35 They Might Be Giants “Pet Name”

They Might Be Giants is another band with an incredibly rich catalogue. Their songs have appeared all over the place, including their writing the theme song to the TV show Malcom in the Middle.  They also have been featured on the kids cartoon Tiny Toons and covered in an episode of Pushing Daisies. 

Their biggest hit is likely their cover of “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” on their album Flood. The best way to describe They Might Be Giants is art-rock-that’s-funny-and-surprisingly-musically-amazing. I think this is sometimes lost on the casual listener, these guys know how to write a song independent of the weirdness. Now, they have honed their song writing ability over the years by running a Dial-a-Song where anyone could call a phone number and hear a new They Might Be Giants song every day. I don’t know when they stopped this practice, but they ran this for years. Heck, it may still be going on somewhere on the internet. 

I don’t want to highlight the quirk for this band, that’s easy. Go listen to “Ana Ng” or “The Mesopotamians” for that. I want to highlight an amazing straightforward song that has hints of funk and R&B in a romantic song of two people who seem to be on exactly the same page. “Pet Name” starts with a fantastic bass riff and funk groove before the vocals and piano kick in. The build to the chorus that builds to a lyrical turn that things are how they should be. And this is how a song should be.