Rabid Child (partially found They Might Be Giants music video; 1985)
Screenshot from the music video.
Status: Partially Found
"Rabid Child" is a song by the American alternate rock band They Might Be Giants and is the eighth track of their debut album, the self-titled They Might Be Giants, which released in 1986. The song is a relatively short and strange song (compared to others written by the band during the same timeframe), which told the story of a child whose only form of communication was talking with passing truckers via CB radio. The song was intended to have a music video, but it went unreleased.
Music Video
The music video for "Rabid Child" was recorded at some point between 1985 or 1986 and notably it was not directed by Adam Bernstein who had directed the majority of the band's earlier music videos. Rather it was produced entirely by the Johns themselves, and consisted of John Flansburgh, singing into a camera and grabbing onto a wall and John Linnell, sitting in the back wearing a red "carpet hat" and playing the accordion. It also featured the band (including soundman Bill Krauss) wearing masks of Liaquat Ali Khan and Arthur Koestler.
The music video was recorded in Flansburgh's apartment with a cheap video camera pointed at his kitchen.
Availability
The only footage available of the music video can be found in Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns, a documentary about the band from 2003. The clip was only included as a compromise with producer AJ Schnack after he tried to fight to get the music video included as a bonus feature on this documentary's disc.
"I promised fans that I would ask John and John about including the full piece and I was quickly (but politely) laughed out of the room (or would have been if we had been in the same room)."
Video
See Also
- They Might Be Giants: Installing & Servicing Melody (found promotional compilation DVD; 2009)
- Don't Worry Kyoko (lost They Might Be Giants pre-band cover of Yoko Ono song; 1970s)
- They Might Be Giants on The Joe Franklin Show (partially found episode of televised talk-show; 1985)
External Link
- "Rabid Child" – TMBW: The They Might Be Giants Knowledge Base. Retrieved 18 Feb '18