They Might Be Giants - Venue Songs DVD

Being prolific. Look at Stephen King who busts out a bestseller every fortnight. Look at CBS who creates a new Neilson-rated CSI (CSI: Raleigh? CSI: Sacramento?) program every season. Look at Vince Vaughn who is in every other theater at your local multiplex. Look at They Might Be Giants who have done it again with a CD/DVD combo Venue Songs. Venue Songs proves just how prolific award-winning They Might Be Giants can be. The CD has 46 tracks (FORTY SIX), each track a song about each venue they played at on their nationwide tour. Each song was written on the tour bus between shows (BETWEEN SHOWS), played live, and recorded to make said CD. The songs are varied, as are most all songs TMBG creates. However, at about track 32 you’re wondering, “Wow, how long can they keep this up?” and “This song sort of sounded like track 17,” and “Didn’t they already sing a song about Pittsburgh?” They’re good short songs, sure, and, yes, impressive simply by how they were created, but those new to TMBG music might be put off by the sheer musical girth of it all and would be better served listening to more classic TMBG albums, most notably Flood, Apollo 18, and No!. As for the DVD of the CD/DVD combo it’s as eclectic, odd, and entertaining as one might expect. The DVD is a collection of venue songs, what John Flansburgh and John Linnell (the TMBG duo) deemed the best of the lot, rerecorded, and made into videos, each distinctive. The videos are cool but what makes the DVD cooler are the introductions of said videos by The Daily Show’s John Hodgman. That guy is geeky cool, as is TMBG, and adds great color and humor to the package as a whole. Side note: Read Hodgman’s chortle-fest of a book, The Areas of My Expertise, a book worthy of a They Might Be Giants blurb. So, we got oodles of They Might Be Giants tunes, we got the goofy hipster John Hodgman on board, what else could make the DVD cool? Homestarrunner characters! Yeah, sweet, bring in Strong Bad and the gang for a well-appreciated appearance on “Experimental Film.” They Might Be Giants certainly have thrown everything and the kitchen sink into their new CD/DVD combo. Some of it, however, needs a little more scrubbing. [www.tmbg.com]