a Fool Believes" though

Posted by: KYC at 07/13/06 8:17 PM | Reply
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I can honestly say it's not hard to imagine most of these bands playing TMBG songs. That's probably a good thing.

Posted by: Jeff at 07/13/06 8:36 PM | Reply
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self rules! merci for posting :)

Posted by: bunny at 07/13/06 9:53 PM | Reply
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All I want to hear is Dr. Worm pure and simple. Damn that song got me through some tough times...

http://www.musictimes.com.au

Posted by: Music Times at 07/13/06 11:00 PM | Reply
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All I want to hear is Dr. Worm pure and simple. Damn that song got me through some tough times... "They call me Dr Worm... I'm not a real doctor but I am a real worm..." Touching words.

http://www.musictimes.com.au

Posted by: Music Times at 07/13/06 11:01 PM | Reply
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... steve burns? like.. THE steve burns?

Posted by: jenny at 07/14/06 3:19 AM | Reply
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Crap!

That self track is great and reminded me how good they/he are/is. I've got, like, ten years worth of albums to go find and catch up on.

Posted by: Chadams at 07/14/06 3:59 AM | Reply
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i will give you a dollar if you post the hotel lights song.
i am seeing them tomorrow, and cannot wait.

Posted by: nicholas at 07/14/06 9:40 AM | Reply
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I've been waiting for this comp for quite some time now. So exciting that it's finally here!

For those of you not already familiar with self, check out selfies.com. Hundreds of free downloads, including internet-only full-lengths and eps. Plus, if you like self, keep an eye out for Wired All Wrong, a collaboration btw M. Mahaffey of self and Jeff Turzo of God Lives Underwater. Their full-length Break Out the Battle Tapes hits stores September 12. Here's their myspace for a taste: http://www.myspace.com/wiredallwrong

Posted by: cookiesfromelastic at 07/14/06 10:47 AM | Reply
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I've never heard of Self, but holy shit, I like their rendition so much better than the original.

Posted by: Van at 07/14/06 11:29 AM | Reply
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Thanks for the selfies link. This is cool.

Posted by: Memememe at 07/14/06 6:33 PM | Reply
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I couldn't get past those first six samples. Even Frank Black doing "Road Movie." The Wrens stopped me dead in my tracks. That's a butcher job.

Posted by: Spencer at 07/14/06 6:48 PM | Reply
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I just bought this the other day, and as far as tribute albums go it's really freakin' good! Self, Steve Burns, The Wrens, Frank Black, Recepter, Hotel Lights, David Miller, and The Long Winters all do a really good job with their songs.

Does anyone have any info on Recepter? Their sound is really out there... like a super lo-fi-techno thing. I think their's is the kind of music Daniel Johnston would have made if he had been born 20 years later.

Posted by: jax at 07/14/06 6:59 PM | Reply
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The Red Hot Chili Peppers are leading the way at this years MTV Europe music awards with four nominations...

Posted by: Gerardo Duggan at 11/12/06 4:52 PM | Reply
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