Length 02:12 | Label Bar/None | |
Released November 4, 1986 (1986-11-04) Recorded 1985 and 1986, New York City Genre Alternative rock, synthpop Writer(s) John Flansburgh
John Linnell | ||
"Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" is a song by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, from their eponymous debut album They Might Be Giants. It has also been released on several compilation albums, including Then: The Earlier Years and A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants.
Contents
Background
The song's music and chorus were written by John Linnell; John Flansburgh 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, 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, was filmed on a budget of about $1500 in a waterfront area of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It featured a number of homemade props, such as large red papier-mâché hands. The video also features faces of William Allen White. It also features John Linnell playing accordion, Black-and-White filmed versions of the video with Flansburgh playing guitar, red and pink versions, and blue and orange variations, and the Johns dancing with the large hands. According to commentary in the group's video compilation Direct from Brooklyn, the film Married to the Mob was being filmed in the same location. Adam Bernstein has also stated that some of the music video was 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 MTV prior to the release of the band's debut album. Previously, it had also aired on a local music video station.
Reception
An Allmusic 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, called the song "irresistibly catchy" and cited it as an example of Flansburgh's "character" vocals.
Cover versions
In popular culture
The song was referenced in "Homer's Odyssey", the third full-length episode of The Simpsons. In it, Homer writes a suicide note on paper with the heading "Dumb things I gotta do today"; the song's lyric is "Memo to myself: do the dumb things I gotta do".