What I Jam To

Since the beginning, scientists have been plagued by the question, "what does Brigham Larson jam to?" Well today, I'm going to set that immortal quandary, pondered by Einstein and 22 different Presidents, to rest. The following is a list of the things that I jam to lately, to be consulted now and forever when the question pops up.

At least until I get obsessed with more bands. Come to think of it, this list might be outdated pretty quickly.

They Might Be Giants

(Photo by Cliff, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

They Might Be Giants have been around for a long while and they're not leaving anytime soon. They built a small following with their surreal performance art-like concerts at underground clubs, with John Flansburgh on guitar, John Linnell on accordion, and the tape deck doing the rest. They wore cardboard masks of William Allen White, they used a large stick Flans found in the woods for percussion, and they sang songs with names like "Cowtown." Their self-titled debut album is something of a seminal work in the "80s lo-fi vaguely new wave" genre, and they scored some pretty enormous chart success with "Birdhouse in Your Soul" and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" from their third record, Flood.

But the story doesn't end there.

Since then, they've expanded from a duo to a full band (with the two Johns still acting as the sole songwriters), they've broken away from record labels and now self-release all of their albums, and they've continued to show little regard for what's considered "cool" in today's music. If there is an anti-Taylor Swift, it's these guys, and I mean that as the highest compliment possible. The Johns are ridiculously inventive lyricists with a gift for diverse songwriting. Name a genre, and they've probably worked in it. Their songs range from the thoroughly unusual ("Number Three") to the commercial radio-oriented (the brilliant "Narrow Your Eyes") to somewhere in the middle ("Ana Ng"). TMBG are truly talented people. They certainly aren't for everyone, but give it a shot. Maybe you're one of the people they're for.

Fans of TMBG may also like to look into Mono Puff, a side project founded by Flansburgh and two other musicians, which has a very authentic TMBG vibe to it. There is also a wealth of unreleased songs recorded from their Dial-A-Song project in the 80s available freely online, so completionists have quite the field day ahead of them.

Tally Hall

(Photo by Daniel Morrison, CC BY, via Wikimedia Commons)

Ah, Tally Hall, I still love you even after all we've been through. Even after the Joe Hawley unpleasantness, even after the fans assumed that Joe Hawley's behavior justified harassing and doxxing a man with schizophrenia, I still love you forever. Of course liking their music comes with asterisks these days, but I can't un-hear their music, much less un-love it. Tally Hall's music is one of those things that, once you click with it, won't let you go.

Tally Hall began the way that many shorter-lived bands do: it was started by a small crew of musically-inclined people living in a college town and in desperate need of a creative outlet. However, they set themselves apart with their unusual style (all members are dressed formally with specific tie colors) and varied songwriting. After a couple of EPs, they were signed to Atlantic Records, where they released their debut album Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum, before going indie again for their second, and as of this writing most recent album Good & Evil.

All members of the band contributed songs, but the undisputed best songwriter of the bunch is Joe Hawley. His skill with abstract imagery and wordplay is unparalleled, and I have yet to hear another lyricist like him. The songs "The Bidding" and "Turn the Lights Off" show his work with the band at its peak, masterfully balancing wit with serious themes. Other great songs by the band include "Greener," "Ruler of Everything," "Spring and a Storm,", and "Good Day."

Unfortunately, as a result of Hawley's struggle with mental illness and controversies extending from that (I'm not explaining it all, just google it), the band has been on indefinite hiatus since 2011. I wish him well and hope he gets the help he needs. Though the band's social media accounts continue to tease that they're not done yet, all evidence points to this hiatus lasting quite a while, if not forever.

For those wishing for more Tally Hall in their life, Joe wrote and "directed" the 2012 concept album Hawaii: Part II as part of the musical project Miracle Musical, in collaboration with several Tally Hall members. It's a gorgeous (if somewhat inconsistent) album that will always be close to my heart. Most members of the band have also created solo albums (with a couple recently announcing new ones), so fans will hardly be lacking in work to explore.

Talking Heads

(Photo by Jean-Luc, CC BY-SA, via Wikimedia Commons)

I know I'm four decades late to the hype, and I know that my being a fan isn't fully validated (I still haven't seen Stop Making Sense and I still haven't gotten through a full album by them), but what a band! Byrne's outside-the-box lyricism and sense of sound combined with the skilled instrumentalists that make up the rest of the band make for some truly unique songs. Their evolution as artists is also fascinating to watch.

They made some great songs in their day. "Psycho Killer" is eternally haunting and its eeriness is only enhanced by how catchy it is, "Life During Wartime" has an intriguing combination of disco-infused production with incredibly non-disco lyrics about urban warfare, and I have seen more than one educated music critic dub "Once in a Lifetime" the Perfect Pop Song. In my opinion, their absolute peak, musically and lyrically, is the live version of "Burning Down the House" from Stop Making Sense. The lyrics, touching on themes of disillusionment and excessive comfort, are quick and impactful. The live version is faster and funkier than the studio version, and it improves it so much that it makes you wonder how anyone approved the original.

My only real complaint about them is that, honestly, their albums are exhausting. That's the reason I still haven't listened to any full albums. Their albums pick a style and run with it, and don't give the listener any space to breathe. With the exception of "Take Me to the River," I thought More Songs About Buildings and Food was borderline unlistenable. And believe me, I tried. Their individual songs, however, are among the most creative I've ever heard in my life.

So now you have a look into the stuff I jam to. I may post addendums in the future, and I may do a deep dive into the best songs by these artists, but this is a good beginning into an exploration of my music taste. I hope ya liked it.