Editing They Might Be Giants (section)

===Podcasting, independent releases, and children's music (2004–2015)===
[[File:TMBG.jpg|thumb|left|275px|They Might Be Giants performing at Bar None, in [[Brooklyn, New York|Brooklyn, NY]]]]

In 2004, the band created one of the first artist-owned online music stores, at which customers could purchase and download MP3 copies of their music, both new releases and many previously released albums. By creating their own store, the band could keep money that would otherwise go to record companies. With the redesign of the band's website in 2010, the store was reincarnated.

Also, in 2004, the band released its first new "adult" rock work since the release of ''[[No!]]'', the EP ''[[Indestructible Object]]''. This was followed by a new album, ''[[The Spine (album)|The Spine]]'', and an associated EP, ''[[The Spine Surfs Alone]]''. It was at this time that Dan Hickey was replaced by [[Marty Beller]], who had previously collaborated with TMBG. For the album's first single, "[[Experimental Film (song)|Experimental Film]]", TMBG teamed up with [[Homestar Runner]] creators [[The Brothers Chaps|Matt and Mike Chapman]] to create an animated music video.<ref name="HRWikiExperimental">{{Cite web |date=March 13, 2004 |title=Experimental Film |url=http://www.hrwiki.org/index.php/Experimental_Film |access-date=July 16, 2009 |website=Homestar Runner Wiki}}</ref> The band's collaboration with the Brothers Chaps also included several Puppet Jam segments with puppet Homestar and the music for a Strong Bad email titled "Different Town". In 2008 they recorded a track for the 200th [[Strong Bad]] e-mail, where Linnell provided the voice of The Poopsmith.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Jeckell, Barry A. |date=April 16, 2004 |title=TMBG Complete 10th Studio Album |url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000490229 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205234702/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000490229 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 5, 2006 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=February 26, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=They Might Be Giants |url=http://www.hrwiki.org/index.php/They_Might_Be_Giants |access-date=July 16, 2009 |website=Homestar Runner Wiki}}</ref>

TMBG also contributed a track to the 2004 ''[[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 [[1840 United States presidential election|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 (band)|Bright Eyes]]. All proceeds went to progressive organizations such as Music for America and [[MoveOn.org]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Future Soundtrack for America |url=http://www.barsuk.com/shop/bark037 |access-date=July 17, 2011 |website=Barsuk.com}}</ref>

Flansburgh and Linnell made a guest appearance in "[[List of Home Movies episodes#Season 4: 2003–2004|Camp]]", the January 11, 2004, episode of the animated [[sitcom]] ''[[Home Movies (TV series)|Home Movies]]''. They voice both a pair of camp counselors and members of a strange hooded male bonding cult.<ref>{{Cite web |title=They Might Be Giants Guests on Home Movies |url=http://www.tv.com/episode/297453/summary.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629011412/http://www.tv.com/episode/297453/summary.html |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |access-date=February 18, 2007 |website=TV.com}}</ref> On May 10, 2004, they made a guest appearance on the final episode of ''[[Blue's Clues]]'' called "Bluestock" alongside [[Toni Braxton]], [[Macy Gray]], and [[India.Arie]]. They Might Be Giants were in a letter for Joe and Blue.

[[File:They Might Be Giants March 25th, 2005.jpg|thumb|right|275px|They Might Be Giants perform a free show at [[Amoeba Music]] in Hollywood, CA on March 25, 2005]]

Following the ''Spine on the Hiway Tour'' of 2004, the band announced that they would take an extended hiatus from touring to focus on other projects, such as a musical produced by Flansburgh and written by his wife, [[Robin Goldwasser|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!''. The Disney Sound label released the CD and DVD separately on February 15, 2005. To promote the album, Flansburgh and Linnell along with drummer Marty Beller embarked on a short tour, performing for free at many [[Borders (retailer)|Borders]] locations.  In November 2005, ''[[Venue Songs]]'' was released as a two-disc CD/DVD set narrated by [[John Hodgman]]. It is a [[concept album]] based on all of the "venue songs" from their 2004 tour.

TMBG [[cover version|cover]]ed the [[Devo]] song "[[Through Being Cool (Devo song)|Through Being Cool]]" in the 2005 Disney film ''[[Sky High (2005 film)|Sky High]]''.  In 2008, they rerecorded the song "Take Out The Trash" (from ''[[The Else]]'') in [[Simlish]] for inclusion in ''[[The Sims 2 expansion packs#FreeTime|The Sims 2: Freetime]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 11, 2008 |title='The Sims 2: Free Time' Gets Simlish Soundtrack |url=https://worthplaying.com/article/2008/2/11/news/48686-the-sims-2-free-time-gets-simlish-soundtrack/ |access-date=June 9, 2022 |website=WorthPlaying}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Boland |first=Eric |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5fkLAgAAQBAJ&dq=They+Might+Be+Giants+simlish&pg=PA71 |title=The Sims: Complete Guide |date=2010 |publisher=WTYW7 Books |isbn=978-0-557-84739-6 |location=Vancouver, BC |pages=70–71 |access-date=June 9, 2022 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

From 2005 to 2014, They Might Be Giants made [[podcast]]s on a monthly, sometimes bi-monthly, basis. Each edition included remixes of previous songs, rarities, covers, and new songs and skits recorded specifically for the podcast.

The band contributed 14 original songs for the 2006 [[Dunkin' Donuts]] ad campaign, "America Runs on Dunkin'",<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=May 29, 2008 |title=Rock's New Economy: Making Money When CDs Don't Sell |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/20830491/rocks_new_economy_making_money_when_cds_dont_sell/2 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080519094601/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/20830491/rocks_new_economy_making_money_when_cds_dont_sell/2 |archive-date=May 19, 2008 |access-date=February 13, 2020 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref> including "Things I Like to Do", "Pleather", and "Fritalian".

The band has produced and performed three original songs for [[Playhouse Disney]] series: one for ''[[Higglytown Heroes]]'' and two for ''[[Mickey Mouse Clubhouse]]''. The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse features two original songs performed by group, including the opening theme song, in which a variant of a [[Mickey Mouse Club]] chant ("Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse!") is used to summon the Clubhouse, and "Hot Dog!", the song used at the end of the show.  The song references Mickey's first spoken words in the 1929 short ''[[The Karnival Kid]]''.

They also recorded a cover of the [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] song "[[There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow]]" for the film ''[[Meet the Robinsons]]'' and wrote and performed the theme song for ''[[The Drinky Crow Show]]''. The band was recruited to provide original songs for the [[Henry Selick]]-directed [[Coraline (film)|film adaptation]] of [[Neil Gaiman]]'s children's book ''[[Coraline]]'' but were dropped because their music was not "creepy" enough.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 27, 2008 |title=They Might Be Giants' John Flansburgh Shares Plans for a Slew of New Albums While Revisiting Old Favorites Quirky Duo Bigger Than Ever |url=http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/112008/11272008/427729/index_html?page=2 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713152648/http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/112008/11272008/427729/index_html?page=2 |archive-date=July 13, 2012 |access-date=July 17, 2011 |website=Fredericksburg.com}}</ref> Only one song, titled "Other Father Song", was kept for the film with Linnell singing as the titular "Other Father".

Their twelfth album, ''[[The Else]]'', was released July 10, 2007, on Idlewild Recordings (and distributed by Zoë Records for the CD version), with an earlier digital release on May 15 at the [[iTunes Store]]. Advance copies were made available to stations by mid-June 2007.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=April 3, 2007 |title=They Might Be Giants Plot July for Next Disc |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1053191/they-might-be-giants-plot-july-for-next-disc |access-date=July 17, 2011 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref>  The album was produced by [[Pat Dillett]] ([[David Byrne]]) and the [[Dust Brothers]] ([[Beck]], [[Beastie Boys]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mailing List Archive/2006-03-13 |url=http://www.tmbw.net/wiki/index.php/Mailing_List_Archive/2006-03-13 |access-date=March 31, 2006 |website=This Might Be A Wiki}}</ref> On February 12, 2009, They Might Be Giants performed the song "The Mesopotamians" from the album on ''[[Late Night with Conan O'Brien]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hulu- Late Night with Conan O'Brien |url=http://www.hulu.com/watch/57707/late-night-with-conan-obrien-thu-feb-12-2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216104301/http://hulu.com/watch/57707/late-night-with-conan-obrien-thu-feb-12-2009 |archive-date=February 16, 2009 |access-date=February 14, 2009}}</ref>

In the rest of 2007, They Might Be Giants wrote a commissioned piece for Brooklyn-based robotic music outfit [[League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots]], performed for three dates at the event, and covered the [[Pixies (band)|Pixies]] "Havalina" for [[American Laundromat Records]] ''Dig For Fire - a tribute to PIXIES'' compilation.

[[File:TMBGLogo.jpg|thumb|left|They Might Be Giants' new logo]]The band's 13th album, ''[[Here Come the 123s]]'', a DVD/CD follow-up to 2005's critically acclaimed ''[[Here Come the ABCs]]'' children's project, was released on February 5, 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Here Come the 123s |url=http://tmbw.net/wiki/Here_Come_The_123s |access-date=March 19, 2008 |website=This Might Be A Wiki}}</ref> On April 10, 2008, They Might Be Giants performed the song "Seven" from the album on ''[[Late Night with Conan O'Brien]]''. In 2009, the album won the [[Grammy Award]] for "Best Musical Album For Children" during the [[51st Annual Grammy Awards]].<ref name="51stgrammy">{{Cite web |title=The 51st Annual Grammy Awards Winners List |url=http://grammy.com/grammy_awards/51st_show/list.aspx#18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100727170444/http://www2.grammy.com/Grammy_Awards/51st_show/list.aspx#18 |archive-date=July 27, 2010 |access-date=February 9, 2009}}</ref>

The band's fourteenth album, ''[[Here Comes Science]]'', a science-themed children's album.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Here Come The Super Cool Stuff Show |url=http://scss.podomatic.com |access-date=August 7, 2008 |website=The Super Cool Stuff Show}}</ref> This album introduced listeners to [[Outline of science#Natural sciences|natural]], [[Outline of science#Formal sciences|formal]], [[Outline of science#Social sciences|social]], and [[Outline of science#Applied sciences|applied]] [[science]]s.  It was released on September 1, 2009, and nominated for a [[53rd Annual Grammy Awards|Grammy Award]] on December 1, 2010.

On November 3, They Might Be Giants sent out a newsletter stating, "The Avatars of They", a set of sock puppets the Johns manipulate for shows, would have an album in 2012, suggesting another children's album. However, a new adult album titled ''[[Join Us]]'' was released on July 19, 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Album, UK July Shows, US Tour Plans |url=http://www.theymightbegiants.com/news/new-album-uk-july-shows-us-tour-plans/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717043755/http://www.theymightbegiants.com/news/new-album-uk-july-shows-us-tour-plans/ |archive-date=July 17, 2011 |access-date=July 17, 2011 |publisher=They Might Be Giants}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Herrera, Monica |date=July 17, 2009 |title=They Might Be Giants To Release Third Kids Album In September, Rock Album In 2010 |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/268044/they-might-be-giants-to-release-third-kids-album-in-september-rock-album-in |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=February 27, 2010}}</ref>

On October 3, 2011, [[Artix Entertainment]] announced that the band would be performing in-game for a special musical event to commemorate the 3rd birthday of their popular [[MMORPG]] [[AdventureQuest Worlds]]. They were featured in AdventureQuest World's special third birthday event as John and John.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 3, 2011 |title=AdventureQuest Worlds: They Might Be Giants Special Event |url=http://www.aq.com/events/tmbg/ |publisher=ArtixEntertainment}}</ref>

On March 5, 2013, the band released their sixteenth adult studio album, ''[[Nanobots (album)|Nanobots]]'', on their Idlewild Recordings label in the US and on British indie label [[Lojinx]] in [[Europe]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=December 12, 2012 |title=They Might Be Giants Seek Mother Figure on 'Call You Mom' – Song Premiere |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/they-might-be-giants-seek-mother-figure-on-call-you-mom-song-premiere-20121212 |url-status=dead |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214132628/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/they-might-be-giants-seek-mother-figure-on-call-you-mom-song-premiere-20121212 |archive-date=December 14, 2012 |access-date=December 12, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=They Might Be Giants |url=http://www.lojinx.com/artists/they-might-be-giants |access-date=January 26, 2013 |website=Lojinx.com}}</ref>

The live album ''[[Flood Live in Australia]]'' was made available for free digital download by the band in 2015. Also in 2015, the band reactivated its Dial-A-Song service under the banner of Dial-A-Song-Direct, promising to release one new song every week for the entire year, beginning with the track "Erase" on January 5.  Several of these songs were planned to be collected on a new studio rock album entitled [[Glean (album)|''Glean'']] on April 21, 2015.

The band released their newest children's album, [[Why? (They Might Be Giants album)|''Why?'']], on November 27, 2015. It was their fifth children's album and the first children's album to be released under their own label, Idlewild Recordings.

In a video released on December 20, 2015, John Flansburgh announced that the band would be taking a temporary break following their 2016 U.S. tour.