TheyMightBeGiants
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Daily iPhone App: They Might Be Giants gives away some songs for free
I'm a big fan of the band They Might Be Giants -- for years and years now, they've been putting out slickly crafted folk pop songs, complete with a good sense of fun and absurdity. The band has hosted a "Dial-a-Song" service for years, in order to let you hear their music over the phone, and now there's even an app for that. The official They Might Be Giants app is now available and it's a free download from the App Store right now. It's not filled with features (in fact, the app isn't even formatted for the iPhone 5 yet, unfortunately), but it does do one thing well: It will play one different They Might Be Giants song every single day. There are five songs at a time available for listening, and every 24 hours, you can log in and get a new song to hear. If you like the songs you hear, you can click through to iTunes to buy them, or follow other links in the app to the band's website or to buy tickets or learn more. That's about it -- it's just a really cute yarn-and-cloth themed music player that plays only a few TMBG songs. But if you're as big a TMBG fan as I am, that's really all you need! The app is completely free -- definitely give it a download and a listen.
The Humble Bundle tries something different, lets you name your price for albums from They Might Be Giants, Jonathan Coulton, and more
The Humble Bundle may have gone mobile on Android earlier this year, but that's proven to be a relatively small jump compared to the organization's latest expansion. It's now rolled out its first Humble Music Bundle, a collection of six albums that, as always, you can name your price for. Those include an album of rarities from They Might Be Giants, Jonathan Coulton's Greatest Hit (Plus 13 Other Songs), an exclusive MC Frontalot collection, Christopher Tin's Calling All Dawns, and game composer Hitoshi Sakimoto's Best of the Valkyria Chronicles -- plus OK Go's Twelve Remixes of Four Songs if you pay above the current average price. Naturally, all of the albums are DRM-free and available in both MP3 and FLAC formats, and you're able to choose what percentage of your payment goes to the artists, charities (Child's Play and the Electronic Frontier Foundation) and the Humble Bundle organization itself. You can get a taste of what's in store in the video after the break, or get previews of each album before you buy at the link below.
They Might Be Giants fans celebrate 'Apollo 18' anniversary with geekiest tribute imaginable
We love us some They Might Be Giants, and not just because the two Johns took the time to sit down with us for an episode of The Engadget Show last year. Of course, we're not the only ones out there with a strong appreciation for the fiercely original New York duo. When you've got a fanbase as geeky and devoted as TMBG's, you're bound to get some strange and wonderful tributes out of the deal. Take "Apollo 18+20: The IF Tribute Album," a collection of 38 interactive fiction games created to pay homage to the 20th anniversary of one of the group's most beloved albums. Ever wondered how "I Palindrome I" would play out, were it a text-based computer game, instead of a rock song? Manonam, click the source link to find out.
TMBG, Natasha Bedingfield headline Sims 2 FreeTime soundtrack
We generally don't get very excited about Sims 2 expansions. Don't get us wrong, we love the game (who doesn't), but the thought of dropping $29.99 for a few digital pairs of slacks just seems a little excessive -- there are real pairs of slacks we would invest in, had we the extra income. However, when looking over a recent press release for the game's latest addition, Sims 2 FreeTime, something radical caught our eye -- the game's soundtrack would feature Simlish remixes of actual recording artists, including the Twin Quasars of Rock themselves, They Might Be Giants. Joining the Giants are Brit-pop princess Natasha Bedingfield, the small indie army of I'm From Barcelona, and a handful of other international artists, each providing a Simlish remix of one of their popular songs. It's a pretty awesome mix of off-the-mainstream tunes -- perhaps it will inspire Harmonix to explore some alternative jams for Rock Band DLC. Like, for instance, anything off of "Flood".
What's Geometry Wars Galaxies like? It's not important
We're a little suspicious about the use of both They Might Be Giants' "Particle Man" and wacky costumed characters in this promotional video for Geometry Wars Galaxies. Rather than reinforcing the geometry theme of the game, it all seems to be aimed at distracting us from the actual game footage. The game itself looks fine, but all the silliness going on in the video is actually putting us off the whole thing. It's a shame: the trailer would have been better and cheaper without the "actors" or "costumes." If nothing else, it's a lot more memorable now. You won't be able to hear the name Geometry Wars without thinking of people in black Spandex bothering some teenagers. [Via NeoGAF]
They Might Be Giants 'The Else' to be iTunes exclusive
I am a big They Might Be Giants fan, and I make no qualms about it. They are, without a doubt, my favorite band therefore I will take any opportunity to write about them. Luckily for you, dear TUAW reader, this bit of news is relevant to our favorite computer/electronics/media company.They Might Be Giants (TMBG to their friends) are releasing their newest album, 'The Else,' 2 months before the CD hits stores exclusively on iTunes. Not only is this a boon to TMBG fans, but Apple is sure to make a little money off of this (though, to be fair, TMBG aren't as popular as they once were). The CD will contain a bonus disc that won't be available on iTunes, so all the hardcore fans will still have to pick up the CD if they want the complete set (I'll be buying both, sadly).This is a slightly odd announcement because TMBG actually run their own digital download service that offers their music in high quality, and sans DRM. One can only assume that when the CD is available on July 10th, DRM free tracks will also be available via TMBG's own website.[via Macenstein]Update: With all the excitement I neglected to mention that the album will be available on May 15th.
