98: Smell the Cat Food In Your Bank Account

98. "Don't Let's Start" by They Might Be Giants [iTunes? Yes.] {Video: Don't Let's Start.}

This song introduced the band known as They Might Be Giants to much of the world. Not me. This song came out in 1986, and at that time I was living the life of pernicious asceticism as a Mormon missionary in wild, wonderful West Virginia.

(That's not to say I didn't hear any new songs while I was on my mission, just not this one because it wasn't a big enough of a hit. I did hear other songs from that time frame, like "Higher Love" by Steve Winwood, although because I was only hearing bits and pieces of the song in stores, on the street, or at people's houses, I thought the lyrics were "bake me a pie of love." Similarly, I heard "Hip To Be Square" by Huey Lewis and thought it was "Fit To Be Squared.")

As such, I didn't actually "discover" They Might Be Giants until their hit "Istanbul" in 1990. But, I liked them so much then that I went back and bought their earlier albums, which included this great song.

When most people think of They Might Be Giants, words like "fun," "quirky," "nice," and "happy" are often used. That "fun" can be seen in lyrics from this song like:

"When you are alone you are the cat, you are the phone, you are an animal. The words I'm saying now mean nothing more than "meow" to an animal. Wake up and smell the cat food in your bank account. And don't try to stop the tail that wags the hound."

Fun, right?

And then there's more "fun" lyrics like:

"No one in the world ever gets what they want, and that is beautiful. Everybody dies frustrated and sad, and that is beautiful."

Wait….was that "fun?"

How about:

"I don't want to live in this world anymore. I don't want to live in this world."

Ummmmm…. Okay, maybe they aren't "fun" all the time. But they're still quirky, right?

Nice hats.     THANKS!

Yup. Quirky.

COMING UP NEXT: A trip to the dentist.