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Barry’s Asian Salmon
Image by Barry Gourmet and Raw
Lunch takes only 10 minutes to make for one.
Barry’s Asian Salmon
Introduction:
Written by Barry Gourmet & Raw © Copyright Sept.24 2011
Wild red Salmon from the pacific is delicious , heart healthy , and provides essential omega 3 fatty acids. Of course tropical Phuket Thailand does not have Salmon so I buy it frozen. The way I usually prepare my fish is to Thaw it out clean it with a good rinse then lay the fillet in my steamer . The herbs that I later add in will flavor the fish and in the end you have a wonderful herbal broth to go with the meal.
I consume seafood once or 2 times per week but the raw dressings and salads are always the predominate size in proportion to balance out my Plant Based Diet.
Days on either side of my fish meal is Raw Vegan,Macrobiotics, Mediterranean,and Thai.
What I look for in a meal is it easy to make , in a short time, with high nutritional whole foods
good taste and fun to make? The food must have color and I use low heat methods so that the vegetables are crispy in the center ,but softer on the out side . To achieve this the vegetables must be cut in the same size to give uniformity in taste and texture.
Normally when I make a raw dressing it usually is enough to last me for 3 or more meals over 2 or 3 days. Some times I may have 2 going at the same time for more versatility .Dressings can be used for dips, salads, toppings, adding it to soups, and you can even thicken it with milled seed to make chutneys .Often the dressing is neutral in taste and I can alter it as I please with additional herbal ingredients using things like , Thai Chili pepper and ground onion or garlic to make it hotter. Or I can add raw honey ,stevia, or tamarind juice to make a sweeter taste. Or I can add lime or lemon juice to make sour. Also I can add Pink Himalayan Sea Salt Crystals dissolved in water called (Sole) to give some salty taste. For Bitterness its easy , as most all leafy greens will create this effect for taste like bitter melon greens. And for that tart taste I have many choices like green apple, ground cinnamon,raw apple cider vinegar, and ginger root powder or the raw root for more pungency.
So you can see that it is totally not necessary to use processed flavorings and additives from the store, when Nature provides all that you need when you have the information to work with.
Hot,Sour,Bitter,Sweet,Salty,and Tart can all come from natures herbal pantry shelf.
A good tip for extending the keep of your dressing is to just add some ground cinnamon to taste, as this herb is one of natures highest antioxidants and natural preservative.
If you think that your dressing needs help to finish by the third day, then you can do as I do and share your dressing with your dog. Just make sure that there is no Dark Chocolate or Onions as this is harmful to your pet. Chocolate can give a dog a hear attack , and onions can cause serious anemia toxicity to your furry friend ,so keep this in mind.
Garlic is much less toxic to dogs and some Vets use them and others do not. Other wise sharing smoothies and dressings together with your dog adds good nutrition for your pet dog as well.
Our dog is so dependent on us for their good health, nutritional needs and happiness ,so it is our responsibility to research for them, and to educate our selves to be good care givers of our best friend.
What not to feed your dog with more comprehensive information?
Dogs enjoy soft moist foods ,with crunchiness for cleaning their teeth with, so a shared green smoothie or dressing is well received and appreciated ,and my dog has no complaints what so ever. I felt that the following list of No NO Foods to feed your dogs where important enough to cover hear because I think nutrition for our pets is very profit driven, with controversy
and complacency in the pet food industry in general.
Did you know that a dog will some times eat grass when it is feeling ill to induce vomiting?
Animals seem to know what to do for them selves at times.
I have included some of my own comments to the list only to bring more awareness to the topic and that said ,I wish to conclude that the list is very complete and informative with solid information given ,that every Dog care giver needs to know. I learned a few things from this list and some of the information may surprise you.What not to feed is just as important as what to feed to your dog.
Do not feed the following foods to your Dog:
Any foods containing caffeine like coffee,chocolate,tea,or anything stimulating to the nervous system.
Grapes, raisons,and currants are toxic to the kidneys, but grape seed extract has no known toxic effect or side effect.
Hops can cause a dogs temperature to rise,increase heart rate, and result in death.
Human supplements containing Iron can damage the lining of the dogs stomach,and be toxic to the liver and kidneys.
Alcoholic beverages can cause intoxication ,coma,and death.( I will never understand why a human would do this to a dog)
Avocado has an ingredient through out the plant called persin, that can cause vomiting and
diarrhea. I will not name the well know brand name company ,but Avocado is used through out and its part of their marketing in a big way.
The following is obviously toxic to your dog such as ,salt in large quantity, tobacco,marijuana,and high simple carbohydrates of refined sugar.
Refined sugar causes dental tooth decay,and possibly diabetes melitus. Both dogs and humans are subject to this problem when commercially processed foods are part of their diet.
Yeast dough can cause pain in the stomach when it expands possibly rupturing the intestines.
Soya Bean is not digestible in dogs ,and in fact this applies to humans as well.Soya Beans that are sprouted and fermented have lost their enzyme inhibitory and are readily digested by the body for humans but I don’t even give this to my own dog.
Soya and corn are the 2 biggest cash crops of the biotech industry that produces GMO,genetically modified organisms for the livestock, human processed food,and pet food industry. I personally do not feed processed commercial dry dog kibble to my dog.
Mushrooms can contain toxins that affect multiple areas of the body that can possibly shock the dog leading to death.
Pits from fruits like persimmons,peaches, and plums can obstruct a dogs intestinal tract.
Dairy causes diarrhea in some older dogs. I always thought that the only dairy a human or animal would ever need is its own mothers milk.
Bones on the do not feed list has been kicked around for a long time between the two camps .
One camp that advocates the barf raw diet, and the other camp that advocates the cooked diet.
Bones that are overly cooked are reputed to possibly cause , obstruction or laceration of the digestive system.
Raw meat is on the list for containing bacteria,such as Salmonella, and E.coli ,which can cause vomiting and diarrhea. Un like a human a dogs internal digestive juices are extremely acid in nature and yes if the dogs immune system was compromised in any way yes the raw meat can adversely affect the animal. The problem with raw meat is it is an incubation medium for parasites that can be transmittable to humans and to dogs.
Raw eggs contain an enzyme called , avidin which decreases the absorption of theB Vitamin called Biotin leading to skin and hair coat problems.
All fish that is raw canned or cooked served in high amounts or exclusively can cause a B vitamin named thiamine to be deficient in the dogs body.This could lead to loss of appetite ,seizures and in severe cases possible death.
Fish contains the Omega 3 Fatty Acids that are seldom found in todays land meats as grass fed open range live stock practices are now intensive feed lots where the animals are living in tight quarters.I feed my dog fish in moderation with days off.
Macadamia nuts contains an unknown toxin that can affect the dogs digestive ,nervous system and muscle.
Rhubarb leaves contain oxalates, which is also present in many plants such as the weed lambs
quarters, Buckwheat,Black pepper, parsley,poppy,amaranth,spinach,chard,beets,cocoa,chocolate,most nuts,most berries,beans and leaves of tea in that order. Oxalates are plant acids that are synthesized via the incomplete oxidation of carbohydrates.
Fat trimmings can cause a dog to have pancreatitis. Pancreatitis is a condition of inflammation of the pancreas from eating a fatty diet. This condition can be reversed by putting your dog on a lean meat diet. Is there a correlation between dogs and humans here I wonder?
Xylitol is an artificial sweetener, that cause very low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) which can result in vomiting,weakness and collapse. In high doses this Nero toxin can cause liver failure.
Any artificial sweetener, such as Sweet N Low, NutraSweet, Corn Syrup , and Refined Sugar,
should not be part of a dogs diet. Yet refined simple carbohydrates are hidden in many of todays dog treats. I treat my dog with whole foods that he gets every day divided up and stored in a glass jar in my refrigerator.
Table scrapes,moldy foods, spoiled foods,and garbage should never be given to a dog.
All cooked bad food should be disposed of, and any raw left overs can be effectively composted safely for later use in your garden or potted plants. A compost tumbler is easy to make and You Tube has lots of instructional videos,or you can order them online.
String can get trapped in the digestive tract becoming lodged for ever as a foreign body.
String among many other things can be lodged some where inside the poor dogs body. Dogs have the mind equivalent to a 3 or 4 year old human carried right into adulthood so they must be watched and carefully monitored through our their life time. This is part of being a dog care giver to protect your furry friend from mouthing certain things, and for digesting certain things that I dare not mention.
Certain dogs especially sporting gun dogs can have a nose so sensitive it can be 200 times more effective than our own nose for detecting odors, so it is not surprising that they can act around food this way.One danger in winters is the toxic antifreeze that some dogs are attracted to from a leaking car radiator.
And as I mentioned earlier, Chocolate especially dark chocolate , including coffee,tea,and any other caffeinated foods and beverages like soft drinks can induce vomiting,cause diarrhea, and be toxic to the heart and the dogs nervous system.
Onions of any kind including shallots,Spring and chives should never be part of a dogs diet.
The onion family contains a toxin to the dog called sulfoxides and disulfides,that can damage the dogs red blood cells causing anemia. Garlic is much more tolerable, and some veterinarians endorse the pungent herb and others do not.
So now you can see that before you share your raw smoothie or dressing with your dog it is first very important to know from the list above what is not safe to feed.
Resources : For even more information you can go to www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1659&aid=1030 to download their PDF for Free
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalate
Barry Gourmets Health, Weight Loss, and Fitness Tip:
The secret to good health and weight loss is to eat a large variety of perishable raw foods, that hydrates your body through out the day. The extra fiber and higher water content of the foods will promote good health and you will see results in time.
Processed foods , will do just the opposite to your body.A lot of Processed foods will be dehydrating you , and slowing down your metabolism to a crawl with out the support of dietary fiber. This will cause your digestive organs to work harder to break down foods devoid of enzymes.
I use very little Cold pressed oils on occasion only , and never use them for cooking. I mostly use water to make different broths.The oils are only for adding later to get the consistency that I am looking for. My low heat cooking medium is always with pure water.
Every meal that I make has rainbow colors in mind from Nature , to be visually entertaining to the senses and to provide as much nutrient dense nutrition as possible. Always most of my servings are predominantly Raw food preparations or semi raw for the life giving enzymes that we need for feeding the cells in our body.
Of course eating healthy and not moving your body will only be half the answer.
Our body needs to be moving everyday to support our lymphatic system and to burn the calories that we are taking in every day. Driving your car less and walking more is a good start,then taking up some kind of physical activity that you enjoy doing would help you to stay with the program. Its the only way to super charge your metabolism.
“If food is our medicine? Then what is medicine? “
Barry Gourmet & Raw
Barry’s Asian Style Seed & Nut Dressing takes only 10 minutes to make, or longer if your knew with opening coconuts?
Barry,s Asian Style Seed & Nut Dressing:
I have covered how to open coconuts correctly in some of my other articles, so I just want to say that you need the right kind of heavy Knife that has a rectangle blade. And you work in a circular chopping pattern to get the nut open. Practice Practice. The store where you buy your coconuts does most of the work for you by cutting the sides of the nut then making nice cone head points for easy opening.
But for me I often harvest my own organic coconut from my garden to wrestle with them, but I am getting better at it now.Stores do sell coconut milk or cream in cartons if you wish to go that way as well.
Ingredients for Asian Style Seed & Nut Dressing for one person and good for a 3 day supply:
1 cup of sprouted whole almonds.
Sprouting almonds is easy just have them submerged in fresh water over night , then in the morning rinse out all the old water. Then I use the matt or towel method by rapping them up to absorb the excess water. You will notice that your almonds look much bigger than before
‘because they are. They are sprouting , and the enzyme inhibitors , a protein membrane that surounds each nut is being dissolved away.
1 whole fresh coconut .
1 cup of fresh diced pineapple.
1 cup of fresh diced papaya .
1 level table spoon of the following.
Flax seed ,Chia seed,Black sesame seed,and Pumpkin seed.
A bottle of Bee Pollen that should be stored in your freezer as this is an extremely perishable product,and the same goes for flax seed oil and wheat germ as well.
Every store I know of in the US and Canada will practice this way of storing these kinds of products to avoid the product of becoming prematurely rancid , but retail stores in Thailand as hot as it gets here will not properly store these items in the cooler and it just amazes me why there is not any world standard for this.
Directions for Asian Style Seed & Nut Dressing:
Cut open the coconut at the top and pour the water juice into your glass blender.
Chop the nut down the middle in to two parts then scrape out the meat using a spoon and add it to your blender.
Add your pineapple and papaya to your mix in the blender .
Next add one level tablespoon each to your milling machine that attaches to your blender .
I hope that you purchased a quality blender that has this important unit ? If not then you will just add the seed directly into your blender.
Inside your milling machine you have one level table spoon of Flax,Chia,Pumpkin and Black sesame seed . Turn on the machine with the cover secured and grind the seed down into a fine powder. Then add the contents to your blender.
Blend everything together until you have a smooth consistency.
Always after I blend my dressing or smoothie I taste it first for making any necessary ingredient adjustments with more blending until its just right.
Pour your seed and nut dressing into glass gars to be stored in your refrigerator.
Tip for natural preservation of salad and dip dressings :
Natural foods tend to parish quickly if not properly handled and should be consumed as early as possible with in the first and second day for best taste and nutrition.Home made salad dressings in glass jars are best kept in the back of the refrigerator where it is coldest.
Nature has 3 powerful preservatives that you can mix into your raw dressing to taste.
I use ground Clove powder that is one of Natures highest antioxidants and is well documented anti parasitic.
I use ground Cinnamon powder that is also one of natures highest antioxidant herbs and it has the capability to help stabilize the blood sugar .
Raw unfiltered honey is a well researched preservative from nature , and it helps neutralize ,bitterness and tart after taste of the other two herbs.
I usually make enough to last 3 days tops and no longer than this.
I do not trash any of my left over raw dips or dressings I compost it.
Barry’s Asian Salmon Ingredients Recipe:
Takes only 15 minutes to make for one person.
One frozen hand size fillet of Wild Pacific Salmon fish thawed if you live in Asia and fresh or frozen if you live in North America.
Half a sweet japanese potato
Half a medium size carrot
3 garlic gloves and 3 shallots
2 whole limes or half a lemon
half a cup of chopped parsley fresh .
One tablespoon of soaked Wakami Seaweed .
For the tossed Salad ingredients:
One cup of chopped fresh Spinach.
One quarter cup of sliced cherrie tomato.
One quarter cup of sliced red bell pepper.
For the Salmon Baste and Salad Dressing :
In a bowl squeeze one table spoon of lemon or lime juice.
Add one table spoon of raw apple cider vinegar.
Add one quarter teaspoon of Wasabi powder.
Mix well together.
Barry,s Asian Salmon Method:
Important Safety note in Food Preparation:
I know this goes with out saying but still it is very important to address.
Use 2 separate cutting boards always , one for the meats and one for the produce to avoid cross contamination between the two food groups.
In your steamer add 4 cups of pure water and lay your Salmon Fillet over the steam basket.
Steam for 5 minutes all by it self.
Next add your evenly cut length wise carrot and japanese sweet potato to the steam basket.
Note :In all steaming it is important to have all the pieces cut evenly in size to create uniform taste through out.
On your cutting board use the flat of your knife to crush the 3 garlic cloves, and 3 shallots.
Discard the skins and add to your steam basket.
Steam for 5 minutes longer and check later with your fork , to make sure that the veggies are soft on the outside but firm on the inside. At the 10 minute mark your fish can be turned over.
You can lower the heat for the last 5 minutes and work on the raw foods now.
On your cutting board cut finely your half cup of loose fresh Parsley herb and put aside.
Preparation of your Tossed Salad :
Take out a large salad bowl for tossing then on your cutting board finely chop a cup full of Spinach and add to the bowl.
A quarter cup of red cherrie tomatoes and a quarter cup of red bell peppers can be added to the bowl.
Now check your Salmon with a fork through the middle and separate to make sure that the fish is thoroughly cooked inside. This is important. Did you know that raw fish like sushi is a prime source of parasites transmittable to humans when consumed ? All meats must be cooked through.
When done using your basting brush cover the fish on all sides with the salad dressing mix.
The rest of the dressing left over can be spooned into the salad bowl. Toss the salad well, I like to use my two wooden forks for the job.
Spoon the tossed Salad into a serving bowl.
Then lay your Wild Salmon fish fillet in the middle of your plate and surround the fish with your sweet potato and carrot.
Add your chopped parsley.
Then spoon your nut and seed dressing around and over the vegetables.
You can place your soaked Wakami Seaweed over the fish and sprinkle some lemon juice with a dash of apple cider vinegar on top. Optional to sprinkle some Thai chili powder and a bit of black pepper.
Thats it you have your Salmon Asian Style! Enjoy Natures Foods!
“When I have naked food on my plate , I mean foods with no dietary fiber, then it becomes necessary for me to dress it up “
Barry Gourmet & Raw
They Might Be Giants, kids show, Regent Theatre, Arlington MA, 23 May 2010
Image by Chris Devers
This photo was used by BrooklynBased on Nobody’s Business But the Turks, a piece about a free show TMBG did on the Williamsburg Waterfront in July 2011. Sadly, their site doesn’t seem to keep the photos that were used at the time, but I promise it had been there…
• • • • •
Via the Regent Theatre’s web site:
A Special Family Show with . . .
They Might Be Giants
Benefit Concerts for Boston By Foot
Sunday, May 23 at 12pm and 3pm
Both shows sold out – thank you!
They Might Be Giants will be performing two special shows especially for families. These are full band, full length performances. Both shows are to benefit Boston By Foot, the non-profit group giving guided walking tours of Boston for over 33 years. All concert goers can also use their ticket stub to get a free tour from Boston by Foot, including Boston by Little Feet tours for kids, during the upcoming season. All profits will go to BBF. www.bostonbyfoot.org/
They Might Be Giants Biography
HERE COMES SCIENCE!
For alternative rock legends They Might Be Giants, rave reviews from the likes of Time Magazine, Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, Pitchfork, NPR and beyond might not be that unexpected, but we’re not talking about their regular gig here. Sure, TMBG have sold millions of records, are multi-Grammy winners and have even composed a musical accompaniment for an entire issue of McSweeney’s, but these most recent accolades are for the work TMBG has created for children and–as the reviews attest–no other band swings as effortlessly from adult music to children’s fare and back again with the artistic and commercial success of They Might Be Giants.
John Flansburgh and John Linnell’s latest CD/DVD is Here Comes Science (Idlewild/Disney Sound). It’s an ultra-vivid crash course through topics that in lesser hands could easily put kids to sleep. With rock anthems and electronic goodies crafted to amuse, intrigue and deliver the 4-1-1 on evolution, solar system, photosynthesis, the scientific method and more. Following Here Comes the ABCs and Here Come the 123s, Science is geared for older kids and it introduces ideas in a way that not only inform but will stay in your head forever.
While it may seem like an odd move for a duo recognized as the progenitors of the American alternative rock movement, it really all makes perfect sense. From their earliest days with Dial-A-Song through their online music distribution, TMBG have always challenged rock’s status quo and gone out of their way to take their music to brand new audiences, and by the looks of things, they’re having a lot of fun doing it their way. The Giants use every bit of fan interactive technology by connecting with kids via regular podcasts and including a DVD of delightful animated interpretations of their songs with each Here Comes… album.
The band is constantly working on new music, new projects and touring–sometimes with 2 shows a day. Founders John Flansburgh and John Linnell, along with their long standing live combo of Dan Miller, Danny Weinkauf and Marty Beller, show no signs of swapping one successful gig (adult music) for another (children’s music). Rejoice people of Earth–there’s just that much more for us all to enjoy.
Question: You once said in an interview that TMBGs knew what you didn’t want to do with your music geared for kids: You didn’t want to tell them how to behave or write songs that are educational. But these songs are quite educational, and in fact, you have a science consultant on this record. Did you make a conscious decision to really teach something on Here Comes Science?
John Linnell: I think it’s still a record you can listen to for enjoyment, and that’s real important to us. I am perfectly comfortable with the idea of something that is pure entertainment, but I don’t think there is any need for something just purely educational from us. My sense of this record is that it is mostly fun, musical and interesting and it happens to have lyrics that talk about science.
Question: Did any Children’s books or albums make an impression on you when you were a child? Because now you’re making that impression on children.
John Flansburgh: We get that question a lot, and it’s a valid question, but speaking for myself, I feel like we have something to contribute to kid’s music because what we’re doing is actually lacking in the general culture. Generally, our stuff is not really coming out of any amazing experience with the kid’s stuff from the past. Our childhood was during the really golden era of classic pop and singles. Those songs weren’t really designed for kids, but the power of it spoke to us and a lot of other kids quite directly.
Curiously–although I see the obvious connections–we didn’t really grow up with all of the progressive kids stuff of the 70's. We were that micro generation of glitter-rock young teens listening to Alice Cooper and David Bowie and we totally missed the boat on Sesame Street and School House Rock and Free To Be You and Me. But even being a bit too old for it, you could tell there was something cool about that stuff. Basically the cartoons of our generation were either super-violent, like Spiderman, or the really simple-minded Hanna-Barbera cartoons.
Question: Which one of you was the science student? Either or you? Neither of you?
J. Linnell: Specifically into science? I would say we were both middling students in school, but philosophically we are both, as adults, very pro-science. We like living in the post-enlightenment era in history. Are we still living in the enlightenment or is it over now, I can’t tell? Are we in the “en-darkenment” now?
J. Flansburgh: I think we’re actually in to the “gee whiz” part of science–all the scientific phenomenon that sparks your imagination. We certainly aren’t academics, but there is something remarkable about the world of science and there are ideas in science that just send your mind reeling.
J. Linnell: One the things that is exciting about it is that it makes you realize that things that are true, that can be proven, aren’t always intuitive. There is a difference between what seems to be the case and what turns out to be proven to be the case, and that’s really exciting. The world isn’t always what it seems to be and it makes everything more wonderful in a way. You have an experience of the world, walking around, and then science provides knowledge about the world that is not always anything like the experience.
The history of scientific discovery is partly revealing things that you don’t always experience directly, it’s bizarre in a way that so much of what we know is stuff we can’t always experience directly, like molecules and galaxies.
Question: Does that make it easier or harder to write about Science?
J. Linnell: Well, both. There is a point that you do reflect that you’re trying to explain something preposterous. And luckily, I think kids know the whole world is strange and preposterous, but as they get older, they get used to the idea that there are facts they just have to take someone’s word for.
Question: Considering you guys once used an answering machine to showcase your material, how amazed are you that you have all of this media at your disposal – podcasts, internet, video, etc…how has it changed the way you work?
J. Flansburgh: We enjoyed having an easy-breezy, loose reputation in terms of getting our music out to people. It was very great to be the one of the few acts in the United States who wasn’t preoccupied with getting on the radio or a cash return on our music. Of course now there is almost no end to the free stuff, and it is cool to see how much you can get in to the world, but with the most popular videos on YouTube being cats jumping into a box or people getting pushed down escalators, part of me worries that all this electronic media is just in the service of turning our culture into an endless episode of America’s Funniest Home Videos.
J. Linnell: A lot of what the technology suggests to people is the democratizing of culture and the notion of interactivity kind of caught fire online early on. What’s weird for John and I is that we were never interested in either one of those things. We actually like the idea of controlling what we are doing and we like the old fashioned idea of there being quality control on culture, that you would get the “good stuff” and there would be a way, through a critical apparatus or institutions, that would deliver the good stuff and filter out the bad stuff. It feels like the big problem nowadays is that everything should be available to everyone at all times and the result is a lot of garbage to wade through…not to sound like an 80 year old man! (laughs)
Question: With your accompanying DVD, how did the directors and animators come together? Are they the same people from Here Come the 123s? How much creative control do you give the animators with your songs?
J. Flansburgh: We are the producers on all the animated material and we select the artists we collaborate with pretty carefully. We’ve been involved in a lot of television and video projects over the years and that was very good training for these projects. There is an expression in rock video production: “Good. Fast. Cheap. Choose two” It’s a very unreasonable thing to expect everything to come together on a tight budget. Our strategy is to give the animators a relatively long lead time so they can do something that will be a good portfolio piece for them and something cool for us. And although we’re on a tight budget, we can offer a large amount of artistic freedom, and that gives us the opportunity to work with the most creative people out there.
Question: For this tour, you’re doing both “kid” and “adult” shows, sometimes 2 in one day. How is it different when you perform in front of kids versus when you perform in front of adults?
J. Flansburgh: Whatever pretensions you might have about your performance get totally re-calibrated when you’re playing for kids–playing a kid show is probably a bit closer to being a school teacher than being a rock star. There are also a lot of parents in the audience and we address them as well which kind of breaks forth the wall of "kiddie-ness."
Just to address the questions we always get: “how is it different writing a song for kids or writing for adults?” or “performing for kids and performing for adults?” Well, there is a real overlap, but there are meaningful differences too. A good song works in a way that is kind of irreducible whether or not it’s for kids or adults. If a song has a strong melody or an interesting concept, it will animate any audience, but in performance, kids have a really short attention span, so keeping things moving is important. Routinely the confetti machine gets the biggest response of the day. That will keep your ego in check.
Although in the past, “Clap your Hands” and "Alphabet of Nations" worked for adults, by and large the kid stuff stayed in the kid show just because it’s, well, for kids! (laughs). But with "Here Comes Science" a lot of the songs work good in the adult show. and that’s unusual. “Meet the Elements,” “My Brother the Ape,” “A Shooting Star is not a Star,” and “Why Does the Sun Shine” slid into the adult show without any second thoughts, and “I Am a Paleontologist” is totally rocking live.
Question: What’s next for They Might Be Giants?
J. Flansburgh: We’re working on a rock album right now, but we have so much touring interrupting our effort it’s hard to know when it will get done, so the real answer is we’re going to be spending a lot of time on a tour bus trying to figure out how to get the WiFi working!
Our children’s book collaboration with Pascal Campion, Kids Go, just came out at the end of last year on Simon & Schuster. It’s actually a very beautiful project and a fulfillment of a dream of mine. When we were approached, I wanted to do an actual picture book, which very few people get to do, and it was exciting to realize that dream. A good picture book is something that really stays with you.
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