This week, you're all gonna be in this experimental film! Provided, of course, that you're a fan of They Might Be Giants (TMBG) (and are OK with film being... tape? Nevermind). What is it about this quirky musical group that has kept fans interested for over 30 years?
Next week, we'll put on our robes and wizard hats to talk about fans of tabletop RPGs!
## Episode outline
### Fandom Facts
**Origins:**
> They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG expanded to include a backing band.
>
> — [Wikipedia - They Might Be Giants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Might_Be_Giants)
TMBG is known for having an unconventional, experimental kind of music, has released 19 studio albums (including _Flood_ which has been certified platinum), has created theme music for several television shows, and has produced children's music.
Think you haven't heard of them? Try one of the following:
- Boss of Me (theme song of _Malcolm in the Middle_)
- Dog On Fire (opening theme of _The Daily Show with Jon Stewart_)
- The theme song for _Oblongs_, and _The Wrong Coast_
- Birdhouse in your Soul, Istanbul (Not Constantinople), and Particle Man
**Most Active:**
Given that They Might Be Giants has been a band since the 1980s, it's not surprising that the [Google Trends](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F07n3s) data shows a pretty low amount of interest over time. To be fair, unlike many of the fandoms we've covered, interest in TMBG was already quite low in 2004. There was a huge spike in interest in July 2004 which corresponds to the the release of their album _The Spine_, and some smaller bursts of interest probably related to different album releases. Interest now is about 1/10th of the interest from 2004.
**Size of Fandom:**
They Might Be Giants has sold over 4 million records. Given that information and their 19 studio albums, a rough estimate of fans would give us between ~200 000 and 4 million.
A different (much lower estimate) that gives an idea of the dedication of fans might be the _They Might Be Giants Instant Fan Club_:
> The Instant Fan Club returned for 2015 with an announcement in November 2014. There were initially 2,500 subscriptions available, which were meant to be available until January 5, 2015. All 2,500 spots were filled by December ... In addition to the regular level of membership ($98) and the Super-President tier ($250) introduced in 2012's fan club, the 2015 IFC offers a third option "for folks on a budget", Dial-A-Song Direct ($30).
>
> — [this might be a wiki - They Might Be Giants Instant Fan Club](http://tmbw.net/wiki/They_Might_Be_Giants_Instant_Fan_Club)
TMBG has [over 330 000 likes on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/theymightbegiants/), over [65 000 followers on Twitter](https://twitter.com/tmbg?lang=en), and over [2200 subscribers on r/tmbg](https://www.reddit.com/r/tmbg/).
**Around the world:**
From the [Google Trends data again](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F07n3s), most fans of They Might Be Giants hail from English speaking countries: By and large, fans are from the United States, but there is also some interest in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and New Zealand.
**Did you know that...**
- TMBG is [the unofficial band of the TV Tropes Wiki](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Music/TheyMightBeGiants)?
- Melissa Joan Hart (_Clarissa Explains It All_, _Sabrina: The Teenage Witch_) got a job because of TMBG:
> "I actually got the job for Clarissa Explains It All because of They Might Be Giants. The producer asked me about music, and I told them I liked TMBG (instead of popular bands like New Kids on the Block). He loved it, I got the job and then they worked TMBG int...
