Editing John Linnell (section)

===1994–2021: Solo work===
[[File:They_Might_Be_Giants_-_John_Linnell.jpg|thumb|240x240px|John Linnell playing the accordion in 2008]]
Since 1994, Linnell has done some solo work: in that year he released the ''[[State Songs]]'' [[Extended play|EP]], which he expanded to a full-length album in 1999. The concept of the ''State Songs'' project is intentionally misleading: U.S. states feature prominently in the title and chorus of each song, but have very little to do with their actual narratives. "Montana", for instance, is about the insane ramblings of somebody who is about to die; "Idaho" explores a famous rock story in which [[John Lennon]], having consumed hallucinogenic drugs, believed he could drive his house; "South Carolina" is about getting rich as a result of a bicycle accident.<ref>{{Cite AV media |title=Interview with Linda Wertheimer |date=October 12, 1999 |last=Linnell |first=John |publisher=[[NPR]] |work=[[All Things Considered]]}}</ref>

Other side-projects include the limited-release ''House of Mayors'' EP in 1996 through the [[Hello CD of the Month Club]] and in 1997 a [[flexi disc]] of the song "Olive the Other Reindeer" accompanying promotional copies of the children's books, ''[[Olive, the Other Reindeer]]''. Linnell has also appeared as a guest musician—often as an accordionist—on a number of musical efforts by other artists, including [[Suzanne Vega]]'s ''[[Days of Open Hand]]'' and [[David Byrne]]'s ''[[Grown Backwards]]''.<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=Days of Open Hand |title-link=Days of Open Hand |type=Liner notes |last=Vega |first=Suzanne |publisher=A&M Records |date=1990}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=Grown Backwards |title-link=Grown Backwards |type=Liner notes |last=Byrne |first=David |publisher=Nonesuch |date=March 16, 2004}}</ref>

Linnell provided the singing voice for the Other Father character in the 2009 film ''[[Coraline (film)|Coraline]]'', for which They Might Be Giants wrote the "Other Father Song", included on the film's soundtrack.<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=[[Coraline (film)|Coraline Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]] |type=Liner notes |author=Various artists |publisher=Koch Records |date=February 3, 2009}}</ref>

In 2021, Linnell released a four-song EP containing original songs sung entirely in Latin, titled ''Roman Songs''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Braiker |first=Brian |date=2021-12-20 |title='I've never been hip': Catching up with John Linnell of They Might Be Giants |url=https://www.bkmag.com/2021/12/20/ive-never-been-hip-catching-up-with-john-linnell-of-they-might-be-giants/ |access-date=2023-09-29 |website=Brooklyn Magazine}}</ref>