61 episodes
Don't Let's Start: A Podcast About They Might Be Giants Dave & Jordan
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- Music
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4.9 • 138 Ratings
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Every once in a while a band comes along that changes the course of human history. Your hosts and dear friends Jordan Cooper and Dave Fox take you on an in-depth musical journey over the career, albums, and songs of the band They Might Be Giants, and maybe have some hearty, completely authentic laughs along the way. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dontletsstart/support
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61: 80s Demos - Part 3: Welcome To Hell Hotel
Salutations! Or have you seen this episode? Jordan and Dave's pain is your karma as they exchange some fighting words and complete their archival dig through the 1980s demos of They Might Be Giants (for now.) We're here to make you happy, as half of this episode is our long awaited and belated Hell Hotel discussion! Is the song based on a Twilight Zone episode? Is that an Outer Limits reference? Why wasn't this song ever on an album? Who is Sebastian C.? WHAT DOES HE MEAN BY THIS? We also listen to some hellish demos of the demo!
Then we might be chewing on a pair of feet as we listen to early versions of They Might Be Giants (the song.) Finally, the people are so happy now that we're closing out the 1985 demo tape with the wild and woolly demo of Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes! All this, plus a surprise rare bonus song! Va-va-va-voom this is a sweet life! ALBATROSS!
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60: 80s Demos - Part 2: At Least Your Dog Is Free
We've got another big delicious slice of They Might Be Giants' legendary 1985 demo tape! This episode covers tracks 10 through 20, and there's still more left to chew on! We find out newly discovered, frighteningly revelatory information on Cowtown and Chess Piece Face!
We take the many demo versions of Youth Culture Killed My Dog for a walk! Then we crank the volume way up to hear the subtle secrets in the demo recordings of Alienation's For The Rich and The Day! After a proper history lesson on hotel detectives, we give Toddler Hiway the deep dive it's always deserved in a very special segment breaking down EVERY. DAMN. WORD! Finally, we peter out with I'm Def. How cooler can this be?!?
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59: 80s Demos - Part 1: I'm Already Dead
We're back...in time! Jordan and Dave take out their dusty scrapbooks and look into the They Might Be Giants of years past. First we discuss their very first release, the Wiggle Diskette, a very limited vinyl distributed all over NYC in 1985. Then we continue on with the first batch of songs on TMBG's infamous 1985 demo tape!
But do you think we stop there? Oh ho ho, foolish listener, doth thee not know of whom we be? Our minds become a blur of common sense as we discuss every demo and alternative version of these songs we could find! We're talking THREE Puppet-Heads, FOUR You'll Miss Mes, TWO Number Threes, and one uncomfortably intimate When It Rains It Snows! Including NEW revelations about these songs not addressed in our initial episodes! We then end the show with a very special guest, Margaret Seiler, the singer of Boat of Car! Take this car for a ride!
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58: Impossibly News - The Latest on TMBG and We
Should auld acquaintance be forgot....Presenting a special urgent and heartfelt final broadcast for 2023! Jordan and Dave destroy the past and focus on the latest They Might Be Giants news, discoveries, rumors and revelations! We also tell you about our podcast operation, with a big announcement about a planned Patreon membership for 2024! OH IT'S GOOD NEWS!
Join us on Patreon!: patreon.com/dontletsstartpodcast
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57: Interview with People Magazine's Michael Small!
As a prologue for our upcoming deep dive into They Might Be Giants' 1980s demos, we spoke with the legendary Michael Small, the People Magazine writer who first reviewed TMBG's demo tape in 1985 and gave them their first huge exposure, telling (or warning) the world about the madness to come!
Michael tells us about the first time he heard the tape, the songs that got stuck in his head, appearing in the documentary Gigantic, his relationship with They Might Be Giants over the years, and more exciting tales of music journalism! He also tells us about his incredibly fun new show, I Couldn't Throw It Out, which recently interviewed John Flansburgh! Links below!
Michael's podcast:
https://www.throwitoutpodcast.com/
Michael's TMBG review:
https://tmbw.net/wiki/images/a/a3/PeopleDemoReview.jpg
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Our Twitter:
https://twitter.com/DontLetsPod
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dontletsstart/support -
56: Letterbox Special 2: How To Age Gracefully
In this episode, Jordan and Dave read e-mails from who? E-mails from you! Topics include They Might Be Giants love songs! Fingertips theories! Reactions to our John Henry episodes, including theories on End of the Tour and Destination Moon! Condoms! Metallica! The Rheostatics! Frank Black! David Lynch! Comic books! Horror movies! The future of the podcast! Dave's new album! Jordan's old...! That's it! Plus, we discuss the latest TMBG news and weather! This episode is our precious gift to all of our wonderful listeners! Keep writing in and keep righting on!
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dontletsstart/support
Customer Reviews
Keep on glistening!
Great hosts, great chemistry, great band!
Great podcast even for non-superfans
Every band should wish they had a podcast like this.
Undisputedly the best TMBG Podcast.
There are a few podcasts out there about They Might Be Giants, but "Don't Let's Start" stands out as the best. Hosted by two incredibly knowledgeable and passionate TMBG fans, this podcast offers a deep dive into the band's catalog, history, and influences.
What sets this podcast apart is its incredible level of research and attention to detail. The hosts have clearly spent countless hours poring over TMBG's music, interviews, live bootlegs, and other archival material. Additionally, they often unearth new information from primary resources (interviews with TMBG collaborators - musicians, producers, etc).
But this isn't just a dry academic discussion of their history. "Don't Let's Start" is also incredibly entertaining. The hosts have a great rapport with each other and their enthusiasm for TMBG is infectious. They're not afraid to inject a bit of humor and personality into their discussions, which makes for a very enjoyable listen.
The episodes may be infrequent but each new episode is such a gift. Keep up the great work, Jordan and Dave!