They Might Be Giants - I Love You for Psychological Reasons (official video)

Video directed by Paul Sahre. Edited by Zak Tebbal. Videography by Minchai Lee.

Lyrics:
lately I’ve taken to vacantly making repetitive movements mistakenly seen as improvements
nearing perfection but wisely electing to shun my reflection preferring instead shoe inspection
cheese and chalk do not talk but their eyes synchronize with a secret rhythm
which is a way one could say that I love you for psychological reasons

mumbling failure in jail my extremities flail and I wail though my arms and my legs to the chair are nailed
under the table unwilling unable the torture’s medieval the dream is a fable with feeble wings
why does the mouse share the house with the louse they won’t say but they feel their feelings
doesn’t subtract from the fact that I love you for psychological reasons
reasons I can’t really go into now
reasons we should probably not get into right now

I’m ashamed to admit I’m afraid of assuming the blame for my lame abnegation of braveness and fame
brain in a jar in a car in reverse I’m rehearsing the way I’ll replay how to say how to be where you are
flammable undiagrammable sentiments pass between animal beings
hard to explain but it’s plain that I love you for psychological reasons

why does the mouse share the house with the louse they won’t say but they feel their feelings
doesn’t subtract from the fact that I love you for psychological reasons
reasons I can’t really go into now
reasons we should probably not get into right now

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[asdffdas]

"Cheese and chalk do not talk but their eyes synchronize with a secret rhythm" just realized that Cheese and Chalk could be the names of the mice

[LimeyLassen]

"flammable undiagrammable sentiments pass between animal beings"
This is some top shelf poetry bros

[lovepurple]

If you imagine these experiments done to the mice weren't so innocuous and that the mice were really people, then the two would love each other for psychological reasons. As they went through the exact same kind of suffering, they would be able to understand each other (like no other person could.)

[tapirsareunder-appreciated]

Fun facts: These are most likely both female mice (male mice got BIG HONKIN' BAL-personalities.)
Mice are social and can, in fact, bond very strongly! When I worked at a pet store, we had two that had to be sold together. Even when we separated them for a week when one had a mild respiratory infection, they both became despondent at being alone.

[suspectsnthing]

The way he puts the mice in the water, only to immediately pull them out and mark the test off with a frowny face always gets a laugh out of me.
No animals were harmed indeed.

[fedos]

PSA:

If you're thinking of getting mice (or other rodent), you'll need a much larger enclosure than what you see here. The cages they sell in pet stores are also too small. Avoid the wire cages and get an aquarium instead. For 1-3 mice you want at least a 10 gallon tank (don't get more than 3 if you're inexperienced; other species have different space requirements - check the humane society's webpage for guidelines). Get the "long" shape rather than the "tall" shape (rodents need floor space). To keep the critters from escaping, the pet store should have mesh covers that are intended for aquariums sold as reptile habitats. Find the cover that matches the area of your aquarium. The mesh cover should provide plenty of ventilation.

An exercise wheel is a must. The one used in this video is too small, though. The animal should be able to run flat, as if on the ground, without an arched back. Do not but a wheel that does not have a solid surface. Feet injuries can occur in those little spaces (when I was a kid, the only wheels we could get were wire ones, and my hamsters always had cuts on their legs).

Mice work well in groups, but other species don't. Hamsters should be kept alone; Syrians (usually marketed under various names, but they're the larger hamster species and the one most commonly recognized) will fight until at least one of them is dead.

Make sure the food you buy is one formulated for the animal you have. Also, know what kind of treats are safe for and enjoyed by the species.

Buying or adopting an animal should not be done on impulse. Do your research, and make sure you're prepared for your new critter before you bring it home.

[birdonline]

This is a really sweet love song by TMBG standards.

[fragwagon]

TMBG are having the longest renaissance.

[_gheo]

I can't believe there are songs with such beautiful, complicate yet simple and effective lyrics. Found this song by accident and fell in love instantly.

[BojoPigeon]

These are some intricate and complicated lyrics even by Linnell standards. Hope to find the lyrics posted somewhere soon.
Just when you think they've topped themselves, they top themselves.

[RFC-]

I almost believed this was a genuine scientific study, but then they used a ruler marked in inches.

[romanabereneth]

No animals were harmed. One grad student, however, was irrevocably scarred.
By mouse bites.

[mads_in_zero]

I love this line so much it makes me feel things...
*Why does the mouse share the house with the louse, they won't say but they feel their feelings / Doesn’t subtract from the fact that I love you for psychological reasons*

[aceynickel]

For those who don't know: the brown mouse in the video died recently.

Her name was Fluffy.

RIP, Fluffy.

[LordPichuPal]

I was so distracted by the adorable rats that I almost missed the whole song. I'll have to listen again without watching just so I get the full experience.

[catssweaters]

This is my favorite song lately :) The lyrics are complicated and somewhat nonsensical so that they're extremely honest but also a way for the narrator to obfuscate their feelings (a confession that you start backtracking halfway through?) Which resonates me with quite a lot.

[bexmw]

This lyricism is intrinsic to me, it represents childhood in the 90s. I’m thankful.

[x.x.]

I´ve been following this band for decades and the title of this tune explains perfectly why. I take a bow.

[confuseatronica]

I also really like what Whitney is doing with the drums on this, combined with the long descending lyrics and big pauses.. John does a big trailing off verse and then Ms.Houston goes BOP BOP for punctuation at the end of it.

[airiezzzz]

This is easily They Might Be Giants' most wholesome music video ever