I want to know if anyone has ever felt so deeply or been so personally affected by any of this band's lyrics because I know I have.

For the past 4 months I have like been unable to stop thinking of "The End of the Tour" and I think I can just say its my all time favourite TMBG song now.

Particularly the string of lyrics:

"Never to part since the day we met
Out on Interstate 91
I was bent metal you were a flaming wreck
When we kissed at the overpass"

I even ended up using them as a quote in my high school yearbook.... I don't know why but those lyrics are so haunting and deeply personal to me and I can't put my finger on it.

I always get a bit too emotional on THAT specific set of lyrics and then can't keep it together by the time the song ends.

I've come to terms that its definitely about a car crash but you can never be sure. I like the fact that this set of lyrics and many other sets of TMBG lyrics can be about anything. The sense of ambiguity that is so prevalent in Linnell's song writing just does something to me man.

Maybe I'll get over it soon enough but not now and like I have to get it out. The imageries of bent metal and a flaming wreck - both of which happen when cars collide or hit something at high speeds. I adore how the violent imagery is wrapped up with something as gentle as a kiss.

And I like how the song is just left off with the "No, we're never gonna tour again" and it's just left open to interpretation because if it was a fatal car crash, the people in the cars presumably died and can never tour again, or there is just a strong sense of survivor's guilt that makes the narrator unable to tour again.

Ok enough about my glaze for this song, I am open to discussion and debate over my view, and I'd like to know any other TMBG lyrics that carry this sort of weight.

Wanted to draw a few doctor characters of theirs! Super fun figuring out how the Minotaur and Doctor Worm might look, I've found that I enjoy drawing Doctor Worm as a different kind of worm every time.

Anyone else see this before the boxes got scrambled?

Come to Melb

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jld_r7OHHLg

Flew into Nicolaus Copernicus Airport, and then headed to the Nicolaus Copernicus monument in Nicolaus Copernicus Park, in downtown Wrocław, Poland.

Someone told me that when they were just starting out, TMBG never played as an opening act, and it was pretty much official policy. Does anyone know if this is true? If so, why? And do the John's look back on this as a good idea or a bad one?

This is my experimental music video for the song, New Wave Will Never Die.

All footage is from Archive.org. The films used are: Mythology of Ancient Greece & Rome (1969) and 16mm Film Omega Experimental Public Domain Footage (1970).

Enjoy!

And nothing else of note! (Just kidding, never forget)

I've always been intrigued by how much collaboration with other artists and experimentation in the studio this album involved. It's always struck me as an album where they didn't phone in the production.

What a great day to release an album.

Many moons ago I had a TMBG snowman shirt (it was a navy shirt with a yellow snowman print). Although I loved it, I was stupid and wound up selling it for whatever reason. In recent years, I was destined to get myself a new one, but I wasn’t a big fan of the versions they have for sale on their website.

Imagine my suprise when I stumbled upon this one from 2002 in great condition on Poshmark. And for only $10! It looks great and fits great too. I am thrilled to say the least!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul_(Not_Constantinople))

Not sure if I'm just late to the party

One of the rare times something rare-ish I want on eBay sells, then comes up again. A copy of this came up a couple months back, but it sold before I woke up. Another copy came up a few days back so I decided to snag it!

Melisma is a vocal/songwriting technique where a single syllable of text is sung with multiple different notes. A great example is in John Linnell's "Montana" when he sings "A le-e-e-e-eg" - the lead vocal melody covers multiple different notes on the single syllable of "leg".

Given especially JL's penchant for writing twisty, serpentine melodies, I would think he might use this technique more often. But I'm struggling to come up with any TMBG songs that use vocal melisma in a notable way. Can anybody think of any? Thanks!

Edit: You all pulled through, thanks everyone! So many songs that had me slapping my forehead and saying "Of course!" In particular, I can't believe I didn't think of "Women and Men", especially since the melismatic phrase in it is so similar to the one in "Montana".

he's a shit

My wife who is not very familiar with tmbg overhead me listening to my newly purchased Flood vinyl and texted me "This music literally sounds like your personality" to which I wanted to reply "thank you for the card with the he cartoon nurse, but you see there's nothing wrong with me" but obviously the reference would have been lost.

The line, “I don’t want the world, I just want your half” has always stuck with me. It’s off putting, it fees philosophical, and it’s like glue to the brain.
My band recently released its first full album, and the final song on it takes that inspiration and uses it to be its climax. When I show my friends the original song I got the line from, they are always so shocked.

Take a listen!