They Might Be Giants – Particle Man

Photo by C. Taylor Crothers
Particle man, particle man
Doing the things a particle can
What’s he like? it’s not important
Particle man
Is he a dot, or is he a speck?
When he’s underwater does he get wet?
Or does the water get him instead?
Nobody knows, particle man
Triangle man, triangle man
Triangle man hates particle man
They have a fight, triangle wins
Triangle man
Universe man, universe man
Size of the entire universe man
Usually kind to smaller man
Universe man
He’s got a watch with a minute hand,
Millenium hand and an eon hand
When they meet it’s a happy land
Powerful man, universe man
Person man, person man
Hit on the head with a frying pan
Lives his life in a garbage can
Person man
Is he depressed or is he a mess?
Does he feel totally worthless?
Who came up with person man?
Degraded man, person man
Triangle man, triangle man
Triangle man hates person man
They have a fight, triangle wins
Triangle man
I’m going to see They Might Be Giants tonight with Nkosi and Murray! This will be the first time I’ve seen them live. I’m kind of excited. I’ve been told I’d like them since 2001, but it wasn’t until this past weekend that I plunked down the cash for their album Flood, which, according to the reviews on iTunes, is a good place to start. I’ve been playing it since and I love it. Totally quirky! Think BNL meets Weird Al. I think this is where my friend Eric gets his sense of humour. If you want to get a sense of what they’re like, subscribe to their podcast, which is free and excellent.
Update: The Weekly Planet previews the show.
Update 2: Writeup from the show here.