Tiny Toon Adventures, actually. I have an animation cel of Plucky Duck as Particle Man.
Ah yes Robot Arm thank you for the correction.
Yeah, that was pretty cool stuff. You have to give the Tiny Toons director props for giving TMBG street cred among the chilluns like myself. 
The only TMBG CD I own is Severe Tire Damage. I enjoy it. Pretty silly and fun music.
- Rob
The Taco version of Puttin’ On the Ritz and TMBG’s Istanbul (Not Constantinople) are remakes of (separate) big band tunes. “Ritz” is, of course, Irving Berlin. “Istanbul” is credited to Kennedy/Simon. But I think TMBG were the first to give it lyrics (beyond “Istanbul!”).
I’ll give you that Lincoln has far less of a “i’ll skip this track” quality to it, but John Henry?!?!? I almost completely gave up on the band at that point, it was so awful. It was only thru a friend who said Factory Showroom was a return to form that I found that they weren’t totally hopeless. It wasn’t a complete return to form, but a marked improvement.
Are Long Tall Weekend or Mink Car any good? Which past albums do they sound most like?
That reminds me. I haven’t gotten around to getting those albums yet. But I will very soon. Possibly this weekend.
And as promised during the Dopefest, I’ll get both at the same time.
There is a good double-disc compilation out there, Then, which contains all of the first two albums (the eponymous debut and Lincoln), Miscellaneous T (b-sides and rarities collection), plus even more b-sides and unreleased stuff (and TMBG have some insanely great b-sides—Fake Out In Buenos Aires is just . . .I mean . . .ah, hell, just listen to it).
IMHO, Then, together with Flood, would comprise the essential TMBG collection (Apollo 13 is optional but worthwhile).
I’ll try to look for a cite, but I’m pretty sure this is incorrect. Istanbul (Not Constantinople) is entirely an old song, to my knowledge. Not to deny TMBG their own lyrical genius or anything, but somehow this is making me feel the same way I felt when a kid at one of my summer camp dances came running up to me during “Superfreak” yelling “Someone stole MC Hammer’s song!!!”
This site has the words and music down as “traditional,” although since the song, though old, is not THAT old, maybe this is not too convincing:
http://minorkeys.satorimedia.com/istanbul.html
Here you go…this one credits the words to Jimmy Kennedy and lists more lyrics than just “Istanbul!” Plus it doesn’t make any mention of TMBG. The song is the last one listed on the page.
http://www.spaceagepop.com/nearsong.htm
I highly reccomend this one as well:
OK. It looks like The Four Lads were the first to perform the “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” song. It was written by Nat Simon (music) and Jimmy Kennedy (words), but never performed by them. They wrote it for The Four Lads. The song was an answer to an earlier Bing Crosby song: “Constantinople”, which came out in 1928. The same year that “Puttin on the Ritz”, by Irving Berlin, came out. I have never heard Bing’s version, but from what I understand, it sounds like it had the same notes as “Puttin on the Ritz”.
So, They Might Be Giant’s remade The Four Lad’s song of same title as written by Kennedy/Simon. They got the idea from Bing Crosby, who used a melody written by Irving Berlin.
Got it?
DaLovin’ Dj
Yeah well, you can’t go back there either.
Huh? Man, serious strain of de gustibus non disputandum est going on here. John Henry definitely had more of a rock-band feel than earlier efforts, since was actually recorded with a rock band instead of just two world-class smartasses with keyboards and drum machines. Nevertheless, it’s one of my favorites; I probably listen to it more than Flood, about as much as I do Lincoln, and more than the debut. The others I don’t own, though I’ve heard most of them. But to call John Henry awful, when there’s so much other stuff out there that really is awful, seems just . . . wrong. It’s about the only TMBG disc that I don’t skip any tracks on when I listen to it these days.
I have a huge soft spot for TMBG – I met my wife when she got talked into coming along with a friend of hers to see them, as part of a group with some friends of mine. She hated everything about the experience, except TMBG themselves (she hates cigarette smoke, hates loud rock music, grungy people, etc.) We hit it off quite well, but didn’t run into each other again until months later. It took me a few more months to convince her to go out with me, and another six years to convince her to marry me. This was in the summer of 1988. They were already doing “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” in their live show by that time, even though they didn’t release a recording of it until Flood in 1990.
psycat and I have everything done by TMBG. I have too many favorite song to mention, but one that keeps popping into my head right now that I can’t remember the title to is the “In the nightgown of the sun and moon”.
One of their most amazing songs I’ve veer heard is from the new album, “Man, it’s so loud in here.” Fuck, that song give me chills.
Hi Demo I think you’re thinking about In the Nightgown of the Sullen Moon.
two minor hijacks:
The words to Istanbul have certainly been around for a while. Several years ago, I was driving with my dad (who was born in 1930) and had TMBG in the tape deck. Boy was I shocked when he suddenly started singing along to Istanbul. Eventually he fessed up that this was a song he remembered from years and years back.
Also, the best cover of Puttin’ on the Ritz shall always remain the Gene Wilder / Frankenstein version from “Young Frankenstein.”
PUTTIN" ON DA RIIIITZ!!!
Hmmmm, this is kind of like when I found out that the GoGos were actually saying “Our Lips Are Sealed” and not “All Across the U”.
“Son, I am able,” she said, “though you scare me.” “Watch,” said I, “beloved, watch me scare you though.” She said, “Able am I, son.”
Ahem:
“Son I am able,” she said, “though you scare me.” “Watch,” said I, “beloved,” I said, “watch me scare you though.” Said she, “Able am I, Son.”
“The sun is a mass of incandecent gas, a gigantic nuclear furnace…”
The radio station the boss has on at work plays the Four Lads version occasionally, and it’s not that bad. TMBG was pretty faithful, save for improving the ending (IMO, of course), and changing the tempo slightly.