Scott Jarzombek might have scoffed at my choice of REM's "Orange Crush," but he high-fived me for knowing who They Might Be Giants were. I abhorred "Don't Let's Start," but "Ana Ng" was everything I loved about rock at the time: power chords, great melodies and confusing lyrics. "Orange Crush" at least seemed to be about Vietnam. As soon as the lead singer said "perpindicular" in this song I felt stupid.
Indeed, the beauty of saying you liked They Might Be Giants at age twelve was that people assumed you were smart as a result. "Ana Ng" was Finnegan's Wake 120 Minutes style. If you haven't heard this song yet, I envy you. What a thrill when I finally heard John Linnel pronounce "Ng." Hearing a word without vowels is the next best thing to seeing a brand new color.
Trying to figure out this song's meaning is as silly as trying to read the string of words during the chorus. Now, just like in 1988, my body spastically rocks back and forth and I play air drums.
Just play this college rock classic and get your geek on.
(courtesy of ixamaxi)
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1 comment:
This is a genius song - when I was younger I was particularly impressed by the 'borken record' repetition, and the 'we don't want the world' graffiti...
Nice choice.
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