John Linnell

John Sidney Linnell<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; born June 12, 1959) is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist, and is a co-founder of the Brooklyn-based alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, with John Flansburgh, which was formed in 1982.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In addition to singing and songwriting, he plays accordion, baritone and bass saxophone, clarinet, and keyboards for the group.

Linnell's lyrics and music art includes strange subject matters and word play, while his music is backed up with generally happy and upbeat melodies.

Early life

John Linnell was born in New York City, to his father Zenos Linnell, (1925–2011), a psychiatrist,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and his mother Kathleen (née Glenn; 1926–2008).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="gigantic" /> When Linnell was a child, Walt Kelly's Songs of the Pogo album made a strong impression on his musical sensibilities. The album contained lyrics that relied heavily on puns and word play, which Linnell appreciated. In particular, he recalls "Lines Upon a Tranquil Brow", which later became part of They Might Be Giants's live repertoire.<ref name="spin" /><ref name="zoogobble">Template:Cite web</ref>

Education

At an early age, Linnell and his family relocated to Lincoln, Massachusetts, where he attended Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. There, he worked on the school newspaper, the Promethean, and met John Flansburgh. The two occasionally collaborated on home-recording projects.<ref name="gigantic" />

Linnell studied English for a semester at the University of Massachusetts Amherst before dropping out to pursue a career in music.<ref name="design matters">Template:Cite web</ref>

Musical career

Early work

In high school, Linnell played with a band called The Baggs.<ref name="spin">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Prior to finding success in the alternative rock scene, Linnell was also involved with The Mundanes, a Rhode Island–based new wave band. Linnell played keyboards and saxophone for the group.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> Because of his unsatisfactory minor role in the band, and under the pressure of The Mundanes' unsuccessful search for a record deal, Linnell began leisurely recording music with John Flansburgh.<ref name="design matters" /><ref name="digboston">Template:Cite web</ref> His family did not support the transition from what they considered to be a more professional band to an experimental one.<ref name="gigantic" />

Since 1982: They Might Be Giants

John Linnell (left) and John Flansburgh (right) in 2015

Linnell co-founded They Might Be Giants in 1982 with high school friend John Flansburgh. While the two split singing and songwriting duties roughly in half, Linnell's songs have had the most commercial success in their early years: singles like "Don't Let's Start" and "Ana Ng" introduced the band to college radio, and they made waves on the Billboard charts in 1990 with "Birdhouse in Your Soul".<ref name="gigantic" /><ref name="single charts">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Linnell writes songs, sings, plays accordion, keyboards, and various woodwind instruments for the band.

John Linnell's lyrics include strange subject matter and word play. Persistent themes include aging, delusional behavior, bad relationships, death, and the personification of inanimate objects. Conversely to some of these dark themes, the accompanying melodies are usually cascading and upbeat.<ref name="gigantic" /><ref name="nyt">Template:Cite news</ref>

Linnell described his role in the group during an interview for Splatter Effect in 1994:

In December 2005, the band began to produce a twice-monthly podcast. Early on, Linnell frequently contributed humorous spoken-word pieces to the program.

Solo work

John Linnell playing the accordion in 2008

Since 1994, Linnell has done some solo work: in that year he released the State Songs EP, which he expanded to a full-length album in 1999. The concept of the State Songs project is intentionally misleading: U.S. states feature prominently in the title and chorus of each song, but have very little to do with their actual narratives. "Montana", for instance, is about the insane ramblings of somebody who is about to die; "Idaho" explores a famous rock story in which John Lennon, having consumed hallucinogenic drugs, believed he could drive his house; "South Carolina" is about getting rich as a result of a bicycle accident.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

Other side-projects include the limited-release House of Mayors EP in 1996 through the Hello CD of the Month Club and in 1997 a flexi disc of the song "Olive the Other Reindeer" accompanying promotional copies of the children's books, Olive, the Other Reindeer. Linnell has also appeared as a guest musician—often as an accordionist—on a number of musical efforts by other artists, including Suzanne Vega's Days of Open Hand and David Byrne's Grown Backwards.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

Linnell provided the singing voice for the Other Father character in the 2009 film Coraline, for which They Might Be Giants wrote the "Other Father Song", included on the film's soundtrack.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

In 2021, Linnell released a four-song EP containing original songs sung entirely in Latin, titled Roman Songs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

For 2024, he collaborated with Michael Hearst on a cover of the song "Tele-Tele-Telephone" by Wazmo Nariz for Hearst's project, 80 From The 80s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

Personal life

Linnell married Karen Brown in 1997 and has one son, Henry, who was born in 1998<ref name="gigantic">Gigantic. Dir. AJ Schnack. 2002. Plexifilm, 2003.</ref> and appeared as a performer on They Might Be Giants' children's albums Here Come the ABCs and Here Come the 123s,<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> as well as his father's solo album Roman Songs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

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