Don't Let's Start: A Podcast About They Might Be Giants

37: APOLLO 18 - Part 5: I Heard A Sound

Don't Let's Start: A Podcast About They Might Be Giants

Show Notes

Hey now everybody! After being lost in deep space, Jordan and Dave can't leave They Might Be Giants' fourth album Apollo 18 alone! We're once again joined by second engineer Edward Douglas, plus special guests PETER STAMPFEL and ELMA MAYER, who make unforgettable appearances on Fingertips! You won't remember why you liked our discussion of Hypnotist Of Ladies, but you will!

Then, everything catches on fire in the Don't Let's Pod studio as Jordan and Dave understand every single word of all 21 tracks of Fingertips! Blown wind, New friends, wrecked cars, passed milk, blue things, mysterious whispers...something grabbed ahold of our hands and we're serious as a heart attack! Who IS that standing out the window? Who IS that knocking on the wall? Aren't WHO is the guy who hit WHO in the EYE? And finally, Apollo 18 is set free as Space Suit, all alone, all by itself, is unhooked and floats endlessly into those black, beautiful darkened corridors.......CAME TO PLAAAAY!

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More from Don't Let's Start: A Podcast About They Might Be Giants

Sep 30, 2026

We clear our inbox and fill your podcast box with our latest Letterbox special! So many boxes! We respond to listener e-mails that cover such frenzied topics as Bob Dylan, Cast Your Pod To The Wind, Factory Showroom stuff, TMBG's children's music, and of course, scarecrows of the grinning and filthy variety! And so much more, much, much more...Plus, long overdue addendums to our past episodes! More about songs from Flood, Apollo 18, et-friggin-cetera! Listen and listen well!

Jul 16, 2026

Get away! Unless you want to hear us talk about the demos and alternate versions of songs They Might Be Giants cooked up from the Factory Showroom era! There's too many lo-fi delights to list here, but let's just say, incidentally, you might want to buy your Token Back to Brooklyn, head to New York City, and hitch a ride on a Rocket Ship! What are you, some sort of Alternate Take of I Can Hear You? Stop standing around like there's something to get! Sit down and listen!

Jun 19, 2026

From May 28th to May 30th They Might Be Giants performed at Brooklyn Steel, only a short drive, or an absurdly long walk, away from Jordan and Dave. We interrupt our Factory Showroom run once again to bring you our official unofficial report. What songs were performed? And WHO performed them?!? (TMBG?) Listen and find out!

Apr 26, 2026

Look what the cat has dragged in! They Might Be Giants have released a new album, The World Is To Dig! And here's what you get: our reaction! Do we dig it? Did it make us sleep or go feral? Is it an overnight sensation or flawed garbage? (Ok that's a bit harsh, I'm just trying to make wordplay from the song titles, people!) Get down with Jordan and Dave's brains, put that telescope up to your ears and give this a slow, careful listen! Join us on Patreon!: patreon.com/c/dontletsstartpodcast

Apr 15, 2026

Why? Because it's extra, baby! In this episode we're kicking back onto our seductive red leather couch to discuss a few songs left off of They Might Be Giants' sixth album Factory Showroom that managed to slide right into the S-E-X-X-Y EP! Our big earth-shaking discussion is Sensurround, a catchy, crafty and collateral-damage filled John Linnell classic! We don't know where he got the idea for this song, but we go ballistic for it! Next is We've Got A World That Swings, a cute and...Oh, wait, sorry. Next is Unforgotten, a somber and soberingly sweet sentiment from John Flansburgh that surprised us! Is this song what we want at all? Hey, what's the hassle? The nutty We've Got A World That Swings is next. Even though by this point we're sleepy and yawning, we give it our all and dive into the history of this curious cover! What a lucky guy I am! And finally, we grab our glow sticks and rave out with our fellow kids to the feature length S-E-X-X-Y (The Warren Rigg Microwave Mix)! You don't have to know what we're thinking now, listen to the episode to find out!

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