Fingertips: Twenty-one Little Voices in My Head

From “Who’s that standing out the window?” to “I’m having a heart attack,” here’s my life, haunted by Fingertips.

May 24, 2025

Illustration of a giant squid wrapped around a whale mid-battle, with a small lunar lander floating nearby. Black background with bold white text that reads “They Might Be Giants” and “Apollo 18.” — The iconic *Apollo 18* cover: a surreal deep-sea/lunar mashup of whale vs. squid, courtesy of They Might Be Giants' era of bold experimentalism. An album so strange, it comes with a warning label for your shuffle button.

The second-to-last song on Apollo 18 in some ways is also twenty-one more songs. Some call it a suite, a collection of half-digested hooks, an amalgamation of little ditties; we call it Fingertips and it is a musical miracle of micro melodies.

The song is comprised of 21 individual micro songs that each contrast with the song before or after it. It’s like listening to 1/3 of a chorus instead of an entire song.

I don’t know my health plan ID by heart, can never remember anyone’s phone number without looking it up in my contacts, and I once had my own age wrong for a whole year. But I remember every word of all 21 of these little numbers in order and think of them many more times per day than I figure is healthy.

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For the CD release of Apollo 18, each of the little songs comprising Fingertips was listed as an individual track. The liner notes indicated that this CD was meant to be listened to on shuffle so that you would randomly hear one of these little guys throughout your listening session.

Honestly, I Fingertips as one thing. John Flansburgh has stated several times that since they’ve been playing this song in their live shows, they always play it as one song, and at this point, he considers Fingertips to be ONE song. So maybe that makes me an Apollo 18 Reformist.

Let’s hear this collection of magic sounds and then jump into Fingertips, piece by piece.

Everything Is Catching On Fire

Stylized drawing of a fire extinguisher engulfed in flames. The illustration uses bold black lines with blue and white coloring, framed against a solid blue background. — “Everything is catching on fire.” The visual chaos of this flaming fire extinguisher captures the exact energy of a day where every possible thing goes wrong—all in under two seconds of song.

Get used to reading about how often and why each of these mini-choruses enters my mind and escapes from my mouth on a near-daily basis. Whenever I’m having a day where every possible step I take is the wrong one. Every frustrating or flat-out wrong outcome is presented to me. When I’m sure that even every timeline of every version of me across the multiverse is having the same terrible day, I sing this to myself.

I sing this to myself pretty often.

And every time I do, my mind continues to the next piece in line.

Fingertips

Minimalist illustration of a white hand with spread fingers, partially raised against a black background and framed in blue. The design is flat and bold. — “Fingertips.” A literal hand in the dark, this image becomes the unofficial icon of the entire chaotic experiment—twenty-one flashes of absurd brilliance, all tied together by a wave hello… or goodbye

Bluegrassy goodness. This is one of a few select songs that I will begin belting out or keep quietly to myself when I hear any hint of twang.

I Hear The Wind Blow

Stylized image of a blue-leaved tree in a simple landscape, bending in the wind with leaves blowing to the right. The background is white with a blue frame. — “I hear the wind blow.” A breezy scene that could be peaceful—unless you're a They Might Be Giants fan. Then it’s a signal that something ominous, absurd, or inexplicably catchy is just around the corner.

Sometimes, I wish I could observe the beauty and wonder of nature, wind blowing through the lush evergreen trees of my Pacific Northwest-based home, and just enjoy it at face value. What would it be like to be present in that moment? However, I live in a timeline where I found They Might Be Giants. If I lived in a tornado state and was about to have my home and self wiped off the face of the earth by a category 5 storm, I’d be singing I Hear The Wind Blow as it happens.

Hey Now Everybody

Simple graphic of a white megaphone emitting blue sound waves, held in a hand against a black background, bordered in blue. — “Hey now, everybody!” This megaphone moment captures the feeling of total sonic chaos—like shouting into a Zoom call with twelve unmuted people and zero moderators.

My go to musical reference when I’m at a party or a zoom meeting where everyone is talking over each other. The voices get louder and louder to compensate. You desperately want some auditory order to be instilled - but how will you get everyone’s attention?

Who’s That Standing Out The Window?

Graphic of a shadowy figure wearing a hat, visible through a window with drawn curtains inside a blue-walled room. The style is minimalist with bold lines. — “Who’s that standing out the window?” A noir moment of domestic dread. If you've ever closed your curtains just a little faster at night, this image lives in your head already.

This tune is one sentence long and is asks a question that I fearfully ask myself whenever I peer out of a window at night - unable to see anything in the darkness. The thought of a figure suddenly appearing gives me chills. This is why I don’t like sitting next to windows at night without the curtains closed. Unless I’m on a top floor of a building. It must come from a movie I saw as a kid but I think of that when I hear this. And I sing this to myself whenever I’m not sure what I’m seeing out of a window.

I Found A New Friend Underneath My Pillow

Cartoon of a white pillow with a blue, spiked dinosaur tail sticking out from underneath it. The background is stark black and white, framed in blue. — “I found a new friend underneath my pillow.” Is it a monster? A metaphor? Either way, bedtime will never feel quite normal again.

I recently began imagining this voice is coming from former president Joe Biden and now that has over written any previous associations. For whatever reason, my brain think this voice is remarkably similar to former president of the United States of America, Joe Biden.

Come On And Wreck My Car

Illustration of a blue car crashed into a tree, with smoke billowing from the hood and cracks in the window. The scene is cartoonishly rendered with thick lines and a blue border. — “Come on and wreck my car.” The most surf-rock way to invite disaster. Equal parts rebellion and resignation, it’s the anthem of a person who’s finally stopped flinching.

I asked my oldest to make an intro for the podcast version of this newsletter (yes, I paid him) and he wrote me a couple options. The one I chose for my intro was inspired by this little number. It’s a a splash of surf-rock swagger

Aren't You The Guy Who Hit Me In The Eye?

Illustration of a scowling man in a suit and hat holding one hand over his eye, with blue stars and pain lines radiating outward. The background is stark white with a blue frame. — “Aren’t you the guy who hit me in the eye?” Equal parts accusation and confusion,

I’ve always loves the idea of someone trying to recognize the person who hit them in the eye but they’re not entirely sure since their vision is much worse after being hit in the eye. So they have to ask the person, hey, “aren’t you the guy who hit me in the eye?” That’s very funny to me.

Please Pass The Milk

Simple line drawing of a plastic milk jug sitting on a flat surface. The background is white with a thin horizon line and a solid blue border. — “Please pass the milk, please.” Milk drinkers of the world - UNITE

I’m a milk drinker. I like putting a mug in the freezer until it gets nice and frosted, then pouring myself a glass of milk into that frozen mug, and drinking it as little crystalized icey milk bits start to form on the sides and break off as I drink it. Perhaps, this is related to the governments milk campaigns in the late 80’s and 90’s, but I love it. I love drinking milk. The association of monstrous antagonists throughout film who all drink milk was a real bummer but so be it. I will stand along side the milk drinking greats of history.

Leave Me Alone

Cartoon of a bald man in a suit holding up his hand in a stop gesture, eyes closed with sweat flying off his head in frustration. The background is white, framed in blue.

This runs through my mind daily. No exaggeration At some part of my day, I will inevitably want to be left alone. From people, from social media messages, texts, the cat, anything. I reach sensory overload and just need a minute. Ever since this song came into my life, it’s become my anthem of wanting to be left alone.

Who's Knocking On The Wall?

Illustration of a bookshelf shaking with motion lines, a black flower vase wobbling as a flower falls, and books tipping. The scene suggests something banging on the wall behind it. Blue border surrounds the white background. — “Who’s knocking on the wall?” A domestic mystery in motion.

Never in any time of my life have I nor will I ever sing this to myself as often as I did when I live in the Broadmoor apartments in Tacoma, WA.

→Who’s Behind the Hammer? An Investigation into Our Neighbor

All Alone, All By Myself

Cartoon of a blue figure sitting alone on the ground with arms wrapped around knees, facing away. The figure is placed in an empty white space with a blue border. — “All alone, all by myself.” The most visually quiet moment in the Fingertips saga

Inevitably, after I have pushed everyone away from me so they will leave me alone. I realize that I’m alone. And I start contemplating the lonely cage I’ve built for myself. Also, I sing every time I have the whole house to myself. Or when I get to work before anyone else.

What's That Blue Thing Doing Here?

Simple image of a blue cone-shaped lampshade or spotlight casting a beam of white light downward, set against a solid black background and framed in blue. — “What’s that blue thing doing here?” Whether it’s a lamp, a spotlight, or some unidentified object of suspicion

I like to replace the word “blue” in this one with whatever subject I see that doesn’t belong. Wife buys a new bed nightstand? Someone set something on my desk at work while I was gone? These are all great times to sing this one.

Something Grabbed Ahold Of My Hand

Cartoon-style image of a hairy blue monster hand with claws grabbing a human hand. The hands are clasped tightly against a white background with a blue frame. — “Something grabbed ahold of my hand.” Is it a gesture of love or terror? Hard to say.

I’ve referenced this may times while watching horror movies with friends. Pretty self explanatory but once someone in the movie is grabbed by someone or someTHING, I start singing this.

I Don't Understand You

A white speech bubble filled with random vertical lines, suggesting unintelligible text or static, set against a black background and framed in blue. — “I don’t understand you.” The perfect graphic embodiment of that moment when someone talks and your brain just fails to process

My best friend and I had started repeating this phrase and melody to each other either instead of or after first, “what?” after the other said something that we didn’t catch. It was also a fun thing to sing to any adult driving with us sitting in the back seat who tried to talk to us over the sound of being on the road. It wasn’t really very fun for the adults, I don’t think.

I Heard A Sound

Minimalist drawing of an ear with blue sound waves above it, indicating listening or hearing. The background is white and bordered in blue. — “I heard a sound.” That split-second moment when your brain goes from passive to *wait, what was that?*

I will never get the lyrics right when I sing this. Something about the cadence and quickness of the words—it just defeats me every time. I once heard a live performance of this song where John Flansburgh himself got this one wrong and I stopped feeling embarrassed about it. They know what they did.

Mysterious Whisper

Cartoon of a blue heart playing an electric guitar, with arms extending from the heart and fingers forming a chord and a hand gesture. The background is white with a blue border.

This is my favorite part of this entire Fingertips song. They way John Linnell emphasizes the middle of the word “mysterious.

“Mys-TEEEER-ious whis-PER”

It delivers serotonin to me every single time.

The Day That Love Came To Play

I’ve tried to sing the harmony parts for the word “play” and I don’t think I can ever make it work.

I'm Having A Heart Attack

Cartoon of a man in a dress shirt and tie clutching his chest with one hand, stars radiating outward to indicate pain. The background is black, bordered in blue. — “I’m having a heart attack.” Know the symptoms.

On June 30, 1993, I was shopping for fireworks with my best friend and his parents. I had a bit of a sore throat but powered through the rest of the day. By that night, I was feeling sick to my stomach (not uncommon as I had chronic stomach aches due to chronic anxiety). In the morning, on July 1, 1993, I was unable to reach my parents by phone to get picked up. I had my own key and asked to be driven home. I remember feeling really sick at this point. My throat was on fire and I could barely swallow my own saliva.

I don’t remember being told the news, but my granddad (on my mom’s side) had died earlier that morning of a heart attack. My next memory is of me being woken up by my grandma (who was expectedly unphased at the passing of her decades long ex-husband). She looked extremely worried about me though. That’s when I started to realize that I had a thermometer in my mouth and a cold wet “worsh rag” as my grandma would call it. I had a temperature that scared her.

It turns out, I had a severe case of strep throat. My grandma had to crush up the antibiotics and stir them into some pudding. Even still, it felt like swallowing knives. Through my feverish haze, I remember my grandma yelling out to my mom from my bedroom, that she can’t just ignore her children’s health because life has gotten too hard. Somebody needs to be keeping an eye on us. True, but also, that’s what you just did, Grandma. Her dad died and you checked on me to help. Gonna have to take my mom’s side on this one—a rare occasion.

A week or so later, after the funeral service, we drove from the cemetery out to my grandad’s property for the wake. My mom was was always on the verge of tears at this point in the grief process. It was a long drive so I popped in my Apollo 18 cassette. We made it part of the way through Fingertips before I realized this part of the tune was coming. I had been singing along the whole time. Eventually, this little number played through the car stereo.

“I’m having a heart attack.”

It’s sung four times over and each time I heard the verse, I could feel the tension building and also had to fight the urge to laugh. It was, and remains, absurdly funny to me that I would put on a song on the way to a wake for granddad who died from a heart attack at age 63, and sing along to “I’m having a heart attack.”

Every time I hear this part of the song, I think of that first week of July 1, 1993 and the moment in my mom’s car.

Fingertips (Whispered)

Simplified drawing of a blue hand with fingers spread against a white background. The lines are soft, and the image is framed in blue. — “Fingertips (whispered).” A quieter callback to the opening image, like the song itself is tucking you in. You’re not dreaming yet, but you’re close. Just one corridor left to walk.

Apollo 18 was another of my go-to listens when trying to fall asleep at night. I had too much anxiety as a kid so falling asleep was a problem for me and thusly, would usually make it all the way through a cassette still awake. Hearing the whispered refrain of “fingertips,” let me know that the last song was soon on its way and wasn’t any more asleep than I was 40ish minutes ago. Sometimes the timing would be so perfect, that this would play just at those moments where you in a dream state but still hear the sounds of the waking world. That in between state. I would hear “fingertips” whispered to me like calm assurance that I drift all the into slumberland.

I Walk Along Darkened Corridors

Silhouette of a person walking through a white doorway at the end of a long, dark, angular corridor. The image is framed in blue, with stark contrast between light and shadow. — “I walk along darkened corridors.” The curtain call of *Apollo 18*. It’s not just the end of the song, it’s the end of the show. A silhouetted figure exits stage left, and you’re left alone in the quiet.

When I listen to Apollo 18 from start to finish, in one sitting, I always feel as though this last section of Fingertips is the end of the performance of the album. It’s the last line of the play. The beautiful conclusion. The fade to black. I hear it and feel this sense of satisfaction and closure from this great masterpiece of an album. The only thing to left to hear is the album’s coda—the final statement. A reprise of the Apollo 18’s entire motif. A song you’ll read about in the next post, called “Space Suit.”

If you enjoyed the images used for each of the musical segments above, they were created by artist David Cowles for a tour poster and for one of the greatest They Might Be Giants shirts to exist. You can pick one up from the band directly at tmbgshop.com

A tour poster for They Might Be Giants' 2024 “Big Tour” featuring a grid of 21 cartoon panels, each representing a different micro-song from “Fingertips.” Tour dates and cities are listed beside the grid, including Pittsburgh, Covington, Detroit, Minneapolis, St Paul, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Madison. The color scheme is blue, black, and white. — They Might Be Giants’ *Fingertips*, visualized. Artist David Cowles illustrated each micro-song as its own panel for this 2024 tour poster—and somehow captured the chaos, comedy, and heartbreak of each one in a single square. You can snag a print or tee from the band at tmbgshop.com.

You’ve made it to end, where I get to share with you, my favorite live performance of Fingertips. The Mysterious Whisper, and I Walk Along Darkened Corridors both give me goosebumps when I listen. I hope you like it as much as I do.

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P.S. If you want a second opinion (and a great story about seeing TMBG post-pandemic from the 7th-most-nosebleed row imaginable), Steve Goldberg also wrote beautifully about Fingertips over on his fantastic newsletter, Earworms and Song Loops:

earworm.substack.com/p/they-might-be-giants-fingertips

Steve Goldberg

May 25

Thanks for the shoutout. I was wondering if you made the art accompanying the segments until you revealed the true artist (I mean actual- you are both true artists). I’ll have to order that shirt!

A couple of years ago, I wrote a piece all about songs in the form of a question, and I completely overlooked the fact that fingertips has four of them within the same song!

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1 reply by Chase Roper

https://earworm.substack.com/p/they-might-be-giants-fingertips

It's from a while ago and not my best work, but there you have it.

Still need to read your piece (it's gonna happen today -- oy how come I can't manage or control time?).

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