A heartfelt, funny eulogy for They Might Be Giants’ “Exquisite Dead Guy,” exploring its surreal charm, emotional bridge, and place on Factory Showroom.
This song will always hold a special place in my heart. At my first TMBG show in Buffalo in April '98, they played this to start the first encore, and had these weird, disembodied heads on long poles that "sang along" with the band.
That set, and especially that encore, solidified my lifelong fandom. Love this song, and love that it's getting this level of coverage and appreciation so many years later!
I am extremely envious that you got to witness the disembodied head live performance of this song! I feel this is absolutely an underappreciated one from their library. That entire set list was STRONG, wow.
It’s arguably one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. I’m low-key hoping they do a 30th anniversary Factory Showroom-featured tour next year. And if they bring back the heads, that’d be amazing.
This song will always hold a special place in my heart. At my first TMBG show in Buffalo in April '98, they played this to start the first encore, and had these weird, disembodied heads on long poles that "sang along" with the band.
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/they-might-be-giants/1998/tralfamadore-cafe-buffalo-ny-63d6e2b3.html
That set, and especially that encore, solidified my lifelong fandom. Love this song, and love that it's getting this level of coverage and appreciation so many years later!
I am extremely envious that you got to witness the disembodied head live performance of this song! I feel this is absolutely an underappreciated one from their library. That entire set list was STRONG, wow.
Thank you for sharing Matt!
It’s arguably one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. I’m low-key hoping they do a 30th anniversary Factory Showroom-featured tour next year. And if they bring back the heads, that’d be amazing.
I would be very excited for a factory showroom tour. Or at least a night where they spend half the show on the album