They Might Be Giants – Here Comes Science

Educational Kids' Songs Parents and Kids Both Love

Oct 2, 2009 Mary Robinson Crews

Parenting just got a bit easier thanks to They Might Be Giants' newest foray into the cool music for kids scene. Their latest CD/DVD is Here Comes Science.

Cool kids and hip parents are rejoicing with the news that They Might Be Giants have come to their rescue once again with 19 new, funny, quirky and infectious songs, saving them from a fate of having to endure the strains of Hannah Montana and Kidz Bop in the minivan for the umpteenth time.

Being stuck in the carpool line at school or on the freeway at rush hour is just a little bit easier when the iPod is playing They Might Be Giants' fun, educational kids' songs that both kids love and grown-ups appreciate, too.

They Might Be Giants – Making Music Together for more than 25 years

John Linnell and John Flansburgh of legendary alternative rock band They Might Be Giants (TMBG) have been making music together for more than 25 years, releasing 14 studio albums since 1986 and garnering a large number of devoted fans.

They didn't start specifically making cool music for kids, though, until their acclaimed cd release No! in 2002. They followed that success in the children's music business with the surreal Bed, Bed, Bed storybook and CD in 2003. In 2005 they released Here Come the ABCs on the Disney Sound label and followed it with the Grammy-winning Here Come the 123s, also for Disney. September 2009 brought the release of Here Comes Science again on Disney Sound.

TMBG has also done quite a bit of film and TV work. They won a 2002 Grammy for their theme for Malcolm in the Middle, "Boss Of Me". They've also recorded Disney theme songs for Disney television cartoons, including the Higgeltytown Heroes theme, and "The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Theme".

Cool Music for Kids, Education, and Teaching Science

The music on 123s and ABCs, both, is geared more toward the shorter folks in the younger set, with catchy songs designed to teach fairly simple concepts about numbers and the alphabet. On Here Comes Science TMBG veers away from the preschool music sound and hits notes pitched for teaching science to kids in the elementary school age range (and up).

The topics are meatier, with songs like "Meet the Elements" and "Photosynthesis" and perhaps a little controversial with songs like "My Brother the Ape" (about evolution) and "Science is Real". Creationists and anti-evolutionists might opt to steer clear with They Might Be Giants lyrics like these:

"Science is real from the Big Bang to DNA

Science is real from evolution to the Milky Way

I like those stories about angels, unicorns and elves

Now I like those stories as much as anybody else

But when I’m seeking knowledge either simple or abstract

The facts are with science.

Science is real."

In a September 25, 2009 interview with Ira Flatow on NPR's Science Friday, They Might Be Giants spoke about the shift in the age range saying that there are some songs on Here Comes Science that might appeal to younger kids, "and then there are songs that are more fact-packed that probably would be a little bit too complicated for a toddler. The song 'Meet the Elements' – if this existed in my freshman year of high school it would have been an incredible godsend to my grades."

Elementary science teachers will be thrilled to have some cool music for kids they can use in the classroom. Many studies have pointed to the importance of music in education and as any adult who was a Saturday morning cartoon watching kid in the 70s can attest those Schoolhouse Rock type ditties can stick with a person for life. Science concepts such as states of matter are liable to be permanently embedded in impressionable brains after absorbing songs like TMBG's "Solid, Liquid, Gas".

Why Does The Sun Shine?

Of note to TMBG fans from way back is the inclusion of a new (still punky and pogo-able) version of the Giants' popular cover of "Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)" . The song has been a staple of the Giants' live shows since the early 90s. It was originally released on a 1959 album by Tom Glazer and Dottie Evans called Space Songs.

They Might Be Giants had already re-recorded a version for Here Comes Science when it was pointed out that the science in the song was rather out-of-date. Faced with a dilemma the Johns stepped up to correct the misinformation with an answer song, "Why Does the Sun Really Shine?" which trippily intones more correctly "the sun is a miasma of incandescent plasma".

Long time fans will be happy to hear that Here Comes Science sounds a bit more like a classic They Might Be Giants album. In addition to more complicated subject matter than their other Disney releases Here Comes Science is also less simple stylistically. Science is closer to No! or Bed, Bed, Bed as far as kid music goes with an ample dose of Schoolhouse Rock thrown in, too. Grown-up fans, as well as the shorter set, will appreciate Here Comes Science.

Track Listing for Here Comes Science

Science Is Real
Meet the Elements
I Am a Paleontologist w/Danny Weinkauf
The Bloodmobile
Electric Car w/Robin Goldwasser
My Brother the Ape
What Is a Shooting Star?
How Many Planets?
Why Does the Sun Shine?
Why Does the Sun Really Shine?
Roy G. Biv
Put It to the Test
Photosynthesis
Cells
Speed and Velocity w/Marty Beller
Computer Assisted Design
Solid Liquid Gas
Here Comes Science Bonus Track
The Ballad of Davy Crockett (in Outer Space)

In addition to the CD, a complete DVD full of animated music videos for every song comes in the Here Comes Science package. The songs stand alone just fine, but kids will love watching the amazing videos, too.

Cool Children's Music by Other Artists

Parents on the lookout for other cool kids' music might also like to check out articles about funky, found-sound, family folk musician Billy Jonas and the Where The Wild Things Are Soundtrack featuring Karen O from the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs.

The copyright of the article They Might Be Giants – Here Comes Science in Children's Music is owned by Mary Robinson Crews. Permission to republish They Might Be Giants – Here Comes Science in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

They Might Be Giants-John Linnell, John Flansburgh	TMBG – Here Come the ABCs – Cool Kids Music	They Might Be Giants – Here Comes Science
TMBG – Here Come the 123s – Hip Kids Music	TMBG - No! – Cool Kids Songs