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Istanbul (Not Constantinople)by They Might Be Giants
Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
They Might Be Giants
First Spin
Last Spin
- May 6, 2024
9:32 AMHappy birthday to John Flansburgh, American singer-songwriter and guitarist of They Might Be Giants, born on this day in 1960! Istanbul (Not Constantinople) was covered by They Might Be Giants. Written in 1953, with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy and music by Nat Simon.John Richards - Mar 28, 2024
12:47 PMOn this day in 1930, Constantinople was renamed as Istanbul by Ataturk's government. The name Istanbul was already used colloquially. The renaming was an attempt to modernise Turkey and move away from its Ottoman past. If you're up for a little history, here's a look at how things used to look there: youtu.be - Dec 24, 2023
2:50 AMIstanbul (Not Constantinople) was covered by They Might Be Giants. Written in1953, with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy and music by Nat Simon. - Dec 7, 2021
8:32 AMIn lieu of PJ Harvey's sample of Instanbul (Not Constantinople) in that last track, here's They Might Be Giant's version of this The Four Lads' track. - Jan 28, 2021
8:48 AMHi John, My daughter Maisie is turning ten on 1/28. It’s been a crazy year and wanted to do something extra special to celebrate her day. In fact a couple of weeks ago she was wondering if it would be possible for KEXP to play They Might Be Giants “Istanbul” for her birthday. She discovered the song while watching the Umbrella Academy. I was thrilled as I’ve been a life long TMBG fan. The first time I saw them was when I was 15. I was too young to get into the village vanguard in NYC so I had to bring my mom!! Our love for the band is multi generational. Our love for KEXP is also multi generational as it plays all day in our house. We’ve even got out pup Turtle into it as he rocks his KEXP sweatshirt at the dog park at Golden Gardens. Thank you for all you do - for helping us get through this insane time, for sharing your empathy and your vulnerabilities. For helping us as a community learn about the injustices in the world and provide a call to action to help. I find myself saying to others “I understand, you are not alone”. Thank you for your love of sharing new music and for digging deep into the archives and playing those gems that I used to play when I was in college radio. xo Aimee ================== Happy birthday Maisie from the Morning Show crew! - Oct 6, 2020
10:28 AMThis one's for you, 7-year-old Eleanor! "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" was originally recorded in 1953 by The Four Lads. Its lyrics were written by Jimmy Kennedy and music by Nat Simon. John Flansburgh of TMBG said, "This song I knew from my childhood, and we learned it simply to have more songs in our repertoire.": tmbw.net - Sep 27, 2019
6:32 AMNumber 76 (continued). Want to know how "Flood" transcends space and time?: medium.com - Aug 13, 2019
9:32 AMIstanbul (Not Constantinople) was covered by They Might Be Giants, but over 30 years before that, it peaked at #10 on the Billboard chart in 1953, sung by The Four Lads. Here's the original version: www.youtube.com - Dec 17, 2018
9:22 AMWill you be joining TMBG and KEXP's own DJ Riz on this year's JoCo cruise? jococruise.com - Feb 1, 2017
8:14 AMRequested by Erik. Istanbul and not the mighty mighty bosstones! - Jul 21, 2016
8:48 AMCover of the song by Jimmy Kennedy and Nat Simon, and originally recorded by the Canadian quartet, The Four Lads in 1953 - Jan 28, 2016
11:55 AMThey Might Be Giants did a KEXP performance a few years ago, stream the audio from that here: kexp.org - May 29, 2014
21:44 PMThis week TMBG released a new live compilation called Idlewild, find out more on the band's site: www.theymightbegiants.com - Feb 11, 2013
12:19 PMThey Might Be Giants is coming to Showbox SoDo Wednesday, June 12th www.kexp.org Check out their most recent in-studio here, including this song: kexp.org - May 10, 2012
13:07 PMThe duo stopped by the KEXP studio last year, and you can listen to their entire live performance here: kexp.org /// www.theymightbegiants.com