DVD Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) - A movie about They Might Be Giants
Watching Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) is like stepping into a delightful alternate universe where wit and ingenuity are valued over sexual display and bombast. This energetic documentary explores the quirky world of They Might Be Giants, surely one of the most distinctive rock bands of all time. Through interviews with the band's creative duo, John Flansburgh and John Linnell, as well as concert clips, video snippets, and interviews with commentators and musicians like Ira Glass, Sarah Vowell, Frank Black, Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, and the gloriously deranged Syd Straw, Gigantic tracks the irresistible rise of They Might Be Giants to the curious cult niche they occupy with panache and aplomb. The movie ably captures the band's off-kilter humor while also appreciating their poetry and musicianship. In addition, there's enough bonus material (full videos, live footage, deleted scenes and interviews) to make any fan's head explode. --Bret Fetzer |
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Review(s): DVD Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) - A movie about They Might Be Giants | |
When my nephew Tim did me the great favor of hooking me up with these two guys, I wondered what planet they came from. This and the other DVD make it obvious: Brooklyn.
What will you learn from this disc:
1. Creative people are obsessive. The output pours from one of our Johns like it did from Mozart. He almost cannot help it. There are simply people who exude creativity, and they cannot stop themselves.
2. The talents diverge and complement. You have a John who schmoozes and a John who stays back and creates. You have a tough John and a gentle John. You have a John with glasses and a John without glasses.
3. I've never heard anybody play around with musical form and poetry like these guys can.
A carp: why so little about Apollo 18?? That was one of their best, but it's shorted in the film.
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| Not to put too fine a point on it... |
This is a pretty good documentary about the two man band They Might Be Giants. I would by no means call it the "definitive" look at the group, but it is still interesting. It is sure to be of interest to fans of the band, but I am not really sure how non-fans will react to it. There are also plenty of bonus features, which will give TMBG fans hours of entertainment. All in all, this is a well put together DVD.
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| Hammer down, rabbit ears! |
John Flansburgh and John Linnell burst onto the music scene in the mid-'80s as a two-man band with a name cribbed from an old George C. Scott movie: "They Might Be Giants."
Armed with accordions, clarinets, wicked guitars, tape loops, drum machines and voices like Big Bird, They Might Be Giants created their own hilariously geeky genre of music. They had catchy hooks to spare and a knack for existential, caffeinated Fisher-Price tongue-twisters and wordplay. Much like Brian Wilson once created what he called "pocket symphonies," the Giants made "pocket pop songs." "Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns" - doesn't give a clear,
chronological history of the band but does offer a refreshing look at two gifted musicians who usually hide behind their wall of sound and mirth.
Through clips of their live shows, videos and cogent interviews (with Flansburgh and Linnell, manager Jamie Kitman, former Pixie's frontman Frank Black, authors Dave Eggers and Sarah Vowell and others), the movie covers some of the Giants' best-known songs and the touchstones of their brief history: their formation and "do-it-yourself" early days; their Dial-A-Song service (basically an answering machine at Flansburgh's old apartment that offered a new song each day for free); the problems they encountered with their label during the grunge era; and their recent resurgence via the Internet.
As with anything of this sort, "Gigantic" isn't for nonfans (even for a moderate fan, the uniqueness of the Giants' music makes a little go a long way), but the group's countless devotees will be extremely pleased with the DVD and its giant's portion of extras.
This is how all music DVDs should be stocked: eight music videos; tons of deleted scenes and interviews; an audio presentation of their "This American Life" profile and the group's old TV appearances on "Joy Farm" and "Nick Rocks."
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