"Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" is a song by

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...

, from their

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

debut album ''

''. It has also been released on several compilation albums, including '' Then: The Earlier Years'' and ''

A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants ''A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants'' is a 2005 compilation album by the group They Might Be Giants. In the April 29, 2005 "TMBG News" online newsletter, bandmember John Flansburgh describes the album as such: :"Rhino is releasing the single ...

''.

Background

The song's music and

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

were written by

John Linnell John Sidney Linnell ( ; born June 12, 1959) is an American musician, known primarily as one half of the Brooklyn-based alternative rock band They Might Be Giants with John Flansburgh, which was formed in 1982. In addition to singing and songwri ...

;

John Flansburgh John Conant Flansburgh (born May 6, 1960) is an American musician. He is half of the long-standing Brooklyn, New York-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants with John Linnell, for which he writes, sings, and plays rhythm guitar. Common ...

wrote the verses. Linnell used a Casio MT-100 to play the music. Although "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" was included on They Might Be Giants' first album on

Bar/None Records Bar/None Records is an independent record label based in Hoboken, New Jersey. Early history Tom Prendergast started Bar/None in early 1986 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Having previously worked in pirate radio and booked and promoted bands in his na ...

, the song was recorded before the band became associated with the label.

Music video

"Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" was the first song for which They Might Be Giants created a music video. The video, directed by

Adam Bernstein Adam Bernstein (born May 7, 1960) is an Emmy Award-winning American film director, music video director and television director. For his work on the television show '' Fargo'' in 2014, he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for O ...

, was filmed on a budget of about in a waterfront area of

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a Neighborhoods in Brooklyn, neighborhood in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant to the s ...

. It featured a number of homemade props, such as large red

papier-mâché upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti upright=1.3, Papier-mâché Catrinas, traditional figures for day of the dead celebrations in Mexico Papier-mâché (, ; , literally "chewed paper") is a composite material consisting of p ...

hands and large cardboard cutouts of

William Allen White William Allen White (February 10, 1868 – January 29, 1944) was an American newspaper editor, politician, author, and leader of the Progressive movement. Between 1896 and his death, White became a spokesman for middle America. At a 1937 ...

's face. According to commentary in the group's video compilation ''

Direct from Brooklyn ''Direct from Brooklyn'' is a compilation of music videos by American alternative rock group They Might Be Giants. It was released on VHS in 1999 and DVD in 2003. The title refers to the home of John Linnell and John Flansburgh, founding members ...

'', the film ''

Married to the Mob ''Married to the Mob'' is a 1988 American crime comedy film directed by Jonathan Demme, and starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell, Mercedes Ruehl, and Alec Baldwin. Pfeiffer plays Angela de Marco, a gangster's widow from ...

'' was being filmed in the same location. Adam Bernstein has stated that some shots from the music video were filmed on the tails of the film used to shoot ''Married to the Mob'', and that in total, only about five minutes of film were shot. The video aired on AL-TV, an MTV special hosted by

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...

, prior to the release of the band's debut album. Previously, it had also aired on a

local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

music video station.

Reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review identified "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" one of the best songs on ''They Might Be Giants'' and described it as " Costello-esque". Jim Faber, reviewing ''They Might Be Giants'' for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', called the song "irresistibly catchy" and cited it as an example of Flansburgh's "character" vocals.

References

External links

* "Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head" at This Might Be A Wiki
"Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head"
on

"Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head"
on

Last.fm Last.fm is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Using a music recommender system called "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste by recording details of the tracks the user listens to, e ...

{{Authority control 1986 songs They Might Be Giants songs Songs written by John Flansburgh Songs written by John Linnell