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I Like Fun

by They Might Be Giants

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    Why is the world in love again? They Might Be Giants have released I Like Fun, a remarkable 15-track album.

    I Like Fun jumps with surprises, vitality, and the startling point of view of these Brooklyn originals. Over a year in the making, songwriters and band founders John Linnell and John Flansburgh draw on themes of dread, death, and disappointment and set them to their driving, hyper-melodic music. The results will leave even the most heavy-hearted among us with a renewed sense of wonder. Fresh and sonically adventurous, the band’s command of the studio and the song is in rare form from beginning to end.

    On I Like Fun, the spotlight is also on the band’s formidable long-standing live lineup; drummer Marty Beller, bassist Danny Weinkauf and lead guitarist Dan Miller. While the group enjoys a reputation for delivering one of the liveliest shows around, the album accomplishes the rare feat of capturing that ecstatic intensity on disc. Co-produced with and mixed by Patrick Dillett (St. Vincent, Donald Fagen, The National, Mary J. Blige), the album was tracked and mixed at the brand-new Reservoir Studios—site of the legendary Skyline Studios where TMBG recorded their platinum-selling album Flood.

    All orders include an instant download of the album delivered to your inbox.

    Includes unlimited streaming of I Like Fun via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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1.
The drumbeat never changes tempo It's steady like a rock And like a rock it crushes you as it gets louder The drum gets louder and louder And you know there is no parking on the dance floor And when you wake up you can feel your hair grow Crawl out of your cave and you can watch your shadow Creep across the ground until the day is done All the while the planet circles 'round the sun Everybody knows how this goes so let's get over it And let's get this over with Even when you're out of work you still have a job to do Even when you don't know what it is Your job knows what it is What it is is it's coming to get you I'm talking to myself even when I'm saying "you" And when you wake up you can feel your hair grow Crawl out of your cave and you can watch your shadow Creep across the ground until the day is done All the while the planet circles 'round the sun Everybody knows how this goes so let's get over it And let's get this over with After all the spelling mistakes After all the groping in the dark Can this page of strange gibberish Get a final punctuation mark? You're still hanging around the clambake After every clam has been baked No applause Awkward pause Hand extended waiting for a shake And when you wake up you can feel your hair grow Crawl out of your cave and you can watch your shadow Creep across the ground until the day is done All the while the planet circles 'round the sun Everybody knows how this goes so let's get over it And let's get this over with Hurry up and let's get this over with You don't have to go home but you can't stay here Everybody knows how this goes so let's get over it And let's get this over with
2.
Ah ah ah ah Ah ah ah ah Ah ah ah ah Ah I left my body And I went on a journey And I forgot where I left my body They're gonna tow you If they think you're abandoned You got to act like you're not abandoned I left a notebook with all of my good ideas Keywords encoded cryptographically I'm waiting endlessly on a receptionist At the desk I'm searching high and low But I don't see anyone Don't see anyone Don't see anyone there I left my body With the old landlady But I don't know if she read the directions There must be something You can use on the carpet Someone might want that electric blanket Unfinished manuscript and a tungsten ring My plastic hip is going to be worth something I took the folding knife And the bat repellent soap I left my body And right away I knew I made A mistake I left without my senses And I can't see anything Can't see anything I'm waiting endlessly on a receptionist At the desk I'm searching high and low But I don't see anyone Don't see anyone Don't see anyone there
3.
I use my outside voice because I have no choice The barn that I was raised in was constructed out of noise And now I'm all torn up because my buttercup up and gone and left me Said she finally had enough Left me here to ruminate on all she can't admit And all she can't explain All time what I never thought, I never thought All time what Things break apart, things break apart Ah, ah, ah, ah Man, she pulled out the rug from her doodlebug Rolling down the highway, not a worry in her mind Here's a flash card where someone's written "stultify" I take it as a sign It's hard to redefine Same old sad soliloquy They handed me a broom The cast has left the room All time what Stumble about wrapped in a shroud All time what Partly submerged playing a dirge Complete, completely, completelier Defeat, defeated, defeatlier Complete, completely, completelier Defeat, defeated, defeatlier All time what I never thought, I never thought All time what Things break apart, things break apart Ah, ah, ah, ah Ah, ah
4.
By the time you get this note We'll no longer be alive We'll have all gone up in smoke There'll be no way to reply You'll be wondering about the world that vanished long ago And the words that reach you now That were buried underground Greetings to everyone in 1937 It seems that you were never aware that we were here You're probably too busy rejoicing in the present To stop and be reminded of the dark and troubled past By the time you get this note We'll no longer be alive But our skulls are smiling still At the thought of things to come We can confidently know that you'll enjoy a better world When the evils that we faced Will at last be laid to rest When the poisons of the Earth Are completely neutralized When the hatred and the lies Are forever put aside When the voices of dissent and contradiction all abate And the peaceful air is filled With a silent harmony We can't be certain at the moment of this writing But surely in the future there'll be no barking dogs The sound of crying babies will be thankfully forgotten No more will the chattering classes make a noise By the time you get this note A millennium from now We'll have all gone up in smoke There'll be no way to reply And we confidently know You'll enjoy a better time When the evils that we faced Will at last be laid to rest
5.
Hey! Hats off to the things you don't say Why? So what's up with the side-eye? Spent so long trying to get along Trying to please you Trying to tease out all the details From the sad straight notions that just all seem wrong I defy interpretation I am not participating in it Fine! Pick on someone else your own size Fine! Go prey on some stranger passing by Hey! Hats off to the things you don't say Why? So what's up with the side-eye? My sad mind searching overtime For a reason You suspiciously incorporate some far-fetched fiction you find so sublime But it's too late to reject and it's an insult to the fact checkers
6.
I want to say I learned something valuable today Alas, my murdered remains are incapable of learning anything Trusted you–I should have never trusted you In fact I never did What's the use? I'm not complaining I'm not anything Is this what's supposed to happen When you're only trying to do right In this wicked world? Probably I should already know this Probably I should graciously accept what I get Most people wouldn't hang the corpses up for review Dearest, I can only hope most people are nothing like you Nervous tics that I pretended not to see That's how I was brought up Warning signs: death metal albums "Hang in there, baby" poster Is this how you thank somebody For their selfless loyalty? Is this what you do? Pardon me for failing to grasp how this works Excuse my breathtaking ignorance Is this what's supposed to happen When you're only trying to do right in this wicked world? Probably I should already know this Probably I should graciously accept what I get
7.
I Like Fun 03:00
Impatiently I wait To refill my prescription And count the tock Of the drugstore clock A prototype they say To combat my affliction Extra gravity to control me But that's my fun And I like fun And so do you As we float away So do you As we float away My excellence at parkour Is not to be discounted As I leap away And disappear My excellence at parkour Might be unexpected At the age of 58 It comes as quite a surprise But not to you We float away Not to you As we float away
8.
You would give up your right arm to go back To when you had a right arm You'll need some muscles To move it backward Push back the hands of time Broken glass is glittering like diamonds Can't hear yourself thinking over the sirens Push back the hands of time Push back the hands of time You wanna sing to drown out the car horn Squeeze your eyes shut and scream like a newborn Like a newborn babe Dawn breaks like a fallen vase Push back the hands of time Unwelcome vision of rosy fingers Push back the hands of time It wouldn't help you if you'd had any sleep It wouldn't save you from the mission creep Push back the hands of time Push back the hands of time Screeching tires but never a collision Endless day without a sunset provision Endless day Push back the hands of time Push back the hands of time You wanna sing to drown out the car horn Squeeze your eyes shut and scream like a newborn Like a newborn babe Push back the hands of time Push back the hands of time Push back the hands of time Push back the hands of time Push back the hands of time Push back the hands of time Push back the hands of time Push back the hands of time
9.
Selflessly hiding all emotions inside Chilly and dry, New England style Nobody's figured out my twelve fatal flaws Who's keeping score? Who wins that war? I'm busting out And I know everyone agrees Caring is carting bad ideas to the dump And taking my time, taking my time Hey, this microphone was turned on all along I tried returning all that stuff to the store But then I bought more, then I bought more I'm done explaining all these reckless displays Hard to defend, I'm in a haze Old stories told In brand-new clothes I bought today Kindness is killing off my unfinished dreams And walking away, just walking away Hey, this microphone was turned on all along Caring is carting bad ideas to the dump And taking my time, taking my time Hey, this microphone was turned on all along
10.
The bright side is blinding our eyes And the sound keeps ringin', ringin' The bright side is just a white lie That the crowd keeps singin', singin' You are a busy bee You are a busy bee Sunshine, sitting on a pavement crack Everyone was staring back But you didn't mind Sunshine, futile were our defenses Backwards ran your sentences Until reeled the mind Next what's fear And silence in Wait just all we'll then Upside-down everything Turning done you're when The bright side is blinding our eyes And the sound keeps ringin', ringin' The bright side is just a white lie That the crowd keeps singin', singin' You are a busy bee You are a busy bee Back then, fighting with the permanent Pushing through the sediment Till we lost the trail Back then, those days felt like house arrest Half-awake and self-possessed We thought we'd prevail Among the rain And lights I saw The figure "5" in gold On a red firetruck That's what I was told The bright side is blinding our eyes And the sound keeps ringin', ringin' The bright side is just a white lie That the crowd keeps singin', singin' The bright side is blinding our eyes And the sound keeps ringin', ringin'
11.
I'll make a reckless prediction I'll still be in the kitchen When the lights come on I think we'll probably be good If stuff is still where it stood When the lights come on We won't remember each other But we'll probably recover Unless everyone's gone It might be too soon to say this But I think that we may just See the lights come on See I've been picturing Diagrams of master plans I taught myself to draw in the dust With what remains of my left hand And from what I can tell I'll be no more than a shell Or an automaton But we'll be laughing and shit It will have been worth it When the lights come on Unless we chicken out again Which is exactly how we ended up in here Our guard was down, we were disarmed They tampered with the smoke alarm There won't be any more trouble You'll be dragged from the rubble When the lights come on And I'll be looking so great I will have lost some weight When the lights come on We will be growing mustaches Once we're raised from the ashes When the lights come on We'll be encased in gold Desiccated and old When the lights come on See I've been picturing Diagrams of master plans I taught myself to draw in the dust With what remains of my left hand And from what I can tell Groping around, there's something else I feel a face, I feel a pulse I think I'm Tripping Something's got me by the hair Let's table this discussion Until my concussion On the bottom stair Unless I pass out once again And find the bandage where my kidney used to be Knocked over lamp, some broken plates Prescription pads for opiates
12.
Lake monsters of the USA From Cape Cod, to Massachusetts All across America From Chicago to East California You might be asking yourself Is this a different world? Are they really there? Thank your lucky stars Lake monsters of the USA Just looking for a polling station If it takes the cloak of darkness Their voices will be counted You might be asking yourself What happened to this world? But they're not ashamed They cannot be tamed No hypnosis like a mass hypnosis Cause a mass hypnosis isn't happenin' No hypnosis like a mass hypnosis Cause a mass hypnosis isn't happenin' Oh the silence! Oh the silence!
13.
If only there were some way to shut out All this noise in my head Oh wait there already is It's called McCafferty's Bib I used to have eleven problems Then they all went away When I added one more Called McCafferty's Bib Now the gray, gray clouds Have arrived and the gray, gray clouds Have decided to stay with us from now on I ate the whole bottle of pills And wondered what I had swallowed And I saw that the label said McCafferty's Bib And then all the scenery melted away And in back of it The only thing left Was McCafferty's Bib And the gray, gray clouds Have arrived and the gray, gray clouds Have decided to stay with us from now on In cities all over the world All the people are suddenly struck By the same idea They're massing in public squares And they're singing a note That rises from low to high With one hand they're holding up signs of Bob Hope, in the other Hand, everyone's Waving McCafferty's Bib The toothpaste won't go back in the bottle since it granted our wish And we will never be rid Of McCafferty's Bib
14.
The Greatest 01:48
They call me the greatest 'Cause I'm not very good And they're being sarcastic They're being sarcastic Oh, I'm taking names But I'm not doing much With the names that I'm taking G-O-A-T They're being sarcastic They're being sarcastic They call me the greatest But those cheers can be quiet So I listen close I listen close Yes I'm taking notes But those notes aren't helping The ink washes away G-O-A-T It washes away It washes away
15.
Last Wave 03:24
Saw that in a movie I just fixed up the supper Half of that is mine Some of that was true We die alone We die afraid We live in terror We're naked and alone And the grave is the loneliest place We die alone We die afraid We live in terror We're naked and alone And the grave is the loneliest place We die alone We die afraid Afraid to die We're naked and alone Naked and alone We die alone We die afraid We live in terror We're naked and alone Naked and alone Last wave Rolling by Final wave Don't ask why (I'm happy) There goes a wave Rolling by Last wave I'm so tired of waiting My heart is cold The sky is dark I'm curled up in the ashes We die alone We die afraid We live in terror Naked and alone We die If you won't make out with a biplane (no!) Perchance, a dance with a carcass in space? (no!) But now you gotta buy me some antlers, antlers are what I need you to buy (why?) Then take me down to the postman, (you do it!) tell the postman to throw them to Wave Rolling by Final wave Don't ask why There goes a wave Rolling by Final wave Don't ask why

about

Both a critical and audience favorite, I Like Fun jumps with surprises, vitality, and the startling point of view of these Brooklyn originals. Over a year in the making, songwriters and band founders John Linnell and John Flansburgh draw on themes of dread, death, and disappointment and set them to their driving, hyper-melodic music. The results will leave even the most heavy-hearted among us with a renewed sense of wonder. Fresh and sonically adventurous, the band’s command of the studio and the song is in rare form from beginning to end.

On I Like Fun, the spotlight is also on the band’s formidable long-standing live lineup; drummer Marty Beller, bassist Danny Weinkauf and lead guitarist Dan Miller. While the group enjoys a reputation for delivering one of the liveliest shows around, the album accomplishes the rare feat of capturing that ecstatic intensity on disc. Co-produced with and mixed by Patrick Dillett (St. Vincent, Donald Fagen, The National, Mary J. Blige), the album was tracked and mixed at the brand-new Reservoir Studios—site of the legendary Skyline Studios where TMBG recorded their platinum-selling album Flood.

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released January 19, 2018

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