# Ep538: John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants Returns!

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-vinyl-guide-artist-interviews-for-record-collectors-and-music-nerds-6805967/ep538-john-flansburgh-of-they-might-be-giants-returns
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-vinyl-guide-artist-interviews-for-record-collectors-and-music-nerds-6805967/ep538-john-flansburgh-of-they-might-be-giants-returns.md
Podcast: [The Vinyl Guide - Artist Interviews for Record Collectors and Music Nerds](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-vinyl-guide-artist-interviews-for-record-collectors-and-music-nerds-6805967)
Published: 2026-03-16T08:46:00+00:00
Episode link: https://vinylguide.libsyn.com/ep538-john-flansburgh-of-they-might-be-giants-returns
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/vinylguide/Ep538_-_TMBGII.mp3?dest-id=315004
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-vinyl-guide-artist-interviews-for-record-collectors-and-music-nerds-6805967/episodes/ep538-john-flansburgh-of-they-might-be-giants-returns
Duration seconds: 3306

## Resource

John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants talks rare vinyl rarities, the chaotic story behind the new album's cover art, why re-recording old music is almost always a mistake and lots more Order the new album "The World Is to Dig" here Topics Include: Flansburgh owns roughly 2,000 records across three turntable setups at home He doesn't identify as a collector — just a serious listener His rarest record: an Andy Warhol-autographed Sticky Fingers with wild provenance photos He also owns a peeled-banana Velvet Underground and a Blonde on Blonde rarity Deep dive into what makes each of those pressings so collectible TMBG's new album title comes from a Maurice Sendak-illustrated children's book That led to a fascinating detour on painter Ad Reinhardt's secret black-on-black canvases Flansburgh has been TMBG's de facto art director for 35 years The new album's cover art was nearly a Washington Post-licensed sinkhole photo Washington Post's mass layoffs killed the deal at the last possible moment A Hudson Valley School painting of Yosemite became the actual cover Flansburgh and Linnell don't stockpile songs — cuts are made for specific artistic reasons He once had to shelve a song because Linnell came in with a nearly identical opening line TMBG song titles are uniquely searchable — except the new one referencing Wu-Tang Flansburgh is firmly against re-recording old material — cites Zappa as a cautionary tale Great discussion on remastering: Beatles got it right, Hendrix remaster was disorienting TMBG evolved from NYC performance art venues to rock clubs — crowd energy changed everything Their boutique 8-track manufacturer couldn't keep up when TMBG needed a thousand units Dolby Atmos debate: Flansburgh is skeptical, Nate makes the case for spatial audio Nate's most collectibl…

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## Transcript

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