2. After meeting as teenagers in Lincoln, John Linnel and John Flansburgh. At their first
concert, They Might Be Giants performed under and early name called El Grupo De
Rock and Roll, After abandoning this title t, the band assumed the name of a 1971
film They Might Be Giants, which was itself based on a Don Quixote passage about
how Quixote thought that windmills were actually dangerous giants. According to the
book Rock Formations, the name They Might Be Giants had been used and
subsequently discarded by a friend of the band who had a talent for ventriloquism.
The name was then accepted by the band, who had been searching for a suitable
name.
At one point, the band suffered a double dose of bad luck with Linnell injuring his wrist
in a biking accident and Flansburgh's apartment getting robbed, forcing them to take a
break from performing. During this period they began recording their songs onto an
answering machine, and then advertising the phone number in local papers such as
The Village Voice and using the snappy name "Dial-A-Song". They also released a
demo cassette, which earned them a review in People magazine. This managed to
catch the attention of Bar/None Records, who gave the guys a recording deal and
contract.
3. They Might Be Giants (1986)
Lincoln (1988)
Flood (1990)
Apollo 18 (1992)
John Henry (1994)
Factory Showroom (1996)
Long Tall Weekend (1999; digital release)
Mink Car (2001)
No! (2002)
The Spine (2004)
Here Come the ABCs (2005)
Venue Songs (2005)
The Else (2007)
Here Come the 123s (2008)
Here Comes Science (2009)
Join Us (2011)
Nanobots (2013)
