Added: 4 years ago
From: liambf
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  • notBowen took me here......the music kept me here

  • TMBG should always tour with HORNS

  • Right around the time this video was made, I voted in the People magazine online poll in which John Linnell was crowned the ninth most beautiful person in America.

  • I love Linnell. 

  • Well, he comes from an influential New England family. That's almost English really.

  • ...... look like shaggy

  • They look so young here! CANT WAIT TILL FRIDAY WOOO HOOOO!!!

  • @Darkphantaria Was that at koko?

  • he's american but he has british teeth

  • @verifyyouare18or Look around. Plenty of non-famous Americans have British teeth now, because dentistry costs so much.

  • Boy do I Love that Song!

  • 5 people don't have any sense of novelty or anything interesting in music. They wouldn't know a genuinely good song if it bit them on the arse.

  • This is one of their songs (of many) I think of as good Halloween music. It sounds like it would be good for that musical episode of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.

  • John linnell sounds like the singer for 311 at the beginning

  • he (linell) looks so young in this clip. I think it's the hair and the big t shirt.

  • Herd this song first in a DDR game. It shock and awed me so much. Its got that mellow beat to it that most songs today don't have. btw Anyone else think the head singer looks sort of like Shaggy, lol?

  • @Hakkun9872 ....thats freaking hilarious. he totally does.

  • in the 90s a two volume bootleg was circulated that had this song. 4 hours of awesome live shit, like when they hosted 120 minutes.

  • There simply amazingly adorable <3

  • I love this song. The interview bits are interesting too. Was that an excerpt from a longer interview? If yes, anyone know where can I find it? Also, gotta chuckle a little at 0:10-0:21.  Come on, Linnell, look at the camera. There ya go.

  • AH!! I'm 13 again!! =)

  • I have to agree with what they said about their music not really being weird. When I first started listening to them I thought that their music was weird, but now it's all such a variety and an intellectual game in trying to figure out what many of their songs are about.

  • "Here we go. *cue dancing*"

    That. Seriously. Justin Bieber? TMBG is the stuff!

  • Where's the congo line???

    Love this song!!!

  • I love a song that can fit the word allegory into the lyrics.

  • So young! :'D

  • Why are people Swarming over Justin Biener when there are THESE guys!?!?!?!?

  • Amen.

    I don't understand how people can even stand what passes for "music" nowadays...

  • Who?

  • @tunaketchup Justin Bieber. Sorry for the typo.

  • @blinxwang  So true, so true

  • @blinxwang Because its music out of people's realm of safety. They think that if they listen to TMBG and tell other people about them, they'll get weird looks and feel out of place. Normal people suck.

  • @eliades710 "Normal people suck."

    Beautifully true words...

  • @HavazikFerric beautifully elitist bullshit.

  • @blinxwang Too right. Not just because of the music, but John Linnell was pretty good-looking here (I'm a straight male.). He nailed the shaggy hair, the skinny frame, and the baggy T-shirt.

  • the trombone solo blew my mind.

  • @Possecore Totally. Chills.

  • original theme music for Cartoon Planet! -still makes me cry whenever I hear it. ( The End of the Tour as well, because that was used as the end theme.) This reminds me of how much cooler than everyone else I was in the mid-90's.

  • I dunno about being cool on account of liking TMBG but this is a great song and what an ending vocal by Linnell! You cry when you hear it cuz it's just such bomb stuff, I guess. +1 - I agree.

  • And 13 years later, Children Of Bodom visited the same stage and tore that shit up. =)

    Amazingly creative band, TMBG.

  • What are the lyrics here?:"

    "When I met a shadow on my window shade,

    They called up a ____________ and testify"

    ????

  • they called the police and testified.

  • Thank you!

  • this song is about a mass murderer that kills everyone at a party because he beleives them to be unenlightened. later he ponders in his prison cell how he can do it better next tiem and not get caught. its beautiful

  • Yeah, but "he's" insane. That's why he failed.

  • 1:56 linnell's dancing wins.

  • Music- have fun with it and create what you want!

    I really like what TMBG has done with music.

    It's good to be free and honest with yourself and find what you're really good at.

  • TMBG got it for real with this horn section mixed with lyrics that knock you out of your shoes.

  • I like some of their weird songs, such as particle man.

  • That one is pretty mainstream. Its good, but its the tip of the iceberg.

  • oh yeah real mainstream cause you know everyone was litsening to big band style music in '95

  • Which of their songs would you consider "normal," exactly?

  • this is adorable!

  • Linnel looks like every best friend I had in grade school in this vid.

  • Linnel looks so Shaggy in this one.

  • True story! The t-shirt doesn't hurt that illusion.

  • this video makes me practically in love with john linnell

  • any video of Linnel from the nineties is great, his hair is perfect for the entire decade =p

  • not to mention his sweet dance moves :3

  • @endlessserenade9 Yes. He really blew it marrying that beautiful woman when he could have me.

  • Sweet bone solo!

  • is it from the movie

  • guys, everything you know is wrong!

  • weird al is ok but not as good as tmbg

  • Great

  • here we go

  • I always dug this song. I liked the way the music evoked a sort of Mexican fiesta (the horns helped with that a lot) and the lyrics were all about some... deranged lunatic's plot to escape from jail and presumably kill everybody. Classic TMBG in my opinion.

  • No One Knows My Plan is about Plato's Allegory of the Cave.

  • No One Knows My Plan is clearly spoken from the point of view of somebody in jail. He references Plato's allegory, saying the people who reported him and got him arrested are like the people tied up in the cave; they don't see the real truth. No one understands his plan. It's thematically similar to the allegory of the cave, but not about it.

    I thin it's probably about a figure like Hitler. They sent him to jail early on and there he formulated an evil plan he thought would help out the world.

  • @liambf

    see I , as a young teen obsessed with this song ( it was the theme to cartoon planet! ) always related to it. I was quiet and felt like a loser but always thought one day I may blossom into a real human being and be awesomer than everyone else-that happened by the way.

  • maybe by the math song you mean "particle man," often mistitled triangle man. the malcolm in the middle theme song is called boss of me. no idea about big robot dinosaur.

  • how have you never heard of "no one knows my plan" but know tmbg? this song is often part of the conga in the live show.

  • With a small amount of research (i.e. Google), I have found evidence to suggest that Big Robot Dinosaur is not by They Might Be Giants but by Darkest of the Hillside Thickets.

  • I have a pemanent smile plastered on my face

  • "... this periodic problem where... we try and do something that's interesting and new, and it comes off... as weird."

    Oh my god, I love this man.

  • I don/'t really know this band. I heard this song from stepmania, and all i can say that this song and it's lyrics are truly brilliant. Good stuff.

  • Nerdy rock bands unite behind the god of strange music!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!If TBMG can't do everything with music possible, then I swear I will go to a Green Day concert, and now THAT is physically impossible.

  • Everybody conga! I'm not F***ing kidding! Put your hands on a stranger! Lose your ride home!

  • love this album

  • i love this period of TMBG. John Henry is vastly underrated, even now.

  • Mannn, John Linnell's hair is so yummy!

  • why i must agree with you but dosent it always? even in different cuts it is quite nice

  • I love all this love for John Linnell. I'm not alone in my opinion that he is one of the most attractive men everrr.

    They are so incredible.

  • These guys seem to always have kick-butt drummers: a dead give-away they're really good musicians.

  • This has to be one of their most beautiful songs. I've never seen it live. I was hoping to see someone play the guitar solo live. I can kindof play it. It's hard.

  • oh linnell...your dancing makes me smile. :)

  • why is one of the tags on this video "jail"? Did i miss some commentary about jail or something? haha

  • "in my prison cell i think these words"

  • oh yea... that makes a lot of sense haha. i guess i wasnt really thinking :D

  • I like the little head thing he does when he sings "No one understands." XD

  • Why is Tony Maimone so cool!?

  • i don't know.

  • I miss TMBG's old backing members. Especially Dan Hickey. I mean Marty's really damn good at drumming, but Hickey had the soul, and the left handed DW drumset...

  • lol good question, good answer ;-)

  • Ska is awesome!

  • ska is great but i wouldnt classify this as ska just because it has horns... no offence but i hate when people do that. i dont think any one can really classify tmbg into any genre although they can be described by the word "perfect" although that doesnt quite do them justice ;D

  • Yeah, it doesn't even have a Ska beat in any way.

  • I love the awkward moment on 01:59 to the point where he pulls his shirt for some reason. Only with TMBG.

  • probably sweaty, you know, ventilation.

  • Qne of very few good things that came from the 1990's.

  • SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST BEGINNING& ENDING THEME-t.m.b.g. do in fact rule...!!!

  • cartoon planet, actually!

  • I have a bad habbit of not caring for a song by TMBG. Then I just keep listening to it, and its my favorite song ever. But then I over listen to it. Haha I love TMBG Spiraling shape!

  • Wow, just reading through these comments, I love that we live in a world where after watching a particular video, everyone can join in on conversations about John's hair, and how hard John Henry rocked.

    And to put in my say, John Henry rocked hard!

  • Because TMBG fans are just that awesome. ;)

  • Damn straight!

  • My lord, I am totally in love with John Linnell. like...a whole lot. too bad he's about 19 years older than me and has a wife and a kid, but that makes no difference! *cough*

    lord, I adore TMBG! John Henry wasn't really one of my favorites until this year, I'm rediscovering it. good. stuff.

  • I have dibs on Linnell. I've been wanting a piece of that since 1986.

  • the song is so great. the 90s rules i miss that time

  • HOLY CRAP I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH, I had no idea there were videos of it on youtube... I freakin' love John Henry so freakin' much. It's a bit on the darker side. Oh yess.

  • Who is the trumpet player in this video? And what other videos is he in?

  • Itoolman, his name is James/Jim O'Connor. Around the I think John Henry and until after Mink Car they used him for studio and live shows. He's in the TMBG official music video even though Mark Pender played on Dr. Worm. I have been wondering why they have stopped using him since, as a Trumpet player myself, I respect his work and always looked up to it. My guess is that he might be a freelancer in NYC.

  • Totally. He looks way cute in this video. The only hairstyle I haven't liked on Linnell was when it was longish during Apollo 18 stuff. (And even that wasn't SO bad.)

  • oh man oh man oh mannn...his hair is one of the hottest parts about him!! Yummmm. :D

    And I agree that the Apollo 18 hair was the least yummy.

    But HERE, it's AMAAAAAAZING!!

  • john or john? lol

  • Linnell :]

  • yes linnell *sigh*  :)

  • lol, actually I say flans. but in general, i love both johns so...<3

  • someone asks i say linnell then im like no flansy no linnell really hard for me to decide

  • I love this song so much. I've seen them live so many times, but don't think I've seen them perform it.

  • I have never posted a comment on YouTube about ANYTHING before, but I would have to throw my hat in. I would agree - John Henry is one of the best from, Subliminal (wow) through to The End of The Tour (probably my favourite).

    Then again, "The Bells are Ringing" is my ringtone.

  • i completely agree. john henry is an amazing album

  • this song is so addicting

  • So, what was the plan?

  • Great stuff! The whole "John Henry" album seems underrated and overlooked to me. It's always been one of my favorites.

    Linnell 4evr!

  • what mixed reviews it received. I'm an 'old school' fan of They, and it's my favorite of their albums.

  • John Henry pretty much is the best record. What does it have like 19 songs? All of which are almost full length and fantastic.

  • I like John Henry - it's the album that got me into TMBG. My favourite is actually their new one, The Else, though.

  • in this perticular video flansburgh is hotter

  • Nah I think he's cuter all the time. I have weird tastes O.o

  • i love his voice....... he was deffinetly "cuter" in the earlier days, but age has to happen, hes still cute in this, when i met them this year....yikes!

    but best version of this song....eva!

  • Flansburg is sooooo cute (:

  • I like his glasses

  • nowadays at shows they have the crowd do a conga line to this song, entertaining stuff

  • one day ill see 'em live... one day...

  • they're on tour right now!!!

    go see them if you can, it's totally worth it.

  • I love all their oldie stuff. )': All there new stuff is all sad and all of it is about love. That's what I admired about the 80's- not every freaking song was about loving, losing love, someone you love, ect...

  • probabaly the coolest thing I've ever seen on youTube

  • Anybody else think Linnell looks kinda adolescent in that interview thing

  • I agree.

  • He did till he was probably forty. Now he looks his age.

  • Hey kroneland, I gotta disagree. Linnell has some cool hair. Wish mine would grow like that. I bet chicks would dig it. XD

  • yeah man!

  • You have to admit some of his hairstyles are pretty ridiculous. This happens to be one of them.

    Linnell is a cute guy, so the hair never ruins him, too, too much. But honestly. This hairstyle is questionable at best.

  • John Linnell:  long time supporter of bad haircuts.

  • Aye, I'm afraid we will have to admire him from afar, though the collective intelligence, attractiveness, kindness, and creative fount that is 'John' be ever tempting. =P No matter. I am content to dance in public, and drool in secret. xDD

  • Uggggg! I can't get over what a cute pie Flansberg is ^^ and he still is! With his weird little 90's haircut and his cute thick frame glasses!

    Anyone know if he's married...? Anyone? Anyone?

  • Yush. He is.

  • NOOO!!!! My life has no meaning now )':

  • Did it ever?

  • To Robin Goldswatter (I may have butchered her name), who is also a singer, if I recall! She's appeared in a couple of TMBG tracks as a background singer.

  • I think it's "Goldwasser". She was in the video for "The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)" toward the end when all the random people are headbanging and playing guitars and such. She also made the puppets of John and John for the kid's stuff podcasts and does the puppetry (or at least some of it) for the Deeply Felt Puppet Theatre on the "Here Come the ABC's" DVD. Also: "Dr. Evil" from "Austin Powers".I suddenly realize how odd it is that I know all this random information about Flansy's wife.

  • Especially since John Linnell is actually my favorite and I know absolutely nothing about his family, except that he has a son. Anyone know anything else about his family?

  • stalker

  • Hahahaha, NO, I promise!! That's hilarious, though. I just like to learn things about people and things I'm interested in. Another thing I've always wondered is..why don't they ever mention their parents or grandparents or other family members in interviews and "Gigantic" and things like that? I think it would be interesting to find out about where They came from, other than when they met in school and all that jazz. :)

  • What I think I know is they are from Brooklyn, NY and had a dial-a-song service that really took off and they started recording and now they're into doing children's albums (which are also quite good)

  • I agree :)

  • we want cake, where's our cake

  • That's a really random reply to my old comment, aquasnake333. Not that I don't enjoy randomness :) But the weird thing is that I just saw them in concert for the first time on Tuesday and they sang "Seven" and the audience (including myself) shouted "we want cake, where's our cake" during the song!

  • children's albums that are quite deep lyearicly and about thinks that children would not understand?

  • uhm no dude they're from Lincoln Massachusetts.

    and nothing ever really took off for them, at the hight of their fame they were just filler on MTV.

  • Dude you are so mean! "I'm you're only friend I'm not not you're only friend, but I'm a little glowing friend, but really I'm not actually your friend, but I am."

  • who's mean? me????

    I was just pointing out that they've never been all that popular..... that doesn't mean their music isn't amazing.

  • Actually Lincoln was the best selling independent release of 1988, and Ana Ng went to #1 on the college radio chart. "Birdhouse" was a #2 single in the UK, and Flood has gone platinum. I think they were just about to truly break out until grunge came along to destroy whimsey. But even still, they've won two grammys and consistently top the sales charts on Amazon and iTunes. They may never have had their "One Week" but they've been able to sustain their popularity over a long peroid of time.

  • Oh yes, John is hot now and then... but here I don't like his hair, too pouf-fy... but it's all about the song, one of my favorites. John Henry might be my favorite album, so many classics. And yeah, Flans is cute too, especially in the early days.

    Love the little interview clips at the beginning too, what was this from? Thanks!

  • I love the little dance he did at 1:57! Wasn't that cute?

  • Yeah, it's a little like 'the robot' dance.  He seems to do it without thought at all, just kinda' relaxed with the music. ^_^ It's one of the things I love so much about this band. They aren't afraid to have fun! :D

  • they are awesome live, most groups or artist lose lots of quality with their live performances, but this sounds the same as the LP

  • <.<; *blush* Am I the only one attracted to Flansburgh more than Linnell? >.> ( Not that it matters much. =P If all I wanted from a band was looks, I'd be at a backstreet concert. x.X Ugh. )

  • Thanks so much! That was so cool! I'm addicted to TMBG, but it only adds to my life...really...I'm not obssessed! Seriously, Linnell looks even younger than when I saw them in the mid-nineties. I think I'm exactly their age, actally! All the CD's, & I've reproduced another fan...my daughter! She loves it just as much, & in the same way as I do! Complelely fascinated and eternally grateful!

  • plus he wears the glasses now, which are super hot

  • I'm all for people wearing glasses. I personally am an overweight, left-handed glasses-wearer, so me and Flans should be best friends.

    Just kidding. I'm not that creepy. Everything else is true, though.

  • what's with thinking John Linnell was hot back then. he's at least as hot now!

  • Amen and A-MEN, Sister! Hooyah.

  • John Linell was a hotty :) back then

  • *sigh* John Linnell is such a cutie =)

    Great song, too!

  • the music reminds me of a video game