About this episode
Kirk picks apart not one, not two, but twenty one micro-songs by the great They Might Be Giants. What's that blue thing doing here? Who's knocking on the wall? And for that matter, who's that standing out the window? It's time to answer those questions and many more, as Kirk delves into The Might Be Giants' singular collection of mini-songs, "Fingertips." It's a stylistic smorgasbord of sound, with everything from jazz to rock to lounge to... honestly, genre doesn't exist and "Fingertips" proves it. Each tiny song shines for its brief moment of life, and then lives on forever in your imagination. Written by: John Flansburgh and John Linnell Album: Apollo 18 (1992) Listen/Buy via Album.Link ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: "Particle Man," "Birdhouse In Your Soul," and "Minimum Wage" by They Might Be Giants and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" by Jimmy Kennedy and Nat Simon from Flood , 1990 "Extra Savoir Faire" by TMBG from John Henry , 1994 The 2002 documentary Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) “The Simpsons Main Title Theme” by Danny Elfman, 1989 “Joy To The World” - lyrics by Isaac Watts as performed by Nat “King” Cole OUTRO SOLOIST: Kirk Hamilton Kirk is the host of Strong Songs. He lives in Portland, Oregon, where he likes to play the drums. He thinks he's getting good but he can handle criticism. -------------------- AUGUST 2021 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONS Rob Bosworth - Josh Pearson - Kyle Cooke - Donald Mackie - Melissa Osborne - Christopher Miller - Tim Byrne - Patrick Funston - Jamie White - Christopher Kupski - Christopher McConnell - Joshua Jarvis - Niko - Joe Laska - Laurie Acreman - Ken Hirsh - Jez - Jenness Gardner - Simon Cammell - Guinevere Boostrom - Narelle Horn - Nathaniel Bauernfeind - Bill Rosinger - Anne Britt - David Zahm - Erin - Aidan Coughlan - Jeanneret - Manning Family Four - Doug Paton - Robert Paul - Viki Dun - Dave Sharpe - Christer Lindqvist - Sami Samhuri - AccessViolation - Ryan Torvik - Merlin Mann - Fraser - Glenn - Jim Chokey - Andre Bremer - Mark Schechter - Dave Florey - Dan Apczynski AUGUST 2021 HALF-NOTE PATRONS Andy Painter - Karen Liu - Greg Burgess - Ailie Fraser - Simon Prieto - Breck Jones - Paul McGreal - Karen Arnold - Natalie Mistilis - Josh Singer - Phino DeLeon - Schloss Edward J., MD - Rhyanon Murray - Amy Lynn Thornsen - Adam W - Kelli Brockington - Stephen Rawlings - Ben Machta - Victoria Yu - Kevin Rivers - Gray Dyer - Brad Clark - Christopher - Michael J. Cunningham - Kari Kirk - Mark Boggs - Mino Capossela - Steve Paquin - Mary Schoenmaker - Sarah - David Joske - Emma Sklar - Bernard Khoo - Marc - Robert Heuer - Matthew Golden - Brian Meldrum - David Noah - Geraldine Butler - Richard Cambier - Madeleine Mader - Fernando Rodriguez - Timothy Dougherty - Jason Pratt - Stewart Oak - Caroline Miller - Abbie Berg - Sam Norton - Nicole Schleicher - Doug Belew - Dermot Crowley - Achint Srivastava - Ryan Rairigh - Michael Berman - Stephen Matthews - Bridget Lyons - Olivia Bishop - John Gisselquist - Elaine Martin - Kouroth - Sharon Tree - Belinda McGrath-Steer - Eoin de Burca - Kevin Potter - M Shane Borders - Pete Simm - Shawn McCarthy - Dallas Hockley - Jana J - Jason Gerry - Rich Roskopf - Melissa Gallo - Nathan Gouwens - Will Dwyer - Alethea Lee - Lauren Reay - Eric Prestemon - Cookies250 - Spencer Shirley - Damian Brady - Angela Livingstone - Jeffrey C. Yarnell - David Friedman - Phillip Dalton - Sarah Sulan - Diane Hughes - Kenneth Tiong - Jo Sutherland - Michael Casner - Michael York - Barb Courtney - Derek Bender - Jen Small - Don Hutchison - Lowell Meyer - Etele Illes - Stephen Tsoneff - Lorenz Schwarz - Becca Sample - Wen - Jack Sjogren - Benedict Pennington - Geoff Golden - Robyn Fraser - Alexander Geddes - Pascal Rueger - Randy Souza - JC - Brendan Jubb - Clare Holberton - Diane Turner - Tom Coleman - Mark Perry - Dhu Wik - Mel - Eric Helm - Jake Roberts - Briony Leo - Bill Fuller - Jonathan Daniels - Michael Flaherty - Jarrod Schindler - Zoe Little - Caro Field - Michael Bochner - Duncan - David Cushman - Alexander - Jeremy Dawson - Chris K - Gavin Doig - Sam Fenn - Tanner Morton - AJ Schuster - Jennifer Bush - David Stroud - Amanda Furlotti - Andrew Baker - Juan Carlos Montemayor Elosua - Matt Gaskell - Jules Bailey - Eero Wahlstedt - Bill Thornton - Brian Amoebas - Brett Douville - Jeffrey Olson - Matt Betzel - Mueller - Nate from Kalamazoo - Melanie Stivers - Richard Toller - Alexander Polson - Earl Lozada - Jon O’Keefe - Justin McElroy - Arjun Sharma - James Johnson - Andrew Lee - Kevin Morrell - Kevin Pennyfeather - Nicholas Schechter - Emily Williams ----LINKS----- 💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS! Patreon | One-Time Donation 🏠 HOMEPAGE 👚 MERCH 💬 DISCORD SERVER 📬 KIRK'S NEWSLETTER 🎸 KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTS 🎶 KIRK'S MUSIC 📷 KIRK’S SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram | Bluesky 🎧 EVERY STRONG SONG: Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music 🎨 SHOW ART: Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics