The band that brought us musical history lessons about one-term former president James K. Polk and the name flip-flop of Turkey’s capital is coming to Eugene. They Might Be Giants have been confirmed as the headlining act for the Eugene Celebration on Sept. 14. A few months ago, band members John Flansburgh and John Linnell told CNN they don’t mind being called nerd rockers — or even a novelty act. But after seven studio albums, a slough of live and greatest hits material and a TV show theme song here and there, the boys aren’t a novelty like The Buggles or Len. They’re simply good. Don’t be a fool; go see them when they come to town.
TMBG will release “Mink Car” Sept. 11. Veterans of the band’s live sets will recognize many of the songs, including “Cyclops Rock” and “Another First Kiss.”
Speaking of “nerd rockers” with upcoming albums, The Eels announced this week that they will release their new album in 2002, with the help of John Parish of P.J. Harvey’s band and Peter Buck of R.E.M.
But few are looking as far forward as Mr. Lang, for they are still aghast with joy over Tuesday’s *NSYNC release, “Celebrity.” Because there isn’t enough *NSYNC-oriented news in this issue already, Mr. Lang has accumulated a few tidbits about the heartthrobs.
In an interview with MTV’s Carson Daly, *NSYNCer Joey Fatone said when he gets a case of the blues real bad, he likes to go on a CD-buying spree to turn his frown upside down. Recently, Fatone admitted, he dropped $500 on albums at a Warehouse Music store just to pull himself out of the doldrums. But there’s an upside, Fatone explained. He’s building a “very respectable” music collection “that I’m really proud of.” Carson asked what discs Fatone picked up on his spree to add to his respectable collection. Fatone replied he had bought greatest hits albums from Journey, Duran Duran and Queen.
So much suddenly makes sense.
The group has other reasons to celebrate as well. On Tuesday, MTV announced the nominations for this year’s Video Music Awards. The group’s first single, “Pop,” somehow got a nod in the “breakthrough video” category. The clip is packed with computer-generated special effects, but we’ve seen that before. Usually, the breakthrough category is reserved for new visions or concepts, such as Bjork‘s clip for “All is Full of Love,” where two eerie robots are built and then make out. Sorry, *NSYNCers, Tron-inspired computer landscapes created with modern technology just aren’t a breakthrough.
Especially compared to Fatboy Slim’s “Weapon of Choice,” which picked up the most nominations this year. If you haven’t seen this clip yet, scour the Internet to see star of stage and screen Christopher Walken dance, groove and eventually soar as he tears through an empty hotel lobby. Like Jason Alexander and many other actors who don’t look like Gene Kelly or Madonna, Walken was trained in dance during his younger years to make himself more marketable as an actor. Looks like the work paid off. When the video comes on, it makes you stop what you’re doing and watch from start to finish no matter how many times you’ve seen it.
“Weapon of Choice” is another popular and visionary success for the king of video directors, Spike Jonze. Along with the movie “Being John Malkovich,” Jonze is the genius behind The Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage,” which is filmed like the opening to a 1970s cop show; Weezer’s “Buddy Holly,” in which he put the band on stage for a concert in Arnold’s diner from “Happy Days”; and Bjork’s “It’s Oh So Quiet,” which ran like a scene from a Broadway musical featuring Bjork and crew dancing and singing through a tire dealership.
Take a second to punch Jonze’s name into a search engine and find a listing of his videos. He has worked with almost every influential band of the past 10 years from X to Fatboy, and he created a memorable clip every time.
Jeremy Lang is an associate editor of the Emerald. He can be reached at [email protected].