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John Flansburgh

John Flansburgh

John Conant Flansburgh (born May 6, 1960), actor and musician, is primarly known as half the core duo of They Might Be Giants, longstanding alternative rock act from Brooklyn, New York. Flansburgh co-founded the group in 1982 with high school friend and musical collaborator John Linnell. The two share singing and songwriting duties, with Flansbugh on guitar, in addition to performing a variety of instruments when the need arises. An energetic and commanding stage presence, he is known to chat up bandmates and the audience at live performances. As a songwriter, Flansburgh enjoys absurdist and satirical lyrics, though he often breaks for more earnest and romantic material as well. While Linnell's singles carried the group to early stardom, with hits like "Don't Let's Start" and "Birdhouse in Your Soul", Flansburgh penned (and sang) their first Grammy-award winning effort, "Boss of Me", which charted in Europe and serves as theme song to the hit television series Malcolm in the Middle. He can also claim responsibility for some of the band's best-known singles and album tracks, such as "(She Was A) Hotel Detective," "Twisting," "The Guitar," and "Meet James Ensor". Self-described as "manic depressive, without the depression," he also keeps extremely busy, with side-projects such as:
- His band Mono Puff, which recorded two LPs in the late 1990s and toured occasionally.
- Directing music videos for such artists as Soul Coughing, Ben Folds Five, Frank Black and the Catholics, Harvey Danger, and TMBG themselves.
- Starring in (and writing some of the music for) the Broadway musical People Are Wrong. Commonly referred to by the nickname "Flans", he is married to writer/singer/puppeteer Robin Goldwasser, with whom he sometimes performs.

External links


- [http://www.tmbg.com/ Official They Might Be Giants site]
- [http://www.tmbw.net/wiki/index.php/John_Flansburgh John Flansburgh at This Might Be a Wiki] - More detailed information on Flansburgh Flansburgh, John Flansburgh, John Flansburgh, John Flansburgh, John Flansburgh, John Flansburgh, John

1960

1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar).

Events

January-February


- January - State of emergency is lifted in Kenya - Mau Mau Rebellion is officially over
- January 1 - Independence of Cameroon
- January 9-11 - Aswan High Dam construction begins in Egypt
- January 14 - Reserve bank and Commonwealth Bank are created
- January 21 - Mine collapses at Coalbrook, South Africa - 437 dead
- January 22 - In France, president Charles de Gaulle fires Jacques Massun, commander-in-chief for the French troops in Algeria
- January 22-23 - Jacques Piccard and Donald Walsh descend into the Marianas Trench in the bathyscape Trieste, reaching the depth of 10.916 meters
- January 23 - Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh in the bathyscaphe USS Trieste break a depth record when they descend to the bottom of Challenger Deep 35,820 feet (10,750 meters) below sea level in the Pacific Ocean
- January 24 - A major insurrection in Algiers against French colonial policy
- January 25 - The National Association of Broadcasters reacts to the Payola scandal by threatening fines for any disc jockeys who accepted money for playing particular records
- February 1 - In Greensboro, N.C., four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College begin a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. Although they are refused service, they are allowed to stay at the counter. The event triggers many similar nonviolent protests throughout the South, and six months later the original four protesters are served lunch at the same counter.
- February 5 - Particle accelerator of CERN inaugurated in Geneve, Switzerland
- February 8-February 9 - Adolph Coors II killed during an attempt to kidnap him in Colorado. Joseph Corbett Jr is arrested next October
- February 9 - Joanne Woodward receives the first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
- February 9 - Adolph Coors III, chairman of the board of the Coors Brewing Company, is kidnapped and captors demand $500,000. Coors is later found dead and Joseph Corbett Jr is indicted.
- February 10 - In Brussels, conference about Congo independence begins
- February 11 - 12 Indian soldiers die in clashes with Chinese troops at the border
- February 11 - The airship ZPG-3W is destroyed in a storm in Massachusetts
- February 13 - Nuclear testing: France tests its first atomic bomb in Sahara
- February 18 - 1960 Winter Olympics open in Squaw Valley, California.
- February 29-March 1 night - Earthquake totally destroys Agadir, Morocco.

March-April

Morocco
- March 6 - Vietnam War: The United States announces that 3,500 American soldiers are going to be sent to Vietnam
- March 6 - Canton of Geneve in Switzerland gives women the right to vote
- March 21 - Apartheid: Massacre in Sharpeville, South Africa: Afrikaner police open fire on a group of unarmed black South African demonstrators, killing 69 and wounding 180.
- March 22 - Arthur Leonard Schawlow & Charles Hard Townes receive the first patent for a laser.
- April 1 - Tuanku Abdul Rahman ibni Almarhum Tuanku Muhammad, 1st Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia dies in office. He is replaced by Hisamuddin Alam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Alaeddin Sulaiman Shah, Sultan of Selangor.
- April 1 - The United States launches the first weather satellite, TIROS-1
- April 4 - First three female priests ordained in Sweden
- April 9 - Gunman attacks South African Prime Minister Verwoerd in Johannesburg and wounds him seriously
- April 12 - Eric Peugeot, youngest son of founder of Peugeot is kidnapped in Paris. Kidnappers release him April 15 in exchange for $300,000 ransom
- April 13 - USA launches navigation satellite Transat I-b
- April 21 - In Brazil, The Country's capital (Federal District) is shifted from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília. The Estado da Guanabara (State of Guanabara) is founded to succeed Rio de Janeiro as the Brazilian Federal District.
- April 27 - Togo gains independence from French-administered UN trusteeship

May


- May 1 - Soviet missile shoots down the US U2 spy plane; the pilot Gary Powers is captured
- May 4 - West German refugee minister Theodor Oberländer is fired because of his nazi past
- May 9 - Reproductive rights: The Food and Drug Administration approves sale of the birth control pill
- May 10 - The nuclear submarine USS Nautilus completes the first under water circumnavigation of the Earth
- May 11 - In Buenos Aires four Mossad agents abduct fugitive Nazi Adolf Eichmann who was using the assumed name "Ricardo Klement"
- May 13 - First ascent of Dhaulagiri, world's 7th highest mountain
- May 14 - Kenyan African National Congress party is founded in Kenya when three political parties join forces
- May 15 - Sputnik 4 is launched into Earth orbit
- May 16 - Nikita Khrushchev demands an apology from US President Dwight D. Eisenhower for U-2 spy plane flights over the Soviet Union thus ending a Big Four summit in Paris
- May 16 - Theodore Maiman operates the first laser.
- May 20 - In Japan, police carries away socialist members of the diet. Parliament then approves a security treaty with the USA
- May 22 - Great Chilean Earthquake: Chile's subduction fault ruptures from Talcahuano to Península de Taitao, loosing a tsunami and one of the greatest earthquakes on record
- May 23 - Prime Minister of Israel David Ben-Gurion announces that Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann has been captured
- May 27 - In Turkey, a bloodless military coup d'état removes President Celal Bayar and the government and invites General Cemal Gürsel as the head of state.

June-July


- June 4 - Lake Bodom murders in Finland.
- June 9 - Typhoon Mary kills 1600 in Fukien province of China
- June 15 - Violent demonstrations in Tokyo University - police arrests 182, 589 are injured
- June 15 - BC Ferries, the second largest ferry operator in the world starts service between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay.
- June 20 - Independence of Mali and Senegal
- June 22 - Erin Brockovich is born.
- June 23 - Japanese prime minister Kishi announces his resignation
- June 24 - Joseph Kasavubu elected the first president of independent Congo
- June 24 - Avro 748 first flight at Woodford, UK
- June 26 - British Somaliland gains independence from UK - 5 days later it united with the former Italian Somaliland to create modern Somali Republic
- June 30 - Belgian Congo gains independence from Belgium - civil war follows
- June 30 - The Mali Federation between Senegal and Sudanese Republic (modern-day Mali) gains independence from France
- July 1 - A Soviet MiG fighter north of Murmansk in the Barents Sea shot down a six-man RB-47. Two United States Air Force officers survived and were imprisoned in Moscow's dreaded Lubyanka prison. (see RB-47H shot down)
- July 4 - Following the admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state the previous year, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- July 10 - The Soviet Union beat Yugoslavia 2-1 to win the first European Football Championship
- July 11 - Moise Tshombe declares the Congolese province of Katanga independent; he receives Belgian help
- July 12 - Orlyonok, the main Young Pioneer camp of the Russian SFSR, is founded
- July 14 - United Nations decides to send troops to Katanga to oversee Belgian troops withdrawal
- July 20 - Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) elects Sirimavo Bandaranaike Prime Minister, the world's first female head of government.
- July 21 - Francis Chichester, English navigator and yachtsman, arrives in New York aboard Gypsy Moth II - he has made a record solo Atlantic crossing in 40 days
- July 27 - OECD founded

August


- August - Stanley Clifford Weyman, US impostor, is killed when he tries to prevent a robbery
- August 5 - Burkina Faso declares independence from France
- August 6 - Cuban Revolution: In response to a United States embargo, Cuba nationalizes American and foreign-owned property in the nation.
- August 6 - In Congo, Albert Kalonji declares independence of Autonomous State of South Kasai
- August 7 - Côte d'Ivoire becomes independent.
- August 11 - Chad becomes independent.
- August 16 - Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico at 102,800 feet (31,333 m). He sets unbeaten (as of 2005) world records for: high-altitude jump; free-fall by falling 16 miles (25.7 km) before opening his parachute; and fastest speed by a human without motorized assistance, 982 km/h (614 mi/h).
- August 16 - Cyprus gains its independence from the United Kingdom
- August 17 - Gabon gains independence from France
- August 17 - Trial of U-2 pilot Gary Powers begins in Moscow
- August 18 - Enovid, the first commercially produced oral contraceptive, is launched in Skokie, Illinois
- August 19 - Cold War: In Moscow, downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is sentenced to ten years imprisonment by the Soviet Union for espionage
- August 19 - Sputnik program: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 5 with the dogs Belka and Strelka (Russian for "Squirrel" and "Little Arrow"), 40 mice, 2 rats and a variety of plants. The spacecraft return to earth the next day and all animals are recovered safely.
- August 20 - Senegal breaks from the Mali federation, declaring independence.
- August 25 - 1960 Summer Olympics open in Rome. USS Seadragon (SSN-584) surfaces at the north pole where the crew plays softball.
- August 29 - September 13 - Hurricane Donna kills 50 in Florida-New England area

September-October


- September 1 - Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah, Sultan of Selangor and 2nd Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, dies in office. He is replaced by Tuanku Syed Putra, Raja of Perlis.
- September 1 - Disgruntled railroad workers effectively halt operations of the Pennsylvania Railroad, marking the first shutdown in the history of the company (event lasted 2 days)
- September 5 - Cassius Clay wins the gold medal in boxing at the Rome Olympic Games.
- September 5 - Congo president Joseph Kasavubu fires Patrice Lumumba's government and places him under house arrest
- September 8 - In Huntsville, Alabama, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally dedicates the Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA had already activated the facility on July 1)
- September 14 - Colonel Joseph Mobutu takes power in Congo in a military coup
- September 14 - Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela form OPEC
- September 26 - The two leading US presidential candidates, Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy, participate in the first televised presidential debate.
- October 1 - Nigeria gains independence - Nnamdi Azikiwe is the first native Governor General
- October 3 - Jânio Quadros, elected president of Brazil, for a five-year term.
- October 5 - White South Africans vote to make country a republic.
- October 7 - Second notable flood in Horncastle
- October 12 - Cold War: Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe on a table at a General Assembly of the United Nations meeting to protest discussion of Soviet Union policy toward Eastern Europe.
- October 12 - Otoya Yamaguchi asassinates Inejiro Asanuma, chairman of Japanese Socialist Party
- October 14 - US presidential candidate John F. Kennedy first suggests the idea for the Peace Corps
- October 24 - Rocket explodes in Baikonur space center during fueling - 91 dead
- October 29 - In Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius Clay (who later took the name Muhammad Ali) wins his first professional fight

November

Muhammad Ali
- November 1 - While campaigning for President of the United States, John F. Kennedy announces his idea of the Peace Corps.
- November 2 - Penguin Books is found not guilty of obscenity in the Lady Chatterley's Lover case.
- November 8 - U.S. presidential election, 1960: In a close race, John F. Kennedy is elected over Richard M. Nixon, becoming the youngest man elected to that office.
- November 13 - Sammy Davis, Jr. marries Swedish actress May Britt. Interracial marriage is still illegal in 31 US states out of 50.
- November 15 - The Polaris missile is test launched
- November 22 - United Nations supports government of Joseph Kasa Vubu and Joseph Mobutu in Congo
- November 28 - Mauritania becomes independent of France
- November 30 - Production of the De Soto automobile brand ceases

December


- December 1 - Patrice Lumumba, the deposed premier of the Congo was arrested by troops of Col. Joseph Mobutu.
- December 1 - A 5-ton Soviet space ship containing animals, insects and plants was launched into orbit. The spacecraft burned up upon re-entry.
- December 2 - The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Geoffrey Francis Fisher, talked with Pope John XXIII for about an hour in the Vatican. It was the first time in more than 500 years that a head of the Anglican church had visited the Pope.
- December 2 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the use of $1M for the relief and resettlement of Cuban refugees in Florida. Cuban refugees have been arriving in Florida at the rate of 1,000 a week.
- December 2 - Congolese soldiers arrest Patrice Lumumba.
- December 4 - Admission to the United Nations of Mauritania was vetoed by the USSR.
- December 5 - Pierre Lagaillarde, who led 1958 and 1960 insurrections in Algeria, failed to appear in a Paris court. He was reported to have fled with 4 fellow defendants to Spain en route to Algeria.
- December 7 - The United Nations Security Council was called into session by the USSR to consider the Soviet demands that the U.N. seek the immediate release of former Congolese Premier Patrice Lumumba.
- December 9 - French President Charles de Gaulle's visit to Algeria was marked by bloody riots by European and Muslim mobs in Algeria's largest cities, killing 127 people.
- December 12 - A Federal Court ruling that Louisiana's anti-integration laws were unconstitutional was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
- December 13 - While the Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia was on a visit to Brazil, an unsuccessful revolt against his rule is carried out by his Imperial Guard. The rebels proclaim the emperor's son, Crown Prince Asfa Wossen.
- December 13 - Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras found the Central American Common Market.
- December 14 - Antione Gizenga proclaims in Stanleyville in the Congo that he has assumed the premiership.
- December 14 - OECD formed in Paris.
- December 15 - King Mahendra of Nepal deposes the government and takes power into his own hands.
- December 15 - Royal wedding in Belgium: King Baudouin of Belgium marries Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragon.
- December 16 - U.S. Secretary of State Christian Herter announced that the United States would commit five atomic submarines and 80 Polaris missiles to NATO by the end of 1963.
- December 16 - The midair collision between a United Airlines DC-8 and a TWA Super-Constellation over New York City kills all 128 on both planes and 6 persons on the ground.
- December 17 - Troops loyal to Haile Selassie I in Ethiopia suppress the revolt that started on December 13 and give power back to their leader upon his return from Brazil. Haile Selassie absolves his son of any guilt.
- December 19 - Fire sweeps through the USS Constellation, the U.S.'s largest aircraft carrier, while it is under construction at a Brooklyn Navy Yard pier, injuring 150 and killing 50.
- December 20 - Discoverer XIX is launched into polar orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base, to measure radiation.
- December 27 - France sets off its third nuclear test blast at its atomic proving grounds at Reggane, Algeria.

Births

January-February


- January 2 - Christian Bartolf, German political scientist and writer
- January 4 - Michael Stipe, American singer (R.E.M.)
- January 6 - Nigella Lawson, British chef and writer
- January 6 - Howie Long, American football player
- January 12 - Oliver Platt, Canadian actor
- January 13 - Kevin Anderson, American actor
- January 22 - Michael Hutchence, Australian musician (INXS) (d. 1997)
- January 28 - Robert von Dassanowsky, American cultural historian, writer, and producer
- January 29 - Greg Louganis, American diver
- January 29 - Gia Carangi, American model (d. 1986)
- January 29 - Sean Kerly, British field hockey player
- February 4 - Adrienne King, American actress
- February 7 - James Spader, American actor
- February 10 - Robert Addie, British actor (d. 2003)
- February 11 - Richard Mastracchio, astronaut
- February 13 - Pierluigi Collina, Italian football referee
- February 14 - Jim Kelly, American football player
- February 19 - Prince Andrew, Duke of York
- February 25 - Stefan Blöcher, German field hockey player
- February 27 - Kara Kennedy, daughter of Edward Kennedy and Virginia Joan Bennett
- February 29 - Tony Robbins, American motivational speaker and writer

March-May


- March 4 - Mykelti Williamson, American actor
- March 7 - Joe Carter, baseball player
- March 7 - Ivan Lendl, Czech tennis player
- March 13 - Adam Clayton, Irish bassist (U2)
- March 18 - Richard Biggs, American actor (d. 2004)
- March 21 - Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver (d. 1994)
- March 23 - Nicol Stephen, Deputy First Minister of Scotland
- March 24 - Nena Kerner, German singer
- March 26 - Marcus Allen, American football player
- March 29 - Marina Sirtis, British actress
- April 2 - Linford Christie, British athlete
- April 3 - Elizabeth Gracen, American beauty queen, actress, and model
- April 4 - Jane Eaglin, English soprano
- April 4 - Hugo Weaving, Australian actor
- April 11 - Jeremy Clarkson, English television show host
- April 14 - Brad Garrett, American actor
- April 18 - Neo Rauch, German painter
- April 19 - Frank Viola, baseball player
- April 26 - Roger Taylor, English musician (Duran Duran)
- April 28 - John Cerutti, baseball player and announcer (d. 2004)
- May 6 - John Flansburgh, American musician (They Might Be Giants)
- May 10 - Bono, Irish singer U2
- May 18 - Jari Kurri, Finnish hockey player
- May 18 - Yannick Noah, French tennis player
- May 20 - John Billingsley, American actor
- May 21 - Jeffrey Dahmer, American serial killer and murder victim (d. 1994)

June-December


- June 6 - Gary Graham, American actor
- June 6 - Steve Vai, American guitarist
- June 8 - Mick Hucknall English singer and songwriter (Simply Red)
- June 17 - Michael Monroe, Finnish singer (Hanoi Rocks)
- June 20 - John Taylor, English musician (Duran Duran)
- June 28 - John Elway, American football player
- June 29 - Paul Degner, Canadian Tax Reformer
- July 3 - Vince Clarke, English songwriter (Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and Erasure)
- July 5 - Pruitt Taylor Vince, American actor
- July 17 - Jan Wouters, Dutch football player and manager
- July 18 - Anne-Marie Johnson, American actress
- July 21 - Ezequiel Viñao, Argentine-born composer
- August 4 - José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain
- August 7 - David Duchovny, American actor
- August 10 - Antonio Banderas, Spanish actor
- August 14-Sarah Brightman, English soprano singer and actress
- August 17 - Sean Penn, American actor
- August 19 - Morten Andersen, American football player
- August 24 - Cal Ripken, Jr., baseball player
- August 26 - Branford Marsalis, American musician
- September 4 - William Kennedy Smith son of Jean Kennedy Smith and nephew of John F Kennedy and Robert F Kennedy and Edward M Kennedy
- September 6 - Bob Stoops, American football coach
- September 6 - Michael Winslow, American actor and comedian
- September 9 - Hugh Grant, English actor
- September 10 - Colin Firth, English actor
- September 16 - John Franco, baseball player
- September 17 - Damon Hill, English race car driver
- October 5 - Daniel Baldwin, American actor
- October 7 - Kyosuke Himuro, Japanese singer
- October 24 - Jaime Garzón, Colombian journalist and comedian (d. 1999)
- October 30 - Diego Maradona, Argentine footballer
- November 3 - Karch Kiraly, American volleyball player
- November 10 - Neil Gaiman, English author
- November 11 - Peter Parros, American actor
- November 11 - Stanley Tucci, American actor and film director
- November 25 - Amy Grant, American musician
- November 25 - John F. Kennedy, Jr., American lawyer and journalist and son of President John F. Kennedy (d. 1999)
- November 26 - Harold Reynolds, Major League Baseball player and ESPN analyst
- November 27 - Yulia Tymoshenko, Prime Minister of Ukraine
- December 2 - Rick Savage, English bassist (Def Leppard)
- December 4 - Glynis Nunn, Australian athlete
- December 10 - Kenneth Branagh, Irish-born actor and film director
- December 18 - Kazuhide Uekusa, Japanese economist
- December 19 - Mike Lookinland, American actor
- December 27 - Maryam d'Abo, British actress
- December 31 - John Allen Muhammad, American serial killer

Deaths


- January 4 - Albert Camus, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (automobile accident) (b. 1913)
- January 12 - Nevil Shute, English writer (b. 1899)
- January 24 - Edwin Fischer, Swiss pianist and conductor (b. 1886)
- February 3 - Fred Buscaglione, Italian singer and actor (b. 1921)
- February 10 - Aloysius Stepinac, Catholic prelate (b. 1898)
- February 11 - Ernö Dohnányi, Hungarian conductor (b. 1877)
- February 29 - Walter Yust, American encyclopædia editor (b.1894)
- March 2 - Stanisław Taczak, Polish general (b. 1874)
- April 1 - Tuanku Abdul Rahman ibni Almarhum Tuanku Muhammad, King of Malaysia (b. 1895)
- April 17 - Eddie Cochran American Singer (b. 1938)
- April 24 - Max von Laue, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
- May 8 - J. H. C. Whitehead, British mathematician (b. 1904)
- May 30 - Boris Pasternak, Russian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (declined) (b. 1890)
- May 31 - Walther Funk, German Nazi politician (b. 1890)
- pop/rock duo consisting of John Linnell and John Flansburgh, collectively known as "the two Johns" or "John and John". Known for their experimental / pop music, they have been popular on college campuses and earned a reputation as "intellectual rock" or "nerd rock." The band has maintained a loyal following over its 20+ years of existence, enough that fans rushed an online poll and got John Linnell voted one of People Magazine's "Most Beautiful People" in 1998 [http://www.tmbg.org/cool/linnell/]. TMBG's most famous songs are probably one single from each of their first three albums, "Don't Let's Start" (from They Might Be Giants), "Ana Ng" (from Lincoln), and "Birdhouse in Your Soul" (from Flood). Their appearance on the show Tiny Toon Adventures also gained recognition for their song "Particle Man" and cover of "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)". They are also known for their version of the Bob Mould song "Dog on Fire" (the theme song to The Daily Show), and "Boss of Me", the theme to the hit television comedy Malcolm in the Middle, for which they won a Grammy Award. They also provide the theme song for The Travel Channel's "Amazing Vacation Homes", and Teletoon's The Wrong Coast.

History

The two Johns first met as children in Lincoln, Massachusetts. They began writing songs together in high school, but they never officially formed a band. Eventually the two went to separate colleges after high school, and Linnell joined The Mundanes, a New Wave group from Rhode Island. The two finally reunited after moving to Brooklyn (in the same apartment building on the same day) to continue their career.

Then: The Earlier Years (1982–1989)

BrooklynThe band began performing their own music accompanied by a drum machine, and soon became fixtures on the Manhattan underground. Their early work has been described as a type of performance art, in which they used many innovative stage props, including giant cardboard cutout heads of William Allen White. Many of these props would later turn up in their first music videos. Although they had a strong local following, they had a hard time getting a record deal. They did many live performances in New York, but when Linnell broke his wrist in a biking accident and Flansburgh's apartment was broken into and all his guitars were stolen, they set up the Dial-A-Song system with an answering machine hooked up to a tape of them playing popular songs. It soon caught the eye of Bar/None Records and earned them a review in People magazine. The duo released their self-titled debut album in 1986, and it became a college radio hit. The video for "Don't Let's Start" became a hit on MTV, earning them a broader following. In 1988, they released their second album, Lincoln. The album's artwork, featuring the famous podiums on the cover, marked a high point of the band's regular collaboration with Brooklyn musical inventor Brian Dewan. Beyond artwork, Dewan also performed and sang on many of their songs, both on their albums and live. Lincoln caused a major shock within the US music industry when, in its first week of release, it knocked U2's The Joshua Tree off the top of the Billboard College Charts (the US music industry's equivalent to the "Alternative/Independent" charts elsewhere in the world) after only a one-week stay at the top. (Most were expecting U2 to be on top for the remainder of the year.) The first single from Lincoln, "Ana Ng", reached number 89 on the UK Billboard charts and was #1 in the College Charts, garnering the attention of major labels.

Elektra Period (1990–1998)

In 1989, they signed with Elektra Records, and released their third album Flood the following year. Flood earned them a gold album, largely thanks to singles for "Birdhouse in Your Soul", which reached number 6 in the UK charts, and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)". Further interest in the band was generated when two cartoon music videos were created by Warner Brothers for Tiny Toon Adventures: "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and "Particle Man". The videos reflected the high "kid appeal" that TMBG had, resulting from their often silly or absurd songs and poppy melodies. Following those successes, Bar/None Records released the B-sides and rarities compilation Miscellaneous T in 1991. Following the 1992 release of Apollo 18, Flansburgh and Linnell decided to move away from the two-guys-with-samples nature of their live show, and recruited a supporting band that consisted of former Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone and drummer Brian Doherty. Through subsequent touring, the new "band" began to function as a collective unit, encouraging the Johns to record new albums in the band format. Several albums followed, including John Henry (1994) and their last for Elektra, Factory Showroom (1996). They left Elektra after Factory Showroom failed due to a lack of exposure.

Beyond Elektra (1999–Present)

In 1999, the ever-changing backing band lineup settled on "The Band of Dans", forming a full house line-up of Johns and Dans for almost five years. The Band of Dans was a trio of guys named Dan: guitarist Dan Miller, bassist Danny Weinkauf (both formerly of the band Lincoln) and drummer Dan Hickey. In 2004, however, Dan Hickey left the band and was subsequently replaced by Marty Beller, who had already played with TMBG for kids' shows and other projects. For most of their career, TMBG have been on the forefront of activity on the Internet. As early as 1992, the band was sending news updates to their fans via Usenet newsgroups. In 1999, They Might Be Giants became the first band to release an entire album exclusively on the Internet with Long Tall Weekend, available through Emusic's "TMBG Unlimited" service. Five years later, the band started one of the first artist-owned online music stores, at which customers could buy MP3 copies of their music for US$10 an album. By creating their own store, the band could keep money that would otherwise go to record companies. ([http://www.theymightbedownloads.com/ TMBG MP3 Music Store]) In 1999, the band contributed the song "Dr. Evil" to the motion picture Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Over their career, the band performed on numerous movie and television soundtracks, including The Oblongs, the ABC News miniseries Brave New World, and Ed and His Dead Mother. They also performed the theme music "Dog on Fire", composed by Bob Mould, for the Peabody Award-winning The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. More recently, they composed and performed the music for the TLC series Resident Life, the theme song for the Disney Channel program Higglytown Heroes, and a song about the cartoon Courage the Cowardly Dog. Contributing the TMBG single "Boss of Me" as the theme song to the hit television series Malcolm in the Middle, as well as to the show's compilation CD, brought a new audience to the band. Not only did the band contribute the theme, songs from all of the Giants' previous albums were used on the show: for example, the infamous punching-the-kid-in-the-wheelchair scene from the first MITM episode was done to the strains of "Pencil Rain" from Lincoln. "Boss of Me" became the band's second top-40 hit in the UK. On September 112001, they released the album Mink Car. The making of that album, including a record signing event at a Manhattan Tower Records, was included in a 2003 documentary directed by AJ Schnack titled Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns). The film, released in 2003, won rave reviews and several awards, and was featured in dozens of film festivals. The film was released on DVD in 2003. In 2002, the band released their first album "for the entire family," No!. They followed it up in 2003 with their first book, an illustrated children's book with an included EP, Bed, Bed, Bed. Bed, Bed, Bed2005.]] In 2004, the band released their first new rock work in years, the EP Indestructible Object. They followed that up with a new album, The Spine, and an associated EP, The Spine Surfs Alone. For the album's first single, "Experimental Film", TMBG teamed up with Homestar Runner creators Matt and Mike Chapman to create an animated music video. The band's collaboration with the Brothers Chaps also included several Puppet Jam segments with puppet Homestar. TMBG also became slightly involved with the electoral process by contributing a track to the Future Soundtrack For America compilation, a project compiled by John Flansburgh with the help of Spike Jonze and Barsuk Records. The band contributed "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too", a political campaign song from the presidential election of 1840. The compilation was released by Barsuk and featured indie, alternative, and high-profile acts such as Death Cab For Cutie, The Flaming Lips, and Bright Eyes. All proceeds went to progressive organizations such as Music For America and MoveOn.org. Following the Spine Surfs the Hiway Tour of 2004, the band announced that they would take an extended hiatus from performing to focus on other projects, such as a musical produced by Flansburgh and written by his wife, Robin "Goldie" Goldwasser, titled People Are Wrong!. 2005 saw the release of Here Come the ABCs, TMBG's follow-up to the successful children's album No!. Disney Sound released the CD and DVD separately on February 152005. However, children are currently barred from TMBG's concerts (except, of course, their children-exclusive shows). The reasons stated on their site mention a number of elements uncharacteristic to their typical concerts (such as pot smoking and violent, drunken audience members.

The band's name

The band takes its name from the 1971 movie They Might Be Giants starring George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward (based on the play of the same name written by James Goldman). The play (and movie) title is a reference to Don Quixote, who mistook windmills for giants. George C. Scott's character discusses man's ability to invent and analyze past the obvious, saying:
Of course, [Quixote] carried it a bit too far. He thought that every windmill was a giant. That's insane. But, thinking that they might be... Well, all the best minds used to think the world was flat. But, what if it isn't? It might be round. And bread mold might be medicine. If we never looked at things and thought of what they might be, why, we'd all still be out there in the tall grass with the apes.
In an interview Flansburgh said (paraphrasing) that the words 'they might be giants' are just a very outward looking forward thing, that they liked. In an earlier radio interview, Linnell described the phrase as "something very paranoid sounding". Also, the band's name is parodied in Terry Pratchett's novel Soul Music by the dwarf "rock band", "We're Certainly Dwarfs".

Discography

Studio Albums


- They Might Be Giants (aka The Pink Album) (1986)
- Lincoln (1988)
- Flood (1990)
- Apollo 18 (1992)
- John Henry (1994)
- Factory Showroom (1996)
- Long Tall Weekend (1999) (Internet Release)
- Mink Car (2001)
- No! (2002)
- The Spine (2004)
- Here Come the ABCs (2005)

EPs and Singles


- Don't Let's Start (1987)
- (She Was A) Hotel Detective (1988)
- They'll Need a Crane (1989)
- Ana Ng (1989)
- Purple Toupee (1989)
- Birdhouse in Your Soul (1989)
- Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (1990)
- The Statue Got Me High (1992)
- The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) (1992)
- I Palindrome I (1992)
- Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) (1993)
- O Tannenbaum (1993)
- Back to Skull (1994)
- S-E-X-X-Y (1996)
- Doctor Worm (1998)
- What We Did This Summer (1999)
- Working Undercover for the Man (2000)
- Boss of Me (2000)
- Man, It's So Loud in Here (2001)
- They Might Be Giants in Holidayland (2001)
- Indestructible Object (2004)
- The Spine Surfs Alone (2004)
- Experimental Film (2004)
- "T-Shirt" (2005) (Single, exclusive to iTunes Music Store)

Compilations, Online Releases, Other Releases


- Miscellaneous T (1991)
- Live!! New York City 10/14/94 (1994)
- Then: The Earlier Years (1997)
- Severe Tire Damage (1998) (Mostly live album)
- Live (1999)
- Long Tall Weekend (1999) (Internet release only)
- They Got Lost (2002)
- Dial-A-Song: 20 Years Of They Might Be Giants (2002)
- Bed, Bed, Bed (2003)
- The Spine Hits The Road (2004) (Internet release only, live album)
- Almanac (2004) (Internet release only, live album)
- Venue Songs (2004) (Internet release only)
- A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants (2005)
- Venue Songs (re-release) (2005) (A re-release of Venue Songs in a CD/DVD combo pack with bonus material)

Charting Singles

Music Videos

The band has made music videos for many of their songs, including:
- "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" (1986)
- "Don't Let's Start" (1986)
- "(She Was a) Hotel Detective" (1986)
- "Ana Ng" (1988)
- "Purple Toupee" (1988)
- "They'll Need a Crane" (1988)
- "Birdhouse in Your Soul" (1990)
- "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" (1990)
- "The Statue Got Me High" (1992)
- "The Guitar" (1992)
- "Snail Shell" (1994)
- "Doctor Worm" (1998)
- "Boss of Me" (2001) (abridged version premiered on FOX, some airplay on MTV2 and other stations) Other videos include:
- "Rabid Child" (1986) (home video, not released publicly, clip can be seen in Gigantic)
- "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" (1990) (produced by and featured on Tiny Toons)
- "Particle Man" (1990) (produced by and featured on Tiny Toons)
- "Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is A Mass Of Incandecent Gas)" (1997) (animated/live action, premered on KaBlam!)
- "Doctor Worm" (1999?) (animated, premered on KaBlam!)
- "Cut the Strings" (2001) (can be found at [http://www.twinkleland.com/gallery_cutthestrings.html twinkleland.com])
- "Courage the Cowardly Dog" (2003?) (computer animated, aired on Cartoon Network)
- "Experimental Film" (2004) (animated, with Homestar Runner characters)
- "Damn Good Times" (2005) (animated, appears on [http://www.tmbg.com tmbg.com])
- "Bastard Wants to Hit Me" (2005) (animated, appears on [http://www.tmbg.com tmbg.com])

External links


- [http://www.tmbg.com Official They Might Be Giants web page]
- [http://www.theymightbegiants.com Official band-operated download site]
- [http://www.dialasong.com/ They Might Be Giants' Dial A Song]
- [http://www.giganticfilm.com/ The official Gigantic web page]
- [http://www.giantkid.net/ The Official TMBG Kids web page]
- [http://www.tmbg.ukfriends.com/ TMBG:UK - a fansite with a European flavour]
- TMBW:This Might Be A Wiki - a wiki about TMBG. As of September 24, 2005, it contained 8594 pages.
- [http://www.tmbg.org/ The Unofficial They Might Be Giants Site]
- [http://www.homestarrunner.com/expfilm.html Experimental Film Video]
- [http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/giants.html They Might Be Giants Release First MP3 Only Album] - MP3 Newswire article
- [http://tmbgtalk.1.forumer.com/ TMBG Talk] a discussion forum for fans of TMBG
- Category:Songwriters Category:American musical groups Category:Rock music groups

Alternative rock

The terms alternative rock and alternative music were coined in the early 1980s to describe punk rock-inspired music genres which didn't fit into the mainstream genres of the time. At times it was used as catch-all phrase for rock music from underground artists in the 1980s and rock music in general in the 1990s and 2000s. More specifically, it is made up mostly of genres that appeared in the 1980s and became popular or well known by the 1990s, such as indie rock, grunge, post-punk, gothic rock, and college rock. Most alternative bands were unified by their collective debt to punk, which laid the groundwork for underground and alternative music in the 1970s. Though the genre is considered to be rock, some of its genres were influenced by folk music, reggae, techno and jazz music among other genres.

Overview

In the late 1970s and early 1980s only CFNY, a commercial radio station in Toronto, Ontario, regularly broadcast alternative rock in North America. By 1982, a handful of college radio stations, like Danbury, Connecticut's WXCI, and WPRB in Princeton, NJ, broadcast alternative rock in the United States. Most commercial stations, CFNY being a notable exception, ignored the genre. It was played extensively in the UK, particularly by DJs such as John Peel (who championed alternative music on BBC Radio 1), Richard Skinner, and Annie Nightingale. American college DJs such as John Soloman of WPRB echoed the alternative wave as early as 1986 on his daily radio shows. As such, alternative rock became more popular in the mid-1980s, it spread widely to other college radio stations, leading to the use of the name "college rock" in the United States. In the UK, it became the predominantly popular form of rock for young people, and many alternative bands had chart success. Finally, in the late 1980s in North America, commercial stations such as Boston, Massachusetts's WFNX began playing alternative rock. By that time, CFNY's format was moving away from alternative as university radio stations took over the genre. Outside of North America, Triple J, a government-funded radio station in Australia, started broadcasting alternative rock from 1975 in Sydney. In 1990 it began broadcasting nationally, albeit with what some perceived as a "watered down" format. Notable alternative bands of the early to mid 1980s include R.E.M., Sonic Youth, the Replacements, and Hüsker Dü from the United States, and New Order, The Smiths, The Cure, and The Jesus and Mary Chain from the United Kingdom. Although these groups never generated spectacular album sales, they exerted a considerable influence on the generation of musicians who came of age in the 80s. Alternative music and the rebellious, DIY ethic it espoused became one of the inspirations for grunge, an alternative sub-genre created in the 80s that launched a large movement in mainstream music in the early 90s. Led by the popularity of Nirvana, the grunge movement took alternative rock into the mainstream. While "alternative" was simply an umbrella term for a diverse collection of underground rock bands, Nirvana and similar groups gave it a reputation for being a distinct style of guitar based rock which combined elements of punk and metal; their creation met with considerable commercial success. By the mid-90s, alternative was synonymous with grunge in the eyes of the mass media and the general public, and a supposed "alternative culture" was being marketed to the mainstream in much the same way as the hippie counterculture had in the 1960s (the existence of any such culture is debatable, and is often seen by some fans of the music to have been a creation of the media). By this time, however, alternative bands who were leery of broad commercial success had developed indie rock, a new genre that espoused a return to the original ethos of alternative music. In the first decade of the 21st century, mainstream rock has continued to evolve beyond alternative's 80s roots and low-fidelity ethos. Today's most popular rock music acts, typified by youth oriented modern rock groups such as Linkin Park, incorporate complex electronic beats and highly produced albums, but owe a heavy debt to their metal and grunge influences. In spite of being influenced by alternative rock, many fans of the genre do not see these bands as being alternative, but instead as part of the nu-metal genre.

Influences


- Punk rock
- Post punk
- New wave music
- Industrial music
- Hardcore punk
- Heavy metal

Styles


- Britpop
- Christian alternative music
- College rock
- Dream pop
- Gothic rock
- Grunge
- Indie rock
- Industrial rock
- Jam band
- Jangle pop
- Madchester
- Noise pop
- Paisley Underground
- Psychobilly
- Shoegazing
- Twee pop

See also


- List of alternative rock artists
- Timeline of alternative rock
- Music webzines

Footnotes

# The term "alternative music" is particularly favored over "alternative rock" in British English, while "alternative rock" is favored in American English. The term underground music is sometimes also used, though more often used in reference to the music of little-known artists.

External links


- [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE47B16DF49AD7320C59E3349DCA77AF129D342F382172E4B41D3A77F4B82006AE050F98488F2A326F878AEE02BBB580FD3CEA25EF6DE6E373D8DFEC61D&sql=77:4464 All Music Guide entry for alternative rock]
- [http://www.bandnews.org/genre/Rock/Alternative Alternative Rock News]
- [http://www.y100rocks.com Alternative Rock Internet Radio Station] Category:Alternative music Category:Rock music genres Category:radio formats ja:オルタナティブ・ミュージック

Brooklyn

:For other uses, see Brooklyn (disambiguation). Brooklyn (disambiguation).]] Brooklyn (disambiguation) Brooklyn (disambiguation) Brooklyn is the most populous of the five boroughs of New York City with about 2.5 million inhabitants. An independent city prior to 1898, Brooklyn developed out of the small Dutch-founded town of "Breuckelen" on the East River shore, named after Breukelen in the Netherlands. Were it still a city, and not a borough, it would be the fourth-largest city in the United States after New York City itself, Los Angeles and Chicago. Despite being part of the City of New York, Brooklyn in character is its own city, as opposed to the Bronx which historically and characteristically could be better described as a northern extension of Manhattan. Kings County, conterminous with Brooklyn, is also the most populous county in New York. It was named in honor of King Charles II of England. Variously called the "City of Trees," "City of Homes," or the "City of Churches" in the 19th century, Brooklyn is now often styled the "Borough of Homes and Churches" or even sometimes called "The Planet", popularized by Guru from the rap duo Gangstarr, for its large diversity, population, and size.

Geography

Brooklyn is located in the westernmost part of Long Island. It shares its only land boundary with Queens to the northeast. The westernmost section of the boundary is defined by Newtown Creek, (crossed by the Kosciusko Bridge, the Pulaski Bridge, the Grand Street Bridge, and the Metropolitan Avenue Bridge) which flows into the East River. Following the waterfront south and then counterclockwise from Newtown Creek, the lower East River forms the northern coast of Brooklyn, with connections to Manhattan at Williamsburg Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. The western coast lies on Upper New York Bay and features the Red Hook peninsula and the Erie Basin, home to a container port, and separated from Governors Island by Buttermilk Channel. South of this is Gowanus Bay, connected to the Gowanus Canal. At its westernmost section, Brooklyn is closest to Staten Island at the Narrows, and the two are connected there by the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, where the Upper and Lower New York Bays meet. The southern coast includes the peninsula encompassing Coney Island and Brighton Beach. The southeastern coast lies on island-dotted Jamaica Bay and is connected to Rockaway by the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, named after the Brooklyn Dodgers' first baseman who made his home in the borough. The highest point of Brooklyn is the area around Prospect Park and Green-Wood Cemetery, rising approximately 200 feet above sea level. There is also a minor elevation in Downtown Brooklyn known as Brooklyn Heights. According to the United States Census Bureau, the County has a total area of 251.0 km² (96.9 mi²). 182.9 km² (70.6 mi²) of it is land and 68.1 km² (26.3 mi²) of it is water. 27.13% of the total area is water.

History

Six Dutch towns

The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle in the area that is today Brooklyn, a western part of Long Island then largely inhabited by the Canarsie Native American tribe. The area was considered a part of New Netherland, and the Dutch West India Company lost little time in chartering the six original towns (listed here first by their later, more common English names):
- Gravesend: in 1645, settled under Dutch patent by English followers of Anabaptist Lady Deborah Moody
- Brooklyn: as "Breuckelen" in 1646, after the town now spelled Breukelen, Netherlands
- Flatlands: as "New Amersfoort" in 1647
- Flatbush: as "Midwout" in 1652
- New Utrecht: in 1657, after the city of Utrecht, Netherlands
- Bushwick: as "Boswijck" in 1661

Toward a united City of Brooklyn

What is today Brooklyn left Dutch hands after the English conquest of New Netherland in 1664, to become a part of the colony of New York. The English organized the six old Dutch towns of southwestern Long Island as Kings County in 1683, one of twelve counties then established in New York. This tract of land was recognized as a political entity for the first time, and the municipal groundwork was laid for a later expansive idea of Brooklyn identity. counties On August 27, 1776, the Battle of Long Island (also known as the Battle of Brooklyn) was the first major engagement fought in the American Revolutionary War. British troops forced Continental troops off the heights near the modern site of Grand Army Plaza. The American positions at Brooklyn Heights consequently became untenable and were evacuated a few days later, leaving the British in control of New York Harbor. The surrounding region was controlled by the British for the duration of the war, and the British military was largely supported by a dominant Loyalist sentiment in Kings County. New York only changed from a British colony to an American state with the Treaty of Paris in 1783. The first half of the 19th century saw the beginning of the development of urban areas on the economically strategic East River shore of Kings County, facing the adolescent City of New York confined to Manhattan Island. The first center of urbanization sprung up in the Town of Brooklyn, directly across from Lower Manhattan, which saw the incorporation of the Village of Brooklyn in 1816. Town and Village were combined to form the first, kernel incarnation of the City of Brooklyn in 1834. In parallel development, the Town of Bushwick, a little farther up the river, saw the incorporation of the Village of Williamsburgh in 1827, which separated as the Town of Williamsburgh in 1840, only to form the short-lived City of Williamsburgh in 1851. But the East River shore was growing too fast for the three-year-old infant City of Williamsburgh, which, along with its Town of Bushwick hinterland, was subsumed within a greater City of Brooklyn in 1854. Taking a thirty-year break from municipal expansionism, this well-situated coastal city established itself as the third-most-populous American city for much of the 19th century. As 'Twin City' to New York, it played a role in national affairs that is only now shadowed by its modern submergence into its old partner/rival. Throughout this period the peripheral towns of Kings County, far from Manhattan and even urban Brooklyn, maintained their rustic independence. The only municipal change seen was the secession of the eastern section of the Town of Flatbush as the Town of New Lots in 1852. The building of rail links like the Brighton Beach Line in 1878 heralded the end of this isolation. 1878]] Toward the end of the 19th century, the City of Brooklyn experienced its final, explosive growth spurt. In the space of a decade, it annexed the Town of New Lots in 1886, the Town of Flatbush, the Town of Gravesend, and the Town of New Utrecht in 1894, and the Town of Flatlands in 1896. Brooklyn had reached its natural municipal boundaries at the ends of Kings County. The question was now whether it was prepared to engage in the still-grander process of consolidation now developing throughout the region.

Brooklyn as New York borough

In 1898, Brooklyn residents voted by a slight majority to join with Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens and Richmond (later Staten Island) as the five boroughs to form the modern City of Greater New York. Kings County retained its status as one of New York State's counties. The loss of Brooklyn's separate identity as a city was met with some consternation by some residents at the time, and later; the merger has been known as the "Great Mistake of 1898", as it was called by many newspapers of the day, and the phrase still denotes Brooklyn pride among old-time Brooklynites.

Neighborhoods of Brooklyn

City of Greater New York seen from the East River]] East River Borough and state government buildings are mostly found in the Brooklyn Civic Center area (including Brooklyn Borough Hall and Kings County Supreme Court) in downtown Brooklyn, near the Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn Heights. Brooklyn, the 'Borough of Homes', can be understood as a collection of neighborhoods, many historically descended from the old towns and villages of Dutch times. The borough's striking diversity plays host to a bustle of ethnic and multi-ethnic neighborhoods that both preserve a flavor of 'the old country', of whatever latitude, and create spaces for interaction between individuals and communities. So for illustration, Borough Park is largely Orthodox Jewish, Bedford-Stuyvesant African American, Bensonhurst Italian American, and Sunset Park Hispanic. Most sections of Brooklyn are indeed decidedly residential, fulfilling the borough's historic role as 'bedroom of New York'. Its residential character may seem strange to many not familiar with the borough, who tend to associate it with brownstones; however, brownstones are predominantly located in the northwestern neighborhoods between the Brooklyn Bridge and Prospect Park. Some have noted that the parts of Brooklyn more distant from Manhattan are actually less recognizably New York City than many part of Queens, a borough often incorrectly associated with suburbia. This symbiotic mating of the residential city with the business center of Manhattan has profoundly shaped Brooklyn from its beginning. It only accelerated with the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and other connections, to the near-death of Brooklyn industries and a winnowing of commerce to a basic consumer level in the years following World War II. It is only at the start of the 21st century that business and industry have begun to revive around the borough amid something of a general renaissance. Many Brooklyn ethnic neighborhoods established in the first half of the 20th century developed to accommodate second-generation Americans escaping the slums of Manhattan. Today, however, new immigrants are just as likely to set down their first American roots in Brooklyn. The constant inward movement of new immigrant groups, as well as the expanding horizons of long-established groups, brought a dynamism to Brooklyn's neighborhoods. In recent years a series of artists' colonies have developed along the East River across from Manhattan as a refuge for artists fleeing the sky-high rents of SoHo. Such was the development of the artistic community in Williamsburg, with consequent recent rent hikes there spurring a further exodus, to DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass), and even to Red Hook. Brooklyn is politically organized as 18 Community Boards :
- 1 : Flushing Avenue, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Northside, and Southside
- 2 : Brooklyn Heights,