Fibber Island: An Opening Song for the First TMBG Album for Kids
Chase Roper begins his deep dive into the first They Might Be Giants children's album, No! Something his kids' mom couldn't refuse to let him play because now it was for his KIDS to listen to.
Welcome to the first entry for They Might Be Giants’ official venture into children’s music. An album named after a word that the young-aged fans-to-be were very familiar with hearing; No!
I was a dad of about 3 years when this album was released. Back then, TMBG was sort of referred to as “my kind of music” by my now ex-wife. It not being pop/hip-hop/common radio variety music made it, in her eyes, different and weird.
But this.
This was an album for our toddler. Perfectly normal and acceptable reason to play They Might Be Giants in the car for a drive. And while being at home. And also for every bedtime.
Being the first song from the No! album, Fibber Island is forever tied to the feeling of excitement I had when I removed the plastic wrap from the CD and played it for my kiddo for the first time. To this day, I hear the opening acoustic guitar riff and am transported back to that first listen. Followed immediately by the memory of turning the song on at bedtime after tucking my toddler in for sleep.
That initial reaction was that this song didn’t sound a whole lot like what I knew to be “kids music.” Dumbed down, un-interesting. Assuming low intellect in the audience. You know, “Kookaburra Sits In A Tree” or whatever.
This, as it turns out, was precisely by design. The band has stated in past interviews that the album was not explicitly aimed toward children, but designed to be more kid-friendly than past works. Speaking more on that, John Linnell said the following.
"Usually on a TMBG record, there's at least one song that invokes death. Instead of that, there's a lot of songs about going to sleep.” - John Linnell on No!
There was ALSO an interactive CD-ROM element1 that allowed kids to listen to the songs and move the mouse while clicking around to engage with each song in creative, silly ways. This album is a god damned treasure.
Fibber Island sets a wonderful tone musically and imaginatively for any aged listener. I was immediately eager and ready to have that album playing at all waking moments of the my child’s day.
Before I began writing about this album, I wasn’t sure whether or not anyone would take an interest in these songs but if you stay with me, you’ll read about how pivotal each song was in building lifelong bonds with my kids, providing my solice in a very difficult marriage and living situation, and keeping me tethered to the things in life that always brought me joy.
So stick around as I go song by song through No!, one rubber guitar at a time.
You’re reading one of my No! essays. An album full of insubordinate mops, wobbly time, and sleepy heads.
See all No! posts - Start Here
Dive deeper into TMBG lore at TMBW.net (fan-run and fantastic)
See for yourself! https://jonuleis.com/tmbgno/
a couple years ago i asked my dad to get me a they might be giants cd and he got a bunch of them because he didn't know which ones to get. this was the first one that arrived - therefore i consider it the first tmbg cd i ever got.
I honestly think of No! as their best album of the aughts, with Venue Songs and the ABCs tied for 2nd, while their standard studio albums really started to slide in my opinion. (This is a different issue but besides Mink Car I really can't distinguish any of their proper 21st century studio albums from each other.) I look forward to upgrading said perceptions as your project continues and encourages me to listen again, but each of those three albums are deeply, enjoyably replayable. I suspect with No! that part of that is sentimental attachment to it being our happy frequent road trip soundtrack when our kids were young. Other than steering away from darker themes (though they are lurking there between the lines) the guys did not really compromise their musical tendencies. Beginning to end, I love these songs, and I'll be happy to play them again mentally and actually this summer and autumn as you explore the disc here.