They Might Be Giants: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

A glance into the crowd assembled for the show in the NPR Music offices reveals just how far-reaching They Might Be Giants' appeal has become. Watch the band perform two of its brand-new songs, as well as "Fingertips," a classic 1992 chestnut.

Set List:

"Can't Keep Johnny Down"
"Cloisonné"
"Fingertips"

[bobdole]

John did an amazing job, but John was truly mindblowing!

[NxDoyle]

In my humble opinion, John Linnell is one of the greatest lyricists in the history of popular music. And his pipes seem to be getting better with age.

[rykaro]

It's incredible how Linnel's voice hasnt changed in 30 years

[thebrutusmars]

I love that Flansburgh is still wearing his visitor pass.

[billpholde]

These two guy went to the same high school I did, in Massachusetts. Two years younger than I am. I remember seeing Linnel's cartoons in the school newspaper, well-drawn, ironic, one-panel stuff. They seem to be having fun.

[lapinpuff]

John Linnell seems so extra comfortable performing here omg. His big smiles and leaning over the keys just b4 the "gas cap is unscrewed"...it's just pure sweetness. And Flans and Marty look like they were having so much fun!! This is such a gem of a video.

[hippogriffgrrl]

I love how much fun they have with each piece. Especially Linnell, since he seems like a generally shy guy, but he's totally cool doing all that weird and fun stuff.

[colinhawco]

Fingertips was, at the time, a really innovative song, in that each part was encoded on the CD as a separate track. At the time, CD players, with shuffle, were new. The idea here was to listen to the CD on shuffle and occasionally get these tiny songs. At least that is my understanding of the story behind the song : )

[robmckennie]

Marty Beller must be one of the most intense musicians ever. It's called "Tiny Desk Concert", but the guy is still giving it 110%

[mythical]

I didn't expect Can't Keep Johnny Down to sound as good as it does with the acoustic guitar.

[casanovafrankenstein]

Coolest dorks in the world. I've been a fan since Flood. I love that they played "Fingertips"! Fantastic!

[okamino]

That's awesome. It seems odd to not hear _Space Suit_ after _Fingertips_, though.

[josephd]

I just realized earlier today that the reason I'm such a strange human being is that these guys provided the soundtrack to my childhood. I listened to "Fingertips" more times than I can describe. And any six year old partying around the living room to "Cowtown" isn't going to turn out 100% normal.

[CabbageTalks]

I liked the video but what's that blue thing doing there?

[danielcropp]

TMBG and NPR. Two acronyms that I like.

[christopherquinn]

I used to not like them much, but seeing them perform in such a humble environment really helps me connect with them more. It's also nice to put a voice to a face. Love his voice, it sounds way to big to fit such a small guy lol

[gulpispulp]

I didn’t know John played bass clarinet 😩💕 they’re so talented smh

[TheLandWin]

Of all the songs they chose to play, I was so happy they played the string of songs from Apollo 18.
I want to ask why they would do it, but at the same time, I love this recording of those songs too much to question.

[PaulGraneck]

I am from Ukraine, and you're my favourite band!

Nobody writes so brilliantly simple and funny! 

[GreanePin]

God damn linell has some serious pipes. Mysterious whisper was always my favorite finger tips song, just because he can belt out a note with comparable power to freddie mercury. It's nuts, but very amazing. His voice has so many dynamics. Truly an underrated vocalist